I spend an hour trying to find an outfit for the party tonight. I know I agreed to go to make fun of everyone but hey, might as well look good for that, right? Plus, I may want to dance, so I need something I'm comfortable moving in. I attempted to put together a modern day outfit but gave up and went for a more oldschool one instead. I can't believe what I used to wear every day is considered "vintage" now. Whatever, I heard the 90s are back, so why can't I bring the 80s back too?
Once I'm satisfied with my appearance, I run out of my room to find Pepper, who generously offered to let me borrow her car. I'm so glad she did, I hate having to ask for rides.
"You look nice! That outfit makes me nostalgic," she comments upon seeing me.
"Thanks," I answer, nearing her desk. She opens a drawer and pulls out her car key.
"You haven't forgotten how to drive in 32 years, have you?" she cautiously asks.
"Nope," I assure her. She nods and extends her arm out, handing me the key. "Drive safely," she tells me as I walk out of her office.
•~•~•~•
I arrive at Liz's house and head inside. Boy, am I nervous. I haven't been to a party since the Halloween party Jonathan and I went to in '84. The loud music blares through the speakers and there's people either socializing, dancing, or eating. I scan the room for MJ and spot her by the stairs. I come up to her and tap her on the shoulder.
"Hey," I greet as she turns around.
"Hey, you made it," she pauses and eyes my apparel. "Love the outfit."
"Thanks!"
We begin conversing and she tells me a little bit about her favorite things about New York, and I tell her about Hawkins. Of course, I leave out some major details. A few minutes pass by and I excuse myself to go to the bathroom.
After using the bathroom, I go back into all the commotion to look for MJ. I find her at the kitchen counter and meander over to her. As I get closer, I notice Peter and Ned standing about three feet away from her.
"Sorry I took so long, and what the hell is this music? Do all parties have music like this in 2017 or is this DJ just trash," I ramble to MJ as I point at Flash. "I wouldn't know, I don't go to parties... and yes, he is trash," she cooly replies. She glances behind me and states, "I'll be back, I'm gonna go say hi to someone I know," before taking off. I turn to acknowledge Peter and Ned.
"Hey, guys!"
"Y/n," says Peter, sounding surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here with MJ," I nod my head towards MJ. "And Stark wants me to keep an eye on you," I disclose, leaning close to Peter's face so only he can hear me. He slightly shivers when my face nears his.
He sighs. "Yeah, of course he does," he claims, annoyed.
"Oh my gosh. Hey, guys! Cool hat, Ned." A perky voice makes me look behind me.
"Hi, Liz," says a happy Ned.
Peter gawks at her and nervously says,"hi, Liz."
She then looks at me. "Hi. You're y/n, right?"
"Yeah, I am," I answer with a smile. She grins and examines my clothes.
"Cute outfit. I love the vibe," she compliments me.
"Thank you, I like your shirt," I compliment back. She thanks me and smiles. She seems nice but I still wouldn't be friends with her. There's something about her that just makes me distrust her.
"I'm so happy you guys came. There's pizza and drinks, help yourself," she tells us.
Peter's voice cracks when he says, "what a great party."
"Thanks!"
He stares at her in awe. It is quite adorable, really. Peter is like a puppy. I just hope that my instinct about Liz is wrong for his sake. Liz excuses herself when a shattering noise is heard in the distance and walks away.
As soon as she's gone, Ned exclaims, "dude, what are you doing? She's here, spider it up!"
"No, no, no. I can't- I cannot do this. Spider-Man is not a party trick, okay? Look, I'm just gonna be myself."
"Peter, no one wants that," Ned says, as if Peter's statement was the most ridiculous thing ever.
"Dude," replied an offended Peter.
"Wait, you were gonna show up as Spider-Man to impress Liz? Peter, that's stupid. No girl or boy is worth doing something excessive like that for, trust me," I assert.
"Not everyone is hot like you, y/n. The rest of us have to work with what we've got," Ned sasses.
"Hot??? You should've seen the girls I went to school with, I wasn't the one all the boys were after. I was forced to develop a personality!" I argue.
Ned pulls a puzzled face while Peter chuckles. He goes to step into the crowd and Ned and I follow until Flash's irritating voice sounds through the speakers.
"Penis Parker, what's up?"
We freeze and face Flash. Why does he feel the need to torment Peter all the time? Someone needs to put him in his place.
"So where's your pal Spider-Man? Let me guess: In Canada with your imaginary girlfriend? That's not Spider-Man. That's just Ned in a red shirt!"
I grasp Peter's wrist and turn to him, "don't listen to him, he's just trying to get under your skin." He breaks his attention away from the boy on stage and gazes down at me. Flash's eyes flicker between Peter and I and he opens his big mouth again.
"No way, you're here with the 80s chick?? Woah, didn't know you're into older women. You couldn't get someone from your own generation to date you, Penis Parker?"
Everybody laughs and I stiffen, feeling uncomfortable. That was a mistake. Flash's turntable sparks and starts smoking, causing him to yelp and jump back. Everyone groans and yells at Flash. I smirk mischievously and wipe the blood from my nose.
Peter bends down and whispers, "nice."
I laugh and look up to see his beaming face. His smile suddenly fades and a look of determination replaces it. "No, Peter don't," I state but he ignores me and marches outside anyway. I sigh and shake my head, making my way towards MJ and the person she's talking to.
Liz connects her iPad to the speaker and music starts blasting throughout the big house. I smile in enthusiasm when I recognize the song playing, "Hot In Here" by Nelly. It's a good thing I've been listening to a whole lot of 90s and 2000s music. I drag MJ onto the dancefloor to force her to dance with me. She resists but I manage to pull her along. I see Ned standing at the backdoor, looking for Peter, so I quickly run up to him and pull him to the floor too.
"Come on, guys! I actually know this song. Dance with me, please?" I beg, putting emphasis on "please."
They cave, Ned immediately getting into the music. It takes MJ a little while to loosen up but she eventually starts dancing and singing along to the lyrics with me.
*Time Skip*
I drive MJ home after the party and head back to Stark Tower. As I'm stopped at a traffic light, I look to the right and witness a man harassing a young girl on the street corner. He pushes her into the alley and my knuckles whiten from how hard I grip the steering wheel. The light turns green, so I park at the curb, not too close to the alley. I grab my jacket from the backseat and slide it on before hopping out of the car, making sure to put the hood over my head.
I sneak into the alley and hear the girl's muffled cries as she struggles against the man. She manages to deck him in the mouth, which angers the creepy man. "You little bitch," he snarls as he raises his fist.
Just as he's about to hit her, I wave my hand, sending him forcefully flying back and hitting the wall behind him. He yelps in pain and collapses on the ground. The girl looks at the man, then at me in disbelief. "Go," I order her and she bolts out of the alley.
The creep leans against the dumpster next to him and looks up at me. "You're one of those enhanced people... those freaks."
"You think it's fun to terrorize women like that?" I angrily hiss.
The man raspily laughs and retorts, "she would've enjoyed it once I really got started."
His response fills me with rage. I lift my hand up, squeezing his throat and causing him to gasp for air. "You call her fearful cries enjoyment? You are sick," I say as I squeeze harder. The man wheezes and his face begins to turn purple. I let go before he could pass out and he starts coughing and gasping hysterically.
"Just because no one wants to sleep with your ugly ass, it doesn't give you the right to force yourself on anyone. You understand??"
"Fuck you," he claps back.
"No, fuck you," I counteract before psychically slamming his head against the dumpster, leaving him unconscious.
I speedily jog back to the car, making sure no one saw me, and drive away.
When I get home, I return the key to Pepper and thank her for letting me borrow her car before heading up to my room. I heavily sigh as I think about what I just did. Holy shit, what a rush. I don't even want to imagine what would've happened to that poor girl if I hadn't been there. Now I understand why Peter does what he does. It felt great to help that girl. Imagine how many more people I can help with these abilities. Sure, I've helped save the world before from an otherworldly menace, but I never got the opportunity to do something like that again. Maybe this time I could use my powers to help the little people.
My phone starts to buzz and I look at the caller ID. I pick up and Stark's sour face pops up on the screen. "Hey, Mr. Stark."
"I thought I told you to keep an eye on Parker," he scolds.
Uh oh. "I did... until he left."
"Until he left? You weren't supposed to let him leave. He did something very stupid tonight and would've died if it hadn't been for me," he reprimands.
"What, well, is he okay?" I anxiously ask.
"Yeah, he's fine, no thanks to you."
"I'm sorry! He stepped outside for a second, but I swear, I didn't know he was gonna leave!"
"Because you were careless," he quickly rebukes. "I put you two together so that you would look out for one another, and in hopes that you would keep him in check," he lectures me.
"I know... I'm sorry I let you down but Peter is a human being with his own mind and who makes his own decisions. I can't control everything he does," I answer.
He sighs deeply and pinches the bridge of his nose. I stare at him through the screen, anticipating his next words. "You're right," he finally says.
I'm stunned. "I-I am?"
"Yes, but don't get used to it because I will always be right," he replies, making me roll my eyes. "I know it's impossible to make him or not make him do anything and it was unfair of me to expect you to do that. You're supposed to have fun at parties, not babysit... so I'm sorry."
"Thank you, Mr. Stark, and I promise I'll do my best to keep Peter out of trouble," I state.
He nods and says, "I know you will. Listen, I'm gonna arrive home tomorrow, so in the meantime just go to bed because you have school tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay. Thanks, Mr. Stark."
"You know, you don't have to keep calling me 'Mr. Stark,' that's too formal. You can call me Tony," he insists. I giggle lightly, knowing he dislikes formalities and feeling honored that he wants me to call him by his first name now.
"Right. Sorry, Mr. Star- Tony."
He playfully rolls his eyes and grins fondly. "Okay, well, I'm gonna let you go. Goodnight, y/n."
"Goodnight, Tony."