Author's Note: This one is practically writing itself! Three chapters, two more and I'll have broken my own record. Also "This means the dialogue is taking place in a flashback." I own nothing.

3. Friends

By some miracle Piper made it to school on time and even had a bit to spare as she stopped by her locker to drop off her backpack and grab the text book she needed for first period. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her best friend in the world walk up to her locker. Mary Jane Watson was the sweetest, and yet somehow scariest person Piper knew and that was saying something considering she lived with two of the world's most deadly assassins and the Hulk. MJ had been there for her since the beginning, had helped her through her Aunts death and offered to take her in when he Uncle died. They had stayed fast friends through all of it and she was the first person, and one of the only people, Piper had told when Tony had decided to officially adopt her.

"Piper! I've been calling all morning! Where have you been?"Piper grinned sheepishly.

"Umm, bus broke down?" It was true that Piper had once taken public transportation to school, it was quite a way from Avengers Tower to Midtown, let alone Midtown high. Tony had let her pick what school she wanted to go to when he'd taken her in, in the hopes that it would help her retain some sense of normalcy. She chose to continue with the friends she already had. MJ rolled her eyes.

"Sure it did. Anyway I wanted to show you this!" She held up her phone and started playing one of Jameson's news casts, one of his anti Spider-girl news casts. Piper frowned as Jameson yelled about 'that ticking time bomb, Spider-girl'.

"Doesn't that jerk ever shut up?" MJ smiled.

"Someday that jerk will give this Journalism student her first job!" Piper's eyes widened in surprise.

"What! You wanna work for Jameson?" Of course MJ didn't know that by ragging on Spider-girl Jameson was also ragging on Piper. Piper hated lying to her oldest friend but it was only to keep her safe.

"Jameson is the biggest game in town. We gotta be realistic, not all of us have a millionaire for a dad, not all of us can be like Harry." Piper smiled at her friend knowing that she didn't hold the fact that she had Tony Stark for a dad against her, mostly because it had never changed her. At that moment Harry Osborn made his way down the hall, high fiving someone from their math class, Piper couldn't remember his name off the top of her head. He was her other best friend. He'd been a friend when she'd really needed one.

It had been two years ago when her dad had been kidnapped in Afghanistan, she had been on her way home to Stark Tower where she was staying alone while Pepper did paperwork back at Tony's Malibu mansion. Her rear tire had popped and she had almost crashed into a tree. She had scrapped up her hands pretty bad on the pavement and broken her glasses, which wasn't that big of a shame because they were hideous but she was practically blind without them. Lightning flashed as she tried to fix her bike and shivered in the rain. Then the limo had pulled up and Harry had rolled down the window.

"Hey, Piper Parker?" She had nodded.

"Yeah." He had grinned his million watt smile.

"It's me, Harry Osborn, you know from school. Get in." He had hopped out of the limo to help her get her bike into the trunk and had even given her his jacket when she'd shivered in the rain.

"Thanks." He had smiled and opened the door for her before sliding back into the limo himself. Norman Osborn had sat across from her looking stoic, she really couldn't tell if he was angry or not. Piper buckled her seatbelt as the limo drove off.

"Thanks Harry, you didn't have to." His million watt smile was back.

"Not a problem." Harry turned to his dad as Piper brushed her soaking shoulder length hair out of her face and pulled it back securing it with the rubber band she always wore for such occasions.

"Dad, this is the girl I told you about, the one who's always getting beaten up." Norman nodded at Piper.

"Sounds like you could use some friends Piper." Piper nodded holding her broken glasses in between her fingers.

"That would be really nice sir."Harry had watched her out of the corner of his eye.

"And maybe you could be a friend to my Harry, help keep his mind on his studies." Harry had huffed crossing his arms.

"I wish you would stop micromanaging my life."

"Give me reasons not to." Piper had glanced back and forth between the two.

"Umm, I just met you both but I think it's great your dad cares so much." Norman had raised an eyebrow at her.

"You sound like you speak from experience." Piper hand nodded.

"I can't even really remember my dad, I was three when he died. I'm adopted. But Pepper busts my butt when I get out of line, she's kind of like my mom." Norman smiled.

"And Piper's none the worse for that is she Harry?" Harry had stared at his dad, stunned then grinned at Piper.

"He's smiling, my dad is actually smiling. How did you do that?" Piper grinned and shrugged.

"It's a gift." They had been practically inseparable since then. About a week after that fateful car ride he had found out who her adoptive father was. She'd been scared that he wouldn't want to be her friend anymore considering their fathers weren't on good terms at all. It seemed to make Harry even closer to her though, being the only two high profile rich kids at Midtown high, even if almost no one knew that that's what Piper was. He had helped her through Tony's kidnapping and celebrated with her and MJ when he had come home.

Her day to day life was pretty good, she really couldn't complain about much if she was honest. Then her spidey-sense went crazy, she flinched.

"Oh puny Piper!" Except for that. Piper turned and spotted Flash Thompson crushing his fist into lockers. He had been bullying her since she was in preschool. He was the reigning football star so no one stood up to him even though he stuffed her in her locker at least once a week. She wondered what would happen if she turned the tables and took him down once. The locker door slammed closed in her face, she sighed.

"But if I did that, I'd be everything Jameson ever accused me of."