A/N: I'm having too much fun writing this, lemme tell you.

Thanks for following, favoriting, and reviewing this story guys! I'm trying to update it at least once a week. Again, I have a lot of time on my hands, so I feel pretty confident that I'll be able to stick to a regular updating schedule.

As you'll see in this chapter, I've decided to follow the storyline of Spiderman: Far From Home for the rest of the fic. There are going to be several changes, but I'm using the basic plot and dialogue from the movie as an outline and going from there.

Feel free to send me any ideas you have for the fic, and I just might include them ;)

"AAAAND IIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEIIIIIIII WILL ALWAYS LOOOOOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUU…"

The Avenger's tribute video that was being displayed on the school's news channel had clearly been slapped together by a couple of freshmen on iMovie, and, in Flash's opinion, willingly submitting himself to that garbage could be considered masochistic.

Rolling his eyes, he stuck in the airpods his father had bought him for his 16th birthday (although, interestingly enough, the card actually read "happy 15th birthday, Eugene," not that Flash blamed him- he probably just got mixed up because of the blip- yeah, that must have been it...) to drown out the video.

He didn't mean any disrespect to the fallen Avengers. He was as devastated as the rest of the world when the news broke that they had died in the post-blip battle, but at least he had the consolation that his favorite hero, Spiderman, was spared in the bloodbath.

Flash couldn't help but feel a strong connection with the masked vigilante. Not only did the guy save him in Washington after the Academic Decathlon, but he had personally asked permission to use his car to take down the Vulture! That basically promoted Flash to sidekick status.

Well, it was his father's car actually, and Spiderman totally wrecked it, but still.

But while a lot of people at Midtown High took the news pretty hard, none had taken it as hard as Penny Parker.

He couldn't help but frown at the thought. Poor Parker. She had been a total wreck- eyes bloodshot, her excited mannerisms completely subdued. The girl had even gotten a C on their first chem quiz of the semester, which was a first for the little nerd.

Flash was able to move up a class rank as Penny's grades continued to slip, but, to his surprise, he wasn't able to enjoy it.

The first Friday they were back she had missed school entirely, and it was rumored that she had gone to attend Tony Stark's funeral. Flash seriously doubted it- he had heard that only Avengers, Shield agents, and the closest friends and family of Stark were permitted entry- but that didn't stop people from whispering about it while she was gone.

While it was clearly devastating for her to lose her greatest hero, thankfully, she had recovered quickly. Her smile came back, her grades shot up, and Flash was knocked down a class rank.

Flash figured Parker was an expert at grief management by this point- having already mourned the deaths of both her parents and her uncle, Penny was no stranger to loss.

Not that he was trying to give her any credit or anything. She was still a total loser.

But she's a total loser with a major secret, and that makes her interesting.

Flash cringed at the thought- heaven forbid anyone find out he actually referred to Penny Parker as interesting. He'd never hear the end of it. This was the girl who never went to any parties despite having only two extracurriculars (and he was still pretty sure one of them was made-up), the girl whose only close friends were a Star-Wars and video game obsessed mega-nerd and the most cynical, slightly-terrifying wallflower chick he had ever met. By definition, Penny Parker should not be classified as interesting.

And he would also never, ever hear the end of it if anyone found out that he was taking notes on her, desperately trying to unravel the mystery that was Penny Parker. With so little progress made in recent months, he would really have to kick it into high gear to figure out whatever the heck she was hiding before graduation.

The blip had definitely been a major sidetrack. After having a minor mental breakdown upon the realization that he had lost five years on earth, he decided to temporarily give up his investigation on Penny Parker, instead deciding to simply live in the moment with those closest to him. Life was short, right? Might as well enjoy it.

Unfortunately, most of his friends didn't blip and were now out of college, and his parents… were busy. All. The. Time.

So, with nothing better to do, Flash continued to study the girl like she was a specimen under a microscope.

Yikes. That was a weird comparison.

Flash slid into his seat for first period just before the bell rang, taking out his airpods and trying (and failing) to pay attention to Ms. Harrison's droning voice.

His eyes flickered over to the girl sitting two seats ahead of him, mind racing.

Now was his chance to catch-up on his sleuthing. In two days, they were going to be heading out to Europe for their summer science trip- this would be his only chance to finally nail down that secret of hers before the next semester started. There would be no school to distract him, and with so few people coming on the trip, it would be easy to watch her every move.

Suddenly focused, Flash pulled out his notebook and a pen. He seriously needed to come up with a plan.

"I have a plan."

Ned raised his eyebrows at Penny's eager tone, setting down his comic book in interest. She plopped down in the desk next to his, scooting close to her confidant with barely suppressed exuberance.

"Okay! First, I sit next to Brad on the flight."

"Mhm."

"Second, I'm gonna buy a dual headphone adapter and watch movies with him the whole time."

"Okay."

"Third, we go to Paris, which is like the most romantic place on earth-"

"I mean, that's highly debatable given the multiple factors that would go into determining-"

"Ned!" Penny shoved his arm. "C'mon!"

He shrugged her off, laughing. "You were the one who suggested I join the debate team! I'm just saying that there are other arguably more romantic places for people our age to enjoy, like the back row of a movie theater, or the Chili's parking lot."

Penny pressed her lips together, boring her eyes into his. He sighed, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

"Alright, alright, it's the most romantic place on earth. What happens next?"

She resumed her eager grin, clasping her hands together. "Fourth, when we get to Paris, I'm gonna take him to the top of the Eiffel Tower, grab his hands-"

"Ooh, assertive! Get it, girl!"

"-And then five, I'm gonna tell him how I feel...And six, hopefully he tells me he feels the same way." She bit her lip, smiling to herself. "What do you think?"

"Well, don't forget step seven."

She stiffened, instantly grabbing her pen and fumbling for her notebook. "Step seven..?"

"Don't do any of that."

Penny froze mid scrawl. "What? Why?" Her eyes widened. "You don't think he's into me? Is my plan totally stupid? Oh my gosh- he's going to laugh at me at the top of the Eiffel Tower and then I'll have to throw myself off and fake my own death and-"

Ned dismissed her with a hand wave. "Nah, he's totally into you. MJ said so, and she knows everything about everybody. She even knew Coach Wilson's wife was divorcing him before he did. It's those freaky powers of observation."

Penny slumped back in her chair. "Then why shouldn't I do it?"

Ned spread out his arms in a grand gesture, smiling like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Because we're going to be bachelors in Europe, Penny!"

Penny frowned at him, and his smile wavered. "Well, bachelor and bachelorette. You know what I mean. And look, I may not know much, but I do know this: Europeans love Americans."

Penny cocked her head at him, scrunching up her eyebrows. "Really? 'Cause I don't think that-"

"C'mon Penny! Harry Styles! Nial Horran! Liam Payne! All beautiful European men!"

"Don't hold my middle school obsession with One Direction against me, Ned. I was young. Naive."

He rolled his eyes. "Seriously, though. You would really throw away all of that glorious opportunity for Brad?"

"I dunno! I really like him, okay? He's super smart, he's funny, he goes out of his way to come over and talk to me and I feel like he really listens-"

"And it helps that he got super tall and totally jacked in the five years we spent as sawdust."

Penny punched his arm playfully, immediately apologizing when he let out a sharp "Ow! Super strength much?"

"What up, dorks? You guys excited for the science trip?"

MJ strode in from behind them and slid in a seat across from the two, leaning into the conversation.

Ned, still rubbing his shoulder, said "Yeah, Penny's created a plan and everything."

She quirked an eyebrow. "You have a plan?"

"Y-yeah, kinda…" She started picking at the hem of her shirt, suddenly embarrassed. "It's stupid though…"

"Okay, let's hear it." She propped her elbows up on the desk, resting her chin in her palms. Her expression was teasing, as if she already knew that the words coming out of her mouth would be completely moronic.

Or she really was genuinely interested and she was just being MJ. This was just as plausible.

At the same time that Penny was squeaking out "uh I'm just going to collect tiny spoons or something," Ned said "it involves drooling over Brad's sexy abs."

Penny shot him a glare, restraining herself from smacking him again, even though he totally deserved it.

MJ, to Penny's surprise, nodded in understanding. "Ah, yes. Brad Davis. Scrawny middle school dweeb turned Greek god."

"Yeah… and um, Ned said something about you thinking he likes me or whatever…" Penny trailed off, glancing up at her expectantly, but MJ made no move to respond.

Penny blinked. "So…?"

MJ started picking at her cuticles. Ned was stifling a laugh.

Penny groaned, setting her fists on her desk. "C'mon, MJ I'm dying here! Does he like me or not?"

"Does who like you?"

"MJ!"

"Alright, alright, chill out, Parker! If you didn't make such priceless facial expressions I wouldn't tease you so much." The corners of her mouth quirked up in a smile. "Yeah, I think Brad Davis has a little thing for you."

"Yes! Wait-" Penny froze in the midst of her victorious fist-pump. "A little thing? What's the difference between a thing and a little thing?"

"Brad Davis having a thing for you would mean he's totally into you and is planning to ask you out," MJ started, her tone authoritative. Penny had the sudden feeling that she should be taking notes. "I'm defining his feelings for you as a little thing because he is interested, and he definitely thinks you're cute," -Penny shamelessly blushed at this- "but he's still trying to figure you out. He's not 100% sure yet, you know?"

"Figure out? What's there to figure out about Penny?" Ned forced out a laugh, elbowing her in the ribs. "Penny's the most straightforward, non-secretive, and completely ordinary person I know!" He continued to laugh and "slyly" shot her a wink, much to her chagrin.

If he weren't her best friend, she'd seriously consider firing him as her guy in the chair.

Before MJ could ask him what the hell is your problem you weirdo? And before Penny could silently agree with her, her Penny tingle (she really had to come up with a better name for that) was set off, and she found herself unwittingly glancing behind her.

"Hey guys!" Brad Davis himself, his perfectly white teeth flashing in a brilliant smile, sauntered beside them. "Hey Penny," he said, his smile widening as he caught her glance. "Talking about the science trip?"

"Among other things," MJ replied in a knowing tone, exchanging a look with Ned. Penny wished for nothing more than to melt into the floor.

Penny opened her mouth to say something that was hopefully cool and confident, or at the very least not completely embarrassing, when out of nowhere Ned blurted "Penny's collecting tiny spoons!"

She snapped her jaw shut. So much for cool and confident.

"Tiny spoons?" Brad squatted next to her so they were at eye level. She felt heat creep up her neck. "Are they for your grandmother or something?"

MJ, likely sensing that Penny was in no mental state to respond coherently, interjected with "Actually, Penny's not collecting tiny spoons. I am."

Brad stared at her. She stared back emotionlessly. "I like small things," she shrugged. "Makes me feel like a giant."

There was a pause. Then he started nodding slowly. "Huh. That's cool, MJ. Have fun with that."

"I will."

He stood back up to his full height. "Well, I gotta head out, but I'll see you guys at the airport on Sunday."

"Yeah, totally! We'll see you then!" Penny, who had finally regained her voice, winced at the overabundance of enthusiasm in her tone.

If Brad noticed, he didn't let on. Instead he just smiled and waved before ducking out of the room.

She sighed once he was out of view, slumping back into her seat. Her tingle was set off again, and she turned to her friends, who were both staring at her intently.

"What?"

They shared devious grins, and then, both in mockingly high-pitched voices, squeaked out "Yeah, totally! We'll see you then!" Ned doubled over in laughter while MJ started making loud kissing noises.

"Oh my gosh, shut up guys," Penny hissed, covering her face in her hands. She couldn't help but smile behind her fingers, though. She really loved these two idiots.

Even if her plan with Brad totally flopped and he decided she was a total weirdo, she knew this trip was going to be amazing. Spiderman really needed a break, and she hadn't had the opportunity to just kick back and hang out with her friends in forever.

This was going to be a good trip.

She had a tingle about it.