Summary:Helena visits Peter on campus and makes a small show of it. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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ESU is hosting its first "mixer" in the commons area, near the statue of the founder (his slogan: EXCELSIOR!) and freshman are lured in by the sights of the lights and the other people, the sounds of the music the DJ is playing, and the smells of the catered buffet table and the portable soda machine. No freshman turns down a free meal.
Peter is here, but he is currently dealing with three of his classmates. They call themselves the "Pep Boys"—Manny, Moe, and Jack. (Not the real founders, or even related, they just thought it was funny.)
"Hey, Parker! I thought you'd be home curled up with your girlfriends. You know, Chem 303, Trig, and Calc 201!"
Peter looked over at them. Annoying, but not bullies. Just…jerks, really. "Actually, I am waiting for my girlfriend."
Jack snickered. "Lemme guess…she's from CANADA…" His friends thought that was hilarious, of course,
"Staten Island, actually." Peter was slightly distracted. He had sent her a text an hour ago, telling her about the mixer and asking if she'd like to come over. That was before his phone died, though…dead battery.
Helena's post high school plans have hit a snag. One named Bruce Wayne, who doesn't approve of SHIELD poking around in the family business. She hasn't given up yet, but she's accepted that it's going to take a little longer for her to get there. So a mixer at the college sounds like just the thing.
Normally, she's not one for being showy about her name, her family, or her wealth. But this is Peter's first big school party, and those sorts of things are when you need to make an impression. So instead of the bike, she's driven one of the cars from the garage - a silvery blue concept car that's all slim lines and low to the ground, with deep seats and doors that swing upwards. The engines can be heard at a distance, softening to a purr as she pulls up to park.
When Helena gets out of the car, it's another sort of show. Sure, it's…casual. As suits a college freshman mixer. But the jean shorts and ankle boots show off a whole lot of leg, and the dark blue silk camisole leaves her shoulders bare as well. She shakes her hand through her hair as she gets out, looking around with a grin.
The trio look over at the car. "Holy crap…that's Helena WAYNE," Moe whispered. The other two look at him, and he says defensively, "My sister follows her on Twitter."
"Suuuuurrrre she does," Manny says scornfully, then looks startled as Peter gets up from his chair. "And where do you think YOU'RE going?"
"Over to talk to her." Peter's voice is wry, but bland, almost carefully so.
"ForGET it, Parker. Girl like that goes for the quarterback or the social influencer with a jillion followers. Not some schmuck from Queens."
"Gonna go talk to her anyway." He begins walking towards Helena as the trio begins making bets—if she's just going to turn him down flat, if she's going to humiliate him by causing a scene, or just blow him off like the no-name he is.
Helena's smile deepens as Peter approaches, the corners of her eyes crinkling with humor. "Heya, Pete," she greets, arching a brow playfully. "Should I ask the over under on how many bullies you've picked up in a whole week or two, or should I just assume there's at least one that needs a reminder about books and covers?"
As he gets closer, she reaches out to sling her arms over his shoulders, hands clasping lightly behind his neck. She does lean over a little bit to look at the people behind him, smile wry. "Would a kiss be overselling it?"
Peter whispers, "Give it a sec." He smiles in response to her smile, whispering lightly in her ear. "Laugh like I said something amusing." He glances of to the Pep Boys, and manny, Moe, and Jack are all staring incredulously at them, probably wondering why she isn't stomping on his ego and self-esteem by now.
"What you're not even going to give me a cheesy pun quip to work with?" Helena laughs, brushing a hand through his hair as she scans the crowd, quickly identifying the trio as the source of the problem. "Slacking on the job, Parker." All the same, there's a genuine smile and a laugh with it, features warm.
Peter chuckles, then says, "I tend to be more quippy with the mask on, Helena. It's just a thing." He slides his arms around her waist, then leans forward to whisper in her ear, "I told you I was going to let you make the first move…but I think you ought to know that I am sorely tempted to, myself."
"I have so many things I could say about your preference for a mask…" Helena teases, leaning in to claim a quick kiss before letting her arms fall to his waist. "I figured you could use a little confidence booster, with everything starting out here, but if you need me to back down at any point, just let me know, yeah?"
Slipping an arm around his waist, she moves to stand at his side, nodding toward the students. "Should we go meet your friends, or you want to go the ice them out route?"
Peter smiles. "Naw, let's introduce ourselves. Jack's not a bad guy, he just needs better role models." He slips his hand into her slim yer firm hand. "You look stunning tonight, Helena. But then again, you kinda always do."
And with that, he begins walking towards the trio, who have all lost control of the muscles keeping their mouths closed. Jaws agape, every one of them…
"You're not so bad yourself," Helena chuckles, lacing her fingers with his as she walks. "But thanks. I wasn't a hundred percent sure what the dress code was for a thing like this, but I figured…Well, it's hot, and Mom always says you can pull of anything if you just have the right attitude. How're you settling in, though? How are classes? Your classmates?" She sounds eager to know more about it, even if she opted out herself.
"Well, I happen to be doing well. I have a solid grip on college trig and calculus, the science classes are great. I'm learning more and more each day, and…oh. Hi, guys." He stops in front of the three, who have stopped blinking. He thought they looked like the animated people staring at the food downpour in CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS.
"Guys, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Helena. This is Manny, that's Moe, and the guy who might have forgotten to breathe is Jack. Breathe, Jack."
Jack hiccuped a big gasp of air. Manny finds his voice and says,"You…and HER?"
"Hey guys, nice to meet you," Helena greets casually, ignoring the staring with the ease of long practice. Nothing to see here, just an ordinary girl. With the net worth of a small country. Who may or may not secretly fight crime at night.
"So are you guys classmates of Pete's?" she asks, looking between them.
"Auh buh…uh buh…" Moe said. Quite the conversationalist. Manny was more direct. "But…WHY?" Then, in a quieter voice, he asks Helena, "If he's blackmailing you, just…blink twice. I can call the campus police."
Peter eyed Manny. "…Really?" he says, sounding slightly aggrieved.
Jack seems to have a few more brain cells firing. "Uhm, yeah…Pete's kinda ruining the grade curve." So of course they have to act like this. College student logic.
Peter looks to Helena, then back to Jack. "I keep telling you I offer tutoring services,,,"
"Yeah, but only re…uhm, slow kids need tutors." More college logic.
"Why?" Helena arches a brow, smile quirking with wry amusement. "Because he ruins the grade curve, and I like someone who challenges me to be better." And it even sounds honest. Matter-of-fact. "Smart people know when they need to ask for help," she shrugs at the idea that only slow kids need tutors. "It's college. You're here to learn, right? You wouldn't be here if you already knew everything you needed. I mean, maybe you would be," she adds with a laugh. "But that seems like a hell of a waste of money to me."
Jack said quickly, "Well, my dad's going to let me work for him when I graduate, as long as I pass. Manny's got a trust find waiting for him at graduation, and Moe's on the baseball team, so he's going to get drafted and spend the rest of his life playing baseball." The other two nodded. "Anyway, we have things all sewn up, and then this guy comes in and messes up the grading curve, so…"
"…So, they actually have to WORK for their grade." He shrugs. "Want to check out the buffet, Helena?"
"And you're happy with that? Just…taking a life that someone else planned out for you, that's got nothing to do with you or what you can do?" Helena looks between the guys, then shakes her head with a crooked smile.
"Well, if you're headed that way, maybe pick an easier course load. I hear communications is great for that. But, uh…you do you." She winks, slipping an arm around Peter's waist. "Yeah, buffet sounds good," she agrees, freeing a hand to wave. "Nice meeting you guys."
Jack waves. Thew other two still can't stop staring as they walk away. It takes a few steps before Peter's face softens. "Manny's going to be rich forever, Jack doesn't have to worry about an income, and Moe thinks he's going to play baseball forever. I have to tell you, it can get a little sobering to listen to them talk like they have it all together, like money will solve all their problems. At least Harry wants to do something to help with some of his mother's projects that never got finished. Those guys want dorm life forever." He stops at the buffet table. "I'm never going to have that kind of money."
"You could if you wanted," Helena says, checking out the buffet. "But no, not with all your extracurriculars. Building up that kind of money tends to take a lot out of a person, and honestly, someone usually ends up doing some things that are less than ethical."
She looks over at him, curious. "But would you really want to? I honestly feel sorry for them. Their whole lives, everyone's told them they don't have to do anything. That they're just…worthy just because they were born. How sad is that?"
Peter nodded, "Uncle Ben called people like that 'human placeholders.' No desire to make any impact on the world. He wanted better for me. And I promised him I would not be like them." He shrugs. "Sorry, I'm getting maudlin. I should be remembering that I'm here, with you." He looks to her and smiles. "Thank you for being here, with me."
"Hey, if you like talking about him, then I like hearing about him," Helena says with a small, reassuring smile. "And I'm glad to be here! Nice to get a taste of the college life. Enough to reassure myself that I'm making the right choice. Eventually." She pauses, wrinkling her nose. "Dad wasn't a huge fan of the idea. Kind of going to have to work that one a little bit."
Peter picked up two plates, handing one to Helena. "You'll convince him. If this is your goal, then I have faith in your ability to convince him of that." He winks. "I think you can do anything you set your mind to."
"See? Another thing I like about you." Helena leans over to peck a kiss to his cheek, smile crooked. "Thanks. I just think it might take a minute. But I'm pretty sure it's something I'm going to have to do for myself. Dad's…kind of hard to convince of things. Has to come to them himself." Taking the plate, she starts to move down the line. "Well, next you're going to have to introduce me to some actual friends, because those guys were pretty sad…"
Peter smiles. "I'm trying. Now, before I get distracted, let me tell you about some ideas I contributed to Dr. Pamela Isley's project…"