Chapter 8

After my little conversation with Flash, I understood that the boy wasn't totally bad, but his attitude was.

He is not a horrible person.

At least that's what I think.

That's when I realized that my poor, meager knowledge of comics was incorrect here...

I kind of felt bad for humiliating him in front of everyone, so I did something I never thought I'd do before, I waited for the kid, I wanted to give him a chance...

I was sitting on one of the benches across the street from the school, but I didn't sit still.

I was thinking and writing notes, about a cheap way to make the joint project between Stark and me possible.

-

Finally, the last school bell rang...

it was not far from the main exit door of the school that I waited for Flash to come.

However...

it wasn't Flash that I saw first, but Mary Jane followed by Peter and Ned...

my first impression was that she was using the two of them to not be alone and certainly to get a good grade, pushing that thought far into my mind, and our eyes met.

« We might as well get it over with now... » I thought as I saw her coming towards me with a confident step...

''Connor! I need to talk to you!" she shouted as she was only a few feet away.

Her two 'friends' were also heading here, Ned was already running towards me saying things about how I had done something 'so cool', making BAM! noises, mimicking my punch and mimicking Flash falling to the ground...

« He's just a teenager... it's normal, don't get upset... » I reminded myself.

Peter looked grateful but still shy as he waved a hand and thanked me very weakly.

Then I looked at MJ...

''hi, you've changed so much... Connor.'' she started as if nothing had happened, then walked over and tried to pull me into her arms for a hug.

« Oh, so that's it?! I've changed... » I sighed in disappointment in my mind, even tho I knew it.

I immediately took a step back, putting my hand in front to block it, saying. ''What do you want?'' with coldness, her face immediately broke down.

She who was certainly expecting to be welcomed with open arms was rejected, and her ego took a hard blow!

''Hey... Connor? It's me, MJ... your only...'' she spoke with a honeyed voice, however she didn't finish her sentence because for once she must have realized she was being offensive.

''My only What? Friend?" I looked her in the eyes with indifference, however, I was laughing hard inside.

Strangely the other two had become very quiet, but I understood them the mood was not the best.

Mary Jane turned red in an instant.''No, no... that's not... what I meant...'' and I cut her off again. ''that settles it, you're not my friend, you never were, and you won't be.'' I said in a sharp voice, as I started to leave.

The girl immediately went into crocodile tear mode.

she, the Mary Jane who thought she was 'special' in every sense of the word tried to hold me back by holding my arm and starting to cry... ''Wait! Connor... I... I'm sorry..." she said as if I'd forced the words out of her mouth.

I smiled and said, "Okay, see it wasn't that hard, I accept your apology." I saw and heard her heart start to beat rapidly, her facial expressions changing from sad to happy quickly, and then she tried to pull me into her arms again.

One more time I stopped her from continuing. ''Connor? What are you doing?" he asked, wiping away his tears.

''It's obvious to me, I don't want to have any kind of physical contact with you,'' I replied as if it was totally obvious.

''But... but you said that... you accept my apology, right?" she replied with a conflicted face, maybe her little brain was trying to understand.

''Yes, you are forgiven." again I said with an indifference that most certainly hurt her feelings.

''So, why?" she asked as if I was stupid.

I answered with a smile. '' Forgiven, doesn't mean to be friends, Mary Jane. ''

"I don't understand..." okay she is... too much! I'm the one who doesn't understand what Peter and Flash see in her...

''It's simple it means, stays away from me.'' again with my smile of indifference.

I turned to leave but she grabbed my arm again!

You should know that if a guy does that to a girl it is directly considered aggression or at least harassment!

''Let go of me'' I said with poison in my voice. ''I won't let you get away from me like that! You have no idea...''

''right now!" I raised my voice and she let go of me instantly.

Seeing that Mary Jane was scared at the time, Peter Parker decided to play the white knight in shining armor...

''hey, don't talk to MJ like that...'' I gave him a look and he shut up...

''You've changed... you're not the Connor I knew...'' she said tearfully.

''People change, that's life, the sooner you accept it the better, and I remind you that you were the first to 'change' unless it was the real you all along. Don't expect people to act the way you want them to! You're not a star Mary Jane and your life isn't a TV drama...'' I replied with a hint of malice.

''you... you have...no, that...isn't true...'' she stammered and stumbled over her words.

''hmm? Was I not clear? Don't talk to me anymore.'' I said as I finally walked away, leaving her with her two pawns in place.

friends tried to comfort her except that. ''leave me alone you two!'' she shouted behind my back, and ran past me...

I sighed it was easier than I expected to do that...

but the fact that she was attacking her friends?

This girl was destined to hurt people.

Quite frankly if she had started to apologize I would have considered letting her back into my life, but as I said before this girl thought the world revolved around her...

and it was obvious in her mind that I would run to her as soon as she came...

she certainly labeled herself as the victim in this story, in the end, it looks like her.

Peter and Ned walked past me looking at me strangely, surely they hadn't seen their queen like this before?

There were no students left in front of the school and I still hadn't seen Flash come out, at least until he appeared with his head down and a hand on his right side...

he looked around and sighed with relief.

But when he saw me not far from the school his two bully eyes widened, I laughed inwardly at that, I waved my hands, to make him understand to come towards me which he did after a little moment of hesitation, he came limping slightly and grunting in pain to the next.

''What do you want?" he asked neutrally.

''Nothing special, just making sure everything's okay... so?" I asked in the same tone.

''Sure, I'm fine," he said but I could tell he was lying. ''Do you have a place to sleep tonight?'' I said clearly worried.

"What the fuck, are you a homo or what?!" he asked with anger and concern.

I laughed openly. ''Not that I know of.'' he replied directly. "Then what?

''Here, take this just in case...'' I took out a piece of paper from my pocket and handed it to him, on the piece of paper was my current address.

''What's this? Your address?" he looked relieved all of a sudden, I nodded and turned around.

"Yo! Wait!" he called. ''Thanks.''

----------

The reason I acted like that with Flash was that his dad was probably going to beat him up for getting expelled from school...

so I offered him a way out, just in case...

I knew he was going to spend the whole week with his friends, but you can't be too careful, can you?

I didn't know how his 'friends' would react so I took precautions.

And the fact that none of them were waiting for him spoke volumes...

-

When I got home, ah! I almost forgot...

we had bought two luxurious flats in Manhattan, one for us, that is to say, my parents and I, and one to make all my projects possible, of course, it would be my future laboratory and workshop and later I would move in.

It was located in the middle of the building, and the whole floor was only occupied by three apartments.

Two of them were ours!

And the last one was unoccupied for the moment because the former owners had put it up for sale with ours.

Fortunately, our two properties were next to each other, so after some work, the two will be linked.

I hesitated to buy the third one but it was 15,000,000 million dollars so I decided against it for the moment...

turning on my new computer, I went online...

[ Tony Stark, has been missing in Afghanistan since this afternoon following .... ]

I sighed, knowing that things are going to get out of hand in the next few years.