(A/N: I do not own Spiderman or Assassin's Creed. That right belongs to Ubsioft and Sony).
Peter awoke the next morning and went to school on a mission. He knew his objective well: Convince Standish to work with the Templars to gain access to the Observatory. Would it be easy? Not necessarily. Standish most likely already knew everything he needed to know about Assassins and Templars to know that he didn't care for either even though evidence suggested he was at one point in history the Grandmaster of the French Rite of the Templar Order during the years of the French Revolution.
Peter decided to wait until lunch so he can have time to sway Standish over to their side. He went about the first 3 periods of class with no sweat. When it was time for lunch, he gave a nod to Emmanuel and Chris who nodded back with smiles on their faces as they went to the cafeteria while Peter stayed behind.
The plan was simply this: Say that he had some computer issue, that he heard that John was a techno whiz and that he was willing to pay him a good sum of money for his help and he would lead him to Chris and Emmanuel and negotiations would then begin.
Little did Peter know, he was being spied on. From several feet behind, a trio of senior girls followed closely behind, attempting to be as conspicuous as possible while doing so.
"Alright, so we understand the plan?" Mary-Jane asked, whispering to the both of them as they followed Peter to the computer lab.
"You distract Peter and we lure John away from the lab. Got it" Gwen confirmed.
"Why exactly do YOU get to distract Petey? This probably needs more...intimacy, don't you think?" Liz asked with a smirk.
"Ok, first, barf. Two, you can't because A: Peter will probably feel awkward about talking to you considering what happened months ago and B: You caused a scene that involved Flash on Monday that Peter probably hasn't forgotten about. Remember?" Mary-Jane asked sternly.
"...Right. Fair points...still though" Liz said, a little embarrassed and whispering in the last part.
Mary-Jane rolled her eyes and looked to Gwen. Gwen didn't even bother to ask why she couldn't. The reasons were pretty obvious at this point and she didn't want to be reminded of how she hurt Peter for the umpteenth time.
That left the redhead amongst them who is practically Peter's only friend now (Besides the 2 Templars) and had the most leverage on him as they hadn't hung out in days and he hadn't really spoken to her either since Monday.
All of them continued to follow Peter until they finally reached the computer lab. Peter took a deep breath before going in. He was a little nervous. Despite him gaining a bit more confidence in the last few days, he was still a shy and reserved kid and found it difficult at times to talk to new people.
However, he knew this was for a good cause, to hold corrupt politicians and business leaders accountable for their actions so he sucked it up and caused himself to gain the level of confidence he had as Spiderman.
Peter walked into the computer lab. He scanned the room and saw John Standish at a corner of the lab. The 17 year old gave a smirk and started walking towards him.
The 3 girls followed quietly behind. Mary-Jane nodded to the 2 other girls. They stayed behind and hid behind the end of a group of lockers as Mary-Jane went inside.
The redhead saw Peter walking towards Standish. She walked towards him in a fast pace, quickly catching up to him.
Peter was getting close to Standish just before his Spidey-Sense tingled. Before he could even turn, Mary-Jane popped in front of him.
"Hey, Tiger" She said with a bright and kind of awkward smile on her face.
"Oh, MJ! Hi...I...I didn't expect to see you here...what are you doing here?" Peter said, awkwardly as he kept looking back and forth between Mary-Jane and Standish.
"Oh, I was just finishing up a paper due on Monday. That way I won't have any weekend homework, you know?" Mary-Jane asked.
"Yeah, I got you. Hey, listen, I know I haven't been talking to you all that much this week. I'm sorry about that. You just wouldn't believe how busy it's been. Why don't we do something tomorrow? You can come on over and we'll go to the Silver Spoon or something?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, sounds good, Pete but I'm getting kinda hungry now and I know it's both of our lunch periods. Why don't we go get a pizza from that pizza place down the street? Your treat" Mary-Jane said, poking Peter's chest playfully.
"Oh, uh...I'd...love to, MJ, really but I actually have to...do something right now. It's kind of important. Why don't we meet up tomorrow there?" Peter asked, trying desperately to get out of his friend's clutches.
"Ah come on, Tiger. It'll just be a quick slice of pizza. It'll take 20 minutes, tops. Besides...you owe me because you didn't call me like you were supposed to like I told you to on Monday. Remember?" Mary-Jane asked with a fake stern look but since it was a woman doing it, it had the same horrifying effect it would have had if it was real.
"Uh...right...so you promise it'll only take 20 minutes?" Peter asked, looking to Standish again. He figured he wouldn't be leaving any time soon anyway so he guessed it wouldn't hurt. He could eat anyway.
"Sure thing, Tiger. I'll have you back on here to do your nerd stuff in no time" Mary-Jane teased.
Peter rolled his eyes and sighed. He really had no time for this but she was one of his only friends. "Right"
Mary-Jane hooked her arms in his (But in a friendly manner).
"Now be a gentleman and escort a lady out of the room" Mary-Jane said, still in teasing mode.
Peter gave a sigh as he looked at the ground. What had he gotten himself into?
As they left the computer lab, Gwen and Liz quietly moved in and walked towards Standish who was just typing away on his computer, working on some complicated program.
They circled around him and just stood quietly for about 20 to 30 seconds before Standish noticed someone was behind him. He turned his head around. The Junior looked at Gwen and Liz staring down at him with awkward smiles on their faces.
Standish blinked for a few seconds and raised an eyebrow before saying "Uh….I'm sorry, can I help you two?"
"You're name's John, right?" Liz asked, trying to break the ice. She was failing miserably.
"Uh…yeah….why?" Standish asked, still feeling pretty uncomfortable.
"Well we heard you're kind of a computer whiz kid and we wanted to ask you if you could help us with a computer issue?" Gwen asked.
"Um...I guess so. Is this not something you can just do an internet search on?" Standish asked, kinda skeptical.
"Well...not really. It's nothing I've seen before and neither I nor Liz found anything" Gwen retorted.
"Ok...this honestly sounds kinda weird, really. I'm not sure how I feel about this" Standish said, a bit nervously.
"Oh come on, Johnny. Can't you come and help 2 Senior girls in desperate need of a strapping young man's knowledge?" Liz said, trying to flirt her way to getting John to do what they wanted him to do. She sat down in a chair next to him and traced a finger down his arm, causing John to shiver.
"Uh...I'm...involved with someone already. She wouldn't appreciate you doing that. Believe me, I know...and please just call me John" Standish insisted a little nervously.
"Oh, you already have a girlfriend? Who is she? We don't see you around a lot of girls" Liz asked, curiously though she had a feeling he was lying.
"It's...complicated...it's a sort of...long distance relationship, so to speak" Standish said, trying desperately to explain his situation as discretely as possible.
"I see...you know you don't have to lie about being nervous around us, John. We know the score at this point. I dated a cute nerd for a while" Liz said, fondly remembering her time with Peter.
"I'm not nervous, I assure you. Look, if you just came to make fun of me, it's not appreciated and I would like you to leave so I can continue my work" Standish insisted, getting a bit hostile.
"Oh no, John. That's not why we came at all. We have a serious problem and we would like your help. We'll pay you for your trouble. Everyone could always use money, can't they?" Gwen asked, trying to diffuse the situation Liz created.
John stared at the 2 girls. After a long while, he sighed.
"Alright. That's fine. Just let me save a few things first" John said as he typed away again on his computer.
*Cafeteria*
Harry got his tray filled and he sat down. As one could tell, he was not feeling good. His dad was a killer who tried to kill his best friend (Or former best friend probably), his girlfriend broke up with him so now he was single and she didn't even want to talk with him anymore right now. He was utterly alone and it didn't feel good. Then again, this was probably how Peter felt throughout the summer.
This isn't to say that he wasn't still angry at Peter but he was definitely less angry than he was before. The guy from last night was right. Peter acted in self-defense. He didn't murder his dad. It was also wrong to manipulate Gwen to staying with him even though it was also wrong for the both of them to conspire against him behind his back.
Harry needed to have a long and serious talk with the both of them. If he couldn't keep his girlfriend, he at least wanted to keep his 2 friends. However, there was just one issue: Peter was mad at him and Gwen. He was also friends with those 2 Templar goons or whatever they're called.
The rich young man scanned the area and found the two of them sitting alone together talking. That was odd, Harry thought. Where was Peter? Throughout the whole week, the 3 of them were practically inseperable.
While this was odd, it presented a good opportunity for Harry to find out what the hell was going on. He stood up and left his tray at his empty table. It really didn't matter to him if anyone came and threw it away. Cafeteria food wasn't really his thing anyway.
Harry marched to the table and sent a glare to the two of them. They quickly noticed and looked up at him.
"Uh….can we help you with something?" Emmanuel asked.
"What do you want with Peter?" Harry demanded.
"Maybe you should calm down a bit there" Chris said, raising an eyebrow.
"What. Do you want. With Peter?" Harry asked his question again.
Chris and Emmanuel looked at each other, confused then looked back to Harry.
"We're just being friends. He just seemed down and out. We thought he could use some company" Emmanuel answered with a convincing lie. With the business he was in, that was a required skill.
"Indeed. After you and your little girlfriend gave him the boot, we thought he could use some new friends" Chris said sternly.
"She's not my girlfriend, not anymore" Harry said, sadly.
"Oh, she didn't want a Romeo like you? Color me shocked" Emmanuel said with a grin, causing Chris to laugh.
This caused Harry's blood to heat a bit. "Don't bullshit me. I know what you 2 are!"
Emmanuel and Chris then suddenly stopped laughing and got strict looks on their faces.
"Uh….what exactly do you think we are?" Emmanuel asked, slowly standing up.
"You're part of some cult called the Templars or whatever and you want to use Peter to find a way to rule the world or whatever it is" Harry blurted out.
This was a mistake on his part.
Emmanuel slowly stood up and made his way towards Harry. When he was right in front of him, he waited a few seconds before speaking.
"I don't know where you heard that...and I don't know where you're going with this...but you better forget whatever that hooded menace or whoever told you" Emmanuel silently whispered in a calm but incredibly threatening manner. The glare was one that sent shivers down Harry's spine which didn't usually happen.
"Indeed, mate. Knowing that kind of stuff has caused things to...happen to some people" Chris said with the same glare.
"We're giving you one chance and one chance only to back off and leave this matter alone...we're on the verge of doing this world a favor and you are not going to spoil it for us. Got me?" Emmanuel asked.
"Or else what?" Harry said, retorting back and sending back a glare of his own.
"...You really don't want to know, man...Really. We like to think of ourselves as nice guys. That's why we're giving you this chance to walk away. Not many in our organization do. However, if you cause any interference with our plans...we're afraid we're going to have to take...drastic measures" Emmanuel whispered, emphasizing the last part.
Harry blinked rapidly at this not so subtle threat. He gave a small gulp.
"Harry...we're doing this for the good of mankind. To make a better and safer world for everyone. We are not a cult. We are a humane society" Chris insisted.
"I don't think many humane societieis give out threats to people, do you?" Harry said, glaring to Chris.
"It's all for the greater good. We can't allow anyone to interfere with our plans. Our work is too important" Chris said, standing up. He lightly pushed Emmanuel aside and stood in front of Harry
"And what about Peter? What if he knew everything I've found out about your group?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well first, you really don't want to do that...and plus, you heard about us from who exactly? One of those Assassins? That criminal organization? You think Peter will believe that load of crap from one of them? Harry, take it from me. I don't necessarily think you're a bad guy. You're certainly not a good one but I don't think you're a bad one. We're doing this for the improvement of society as a whole. I think you want to do the right thing….and the right thing is to let us do what we need to do...alright?" Chris asked, holding his hand out after his little speech.
After a long while, Harry took Chris' hand with his own and shook it.
"Good...now you better get back to your table. We'd ask you if you want to join but...let's be honest after this, it'd be too awkward" Chris said.
"Agreed" Harry said, turning and going back to his table.
That didn't turn out how he expected...but then again, when did things like that ever do?
That scum was right about one thing...he did want to do the right thing...and he knew what he had to do to do it.
*Pizza Restaurant, 18 minutes after Peter left the computer lab*
Peter looked at a clock as Mary-Jane still had a few bites left of a slice of pepperoni pizza. She's been on that same slice for about 10 minutes. It was the slowest he'd ever see anyone eat a slice of New York pizza...ever.
"So...do you want to hear about what I saw at the mall on July 17th at approximately 1:50PM?" Mary-Jane asked, desperately trying to make conversation to run the clock down.
"Uh...I'm good, honestly. MJ, listen, I REALLY need to get back and I believe our agreement was 20 minutes, yes? I really have to go before lunch period ends" Peter said, getting up.
"Uh-uh-uh, my phone says 19" Mary-Jane said, taking out her phone which was on a timer app at that moment which showed that they had indeed been out for 19 minutes.
"You're...timing this?" Peter asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes….I've made a habit of doing it. I like to keep track of that kind of stuff" Mary-Jane said.
"...O…...K?" Peter said with a raised eyebrow. This was getting pretty weird
"We all need hobbies, Tiger" Mary-Jane said with an open mouth smile. Peter just looked at her and blinked. He was getting nervous at this point.
"Right...MJ, look, I'm really sorry but I really must be going. Now" Peter said, edging farther away from the table.
"You sure you don't want to get a dessert or something? The canolis here are muah" Mary-Jane said, imitating a chef's kiss.
"Yeah, I'll pass. Next time. I'll talk to you later. I promise" Peter said as he started walking fast out of the pizza shop.
Mary-Jane quickly sent a text to Gwen asking if she and Liz got Standish out of the computer lab.
Gwen replied just as quick saying that their mission was accomplished in keeping him distracted and out of Peter's reach.
*School, Gym, 10 minutes before Lunch ended*
John was busy typing away at Liz's computer underneath the bleachers of the gym. He was asked by Liz to delete some pretty embarrassing photos (According to her) that were buried deep within Liz's computer. When asked about the location, Gwen just insisted they needed fully privacy as the photos were pretty humiliating.
"Alright, let me just make a script that will monitor every file on the system. It'll specifically look for photos and move them into a new folder. From there, you can delete as you please" John said, typing away.
"Great. Thanks a lot, John" Liz said. Gwen checked the time on her phone. 10 minutes until it was the end of lunch period.
"So, John...how long do you think this will take you?" Gwen asked, a bit nervous. Peter was probably already on his way back to the computer lab by now.
"Not too long. 5 minutes at best" John said, shrugging.
"Well just take your time...make sure you get everything" Gwen said, awkwardly smiling.
"Uh-huh...how much did you say you'd be paying me again?" John asked, looking at Gwen with a raised eyebrow.
"Uh...will $20 do?" Gwen asked, hopefully, fishing out a 20 dollar bill from her pocket. One of the only perks of being Harry's Girlfriend in name only was not having to worry about expenses. That was not the case anymore.
John rolled his eyes and took the money. He had given up working on a very important project for this?
"Fine" He said, clearly annoyed.
"So...what classes you have after Lunch, John?" Liz asked.
"History" John said, typing away.
"You uh...have someone called Peter Parker in that class...or any of your other classes?" Liz asked.
"Nope. Don't know him" John answered bluntly.
"Cool, cool. Just wondering" Liz answered, relieved.
"Why?" John asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No reason….He's just a nerd friend of mine and I was wondering if you ever heard about him" Liz came up with quickly.
"Well I don't. Anyway, the script's running now. It'll take about a minute...Damn, this thing is slow. Have you ever considered getting faster RAM?" John asked.
"Uh...yeah. I'll look into that" Liz said, not knowing what that meant.
"Alright...and...the pics are located in this folder here. Anyway, Lunch is ending soon and I gotta get prepared to go to my next class" John said, closing the laptop and giving it to Liz.
"Are you going back to the Computer lab?" Gwen asked nervously.
"No, don't have time. Have to pick up my project when I get home which I don't really want to do but whatever" John said.
"Sorry if we wasted your time" Gwen said, sheepishly but also relieved. That meant Peter wouldn't get to John and they could form a plan to get both him and Peter of these Templar goon's hands.
"It's fine….I have all the time in the world to do this, really. No skin off my back" John said, shrugging. He said that in a sort of curious manner. A bit morbidly like he'd been going through something like this over and over which made both the girls curious
"Oh ok, great. Thanks again" Liz said as she waved goodbye to John who walked away from the both of them.
When he was out of immediate hearing distance, Liz turned excitedly to Gwen.
"We did it! We actually did it!" Liz silently squealed.
"We shouldn't celebrate yet. We need to get Peter away from those two scumbags" Gwen said with disdain.
"You're really hung up on Petey, aren't you?" Liz said, frowning and raising an eyebrow, wanting Peter as well.
Gwen let out a deep sigh. "I...I need to make it up to him. I broke his heart and allowed him to be thrown in the arms of this cult. Once John is safe, I'll need to speak to Peter. To apologize to him and see if he'll get together with me as we were supposed to do months ago"
She said all this sincerely. She'd probably never forgive Harry for not only making her miserable by making her stay with him by guilt tripping her but more importantly making Peter depressed and sad as well. Well that would end soon. When they hopefully and finally got together, she would give Peter all the love and affection a kind, sweet boy like him deserved.
"Hm…" Was all that Liz said. She didn't mind a little friendly competition. She'd fight to be with Peter as well but she'd accept any decision Peter made. It was the least he deserved after what he went through over the summer even though he broke her heart as well.
They both went outside the gym and the bell rang for next period. Gwen and Liz smiled at each other and parted ways, going to their classes.