Chapter Text
MONDAY - 2:45 PM
As soon as the bell rang, Ned hurried down to Mr. Harrington’s room for Academic Decathlon practice. He knew that they were going on a field trip at the end of this week, but the location hadn’t been announced yet. They were getting their permission slip today, which gave him 4 days to convince his mom to let him go to Disney World.
Okay, he wasn’t sure that’s where it was going to be, but he really hoped they could go to Disney World.
All eyes turned to him when he walked in the room, and he knew exactly why. Everyone (except Flash, maybe) was really worried about Peter and Ned would be the only person with news on his whereabouts.
Except Ned had no idea where he was. He hadn’t been in school at all in the past week, and this was about to be his second straight week of absences.
Peter had texted Ned exactly seven days ago around midnight. It read,
Hey Ned, going on a mission. Won’t be back for a while. May’s going to call in sick for me, tell everyone I have a fever pls. See you soon dude, I promise to be careful.
Ned was worried. Of course he knew his friend was still on the mission and wouldn’t have his phone with him, but his life was probably in danger. Ned wanted to be able to help, but he couldn’t do anything.
He was stuck waiting around hoping to get a text saying that Peter was back at the compound and ready to sleep for 17 hours. That’s how long he slept after his last mission. And he ate like a whole truckload, too.
It was hard being best friends with an Avenger, but he could only imagine it was way harder on the best friend in question. Ned’s job was simple - go about his life, pick up an extra copy of the homework for Peter, and don’t let his secret out.
So, when Betty asked him if Peter was coming to practice, Ned bit back all of his fear for his friend’s life and simply said,
“Nope, not today. But his fever’s getting better! I think he just wore his system out, being too busy with school and AcaDeca and the internship. You know how it goes.”
He hoped he sounded way more nonchalant than he felt.
Apparently he did, because Betty nodded her head and said, “Well, tell him I hope he gets better soon.”
Ned smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Unfortunately, Flash chose that moment to jump into their conversation.
“Aw, poor Parker! Wearing himself out with the internship that doesn’t exist!” He laughed smugly, making Ned roll his eyes.
If only he knew that his beloved hero was the same kid he’d been taunting since middle school.
Before he could respond, Mr. Harrington called the attention of the team, lifting a stack of yellow papers excitedly. Ned’s mood rose back up.
As worried as he was about the superheroes out saving everyone, he was also very excited for this field trip. He hadn’t been anywhere outside Queens since DC, and that had pretty much been a disaster. So, needless to say, he was ready for some fun.
“Alright guys,” Harrington started, “I am pleased to announce that this year’s Academic Decathlon field trip will be to….” He let the suspense build as a few students started drumming their fingers on the table.
“.....Stark Industries!” Ned’s jaw dropped and he started bouncing up and down in his chair.
He was extremely excited. This might actually be better than Disney World. Well, maybe a close second. Disney World was awesome.
Sure, he had been there a million times already to hang out with Peter, but he had never been outside the penthouse where the Avengers lived, and he definitely hadn’t met any of the Avengers (except for Tony Stark, who just couldn’t seem to remember his name. But hey, if Iron Man wanted to call him ‘Ted’, then he would be ‘Ted.’).
He was excited to learn more about the history of the company and see all the cool stuff Peter got to work on when he wasn’t being Spider-Man or hanging out with him and MJ.
Everyone else seemed really excited too. Flash made another rude comment about Peter’s internship, but Ned just ignored him. He was going to Stark Industries!