Dinner and Decisions

Denny's was a pleasant surprise for Peter: It was kind of a breakfast diner, but with burgers and waffle fries available along with milkshakes. He found the burger buns a little stale, but it was nice to eat with friends for a change, especially when he was out of town.

He, Billy and Jason were grabbing a late lunch early dinner at the resteraunt, which he know could admit; he had seen the logo back in New York before, but never visited…

"Isn't this kind of weird?" Billy asked suddenly, bringing Peter out of his musings.

"Two…nerds and a jock?"

"Former jock." Jason corrected, looking down at his food. With a sigh, he then revealed what he had been hiding from Peter:

"It was a dumb prank idea that involved a couple of cows and bull. We got caught durin setting….well, I did, I got hurt at the same time and…."

He stopped.

Billy whispered to Peter:

"It was on the news and in the papers."

Peter winced, vaguely recalling something he'd spied on the fridge back at the Scott family home. While they didn't pry for more information, for which Jason was grateful, the two smarter boys did feel some pity for their newfound friend.

"Hey, nobody was hurt!" Billy pointed out before realizing what he'd said. "I mean…!"

Jason waved it off.

"No prob, its fine. Just wish the guys hadn't ditched me afterwards…."

'Then they aren't real friends." Billy said bluntly.

Jason actually smile at the other boy before noticing Peter was giving him a similar note

"Like Billy said," Peter mused. "At least no one got hurt, and you're learning from it. Like I did."

Jason recalled Peter saying those words earlier…no wait, Peter had implied that he had made a mistake that cost someone their life….

And then the words hit him in full:

Peter had did something…that ended up getting someone killed.

"What do ya mean…?" Billy started, only to see Jason coughing into his fist and shaking his head 'no.' Billy caught onto this and, not wanting to end this outing on a downer, suggested:

"How about we forget all that and just enjoy these burgers?"

They enjoyed the rest of their meal in peaceful silence, until Peter asked

"So…the science teacher and judges? How strict are they?"

Jason chuckled at some memory as Billy began to fill Peter in on the judges and some of the past science fairs. Peter recalled one student had made something that could turn compost into somewhat edible bars, but it ended up looking like a big in a Spartan helmet…somehow.

With their burgers eaten, Jason and Peter dropped Billy off at home, waving goodbye as they headed back home, Jason wincing all the way.

Peter was suddenly reminded of web-slinging and the idea of giving Jason a lift that way before squishing it. Secret identities and all that.

SMPR

And now, the time had come to deal with the biggest problem Peter had ever faced in his life, barring supervillains of course:

What the heck was his project for this upcoming fair going to be?

Angel Grove's science Fair had the luck of attracting the likes of Mr. Stark, Reed Richards and others, including but not limited to Trask, Hammer and Mercer Industries just to name a few. The standard Volcano exhibit wouldn't cut it; anyone could do that. No, Peter had to do something more up the alley of a genius student…which luckily for him, he was.

But before he could pat himself on the back TOO much, he then remembered Kimberly. Sure, she hadn't been the nicest to him at first, but that hardly meat she should fail while he got all the credit; it wouldn't be fair. Besides, she seemed to making an attempt to help now, so all the more reason to find something like that.

The problem with that, was that it meant Peter had to make sure that on top of being something that would impress the scientific and corporate admission teams that visited the fair, it also had to be something Kimberly could follow along with and contribute. In other words, 'dumbing' it down, as much as he hated using such words.

Peter was not usual a vain guy; he knew he was smart and was proud of that. However, it did sort of irk him at the same time; not having too many intellectual 'equals' in his age bracket, which killed socializing.

To say nothing of superhero work.

"What I wouldn't give for more people to be kind of more like me.." he mused. "Mr. Stark's lucky he has Mr. Rhodes and…"

…

…

And then it hit him:

The strange energy from the cave…it had reminded him of the reactor in Iron Man's suits...He could look into the strange energy and compare it to Mr. Stark's reactor! IF he went even further, he could, and he'd be pushing his luck if he did this…try and figure out how Metahumans could be predicted!

….

Yeah, scrap that last part. Just focus on finding a way to create Reactor tech on a more 'normal' level.

He quickly jotted down his notes and began to research (this was just a idea after all) before Mrs. Scott called him for dinner, where he found himself being 'forced' to sit next to Pearl.

"I'm jealous, Pete." Jason teased him as they served themselves some salad and pasta. "Pearl's starting to like you more than me."

Peter chuckled weakly as the little girl edged her seat a little closer to him

"So…how'd go?" Mr. Scott asked. "Fishing wasn't too great on my end…"

Jason shrugged but eyed Peter suddenly

"What did the Principal want with you?"

Peter chuckled again, choosing his words carefully

"Turns out my aunt somehow found out about the whole detention thing…she gave him a piece of her mind and well…"

"You're off the hook?" Mrs. Scott asked.

"Apparently."

"Your aunt sounds…" Jason apsued. "Kind of…"

"Protective? Intense?" Peter suggested

"Yeah."

"She is." Peter confirmed. "Great woman, bets mom I could've asked for…and all I really got left."

The Scotts picked up on this, but before anyone could inquire or change the subject, Peter beat them to it

"Sau, didn't Pearl have a show today or something?"

The little girl beamed as she began to recall the events of the movie her mother had taken her to, and smiles were soon all around.

SMPR

Before climbing into bed, Peter realized something: He hadn't yet made a vlog posting in two full days. Still a little energized from all the brainstorming and possible project blue-prints/ notes, he looked around to make sure nothing could interfere before booting up his computer and then tunring on the camera to record

"Hey, Peter here again." He announced. "Kind of a hectic two days; I got sent to detention by accident, made a couple friends…and now I'm in the process of slowly figuring out what I'm going to do for the big Science Fair. Got a possible idea, need to run in by my partner tomorrow. Just a quick little update here, I'll go into more details tomorrow. Good night and all that."

Shutting everything down, he suddenly realized he probably could've gone into more detail and at least explained WHY he was in detention 'accidently' but Peter didn't want to put any names to faces just yet or get in any kind of trouble by uttering a name and then sparking some outrage….Mr. Stark wouldn't like that, and he had enough on his plate to deal.

Sides, Aunt May at least knew, and she could pass the info onto Ned.

And on that note, speaking of dealing….

Peter made a note to look into seeing how New York was taking to Spiderman being gone for a few days first thing in the morning. Probably nothing to big, but still, it would boost his ego to see if he was missed, even just a bit…certainly more than Peter Parker was.

He'd give Aunt May a call after all that and then…?

Stifling a yawn, Peter decided he'd figure that out in the morning.

SM-PR

Unknown to our web-slinging hero, activity was brewing in the cave he'd visited the previous night…..

Read and review would ye kindly?

Happy Holidays, one and all!

Merry Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza and all the other holidays! Or, if you don't celebrate those (I do some people who do not), keep warm and safe.

Another short chapter, and filler no less, but here it is! Sorry for the delay yet again; I got hacked and had to rewrite this from scratch, plus the holidays, a few job interviews and late night seminars plsu helping my grandma move in. I appritaite all your patience and understanding.

I'll hopefully do two more chapters before New Year, but once again, I implore upon you readers for suggestions for chapters and events for myself and justimtaylor48. If you have any of those, or heaven willing, would like to become a co-writer so that the story can get out there faster and sooner, yet hopefully just as good, PM either of us and we shall start talks on the subject.

Once again, thanks for everything and Happy Holidays. Stay warm and safe.