As Christina turned the page of the packet she was trying to fill out before the homework's due date tomorrow, Another One Bites The Dust blared through her earbuds as she put pencil to paper to solve the Geometry equations. She hummed the beat softly under her breath, a gentle smile touching her lips as she brushed a strand of her hair out of her face for the time being.

For a moment, she raised her head up and glanced out into the large room filled with people wearing white lab coats and chuckled. Science, she thought. Too complicated for me.

She was lucky that she couldn't hear the chattering of her father's coworkers outside because it would have seriously agitated her. But she knew that she wouldn't have had the courage to tell him that, since it would have been too overwhelming if she attempted that.

Her phone buzzed and she checked what message she could have received for a moment: it was just an email from her English teacher about the upcoming exam next week. Christina placed the phone down with a chuckle, since she was already beyond prepared for the test. She had studied for it two days ago, and she was confident about it.

Besides, all she really did in the class was doodle in her notebook since she knew all of the terms and definitions she really needed to know. She just needed the credit in order to graduate next year. And she was perfectly fine with that.

A knock on the huge window next to the door to the office caught her off guard, and she glanced up to see her father waving her over. Pausing the song on her phone, she stood up from the chair and walked to the door.

"What is it, Dad?" she asked with her eyebrows raised in interest.

"Hey, sweetie," he replied. "I was just letting you know that the interns are about to be here and... I would like you to maybe help Gwen with the tour if you want to."

Christina actually smiled at the idea as she nodded sheepishly. "I'd love to, it would be an honor."

"Sounds great. They should be up here in about five minutes if you want to go ahead and get ready."

Several minutes later, the young woman adjusted her hair slightly in order to appear presentable before stepping out of the office and into the lobby of the second floor. Right away, she was greeted with a huge crowd of young college interns and her anxiety rose for just a moment before she fixed her posture. She tilted her head up high to appear more confident than she really was and put on a smile. She stepped over to Gwen and greeted her with a casual hug.

"How long have you been here?" she whispered to her.

"About an hour..." Gwen answered with a chuckle. "You?"

"About two and a half hours myself," said Christina. "You ready for this?"

"I was born ready. Just remain calm. I know it looks scary facing a group like this but I'm sure you'll get used to it."

"Me too. Let's do it."

The two women cleared their throats and the crowd stopped their chattering and faced them, regarding them with polite smiles. Seeing this relaxed Christina just a little bit, although she thought she saw someone at the very back duck their head down the moment he saw her and that confused her.

"Welcome to Oscorp," Gwen began with a bright expression etched into her features. "I'm Gwen Stacy, I'm a junior at Midtown Science... and head intern to Dr. Connors."

"I'm Christina Connors, also a junior at Midtown Science," the other woman said, her British accent thicker than normal. "Obviously, you should know that I'm Dr. Connors's normally shy and antisocial daughter with no interest in science whatsoever." When she got a laugh from the crowd, a sense of relief washed over her as she continued. "Then again, we get along, so there's that. Anyway, Miss Stacy and I will be with you for the duration of your visit."

"Now, to set the stage for what will be going on during the visit..." Gwen went on. "Where Miss Connors and I go, you go. That's the basic rule. If you remember that, all will be fine. And if you forget that –"

She was suddenly cut off by the shouting of a semi-older boy from the floor below and Christina peeked over the balcony where the escalator was. She saw a stranger getting dragged out of the lobby by two security guards as he cried out, "Just tell them Rodrigo Guevera is here! My name's Rodrigo!!!"

As Christina stared on in amusement and puzzlement, Gwen spoke up again. "Well, I guess we don't need to tell you what happens if you forget."

Another chuckle emanated from the group.

"Shall we?" said Christina. "If you'll follow Miss Stacy and I..."

As they strolled to the main area of the second floor, the crowd following them in the process, Christina's father finally stepped out of his office, handing a file to one of his coworkers.

"Hey, Dad," she greeted him again.

"Hey, kiddo," he replied, pecking her on the forehead like he always did whenever she retired to go to bed every night.

Christina's face turned red from embarrassment. "I thought I told you not to do that when there's people around," she jokingly scolded.

"Safe to say that I'm not listening," he replied playfully before kindly greeting Gwen and facing the group. "Welcome," he added to the others. "My name is Dr. Curtis Connors."

When a few pairs of eyes directed to the stump that was once his left arm, he let out a chuckle. "And yes, in case you're wondering, I'm a southpaw," he said. Another laugh from the crowd. "I'm not a cripple... I'm a scientist, and I'm the world's foremost authority on herpetology. That's reptiles, for those of you who don't know."

Christina just smiled, very grateful that she got her sense of humor from her father.

"But, like the Parkinson's patient who watches on in horror..." he continued, "...as her body slowly betrays her, or the man with macular degeneration whose eyes grow dimmer each day, I long to fix myself.... I want to create a world without weakness."

The blonde watched on in genuine fascination regarding her father's speech, actually interested about the process of his plan. Sure, he had mentioned it to her and her mother once and twice over dinner while Sidney was zoned out, but she hardly cared. Well, now, she did care. And she was about to speak up about it, but she chose to not interrupt him.

"Anyone care to venture a guess just how?" Connors asked the group of young students, facing them with curiosity. A student in the front raised his hand seconds later and he regarded him politely.

"Stem cells?" the young man pondered, tilting his head.

"Promising," was Connors's answer. "But the solution I'm thinking of is more... radical."

A quiet murmur spread through the crowd, and it was clear to Christina that they had no clue what the answer could be. And she knew that she didn't have a single idea either.

"No one?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke up from the very back of the crowd. "Cross-species genetics."

Christina finally spotted the person that had ducked his head down earlier and her eyes widened with recognition. What in the hell is Peter doing here?! she thought frantically as she stepped over to Gwen, both of them scanning through the list on the tablet that the other blonde grasped in her hands.

Sure enough, nowhere on the list was Peter Parker's name. This made Christina lift her head up and regard the taller boy with a stern expression, one he tried desperately to ignore.

"Person gets Parkinson's when the brain cells that produce dopamine start to disappear," Peter added onto his answer. "But a zebra fish has the ability to regenerate cells on command. If you could somehow give this ability to the woman you're talking about, that's that. She's... She's curing herself."

"Yeah, you just have to look past the gills on her neck," a female intern teased, making the others laugh but Connors quickly quieted them.

"A-And you are?" he questioned out of curiosity.

Peter visibly faltered, attempting to stutter out another sentence and Christina knew that he knew he was caught.

"He's one of Midtown Science's best and brightest," Gwen stepped in so she could save him from 'certain death.'

"Really?" Connors replied.

"Mm-hmm."

"A good friend of mine as well," Christina said. "Has been for a long time... He's smarter than me, if you can believe it."

"He's second in his class," finished Gwen.

"Wait, second?" Peter butted in, his eyes narrowed in surprise.

"Yeah," she answered. "Christina's third, and you're second."

"You sure about that?"

"I'm pretty sure she is..." Christina retorted with a coy smile, well-aware that, while Peter was a spot higher than her in their junior class, Gwen still maintained the top spot.

Peter glanced in his best friend's direction with a teasing smirk in return, and Christina couldn't stop the faint presence of butterflies in her stomach. She quickly masked it up with a confident grin but also an expression in her eyes that said all too clearly, "We need to talk."

The moment was cut off by her father's cell phone ringing and he checked the small screen before silencing it. "I'm afraid duty calls," he announced. "I'll leave you in the more-than-capable hands of my lovely daughter and Miss Stacy. Nice meeting you all." He then turned to Christina and told her he would see her at home if she happened to leave early and gave her a quick hug goodbye.

As he departed from the room, a holographic model of a tree suddenly lit up the middle of said room, startling Christina for a moment as Gwen instructed the group to gather around.

While the narrator of the presentation began to speak in an automated voice, Christina spotted a certain someone trying to sneak past her. But, entirely aware that he wasn't all that great at being stealthy, she quickly gripped his arm. "Where do you think you're going, Mr. Guevara?" she whispered in a taunting voice.

Peter instantly froze in place, muttering "Shit" under his breath before happily turning to face her. "Hi there, Miss Connors," he replied extra enthusiastically. "How are you today?"

Christina rolled her eyes and pulled him aside. "Come on," she mumbled. Once she had him far away from the others, she let him go and crossed her arms. "May I ask what in the hell the so-very-not Rodrigo Guevera is doing here when you know you shouldn't be here?"

"I work here," Peter made up on the spot.

"Oh, you do, huh?' Christina replied. "Funny, because I've never, ever seen a tall and slender guy with glasses such as yourself walking around here while I've visited."

"I mean, I don't work here!" he quickly changed his story as a sheepish smile formed on his face. "I was gonna say I work here, but I remember that you're Dr. Connors's daughter so you probably visit here a lot, so you know I don't, in fact, work here."

"Then what are you doing here?" Christina asked, genuinely curious now. "I think my father would be very interested to know that you're not an intern."

Peter's face became swarmed with pink since he found her amusing attitude to be quite adorable, and he was fond of these times where she wasn't as shy. Then again, her timid demeanor was really cute to him as well. "Well, I-I just snuck in because... I love science," he answered in a bullshit excuse.

Christina gawked at him in disbelief. "Oh, really? No shit, Sherlock! I know damn well you love science," she responded with a humored giggle, making Peter's heart skip a beat as he smiled back at her.

That's when the presentation ended and she quickly changed back to her semi-professional demeanor. "Gwen and I have to lead this tour group, Peter," she murmured. "Just... please don't get us in trouble. You have some explaining to do later, but stay. with. the. group."

"I will, I will," Peter promised.

As she and Gwen began to guide the group to the bioreactor room, she glanced around them and noticed that her friend absolutely did not live up to his promise. She rolled her eyes but soon forgot about it once one of the female interns began striking up a conversation with her.

"So, what are you planning to major in?" she asked her.

"Um... Creative Writing," Christina responded. "I'm wanting to be an author, actually."

"That sounds nice. I'm sure you'd make a good writer."

"Thanks..." she said shyly, glancing downward.

Later on, as she led the others back into the main room, she spotted Gwen confronting Peter, who had definitely snuck off. It seemed as though she was demanding he give her the badge and she couldn't help but smirk smugly. You fuck around and find out, I guess, she thought sarcastically.

She saw Peter glance at her and she shook her head in mock disappointment. But, when the others weren't looking, she mouthed and gestured to him: "Don't forget to call me later."

Before he could respond, she heard a yelp leave him as he grasped at the back of his neck. Concern flooded through her, but she tried to look past it when he nodded casually to her; maybe he had a sudden cramp or he had pulled something in his neck.

Christina eventually walked back into the office and continued doing her homework, but unable to forget about how her own friend had snuck into Oscorp, of all places.

The only thing she was wondering was this: why had he done so...?

A/N: yeah, i know, a short chapter, but at least it's crucial to the story!

ANYWAYS, thoughts on this chapter? did you enjoy it?

do you like the aspect of christina visiting oscorp after school to spend time with her dad and do homework?

did you like how her father had her lead the group tour with gwen?

what about the brief confidence she presented to the group?

what did you think of her reaction to peter being there? i thought it was hilarious!

what about her interaction with peter? yeah, it's similar to the one in the movie with gwen but i think i made it different enough. also, they're already cute!!

also, did you like the gif at the beginning of the chapter?

and peter has been bitten by the spider! the main plot is set into motion for real now!

predictions for the next chapter?

be looking forward to the next chapter!

-denbroughswife