• •
  Alexis Stark was Tony Stark’s daughter, which meant normalcy had never exactly been an option for her.

Still, when high school came around, Alexis convinced her father to let her attend an elite private school in New York. She wanted to experience an ordinary teenage life—classes, friends, school events, and everything else that came with being a teenager. Tony agreed, although he made it very clear that his security team would be nearby.

At school, however, Alexis quickly realized that being “normal” was going to be harder than she thought.

Everyone knew who she was.

Students constantly tried to become her friend, but Alexis could tell most of them didn’t actually care about her. They wanted connections, popularity, invitations, and the status that came with being Tony Stark’s daughter. Their conversations were repetitive and predictable, and Alexis quickly became tired of pretending to enjoy them.

Then she met MJ.

MJ didn’t care that Alexis was a Stark. She didn’t ask about Tony, Stark Industries, or what it was like living in a tower. She simply treated Alexis like a normal person.

Through MJ, Alexis met Peter Parker and Ned Leeds.

For the first time since starting school, Alexis actually enjoyed being around someone.

Peter was awkward, funny, intelligent, and completely genuine. Ned was energetic and endlessly talkative, while MJ had the same dry humor Alexis had grown to love. The three of them weren’t trying to impress her, and that was exactly why Alexis liked them.

Of course, the rest of the school didn’t understand.

Alexis constantly heard whispers in the hallways.

“Why does she even hang out with them?”

“She could literally be friends with anyone.”

“She’s way too popular to be sitting with Peter and Ned.”

“They’re nothing compared to her.”

But Alexis never paid attention.

If anything, the comments only made her more determined to stay friends with them.

And somewhere along the way, Alexis began realizing that her feelings toward Peter were becoming something more than friendship.

Peter, unfortunately, had absolutely no idea.

To him, Alexis Stark was completely out of his league. She was confident, admired by everyone, and seemed to have the entire school fascinated by her. Peter couldn’t imagine why someone like her would ever look twice at someone like him.

So whenever Alexis flirted with him, he assumed she was joking.

Whenever she chose to sit beside him, he assumed it was because MJ wasn’t there.

Whenever she remembered little things about him, he simply thought she was being nice.

Peter was completely oblivious to the fact that the girl everyone at school wanted to be friends with had quietly started choosing him.*