Classes started as if nothing had happened. Everyone else came back talking about their spring break trips. The boys put on a good front but the weight of what could be an all out war bore down on all of them. The boys went to class, studied, then trained. Wyatt's training was limited to instructing the others and rehabbing his shoulder. Peter bounced between sparring with Bobby and running on the treadmill. He tried swinging in the gym but all it did was frustrate him. Within two weeks of being back, Peter felt like he was a ball of tension.

"Ok, that's it. We aren't studying, we're not training. We are going to the Odyssey and acting like college students." Wyatt looked at other four. "We're all acting like it's the end of the world and while there is something brewing on the horizon, it's not here yet." The four boys didn't argue with him but they didn't move either. "We need a night off." He looked over at Peter, "You text or call MJ multiple times a day. When you're not texting or calling, you're checking her tracker." Peter crossed his arms and started to make a rebuttal but Wyatt cut him off. "I'm just as guilty." He looked over at the others. "The rest of you are asking for updates multiple times a day from Steve or Nat or Professor Xavier or Reed. At least you're mixing it up some but we're all stressing about this. We need to blow off some steam."

Peter uncrossed his arms and sighed, "You're right." He reached over and grabbed Johnny's keys off the bar and tossed them to him. "You're driving." While Peter knew Wyatt was right. He also didn't want to split them up. Usually he and Johnny would both drive but when needed they could all fit into Johnny's SUV, which is what they were doing tonight.

They arrived at the Odyssey earlier than normal so staked out their table and ordered food. Bobby looked over at Peter. "There's no one really here. Come play pool with us."

Peter glanced around the relatively empty bar and had a 'screw it' moment. Standing up he walked over to the pool table and picked up a cue stick. He had played once at the compound and had then been banned from playing. Chalking the stick he looked at other other four. "We're all playing. Everyone gets a turn then I go. If I miss I'll buy the next round. If you all clear the table before my turn I'll buy the next round". He grinned at them. "Wrack them up."

They were five games into it and Peter hadn't missed a shot yet, until he heard Gwen. "Parker, are you actually playing pool?" The end result was the six ball rolling across the table without the proper spin on it and then coming to a complete stop less than an inch away from the corner pocket. Peter dropped his head. "Thanks Gwen."

The other four laughed. "Yeah, thanks Gwen. Peter's buying now."

Gwen walked over to the table and looked at Peter. "Play me." Peter looked over at the other four who merely shrugged. Peter sighed. "Fine. Ladies first."

Gwen set up the balls and took her shot. She sank five balls in a row before missing and giving Peter a turn. Taking a deep breath he leaned over and made the first shot, then proceeded to drop the remaining solid colored balls until just the 8 ball and Gwen's two striped balls were remaining on the table. Looking at Gwen he sunk the 8 ball without looking at it. "This is why I don't play."

Gwen laughed. "Where did you learn to play pool?"

"A friend taught me." Peter let it drop at that. He glanced over Gwen's shoulder. "Hi Harry."

Gwen glanced over her shoulder and kissed Harry on the cheek when he dipped his head down and hugged her from behind. "Harry! Peter just beat me at pool." Gwen smiled at Peter.

"Didn't know you were that good at pool. You never play." Harry watched Peter put the pool cue up.

Peter shrugged. "It's just physics and geometry." The hand eye coordination didn't hurt either he thought as he retreated to their table and sat down with the rest of the boys who had already made their way there.

Ultimately Peter was glad they had gone out. Everyone seemed to be relaxing some. He managed to only text MJ a handful of times and check her tracker a handful more. So far she wasn't getting too irritated with him but he could tell it was coming. They called it a night a little after midnight and headed home. Everyone else headed to bed. Peter made a valid attempt but after staring at his ceiling for thirty minutes he headed up to the roof. Looking out over the river he could see the Boston skyline. It was no where near as impressive as New York City's. There were a couple of tall buildings but none of them were close enough together that he could properly swing like he could at home. He realized on top of swinging he really just missed being high up too. Before he gave it much thought he activated the Iron Spider and dove off the roof.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Incoming call from MJ." Karen's voice rang through Peter's HUD.

"Hey MJ. It's 1:30 in the morning. Why are you awake? Don't you have a test tomorrow?"

"Test isn't until tomorrow afternoon." MJ paused, "So my watch has this really cool feature that shows me not only where you are but also how high up you are. Why are you 700 feet in the air?"

Peter cringed. At the time it had seemed like a wonderful gesture on his part...giving MJ the ability to track him as well. He thought it was only fair and when he showed it to her he could tell it had meant a lot to her. "The tallest building in Cambridge is only something like 200 feet. I miss being high up."

"Because it's quiet and you can think." MJ paused, "What's bothering you?"

Peter sighed. "I'm waiting for the next thing to happen. Part of me just wants it to come so we can get past it and the other part of me wants it never to come."

"Fair enough. I think we all feel that way. But you're going to drive yourself crazy if you can't find a way to deal with it."

Peter frowned as he perched on the edge of the tallest building in Boston. "MJ, how am I supposed to deal with it. You're potentially in danger on multiple fronts..."

"Stop. That's why Nakia is here. To take my safety off your plate."

"MJ, you're safety will always be on my plate. And it's not just this current threat. What happens when it comes out that I'm Spider-Man...because sooner or later it will." Peter felt his anxiety levels rise.

"We will deal with it together. Just like we'll deal with the fallout from the current threat together."

Peter took a deep breath. "What if we're not ready? What if we can't handle it? What if we lose?"

"Peter, I've watched you take on more and more over the years. You've handled it every time. Plus, you're forgetting that you have not only your team but an incredible amount of support. Think about it. You've got Professor Xavier's group. To hear Bobby talk, they're not lightweights. I'm also pretty sure Dr. Strange can do more than portals. You have the entire country of Wakanda. I'm not sure if anyone knows what Reed and Sue are capable of at this point. And then you have the original Avengers who have taken on threat after threat and have prevailed. I have faith that this combined group can take on just about anything and that's what you have to remember...it's a group effort. You aren't on your own." She heard Peter sigh. "Why don't you come up next weekend?"

"I can't. Wyatt and I have a project due." He heard MJ sigh on the other end. "Maybe the weekend after that. I'll see how my class schedule is working out."

"Ok. Peter, this will all turn out ok. Please try not to stress as much about it." MJ stifled a yawn. While Peter could function on very little sleep she could not. But she also hated knowing that Peter was struggling and there wasn't anything she could do to help.

"I hope you're right. You need to go to sleep." Peter looked up at the night sky. It was way too late for her to be awake dealing with his anxiety. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Talk to you in a couple hours...good night Peter. Don't stay out too late." MJ sighed and hung up leaving Peter staring at the twinkling stars.