Second video and new friendship's?
The moment Peter got home; he was thrilled to see the response his video had received. He couldn't wait to make the next one and immediately started brainstorming ideas. After some time playing around with different concepts, he came up with a rough draft but realized he needed to do more research to bring it to life.
The next day started off great for Peter. He enjoyed a hearty breakfast, with Aunt May serving larger portions than usual. "Thanks for the extra servings, Aunt May," Peter thought to himself as he devoured the meal.
"Oh, don't mention it, Peter. I know you're a growing boy and need it," Aunt May said, smiling as Peter nodded and continued eating. A few minutes later, Uncle Ben came down for breakfast and asked, "So, what happened to the video we shot, Peter?" That question made Peter feel guilty for not showing it to his family first.
Embarrassed, Peter admitted, "I uploaded it yesterday, and it's already super famous. I'll show it to you and Aunt May once I'm back from school." His nervous tone made Uncle Ben laugh.
"Don't sweat it, kiddo. We'll watch it together then," Uncle Ben said, easing Peter's guilt, though he still felt a bit bad.
Peter hurried to school, but as soon as he arrived at his locker, he noticed people staring and whispering around him. His locker neighbor looked at him, confused, before showing him the video on her phone. "Is this you?" she asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
Peter's eyes widened as he noticed others holding up their phones, watching the video. "Holy shit, did all of Midtown see the video yesterday?" he thought, his reflection interrupted by the girl's excited voice, "It is you! Oh my god, can I see the device you made?"
Peter was taken aback. This girl had been his locker neighbor for two years but had never noticed him before. Now, suddenly, she was interested. This made Peter want to shout, "Mom, I'm famous!"
He told her he'd think about it and left it at that, without any dramatic appearance from Flash—meaning either Flash had backed off or was waiting for the right moment.
Throughout the day, Peter tried to ignore the increasing stares as more people spread the word about the video. At the end of the day, he avoided everyone and rushed straight to the café where Ned was waiting, sitting at the same spot as the day before.
As soon as Peter sat down, the waiter approached them with a warning, "Kids, I know you're young and all, but if you fight again, I'll ban ya." Ned cringed, clearly embarrassed by their spat from the previous day, while Peter reassured the waiter, "Don't worry, we'll keep it civil… Frank." The waiter nodded, taking their order before retreating.
An awkward silence hung between them until Peter broke it, "So, where do you go to school?" Ned sighed in relief, responding, "I study at Midtown High." Peter was shocked and excitedly yelled, "NO WAY, ME TOO!" Realizing the surrounding people were staring, he quickly apologized before continuing the conversation.
"How come we've never met if we're at the same school?" Ned asked. Peter thought for a moment before asking, "Where do you usually sit?" They both answered at the same time, "Second to last bench," and then added, "on the left," "on the right." They widened their eyes, finally understanding why they'd never crossed paths.
Their orders arrived, and they began chatting about their shared interests, from favorite bands to movies. But as usual, their conversation turned into a debate.
"I'm telling you, Ned, Ben 10,000 has more than 10,000 aliens. They just chose that name because it's simpler than calling him Ben 1,000,904," Peter argued. Ned, looking like a crime boss, took a sophisticated sip of his coffee before replying, "Well, I don't think so, homeboy. Ben 10,000 is called that because he had access to 10,000 aliens out of the 1,000,904 species in the Omnitrix. That's all there is to it."
Peter still refused to agree, "Yeah, sure, I'll agree with that, but you've got to admit that Ben 10,000 from Ultimate Force was the worst Ben 10,000 ever."
"What do you mean he was the worst? He was the best!" Ned yelled, but Peter quickly countered, "I give you an inch, and you try to take a mile. How the hell was he the best? He had the laziest design of them all."
Their incessant yelling finally got to the waiter, who stormed over and yelled, "That's it! Get out of here, kids!" Just as he was about to drag them out by their collars, the door to the café burst open. A man wearing a black mask and holding a gun shouted, "GET ON THE GROUND, THIS IS A ROBBERY!"
All Peter could think was, "Why the fuck do superheroes always have to stumble into criminal situations like this?"