It was another day of being Spider-Man... well, actually, today was not a good day for being Spider-Man, because Peter had to go to school with Gwen. Which was perfect, really. He could leave Chameleon hanging for a while. The guy was probably out there waiting for Peter to come after him this morning, and instead Peter could ignore him completely, let him waste the whole day doing free labor for him, then go find the Punisher in the afternoon.
Gwen wasn't wearing the Supergirl cosplay outfit to school. It was different from Peter's suit. The Doctor didn't really have a uniform, just normal clothes, so Peter could walk out the door already dressed for theme day. Gwen, on the other hand, had stuffed her costume into her backpack and planned to change at school. Even if she could explain it away as part of Midtown High's theme week, she still didn't want to ride to school dressed like that.
Still, it was more practical than Harry's motorized wheelchair setup.
"So, Peter? How many classmates have you actually gotten to know at your new school? Besides Harry, Amadeus, and Jessica from the Detective Club... how many other people do you know?"
Peter looked a little awkward when faced with the question. There was technically Flash Thompson too, but since Flash didn't really know Peter Parker, Peter thought it over for a while and then answered honestly.
"No one else."
"It's the second week of school, and you're telling me you only know three new people?"
Gwen looked genuinely stunned.
"That's worse than your middle school record, dude. How do you even manage to start high school and only get to know three people in a whole week?"
In my last life, I spent four years in college without being able to match half the girls in my class to their names, and that was before I had to moonlight as Spider-Man. Where exactly was I supposed to find time to socialize?
That was what Peter thought, but obviously couldn't say out loud. So he just shrugged helplessly.
"I'm not really sure how to talk to people. Especially how to start conversations. I mean, you can't open every conversation by talking about the weather, right?"
"What about your friends, then? Harry and Amadeus? Haven't they introduced you to anyone?"
"Don't count on Amadeus. I think his situation's even worse than mine. He's an international student, living with a host family, and he got bullied by someone like Carl on his first day at school..."
After saying that, Peter thought about Harry. Harry had to be Harry Osborn. He kept watching Spider-Man videos, didn't get along with his father, and never wanted to bring friends over to his house. Peter was basically certain of it now. The only question left was Norman Osborn's current situation. Had he already become the Green Goblin or not? How much did he know about Spider-Man, and what did he think of him?
"As for Harry... his relationship with his dad isn't great. He told me his father never liked any of the friends he made growing up. So I'm guessing he's not exactly good at socializing either."
Gwen opened her mouth, then shook her head hard.
"What kind of friends are you even making?"
"A middle school emotional support group, maybe? I do the counseling, they do the trauma dumping. Something like that."
The two of them stepped onto the subway as they kept talking. Peter, as usual, pulled out his phone and opened another Spider-Man video. Gwen leaned over to look at the screen.
"Are you really that interested in Spider-Man?"
"Not really. Harry's always watching him, and when I asked why, he said it was sort of homework, so now I'm watching too. Do you think Harry's family has some kind of connection to Spider-Man?"
Not a single lie in that sentence. Peter delivered it smoothly enough that Gwen didn't catch anything strange. She thought for a moment and didn't reply, while Peter tapped into the next video.
"Yesterday at two in the afternoon, Spider-Man showed up in Hell's Kitchen and saved two addicts from being beaten to death by drug dealers trying to collect a debt..."
"What's wrong? You don't sound very happy about that."
"It's nothing. I just think... even if Spider-Man saves them, it doesn't really make their lives better. Some things are better never being touched in the first place."
Peter said it casually, and as the subway drew closer to Manhattan, Gwen seemed to remember something.
"I'm stopping by the precinct to see my dad after school. Do you want to come?"
"Hm?"
"Nothing. Just thought of it. The people at the precinct don't know you, so they probably wouldn't let you wander around in there anyway."
Gwen smiled, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and smoothly changed the subject just as the train pulled into the station.
A few minutes later, Peter arrived at his locker, fully prepared for Carl to have stashed something inside to mess with him. His spider-sense gave no warning, which meant whatever was in there wasn't dangerous.
"Three, two, one..."
He yanked the locker open.
There was nothing inside.
Peter put his bag away and took out his books.
One advantage of having the same theme run for five straight days was that if someone thought their first-day costume was bad, they could always switch to something better. For example, Harry's bulky Dalek shell was gone today. When Peter stepped into the classroom, what he found instead was a Cyberman watching Spider-Man videos again.
"Hello, Doctor."
"Hello, Cyberman."
Harry said it jokingly. Amadeus, sitting in the back, looked a little spaced out. Peter greeted him too.
"Hey, Amadeus. So you really did come as Doctor Banner? I thought you'd dress up as the Hulk."
"I do have a Hulk mask." Amadeus picked it up, smiled, then put it back away. "And there's a green T-shirt under this."
"How're you feeling?"
"Pretty good. Just a cold. Slept all day, took some medicine, and I'm mostly fine now."
Amadeus nodded, and he really did look okay. Peter used the chance to ask his next question.
"So where do you live, exactly? We should be able to visit sometime. And if you get sick again, we could check on you."
Amadeus froze at the question. There was a brief pause, like he was searching frantically for an excuse.
"Well, you know I'm staying with a host family... I don't know if they'd let me bring friends over, so I'd have to ask my landlady first."
It sounded like a pretty obvious dodge. After saying it, Amadeus immediately redirected the topic toward Harry.
"Besides, we don't know where Harry lives either, right?"
"My dad's... complicated. He doesn't like me bringing friends home. Sorry."
So after going around in circles, Peter's house was still the only one anyone could freely visit.
"Since nothing much is going on these next few days, how about we all go to Peter's place and play D&D?" Harry looked at Peter a little cautiously. "Your aunt and uncle won't think we're too noisy, right?"
"I don't know. But they're out of town right now. It's just me at home, so if you guys want to come over, that's fine. When were you thinking?"
"Maybe one of the next couple of days?"
"Then call me before you come over. If I'm out doing something, I'll let you know."
Peter thought about it for a moment. Things had been pretty quiet lately, so he agreed. If he happened to be free that evening, it would be fine.
Having friends helped protect Spider-Man's identity, even if Spider-Man only had two of them.
That was how they spent the class. Then after it ended, Peter stepped out into the hall and found someone standing by his locker. Looking more carefully, he realized it was the same guy Carl had recruited yesterday to help break into it.
But today he wasn't trying to pick the lock, and he didn't run when he saw Peter. He looked like he had been waiting for him.
Peter frowned and walked over.
"What is it?"
"I... I don't know. I wanted to ask if you knew what was going on with Carl. He didn't come to school today."
The guy looked like a punk, but in front of Peter he was acting nervous and submissive, like he had been badly shaken by something. He glanced around anxiously as he spoke.
"Didn't you call him and ask?"
"I did. His mom answered. Said he was sick and couldn't come in, so... I mean... he's been really scared of you lately, so I was thinking..."
Peter instantly understood what the guy was trying to say, and sighed in exasperation.
"I didn't do anything, okay? I'm not Carl. I'm not going to turn into a bully. If you're worried I'm going to show up and beat the hell out of you, relax. Maybe Carl should try being a decent person for once. Then he wouldn't have so much to be afraid of."
(End of Chapter)
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