Identity Reveal
The last place Eugene Thompson had wanted to go for an Academic Decathlon field trip was Stark Tower. Not because he wasn't doing everything he could to someday get a job there, because he was. Not because he wasn't dying to catch a glimpse of the Avengers, specifically Natasha Romanoff. And not because he didn't want to spend the hours between 8am and 2pm not in school. No, he didn't want to go to Stark Tower because Peter Parker had an internship there. And it was a real internship. He knew this because he'd seen Parker's security badge in his backpack, complete with a picture of Peter's idiotic grinning face and the words 'Security Level 1' underneath. Now, Eugene wasn't an expert on security levels at Stark Industries...or anywhere else for that matter. But he knew that Level 1 was probably the best there was.
Not to mention the fact that Eugene had seen the man who was widely known to be Tony Stark's bodyguard and number one security man pick Parker up from school on Fridays every week for the last several months. That, combined with the rumors that Tony Stark had a secret son, and a photo on the internet that Flash had found, a blurry and widely debated photo, of Iron Man himself with a kid that was mostly hidden by the car they were climbing into, pretty much cinched it for Eugene. As much as he hated the idea that Penis Parker had somehow wormed his way into an internship with Tony Stark, facts were facts.
The people on the messenger boards went back and forth on the identity of the kid in the photo, and even on whether or not that was even Tony Stark beside him, a hand on the car door, but Flash knew. Because Flash had been in the same class as Parker since third grade. He'd pushed him off of swings and into lockers, had tripped him on the playground and made up taunts about Peter and Ned that had gone around the school yard. And all throughout the years, he had watched Parker, looking for ways to make him miserable.
So yeah...Flash knew what Peter Parker looked like. And Flash knew that the kid in the picture with Tony Stark was Peter.
He also knew that Peter had an after school hobby other than his internship with Stark Industries.
He hadn't meant to follow Parker after school three weeks ago. He hadn't meant to glimpse down that alley on his way to the coffee shop before he headed home. He hadn't meant to see Peter in his boxers, yanking the suit up, and he'd been ready to mock. Ready to tell the whole school that Peter Parker was pretending to be Spider-Man in a baggy red pair of pajamas. But then, Peter had pressed a hand against the chest of the suit, pulling the mask over his face...and then he'd climbed the brick wall.
And that's when Flash had known, all of the memories flooding back. The things he'd said about Spider-Man...about how cool he was, and how he was the best superhero. And all that time...Parker had never said a thing. Had never opened his mouth. Had never fought back when Flash had shoved him around, had never even cornered him in a dark alley as Spider-Man like Flash might have done had their roles been reversed. But no...Peter had let Flash mock him and make jokes...had let Flash tell the whole school that he was lying about his internship when the guy had obviously met not only Tony Stark, but also all of the Avengers. And so Flash had kept his mouth shut.
So no. Flash didn't want to go to Stark Industries. Not with Parker, who had a real internship there, and who was, somehow, inexplicably, a superhero. The last thing he wanted was to have to face that head on. But it wasn't like he had a real reason to stay home. So he had his father's personal assistant sign his permission slip and climbed onto the bus with everyone else, pointedly ignoring Parker as he dropped into a seat behind his buddy Ned and across from MJ, who was their new team captain. It didn't matter, he told himself, pulling out his phone. It didn't matter that Parker had friends, real friends that stood by him no matter what, or that he had an aunt that actually gave a shit about him, or that he had an internship with Tony Stark and superpowers just to top it all off. None of that mattered.
He checked his texts, scrolling through the one-sided conversation he'd been attempting with his father about his upcoming birthday party, and whether or not the man in question would be attending. He doubted it...he hadn't seen his father on his birthday since he was ten, and even then, it had been a quick drop in. The year after, he'd told Flash that he was too old now to need his dad to be there for a birthday party, and so Flash had never asked outright again. Sitting with his head resting on the back of the seat, eyes fixed on the ceiling of the bus, Flash wondered if Tony Stark had been at Parker's birthday. Or if the Avengers had thrown him a party or something. He was Spider-Man...did that mean he was officially an Avenger? Or an Avenger in training?
They all climbed off the bus as soon as they pulled into the Stark Industries parking lot, and Flash tried not to watch as Peter scanned his badge, a small, happy smile on his face as he stepped into the building that must be like a second home to him. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fucking fair that Peter Parker got everything he wanted and was still like this...a person that would become a superhero. Someone that Tony Stark would want to spend time with, when Flash couldn't even get his own father to come to his birthday party.
He hadn't talked to Parker in weeks. Hadn't even had the heart to stick a foot out when Parker had walked by his desk, his nose in his phone, the day before. And when MJ had made him an alternate, Flash hadn't said a word. She was Parker's buddy, and he doubted he'd have a chance in hell of winning that argument. He'd been thinking about dropping Academic Decathlon. Peter fucking Parker was the golden boy wherever he went but maybe if he joined something else...Parker had quick chess, and Flash was pretty good at it. But nothing else would look as good on his resume as Aca Dec...
The explosion knocked Flash off of his feet, and before he realized what was happening, he was sprawled on the floor, blood in his mouth, and a ringing in his ears that drowned out everything else. The world seemed to spin around him, too fast for him to focus on anything, and he coughed, blood dripping onto the floor that was only inches from his face. Blinking through the dust and grit that filled his eyes, Flash realized that it wasn't just his ears ringing...it was an alarm. And screaming. People were screaming. He tried to sit up, grimacing when there was a sharp pain in his side. Groaning, he dropped his forehead against the floor, taking deep breaths and trying to focus despite the chaos around him.
Glancing up, he realized that Parker was only a few feet away, sprawled out on his back, eyes closed. But then, the other boy rolled over, pressing his hands into the floor and grimacing, dropping back onto the ground, mouth open as he panted.
"Parker?" Flash called, his voice coming out a rasp.
Parker planted his hands again, grimacing as he pushed himself upright, balancing precariously on his knees and swaying a little as he pressed his hand to his head. Flash doubted he'd even heard him. Looking around the room that continued to spin, all Flash could see was dust and smoke, his eyes refusing to focus on anything else. There were shapes in the smoke, and screaming, but Flash just turned back to the boy across from him. Spider-Man. Did he know what the hell was going on?
Based on the way he was slowly pushing himself to his feet, he did.
Peter hesitated as gunshots filled the air, his eyes flashing to Flash for the first time.
"Go," Flash mouthed, and Peter's eyebrows shot up. They were only a few feet away from each other, but the smoke made it seem further. "Go, Spider-Man." His voice was barely audible even to himself, but Peter could obviously hear him. Of course he could. He was Spider-Man...Flash's favorite superhero. He could do anything.
Flash's lips twitched in a smile, the first honest one he'd ever given Peter Parker, and his classmate smiled in return, hesitant and worried and hopeful all at once. Flash jerked his chin toward the door where the action was happening and Peter nodded, grabbing the backpack that had landed beside him and disappearing into the smoke.
