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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
ii. CAMP MIRKHAVEN

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   PETER REALLY LIKED RILEY. There was no doubt about it. Peter Parker really, really, really liked Riley Stark.

   They had known each other for a long time now. They knew each other like the back of their own hands. They had a connection that was so powerful, so compelling to the point where even Ned interrogated him about it sometimes, always wondering if there was something more. Peter didn't understand why.

   After all, Peter and Riley were just really good friends.

   Today was July 17th, 2023, otherwise known as the first official day of Midtown's summer camp. Months had gone by since the war had ended. Between the brutal recovery process, being grounded for eternity, and the nightmares he kept to himself, Peter was doing surprisingly well. He was spending less time patrolling in order to reconnect with his loved ones and relax. After all, he deserved a break just as much as the other Avengers.

   The only problem wasn't the fact that Peter was unable to avoid the constant reminders of the grisly war; it was the fact that Riley Stark had completely ghosted him (and not in a funny way). He thought about her enough as is, but now that they hadn't spoken in a month, Peter was worried.

   "Just one more question before we let you go," declared the radio show host. Peter stared out the window in May's car, watching the tall buildings of the city turn into trees as they headed toward Camp Mirkhaven. "Everyone wants to know: What's next for Riley Stark and the Avengers?"

   Riley's voice came in through the speakers as she said, "Uh... If I'm being honest, I'm just trying to figure out how I can train the family alpaca to babysit my little sister." Peter smiled when he heard her little laugh. "That kid is seriously a handful."

   "Wait, wait, back up. The Starks have a family alpaca?"

   "Mhm, his name's Gerald! Don't ask me why. Mom hates him because he eats all her Gogis. I think we have him because Morgan wanted a pony and Tony didn't, so they compromised."

   Peter smiled to himself as he listened to Riley speak. They hadn't actually spoken to each other since the wedding, never mind texted in weeks. He didn't know why.

   He knew she was insanely busy and he respected that, but then Ned said he and Riley had texted back and forth a few times recently. Now, Peter was just confused. Had he done something wrong?

   "But to answer your question, the details aren't very interesting," shyly confessed Riley. "I plan on just... taking a step back, really. I don't actually have any responsibilities as the Avengers leader until the new HQ is rebuilt."

   Peter couldn't help but notice all the background noise on her end, considering she was doing this radio interview over the phone. He wondered what was going on wherever she was.

   "I mean, I've been working nonstop my entire life and I'm at a place where I know if I take a break, there probably won't be another alien invasion," added Riley lightheartedly.

   The interviewer chuckled, gushing, "Aw, isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever heard? We're glad you're taking some time for yourself, Riley. You deserve it."

   "Gee, thanks. That really means a lot."

   A few more words were exchanged between Riley and the radio show host before the interview ended, a pop song beginning to play in replacement. Peter frowned to himself, sinking in his seat as he thought about the girl that had flipped his world upside down.

   "Alright, I didn't think it'd come to this, but you leave me with no other option," May Parker announced.

   Peter lifted his head, turning to his aunt with a puzzled grimace. "What... What are you talking about?" he slowly wondered.

   Completely ignoring Peter, May continued, "I know it's hard getting over someone you really liked. And you don't have to deny it anymore. I know I'm the last person you wanna have this conversation with, but—"

   "Wait, wait, wait," interrupted Peter. "What?"

   "—Let me finish, Pete," May interrupted. "I know you're embarrassed, but getting over someone is—"

   Peter was sitting up straight now. "No, seriously, May," he disrupted anew. "What are you talking about?" May side-glanced back at Peter. Her thick-framed glasses slid down the bridge of her nose just a bit.

   "Riley," answered May as if this was more than obvious. "That's why you've been so down lately, right? Because you guys broke up?"

   Almost immediately, Peter choked on his spit, wholly caught off guard. He coughed uncontrollably as his face turned bright red. He just barely managed to squeeze out, "WHAT?"

   May's eyes widened at his explosive reaction. She passed him the bottle of water in the cupholder. As Peter downed the liquid, she said, "Gee, I didn't know you'd react like this. You must be taking this breakup really hard..."

   Swallowing a mouthful of water, Peter desperately exclaimed, "May, we were never dating! Riley and I are friends!"

   "Oh..." murmured May. "But... you were so sad and you guys haven't hung out in a while... and you'd always do those sleepovers and... Wow, you really were never dating?"

   "No!" bellowed Peter, cheeks flushed. "We haven't hung out because she's busy! How... How long have you thought we were... um... you know...?"

   May shrugged, unable to bite back her smile. "I dunno. I didn't think you'd actually tell me, so I just made an educated guess," she claimed. "You guys really never dated? At all?"

   Peter leaned back in his seat again, waiting for the void to open up and swallow him whole. He physically cringed as he cried out, "Jesus, May!"

   "What? I think it's cute!" innocently chirped May as she pulled forward to park her car on the side of the street.

   "We're just friends!"

   "Uh-huh, okay, hon," May dismissed. "Friend is the second half of the word, you know." When Peter didn't understand, May added, "Boyfriend. Girlfriend."

   "Oh my God," breathlessly fanned Peter. "Please kill me now."

   May chortled. "I'm just teasing you, Pete. Whoever you choose to date is up to you—girl or boy." She paused. "Maybe you'll find someone at camp! You've been so down about missing Riley for so long."

   Peter exasperatedly sighed. "I haven't been... down," he insisted. "I just miss her. Plus, I was at war, you know. You didn't think I could've been upset about that?"

   May shrugged. "You've been punched before," she humorously dismissed.

   "Rude!"

   Rolling her eyes, she teased, "So dramatic." She turned the key in the ignition, switching off the car. "Hey, you never know. Maybe Riley will stop by at camp."

   Peter shook his head. "She wasn't an actual student, so I doubt it," he pointed out whilst getting out of the car. Peter shut the door behind him, his attention instantly going to the big sign in front of him. In bright, colorful letters, the words CAMP MIRKHAVEN were painted at the entrance. "Whoa..."

   Peter wasn't sure what going to the camp would entail, but after everything he'd been through, he desperately needed something normal in his life. Camp Mirkhaven was the perfect opportunity for Peter to solidify his return to a normal life again.

   Maybe now, Peter could finally get his mind off of Riley. As much as he missed her, Peter needed to occupy his mind with other things, like focusing on his friends and going back to school soon. Really, the timing of camp had come at the perfect moment.

   Peter would be just fine.

○ ○ ○

   "Aw, isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever heard? We're glad you're taking some time for yourself, Riley. You deserve it."

   Riley stood in the middle of an empty wooden cabin with her phone in her hand, the speaker option activated. She hoped that all the noise outside the cabin wasn't too noticeable, as she didn't particularly want to reveal her plans for the next two-and-a-half weeks.

   "Gee, thanks! That really means a lot."

   "Yeah, yeah, now hang up already!" whisper-yelled Happy Hogan rather aggressively. He had been waiting for 15 minutes for Riley's radio interview to end. It was the last one she would do before her vacation. Riley just made a face at him, sticking up her nose with her finger. "Oh, very classy."

   She snickered to herself as the interviewer declared, "Well, that's about all the time we have today, folks. Riley, thank you so much again for taking the time out of your busy day to chat with us. Take care!"

   Beaming, Riley responded with words of her own before hanging up, thus ending the interview.

   "Finally!" boomed Happy. "Alright, fork it over!" He walked forward to take the device from the teenager.

   "Wait!" Riley cried, holding her phone close to her chest. What if someone needed her?

   Happy narrowed his eyes at the girl. "I promised your parents I'd take your phone from you."

   "I know, but..." trailed off Riley. "Can't you just lie to them? What if something happens?"

   "Nothing's gonna happen," reassured Happy. "You're paranoid. Besides, Principal Morita said this was a technology-free camp." Riley hesitated, not wanting to surrender her phone. "Phone, now." Riley sighed defeatedly and obliged without another word. "I need your cuffs, too."

   Riley's eyes widened as she glanced down at the cuffs on her wrist. "No! You can't take my suit, too!" Riley argued. "What if there's an emergency?" When Happy didn't budge, Riley released a miserable groan and slipped off her cuffs. "You suck."

   "Yeah, yeah," he dismissed, sticking her weapons and phone into his pocket. "Now, can I get a hug or do I have to fight you for one?" A small smile spread across Riley's face as she snorted and hugged the man she'd grown to love over the years. Once they pulled away, the man waved his finger at her. "Behave."

   "Or what?" Riley challenged with a smile. "I can take you, old man!"

   Happy rolled his eyes, moving toward the door. "I'm leaving now. Any last bitter teenager remarks you want me to pass along to your parents?"

   "Hm... no, I think I'm good," she admitted. "Bye, Happy! Don't miss me too much."

   "Trust me, I won't!"

   She shook her head as he left. Finally, she was alone. Her last moment alone for a while. She looked around her cabin, curious as to when her randomly selected roommate would arrive.

   Almost as if on cue, a tall girl with curly brown hair entered the cabin. Riley snapped her head in the girl's direction, her heart skipping a beat with excitement.

   "MJ!?"

   "...Riley?"

   "MJ!" Riley squealed enthusiastically, scurrying forward to the teenager. Riley nearly tackled MJ in a hug before pausing. "I almost forgot you don't like hugs, but that's fine! I can't believe we're roomies for the next two weeks! That's some serious good luck—!"

   She was interrupted by MJ reaching out and wrapping her arms around the short girl. "I missed you, too, Riley," MJ mumbled. As they pulled away, Riley was pleased to see that MJ was grinning just as widely as her. "I'm... a little confused though. You're not a student at Midtown anymore."

   "Mhm!"

   "And you didn't die from the snap."

   "Correct!"

   "So... why are you here?" bluntly wondered MJ. Her eyes grew wide suddenly. "Sorry, I-I didn't mean it like that, I just—"

   "Don't apologize! I think it's weird, too," she confessed. "Tony and Pepper wanted me to be a normal teenager for a little bit. They thought I was overworking myself."

   MJ slowly nodded. "Ohh..." she trailed off. Her head slowly moved toward the door. "Wait... That dude that just left... Was that Tony Stark...?"

   Riley instantly burst out into laughter. "Oh my God, no!" she denied. "No! Oh my God, that's amazing. That was Happy Hogan. Head of Security for Stark... Stark Industries! Whew!" She pretended to wipe away a tear as she caught her breath. "My parents didn't want to cause unnecessary attention by showing up, but they didn't trust that I'd actually show up. So they sent Happy here with me."

   "Ohh," replied MJ once again. The girls fell silent for a moment, staring at one another for a moment before smiling widely again. "I missed you."

   Riley gently nudged her. "I missed you, too."

   MJ let out another small laugh. It was like the two had never been separated or anything of the sort. They simply picked up where they had left off.

   "So," started MJ, "we're supposed to meet everyone back outside after we drop off our stuff. You ready?"

   "Ready as I'll ever be, roomie," Riley encouraged, looping her arm through MJ's. The two headed outside, but not before Riley let a thought cross her mind. This might not be so bad, after all.

   "Let's go, losers! Pick up the pace! Take a seat when you've dropped off your things!"

   Or maybe not.

  Her gaze became stuck on a man standing not too far away, conducting the campers impatiently. "Please tell me that isn't Warren standing right over there." With furrowed eyebrows, MJ followed her stare before her jaw actually dropped a good few inches.

   Riley couldn't believe it. She knew that she was getting ahead of herself. She seemed to have forgotten that nothing good came without a price these days, and this time, the price was seeing her old classmate, Warren. To put it simply, Riley did not like Warren whatsoever. The only happy memory she had of him was when she punched him in the jaw after he made fun of Peter Parker.

   And now, not only was Warren five years older than the Blipped students of Midtown, but he was also apparently working at Camp Mirkhaven.

   Almost as if he had sensed the sudden dread that reeked from Riley, Warren snapped his head in the Latina's direction. A condescending smirk tugged on his lips as Riley and MJ were forced to approach him. "Well, well, well," greeted Warren, "if it isn't Smiley Riley and the book worm."

   Riley slanted her eyes into a glare. "What are you doing here, Warren? What, was peaking in high school not enough for you?"

   Warren rolled his eyes. "I'm a camp counselor at Camp Mirkhaven," he declared. "Volunteer hours for college. Maybe you'd know about all that if you weren't still stuck in high school."

   MJ raised an eyebrow. "Riley graduated from Columbia, like, forever ago, dude," MJ pointed out. "Maybe you should keep up with reality instead of patronizing little kids."

   Warren was taken aback momentarily before he scoffed. "Whatever, just... just take a seat," he bitterly instructed.

   Snickering, they headed for the aisles of benches scattered across the grass. "That was amazing!" laughed Riley. "How have I lasted this long without you?"

   MJ shrugged her shoulders. "I ask myself that every day."

   Still giggling, Riley continued, "Next time he decides to act like an ass, we should..." Her sentence quickly hindering as her attention went elsewhere, her eyes moving to a duo just a few feet away from them.

   Riley was a deer in the headlights by the mere sight of Peter Parker. All Riley could focus on was the boy with fluffy brown hair and the smile that made her stomach do backflips rather than the words coming out of her mouth. MJ glanced down at the shorter girl before following her gaze. It didn't take her very long to understand what was going on.

   "You know, I think the number one rule about having a crush on someone is not making it super obvious," MJ rather nonchalantly said.

   Riley flinched as she was brought back to reality. She snapped her head toward MJ. "Huh? I don't have a crush on Peter!" Riley immediately denied.

   MJ shrugged and smugly replied, "Never said you did" before walking forward to meet Peter Parker and Ned Leeds halfway to greet them.

   "W...What...?" trailed Riley. She furrowed her eyebrows together, trying to gather herself once more. "Wh... MJ! Get back here!"

   Meanwhile, Peter Parker felt like a complete idiot to have not realized Riley was at camp with him.

   She was unsurprisingly the topic of everyone's conversations. Peter thought she was everyone's favorite subject because she was once their classmate until Ned pointed it out to the boy that she was spotted at camp.

   Now that he was thinking about it, Riley was attracting a lot less attention than Peter would have anticipated (not that that was saying much, considering she was still an Avenger). Ned said it was because everyone was tired of hearing about the war, but they were still excited to properly meet the legendary Valor. Honestly, Peter didn't care about all that stuff anymore. All he cared about was seeing Riley again.

   "Never said you did," MJ's voice echoed from not too far away. Peter's ears perked up at the sound, turning his head to see the tall teenager approaching him and Ned. "Sup, dorks."

   Peter matched MJ's small smile with a much bigger one. Ned wasted no time in skipping the casual greeting and pulling her into the long tangent he had been going on regarding all the memes they had missed out on over the past five years.

   Peter could hardly pay attention, never mind contribute, to the conversation. All he could think about was Riley. He couldn't understand why she was taking up his mind to this extreme. He was just glad MJ was here to help carry the conversation while his head was in the clouds.

   "Wh... MJ! Get back here!" another voice chimed in, her shout to MJ being somewhat delayed.

   Peter felt his heart stop. No—Peter felt his heart begin to race. Yeah... Yeah, that's what it was. His heart was beating so incredibly quickly that it simply felt like it had stopped. Why?

   Within seconds, Riley Stark was standing in front of him. Well, she was standing in front of him, Ned, and MJ; however, at that moment in time, it felt like no one else in the world existed. Like Riley and Peter were the only ones in the general area. That was how she made Peter feel.

   "MJ, you—" Riley started before realizing who she was standing with. Her eyes trailed over to Ned and Peter. Her mouth made an o-shape, her jaw falling agape. It only took her seconds to recover. Peter couldn't help but notice the way her gaze lingered on him. "H... Hey, guys!"

   Before anyone could say a word, Peter was already moving. His body was reacting much faster than his mind was as he reached out and embraced Riley in a hug. He totally noticed her sigh of relief when she wrapped her arms around him.

   But then they both realized that they weren't alone.

   MJ and Ned exchanged skeptical glances as they pulled away from each other. MJ motioned her finger between the two. "What... just happened?" she interrogated.

   Riley's eyes widened. "Um, well—"

   "I just like hugs!" Peter intercepted. "Um... yeah!"

   Ned tilted his head slightly. "You didn't hug me or MJ...?"

   Peter scoffed, waving his hand in a dismissive manner. "I was... uh... I was getting to that," he lied. Riley's entire face had turned bright pink as Peter moved over to his best friend and hugged him rather awkwardly.

   When Peter turned to hug MJ, she immediately declared, "Don't touch me."

   "Yep, okay, okay."

   Riley swallowed her sigh, unwillingly dragging her gaze away from Peter. "So," she nervously said, "what are... what are we talking about?"

   Ned just glimpsed between the teenaged heroes before shrugging his shoulders. "Memes," he admitted. "We've missed out on five years' worth of memes. It took me forever to get through all of 2019's memes. Half of them were about Area 51."

   Peter furrowed his eyebrows together. "Area 51?" he repeated as the group of four proceeded to walk toward the benches.

   "Oh, I heard about that one," MJ admitted. "Some guy made a Facebook post saying that if we all try to storm Area 51, they can't stop us."

   Riley's eyes widened. "Who's "they"?" she queried. "Like... the government?"

   MJ nodded as they sat down together on the same bench. Of course, Riley got stuck next to Peter. "Duh, who else?" asked MJ. "I think they're hiding something in there."

   Ned shot her a pointed look. "Yeah, aliens."

   "Not just aliens," MJ added. "There's probably all kinds of weird shit in there. I mean, isn't Area 51 owned by Tony Stark?"

   Riley immediately perked up at the sound of her father's name. "Huh? Of course not!" she denied. "He'd tell me something like that."

   Ned and MJ caught each other's gazes. A lightbulb went off in their heads. "Unless he's hiding something from you!" Ned shouted.

   "The theory's real," MJ realized. "Your dad's hiding something top secret in Area 51. But the question is what?"

   Shaking her head, Riley said, "You guys, if there was something weird going on in Area 51, we'd know by now. Or, at least, I would." When MJ's eyes widened, she asked, "...What?"

   MJ turned to Ned. "We can't trust her. She could be lying," she theorized.

   "Wh—Guys!"

   "You're so right," Ned agreed. He leaned forward over Peter toward Riley. "We're onto you, Valor."

   Riley just rolled her eyes as Ned and MJ turned away from the Avengers amidst them. Her attention went to Peter. She held her breath. She had ignored him for weeks, and now they were face-to-face again. What the hell was Riley supposed to say to him?

   "I didn't mean to ghost you—"

   "So how have you been—?"

   Riley and Peter both paused, interrupting themselves as they spoke at the same time. Silence struck before they each let out little awkward laughs.

   "You first," they both stated in perfect unison.

   "This is stupid," she admitted sheepishly. She fiddled with her fingers as her hands laid in her lap.

   "Agreed," he awkwardly added, rubbing the back of his head. God, why was he so nervous? Maybe he was overthinking all of this. They were friends, weren't they? Peter didn't need to be nervous, so why was he? Was Riley nervous, too?

   The short answer (if you must know) is yes, yes she was. The long answer was that honestly, Riley was feeling a lot of different emotions at that moment.

   Her thoughts were galloping forth one after another. She couldn't stop thinking about the sheer guilt she felt from ignoring him for so long on top of her indescribable feelings for him. Riley knew she had a crush on Peter, yet she had absolutely no clue what to do about it. Peter deserved someone who wouldn't ignore him, someone whose life wasn't so damn busy, someone who wasn't Riley Stark.

   But strangely enough, Riley didn't care. Did that make her selfish? She just wanted to be around him. No—she wanted to be with him. Thinking about him for more than a month straight made her jump to this conclusion almost too easily.

   Still, he deserved an explanation.

   Riley inaudibly inhaled, her lungs filling with oxygen before releasing it all as she timidly spoke, "I'm sorry for not getting back to you. I was just... I was really busy. I swear, all I do now is work. And then I had to take care of my sister and I was dealing with these feelings about—"

   Riley froze. Was she just a complete idiot or something?

   Peter watched her in anticipation, his brown eyes filled with warmth. He was listening eagerly. He missed her. He cared about her. He wanted to hear what she had to say. "About...?" he curiously queried.

   "A...About, um," she stammered. She was definitely a complete idiot. What, was she just supposed to say that she was trying to get over a crush on one of her closest friends? Ha, yeah, right! "About the war... You know, that... that was some traumatizing shit."

   Peter felt the weight fall off of his shoulders as he smiled at her, relieved. "I feel ya," he admitted. He tensed. "Not, not literally, I mean, obviously! I—"

   Riley interrupted him with a laugh. "I really missed you," she confessed. "I hope you don't hate me for not getting back to you."

   Peter scoffed despite feeling his cheeks tingle with heat. "Pfft, 'course not, Ghostie! You're one of my best buds," he insisted. He nudged her lightly. "I missed you, too, you know."

   "Good," she joked, blushing from the nickname. She missed hearing it. "Otherwise, we'd have a serious problem."

   This got a laugh out of Peter. He tilted his head back, the melodic sound leaving his mouth. Butterflies erupted from within Riley. Her smile grew, which caused Peter's smile to widen in response. In seconds, the two were smiling like lunatics.

   And Peter's smile didn't falter when the thought crossed his mind. Her smile's really pretty... like her.

   His smile didn't even waver when his thoughts continued. First Liz, and now Riley? Of course, I like a girl that's way out of my league again.

   His smile fell.

   Wait a minute... what?

   As Principal Morita walked out to a microphone that was set up at the front of the general area, he watched as Riley turned to focus her attention on him. But Peter couldn't look away, not when a newfound realization had struck him.

   Huh... Peter liked Riley more than he once thought. Was that why he was so disappointed when they didn't talk for more than a month? Hang on, how long had he been feeling this way?

   Peter didn't just like her. He really liked her. No, those words didn't exaggerate how much he was realizing that he'd liked her.

   Peter had a crush on Riley.

  Peter Parker had a crush on Riley Stark.

   Oh no.