Doctor Connors," A voice called, making Dr Connors look up from his computer in time to see a short-haired, Indian man in a black suit enter his office. "I hope I am not interrupting."
"Not at all, Irrfan," Dr Connors said as he stood up to greet him. "How are you?" He asked pleasantly.
"Not that well," Irrfan lightly grunted. "I tried Chinese food for the first time last week, it's either horrible or I had the bad luck of finding the worst chef in the city. I was practically living in my bathroom for the next two days after." He added, earning a small chuckle from Dr Connors.
"You have my sympathies," Dr Connors said in an amused voice. "But I fear that your bowel movements are not why you came to see me."
"Not unless you happen to be willing to lend me some pills," Irrfan joked.
"Unfortunately, for you, I am not that type of doctor," Dr Connors chuckled.
"Shame," Irrfan mock-sighed before he gave Connors a serious look. "Listen to me, Curt, I am afraid I have some bad news."
"Oh?" Dr Connors raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," He said, actually sighing this time. "I am afraid that there have been some talks about your funding."
"My funding?" Dr Connors repeated. "What's wrong with my funding? I use as much as needed to get the best equipment and after that, I use the bare minimum for everything else and manage it perfectly."
"It's not a question of the management of your funds," Irrfan began explaining. "You see, after 'The Vulture's attack', a lot of Oscorp's funding has been rerouted to developing and improving on his technology, it is believed that it could lead to a very interesting and bright future for Oscorp. It could revolutionise flight technology. That's why the higher up's are considering making some changes and diverting some of the funds from other sections, including yours."
"But...how much?!" Dr Connors asked, looking horrified
"I don't know," Irrfan answered honestly. "Nothing has been finalised yet, it is entirely possible that you might not lose any money at all. The reason I am informing you of this is to prepare you for the possibility."
"Irrfan, if I lose money then I might end up reducing my staff's salary or maybe even firing them!"
"I'm sorry, Curt, but there's not much that I can do. A decision will be made by the end of the week."
"Wait!" Dr Connors said suddenly. "Just give me a few weeks, I'm working on a project that I believe will be even more beneficial to the company. I just need a month or so and I can..."
"I'm sorry," Irrfan cut him off. "But I don't believe it's possible, a decision will be made within a week. I'm sorry, Curt." He said sincerely, giving Dr Connors a small pat on his back. "I wish you the best of luck." He gave him a small nod before he turned and walked out of the office.
"No," Dr Connors let out a deep breath as he allowed himself to fall back on his chair. "No, this can't happen."
Though Irrfan had tried to play it off as a small thing, they both knew it wasn't. The potential loss of funding could reduce his staff while also forcing him to adjust his lab and work, meaning he'd be far less effective. He couldn't have that, not now of all times. He was close to a breakthrough, he knew he was, he was closer than he had ever been in years. If he lost this funding then he could be delayed for who knows how long?
"I need results, and I need them quickly." He whispered to himself.
"So, how do I look?" Harry asked his friends once they stepped back into his room.
He had currently dressed in a stylish pair of red and black trainers, dark black jeans, a light blue shirt and an open, grey-coloured hoodie that came with a hole in each sleeve for him to put his thumb through. He hadn't bothered doing much with his hair besides a feeble attempt at combing it but he had put on a bit of face cream that was supposed to make his face look nicer and he had made sure to brush his teeth extra.
"You're looking good," Peter smiled at him. "But are you sure that's what you're supposed to wear? I thought people had to wear their best and fanciest for dates?"
"It's a date, not prom," Gwen told him with a small roll of her eyes before she looked Harry over. "You are looking good," She said, repeating Pete's words as she wasn't really able to think of anything better. "So, what are you and this 'Chloe' doing for your date?" She asked, somewhat stiffly.
"Um...well, we agreed to start with dinner and a movie," Harry answered as he began adjusting his hoodie. "Not in that order," He added before looking at himself in a mirror. "Hmm, would I look good with an earring?" He muttered to himself before shaking his head. "Anyway, I best be off, and I'll let you know how it goes." He grinned at them before he turned and walked out of his room.
"Ah, young love," Peter put a hand over his heart as if touched.
"I doubt it's love," Gwen replied with a small sniff before she walked out of the room.
"Ah, young denial," Peter smiled.
"Hey," Harry smiled as he met up with Chloe outside of the cinema, she was dressed in simple shoes, jeans and a blue blouse along with an open white jacket. "Looking good."
"Thanks, you too," She smiled at him before he offered her his arm.
"Shall we, my lady?" He asked, she giggled before taking his arm and walking with him inside the cinema. The two walked over to a nearby screen and looked at the list of available films. "So, any preference?" He asked.
"Um, how about that one?" She asked, pointing to a picture of a drama/romance film.
"Um...if you want, I suppose. Actually, what about that one?" Harry asked hopefully, pointing to an action/adventure film that looked quite good.
"I think my choice is better," She hummed.
"Okay then," Harry said, biting back a sigh. "We'll go watch it."
"Great," She smiled brightly at him. "Oh, do you mind if I just go to the toilet for a few minutes?"
"Oh, yeah sure, go ahead." Harry nodded.
"Great, do us a favour and buy the tickets while I'm gone, I'll be right back." She told him before walking off.
"I'm buying tickets for both of us?" Harry muttered under his breath.
Truthfully, the money was not really a problem for Harry, but he did remember his father's concerns about Chloe simply being after him for his money. He wasn't sure, for one, she wasn't acting like how Harry remembered Pansy Parkinson would act, that girl was a definite gold digger. At least he hoped she was, if she was truly that obsessed with Malfoy then there was clearly something wrong with her.
'Perhaps I'm overthinking this,' He thought to himself as he went to buy the tickets. 'It's the first date, and it's just cinema tickets. Don't overthink this.'
"So, did you like the film?" Chloe asked him as the two walked together after leaving the cinema.
"Um, to be honest, not really," Harry confessed. "I didn't really like the main characters. Like, take that girl, for example, if she didn't want to be with him then why not say so? Honestly, they were all just a bunch of idiots making entire situations ten times more complicated than they needed to be."
"Oh, I thought it was alright," She said in a quiet voice.
"Yeah, well, I guess we just have different tastes in films then," He said with a light chuckle, hoping to ease the mood. "I'm more of an action movie sort of guy, though I'm not opposed to a good old comedy. Anyway, it's time to get something to eat."
"Yes," She lit up. "I'm starving."
"Great, so where do you want to go?" He asked.
"Do you have any place in mind?" She asked.
"I'd like to go to Stan's place."
"Stan's?" She repeated.
"He's the best in the city," Harry grinned.
"Isn't there anywhere else we can go?" She asked, lazily looking around. "I'm not really a fan of Stan's." It was fortunate that she was looking somewhere other than Harry or she would have seen the sheer look of disbelief on his face and the temptation to dump her right now.
"Um sure...I guess, how about a McDonald's?" He suggested. "There should be one nearby."
"McDonald's? Really? On a date?" She frowned.
'I could really use a happy meal right now,' He thought to himself before spotting a nearby restaurant. "Let's go there." He suggested, pulling her towards it.
"Okay," She said, not really looking impressed with his choice. "I just figured that you would have tried to take me to some really expensive restaurant." She confessed.
"Why would I do that when the regular ones are just as nice? Besides, I do have an allowance you know, my money is not unlimited." He shrugged, ignoring the voice in his head that was telling him this date was going bad, it didn't help that that voice sounded suspiciously like his father.
"Hi Sweetie, how was your date?" Harry's mother asked as soon as he got through the door. He saw that she was sitting on the sofa and staring at him with an amused look. "How did it go?"
"Um...could have been better, I suppose," Harry said slowly as he closed the door.
"Oh?" As it a button was pressed, all of the amusement vanished from Emily's face. "What's wrong?" She asked.
"Well, it's like this," Harry began as he walked over to her. "We started the date at the cinema and I let her decide what film we were going to watch."
"You didn't like it?" She guessed.
"I hated it so much but that's not the main problem," Harry replied as he sat down. "After that, we were trying to find somewhere to eat and she didn't seem to appreciate any of my choices and told me that she was expecting me to take her somewhere expensive, oh and I paid for our tickets as well. So, I'm basically wondering if we have anything in common and I am not sure if she likes me for me or if she's just interested in how rich I am. Also, I don't know if I'm overthinking this or not."
"Oh Harry," Emily sighed. "I understand, let's tackle this one step at a time, yeah?"
"I defer to your womanly wisdom," Harry shrugged before he gestured for her to continue.
"First of all, it is perfectly fine for you guys to not agree on everything. For some people, opposites attract, you know? No relationship is perfect, you've just got to take your time to decide if you think this person is worth putting up with their flaws. As for your money thing, I can't really say for sure, it's hard to tell. Spend some more time with her, get to know her, If you want a sure way to know then just don't spend any money on her for a while and see what happens."
"That could work," Harry hummed thoughtfully. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," She smiled at him as she affectionately ruffled his hair. "If you want a different opinion then you can talk to your father about it as well."
"Nah," Harry shook his head. "Dad's adopted an 'assume the worst until proven overwise' approach so I already have a fairly good idea about what he's going to say."
"Well, if you're sure, perhaps you could talk to your friends about it." She suggested.
"Maybe," Harry thought about it. "I don't know how much help that'll be since Pete knows less about girls than I do, Gwen might know but I...oh wait, I know exactly who to ask!" Harry grinned.
"Keep your guard up," Daredevil told him.
If one was to enter Fogwell's Gym then they would currently find the odd sight of the Devil of Hell's Kitchen overseeing the boxing training of Spiderman. Both were in their full costumes and had snuck into the gym at night to get some training in. For Spiderman, it was quite helpful in not only teaching him boxing but also helping him work on his power control which turned out to be necessary when he accidentally punched a bag off of the ceiling.
"Good," Daredevil said as Spiderman continued to strike the punching bag. He had been amused by the name that Spiderman had given him, but overall he found that he quite liked it. "You're getting better."
"Thanks," Spiderman said in between a couple of jabs. "Hey, can I ask you a few questions?"
"About what?" Daredevil tilted his head slightly.
"Girls," Spiderman sighed.
"You want to ask me about girls?" He asked with a hint of amusement and disbelief.
"Well, you probably know a bit about them, given your good looks." He defensively stated as he hit the bag with a strong right hook.
"What makes you say that I'm good-looking?" He asked, Spiderman stopped punching and stopped the bag from swinging with his hand before he turned to face Daredevil.
"Your jawline," Spiderman answered simply. "Now, can I ask?"
"If you must," Daredevil said, not really knowing what to say.
"How do you know if a girl likes you and isn't just trying to use you?" He asked, staring straight at his teacher.
"For most people, you simply have to spend a bit of time with her, get to know her, keep an open mind and look at everything objectively." He answered.
"For most people?" Spiderman repeated.
"For guys like you and me," Daredevil paused to tap his ear. "There's a trick, when she's talking, you can pay close attention. Listen to her heartbeat, her breath, that'll tell you everything you want to know."
"So, we're basically fitted with lie detectors in our heads?" He asked.
"More or less," Daredevil nodded. "I should warn you that it's not perfect though, there are many things that can speed up a person's breath and heart."
"Hmm, that could work." He whispered to himself.