For some people, the hardest part of heading off to college is saying goodbye to their family. One of these people is Peter Parker. Not that he has a lot of family members to deal with, but he does have aunt May. And he's rather worried about going so far away, since she might need some help around the house that isn't exactly doable for an old woman. But apparently the neighbor boy has already been cast as his replacement.

"Don't worry about me, dear. This is about you, I can't keep you under my wing forever. Go, learn, make some new friends, have some adventures. You're young, it's what you need."

"I know, aunt May, but-"

"No buts, I can take care of myself. Now go." She pushed the boy towards the door, "Do call me when you've moved in, though. I want to know everything."

Peter sighed in defeat, but couldn't keep a small smile off his lips. "Alright, you win. I'll miss you." He hugged the woman and picked his bags off the floor, huffing with the effort.

"You too." Came the reply as Peter waddled off to the cab.

He was leaving not only his home, but also his state to live somewhere he'd never been. As a guy who hadn't traveled much, this all seemed so terrifying and new, that peter had hoped aunt May would actually want him to stay so that he'd have a reason to turn down this terrifying new world. But, obviously, the world was against him as always. Okay, it was just college, not a prison he was going to, but it was all so new to him…

-o-o-

Two cab rides and a short, but excruciatingly boring flight later, Peter was at the gates of his new college. It looked so much friendlier on the brochure, all colorful and cheery, with smiling people all up front it was…tall and menacing, like it was about to suck his soul out in exchange for a piece of paper. Well, that was exactly what colleges did, but he had hoped it wouldn't be as terrifying when the time came.

Student were roaming around the grounds, some dragging along baggage, some talking to friends, there was even a couple kissing under a tree, everybody seemed to know what they were doing. Peter, however, had no idea why he had chosen this place when there were so many places closer to home. Okay, they didn't have the country's best photography courses. A pretty solid reason. Didn't help with the first-day-of-college jitters, though.

Gathering up what was left of his courage, Peter ventured into the territory in hopes of finding his dorm room with minimal embarrassment. It actually went surprisingly well, as just about fifteen minutes later, he was at room 251. Thankfully, it was unlocked and with a quiet sigh he marched in, only to be greeted by a rather displeased blond guy.

"The fuck you mean you can't connect to the Wi-Fi?!" Came an offended shout, as the man rather violently tapped away at the keyboard. Just what he needed, an anger management dropout with no compassion towards computers whatsoever.

"Uh…hi. I'm Peter. Your roommate?" It came out more as a question, Peter's horrible communicating skills kicking into full gear. Great, time to make a fool out of myself again. Maybe I should kick it up a notch and trip, too?

The man turned his head away from the computer, quickly replacing the angered look with a gleeful smile. "Hey, you. I'm Johnny, glad to meet ya. You wouldn't happen to know the Wi-Fi password for this building would ya?"

"I do, actually." Peter smiled back, a little awkward and surprised. Okay, so maybe he only hates computers.

He set the bags on the floor and closed the door behind him.

"One second," Peter mumbled, kneeling down to fumble around one of the bags for a moment before finding the small paper safely stuffed into his planner and handing it to Johnny, "Here you go."

"You're a lifesaver, kid." Came the reply as the piece of paper was snatched out of Peter's hand and the man went back to violating they keyboard.

"Yeah, uh, no problem."

Momentarily freed from socializing, Peter took in the small room. Two desks, two beds, two small closets, nothing out of the ordinary and everything very boring looking. Johnny had already claimed the right side of the room, judging by the posters of half naked women on the wall and the clothes covering the entire bed. So, obviously, Peter took the left side, setting his bags on the bed before getting to organizing.

Quickly enough, everything was in it's rightful place and he was free to set up his computer and scope out a place to eat. Not having had the time to eat since early morning meant anything would do. And, like a blessing, a pizza place popped up in the search results, only a short walk away from campus. Grinning like he'd just won the lottery, Peter shut his computer and grabbed his wallet.

"I'm heading out to the pizza place. Want something?" He asked Johnny, pulling a jacked out of the closet.

"Yeah, man. Bring me a Hawaiian, large." Came the reply, accompanied by an outstretched hand and a twenty dollar bill, "A coke wouldn't hurt, either."

Peter accepted the money, stuffing it into his wallet. "Alright, see ya."

And with that, he was on his merry way to a full stomach. Honestly, after spending even just a little time here, college didn't seem nearly as terrifying. Or his roommate. He should probably stop assuming the worst about everything. Then again, the classes could be a nightmare. No, shut up, Parker. Be positive. Positive!

-o-o-

The pizza place seemed nice and cozy, albeit filled with students. It wasn't large by any standards, but it had a nice feel to it, it just seemed comfortable. Now, the only problem was that every single table was taken. Students crowded everywhere, every table, every seat taken. Except…There was a small table in the corner, meant for two people and only one person was sitting there. A rather muscular seeming guy with a hoodie hiding his face. Normally, Peter wouldn't have the balls to even think about it, but damn it, he was starving.

He marched up to the table and touched the man's shoulder before he could reconsider. The man looked up and Peter barely held back a gasp. The man was, well, something. His whole face seemed burned, uneven skin covering his entire head. It's not like Peter was disgusted, no, he wasn't really superficial, but he hadn't been expecting the view before him. Rather than disgust, he felt pity. The man must've been through something horrible.

As if sensing Peter's initial thoughts, the man drew his brows together and in a low and somewhat irritated tone questioned "What?"

"I- uh.." Peter cleared his throat and tried again. "Sorry, um, I was wondering if I could sit here? All the other seats are taken and I'm starving and I'm hungry as all hell and I'm sorry if I was staring, if you want me to leave you alone, sure, I got no problem with that, no sir."

Yeah, that rant was totally necessary…

"Yeah, you can sit." Was all the answer Peter got and he quickly sat down, grabbing the menu.

Embarrassment was running through his system and settling on his cheeks in a light red tint. Great first impression, Parker… But instead of moving to a corner and sitting there in shame, Peter decided on scanning the menu for some delicious salvation. God, everything seemed so mouth-wateringly tasty that he had a hard time chasing away the thought of buying everything.

The waitress came by soon enough, wondering what he would like. Peter settled his mind and ordered a plate of ribs and cola to calm his very sad and very empty stomach, as well as what Johnny wanted.

"And you, sir?" The waitress turned to the other man with a cheerful smile.

"The biggest batch of pancakes you can give me. And coffee. Black."

"Alright, your orders will be here soon. The pizza will be by the counter."

Now that looking at the menu was no excuse, Peter settled on people watching instead of staring at the table in his usual awkward style. Everyone here seemed near his age, so they were probably all students. I wonder if any of them are gonna be in my classes. Sadly, after a while even people watching seemed to lose it's charm, as no one was doing anything interesting, everyone was just chatting and eating happily.

With a soft sigh, Peter turned his gaze back to the man in front of him, slightly startled to see the man staring right at him. But as soon as they locked eyes, the man turned his head down, fidgeting around with a toothpick.

Feeling incredibly rude for invading someone's personal space and then just staring at them, Peter decided on making some small-talk, maybe that would make this situation less awkward. Knowing Peter though, it'd probably make it worse. But hey, don't knock it till you try it.

"So, uh, do you go to this college? I haven't seen you on campus. I mean, I've only been here one day, but, uh…yeah."

The man froze for a moment, probably wondering why the hell Peter was talking to him.

"Yeah. This is my first day, too. I don't live on campus, though."

Huh, that was more than Peter expected. He didn't lift his head, but the man didn't seem as harsh as he did at first, too. His awkward staring was probably to blame for that…

"Man, you're lucky. The dorm rooms are so small and don't have bathrooms, so you gotta walk some and pray that everything isn't taken. Are you a local? I mean, since you don't live on campus."

"Nah, I'm from two states away. Didn't feel like sharing a crappy little room, so I rented an apartment." The man finally looked up, locking eyes with Peter once more. "Plus, I get to live right between this place and the college. Pretty nice, if you ask me."

"I bet. What are you studying? I'm here to take photography courses, this college has the best ones, plus, the teachers are actual popular photographers." Peter smiled, trying to be friendly instead of seeming like he was interrogating the man.

"Engineering. It's not what I really want to do with my life, but it'll pay the bills till I find out what I actually want."

"That's pretty cool, I was all over engineering in high school, but I guess I prefer photography, it's just what I really want to do professionally."

Well, this is going rather well. Small-talk, the promise of food and a tablemate that didn't actually hate his guts. A silence settled for a moment, before Peter decided it would only be polite to introduce himself by now, with a kind smile, of course.

"I'm Peter, by the way. Peter Parker. What's your name?"

"Wade Wilson. Cool to meet ya." The man smiled back and he would be damned if Peter wouldn't notice how the man's entire face lit up with just a small smile.

The waitress soon arrived, holding their food and setting it down in front of them, along with cutlery and drinks. With a "Enjoy your meal!" she was gone as quickly as she had appeared.

Peter was quick to assault the food, gleefully chewing on the delicious meat, thanking the gods for this gift. Wade was close behind, showing no mercy to the pancakes in front of him.

Having calmed his stomach a little, Peter allowed himself to slow down a bit, avoiding looking like a feral animal throughout the entire meal. He glanced over at Wade who seemed rather relentless in brutally murdering the pancakes.

"Who eats breakfast food in the evening?" He questioned the man, before taking a sip of his coke.

"A smart man. Pancakes are a gift to mankind and we must cherish it as such, giving them love at any time of the day." Wade took a small break from the assault to answer the question, sounding extremely serious.

"You call that cherishing? It looks like you're giving them what they deserve for beating up your puppy. That's the most violent pancake eating I've ever seen." Peter chuckled, receiving a small laugh as a reply. The man had a nice laugh.

"Don't listen to him, babies, he doesn't understand our relationship." Wade whispered to the pancakes, petting them with his fork.

"That might just be one relationship I actually don't want to understand." He replied with a smile.

Their meal continued for some time, filled with a pleasant conversation and some jokes. but soon came the time when their plates were empty and the bill was paid.

"I guess I'll see you around campus, Wade." Peter smiled, standing up.

"Sure hope so, Petey."

"Ugh, no, bad nickname, think of a better one before we meet again. Bye, though, I gotta bolt."

With that, he left, shaking his head at the "Bye, sweetums," that followed up from Wade.

Peter grabbed the pizza and coke for Johnny and headed back to his dorm, a smile on his face. This was a promising beginning to his college life.

Okay, maybe this whole thing won't turn out so bad.