Chapter One: Harry

I hated spiders. Why on earth was I taking a stupid field trip with the AP bio class? Peter dragged me into it. Not knowingly, of course. I was stronger than Pete, and who else would be there to stand up for the kid when Flash wouldn't shut up? Peter didn't even have to be here. The field trip was extra credit. (Which was the real reason why I came.)

Wow. I thought. A microscope. I had to put up with Flash Thompson for an entire day because of a microscope? And then there were the spiders. I hate spiders. Some kids get tarantulas as pets and say they're cute. I've met my fair share of creepy crawlie beasties in the basement of our family's mansion, and I can honestly tell you they are anything but. Now, we were in a room filled with them. They were all in glass boxes, but that made no difference. I acted like I was fine, but my arachnophobia raised the hairs on the back of my neck.

As the tour continued, I looked around for Peter. He was fine (which I figured he would be because all of the jocks were at the next exhibit.) I ignored a twinge of jealousy when I saw him flirting with MJ. (If asking to take her picture for the school newspaper was considered flirting.) Either way, she was flirting back.

I leaned against the wall as I watched my two best friends almost flirt, not sure what to think. I wished MJ could see how much she meant to both of us. When she would come to school crying, it took everything I had not to run to her house and give everything she was feeling back to her abusive father. She deserved a guy like Pete.

Suddenly, I felt like someone had shot me in the neck. I tried not to make a big deal out of it, but I couldn't stop a yell from running out of my mouth.

"Harry?" both Peter and MJ ran over to me. "What happened."

I felt the tiny bug scurry away down my arm and disappear.

"Nothing. Just a really bad headache."