NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6 – Conflicts
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"Good evening."
Peter says shyly as he approaches where Tony and Thor were.
"Who are you?"
Tony asks, wanting to know who the young man who had approached them was.
"My name is Peter Parker, I work as a reporter at the Daily Bugle, I wanted..."
Peter was saying before being interrupted by Stark.
"I already know, a photo or an interview, your fame has spread around here, kid."
Tony says sarcastically, interrupting Peter while looking at him.
"Hearing that from you is very inspiring for me, Mr. Stark."
Peter says, looking at Tony.
"But that wasn't a compliment."
Tony says indifferently.
"Oh..."
Peter says, not understanding.
"It's nothing personal, kid, but I'm not like the others, I don't give interviews or take photos for just anyone, and I certainly won't spend my precious time giving an interview to a newspaper that defamed us when we were putting our lives on the line to save theirs."
Tony says, somewhat agitated, looking at Peter.
"Tony, try to calm down."
Thor says, trying to calm Tony.
"Furthermore, considering your abilities, it's surprising to see a talented young man like you wasting time at that newspaper when you could be working at a higher level, do you understand what I mean?"
Tony says, raising his voice a bit.
"Stay calm, Tony."
Thor looks at Tony.
Tony, who was visibly upset, his words laden with concern were evident in his voice as he spoke:
"No, there's no calm, and furthermore, if he's a man, he'll put everything I've said here in the article without leaving anything out."
At that moment, Steve approaches where Tony was, accompanied by Natasha. Their arrival added a new dimension to the situation because no one knew what might happen now.
"What's going on here?"
Steve asks as he approaches Tony.
"Oh, of course, as if you didn't know what's going on here, Captain."
Tony says sarcastically, pointing to Peter before continuing.
"It seems like you guys don't understand, but this guy is trying to sell our photos and interviews to a newspaper whose only goal is to defame us. Without a doubt, tomorrow this will be headlines all over New York as a big story: 'The Avengers, instead of protecting our city, are throwing a party while people suffer from thefts, wars, and deaths.'"
Tony says, already upset.
"Try to calm down, Tony."
Steve holds Tony's shoulder.
"Don't ask me to stay calm, and you..."
Tony points to Peter before continuing.
"Get out of here now, and never set foot in this tower again while you're working for that liar."
As he listened to every word his idol said, Peter felt a weight settle on his shoulders. He lowered his head, allowing his curls to fall over his forehead, partially hiding his face. A look of sadness began to appear on his face, his eyes showing a mixture of disappointment.
"Tasha, please, take the kid out of here."
Steve looks at Natasha.
"You got it."
Nattasha confirms, taking Peter's arm before continuing.
"Come with me."
"Okay..."
Peter says, still feeling disheartened.
As they headed for the elevator, Natasha chose to start a conversation with Peter in an attempt to make him feel more at ease.
"I'm sorry for everything Tony said."
Natasha says, still looking ahead.
"No need to apologize, you guys are not to blame for anything. In fact, I should apologize to you."
Peter says, still with his head down.
"Don't take it to heart; Tony is like that, but he doesn't mean any harm."
Natasha tries to cheer Peter up.
"I know, but I just wanted to hear, maybe, something positive... from the person I admire."
Peter said calmly and softly before continuing to whisper, almost unnoticed by Natasha.
"But it seems that, besides not being welcome here, I'll never be either."
"But you weren't planning to write a story that would defame Tony or us, were you?"
Natasha asks, almost hesitating.
"No, I would never do something like that; I admire you guys a lot... I even wanted to be part of the team."
Peter says excitedly.
"What do you mean?"
Natasha asks, somewhat confused.
"In fact... I didn't mean that; I just wanted to say that I usually only take photos of Spider-Man, and even then, Jameson keeps badmouthing him, even though I don't like it."
Peter says, stumbling over his words, trying to clear up the misunderstanding.
"I've heard of this Spider-Man guy, but I've never seen him. Do you know him?"
Natasha asks with a curious look while looking at Peter.
"Well... I don't know him personally, I just take photos of him, that's all."
Peter says somewhat embarrassed.
"Hmm..."
Natasha murmurs with a tone of suspicion in her voice.
As they approached the elevator, Natasha observed the metal door sliding smoothly until it opened automatically. Peter, without hesitation, took a step forward and entered the well-lit elevator space. Natasha, who until that brief moment had been in complete silence, decided to break the silence with a soft voice as she said goodbye to Peter.
"Well, you can get home by yourself, right?"
Natasha asks, breaking the awkward silence.
"Yes, I can, and I thank you very much for everything, Miss Romanoff."
Peter responds, nodding his head.
"You're welcome."
Natasha accepts Peter's thanks.
"Goodbye!"
Peter says goodbye to Natasha.
"See you later!"
Natasha also says goodbye to Peter.
Natasha watched attentively as the elevator door slowly closed. She was on the top floor of the tower, leaning against the iron bars that surrounded that small space, with her posture still upright. Her focus was entirely directed downward, where Peter had already left the tower and was now standing outside. She gave one last look to the young man, who was moving further away with quick steps.
As Peter slowly moved away from Stark Tower, he was immersed in his thoughts. His gaze remained fixed on nothing, but his mind was racing.
(And so, my dream of joining the Avengers goes away. If I ever had a chance... now, for sure, I don't have one anymore...)