Title: Tangled Webs
Author: Sparkling Diamond Satine
Summary: One of my more dramatic stories. Sorry, no MJ/Peter romance because I needed a different love interest. Peter Parker moves to the beautiful Long Island after getting kicked out of his old school. He faces a new breed of enemies, in school and out of school. Plus, when his interests are very similar to a girl who he sees getting picked on, he quickly befriends her, and they become instant companions. Peter begins to discover his abilities shortly after he moves, as he was bitten by the spider the day before getting kicked out. That's all you need to know for now, please read on to find out what happens! (There will be less on the side of super villains as there is very little chance many villains would be in Long Island in the first place…haha I love dissing my home town!)
Disclaimer: I hope you know that I don't own Spider-Man by now, because I don't feel like saying it again! * sniffle * yes, Spider-Man is not mine!!! All right??? Now excuse me while I go cry because those darned ropes couldn't hold him!
Warning: This is not supposed to be realistic and I understand that this probably would never happen, but I figured it'd add a touch of interesting- ness….
Rating: PG-13
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 1~Explosions and a Much-Needed Sleep
((This is an improvisation of the opening monologue from the trailer. I may change it since I'm seeing the movie again in about an hour and 20 minutes. But it's changed to fit the story))
Peter narrating
Who am I? You sure you wanna know? If someone told you I was your average, ordinary guy, not a care in the world, somebody lied. There used to be a time when I was able to just drift into the background and float along with everyone. That time has changed. This is the story of just how that happened. This is not an ordinary story, but it fits me since I'm not an ordinary person.
~*~
Manhattan with its bright lights and hustling and bustling streets were the ideal for Peter Parker. It let him hide from the ridicule of the "in- crowd" and he could just drift away with the rest of the loners. Plus, there was Mary Jane Watson, the love of his life since…well before he could remember. Should he lose the chance to blend in, yet at the same time wound the lovely redhead next-door, well Peter would be too confused to continue on with his life.
"Peter, I need you to tutor Eugene Thompson after school," Mr. Vrickson said, popping the bubble that held him in the fictional world he usually zoned out into around his eighth period physics class. "He needs to make up a lab, and I figured you could do so since you are my best and brightest student."
Peter nodded and got up after the bell rang. He had one more period before he had to worry about an entire hour…maybe even less if he played his cards right…in a room alone with Flash: Gym. Gym was the class that he hated most because of his lack of athletic talents. In fact, he can't remember a time he actually managed to climb a rope, run around the track, or shoot a basket.
"Hey look, Parker's gonna try his shot at badminton!" Flash said, even though Peter was clearly holding a tennis racket. He looked at the racket and shrugged it off. He was thankful Harry Osbourne was in his class. Harry was Peter's best and only friend at school, and happened to have a very powerful and wealthy father. They befriended each other after Peter and Harry both found themselves getting picked on for completely different reasons. For Peter, it was his love of science, and for Harry, it was the fact that his father was wealthy. Everyone seemed to think that his father bought him anything and that he had the happiest lifestyle. This was completely untrue, because the only time Harry ever saw his father was when he talked business. Norman Osbourne was no father to Harry, just the head of Oscorp.
"Hey, I heard you have to tutor Flash today," Harry said as soon as they got on the tennis courts. "Shall I stand by with a phone in hand in case he decides to send you to the emergency room?" he joked.
Peter laughed at the joke and shook his head. "If Flash truly wants to pass, he'll lay off me. Somehow I don't see that as happening, but I'd like one day when I can confront him alone. At least he can't call me a coward," Peter pointed out.
"Hey, didn't you say you were visiting your relatives on Long Island over the weekend?" Harry asked, serving the ball.
"Yeah, Aunt May wants me to finally meet my cousins in Garden City," Peter said, rolling his eyes. "Why'd you ask?"
"I have a copy of an interesting article in the New York Times from yesterday's newspaper," Harry said, unfolding the paper in his pocket. "Take a look at it," He said, handing it to him.
"The Red Robin strikes again…you're trying to tell me that there's trouble in Garden City from this weird…super villain…thing?" Peter asked.
"I'm just looking out for you, Pete, he robbed to banks and killed five people in the process," Harry said, sounding concerned. "I just don't want to see you or your Aunt May and Uncle Ben getting hurt, that's all."
"Thanks for your concern, but we'll be fine. This thing robs banks anyway, right? Well, we'll stay away from banks," Peter said.
"All right, can you guys do me a favor and bring in all the equipment?" the gym teacher asked. He barely lifted a finger during class and just made sure everyone worked.
"Have you noticed that after all the years we've gone to this school, he always says 'can you do me a favor?'" Harry asked.
Peter laughed at this remark. "Yeah, you're right! I wonder what it means…" Peter said, shuddering at the thought.
Peter and Harry walked back inside the locker room, where they changed back into their regular clothes and started talking about the boring life in Manhattan. "Hey, I wonder what it would be like to live in Garden City instead…" Peter thought out loud.
"Hey, we have that field trip to Columbia, don't we…?" Harry said, checking his planner. "Do you need a ride? I'm sure my dad'll give you one since he hates me taking the bus."
"Nah, I'll catch the bus. I don't need to advertise the fact that Norman Osbourne is my best friend's dad," Peter said, grinning.
"If only I didn't have him as my father…then maybe I'd actually have some peace and quiet in my life," Harry said.
"But then we never would have become friends," Peter said. "And that would mean I would be all alone in the world and every person in the student body would have a grudge against me. You wouldn't want that, now, would you?"
"Well…you got me there," Harry said, laughing. "Good luck with Flash, I'll meet you at the field trip," Harry said, walking off.
Peter rolled his eyes and looked at his physics books. He really didn't feel like going through with this lab, and he just hoped that the chemistry stuff was put away, because he knew Flash would try something to get him in trouble. Flash seemed to be very good at that lately, considering he was blamed for two fights during lunch time and a stink bomb in the boys' bathroom over the past week.
"All right, Flash, we've got one simple lab to do, let's just get it over with and pretend we never did this," Peter said, getting out the equipment. "You can copy my lab notes and I'll walk you through the lab and then you can do all the easy stuff."
Flash looked at him and stood up straight so that he was his full height. "I don't think I'll be doing any of the lab today, Parker. In fact, I have a genuine idea that you'll be doing the entire thing for me," he said.
Peter glared at Flash and shook his head. "Not this time, you're not. This is such a simple lab, and the questions are based simply on the experiment and discussion in class," he said.
Flash pulled Peter up by his collar and looked straight into his eyes through the glasses. "I'll be waiting for you to finish."
Peter gulped and began assembling the equipment himself. He glanced over to Flash and noticed that he was messing with some liquids left over from the chemistry lab. He just hoped there was nothing volatile there. In fact, he even wished Flash would just come and help him with the lab, as he couldn't concentrate while he was playing around with some potentially dangerous chemicals.
He decided to ignore Flash and focus on the experiment at hand. The next sound he heard was "BANG!" He couldn't believe someone would leave out chemicals that, mixed in the right way, would explode and ruin most of the classroom.
"Holy…" Flash said, looking around at what he had done. "Uh…good luck, Parker!" he said, flying out of the classroom at the greatest speed he could manage.
Peter knew that if he fled, his teachers might think he was responsible for the explosion. He decided to try cleaning up what he could and accept the consequences. At least Flash would share in the punishments. When he met with the principal, though, he was not impressed with the results.
"Peter Parker? Sit down. We reviewed the damages in the science lab and the accounts of both you and Mr. Thompson, we have decided upon two possible actions. We shall either fine both of you $2,000 or you shall be forced to do volunteer work to repair the classroom," he said. "And should either of you get in trouble again in the next three days, it will result in immediate expulsion."
~*~
Peter narrating
The minute those words exited his mouth, I knew that I would get expelled. The thought of both Flash and I working together for the next five months wasn't the brightest idea, and should we get into a fight…well we may never see the school again. And should that happen, I would never get to see MJ ever again. But the next chain of events would top the explosion in the science lab for years to come.
Peter arrived on time to the field trip. He almost didn't make the bus, as it never stops for him and he has to make a run for it. He wondered when the bus driver would realize that he existed. He wondered when anybody besides Harry would realize he existed.
Peter got onto the bus and looked around for a place to sit. Not even the one guy sitting alone with a jelly pastry would let him sit next to him for two minutes. He smiled at Mary Jane, who was sitting with Flash. He was about to get to the only empty seat, when Flash decided now would be a good time to trip him.
"Good job, Parker," he said, winking. "Always gettin' yourself into trouble."
Peter rolled his eyes, and didn't even need to get into a seat, as by the time he got up, they had reached Columbia University. He brushed himself off and got off the bus, letting his eyes brush through the crowds in search for Harry, who would be arriving in his father's limo.
While he was waiting for Harry, he followed everyone else to the group in front of the school. He wasn't listening to the discussion, as he knew most of the things mentioned. He noticed the cute little redhead smiling at him, and then she waved, so he smiled back, and waved, until he realized she was really waving at her friends.
'Oh great…she doesn't even notice me,' Peter thought.
Peter heard the limo pulling up and saw Harry step out. He smiled and walked over to him.
"Hey, Harry, you're late," Peter said.
"Yeah…I heard what happened with the chemistry lab, that was rough, man," Harry said.
"Well…only the roughest for me," Peter said. "I don't get the lucky breaks like some people."
"Harry, won't you be needing this?" Norman Osbourne asked.
"Peter, this is my father, Norman Osbourne," Harry says, introducing his father to his best friend.
Peter and Norman spoke about science, as they were both scientists and had heard about each other. Peter walked back to the university with Harry and listened to the discussion on spiders. Apparently, they weren't the only school there, as a school from Long Island was there. Garden City High School's physics class had their field trip to look at the genetically enhanced spiders the same day. Peter watched as they got off the bus and noticed one girl who seemed to be receiving insults and heckling a bit harsher than what he experienced every day. Peter sighed and started listening to Harry's complaints regarding private schools and how he wished that his father never sent him to get flunked out of each and every one of them.
"Harry, please, I've heard you complain about this several days now, I don't need to hear it again," Peter said. "We should catch up, we're going to get in trouble…"
"That's Parker for you…always worried about getting' into trouble," Harry said, mostly talking to himself than to anyone else.
Peter gazed around the room, which seemed to be spinning around him. He never saw so many great inventions in one room before. "Hey, Harry, get a load of this! It's the biggest electron microscope ever," Peter said. ((Forgive me if this isn't even close, it's hard to remember the lines.))
"Pete…what makes you think I'd even care?" Harry asked.
"Who wouldn't?" Peter asked, entirely serious.
Harry shook his head and stopped in front of the display of spiders where the rest of the group was.
~*~
"Hey, hold still," a girl with radiant black hair was instructing someone standing near the genetically enhanced group of spiders. "I need to get your picture for the Echo."
"What's the big deal, they're just spiders? Who would want to read about some stupid spiders, anyway?" her model asked.
"Who wouldn't want to read about spiders? They're the most fascinating creatures ever! Besides, I only need one more picture, and you can go back to goofing off with the rest of your friends," she said, pushing up her glasses before taking the last shot.
A small spider had spun a web above the girl's head, but she had no awareness for this. She took the picture and then stood there, sighing after he left. "Gosh he's cute," she said, not realizing someone was behind her. When she jumped from surprise, the spider whose web was above her landed in her hair. It managed to crawl down to her neck without the girl even realizing it.
~*~
"Hey, can I take your picture, for the school paper?" Peter asked Mary Jane Watson, Peter's one and only love interest. He smiled and motioned to the spiders. "I need one with a student in it."
"Sure. Just don't make me look ugly!" Mary Jane said, adjusting her clothing.
"That's impossible…" Peter said, taking the pictures. He smiled after she left, she would always be his first crush, and his longest one. He kept thinking how terrible it would be if he had to give her up because of stupid Flash Thompson. That's until he saw HER. The black hair, the glasses, even the clothes reminded him of a female version of himself. He slowly walked up to her, making sure not to disturb her photo shoot of the guy she seemed to like as well. It was a pity that the so-called "science nerds" always fall for the most popular and most unattainable people of the school.
"Hey, you must be from Garden City," Peter said, holding out his hand. "I'm Peter Parker," he said, shaking her hand, and then letting go.
"Yes, I've become the official photographer of our school paper," she said. "I'm Melissa Yellowstone."
"Nice to meet you, Melissa. I couldn't help but notice that you seemed…well…intrigued about the spiders," Peter said, scratching his neck.
Melissa blushed and grinned. "Well, yes, I love the little critters. I mean, there are so many species and they each have their own way of catching their prey!"
"Yes, for instance some of them camouflage with their surroundings," Peter said, grinning back. He loved to actually have someone to rattle off information to that actually cared!
"And others can jump across their surroundings," Melissa said. "Wow, I never thought I'd meet someone who loved spiders as much as me!"
"Neither did I…this is great! Finally, I don't have to listen to Harry complaining that he doesn't want to hear about my comments," Peter said, laughing.
"Who's Harry?" Melissa asked, leading Peter to the group of students, with the spider still burrowing through her clothes.
"Harry's my best friend. I'll introduce you to him later. Hey, after this field trip, we should keep in touch!" Peter suggested, whispering.
"Great, I can't wait to meet him!" Melissa said, and then cried out in pain, as the spider just found a comfortable place to lay his fangs in, and bit Melissa's back. Her hand flew to the spot where the spider bit, and Melissa watched as the spider dropped to the ground and crawled somewhere else. She didn't watch to see it crawl near Peter's foot, as she tried to ignore the pain and pay attention through the rest of the field trip.
"Hey, Melissa, this is Harry," Peter said, after the spider display was over and they were allowed to eat lunch outside with the other school. "Harry, this is a girl from Garden City who's just like me. Her name's Melissa."
"Wow…cool…another science nerd, exactly what I need!" Harry joked, sarcastically.
Peter glanced down at his leg, which was starting to swell from the spider bite. Peter took out a piece of paper, trying to ignore the bite, and wrote his phone number and e-mail address down on it. "Here, just give me a call some time, I'd love to hear from you!"
"Here's my info. Gimme a ring or an e-mail," Melissa said, trying to hide the pain she was feeling right now, which was slowly transforming into nausea and dizziness.
"All right, kids, let's get onto the buses. I hope you all learned something today, because you will each hand in an essay on spiders, due one week," the teacher of Peter's class said.
"Well, I guess that's my cue," Peter said. "I'll call you sometime," he said, jogging towards the bus. "Harry, are you coming on the bus?"
"Can't, my dad's picking me up. Are you okay, Pete? You don't look so good?" Harry asked, concerned about his friend.
"I'm fine…just got a bit of a spider bite, that's all," Peter said, almost collapsing onto the ground, if Harry hadn't been there to catch him.
"Maybe my dad should drive you," Harry suggested. "Come on," he said, helping him into the car.
~*~
"Melissa, are you all right?" her mother yelled as she stumbled into the house and up the stairs.
"I'm fine…just feeling a bit woozy, that's all," Melissa said, collapsing onto the bed. She closed her eyes and let herself drift off into a much- needed sleep while her body seemed to transform right before her tightly shut eyes.
"Well, you better rest, I'll call you down when dinner's ready," Melissa's sweet mother said, pulling the covers over her.
"That's okay, mom, I had a bite," Melissa said, and let herself sleep.
~*~
"You don't look so good, Pete, you should get some rest. I'll get you home, but then I need to get back to Oscorp. Harry, you can get your own dinner, right?" Norman Osbourne asked.
"Dad, can you please not go back to Oscorp tonight? Just this once…for me?" Harry pleaded.
Norman looked at his son with intrigue, and shook his head. "I wish I could, son, but I have pressing business matter to attend to. If I don't show up, they might take the company away from me," Norman said, squeezing his hands into fists.
"Well, Pete, I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow, then. Night," Harry said, as Peter stumbled out of the limo and into his house.
"Peter, is that you?" Aunt May called.
"Gosh, Peter, what happened?" Uncle Ben asked after seeing Peter's seemingly drunken steps up the stairs.
"Just feeling a bit sick, that's all," Peter said. "I'm gonna go off to bed."
"Well, do you want to grab a bite before you sleep?" Aunt May asked.
"Nah, I got one," Peter said, and he quickly stripped his shirt off and didn't quite make it to the bed. Slipping off to the side, he grabbed a blanket and pulled it over himself, trying to sleep on the floor.
~*~
Peter narrating
And so it began, my life as an extraordinary superhero, a superman if you please. I would be tested time and again, to see if my strength and newfound abilities were tough enough to defend against the toughest of villains.
End: Chapter 1
Author: Sparkling Diamond Satine
Summary: One of my more dramatic stories. Sorry, no MJ/Peter romance because I needed a different love interest. Peter Parker moves to the beautiful Long Island after getting kicked out of his old school. He faces a new breed of enemies, in school and out of school. Plus, when his interests are very similar to a girl who he sees getting picked on, he quickly befriends her, and they become instant companions. Peter begins to discover his abilities shortly after he moves, as he was bitten by the spider the day before getting kicked out. That's all you need to know for now, please read on to find out what happens! (There will be less on the side of super villains as there is very little chance many villains would be in Long Island in the first place…haha I love dissing my home town!)
Disclaimer: I hope you know that I don't own Spider-Man by now, because I don't feel like saying it again! * sniffle * yes, Spider-Man is not mine!!! All right??? Now excuse me while I go cry because those darned ropes couldn't hold him!
Warning: This is not supposed to be realistic and I understand that this probably would never happen, but I figured it'd add a touch of interesting- ness….
Rating: PG-13
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 1~Explosions and a Much-Needed Sleep
((This is an improvisation of the opening monologue from the trailer. I may change it since I'm seeing the movie again in about an hour and 20 minutes. But it's changed to fit the story))
Peter narrating
Who am I? You sure you wanna know? If someone told you I was your average, ordinary guy, not a care in the world, somebody lied. There used to be a time when I was able to just drift into the background and float along with everyone. That time has changed. This is the story of just how that happened. This is not an ordinary story, but it fits me since I'm not an ordinary person.
~*~
Manhattan with its bright lights and hustling and bustling streets were the ideal for Peter Parker. It let him hide from the ridicule of the "in- crowd" and he could just drift away with the rest of the loners. Plus, there was Mary Jane Watson, the love of his life since…well before he could remember. Should he lose the chance to blend in, yet at the same time wound the lovely redhead next-door, well Peter would be too confused to continue on with his life.
"Peter, I need you to tutor Eugene Thompson after school," Mr. Vrickson said, popping the bubble that held him in the fictional world he usually zoned out into around his eighth period physics class. "He needs to make up a lab, and I figured you could do so since you are my best and brightest student."
Peter nodded and got up after the bell rang. He had one more period before he had to worry about an entire hour…maybe even less if he played his cards right…in a room alone with Flash: Gym. Gym was the class that he hated most because of his lack of athletic talents. In fact, he can't remember a time he actually managed to climb a rope, run around the track, or shoot a basket.
"Hey look, Parker's gonna try his shot at badminton!" Flash said, even though Peter was clearly holding a tennis racket. He looked at the racket and shrugged it off. He was thankful Harry Osbourne was in his class. Harry was Peter's best and only friend at school, and happened to have a very powerful and wealthy father. They befriended each other after Peter and Harry both found themselves getting picked on for completely different reasons. For Peter, it was his love of science, and for Harry, it was the fact that his father was wealthy. Everyone seemed to think that his father bought him anything and that he had the happiest lifestyle. This was completely untrue, because the only time Harry ever saw his father was when he talked business. Norman Osbourne was no father to Harry, just the head of Oscorp.
"Hey, I heard you have to tutor Flash today," Harry said as soon as they got on the tennis courts. "Shall I stand by with a phone in hand in case he decides to send you to the emergency room?" he joked.
Peter laughed at the joke and shook his head. "If Flash truly wants to pass, he'll lay off me. Somehow I don't see that as happening, but I'd like one day when I can confront him alone. At least he can't call me a coward," Peter pointed out.
"Hey, didn't you say you were visiting your relatives on Long Island over the weekend?" Harry asked, serving the ball.
"Yeah, Aunt May wants me to finally meet my cousins in Garden City," Peter said, rolling his eyes. "Why'd you ask?"
"I have a copy of an interesting article in the New York Times from yesterday's newspaper," Harry said, unfolding the paper in his pocket. "Take a look at it," He said, handing it to him.
"The Red Robin strikes again…you're trying to tell me that there's trouble in Garden City from this weird…super villain…thing?" Peter asked.
"I'm just looking out for you, Pete, he robbed to banks and killed five people in the process," Harry said, sounding concerned. "I just don't want to see you or your Aunt May and Uncle Ben getting hurt, that's all."
"Thanks for your concern, but we'll be fine. This thing robs banks anyway, right? Well, we'll stay away from banks," Peter said.
"All right, can you guys do me a favor and bring in all the equipment?" the gym teacher asked. He barely lifted a finger during class and just made sure everyone worked.
"Have you noticed that after all the years we've gone to this school, he always says 'can you do me a favor?'" Harry asked.
Peter laughed at this remark. "Yeah, you're right! I wonder what it means…" Peter said, shuddering at the thought.
Peter and Harry walked back inside the locker room, where they changed back into their regular clothes and started talking about the boring life in Manhattan. "Hey, I wonder what it would be like to live in Garden City instead…" Peter thought out loud.
"Hey, we have that field trip to Columbia, don't we…?" Harry said, checking his planner. "Do you need a ride? I'm sure my dad'll give you one since he hates me taking the bus."
"Nah, I'll catch the bus. I don't need to advertise the fact that Norman Osbourne is my best friend's dad," Peter said, grinning.
"If only I didn't have him as my father…then maybe I'd actually have some peace and quiet in my life," Harry said.
"But then we never would have become friends," Peter said. "And that would mean I would be all alone in the world and every person in the student body would have a grudge against me. You wouldn't want that, now, would you?"
"Well…you got me there," Harry said, laughing. "Good luck with Flash, I'll meet you at the field trip," Harry said, walking off.
Peter rolled his eyes and looked at his physics books. He really didn't feel like going through with this lab, and he just hoped that the chemistry stuff was put away, because he knew Flash would try something to get him in trouble. Flash seemed to be very good at that lately, considering he was blamed for two fights during lunch time and a stink bomb in the boys' bathroom over the past week.
"All right, Flash, we've got one simple lab to do, let's just get it over with and pretend we never did this," Peter said, getting out the equipment. "You can copy my lab notes and I'll walk you through the lab and then you can do all the easy stuff."
Flash looked at him and stood up straight so that he was his full height. "I don't think I'll be doing any of the lab today, Parker. In fact, I have a genuine idea that you'll be doing the entire thing for me," he said.
Peter glared at Flash and shook his head. "Not this time, you're not. This is such a simple lab, and the questions are based simply on the experiment and discussion in class," he said.
Flash pulled Peter up by his collar and looked straight into his eyes through the glasses. "I'll be waiting for you to finish."
Peter gulped and began assembling the equipment himself. He glanced over to Flash and noticed that he was messing with some liquids left over from the chemistry lab. He just hoped there was nothing volatile there. In fact, he even wished Flash would just come and help him with the lab, as he couldn't concentrate while he was playing around with some potentially dangerous chemicals.
He decided to ignore Flash and focus on the experiment at hand. The next sound he heard was "BANG!" He couldn't believe someone would leave out chemicals that, mixed in the right way, would explode and ruin most of the classroom.
"Holy…" Flash said, looking around at what he had done. "Uh…good luck, Parker!" he said, flying out of the classroom at the greatest speed he could manage.
Peter knew that if he fled, his teachers might think he was responsible for the explosion. He decided to try cleaning up what he could and accept the consequences. At least Flash would share in the punishments. When he met with the principal, though, he was not impressed with the results.
"Peter Parker? Sit down. We reviewed the damages in the science lab and the accounts of both you and Mr. Thompson, we have decided upon two possible actions. We shall either fine both of you $2,000 or you shall be forced to do volunteer work to repair the classroom," he said. "And should either of you get in trouble again in the next three days, it will result in immediate expulsion."
~*~
Peter narrating
The minute those words exited his mouth, I knew that I would get expelled. The thought of both Flash and I working together for the next five months wasn't the brightest idea, and should we get into a fight…well we may never see the school again. And should that happen, I would never get to see MJ ever again. But the next chain of events would top the explosion in the science lab for years to come.
Peter arrived on time to the field trip. He almost didn't make the bus, as it never stops for him and he has to make a run for it. He wondered when the bus driver would realize that he existed. He wondered when anybody besides Harry would realize he existed.
Peter got onto the bus and looked around for a place to sit. Not even the one guy sitting alone with a jelly pastry would let him sit next to him for two minutes. He smiled at Mary Jane, who was sitting with Flash. He was about to get to the only empty seat, when Flash decided now would be a good time to trip him.
"Good job, Parker," he said, winking. "Always gettin' yourself into trouble."
Peter rolled his eyes, and didn't even need to get into a seat, as by the time he got up, they had reached Columbia University. He brushed himself off and got off the bus, letting his eyes brush through the crowds in search for Harry, who would be arriving in his father's limo.
While he was waiting for Harry, he followed everyone else to the group in front of the school. He wasn't listening to the discussion, as he knew most of the things mentioned. He noticed the cute little redhead smiling at him, and then she waved, so he smiled back, and waved, until he realized she was really waving at her friends.
'Oh great…she doesn't even notice me,' Peter thought.
Peter heard the limo pulling up and saw Harry step out. He smiled and walked over to him.
"Hey, Harry, you're late," Peter said.
"Yeah…I heard what happened with the chemistry lab, that was rough, man," Harry said.
"Well…only the roughest for me," Peter said. "I don't get the lucky breaks like some people."
"Harry, won't you be needing this?" Norman Osbourne asked.
"Peter, this is my father, Norman Osbourne," Harry says, introducing his father to his best friend.
Peter and Norman spoke about science, as they were both scientists and had heard about each other. Peter walked back to the university with Harry and listened to the discussion on spiders. Apparently, they weren't the only school there, as a school from Long Island was there. Garden City High School's physics class had their field trip to look at the genetically enhanced spiders the same day. Peter watched as they got off the bus and noticed one girl who seemed to be receiving insults and heckling a bit harsher than what he experienced every day. Peter sighed and started listening to Harry's complaints regarding private schools and how he wished that his father never sent him to get flunked out of each and every one of them.
"Harry, please, I've heard you complain about this several days now, I don't need to hear it again," Peter said. "We should catch up, we're going to get in trouble…"
"That's Parker for you…always worried about getting' into trouble," Harry said, mostly talking to himself than to anyone else.
Peter gazed around the room, which seemed to be spinning around him. He never saw so many great inventions in one room before. "Hey, Harry, get a load of this! It's the biggest electron microscope ever," Peter said. ((Forgive me if this isn't even close, it's hard to remember the lines.))
"Pete…what makes you think I'd even care?" Harry asked.
"Who wouldn't?" Peter asked, entirely serious.
Harry shook his head and stopped in front of the display of spiders where the rest of the group was.
~*~
"Hey, hold still," a girl with radiant black hair was instructing someone standing near the genetically enhanced group of spiders. "I need to get your picture for the Echo."
"What's the big deal, they're just spiders? Who would want to read about some stupid spiders, anyway?" her model asked.
"Who wouldn't want to read about spiders? They're the most fascinating creatures ever! Besides, I only need one more picture, and you can go back to goofing off with the rest of your friends," she said, pushing up her glasses before taking the last shot.
A small spider had spun a web above the girl's head, but she had no awareness for this. She took the picture and then stood there, sighing after he left. "Gosh he's cute," she said, not realizing someone was behind her. When she jumped from surprise, the spider whose web was above her landed in her hair. It managed to crawl down to her neck without the girl even realizing it.
~*~
"Hey, can I take your picture, for the school paper?" Peter asked Mary Jane Watson, Peter's one and only love interest. He smiled and motioned to the spiders. "I need one with a student in it."
"Sure. Just don't make me look ugly!" Mary Jane said, adjusting her clothing.
"That's impossible…" Peter said, taking the pictures. He smiled after she left, she would always be his first crush, and his longest one. He kept thinking how terrible it would be if he had to give her up because of stupid Flash Thompson. That's until he saw HER. The black hair, the glasses, even the clothes reminded him of a female version of himself. He slowly walked up to her, making sure not to disturb her photo shoot of the guy she seemed to like as well. It was a pity that the so-called "science nerds" always fall for the most popular and most unattainable people of the school.
"Hey, you must be from Garden City," Peter said, holding out his hand. "I'm Peter Parker," he said, shaking her hand, and then letting go.
"Yes, I've become the official photographer of our school paper," she said. "I'm Melissa Yellowstone."
"Nice to meet you, Melissa. I couldn't help but notice that you seemed…well…intrigued about the spiders," Peter said, scratching his neck.
Melissa blushed and grinned. "Well, yes, I love the little critters. I mean, there are so many species and they each have their own way of catching their prey!"
"Yes, for instance some of them camouflage with their surroundings," Peter said, grinning back. He loved to actually have someone to rattle off information to that actually cared!
"And others can jump across their surroundings," Melissa said. "Wow, I never thought I'd meet someone who loved spiders as much as me!"
"Neither did I…this is great! Finally, I don't have to listen to Harry complaining that he doesn't want to hear about my comments," Peter said, laughing.
"Who's Harry?" Melissa asked, leading Peter to the group of students, with the spider still burrowing through her clothes.
"Harry's my best friend. I'll introduce you to him later. Hey, after this field trip, we should keep in touch!" Peter suggested, whispering.
"Great, I can't wait to meet him!" Melissa said, and then cried out in pain, as the spider just found a comfortable place to lay his fangs in, and bit Melissa's back. Her hand flew to the spot where the spider bit, and Melissa watched as the spider dropped to the ground and crawled somewhere else. She didn't watch to see it crawl near Peter's foot, as she tried to ignore the pain and pay attention through the rest of the field trip.
"Hey, Melissa, this is Harry," Peter said, after the spider display was over and they were allowed to eat lunch outside with the other school. "Harry, this is a girl from Garden City who's just like me. Her name's Melissa."
"Wow…cool…another science nerd, exactly what I need!" Harry joked, sarcastically.
Peter glanced down at his leg, which was starting to swell from the spider bite. Peter took out a piece of paper, trying to ignore the bite, and wrote his phone number and e-mail address down on it. "Here, just give me a call some time, I'd love to hear from you!"
"Here's my info. Gimme a ring or an e-mail," Melissa said, trying to hide the pain she was feeling right now, which was slowly transforming into nausea and dizziness.
"All right, kids, let's get onto the buses. I hope you all learned something today, because you will each hand in an essay on spiders, due one week," the teacher of Peter's class said.
"Well, I guess that's my cue," Peter said. "I'll call you sometime," he said, jogging towards the bus. "Harry, are you coming on the bus?"
"Can't, my dad's picking me up. Are you okay, Pete? You don't look so good?" Harry asked, concerned about his friend.
"I'm fine…just got a bit of a spider bite, that's all," Peter said, almost collapsing onto the ground, if Harry hadn't been there to catch him.
"Maybe my dad should drive you," Harry suggested. "Come on," he said, helping him into the car.
~*~
"Melissa, are you all right?" her mother yelled as she stumbled into the house and up the stairs.
"I'm fine…just feeling a bit woozy, that's all," Melissa said, collapsing onto the bed. She closed her eyes and let herself drift off into a much- needed sleep while her body seemed to transform right before her tightly shut eyes.
"Well, you better rest, I'll call you down when dinner's ready," Melissa's sweet mother said, pulling the covers over her.
"That's okay, mom, I had a bite," Melissa said, and let herself sleep.
~*~
"You don't look so good, Pete, you should get some rest. I'll get you home, but then I need to get back to Oscorp. Harry, you can get your own dinner, right?" Norman Osbourne asked.
"Dad, can you please not go back to Oscorp tonight? Just this once…for me?" Harry pleaded.
Norman looked at his son with intrigue, and shook his head. "I wish I could, son, but I have pressing business matter to attend to. If I don't show up, they might take the company away from me," Norman said, squeezing his hands into fists.
"Well, Pete, I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow, then. Night," Harry said, as Peter stumbled out of the limo and into his house.
"Peter, is that you?" Aunt May called.
"Gosh, Peter, what happened?" Uncle Ben asked after seeing Peter's seemingly drunken steps up the stairs.
"Just feeling a bit sick, that's all," Peter said. "I'm gonna go off to bed."
"Well, do you want to grab a bite before you sleep?" Aunt May asked.
"Nah, I got one," Peter said, and he quickly stripped his shirt off and didn't quite make it to the bed. Slipping off to the side, he grabbed a blanket and pulled it over himself, trying to sleep on the floor.
~*~
Peter narrating
And so it began, my life as an extraordinary superhero, a superman if you please. I would be tested time and again, to see if my strength and newfound abilities were tough enough to defend against the toughest of villains.
End: Chapter 1