C'mon, c'mon
Peter whispered as he ran out of the subway station and immediately got lost in the crowd. He was telling all the people to open up some space for him to walk, but as normal, not all of them would take that lightly.
"You stupid?"
"Shut up, kid!"

All those insults would just whiz past him as he exited the large crowd and entered the sidewalk of the city.
"Never doing that again…"
He was obviously rushing his way to something, what could it possibly be?

School, of course.

He was just about to cross the street, until the streetlights didn't allow him to, the street soon being covered with a parade of cars. He groaned as all the cars went by, taking a quick look at the clock above the streets.

7:49 AM
"Damnit!"

He's had enough with getting late, and now this happens. By the time the cars all leave and he's allowed to walk, he'll still get late. It doesn't help when the school is a long way from the place he was in.
There was only one option left.

Once he saw an empty alley, Peter bolted into it, slowly removing his pouch, as he got closer to the dark corner of the streets.
Then, as if he entered the door to a separate world, out came the spandex wearing superhero the city of New York would recognize in an instant, hanging from a web line.
Along with a book bag hanging from one strand on his shoulder. Hopefully no one would notice, he's got enough people claiming he's some sort of thief.

"YEE-HAH!"
Never gets old
He let go from the previous web-line, pressing the two fingers on his other hand to the homemade device on his wrist. That produced another web-line attaching to a building not too far from Peter's position. In response, he'd use his other arm to grab on to it, then fully propelling himself forward. Once he let go, he achieved distances further than he could ever accomplish on foot.

"WOO!" he shot another web-line right after, keeping the momentum alive.

Man, why didn't I do this earlier on?

A red car would burst from the other side of the street below, knocking some cars out of the way. The police were in pursuit as well.
Right, that's why.

He let go of the web line and shot another, this time aiming at the speeding car.
It was too late to rethink the action.
"NOPE, BAD IDEA-"

The sheer speed of the car would pull Peter right out of his current position.
Now grabbing on to the car with the web-line, Peter climbed towards the edge of the web, then doing a backflip at the right moment to land on the car instead of getting his head crushed.
Peter crawled over to the front of the car, knocking on the window to catch the attention of the robbers.
Or mobsters.

Or whatever these guys were.

"GAH! THE SPIDER!"
"Yes, yes, it's me. Now, before you ask for autographs.."
The criminal on the shotgun seat started to pull out his gun, which Peter would stop by punching through the car glass, webbing the man's face, then pulling him and putting his fist back in the car window to deliver a crushing punch to the man's jaw.

"That didn't look like a pen at all!"
Peter turned his head to the driver
"I imagine you have one?"

The driver's fear led him to turn the car in multiple steep directions in an attempt to shake Peter off. Peter remained in place due to his wall sticking abilities. Despite this, Peter couldn't help but feel like something flew off him. Almost felt like a weird breeze.
He'd focus more on that, but now wasn't the time.

"Welp, okay then."
Peter grabbed on to the hood, put both his feet together, and slammed them through the car window. With a single blow, the driver was knocked out. Despite this, his foot was still on the pedal, meaning the car was still speeding.

Peter started shooting web-lines at each side, attaching each to the car in an attempt to stop it. It was slowing down, but the car kept going.
"Man, this guy is determined."
In the middle of his attempts, his spider sense tingled.
He turned around, seeing two kids running in the street after a ball.

Peter flipped back from the car with no hesitation, shooting a web line above and swinging towards the kids, grabbing them both with one arm.
He was more than happy that he was able to save them.
He turned his head, shooting one more web line at the car and pulled on it.
Eventually, the car was able to come to a stop, and the hero sighed with relief.

"Good job, Spider-Man."

Peter turned around.

Captain Stacy was walking towards the scene, parked police cars also behind him.
"Those guys were at it for a long time now, lost count. Thankfully the casualties were low."

"That's a relief," Peter looked down at the kids he just rescued, then looking back up to Stacy "Any idea about what they were hiding? Who they were working for?"

Stacy shook his head, "Nothing." He looked over to the car attached to all the webs in front "Never seen criminals this desperate to get away in some time."
"Suspect it to be a new crime boss?"
Hopefully not, Peter thought. Last thing I need is more crime bosses

Stacy chuckled, "Don't worry Spider-Man, I don't think we'll be seeing another crime boss in a while, thanks to you."
"No problem, sir."
He's right though. Peter alone toppled Tombstone, Doc Ock, and every other big boss in New York in one night.

….Osborn came after.

Peter couldn't take that out of his system, looking back at the way the Green Goblin was finally defeated.

He was partly responsible for Norman Osborn's death. That fact has been lingering in Peter's head for a while. Sure, it was Norman's fault for being less than a decent human in the first place, but Harry still lost a prominent father figure in his life. And it was all on Peter's shoulders.

Before he could think further, Stacy would snap him back to reality.
"Spider-Man?"
Peter blinked
"Y-yes sir?"
Stacy pointed to Peter's side. Peter turned to see both kids, still in shock about what just happened.
"…Give me a moment." Peter walked over to the kids, crouching down to reach their size.

"Hey kids!"
"Hey Mr. Spider-Man." They both said in unison.
"What have you been told about the streets?"
"Never play on the streets."
"Exactly. Not trying to be rude, but I'm sure your parents really love you two, and they wouldn't want to see something ever happen to you two."

The kids looked down, seeming ashamed.
Peter sighed. He needs to get better with kids, ASAP.
"I just want you kids to keep safe, okay? You're both awesome, and you're both gonna be awesome adults! Understood?"
The kids nodded silently.
Definitely needed to get better at this.

Peter stood up, "Where were you kids heading anyway?"
"Well, we were trying to get to school…"
The mention of that word had Peter slap his hand right on his forehead
"Aw, crap!"
Everyone around him turned to him, giving him perplexed faces all around.

He looked at the kids, both still with wide eyes in shock. Maybe it was just a reaction to Peter's sudden reaction.

"….Uh, kids, don't ever use that word."

He bolted down the streets, passing by Stacy as he talked in the radio to bring the rest of his unit to the aftermath "Sorry, Cap, can't answer questions. Bye!" He jumped into the air and swung away.

Soon enough, he'd remember his backpack was missing.
Was that what he felt on his shoulder not too long ago?
How would he get it back?
"Oh c'mon…!" his voice could be heard echoing from the city.

"This always happens. Always."
Peter crawled to a building next to Midtown High. His suit was mostly fine since the battle wasn't too serious, besides the 'speeding car' and 'kids running in the streets' bit at least. Peter couldn't help but think about why those criminals were in such a rush, though. It's like they had to deliver something on time. Or someone, even. His senses didn't tell him anything about a person trapped in the car, but still.
Who knows?!

"Whatever, focus on that later"
Peter ran out of the corner of the building, wearing his traditional clothing. Blue and grey shirt paired with brown pants.
He managed to find his pouch as well. It took some time, but he was able to find it in some random dumpster.

It smelled terribly now and it also looked pretty torn since it literally flew straight off Peter's shoulders by a car running at least 60 miles an hour.
But all that was on his mind right now was to get on time, even if he most likely couldn't now.

Once recognizing how the entrance was absolutely empty, Peter knew classes began long ago, fuelling him to run faster. He started to remove a book from his bag while simultaneously running, so he could at least gain a head start on that front.
The result was a teenage boy running in curves down a hallway while taking more time than he should in getting a book from a pouch.

He did what he could, but once he reached the entrance to his first class, that abysmal sound could be heard throughout the halls.

RING RING!

The door to his class opened, multiple kids exiting the door with cheers of excitement.

Of course, none of them acted like Peter was there.

The first person that ran into him knocked his book over. It wasn't too much, so he crouched down to pick them up, only to be immediately hit by back pack upon back pack, student among student. They kept walking by, slapping his face with pouches and Peter could think about was if that was all intentional or not. He's a full size human, how would they not see him right there?!

As everyone left the class and he was actually able to reach out for his book, he started brushing shoe dust off of it, along with a frown.

"Already a bad start. Yay." he thought to himself.

He would hold that thought as a familiar girl exited the classroom.
She was the blonde. The blonde. The one he'd known for so many years, the one he'd always talk to.
Her hair strands held on by a pink band, her blue eyes catching Peter's immediately.

He gazed upon her for what seemed like hours.

"Peter?"
"H-Hi Gwen!" He stood up, brushing his pants as he got off the ground.
"Peter.." She put her head to the side, almost in embarrassment of some sort "..You have to be more careful."
"Agree!" Out behind her, came the prodigal son himself, Harry Osborn. "Make a better entrance when you're late, at least. Helps make a better impression."
"Hey Harry!" Peter waved
As he said this, Harry put his arm around Gwen. She looked up to Harry, smiling at him as he kissed her forehead.

Or at least she was faking one.

Right after that kiss, she looked to the side again, her eyes circling up to Peter's as a way of displaying sympathy.
No one but Harry was comfortable with this, something he'd be quick to realize.
Somehow though, this only made his smile grow to a grin.

"C'mon Gwen, let's go." Harry said, abruptly ending the conversation. As they walked away, Peter could see Harry's fist starting to curl up and tighten.

"Nevermind, he sucks at hiding anger" Peter thought to himself

Peter sighed.

Oh, how he wished to go back to simpler times.

As Peter entered the classroom, wanting to at least try to explain to his teacher.
This one was both new and, in Peter's opinion, really sketchy.
The room was very dull. Little to no trace of light anywhere, especially from sunlight.
In the corner, an old desk scattered with displays of bat skeletons and models could be seen, as well as the teacher.
He was skinny to an almost worrisome level, as if he hasn't eaten in days. His skin as pale as the old lab coat he was wearing, and his black long hair covered nearly half his face. Peter envisioned this guy to be part of some emo band, not his new Biology teacher!

"Dr. Morbius…..I swear I can expla-"

Goosebumps could be felt as he heard the teacher's raspy voice
"You're late. Third time this week."
"Look, sir, I'm sorry. But I really want another cha-"
"Another chance? How many chances do you need?!"

Peter sighed, "Sir, seriously, I try but-"
"If you are trying, then try harder. So far you've been giving the same exact excuse on every occasion."

Morbius stood up from the chair, hands behind his back as he roamed throughout the room.
"What's the excuse this time? Traffic jam? Faulty subway?"

Morbius looked at Peter, who stayed absolutely silent.
What could he tell him?
Certainly can't be the truth, as much as Peter wanted to explain he was stopping a speeding car, he can't.

"Well, at least you know that it's easy to tell when you're making stuff up." Morbius said, acknowledging Peter's response.

Peter remained silent anyway. Words can't describe how much he'd wish to just tell everyone that 'Oh, hey, I'm Spider-Man! Surprise! Now you can tell why I'm always super exhausted and late to everything!'

Morbius sighed, placing his long nailed fingers on his nose
"Look, Parker..." He took his fingers out of the pose and looked at him, "I believe you're a good student. I truly do. All those good words from Warren about you gave me high hopes. All you need is a push to be responsible."
"…..Right." Peter finally spoke up, now just starting to head towards the door. He was doing his best to hide his anger.

Morbius sat down, saying some final words to Peter.
"Get rest. Wake up early. Do your homework. Anything that helps to step up, do it. I'll have to fail you otherwise."

Peter stopped at the mention of the word, holding the tightest grip he's ever put on a doorknob.
"Understood, sir."
Clearly frustrated, Peter exited the class just as the bell for the next one rang.

What a nice day this was shaping up to be.

Click, click, clack
The metal door to the locker flew open at the sounds of the combination. Peter started shoving his books inside, getting out ones he needed, his usual system with lockers. He wouldn't really need books for lunchtime, but this was Peter Parker.

Not like he'd be comfortable with talking to anyone at the moment. His day hasn't changed at all since the morning.

Gwen and Harry were already lost calls due to recent events, he'd just broken up with Liz, MJ was no where to be seen and when she was she was already busy, and Flash was….well, Flash.

He had no one to talk to no matter how much he wanted to. He was hoping lunch would change this, but with his luck the day will be just as bad as ever.

Just then, he could feel his spider-sense buzzing in his head.

"Parker!"

He knew that voice whenever he heard it.

"Oh joy…"

Peter turned around.
"Look, Flash, my day's been absolute garbage, so-"

Flash didn't move. Or respond. Or even try to make a comeback. All he had was a book on his hands and a rather confused face.
"Look man, if you're not in the mood, I get it. Morbius just loves to ruin a good day."

"Uh…." Now Peter was the one getting the confused face "…Help with…what?"

Flash pointed at the math problem in his notebook with the tip of his pencil "That. I don't get how this formula works. I was just gonna ask if you could help, but.."

"Wait. A. Moment. Is Flash seriously asking for my help? Like, not even trying to make me do his homework for him, like actually wanting me to walk through the problem and teach him?"

"Uh…Parker?"

Peter snapped back.
"Y-yeah, sure." Peter looked at the question in Flash's notebook "Whaddya need?"

As Peter broke down the problem for Flash to understand, he couldn't help but notice how different Flash was acting. Was it opposite day? Was he secretly planning to shove Peter into his own locker in cartoonish fashion right after he finished the problem?
Surprisingly, none of that happened. Flash just walked through with Peter as he explained.

When Peter was done with explaining the problem, Flash closed his notebook, smiling with pride.

"Thanks man, appreciate it!"

Flash walked away. He didn't lay a finger on Peter or even say a word to him.

He was acting like a mature human being, a rare occasion for Flash Thompson.

"Oh, one more thing," Flash stopped on his tracks and turned around, smirking.

"Welp. Knew that was too good to be true."

"That bag smells awful, dude. What happened?"
"Uh…" Peter was startled. Was Flash planning to push him around as usual or not? "..I don't know I just…found it in a dumpster. Spider-Man stopped the guy who stole it. He found it there."
As usual, a barebones story only Peter Parker could make so quickly

"Well, at least Spidey got the bag right? Amazing guy!" Flash chuckled as he turned around "Later Parker! Recommend you wash it well at home!"

Flash continued to walk away, not trying to harm Peter in any way once again.

"This is like seeing the Shocker donate to children, the heck is going on?! Did Flash get bitten by a radioactive nice guy or something?!"

"Hey Sha Shan!" Flash said, smiling at the girl as she walked by him. She smiled back, and they started talking together as they walked to the lunchroom outside.

"….Guess that explains it."

Peter smiled as he turned around to close his locker. If Flash was going to get softer to get closer to a girl, everyone wins.

He took one bite of the sandwich he was given for lunch as he stared elsewhere.

Usually he'd be sitting with Harry and Gwen, but due to a few twists of events and introductions of new people, Peter was sitting completely on his own. Not even Gwen and Harry gave him a visit, no matter if Gwen wanted to or not.

Harry and Gwen were sitting alone together, Flash was with Sha Shan and her group of friends, and MJ was no where to be seen yet again.
The only table that remained unchanged was Flash's group, who were sitting in the same table as always. Seeing how Flash has the hots for Sha Shan, he barely sits there anymore.

He looked down at the sandwich in his hands. Traditional, whole wheat bread, lettuce, tomato, and cheese sandwich Aunt May prepared with the deepest care.
He smirked, though halfheartedly; looking at the bite he'd given it.

"Well, just you and me."

"I'm talking to a sandwich. Since when were things getting this bad?"

Then, out of nowhere, he overheard a conversation.
"Just go in front of him and act like you're over it."

That girl's accent. He knows who it is.

"But I'm not over it!"
"The more you act like you're over it, the more you'll get over it. Trust me. I've been through it a thousand times. Just go in front of him, act cool, and walk away. Treat him like the scum he is!"

After a few rebuttals between the two girls, Liz walked over from the left of Peter's table, her left hand on her hip as she swayed them, paired with a seductive look.

She really tried her best to ignore Peter, but she couldn't help herself. As she looked at him, her face quickly changed into one that was moments from breaking down.
"Hmph!" She turned her head away, walking to the right and out of Peter's sight.

Peter's face was splattered with confusion. For once he couldn't even think. At all.

That was too weird.

"D-did I do good?"
"No! That was terrible!" Sally yelled "You probably creeped him out, good job!"
"But wasn't that the poi-"

"The point was to make him jealous and regret breaking up with you!"
"I shouldn't have listened to you, how was that a good idea?"
"You overdid it! That was the problem!"

Peter peaked behind him slightly, still with the most perplexed face he's ever had. Ever. He looked back at his sandwich and shrugged, giving it another bite as the two girls bickered. What was Liz trying to accomplish? On his side of the story, he'd been ignoring Liz ever since their break up. He wanted to get to talking to her again, considering how nice of a person she is, but he wanted to wait a few months before interacting again. Peter's no love doctor but he knows it's not smart to build a friendship with an ex-girlfriend immediately after the breakup.

Judging from what Sally said, Liz was trying to do the opposite. Or at least he thought so? He heard her tell Liz to ignore him, but instead she walked over to him in an attitude he rarely sees from her. Was she trying to make him feel bad? It wasn't working or helping with the ignoring tip, so it couldn't be that. Was she trying to make him jealous? Was this her way of ignoring him? None of it made sense to Peter, leading to his dumfounded face. As far as he knew, all girls were equally confusing.

Except maybe one...

"What was that, right?"

Finally. A voice Peter actually wanted to hear from.

He looked to the side of his lunch table to see the already famous redhead.
"MJ, where've you been?"

"Well, coming from you, tiger, that's a pretty ironic question." She winked as she took a seat next to him. "Been busy. Saw you alone, so I wanted to jump in. How've you been holding up?"

"Awfully. My best friend thinks I killed his father, my other old friend is locked up in a mental asylum after I was unable to save him from an alien, the person I truly care about the most is in a pity relationship, I broke a kind girl's heart just to be with someone else who in the end didn't take me, my job sucks, and I'm holding up as terribly as always."

"I'm fine."

Peter took another bite of his sandwich.

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"C'mon, Tiger. Just tell me what's on your mind."

Peter stopped his bites and a frown grew on his face. He looked to Harry and Gwen's table, then groaning with pain as he shoved his head into his table.
MJ was quick to understand.

"Gwen, isn't it?

Peter nodded, head still on the table. He was still amazed at how easily MJ could read people.

"Didn't you try and open up to her? I mean, it might be too late but…"

"I did." Peter raised his head from the table. "She confessed to it too."
He looked around to make sure no one else listened.
"It's the only reason I broke up with Liz."

"Then why…." She took one last glance at Harry and Gwen "….Let me guess, she took Harry in the end out of pity for…well…."

"Pretty much." Peter stopped her, knowing she was about to mention Harry's dad. He started biting off his sandwich again. It's crazy how a conversation like this can make such a small meal take so long to finish. "It sucks for me, but as long as both are happy, I'm fine."

"Certainly don't want Harry to overdose on the Green again.."

"She's not happy."

"Hm?"

"Just look at her."

Peter just realized the truth in MJ's statement as he examined Gwen's expression.

It was so…..pale. Saddened. Struck with grief. Like if a metaphorical leash dragged her into this. It almost made Peter want to pound Harry into the dirt for using her as a tool for his happiness.

"Trust me, part of her still wants you." MJ chuckled "She never stopped talking about you."

"Yeah, 'stopped'. As in, past tense."

"Are you seriously going to just deny that she's not happy?"

He doesn't want to. But he doesn't want to get his feelings in the way and get more people in danger. He already lost one friend after being pushed over the edge; he was determined to keep Harry's friendship.

"But how do I know if-"

"She's not just going to let go of it that quickly, especially in a relationship like this." MJ had to hold herself. She didn't want to go overboard. "Just, why the denial?"

Peter was about to respond, then hesitated. He sighed "…I don't know, really…." He looked down at his sandwich, barely eaten halfway. He lost all appetite. "…It's just….it's complicated…"

"Everything's complicated with you."

"I know." Peter groaned.

He just wished he could tell people the truth about his alter-ego. About how he was Spider-Man. It'd certainly help MJ much more in helping Peter in this situation.

He looked down, knowing he couldn't.

MJ left a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Look, you obviously have a lot on your mind, so I'll drop the subject for now. I just want you to know that she needs your help more than ever. Whether you decide to act is your decision."

"Ironic, isn't it? I can save Gwen from death time and time again, but I can't save her from this."

Peter looks across from him, meeting MJ's beaming smile "Do something after school that'll cheer you up, then you can work on helping Gwen, alright?"

"…Alright." Peter said, smiling in return "Thanks, MJ."

"No problem, tiger." She stood up from the lunch table, motioning Peter to stand up as well "C'mon, don't wanna get late for class do we?"

"Well, uh, actually…" He looked at his sandwich, then shrugging. He could it eat on the way to class.

He stood up, smiling, "Alright, let's go."

As soon as school finished for the day, he left before anyone would even notice. He didn't try to talk to anyone, find anyone, no one tried to bug him, even.
He just left as soon as he could. As soon as he left the building, he ran to the nearest alley he could find to suit up, doing it in no time.

Now was the time to get a break from his problems

He swung throughout the city, doing all sorts of acrobatic moves whenever he had the chance. It kept his blood pumping, his adrenaline set in motion, and relieved him from all things he could've been thinking about in a subway train.
It's weird, the ultimate form of stress relief for this 16 year old kid was to launch himself off of 16 story buildings using webbing to swing from one building to the other.

He also stopped the occasional petty crime, of course. Many muggers and robbers attack innocents daily, and no matter what he had to stop them. Plus, nothing's more relieving than stopping some petty criminals.

"Yee-haw!" Peter yelled at the top of his lungs, as he usually did when soaring through the skies of Manhattan.

He seemed so relieved, so free, so graceful.

Yet, there was a part of his mind that couldn't stop thinking about it. About her.

Peter pressed the trigger on his webshooter on his left arm, aiming for a building on that side so he could continue swinging.
"Why? Why can't I stop thinking about her?" He propelled himself forward with the web thread he just made.
"Why can't I just let it go and let them be happy?"

After propelling himself, he let go of the web, doing a front flip before shooting a web thread from his right arm to keep the momentum going.
"Well, she isn't happy. But he is. And as long as he's happy, the less we all suffer right?"

He'd think that Harry going to the Green again would lead him to the same footsteps of his father, something none of them needed. But there was still Gwen. She wasn't taking this relationship well and it's clear she wants to move from it.

Once he swung off the last web thread, he set his direction towards the nearest skyscraper, then grabbing on to the big antenna on top of it.

"Should I really just risk Harry's well being just to make Gwen and I happy?" As his thoughts kept going, he put his view on the city, then the realization struck him.

"Alright, alright, enough of this." He said aloud, "I'm a superhero and I'm thinking about my complicated High School life? Focus!"

But he couldn't stop thinking about it, the point was clear.

No matter what he'd decide to do with this situation, no one would end up happy.

He looked at the city while thinking of all this, also knowing of the responsibility he has to carry. Not only does he have to deal with this issue, but also with protecting the city.
Groaning, he placed his free palm on his masked face.

He really just wanted to return to the times where Flash would shove him in a locker every Thursday.