A Peter Parker-centered chapter. A little sneak peek into his life, and how he will eventually become our beloved web slinging hero. I also hope everyone had a great Christmas.


Chapter 20: Peter Parker

Wednesday, October 14th, 2015

"Peter, are you awake?. It's time for school!" Uncle Ben's voice echoed up the stairs. I blinked a few times, waiting for the grogginess to go away. When that didn't seem to be working, I rubbed my eyes with my palms. I felt around on the nightstand for my glasses. Scooting over to the edge of the bed, I glanced over to my bedroom window, seeing and then groaning at the cold air creeping through the opening. I must've left it open a crack last night and rushed over to close it. "It's too early for winter weather," I mumbled. Uncle Ben's voice came from downstairs again, "Peter. Are you up?". "Yeah, just getting changed!" I called back. I didn't feel like going to school as I went through my closet.

My eyes fell upon the picture of my dad with his college roommate, Curt Connors. I used to follow his articles, that was until he went all psychotic reptile. I pulled out my dad's old ESU sweatshirt and slipped it over my head. I was about to close the closet door when a small movement caught my attention. A tiny spider was crawling down the wall next to the open door. Blue and red markings covered its abdomen, almost like a black widow in shape. "Where did you come from?" I said with a laugh. I was never bothered by insects, though May screamed whenever we had spiders, or anything creepy crawly for that matter, in the house. I grabbed a glass jar from one of my shelves and gently ushered the small arachnid inside. I held it up close to my face, and the spider jumped towards the lid with an audible pinging noise.

"How did you do that?. Your legs aren't structured like a jumping spider", I whispered. "Peter!?" Ben's voice sounded again. I nearly dropped the jar in surprise. I quickly set it on the shelf and shut the closet door. I didn't realize that the jar had a chipped edge towards the bottom at the time. I finished gathering my stuff for school and raced out of my room. Uncle Ben was standing at the bottom of the stairs when I rounded the corner. "May has some breakfast waiting for you. Finish up, and I can run you to school if you want," he said. "Uh, yeah, sure. Thanks, Uncle Ben", I replied.

The smell of freshly made pancakes reached my nose and made my mouth water. I hopped up onto one of the stool seats as Aunt May slid my plate across the table. There were double the pancakes she usually put on. "Since you didn't eat last night and went straight to bed," Aunt May said. She stared at me over her glass of orange juice, waiting for my response. "I, uh, wasn't feeling great yesterday," I replied. Her eyes lost their resolve, and she cast them down for a moment. Setting the glass down, May reached across the table and covered my hand with hers. "Are you ok to go to school?" she asked softly. "Yeah, I'm good. I don't want to get too far behind," I said.

May gave me a warm smile and withdrew her hand. Finishing off her glass, she stood up from the table. "Try to have a good day, alright?" she asked. "Promise," I replied. She gave me a reassuring pat on my shoulder before she walked out of the kitchen. I soon was sitting in the passenger seat of Ben's old Toyota. I watched Queens fly by, my head leaned against the window. Kew Garden Hills soon gave way to the more familiar streets of Forest Hills. Uncle Ben pulled up in front of the school, and before I could get out, he gripped my shoulder. "I found this last night in a few of your dad's old things. You could use it more than May and I", he said softly.

He handed me a folded photo, and I took it, opening it up. In the picture were my parents, holding a 5-year-old me. In the background was the Six Flags by Darien Lake. "I remember this trip. We spent almost seven hours in the car. This was the last fun thing we did before dad started acting different," I said. "I know things haven't been easy the past few weeks, Peter. And still, things to come that will be hard, but I want you to keep your head up, alright?" he said. "I will, Uncle Ben," I said with a smile. His gaze was drawn to something towards the school, and he pointed. Zoey and Kamala were walking up the pathway into the school. "Your friends will be there for you. According to May, Zoey even more so", he said. "Stop. She got you to tease me, too?" I laughed.

Uncle Ben chuckled and replied, "Love you, Pete." I hopped out of the car, "love you too, Uncle Ben," I said. I rushed up the walkway to catch up to them. The two of them were already at their lockers when I finally caught up to them. Zoey's eyes started to have dark spots under them, and her hair was a tangled mess around her shoulders. Zoey was laughing about something Kamala had said, but it sounded sort of hollow. I leaned up against the locker next to hers. "Hey guys," I said. Kamala gave me a small wave, and Zoey turned to face me. Her hazel eyes were clouded, and the smile she had didn't quite reach them.

"Hi Pete," she replied, her voice coming out tiny. "How are you feeling?" she asked. "Ok. I'm a little more worried about you. You look like you haven't slept in a while," I said. Kamala's head peeked around the locker door, "she hasn't. Riri and I have been trying since the other day to get her to sleep", she said. "Because I can't. Every time I go to shut my eyes, I see my dad dying," she said, her voice breaking. Kamala winced a little at the insensitivity her words probably had, and she rested an arm around Zoey. "Sorry, Z," Kamala said. "It's ok, Kamala," Zoey said quietly. She shut her locker and slung her bag onto her shoulder. "Is Grayson here today?" I asked, the three of us starting to walk to homeroom.

"No. He has to go up to the stand today," Zoey replied. "What, why?" Kamala asked. "He was at Oscorp just a few days before, might've seen something the judge needs to know," she answered. "That must be rough, having to go up and relive it," Kamala whispered. "I wouldn't be able to," Zoey said in a hushed tone. I looked over at her and reached out with my hand. I interlaced my fingers with hers, and she rested her head onto my shoulder as we kept walking. Kamala peered around Zoey and looked straight at me. She had a trace of a smirk on her face before she returned her gaze to the hallway. In homeroom, Zoey sat next to me and laid her head on my shoulder again.

Zoey turned her head to look at the sweatshirt I had on. "Is that your dad's?" she asked. "Yeah. I forgot I had it stashed away in my closet," I replied. "Are you ok?" she asked again, tentatively. "Better than I was. Had trouble eating at first," I said. "I couldn't keep anything down. I threw up when I found out", she said. I winced at the revelation and rested an arm around her. "I just have this horrible feeling that something is going to go wrong," Zoey whispered. "This will be over in a few weeks, and he'll be locked away in a dark hole in Ryker's," I said, bringing comfort to her or me; I wasn't entirely sure. We sat like this for most of the homeroom.

Our friends kept shooting glances our way, a few smirks upon their faces. Harry seemed pissed off about something, but I couldn't put my finger on it. The bell let us out, and he was the first to storm out. "What's Osborn's deal?" America asked, sliding her books into her backpack. "Harry and MJ had a fight. MJ said he has a crush on Zoey", Doreen said. "What!?" Zoey said. My eyebrows furrowed, "does he?" I asked. "I hope not. Harry's a rich stuck up bratty asshole", Zoey said. "Is he mad at Zoey because of that?" Riri asked. We all stepped out of the classroom and headed to our lockers.

"Knowing Harry, he probably is," America said. "I didn't even know he and MJ were officially dating, so how is this Zoey's fault?" Kamala asked. Doreen simply shrugged, not able to give a definite answer. America, Doreen, and Riri left us to go to their first class. Harry was standing at his locker when Kamala, Zoey, and I got there, and his gaze immediately fixed onto Zoey. "I don't need this right now," Zoey groaned. Harry slammed his locker shut and stormed up to us. "What did you tell MJ!?" he yelled, getting in Zoey's face. "Nothing. Why would I?" Zoey replied, backing against the lockers. "You did something. Now MJ won't talk to me!" he said.

He stood over Zoey, keeping her pinned against the lockers. "Harry, she didn't do anything. Leave her alone", Kamala said. "Shut up and stay out of it," Harry spat. "Harry, back off," I said, laying a hand on his shoulder. I didn't see his fist even coming, just felt a fiery pain in my stomach. "Peter!" Zoey yelled. I stumbled back, trying to draw a breath. Kamala ran off, probably to go find a teacher or the principal. Harry blocked Zoey against the lockers again and started yelling about him and MJ. I frantically pulled out my inhaler and took a few puffs out of it.

Zoey was just staring up at Harry, her eyes fearful and filling with tears. "Harry, I didn't do anything!" Zoey cried. Harry had his grip on Zoey's arm, keeping her from running. "Hey!" a girl's voice rang out. I looked over to the entrance to see Daisy there, her gaze steely. "Get away from her," she said, walking right up to Harry. Daisy stepped in between Zoey and Harry, an arm out protecting Zoey. "What is wrong with you. She's got enough on her plate without you being an asshole", Daisy said. Harry scoffed and stood his ground despite Daisy's furious expression. "This is none of your business, leave," Harry said.

Daisy's eyes narrowed, "No. Leave her alone. I don't give a shit who your dad is, you don't have a right to treat anyone this way. Rich spoiled punk. You leave, little boy", Daisy spat. Harry's eyes widened, and he stepped back a step. His fist flew again, straight for Daisy, expecting her to flinch. That wasn't what happened. In a movement too fast to see, Daisy had Harry's hand in a painful hold. His fingers faced downwards, crushed in Daisy's grip. She twisted, so his arm was behind him, and she applied more pressure. Harry winced and danced around on his tiptoes. "You are going to get your things and walk right out of here, am I clear?" Daisy asked. Harry gritted his teeth and shook his head.

Daisy pulled his arm further up behind him, and Harry whimpered in pain. I bit back the laugh at the sight of Harry's face. Harry quickly nodded his head, and Daisy pushed him away, Harry smacking into the wall. Harry scrambled to gather his stuff and rushed out, sniffling. Daisy stretched out a hand to me, pulling me up off of the floor. "Are you guys ok?" she asked. "Yes. Thank you", Zoey said. She wiped a hand across her face to get rid of the tears. I slid my inhaler back into my pocket. Daisy scooped up Zoey's bag and held it out to her.

"Come on. I'll walk you guys to class," Daisy said. Mr. Grant's class was already full when we got there, and Daisy stopped at the door. Zoey walked in first, and I turned to Daisy. "How did you know Harry was bullying Zoey?" I asked. "I didn't. But Grayson asked me, Morgan, and Felicia to keep an eye on her. Glad I stopped by when I did. He didn't hit her, did he?" she asked. "No. He might've if you didn't get there," I replied. "For his sake, that's a good thing. I held back enough. I can't speak for Grayson when he hears about this," Daisy said. "Thanks again, Daisy," I said, stepping past her. "No problem. Just come to one of us if he causes trouble again," she said. I walked into the classroom and sat down next to Zoey.

Riri was drilling her with questions throughout the period after noticing Zoey's eyes were red from crying. By lunch, none of us had seen any sign of Harry. Felicia and Morgan had kept checking in whenever they passed us in the halls. I passed through the lunch line and sat at our usual table. "Did Harry run home to daddy when that Daisy girl kicked his ass" America was asking. "Yes. He ran past me into the office crying", Riri said with a laugh. America smirked, "serves him right," she said. I saw a flash of red hair out of the corner of my eye. MJ ran up to our table and laid a hand on Zoey's arm. "Oh, my God. I am so sorry about Harry. I didn't think he'd react that way", she said.

"Why would you tell him I had a crush on him?" Zoey asked. "I wasn't being serious, Zoey. He's been acting different, and I just asked if that's what it was. Then he got all defensive and accused me of wanting to break up," MJ replied. "It's Harry. He always changes his mood when it suits him," America said. "I'm not happy with you, MJ, but you need to fix things with Harry," Zoey said. "I will. And I'm sorry again", MJ said. I watched her go back to her own table and turned back around to Zoey. She was rubbing her hands over her eyes. "Do you need to go home?" Riri asked. "No. I just want to get through today. Harry's not here, and I can focus on schoolwork," Zoey replied. "At least gym class won't be hell," I said.

Zoey groaned and laid her head down onto the table. "Nice one, Parker," America muttered. I held my hands up, "what?" I asked. I would eventually find out how wrong I was. Sixth period came, and I found out our fate. The ball smacked me in the face for the third time. The gym teacher had announced the pickup game we were doing today, resulting in a groan from Ned and me. The layup from Kamala bounced off the rim and launched towards Ned. "Oh shit," Ned said, quickly ducking his head. Zoey swept in behind him, and the ball was suddenly in her grasp.

Our team was way behind, all of us being the non-sporty type. Zoey's mood had seemingly improved, and she was now smiling, bolting around me. I was drenched in sweat, and it was starting to get hard to breathe. Zoey leaped up off the court and tipped the ball into the net. America high fived her, and Zoey's attention was then focused on me. Pretty sure I was having a full-blown asthma attack. Zoey set the ball down, noticing how I was bent over, trying to draw a breath. "Pete?" she asked, full of worry. Zoey came over to rest a hand on my back, and Mr. Winchester looked up from his clipboard. "Parker, you good?" he asked.

"I need my inhaler," I gasped out as best I could. Zoey raced over and scrounged through my bag, taking out the inhaler and running back over. I took it from her and quickly pressed down on it. The prednisone coated the inside of my throat, and a coolness spread. I took a deep breath and straightened up. Zoey's eyes remained on me as I walked over to sit down. A water bottle appeared in my vision, and Mr. Winchester stared down at me. "Alright, the game's over, guys. Take it easy next time, Parker", he said. "Thanks," I said, waving the bottle in the air. Mr. Winchester headed back into his office, and Zoey and Riri helped me off of the bleachers.

Zoey handed me my bag, and we all strode back into the locker rooms to change. Zoey was waiting for me outside in the hall when I walked out. I was still a little winded, something Zoey took notice of right away. "Do you need to go home?" she asked. "No, I'll be fine once I get to Ryder's class. Just going to lay my head down for a bit," I replied. "He lets students sleep in his class?" Zoey asked. "Yep. Though it may just be because he doesn't pay attention," I said. Zoey let out a small laugh, and the two of us separated to our different periods. "I'll see you in study hall, Pete," Zoey said. I smiled back in response and made the long walk to the garage area.

This was the only class with a mix of high schoolers, and a few upperclassmen sat on one side. I waved to Daisy and Felicia before taking my seat. Daisy gave me a smile in return, and Felicia nodded her head once. The guy to Felicia's right gave me a small wave back too. I sat down and glanced back at Ryder, making sure he was preoccupied. Sure enough, he was busy looking over a magazine, and his eyes looked like they were getting heavy. I grinned and twisted back around. Felicia apparently had the same idea as me when Ryder's head finally slumped forward. She leaned her head up against the guy's shoulder and shut her eyes. Daisy propped her feet up on the desk and had her phone out.

I tucked my head into my arms, setting my glasses into the case in my bag. The next thing I knew, someone was shaking my shoulder gently. It was the guy who had been sitting next to Felicia. "Yo, class is about to end," he said. I wiped the blurriness from my eyes, "Thanks," I said. "No problem," he replied. Gathering my things, I planned on just leaving any homework I had until I got home. Eight period was better, now that Harry wasn't here. America was going on and on about topics that Harry would've thrown in his two cents about. MJ sat alone, her head in her hands, staring into space.

Zoey, Riri, and Kamala talked about sports since Riri spoke to the coach for the girls' JV basketball team. After that, I tuned them out, not being able to play a sport, making it that much easier. Maybe if I hadn't gotten rheumatic fever sixth-grade year, things would be better. The bell rang loudly, and the entirety of the class rushed out to go home. After the bus dropped me off, I went straight back to my room. Aunt May and Uncle Ben were still in court, it seemed. I flung my backpack onto the bed and walked straight to my closet. I opened it up and picked the jar up the spider was in. Or used to be in, as the jar was now empty. I now noticed the crack at the bottom.

"Oh shit," I said, setting the jar down. I switched on all the lights and checked the corners of my room. I searched up and down the walls in the closet but found no sign of it. If this spider was venomous and if it bit somebody, I thought, freaking out. I searched my room for at least another hour before giving up. There was no sign, no shred of webbing to show where it had made one, and it couldn't have gone outside, with it being too cold. What I didn't realize was that while I had been searching my room the whole time, up in the vents, the spider had been weaving an intricate web.


So Peter's brought about his own fate. I wanted to change up the way he ended up getting bit, since every way detailed him being at Oscorp. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see ya next time. Stay safe everyone, Grayson out!.