(Warning: This chapter has some... words included in it. For those who don't want to read them or want to skip over them, I'm afraid you can't, but you can read this warning. There's only a few of them, though, and I'm sorry if somebody doesn't like it—I don't like using them either—but it helps me write the characters better. I apologize if I offend anybody, though, and I'm deeply sorry if I do. That is all, thank you.)
Okay, wow, I can't believe I actually finished this chapter.
I was actually stuck on this for about—two weeks or so, maybe?—and was totally stuck on my other story, "Spiders Stick Together," when I was going through my files and found this. Figured I might as well finish it, right? And now it is finished!
...The chapter, not the story.
Nope, there's still one more! I might add in a little scene with Ned, but I'm mainly thinking about writing Peter's driving test. (I actually asked some people for opinions on how well a driver Peter'd be, and do you know what they said? They said, and I quote, 'I think he'd be pretty good, but I wouldn't trust him with my life if he ever tried.' Long story short, I died.)
Oh, and I'm also writing a new Meter story. I've been working on it for the past few or three months (it's called "Voicemails!") and I'm really excited to post it when it's done. I think y'all like it. Promise! :)
Anyway, I'm gonna end this little rant here so you guys can read now. Enjoy!
(Oh, and I almost forgot! Review Replies!
Nelinde A: Haha (*smiles sheepishly), I might have...? Lol, I hope it was okay. It had to do with driving and saw it as the perfect opportunity to fit it in, so, I thought, why not? Hope you enjoy the chapter! ;)
Tomorrow Maybe: Okay, can I just say that I might've totally fangirled/freaked out when you reviewed? I'm a huge fan of your work "Won't Fall Forever," (I don't review, but I've been working on that. I only read) and I'm so happy you decided to check out mine, so (*smiles brightly*) thank you! :D
Brentinator: Lol, sure, girl. XD.
Guest: Oh, (*blushes*) thank you! If you don't mind me asking though, which fits are you referring to? (I write too many works, I've kind of lost count by now) ;)
RachaelElizabeth: Aww, thank you! And don't worry, (*raises fake sword*) there shall be more Pony! This chapter's kind of full of it—past and present! :)
PanchitaGamer: And an update you shall receive! ;))
"Kid." Tony sighed. "When I told you to 'be happy that I'm letting you borrow a car at all', I did not think you'd dent it," He deadpanned as the two made their way back up to the top floor of the tower. They'd gone out for driving lessons for a little over two hours and even though—he had to admit—Peter's driving skills were pretty good, the dent in his new flawlessly-designed car wasn't.
And neither was the sprained wrist and fractured knee the boy received from crashing them into a tree.
'Hey.' Tony shrugged. 'Could've been worse.' They could've collided with the oncoming truck.
"Peter," He lectured his protege, as he watched said boy take his backpack from the backseat. "Don't take your eyes off the road, okay? Not even if it's for a second. So put your phone down or pull over."
Peter, in response, rolled his eyes. "Mr. Stark, it's just a text," He replied. "A text..." He checked his phone. "From Ned." But, still, being the smart and sensible person he was, pressed the auto-pilot button he spotted earlier. "There, better now?" He asked as he began to open his bag.
Tony smirked. "Better," He stated.
But it wasn't better. It wasn't better because the car was still a prototype and neither of them noticed that the auto pilot actually wasn't working until they nearly crashed into another car.
"Peter!" Tony screeched as as the boy glanced back at the street, the billionaire grabbed the wheel and immediately swerved them away—which wasn't the best plan, actually, considering the glass was now smashed and the car nearly flipped over as it suddenly swerved off the street and into a tree. But, still, it saved their lives and that was better than nothing.
'"Shit," the billionaire muttered under his breath and, instantly, turned to the boy beside him. It wasn't like he was half through the window, with glass sprinkled in his skin and skull, but his wrist—and, maybe, the rest of his arm—was dangled at a bad angle; and, that, was what did worry him.
"Shit," He muttered under his breath again. "Kid," He then called a bit louder and, at this, Peter seemed to stir. His glassy eyes glanced over their surrounding and, upon seeing this, Tony was worried the kid had a concussion. He supposed he should get him checked out...
"Mr. Stark?" The boy's voice broke into his thoughts and the billionaire, in response, immediately turned to look at his formerly-unconscious apprentice. The windshield hadn't exactly shattered when they swerved, but one of the windows did and, staring at Peter now, he could immediately spot some of the scratches and shards from it in the boy's skin.
He sighed. Of course Peter'd be in the driver's side, so he took more of the hit. Of course.
He swore quietly. Shit, there was no way the kid was gonna wanna get back into a car after this.
"W—What happened?" Peter asked as he watched his mentor get out of the car. "Uh, Mr. Stark?" He called, hesitantly. "What—Where—Where are you going?"
The billionaire rolled his eyes, but it wasn't so much out of annoyance anymore, more than it was out of concern—or, rather, a way to cope with it. He didn't like or didn't know how to deal with... emotions, so he covered them with his irritability. In a way, it made sense... Or, at least, he hoped it did. He wasn't really sure and, though, he was sure of lots of things, emotions were the one thing he wasn't sure of.
"Well..." He stated, sarcastically. "I was gonna get you out of here, but if you'd rather stay stuck for a few more minutes, I've seen a few shops and stores down the street..."
"No!" Peter suddenly screamed and, upon doing so, instantly downed the volume of his voice. "S-Sorry," He then apologized, muttering subtle swears under his breath. "Sorry, M-Mr. Stark. I-I mean, I could get out of here myself. I-I'm fine, really, you don't have to—"
"Kid." Tony stared the teen down in disbelief. "If you really think I'm gonna let you get out of a crashed car with a broken arm and a broken knee, all by yourself, then you have to be crazy, 'kay?"
"What? Uh, ah..." Peter winced in pain. "Fine." He finally sighed. He wasn't gonna win this argument anyway, what was the point of even trying? ...Plus, he was tired and wasn't exactly thinking clearly and though he did know lots of things, he also knew the fact that he couldn't recall any of them wasn't good.
"Good. Now, hold still." Tony had then reached over and tugged at the teenage superhero's seatbelt, but sighed when it seemed to be stuck. "Shit," He whispered. "Shit, kid..."
"Hmm? W-What is it?" The superhero asked, immediately snapping out of his dream-like stare. W-Why was he so tired? He just wanted to close his eyes and shut off his mind. He—He could do that, couldn't he?
Apparently not, because the next thing he hears is Mr. Stark screaming.
"Peter!" The billionaire screeched and, in response, the boy winced and groaned tiredly at how hard the noise hit his ears. His senses, ever since the spider bite, have been dialled to eleven, he knows that, he figured that out himself on his own, but this, this is different.
This time, he's not having a sensory-overload or a panic attack.
No, this time, he feels like he's having both.
He feels like he's having both and he feels like he's having both, at the same time.
He groaned and absentmindedly put a hand to his head. What was even happening right now?
"Peter!" Another scream reached his ears and, this time, the superhero almost screamed back in response. His head was pounding and—He opened his eyes—why was Mr. Stark pacing?
Or maybe he was spinning. Or maybe the entire room was. He couldn't really be sure.
"Peter," He heard again and, at this, the teen's eyes stopped scanning his surroundings, but rather stared at the man in front of him. He was now kneeling down on the ground, on the grass beneath them, placing a hand on his shoulder and staring at his face. What he was looking for... Well, Peter didn't know, but he assumed it was best not to ask, as that'd probably just make the billionaire more worried than he already was.
"Peter, can you hear me?" Sighing, the teen silently nodded. He didn't even have the energy to speak, nevermind bother trying.
"Okay, that's good. Can you tell me where you are? What happened? Can you stay awake? Can you do that for me?" Suddenly there was silence. "...Please?"
"Hmm?" The superhero mumbled. "Yeah, yeah... Uh, car crash I-I think...? Hit a-a..."
"Tree," Tony supplied and sighed at how tired the teen looked. "And, speaking of trees, can you stay here, against this one, while I call Happy?"
"A-Alone?" Peter asked. Usually he'd be fine with doing so—he'd been alone most of his life, it shouldn't have been a problem now, but it was. Because, with how much pain was in, the teen really did not want to be left alone right then.
"Only for a minute," Tony promised, as the teen nodded and, not even a second later, the billionaire began to wander off. As he did though, Peter couldn't help but sigh and close his eyes.
And then, he was out like a light.
"Hey, it's not like I meant to dent it," Peter muttered in defense, as he shifted on the med bed. After about twelve flights of stairs (the elevator was still broken, Tony had no clue why the repair guys didn't come to fix it yet, but they didn't and it was starting to annoy him), the two were finally settling down in one of the lounges/living rooms, Peter sitting down on the black leather couch, with his knee propped up on a pillow, until he could finally get it checked out.
"Besides." He smirked, gesturing to his left leg, where the swelling was now beginning to go down, little by little. "Shouldn't you be more worried about the fact that I dented my leg, rather than denting your newly-designed car? I'm a person, after all, that thing's a prototype."
"I should be," The billionaire admitted as he came back into the room, throwing the teen a Spider-Man designed blanket and a book, along with what looked like a remote for a TV. "But I'm actually worried about what excuse we're gonna use on your attractive, unsuspecting aunt... This time," He then added.
"Hey!" At this, Peter pushed himself up on elbows, but stopped when the room started spinning and Mr. Stark pushed him back down. "You should be lucky; I come up with excuses so you don't have to!"
"Ah." The former Stark Industries CEO rolled his eyes, as he stood up from where he was kneeling down, beside the couch. "Yes, because coming with excuses is so difficult, kid."
"It is!" Peter protested.
"Uh-huh." The billionaire nodded in amusement, but definitely not in agreement. "Anyway..." He scribbled something down on a piece of paper. "I have a call conference in about..." He checked his watch. "Twenty—no, twelve—minutes, but I'll be back in a few. You need anything, call F.R.I.D.A.Y, but try and get some rest until then, 'kay? I'm not sending you home till later, so you have some time to kill, kid."
"What?" Peter asked, addled, as he looked at the man, as if being alone in a billionaire's tower/compound was the worst thing that could ever happen to a someone at fifteen and he wasn't just sitting there with a fractured knee. "Why? What am I supposed to do until then?" He questioned, confused.
"Oh, I don't know," the billionaire stated sarcastically as he gestured towards the blanket, book and TV, alone with the AI in the ceiling. "Maybe sleep, watch some TV... talk to the—and this is a good one—AI in the ceiling?"
"Because, for Pete's sake, sir, the one who made me doesn't talk me," F.R.I.D.A.Y replied.
"Because you always talk back!" Tony defended himself as he sighed and shook his head. "Stupid artificial intelligence assistants," He muttered under his breath as he turned on his heels and then left, leaving the superhero to watch cartoons for the rest of the afternoon.
Yes, yes, I know what you're about to say—and, no, I don't read minds. But, I do know that you're about to say something along the lines of "Star, what happened to the ending? That was really short." And, yes, I do realize I could've came up with a better one, but, I haven't been sleeping a lot lately (it's so hard not to take naps before you start on homework) and I've injured my finger about three, maybe four, times in the last month since school's started as well, so my apologizes.
Don't worry, it's nothing serious. I've just been nailed (not literally, I was catching a football and it hit me right above the fingertips) on the nails a few times and got a cat-scratch today. I'm so used to it though, I should be fine in a few hours or so.
Anyway, I hope you guys liked this little chapter. Let me know if you guys have any ideas—I'm always open—and I'll try and fit them in, but that's only if I can. I don't want anything like "Oh, Ned's long lost sister is gonna Skype with Peter while visiting them from Alaska!" Just... please, that's not how it works. :)
I really hoped you guys liked this chapter though, and please let me know what you think below. I'm gonna try and update when I can. ;)
~Star
(By the way, SM: Homecoming comes out October 17! Less than ten days away! Who's excited? *raises hand* I know I am!)
