In reality, no one has an arch nemesis. But in my case, there is one. His name is Eugene 'Flash' Thompson, who has been the popular cool kid since elementary school. He in best in sports, looks and money. My relationship with him can allude to that of Captain America and Red Skull except the former was famous and loved.

Aunt May will kill me for not introducing myself. My name is Peter Parker. From elementary school, I was a studious kid- simply a nerd. Braces, spectacles, and simple white shirts were all the nerdy elements which I had until the end of junior high. Uncle Ben teach me a lot of things. One of them is to beat my enemy without using your hands.

The only sports where I can beat Flash "the best" Thompson is skating, skateboarding and cycling. It pisses him when I win against him. Let me tell you an incident from 6 years old...

The 10-year-old me on my Road Racer, was riding and at the same time trying to escape Flash and his then goons. I don't want to boast but I was fast despite my skinny legs. "Hey Puny Parker, stop or I will beat you till you start crying?" yelled Flash as he tried to catch breathe.

"You will beat me anyway Eugene." I loudly replied to him and then whispered to myself "So I will get beaten after trying my best."

Usually, it was supposed to be a lazy Sunday morning at 20 Ingram Street. I was supposed to help Uncle Ben with chores while Aunt May prepares her lovely Pancakes for breakfast but I was stuck in this cat and mouse chase. The reason was that I won a little no meaning race against Flash.

"Puny Parker, if you won't stop then... then..." Flash breath was unstable yet his eyes were bloodshot and his nerves were too tight. He desired to beat me and stops this itch his hands were having after the race. Wait I am describing a 10-years-old, am I not?

"Or what? You will cry and wet your diaper?" I joked. I knew those goons wanted to laugh but were too afraid of their boss.

"You are a dead meat, Parker?" Flash yelled again.

"Cannibalism, seriously?"

"What is that?" Flash is not very bright in studies. His brain is on his knees.

Flash did not expect this. I hit the brakes while Flash kept riding only to realize it later. I started running off the road. I ran towards a fence and stopped there while Flash in one jump crossed the fence. "Your name suits you."

"What do you mean, Parker?" Flash knew I am sarcastic when I praise him.

"You run into trouble in a flash." I backed off a little as I read loudly "Beware of Dogs"

I could have heard the dog's barks and his painful scream from miles away. For future insurance, I punctured their wheels and broke their chains. If I tell you that this chase is going on. I am speaking truth. The only difference is that they are on the Motorbikes and I am still riding the bicycle.

"Where do you think you can run to with that piece of junk, Puny Parker?" Flash says obviously in his prideful and overconfident voice. The reason he is chasing me now is wait-for-it: nothing he just loves to beat a crap out of me.

"Hey, Eugene! Do you remember the trick that I showed you that day?" I ask Flash with breath heavier than his.

"What trick?" Flash memory is really poor and so of his goons.

I hit the brakes and stand on my front wheels. "I pulled off an endo." Flash is ahead of me. Too much off a deja vu. I smile and open my bag and take out my skateboard and flew from the scene. Flash is probably shouting PARKER!

I have an advantage now as I can escape from small streets. But I know Flash as he would probably pick my cycle and chase me again. My phone rings with an unknown number on my mobile phone. Of course, it is no credit card company. I am a penny less. I am busy escaping Flash and his goons but I still attended the call.

"Hello, Peter Parker speaking. Whoever is on the other side called at the wrong time." I answer.

"Fake tone and lots of irregular breathing, surely, Flash is giving you a hard chase." jokes the caller.

I give the biggest smile I can probably give and bite my tongue "I can't believe you returned, man. I missed you so much, Harry." I say as I forgot and notice that Flash has cleared the distance while I took little rest after hearing this surprise.

"PARKER!" Flash shouted.

"JEEZ! Looks like I literally called you at the wrong time." Harry said as he hears me laughing "Okay, give me your location. Where are you?"

"I am near the Subway station," I answer despite the fact that it is hard for me to utter a single word.

"Okay, you have to run from Flash for like 5 more minutes, I will meet you near the second exit of the station," Harry ordered.

I assure myself that I can ride for 5 more freaking minutes. It is easy but I am afraid that I will get beaten by Flash if I slow myself anymore. I am used to Flash beating me but today is different. We have a school trip which I really need to attend but I won't be if I have to spend this day in School Clinic.

"Oh! Pesky Parker!"

"Oh, crap! Are you kidding me?" Flash is right behind me. I can hear myself breathing. I am only escaping him because I hide within the crowd which is something I love New York City for. I say to myself, "Just 20 seconds more." I am feeling sick. Ten seconds and I saw it. Harry Osborn's limo was in front of me.

Harry opens the car door and yells "Hurry up, Pete." I beg my legs to keep going.

I close my eyes for the last 5 seconds and pray. I fall on a soft surface. I was already in my friend's limo and I crashed him and knocked him into the other side. We look at each other. We laugh. I am safe. Flash must be thinking of dumping me in a dustbin.

Harry hands me a water bottle. I take a big sip from the bottle and relax. It takes me a minute to see Mr. Norman Osborn in my front of my seat. I set my hair properly, and sit with my back straight and greet him. "Good Morning, Mr. Osborn." I try to sound as formal as I can while tidying up my hair and clothes. Harry is silently giggling on this scene.

"You should do something about this bully... what is his name? Eugene?" Mr. Norman asks "If you insist..."

"We call him Flash and no sir, it is okay." Whenever Mr. Osborn puts his hands inside the coat, he reaches for his phone to create a 'favorable' situation for us. Usually, whenever I meet Mr. Osborn, he never replies in hello or good morning. "Flash is mean but is still a good guy."

"You are too forgiving Peter?" Mr. Osborn suggests while clinging a fist. "You have to become harsh to survive."

"I will keep that in mind sir." Harry is quietly smiling. He knows that it is awkward talking to his father especially when he is forcing things on someone. He likes me as a son. Harry and I are the childhood friend. I will mention later how we both met. "So may I guess the reason how Midtown High had managed to arrange a trip to OsCorp Labs?"

"Well, Peter..." Mr. Osborn starts to explain "I expect great things..." Harry looks annoyed because he knows what is coming next. His father is expecting great things from me and not him. But Mr. Osborn gives a warm smile and what comes next takes the words out of out mouth. "-from both of you." We both were not expecting that, and seriously 'that' "But Harry is behind everyone and this school trip will give him a chance to improve, so I was wondering..."

"I will help him pass his semester exams if you promise that Dr. Otto Octavius and Dr. Kurt Connors will be our guide." I an anxious but entering OsCorp and meeting my role models is a dream.

"You have become quite a negotiator." Honestly, it just came to my mouth. Harry drops his jaw. He never expects me to do this. Even I never expect that either of us will ever try to negotiate with him in this lifetime.

"I will see, what I can do?" Mr. Osborn reaches his inner coat pocket and calls his lab.

I and Harry are talking about past years. "So how was boarding school?"

Harry makes an irritating face and answers, "Do I really need to answer that. Life sucks in the Boarding School. How could I be happy when all egoistic brats are in this school and me,who never let the amount speak are something of an explosive chemical reaction."

"Lame chemistry joke." I tease.

"Oh man! Already got your nerdy germs." I hit him hard on the shoulders for that line. "Oh, crap! That hurts." He says sarcastically. "So anything changed when I was not here?"

"Man, you just wait and see-"

We exit the limo and here we are Midtown High School. A fountain in the middle of the entrance with couples chatting. The front building is older than the rest and looks pale in comparison. The parking is full with kids. Nerds and bookworms are hurrying to avoid Flash while cheerleaders, of course, are waiting for Flash. Liz Allen and Sally Avril gives me an annoying stingy stare.

"What is their problem?"

"They do that every time when I am around with a handsome guy." Harry might not stand up to his father's 'expectations' but still, for us, he is a tall, slim and handsome guy with money. What else girl's need? "You can call it Midtown Standard. They basically hate when nerds hang around with popular students."

"Ooh! They think I am handsome."

I look ahead, two girls- one redhead wearing a pink t-shirt and a spectacled blonde are waving to me. They are Mary Jane 'MJ', Watson and Gwen Stacy. I pull Harry by the collar of his shirt and tell him to run with me. For a nerdy kid like me, those two girls were the only moral support I had until Harry returned.

"Hey, Peter! Who is this guy?" MJ asks

"Name Harry Osborn, Nice to meet you, princess." Harry flirts with MJ. We all give him a weird look. I slap my forehead. Harry gets himself into trouble just a minute of entering the school. I whisper in Gwen's ear to explain the whole situation. She laughs. I can't believe that... he... does... not... recognize ...her.

We are all in same Biology class for the first period and Mary Jane... well she is still beating Harry with a book "How dare you forget me and not Peter?"

"Watch it, girl?" Harry argues "Last time we met... you were a fatso."

"I was not fat." MJ reply "I was tall. You don't even remember that." MJ is red with anger. Not red like her hair and is still beating Harry for calling her fat. Honestly, I could not stop laughing. I missed this day.

"FYI, You were the one who asked my name first," Harry says.

"It is called pulling-" this discussion can go for an hour if it is Harry and MJ. I will tell you a tale later.

"You are really good friends." Gwen compliments

"Yes..." I answer. "Yes we are and now you are part of this crazy crew too." All three of us give a big smile to her.

"If that is the case then give one hit to Harry on my behalf."

"Sure."

"Wait. Why?" Harry asks loudly

"You flirted with my best friend, Harry Osborn," Gwen answers jokingly.

Bell rings and we rush to out our seats. Flash is eagerly waiting for his chance to beat me after the class. Though I am sure that he will he throwing paper balls on me. Our Biology teacher has papers in his hands. Every student feels sick after watching those sheets.

"I will announce the marks on the rank basis." Teach declares.

"So who you think will be first," MJ asks Harry. And I know exactly why she asks that.

"Are you joking?" Harry mocks her. "My bro from another mo, Peter is already a winner of the first rank." Gwen gives a fake cough "You need something." Harry asks cluelessly.

"So the one to score first is... Gwen Stacy." Teacher's announcement of the first rank is a shocker to Harry's ears.

"We have two geniuses in our group." MJ mocks Harry.

"OK, but the second rank goes to-"

"Maxwell Dillon, you are second followed by Peter Parker." Harry is upset. I stand up and he is all surprised. MJ suggest that next time they will make a $10 bet. Harry tries his best not to give a reaction to her. I take my sheet from teaching and Max Dillon whispered in my ear, "You are not the only genius in the school."

"Wait? What?" I found myself a textbook rival I guess.

" the Whole group flunked the test!? Midtown Standard sure don't count brains." Harry is sure to be loud. Flash and the girls are pretty upset about the comment, but would not dare to reply in front of the teacher. Rest of the class was used up to give instructions about the trip. "I am bored, where to next?"

"I and Gwen have our band practice."

"School band? Jeez, I guess your dictionary defines cool as boring."

"We don't have big bucks to be cool, Osborn."

Gwen and I pull the redheads aside before the arguments turn into a brawl. Believe me, most of the food fights in Kindergarten are their results. I keep pushing Harry until both of us can't see the girl's faces. Darn it! Aren't we looking weird? "Stop pushing me mate."

"You need to cool off," I suggest him.

"Pete- I am always cool." He brags.

"2nd grade, Mrs. Petunia's class; 5th Gymnastic class. You want more examples?"

"NO!"

"Good! Now look at it." I turn his face towards the poster. It says: PLAYERS NEEDED! BASKETBALL TRYOUT! Harry rush to the poster and yells "AWESOME! My chance to shine comes."

"You still are a basketball fanatic."

"Just wait and watch MJ. I am going to be so popular. Then I will keep you as my personal assistant. You will fill the newspaper with about my winning shots and I will rule this school." Harry sounds like a maniac- and more people are crowding up to see that.

Flash is very irritated. Because of the school trip, Flash is warned: "ONE PRANK AND YOU ARE SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL AND PERMANENTLY KICKED OUT OF BASKETBALL CLUB." It gives him one more reason to trash me into the dustbin. Since MJ befriended Gwen, girls around Flash get less opportunity to pull insults on later because of MJ's fashion advice. This irritates Liz and Sally even more. Our PT teacher and Martial Arts coach Steve Rogers is whistling around and 'commanding' us to quickly move our feet. He is popular with girls. He is coolest of all teachers. Rumor is that he is an ex-military officer. He is pretty young if he is retired.

Basketball club is the center of attraction winning straight 3 championships: Flash Thompson, the captain; Kenny McFarlane, the muscle; Randy Robertson, Pietro Maximoff, and Evan Daniels. All boys start to cheering for them as some big fandom in Comic Con. Girls are just flattered by their sight.

"I really want that jersey."

"That is every guy's dream in this school, Hars." I pull his collar and take him to the bus. He complains about me ruining his favorite shirt. We climb the bus and sit on the roof.

"Why the heck are we sitting here?"

"Wait-for-it." Three girls enter the sight. All of them wears black leather with the imprints, The Mary Janes. First-year girls crowded over them asking for autographs. "They will be late."

"What is with this celebrity vibe?"

"I will tell you later." I can hardly notice Gwen in the crowd. She does not stand out much. Jessica Jones, on the other hand, looks different thanks to her all black tomboyish attire. They take all the attention of guys from the Cheerleaders. "You can say they are the cheerleaders natural enemy."

"Lame biology joke."

"Better than the chemistry joke."

"Yo! If you are done being a monkey then come and sit." Jessica is the first girl to enter the bus. "Honestly these fangirls."

"Jessica meet Harry. Harry meet Jessica." We climb down and jump in from the window. "Harry is my best friend."

"Like I care. You play basketball?"

"How do you know?"

"Surprise. Surprise."

We all sit in our seats. MJ, Gwen, and Jessica are on the seat just back to ours. "How are you liking Midtown High?" MJ ask Harry. The bus starts and we leave the campus.

"I am looking forward to an adventure."

"Believe me, this school is better than that Boarding School." Peter said, "Just like every other typical American high school."

"'Face it, Tiger... you just hit the jackpot!' Isn't this the song every girl is singing nowadays." Harry is amused. "This is the worst song I ever heard in my entire life." Harry's words just hit MJ's nerve.

"You are saying it like you can compose the song which can hit a million views in a snap of your finger. That is why I hate rich spoilt brats." Jessica Jones knows how to shut someone up.

"How dare you say that-"

"Well, you started it."

"Why am I tolerating her bad mouthing me?" Harry asks. His face is almost red and we can clearly observe, that he wants to scream right now. On the other hand, Jessica is cool and collected. "Who is she?"

"She is my lead guitarist and the one who compose the music. She also is Midtown's Weekly's best reporter." MJ says it like she is boasting about herself. Whatever is the reason, she is enjoying teasing Harry.

"How about a bet-" Everyone turns their head on the girl wearing biker jacket. "I will apologize if you win a one-on-one basketball game against me."

"Do I need to tell you that she is also the vice-captain of Girl's Basketball Team?" I said to him, but if I know him correctly...

"You are on-" He didn't listen to me.

"But what if I win?"

"Your first live concert-" Every looks at our redhead. Our eyes are wide open. He just promised to organize a live concert for the Mary Janes. "in OsCorp Theatres with full marketing handled by me and had I mentioned about promotion Daily Bugle Channel?"

"Harry you don't need to go too far, for such a silly bet," Gwen tries to be a voice of reason, but none of the hotheads are going to listen.