Spider-Man: High School Rules
2: Day One
Running around the corner, Peter saw the bus at the stop further down the street, the last of its students piling on before the doors closed and it started moving again. As he ran after it, Peter felt irritated that this had happened two days in a row. He caught up with the back of the bus, banging his fist on the side in hopes of catching someone's attention.
"Hey, wait for me!" he shouted, "Stop the bus!"
Peter slapped his palm against the side of the bus in an attempt to draw attention. He went to slap it again, however when he went to move his hand off it wouldn't. He looked in confusion as he tried to pull his hand away, but it was as though his skin was stuck to the side of the bus. Peter noticed the wheels spinning faster, forcing him to keep up, though funnily enough he didn't feel exhausted at all.
Though the boost in energy he had felt over the course of the morning made running alongside the bus easier, Peter panicked as the bus seemed to keep going, not noticing him stuck to it. People sat outside cafes turned their heads and watched this boy sprinting after a bus, his hand stuck to it.
Soon, thankfully, the bus began slowing down, and Peter looked up to see that they had arrived at Flash's stop. Desperately pulling his arm away, he finally tore his hand off. Peter looked at his palm in confusion – what the hell just happened to him?
"Late again, Parker?" Flash hollered at him from the stop as the bus doors opened, "You better get on quick."
Peter nervously made his way over, past Flash, Kong and Jason to the bottom of the bus' steps. He walked on board and as Flash boarded behind him, he felt the same sensation as he did at the dinner table. Time had slowed down, and Flash was raising his hand to shove Peter's shoulder, sending him tripping over the top step and onto the driver. Turning around at lightning fast speeds, Peter grabbed Flash' hand, much to his shock. Realising that he had dropped his tough-guy exterior, Flash straightened his back and pulled his arm out of Peter's grip.
"You won't be so quick next time, Parker," he snarled, "Put your hand on me again, you're a dead man!"
"Come on already!" the driver exclaimed, "Get on board!"
Peter turned around, facing forward and walked up to the top step and down the aisle, all the while Flash was breathing down his neck.
The bus journey went without conflict, but Peter could sense Flash's embarrassment and hatred towards him. For the whole duration, he felt as though he was being watched; that he could sense Flash's glare, feeling his eyes burning into the back of his skull. Peter thought he'd better keep a low profile that day, though he kind of enjoyed the new sense of power, like he could finally stand up to the person who'd been giving him shit and making his life a misery for three years.
Peter used this opportunity to check any messages he missed last night, opening a conversation with Harry.
Harry, 5:43pm: Btw I've got a dentist appointment tomorrow morning so I'm not gonna be in until midday at the latest
Harry, 6:59pm: You good?
Harry, 7:20pm: Hey Gwen's a little worried, your phone dead or something?
Harry, 9:24pm: Idk if you've been busy or what but make sure you text back asap.
Feeling guilty, Pete quickly typed out a response.
Pete, 7:45am: Sorry, felt really sick and exhausted last night but I'm all good now. See you later!
Peter noticed that the number of notifications from Gwen was significantly higher. Opening their conversation, he saw dozens of messages; a result of Gwen's spamming to check on Peter.
Gwen, 5:23pm: Hey, how cool was Oscorp? You got any pics you could send my way?
Gwen, 6:49pm: Yo
Gwen, 7:14pm: Hey you alright? I noticed you didn't look too good earlier
Gwen, 7:21pm: Ok Harry hasn't heard from you either, are you okay?
The messages went on and on, consisting mainly of Gwen worrying, anxious that the bug bite may have sent Peter to hospital. As guilty as he felt, it was sweet that his friends cared so much. He figured he'd see Gwen today anyway, so he typed out a brief response.
Pete, 7:47am: Hey, omw now, don't worry about it, I'll explain when I see you
And soon enough, the bus pulled up at the front of the school, Gwen visibly waiting outside, standing as tall as possible to try and look through the windows for Peter. As the students stepped off, Gwen waited eagerly to see Peter and when their eyes met, though Peter could barely see through his glasses, Gwen looked a mixture of relieved and frustrated.
"Peter!" she hissed through gritted teeth, punching his arm, "What happened to you? Were you ill?"
"Uh, a little," Peter chuckled, his eyes watering; there was no way he could keep the glasses act up for any longer than today, "Sorry, I guess I was a little exhausted."
"I was worried sick!" Gwen exclaimed, "You need to check your phone, Pete!"
"Honestly, I practically collapsed as soon as I got in," Peter laughed as they walked up the steps to the main entrance.
"Whatever," Gwen sighed, dropping the fake-angry gag, "Anyway, what class is first?"
"Gym," Peter groaned, though after the words left his lips, he realised it might not be as bad as he thought.
Gym glass; dodgeball, as usual. Pete undressed into his gym clothes, nervously hiding his body so not to draw attention to his physique. However, the attempt was worthless.
"Shit," Kong exclaimed as he walked past Peter, "You've beefed up, Parker!"
All he could do was nod nervously, as if to thank him, before he followed the rest of the changing room into the gymnasium.
The group was split in two evenly-sized groups, though the skill on either side was anything but even. Peter looked nervously to the other side of the court, where he saw Flash, Liz and Jason. The only remotely sporty person on his team was Kong, who obviously was less than impressed. Flash, obviously revelling in this moment of superiority, taunted Peter from across the court.
"I'm gonna teach you a lesson, Parker!"
Christ, he was still worked up over the incident that morning. Peter shook it off while Liz cackled.
"Might as well step off already, Petey," Liz teased. Something about her had always intimidated him – then again, so did most girls; he wasn't exactly a ladies' man. Interrupting the war of words, the coach blew his whistle.
"God, Liz is such a bitch," Gwen said under her breath, loud enough for Peter to hear. He chuckled quietly before he sensed it; a rubber ball, thrown by Flash, hurtling through the air, targeting Peter, amid all the other balls thrown back and to. Peter knew the rules of the game; if he caught that ball, Flash would be out until the round was over. Reaching his hands out in front of his face, the ball landed perfectly in his palms. He flinched a little as he caught it, the impact stinging a little. There was a commotion across the court as the gym teacher spoke out.
"Tough luck, Flash, you're out!" he exclaimed, waving Flash to sit at the side. Flash, who had turned red in the face, stormed off to the bench, eyeing Peter angrily, while Liz suppressed a laugh. All Pete could do was chuckle while Gwen glanced at him, jaw on the floor.
"Since when could you play dodgeball?!" she joked, grabbing a rubber ball off the floor and tossing it, intending for it to travel in Liz' direction though her aim was horribly off.
"Just lucky, I guess!" Peter replied. The incident that had transpired this morning had, in his mind, strengthened his theory about the spider bite. He had already displayed increased speed and improved reaction times and, he assumed, he would be physically stronger thanks to his muscles. It was insane, but he had little time to think; that new sense of his was constantly switching on, alerting him to any dodgeballs thrown his way. As he caught one, he realised he would not be able to move quickly enough to catch the other, forcing him to fold backward as a ball flew over him, thwacking against the wall behind him.
"Stay still, puny Parker!" Jason hollered from the other end of the gym, seemingly out to avenge his fallen buddy, before a ball thrown by Kong smacked him right in the cheek. Kong couldn't help but laugh at the shocked expression on Jason's face.
"Couldn't resist!" Kong laughed, holding his hands up.
"What the hell, Kong?" Jason whined, holding the side of his face where a large red circle was imprinted.
"You're out, Ionello!" the coach called, "Come on, Team 1, y'all need to wake up!"
Ionello reluctantly walked to the side of the court, sitting beside Flash on the bench who was still sat, arms folded, looking cross at Peter, fuming that his personal punching bag had grown a backbone. Peter noticed Flash and Jason whispering to one another, all while they stared right at him.
The rest of the class was, admittedly, pretty fun; probably the only time Peter has enjoyed partaking in sports. Still, he was aware that Flash and his buddies weren't too impressed with him and got changed as quickly as possible back into his normal clothes, hurrying out of the locker room.
"What're you boys sulking about?" Kong approached Flash and Jason, who were staring angrily where Peter stood. Jason spoke up for Flash.
"Parker's making Flash look like a fool," he explained, "So we're thinkin' 'bout teachin' him a lesson or two – knock him down a peg."
Kong looked disapprovingly at Flash. "You really gonna let him get to you like this?"
"He made me look like a bitch," Flash spat, snapping his head around, "Right in front of Liz, too. Nah, Kong, I'm not letting puny Parker humiliate me like that."
Flash, already dressed, swung his bag over his shoulder, patting Jason on the shoulder as if to invite him along as he stormed out of the locker room. Kong followed nervously, unsure that this was a good move.
Outside, Peter met Gwen, still laughing to herself over Peter's sudden improvement.
"Honestly, I'd never have thought you'd piss Flash off so much," she grinned as they walked down the halls to find their next class.
"Yeah, well I'm not entirely convinced that was such a good idea," Peter countered, sounding nervous, "I mean, you know how erratic Flash can be, plus I already pissed him off once this morning."
"Wait, what?" Gwen asked – Peter realised he had not yet explained it to her.
"Yeah, he tried to push me and I stopped him," Peter said quietly, almost embarrassed to admit it.
"What do you mean, 'stopped him'?" she asked again.
Peter sighed, "Like, I grabbed his hand before he hit me."
Gwen's eyebrows raised, "You're right, you better be careful."
"I mean, is it so bad that I'm standing up for myself?"
"Not at all, Pete – but like you said, Flash is kind of crazy, you never know -"
"Hey, PARKER!"
Right on cue, Flash came stomping down the corridor, his letterman jacket flowing behind him, Liz, Jason and Kong in close pursuit, jogging to keep up with Flash's strides.
"Pete..." Gwen held Peter's shoulder before Flash pushed him backwards, sending him stumbling back but Peter managed to keep his balance.
"You think you can just humiliate me like that, huh?" Flash got up in Peter's face, "I mean, do you have any idea who you're messing with, punk?"
"Come on, Flash, leave him alone," Gwen reasoned while Peter stayed quiet, looking Flash in the eye.
"Stay out of it, freak," Liz spat at Gwen, "Or what, you gonna get your police daddy on us?"
"This is just between me, and Parker," Flash said, breathing heavily, "Looks like I need to put you back in your place!"
Flash pushed Peter back one last time before raising his right fist, swinging it towards Peter's jaw. Pete reacted quick, grabbing it and pushing it away. Flash swung his left hand, heading straight towards Peter's gut; Pete stepped aside and twisted his body around, narrowly avoiding it. Christ, this must be the longest he's lasted in a fight with Flash.
"C'mon, Flash, get him!" Jason hissed from the crowd, which had eagerly formed in the hallway.
"We don't have to do this, Flash," Peter said; in hindsight, a little late to attempt to cool his opponent down. Pete's words went in one ear, out the other.
Flash roared, a barrage of fists swinging towards Pete, who ducked and dodged out the way, so fast that he surprised himself. With every punch he dodged, he felt more and more confident and, deep down, a little cocky. With another roar, Flash swung a fist towards the side of Pete's head.
Peter wrapped his hand around Flash's wrist, stopping his fist dead in its tracks. He tightened his grip and Flash's eyes widened, the same expression from the bus stop, but this time Peter wasn't letting him off easy. Swinging his right hand back, Peter plunged his fist into Flash's gut.
There was a loud, awful groan as Flash stumbled away, falling onto his back. The crowd oohed and there was a quiet shriek before Gwen threw her hands over her mouth in shock. Flash gritted his teeth as he lay with his legs curled and arms covering his stomach.
"Shit, Parker, what'd you do to him?" Kong exclaimed as he got to his knees beside Flash. The crowd, besides Gwen, Liz and Jason, quickly dispersed as the principal emerged.
"Thompson, Parker, my office, NOW!" he commanded.
Kong helped Flash get to his feet as Parker walked gingerly past him, glancing at Gwen who looked shocked. Looking ahead, he saw Harry, back from his appointment, jogging down the corridor.
"What the hell?" he asked as he saw Kong supporting Harry and Peter following the principal, trying to talk to him as he passed, "Hey, what just happened?"
Before Peter could answer, the principal shooed Harry away. "Get to class, Osborn; same goes for all of you!" he pointed his finger, waving it around at the others as he walked Peter, Flash and Kong away.
"Your friend Parker just kicked Flash's ass," Jason said, sounding completely taken aback as he walked the two fighters walk down the hall.
"You're kidding?" Harry asked, looking at Gwen and Liz for confirmation.
"No, surprisingly," Liz smacked her lips, "Puny Parker actually came out on top this time."
Harry looked bewilderedly down the corridor before turning to Gwen, laughing, "No way!"
Gwen nodded quietly. "I'll, um... I'll explain everything later," she said, leading Harry to class, parting ways with Liz and Jason.
Eventually, Uncle Ben and Flash's dad would arrive to discuss the incident with the principal. It turns out that the faculty had noticed the tumultuous relationship between Flash and Peter and that obviously today it had reached a climax. Flash wasn't horribly injured, just heavily winded. Flash, surprisingly, did not attempt to blame Parker at all, which Peter suggested to himself must be some kind of acknowledgement, deep down, that he knew he was acting like a dick. The two shook hands and were sent home for the rest of the day.
Ben and Pete and Flash and his dad walked separate ways out the building. As expected, Ben began scolding Peter.
"You're better than this, Pete," Ben began, "In all your years at school, you've never hit someone, not once – so why start now?"
"I didn't start that fight!" Pete retorted, "Flash was being a sore loser! It's his fault and even he knows it!"
Ben sighed, "Even so, you can't solve a problem by punching your way out of it, Peter! You can't let this become a habit; your Aunt May has no way of getting here, and I can't afford to miss out on the hours at work, you understand?"
Pete took a deep breath, feeling as though he was being treated unfairly. "Right, okay. I get it."
Ben could sense the disappointment in his words as he got into his car, but also noted that he had to get back to work, fast. "Look, I'm sorry Pete, but I have to get back to work quickly. Will you be okay to walk home?"
"Sure," Peter sighed, "Not like I have anything else to do today."
Ben smiled weakly, putting his hands on the wheel after firing up the engine. "We can talk more about this later. Have a safe walk home."
Peter watched the car speed off before he turned and started his walk back.
"Not like I have anything else to do." Those words echoed in his mind. He realised that his theory may, potentially, be true. He was stronger and more agile than ever before. He took off his glasses, realising there was no point in keeping the act up, and realised that since the bite he had been enhanced in virtually every way imaginable. Surely, he could get away with testing his powers out a little before he went home?
Peter ran down the city streets before stopping by a quiet alley. He looked around nervously before heading in, running far down it to decrease the likelihood of being seen.
"Think, Parker, what else can those spiders do?" Well, he already knew he was faster, stronger and more alert than ever before. He reflected on his hand, stuck to the side of the bus, and realised that spiders had the ability to cling to surfaces.
Nervously, he extended his hand against the brick wall in front of him. Lifting his other hand higher, he stuck it to the wall. As he freed his lower hand, he pulled himself up as he reached higher, slowly scaling the wall. He tried to get his feet to stick but found it to be ineffective. Surely, if his hands could stick to surfaces, his feet would, too?
Kicking his shoes off, they landed with a thud on the floor below. He made a mental note to return for them. Swinging his feet up against the wall, he found that, even through his socks, they stuck to the surface. He gasped, smiling in awe of his new ability. He climbed further and further up the wall, constantly checking down the alley to make sure he was alone, before reaching the rooftop.
Air rushed through his hair, blowing it back as he looked around. Peter laughed to himself, sitting down on the edge of the roof as he realised what he had done. It was confirmed now; that genetically enhanced spider from Oscorp had, through biting him, given him not only the same enhancements, but the powers of a spider.
The powers of a spider. That wasn't quite true; he had no way to create webbing, for example – at least, no way that was obvious to him. Peter got caught up in the moment; surely, at this height, he should use his speed and enhanced powers to their fullest potential?
He looked ahead of him, at the rows and rows of rooftops, lined up like dominoes. He took a deep breath before he started moving; at first, a jog, before going into a run and eventually a full sprint. Perfectly timed, he kicked off the ground, leaping over the alley between the two buildings and landing with a deep thud on his feet on the rooftop on the other side. He laughed as he continued running; he felt so free and powerful, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, whooping and hollering.
Too caught up in the moment, he failed to acknowledge the taller building directly ahead of him, too big for him to jump on. Leaping through the air, he reached his hands out; while they stuck to the brick wall and prevented him from falling, he smacked against the wall, wincing in pain as he pulled himself away but nevertheless amazed with himself.
Losing track of time, Peter spent hours testing his abilities, running as fast as possible, improving his wall-crawling technique. His mind went wild with opportunities; what doors could these new powers open? With his fight against Flash still fresh in his mind, one pathway was obvious; wrestling. Whatever he did, the money he earned would be hugely beneficial in aiding Ben and May's financial problems. That bite, as painful as it was, was starting to feel like a blessing, like his life was finally turning around.
Lying on his back with his bag beside him, Peter rummaged through it and found his mobile phone. Opening it, Peter saw dozens of messages, not just from Gwen and Harry, but from other students too. Confused, he opened one to find that the fight had been filmed and was being shared around students.
"Great," Peter said aloud, annoyed that this was caught on footage. He opened a message from Liz.
Liz, 12:11pm: You put up some good moves, puny Parker.
Attached alongside it was the video, again. That must have been the only time Liz had messaged Peter that wasn't for help with homework. While at first Peter felt displeased with getting attention from the fight, he also felt a little excited. Not sure how to respond to Liz' message, he closed it and went to Harry's messages.
Harry, 12:04pm: Yo, Gwen told me what happened and now there's a video going around. Finally, you stood up for yourself! Hopefully that douchebag won't bother you again!
Harry, 12:05pm: So what did the principal have to say? You expelled or what?
Peter quickly typed out a reply.
Pete, 4:11pm: Just sent home for the day, I'm back in tomorrow, no big deal.
Gwen, having witnessed everything, had quite a lot to say; far more messages than anyone else.
Gwen, 11:49am: Are you crazy?! You could get in serious trouble for this!
Gwen, 11:50am: I mean, well done, obviously, don't get me wrong. You've been full of surprises today
Gwen, 12:02pm: So there's a video going around and obviously you're gonna get a load of attention now. Don't let it go to your head!
Pete chuckled. He typed out a similar response to the one he gave to Harry. He realised the time; he was gone for way longer than he intended to; Ben could be on his way back and no doubt May would be worried sick. He quickly ran back across the rooftops, finding the alley he left his shoes in before sliding them back on and running home.
Running down the street, he found Ben waiting on the porch for him, arms folded, a look of disappointment on his face. Pete should have expected this; it wasn't in his nature to disappear for hours on end without telling a soul.
"And where the hell have you been, exactly?" Ben asked angrily.
Pete froze up; his throat felt blocked, like he couldn't get words out even if he knew what to say.
"May was worried sick!" Ben raised his voice, "I trusted you to come straight back home! What have you been doing?!"
"I just – I just needed to clear my head, that's all," Peter lied.
"Where did you go?" Ben pressed him, "You didn't even think to call home to let your poor aunt know?!"
Peter looked to the floor quietly. He had nothing to say.
"Get inside," Ben spat, "And apologize to May, right now."
He walked up the steps and past Ben, into the house, where he found May waiting, sipping slowly from a cup of tea at the kitchen table. She stood up when she saw Pete come in, seemingly relieved.
"I'm... I'm sorry, Aunt May," Pete said, unable to look her in the eye.
"Peter, it's fine," she started before Ben interrupted her.
"It's not fine!" Ben exclaimed.
"Look, it's just been a bad day, that's all," Peter tried to reason.
"Look at me, Peter," Ben said, "I get it, today's been tough for you, maybe you feel like you were treated unfairly, but you can't use it as an excuse to keep messing up! You can't let this become a habit!"
"Oh, come on!" Peter whined, "I stood up for myself! And so what if I came home a little late?"
"You lied, Peter, that's the issue!" Ben emphasized, "And you scared your own aunt half to death when hour after hour passed by and you hadn't come home!"
Peter looked at the floor again, having to hold back tears – not so much because he was being told off, but because he was angry. He felt misunderstood. Not saying a word, he turned out of the kitchen and walked up the stairs.
"Pete!" Ben called after him, sounding apologetic, "Come on, let's talk about this!"
He slammed his bedroom door behind him, locking it to stop his aunt or uncle coming in. Full of angst, he sprawled out across his bed, shaking his head. Deep down, Peter knew that Ben was somewhat right, but he couldn't bring himself to accept it.
Time passed, and Pete cooled off. He thought that somehow he could make it up to May and Ben for going missing for so long, remembering the idea he had on the rooftop; to use his new powers to make some money.
Opening his phone, he ignored the notifications of messages from Gwen and Harry and looked around for nearby events. After some scrolling, he found a popular, independent wrestling arena. He researched further, finding that they had an event on that Saturday. Pressing on the advertisement, Pete read closer.
JOE WALKERS WEEKEND SLAM
FACE OFF AGAINST BONESAW FOR A PRIZE OF $3000
COLOURFUL CHARACTERS WELCOME
Beneath the text was a picture of who Peter assumed to be "Bonesaw", a buff, burly man with a thick black beard, posing menacingly at the camera. Feeling confident off the back of his victory against Flash, he mentally agreed; why not, after all? Of course, he wouldn't be able to speak a word about this to May or Ben. Thinking of a lie, he planned on asking Ben to drop him off at the library and pick him up again later, meanwhile Pete would be facing off against Bonesaw for that cash prize.
Peter re-read the last line: "Colourful characters welcome". As well as a costume, he also realised he'd need to come up with a name to use. He figured he could make an outfit out of whatever old clothes he had lying around; as for a mask, he'd buy one on the big day.
And so the plan came together; hopefully, Peter thought, it would be an easy $3000, especially with the help of his quick reflexes and super strength. Mentally, Peter planned out an outfit after searching through his wardrobe and brainstormed a name. Come Saturday, Bonesaw won't know what hit him.