College Life

As it turned out, not every college had dropped Peter like a hot potato. Just all the ones he'd applied to. There was one institution, however, to which he had not applied, but which had instead invited him. As part of the invitation, this "college" had offered him a pretty good, if unusual, deal. One that would essentially cover all his tuition, fees, and room and board. The only reason he hadn't accepted the invitation and enrolled was the risk in attending. It was brand new, only established since the blip, its accreditation was thus uncertain at best and there was no way to tell the quality of the education he'd get from it.

Now though, it was really his only option. Where all the colleges and scholarships he'd applied for had chosen to distance themselves from the media storm that the Daily Bugle had kicked off, it was the one he hadn't applied for that had stuck it out and left the offer open to him, even at the eleventh hour. So here Peter was, standing in front of the main building of a tiny campus twenty miles outside Willowdale, Virginia, staring at the sign high above him. "Wells-Morgan Science Technology and Research Academy" it read. At the lower left corner of the text was a bright blue starburst with two of its rays framing the sign.

Taking a deep breath, Peter walked up the steps that led to what looked like glass swinging doors. The orientation day instructions they'd sent had said he needed to proceed to the main auditorium. Peter grabbed the door handle and pulled, expecting it to budge. When it didn't, he tried pushing only for the door to remain firmly closed.

Maybe it's just a little stuck?

Peter tried again, several times, pushing and pulling, each time with more force than the last until he was worried he might actually break the door with his enhanced strength. More than a little frustrated, Peter threw up his hands and sighed.

Great way to start college Peter.

By chance, Peter caught sight of a tiny camera protruding from the wall to his right. Peter faced it and asked, "Could someone let me in please? I'm Peter Parker, I just enrolled here. There may have been some mix up with the paperwork since it was such short—"

Peter was interrupted by a feminine but clearly electronic voice that reminded him of EDITH but with a British accent. "Welcome Mr. Parker," the voice said as the door clicked open. "And I do apologize for keeping you locked out. One of the faculty members simply wished to test my security features."

"Um, okay, thanks," Peter replied awkwardly as he stepped across the threshold. Peter was about to start searching for the auditorium when he noticed the young man standing a couple yards away, smirking in his direction. A dull green sweater-vest enveloped his pudgy form, under which he wore a plain white collared shirt and orange tie. His head was crowned with thick brown hair that was neatly combed to one side and a pair of rimless glasses rested on his small nose. Despite his choice of color scheme, and the fact that his simple jeans and sneakers were clearly budget brand, this man somehow managed to pull off the "classy" look.

This smirking thing is getting a bit creepy.

"Um, can I help you?" Peter asked tentatively.

"You just did Mr. Parker," the man replied.

Now Peter was just confused. "How did I…?"

"You were my 'acid test' so to speak. I designed the security and energy systems of all the buildings on campus. Well, parts of the systems, the computer stuff was never really my thing, but the materials…" Upon seeing Peter's confused look, the man continued, "You see, the entire outer shell of this place, including the doors and windows, is made of various vibranium compounds—"

"So the building is virtually impenetrable!" Peter exclaimed excitedly as he realized the implications of having the building encased in vibranium. "That explains why I couldn't force the door open even when I was using probably about eighty percent of my strength. That must be why it's also so quiet in here, the kinetic energy absorbing properties of the vibranium compounds must make excellent soundproofing and you can utilize the absorbed energy to power the campus so you can run completely off the grid!" It was then that Peter realized that he'd interrupted the other man who, given his part in designing the campus and what the computer lady had said earlier, was probably going to be one of his professors.

"Sorry," he quickly apologized. "I got kind of carried away."

"Not at all," he replied easily. "That kind of enthusiasm is exactly what we were hoping to get in our students when we opened the place and to be honest, it's kind of flattering to watch someone nerd out over my work." The man offered Peter a handshake and introduced himself. "I'm Dr. Octavius, I specialize in anything chemistry or classical physics related, especially when it comes to applied science."

Peter accepted the handshake. "Nice to meet you."

"And you. It's kind of something to meet Spider-man in the flesh."

Peter felt his face color somewhat and he found himself unsure of how to reply. "Ahh. Well… I'm just a guy from Queens is all," he said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"If you say so," Dr. Octavius replied. "Come on, I'll show you to the auditorium."

"Thank you sir," Peter replied, following his future professor.

"Not a problem. Though, I do have to correct you on something you said earlier. We don't actually operate completely off the grid. The vibranium shells only provide about fifty percent of the power we use."

"So was the power the only reason for the vibranium shells?" Peter asked.

"No actually. You see, Dr. Wells is a bit on the paranoid side, has been since the snap. So he's put a lot of thought into keeping this place as secure as possible. I doubt it's a project he'll ever be satisfied is complete."

They came to a door which Dr. Octavius pulled open, allowing Peter to step through first. After they were both inside and Peter had politely thanked his professor, he looked around the auditorium. It was smaller than he'd expected and with the design of the chairs which had swivel-desks and a shape that would make people more inclined to sit up and take notes than sit back and listen comfortably, Peter thought it would be more accurately described as a large lecture hall than a small auditorium. There was a small stage at the front of the hall just in front and to the side of which was a computer terminal which presumably connected to the twin projectors that hung from the high ceiling.

Despite the small size of the room, the number of people present made it look spacious. Peter figured that there couldn't have been more than forty people, excluding those he guessed were faculty. Peter set his things down in the front row near the center and he overheard Dr. Octavius talking to a man who had to be Dr. Wells.

"You owe me fifty bucks," he said smugly.

"Oh?" the other man questioned, not looking up from what he was doing at the computer terminal. "What for?"

"I won the bet," Dr. Octavius replied. "The shell's impenetrable."

Peter noticed a smile tugging at the corner of the other man's mouth.

"Really? That's good news Otto. But how did you get Dr. Banner to come all the way down here from upstate New York?"

"I didn't," Dr. Octavius replied somewhat shortly.

"Then you didn't win the bet."

"Of course I did," Dr. Octavius insisted. "Spider-man himself tried to break in and the doors didn't yield a micron."

"Ah," the other man began as he concluded whatever it was he'd been doing, smiling good naturedly as he moved toward center stage. "But Otto, as I recall, the bet was that the doors could withstand the Hulk, not Spider-man."

"Dr. Wells, you know we'll never be able to poach Dr. Banner from the Aveng—"

"Ah," Dr. Wells interrupted. "No Dr. Banner, no bet. Besides, Mr. Parker over here proves that it's not impossible to steal an Avenger from Nick. All you have to do is steal me another and you'll get well over fifty dollars."

Upon being singled out, Peter suddenly felt the eyes of everyone in the room on him. He turned his head slowly to glance around at his soon to be classmates, no longer listening to the two doctors' exchange. Sure enough, everyone's attention had been turned to him. He could make out some of the whispers between friends and the muttering of the few loners in the group.

"So that's Spider-man huh? He's not so impressive."

"Isn't he a criminal?"

"No, it was all a setup. Mysterio's the one who really tore up London."

"He's oddly attractive, in a nerdy sort of way."

"Doesn't that kind of apply to everyone here though?"

The muttering, and Peter's eavesdropping, were soon interrupted by Dr. Wells who commanded the attention of the entire room with his crisp British accent that sounded like it belonged in the halls of some esteemed institution like Oxford but clashed so violently with his very casual attire.

"Welcome, everyone, and thank you for choosing the Science Technology and Research Academy for your higher education. I realize it was a bit of a risk for you, devoting four years of your life to studying at an institution that has no reputation to speak of so I… we," Dr. Wells gestured to the other faculty who were gathered which included Dr. Octavius and a woman who looked to be about Dr. Wells's age. "We are truly grateful and we promise that the risk will have been—" Dr. Wells was interrupted when the door to the auditorium slammed open, revealing a tall, well dressed young man with light brown hair in a short fauxhawk. There was something about him that Peter thought was familiar but he couldn't place it.

"Mr. Osborn," Dr. Wells called up to the back, the annoyance leaking through his usually upbeat demeanor. "So glad you could join us. I hope Norman didn't have too much difficulty finding the place?"

Now everyone's attention was turned toward the newcomer. "Dad couldn't come Unc—I mean Dr. Wells. He's busy with the final stages of a new project."

Peter, whose attention had turned back to Dr. Wells, noticed that the professor's annoyance had vanished and had been replaced with what looked like pity.

"I see," was all he said. "Well, better late than never I suppose, go ahead and have a seat Harry." Once Harry had taken a seat toward the back, Dr. Wells continued. "As I was saying. We promise that the chance you're all taking on this little project of ours will be worth it.

"As you may have guessed by now, I am Dr. Henry Wells. This," Dr. Wells gestured to the other two faculty standing off to the side, "is Dr. Otto Octavius, and my wife Renee."

The two others greeted the assembled students and Renee spoke up, "And to avoid confusing me with my husband, you can call me Dr. Morgan."

Dr. Wells continued. "We are just a few of the faculty who will lead you on your journey through your higher education. We are also the three who originally developed the idea of creating this academy almost six years ago, immediately following the conflict that temporarily eliminated half of all animal life in the universe.

"Our world became the focal point of that conflict and it was ultimately down to us to protect the lives of countless people. Yet as a species, we were woefully unprepared. Even if the Avengers hadn't been hobbled and shattered by the Sokovia Accords, we still would have lost. Thankfully, we came back from that but only after five years and only by chance.

"Not long after everyone first disappeared, the three of us found each other and we decided that we couldn't afford to be caught unprepared again. That is why we founded this academy. Not only have we gathered some of the brightest young minds from around this country, but we also have a highly competent staff, some of whom you will meet later when we tour the facilities. We also have state of the art equipment to facilitate your learning and, most importantly, your research."

Dr. Morgan began speaking now. "Many of you were probably curious as to why our offer was free tuition, room, and board for you in exchange for your work in research and development. This R and D is essentially work for hire and will be used to support the academy, but it will also serve to further the mission of this institution. The universe is as dangerous as it is beautiful. The only way we can be prepared for its dangers is by learning its secrets and developing the tools to ensure that nothing like the snap, or the blip as some of you call it, happens again."

"This isn't like Stark Industries or SHIELD," Dr. Octavius put in. "Those organizations just develop the technologies and do the research. The academy will do that yes, but by the time you've completed your four years here, you'll have gained the tools to perform that research and technology development on your own."

"Our aim here isn't simply to save the world, nay, not even just humanity. Our aim is to provide the foundations to protect the universe. We aim for the stars. What's your aim?" Dr. Wells finished.

There was a moment of silence before the sound of a lone pair of hands clapping could be heard. It took Peter a moment to realize they were his hands. He didn't clap alone for long though, soon all the other students had joined in and Peter could see the grin that had spread across Dr. Wells's face. It wasn't the grin of someone who enjoyed being the center of attention or anything so egocentric as that. It was a grin of optimism, of victories achieved, and those yet to come. After the year Peter had had, he could use some optimism in his life.

Once the applause had died down, Dr. Morgan spoke up again. "Now that we're all thoroughly inspired, why don't we break into three groups and we can have a look at the research facilities. We'd show you the classrooms but if you've seen one lecture hall you've seen them all." The last remark earned polite laughter from the gathered students as they broke into roughly equal groups, each led by a different professor.

As Peter was led through the various facilities, he couldn't help but gawk at the labs. Most of them were pretty much empty since the academy had just opened but there were a few that already had some equipment and chemicals and specimens occupying them, the work of other faculty who had yet to be seen. As they toured, they passed Dr. Jane Foster in the halls, a woman who needed no introduction. Even those who were less familiar with her work in astronomy and physics knew who she was from her involvement in the Battle of Greenwich over a decade before.

The other faculty member they were introduced to was Dr. Olivia Anders, a woman of average height with Professor Trelawney glasses, long, unruly, curly hair that stuck out in odd directions, and a Doctor Who scarf. She also seemed to Peter to be on a perpetual caffeine high. "My primary focus is on modern physics, including quantum mechanics and the Selvig Model," she explained. "In terms of research, my current interest is the cosmic energy released by the snap, specifically its implications for different theories of the multiverse." Despite, her unkempt appearance, Dr. Anders's lab was surprisingly clean and neat. At least that's what Peter thought until he got a chance glimpse at her computer monitor.

Geez, organize your desktop lady.

After having seen the facilities and met a few of the faculty, Peter decided that he was quite glad he'd chosen the Wells-Morgan Academy. The labs were high tech, he couldn't help but admire Doctors Wells, Morgan, and Octavius for their mission, and the few faculty he had met seemed to know their stuff, even if some of them were a bit on the kooky side.

The small group rendezvoused with the others at the dorms where they discovered their things had already been delivered to their rooms by Gideon, which turned out to be the AI that Peter had met earlier and was charged with helping to run the day to day of the academy. "Isn't that illegal?" one of the other students asked. "Under the Sokovia Accords."

"You make an excellent point," Dr. Wells replied. "But Gideon is a weak enough AI that she's not covered under the Accords. And don't worry, she won't go all HAL on you."

Peter cracked a smile at that. It seemed that Dr. Wells was a fan of old sci-fi too.

"Hal?" someone asked.

"From 2001: A Space Odyssey," Peter put in. "It's a sci-fi movie from the 60's."

Peter heard someone mutter that Ultron would have been a more relevant reference but by that point Dr. Wells had bid them good night and left Gideon to direct them to their rooms. That was when Peter discovered that his roommate was the guy who had come in late earlier, Harry Osborn. "So," he said, once they'd stepped into their room and begun unpacking. "It looks like we're gonna be roomies. I'm Harry." Peter took the offered hand and shook it before going back to filling his side of the closet.

"Yeah," Peter replied awkwardly. "Dr. Wells said. Nice to meet you though. I mean formally."

Smooth Peter.

"I'm Peter by the way."

"Nice to meet you Peter, though I'm not sure Spider-man needs any introduction, not after this summer anyway."

Here it comes.

Peter wasn't entirely sure what Harry thought of him but given his tone it seemed he at least liked Spider-man. But even if that was the case, Peter still wasn't too keen on all the attention. When Mr. Stark had first given him the suit and brought him to Germany to fight Captain Rogers and the other "rogue" Avengers, Peter had thought that all he wanted was to join the league of superheroes. He'd been so enthusiastic about it and the thought of being in the limelight hadn't bothered him a bit. Even when he was just the friendly neighborhood Spider-man he hadn't had a problem with his celebrity. The only thing that had changed was that he was now a celebrity even without the mask and for some reason, it felt different.

"I'm sorry," Harry said quickly. The sincerity of the apology was almost as surprising to Peter as the apology itself.

"What for?" Peter asked.

"Well, when I mentioned you being Spider-man and all, you kind of tensed. I guess it just didn't occur to me that you weren't really big on being a celebrity like Tony Stark or Steve Rogers. And then I was about to fanboy and all and it made you really uncomfortable."

"It's fine Harry," Peter assured, almost reflexively.

"No," Harry insisted forcefully, giving Peter the sense that there was more to this than just polite deference to someone else. "It's not fine because I know what it feels like. To almost everyone now, you're not Peter, you're Spider-man. You're a celebrity and there's this expectation of who you should be that everyone else has. An expectation that isn't really you. And on the one hand, you feel like you have to become that, but on the other, you just want to get away from it all and be you. You have approval ratings, and people fight flame wars on social media over you. Eventually, you start feeling hollowed out, like you're just a box for other people to put things into."

Peter listened intently to his roommate and as he did, he got the sense that Harry spoke from experience.

But that would mean that he's famous or something. But I do get the sense I have seen him before, I just can't remember where…

Then it clicked. It was years ago, when Peter was still in grade school. The newscaster was reporting on the launch of Osborn Chemical's first product, some fuel additive that would reduce exhaust smog. The view had changed to a short clip of the company's founder and CEO, Norman Osborn, leading a young boy to a car from the front doors of the company's labs.

"Wait, you're that Harry Osborn?" Peter asked. "As in Osborn Chemical, Osborn?"

"Well, it's Oscorp now, Dad's expanded some. But, yeah, that Osborn," Harry replied.

It hadn't occurred to Peter that the son of a famous industrialist and inventor would rather avoid the attention that the spotlight brought. Then again, perhaps it wasn't the attention itself that the two of them had a problem with, it was the kind of attention.

"Ever since my dad made it big, I've been the son of Norman Osborn, heir to the family business. Even my dad started treating me different after a while. But I really just want to be Harry. Just Harry."

Peter finished hanging up his last shirt and turned to face his roommate. "Then that's who you'll be," Peter said, not really knowing where his sudden decision to break from the typical, shy Peter Parker he'd always been at Midtown had come from and not particularly caring either. "To me at least."

Harry smiled. "Thanks."

"On one condition," Peter added.

"What's that?"

"To you, I'm just Peter."

Harry grinned. "You've got a deal, 'just Peter'."

"So, how do you know Dr. Wells?" Peter asked. "I mean, if you don't mind my asking. It's just that you seemed familiar with him back at the auditorium."

"He and my dad went to grad school together. They were pretty close friends though Dad says he always felt like he was in Uncle Henry's shadow, and they don't really talk much anymore. I didn't even know he was married until after I got the invitation to attend STAR Academy."

"STAR?"

"Yeah, Science Technology and Research, STAR."

That gives new significance to the starburst on the sign.

"Why'd your dad feel like Dr. Wells overshadowed him?" Peter asked as he helped Harry loft his bed over where they'd be putting the TV.

Harry quirked an eyebrow at him. "In case you haven't noticed Dr. Wells is a genius."

"But so are all the other faculty."

"Not like him," Harry replied. "He's got three PhD's and he got them all at the same time. Uncle Henry's a bona fide polymath, and apparently so is Dr. Morgan. That's actually kind of why my dad started Osborn Chemical. He at least likes the spotlight. I remember so many dinners when he'd rant to mom and me about how everything he did, no matter how great, always got overshadowed by Uncle Henry. So he was glad when Osborn Chemical took off and Uncle Henry chose to remain an obscure scientist.

"You can go ahead and set the bed down now," Harry said, changing the subject after securing the last fastener on the loft kit. When Peter let the bed rest on its own supports Harry asked, "So how does that super-strength thing work with you anyway?"

"Huh?"

"You just lifted my entire bedframe and mattress by yourself and I know that's not the heaviest thing you've ever lifted."

"Oh, it's a spider thing. Spiders can lift many times their own weight, the exact amount varies by species."

"I thought that was just a scaling laws thing though?"

"Uhh… Good point." Peter really hadn't considered that.

"So how did you get your powers? Are you an Inhuman?"

"What? No. It was a spider bite," Peter replied.

"A spider bite? How does that even work?"

"I don't know, it was a mutant spider and I didn't exactly keep it in a jar to study it."

"You killed it didn't you." It was less question and more accusation.

"Of course I did. I just got bit by a weird multicolored spider, what else did you expect me to do?"

"Keep it," Harry replied as if it was the obvious thing to do. "Go to a hospital and see if the doctors could identify it so they could maybe give you the antivenom. I mean, what if it hadn't been a mutant spider? You'd probably be dead."

"But it was a mutant spider, and I'm not dead," Peter replied.

Harry's response was to roll his eyes. "Anyway, enough spider stuff. Why don't we go out on the town tonight?"

"What?"

"Come on, Willowdale's not too far, I've got a car. We can get to know each other more, have some fun, maybe meet some cute girls from Culver U."

"I actually have a girlfriend," Peter replied.

"Where's she go to school?"

"Culver," Peter replied.

"Great! You can invite her along. Come on Pete it's Friday night and we're just kicking off college. Starting a new chapter in our lives. It'll be fun." Harry didn't give Peter a chance to decline the offer. Before he knew it, Harry had a plain black leather jacket on and had grabbed Peter's wrist and was dragging him down the stairs and out the front door of the dorm building toward the parking lot.

Deciding to just go along with it, Peter texted MJ as Harry drove from campus and into Willowdale. "My roommate and I are going to a place called Willowdale Bruce. Wanna come?"

When his phone buzzed, Peter pulled out the phone and read the text. "You realize that's a bar right?"

"Harry, we're not going to a bar are we?" Peter asked.

"Might be," came the evasive reply.

"But we're not twenty-one."

"That's true." Harry's reply made it sound as if this wasn't a problem. "You and I are both twenty-four, since we blipped."

"I don't think it works that way," Peter replied skeptically.

"It does in Virginia… At least for now," Harry replied. "The state legislature's still trying to figure out how to handle the whole blip thing. So until they get their stuff together, you and I are of drinking age."

Peter had just finished relaying Harry's explanation to MJ when they pulled into the parking lot. The two of them stepped out and Peter took in the neon sign. Above the name of the establishment was a likeness of the Hulk, cluing Peter into the fact that the name was a bad pun on Dr. Banner's name and "brews". A very bad pun.

"I know. Not the best of names," Harry said as he led the way through the parking lot. "But it's one of those things that's so bad it's good you know?"

"Kind of, but I don't think this one qualifies," Peter replied. When his phone buzzed again, he checked it and read MJ's reply. "MJ's coming," he said. "But she thinks we're stupid for doing this."

"She's coming though so that's good," Harry replied. "Is she bringing any friends?" Harry asked eagerly.

"She didn't say."

Harry shrugged. "I guess we'll find out when she gets here. I hope she does, it'd be kind of boring with just the three of us."

When they reached the door, Peter glanced back at the parking lot. Something had been eating at him ever since they'd pulled in and looking back, it was pretty obvious what it was. "Hey Harry."

"Hmm?"

"Isn't it a bit odd that we're the only ones here on a Friday night in a college town?" Peter asked.

Harry glanced back at the empty parking lot. "Nah." Harry waved his hand dismissively. "We're just early is all. It'll fill up before too long."

Taking Harry's word for it, Peter just followed him into the deserted bar. The only person present was the woman tending bar. Before they could sit down though, Peter's phone started buzzing again. He pulled it out of his pocket to check the number and his stomach sank when he saw that the screen read "Unknown Number".

I really hope this is just a crank caller and not Nick Fury.

Peter pressed answer and held it to his ear, ready to end the call as soon as it turned out to be a scammer. He would have no such luck.

"Parker," Fury's voice echoed over the line.

Peter groaned internally. He hadn't been back all that long and already Fury was calling him.

Maybe he just wants to check up on me?

"You're gonna need to come to the compound."

No dice.

This time Peter groaned aloud, drawing Harry's attention and Fury's ire.

"Did you just groan at me?"

"N-no sir," Peter lied.

"Sir?" Harry asked. His confusion quickly turned to awe as he realized what was happening. "That's Nick Fury isn't it," he said excitedly. "Is it Avengers business? Is it a mission?"

"Harry," Peter cut in. "Remember what we agreed to? Just Peter? Just Harry?"

"Yeah, but that isn't really gonna work out if you get random calls from Nick Fury."

"Is someone else with you?" Fury asked over the phone.

"My roommate," Peter replied before quickly getting back to the point. "Sir, do I have to come now? I just started school and I thought we decided I wasn't going to do the whole Avengers thing for a little while."

"Not an option," Fury replied shortly.

"What could you need me for now, of all times," Peter asked exasperatedly. He'd been pushed around enough by Fury on the Europe trip. He was damned if he was going to let it happen again.

"Probably that," Harry interrupted, pointing at one of the TVs above the bar.

The channel was set to WHiH World News. The ticker along the bottom read "E.D.I.T.H. DEVICE STOLEN EN ROUTE TO U.N. FACILITY KEY WITNESS IN SPIDER-MAN CASE PRIME SUSPECT" Above the ticker, the screen flashed CCTV footage of a very familiar looking red head apparently forcing his way into the vehicle before making off with a small black case.

"Could you turn it up?" Peter asked and Harry reached up and fiddled with the buttons on the screen.

"The suspect has been identified as one Wallace West whose testimony exonerated New York City's Peter Parker, an enhanced human and Avenger who goes by the moniker Spider-man," the newscaster said. "UK authorities have asked that Mr. West be extradited and that they be permitted to bring Mr. Parker in for questioning as a person of interest in the case citing his ties with Mr. West and concerns that the two may have orchestrated the theft as the justification. The President has refused both requests for the moment, though he has declined to comment on why."

"Okay," Peter replied into the phone at last. "I'll come, I'm at a bar in Willowdale called Willowdale Bruce."

"I'll send someone to take you to the quinjet."

Peter nodded, forgetting that Fury couldn't see him. Then something occurred to him, "And please don't shoot Harry like you did Ned back in Europe."*

Upon hearing that sentence Harry threw him a confused and somewhat concerned look.

"If he can mind his own business, he should be fine."

Well, no rest for the weary. Time to go be Spider-man.

*Those of you who've seen the post credit scenes of FFH know that it wasn't actually Fury who tranqed Ned, just Talos disguised as Fury. Peter doesn't know that though and I don't think Fury would tell him unless he had a good reason to let Peter know which is why I left that bit of dialogue in there.

I also wanted to go over the math on Peter's age since I've essentially established it here. So according to the wiki, Peter was born August 1, 2001. In Homecoming, he said he was 15 and, if I remember correctly, he was a sophomore there. So since Peter is 15 and has a summer birthday, Homecoming and Peter's sophomore year of high school take place in the 2016-17 academic year. According to the wiki, the snap was in 2018. I'm not sure if it was ever specified whether this was spring or fall semester so I just made it fall which makes Peter a senior and 17. In FFH, we're told that everyone who blipped, even though they were not an insignificant way into the school year, had to repeat the entire year. So in 2023, when Peter goes back to Midtown, he repeats his senior year and is now 18. Thus by the time he goes to college, at least for the sake of this story, he's 19 biologically and 24 chronologically (because of the additional 5 years). Now I realize that I might have missed/forgotten a detail or two while I was mathing (yes, I added "ing" math, I'm channeling my inner Dick Grayson) so we're just going to chalk that up to poetic license. Or, if you prefer, we'll just say that this is taking place in a corner of the multiverse that isn't quite the MCU which is Earth-199999 (I think). Let's call it Earth-200000.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed!

-Pandalien