Hiding In Plain Sight

Chapter 12

Timeskip to two days later...

To say I was nervous was putting it mild. Mild like sauca at a chip and dip party at school without any peppers in it. My nervousness was about a hundred times that.

Today I was going to meet the avengers. The people I had looked up to for years and recently evaded as my alter ego, Spider-Man. What if I leaked something? Can they recognize my voice?

Somehow I have to get through school, a beat up from Flash, and then get to the tower. I also had to deal with the stab wound in my shoulder. My wound was from the black widow herself, when I was chased last evening by the very same people I would meet today.

It was still leaking blood and I kept having to replace the gauge, meaning I didn't sleep very well last night. I rewrapped it extremely tight, packed some extra bandages in my backpack, and then went off to the subway, which I almost missed.

I didn't have decathlon practice this morning, but I still came early. I found an empty wall and sat with my back against it, taking in the morning air. It was pretty chilly, but to me, it was freezing.

Ned arrived ten minutes later, courtesy of his mom's SUV. "Hey, Peter!" I waved without looking up from my phone. He sat next to me. "Today is when you meet the whole team right?" Ned was absolutely obsessed with the avengers, so the knowledge that I was going to meet them, blew him away. "You know we could've given you a ride, right?"

"Yeah, man. I just didn't want to bother you." He laughs and teases me, "You're an idiot, Pete!" Then, we do our special handshake and head our first period, gym. Hip hip hooray for us.

We went into the locker room to change, well, technically I changed in the bathroom off to the side, because I didn't want to show the fact that my nerd self was ripped and expose of my current injuries. That might be a little suspicious.

Unfortunately for me, today we were playing flag football where the coach doesn't pay attention so tackling is allowed. Did I mention how Flash is on the opposite team?

Fuck.

***

Fuck.

The avengers were coming in t-minus fifteen minutes and I was in the bathroom doing last minute bandaging of my shoulder. Why was there so much blood?

I slipped my sweater back over my head over the flannel shirt and starting wiping up the blood with a towel from my backpack.

Then, I braced myself for what was coming and started towards the living room. Apparently the avengers decided they would come early.

Captain Steve Rogers stood in the kitchen pouring several glasses of water. Hawkeye was having an argument with Mr. Stark, Natasha Romanoff interjecting when she thought necessary. Everyone else sat in the living room talking loudly, including Scarlett Witch, Falcon, Winter Soldier, and even War Machine.

I was about to turn around and go back to the bathroom, until Mr. Stark said, "There you are, Peter!" Well there goes that plan. The room went into a deathly silence. "Hi- hi..." My face turned into a tomato faster than a tomato could turn into me. (A/N: that doesn't make sense, does it...?)

The room was again erupted into loud chatter. "Where did you find him, Tony?

"He's adorable!"

"Almost like a cinnamon roll!"

"Can I adopt him?"

Mr. Stark held up a hand to silence everyone, then placed a hand on my shoulder to introduce me properly. "This is Peter, my personal intern!" He sounded... Proud?

Slowly but surely, I was introduced to all of the avengers in the room. Some even shook my hand. Ms. Romanoff was one of these people. She looked me up and down, probably taking note of visible bruise and cuts and my body language. She made me feel uneasy.

Eventually Mr. Barton suggested dinner and everyone murmured an agreement. I had asked Mrs. Games earlier, so I had approval to stay.

"How about Italian food?" Mr. Barnes asked to which Mr. Stark responded, "Nah... Maybe some chicken? What do you think, kid?" He looked towards me, who was sitting on the couch trying to take up as little space as possible.

I shrugged. "Whatever is fine, Mr. Stark." Mr. Barton stifled a giggle next to me. "It's Tony, Pete." My face reddened.

***

After the food and my attempts to keep up a simple conversation, I decided I should head home. "Hey, Mr. Stark?" Every head turned to me. "I should uh- probably get going soon."

"Alright, c'mon I'll drive you." There was really no need for that, so I tried to deny it. "That's not- necessary, sir! I- I can just walk."

Mr. Rogers spoke up, "Peter, it's like ten degrees out there and dangerous at night. Tony can-"

"And will drive you home," Mr. Stark interrupted, much to Mr. Rogers dismay. Ms. Romanoff looked at me strangely again. It was like she suspected me. "You okay, Peter?" She asked slowly, her voice full of suspicion.

"Yeah, what yeah! Of course- course I'm fine. I'm actually feeling really good right now." Right as I said that, everything went downhill and really, really bad.

**Cliffhanger, I'm sorry! Not sorry actually...

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