Spider-Man: High School Rules
10: The Homecoming Dance
WARNING: This chapter features some themes that readers may find distressing.
Harry Osborn looked in the mirror in his bedroom, casually posing in his suit. He had given up on his tie – he was never very good at doing them, anyway – and his shirt wasn't tucked in properly, but it gave him a cool look, like he was trying to be a little scruffy without overdoing it.
There were three rapid knocks at his door before it opened slowly and Norman crept in, examining his son's appearance before approaching him by the mirror, pulling Harry towards him and adjusting his tie.
"Come on, Harry, you look a mess" Norman sighed disapprovingly as he fixed his son's tie, "You're an Osborn. It's important that you keep up appearances. Tuck your shirt in, for Christ's sake."
"It's fine, dad," Harry rolled his eyes, "It's just Homecoming – not a business meeting or whatever."
"Well, I'm sure your date won't reciprocate your carelessness," Norman stepped back, "Speaking of, have you seen what she will be wearing?"
"No," Harry replied, "It's gonna be, like, a surprise."
"How exciting," Norman's lips curled, "Do your hair and come down – we'll be leaving soon."
As he walked out of his son's bedroom, Harry looked at himself in the mirror, unaware of what was wrong with his hair.
Meanwhile, in the Parker residence, Peter smiled at himself in the mirror as his Aunt May adjusted his pocket square. He looked smart; his hair was neatly combed and one of Ben's old ties was fitted tightly around his neck.
"Ben could never do his ties, either," May chuckled as she observed her nephew in the mirror, "I always had to do his for him."
"I guess that's where I get it from."
Looking at the time on her watch, May patted Peter on the shoulder.
"We'd better get going to Gwen's," she remarked, "We can't leave the special lady waiting!"
"Right," Peter laughed, following May out of the room. Inside, Peter felt a little nervous to see Gwen – not that he had any doubts about her appearance. Homecoming was something that they had both been excited about, and the fact that it was happening in a couple of hours lead to a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.
Getting in May's car, the two drove into the city before arriving at the residence of Gwen and her family. It fit in with the rest of the street; rows of large houses with three stories.
"Are you ready, Peter?" May asked encouragingly, sensing Peter's nervousness. "Don't worry about it – you're here now, after all."
Peter opened the passenger door and stepped out onto the pavement, nervously walking up the wet steps to the front door, where, after a second or two spent mentally preparing himself, he rang the doorbell. Inside, Peter heard some muffled voices.
"He's here!" he could vaguely make out, the voice sounding like it came from a woman, though he recognised that it couldn't be Gwen. Perhaps it was her mother?
Peter didn't have to wait long to find out as the lock on the door clicked and it swung open, revealing Gwen's mom, Helen.
"Peter!" Helen's face lit up, "You look lovely! Is your Aunt May with you?"
"Uh, yeah, she's in the car back there," he turned and pointed before motioning for May to come and join them. May walked carefully up the steps, smiling at Helen.
"Hello, Helen!" May greeted her, "Is Gwen here?"
"Yes, of course!" Helen invited the two inside, "Come on through."
Mrs Stacy led Peter and May inside; the interior of their house was warm and comforting, consisting largely of dark woods. Helen led them into the living room, where they found Gwen and her father, George.
Immediately, Gwen stood up from the sofa; she looked stunning. She wore a simple, light blue dress, all one solid colour, but it mixed perfectly with her straightened blonde hair. To Peter, she was naturally beautiful, wearing very little makeup, and his mouth dropped slightly before he caught himself.
"Wow," Peter smiled, walking over to her.
"What a handsome couple!" May exclaimed, pulling Peter's camera out of her handbag, "I hope you don't mind if I take a picture?"
"Of course," George accepted, standing out of the way. Peter and Gwen put their arms around one another's shoulders.
"Do I look okay?" Gwen muttered as she smiled for the camera.
"You look brilliant," Peter replied as the flash went off.
"Have I done it right?" May looked at the camera's screen, confused.
"It worked fine, May," Peter nodded, retrieving the camera to look at the picture – the flash was a little bright but it looked good regardless.
"May, would you mind taking one of the both of us with Gwen?" Helen asked, motioning to George, wearing a sharp black suit for the occasion. "Then we can take one of you and Pete, if you like!"
"Of course!" May agreed. The two families posed before George checked the time.
"Hey, we'd better get going," he tapped at his watch. "May, allow me to take them down – after all, you drove up here."
"If that's okay with you," May nodded before turning to Peter and Gwen. "You two have a good time!"
"Thank you, May," Gwen smiled, waving to her as they parted ways. Peter, Gwen, Helen and George climbed into George's car before driving in the opposite direction to May, towards Midtown High.
The car pulled up outside the school. It was dark, but the lights clearly illuminated the groups of students waiting outside to go in.
"Do you think Harry and Polly are here?" Gwen asked, peering through the car window.
"Hard to say," Peter tried to distinguish their faces amongst the crowd, "I guess we'll have to get out and look for them."
"Have a good time, you two!" Helen grinned as George looked at them in his rear view mirror.
"Don't do anything stupid," he smirked before Helen smacked him on the knee.
"Goodbye, dad," Gwen rolled her eyes as she stepped out of the car, Peter following suit.
"Thank you both for giving me a ride, I'll see you later!" he thanked them and they waved him off as he opened the door and got out.
Nervously, he and Gwen approached the crowd of people. Peter could pick out a few faces – Flash Thompson wore a navy blue suit, huddled in with Jason Ionello, whose hair looked awfully greasy and slicked-back, and Kong, who arguably looked the smartest of the three, dressed in all white.
Gwen held on to Peter's arm as they walked past Liz and her group, who were dressed up all fancy, perhaps too much for a Homecoming dance. Passing them by, Peter and Liz exchanged quiet smiles and head-nods before they bumped into Polly.
"Polly!" Gwen exclaimed, hugging her, "You look amazing!"
She definitely stood out; she wore an emerald green cocktail dress, giving her a distinctly vintage look.
"And you!" Polly returned the compliment before turning to Peter, "Hey, you haven't seen Harry anywhere, have you?"
"Well, I was hoping he'd be with you," Peter looked around once more, failing to find his friend anywhere.
"I think that's him!" Gwen pointed at a limousine pulling up. A few photographers Peter had noticed lingering around the entrance when he arrived quickly approached it, the flashes of the camera illuminating Harry, who winced at the brightness of the cameras before being accompanied by Norman, who led him through to the crowd.
"We'd better go meet him," Peter nodded to Gwen and Polly. They joined him as he walked through the gaps in the crowd.
"Harry!" Peter waved, grabbing his friend's attention, though it seemed that he was deep in conversation with his father.
"Why are they here?" Harry asked, pointing at the photographers.
"You have to expect this kind of thing, Harry," Norman reasoned, "You're part of one of the richest families in New York – of course the press are going to have some interest in you –"
"Well, I don't want him," Harry grunted, cutting off his father, "It's my Homecoming, for God's sake, can't they leave me alone?"
"Harry," Peter repeated, finally getting his friend to turn to face them. He sighed and cooled down as he approached Polly.
"Sorry," he apologized, "Hey, everyone."
Norman's face changed from a look of bitterness to a somewhat happy expression upon seeing Peter, Gwen and Polly. "Peter, Gwen, good to see you – and you must be Polly?"
Polly did a little curtsy before shaking Norman's hand, "Nice to meet you, Mr Osborn!"
"And you," Norman smiled politely, "Well, I'd better be going back; you four have a good night."
Harry shook his head as Norman marched back to his limousine. "Honestly, photographers – can't he give me a break?"
"Don't worry about it," Polly nudged his arm, "Anyway, haven't you got something to tell me?"
"What?" Harry looked down at Polly, a few inches shorter than him, "Oh – you look great!"
"Thanks," Polly smiled, "Anyway, when can we go in?"
Before long all the students headed into the school gym. It was done up nice – a mixture of white, blue and pink balloons lined the windows. A DJ set was positioned at the far end of the gym, with a hand-made banner stretched above it, reading "MIDTOWN HOMECOMING DANCE". Alongside these decorations were lights, illuminating the room in a subtle blue glow.
"Looks like Liz did a really good job," Peter remarked as he looked around.
"Hey, looks like there are drinks and food over here!" Gwen pointed towards a series of tables that lined one wall of the room, on which sat party food, snacks and non-alcoholic drinks.
"How much do you want to bet the jocks have already smuggled in some booze?" Peter said to Gwen as they joined the queue.
"I wouldn't be surprised," Gwen chuckled as she picked out food, "Remember what happened to Jason last Homecoming?"
"How can I forget?" Peter shuddered, remembering Jason projectile vomiting across the gym. He hoped that his memory of tonight would not be tarnished by a similar event happening.
After reaching the end of the queue, the two poured themselves some punch, hoping it hadn't yet been tampered with as they joined Harry and Polly in a circle. The four had to raise their voices as the DJ started his playlist.
"Hey, look what I brought with me..." Harry flipped his jacket back, revealing a bottle of vodka tucked sneakily into his trouser pocket.
"Harry!" Gwen exclaimed while Polly laughed.
"What?" Harry replied obliviously, looking around as he poured some into his drink. "What's the worst that could happen?" he grinned as he poured it down his throat before coughing, the taste overwhelming him.
"Can he handle his drink?" Peter joked to Polly before Harry got over himself.
"Damn right I can," he laughed, holding the bottle out to the other three. "Any of you want some?"
"I'm good," Peter chuckled waving his hand; he had never even tasted alcohol in his life, and he wasn't planning on starting now.
"Yeah, I'll pass," Gwen followed suit, also a complete non-drinker.
"Suit yourselves," Harry raised his eyebrows before offering some to Polly, who obliged, grinning cheekily as Harry gently poured some of the bottle's contents into her glass.
"We'll see how well this goes," Gwen whispered into Peter's ear.
The night progressed, Harry periodically pouring more of his bottle into his glass despite Polly's wishes for him to be more careful. The dance floor was lively, with groups of girls dancing amongst themselves. Peter and Gwen watched from the sidelines, neither of them particularly into dancing.
As he watched on, Peter noticed Flash on the dance floor with Jason and Kong. Jason danced incredibly awkwardly with exaggerated confidence, moving his arms weirdly, his feet moving in short, rapid steps. Flash was more understated, while Kong swayed coolly, nodding his head and displaying his confidence far better than Jason.
It wasn't their dancing that caught Peter's attention, it was that all the while, Flash had been eyeing up Liz, who, whenever they made eye contact, looked incredibly uncomfortable.
"What's the matter?" Gwen asked, noticing Peter was staring off into the distance.
"Uh, nothing," Peter shrugged his shoulders before smiling at Gwen.
"You do like my dress, right?" she asked, a hint of concern in her voice.
"Of course!" Peter put her worries to rest, "Yeah, you look..." he struggled to get the words out before becoming aware that this may not help his case, "You look amazing."
Gwen grinned back, aware of Peter's awkwardness. "What a ladies' man."
"You bet," Peter chuckled, shuffling closer to her.
"Hey, I'm gonna find the bathroom," she stood up from leaning against the wall, "Don't go anywhere!"
"I won't!"
Peter watched her go off before looking back towards the dance floor. Flash had moved closer to Liz and her group and his attention piqued when he saw Flash put his hand on Liz's shoulder and turn her around to face him.
From where he stood, along with the volume of the music, Peter couldn't tell exactly what Liz and Flash were saying. Flash initially had a cool look about him but it soon turned to anger as Liz started pushing him away. Things took a turn for the worst when Peter saw Flash grab Liz, putting his hand on her behind and pulling her in before she gave him one last, hard push, storming out of the crowd and leaving Flash stunned and frustrated.
I'd better check if she's okay.
Peter followed Liz out through the exit, where he found her kneeling at the corner of the wall, face in her hands.
"Liz?" Peter asked gently. She quickly lifted her head up, tears running down her face.
"What?" she asked bitterly, wiping drops from her face before asking more angrily, "What do you want?!"
"Hey," Peter tried to calm her, "I just... wanted to see if you're okay."
"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked sarcastically, refusing to look at Peter.
"Flash was bothering you," Peter approached her carefully, "I saw."
"Yeah, so why didn't you do something?" she sobbed, "What, you just stood there and watched?"
"Liz, I'm sorry," Peter apologized, "I didn't know that was going to happen. I'm sorry."
Liz's hands covered her face again, muffling her sobs. "I fucking hate him."
"I know," Peter knelt down in front of her, reassuringly placing his hand on her shoulder. "I know. He's awful."
"And my friends..." Liz sobbed, "They didn't... they didn't even do anything! They saw he was bothering me – where even are they?"
"Don't worry about them right now," Peter rubbed her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, "Just stay out here for now."
"I'm fine," Liz shook her head, "I'm fine."
The two paused for a few moments before Peter spoke up.
"It's not your fault, Liz."
"I know it's not."
"He's to blame."
"I know."
They went quiet again as Peter sat beside Liz, trying his best to comfort her as she sucked back tears.
"He's so awful," Liz said, distraught, sobbing into Peter's shoulder.
Peter didn't say anything this time. Maybe it's best if I just let her... let it out.
"Hey, rich boy!"
Harry turned around, cheeks red, to find Jason Ionello's spotty face a few inches away from his own.
"What do you want?" Harry slurred his words, turning around fully.
"I heard you've got some drink on you," Jason stepped up, "Come on, man, share it 'round."
"Pfft. Like hell."
Swigging the bottle back, Harry greedily gulped the rest of the contents down his throat, much to Jason's disgust.
"Wow," Jason shook his head, "What an ass."
"Whatever," Harry waved Jason away as he slumped beside an unhappy Polly, holding her head in her hands
Coming back into the gym from the bathroom, Gwen bumped into someone in the doorway, startling her before seeing it was Polly.
"Oh, Polly – oh my god, what happened?"
Looking her up and down, Gwen saw that some yellowish liquid was all down Polly's shoulder and chest, spilling onto her dress.
"Harry," Polly groaned, having drank too much for her own good, "He threw up, like, all over me!"
"Oh, no," Gwen sighed, guiding her to the bathroom. "Come on, I'll help you clean up – where is Harry?"
"Harry?" Polly repeated, "He's still in there – he drank the whole bottle!"
"Oh, God," Gwen muttered as she helped Polly through the bathroom door, "Wait here, I'll get some toilet paper and wipe you down."
As Gwen held Polly upright, wiping her shoulder, breasts and the side of her neck with a bundle of toilet paper, she hoped that Peter wouldn't think she ditched him. She also felt concerned for Harry, hoping that Peter might have found him.
In the hall outside, Harry quickly staggered down the hall, finding the men's bathroom and tumbling into a stall, throwing up into a toilet. He threw up several times before catching his breath, sobering up slightly as he looked at the thick, yellow liquid staining the bowl.
"Ohhh God..." Harry moaned, clumsily ripping off a sheet of toilet paper and wiping the corners of his mouth before slumping back against the door, exhausted and dizzy. He wasn't entirely sure why he thought drinking the whole bottle would prove something to Jason, nor was he sure why he had drunk so much that evening, but Harry's head wasn't clear enough to answer either question.
Putting his hands on the wall behind him, he pushed himself up to his feet, pulling the chain and flushing the sick down the toilet before carefully walking out of the stall, heading to the taps to wash his mouth with some water. He caught a look at himself in the mirror – his hair scruffy, yellow stains on the collar of his shirt. His dad was right, he did look a mess.
All the while, Peter and Liz were still sat outside before being interrupted by the door swinging open, revealing Flash Thompson. He looked around in front of him for a second before seeing Liz and Peter in the corner of his eye.
"Get lost, Parker," Flash said bluntly, "Me and Liz gotta talk."
"No way," Peter stood up, hearing Liz's breathing grow faster. She's scared. She's really scared of him.
"Look, Parker," Flash stepped up to Peter, getting in his face, "I don't know what's going on here, but me and Liz have something we need to settle."
"I don't think you understand me, Flash," Peter gritted his teeth. "I'm not going."
"I don't think you understand me, Parker," Flash grunted, "So I'll tell you again; be a good boy, go back inside to that geek bitch –"
Flash was interrupted by a punch across the jaw. Peter knew that he'd likely have to resort to violence to finally get Flash to back off, but insulting Gwen crossed the line. He made sure to hold back a little, not wanting to hurt him too much.
Flash staggered backwards towards the door, mouth agape in shock before grimacing. "You bitch!"
The bully flung forward, swinging his arm towards Peter, who ducked under it and moved behind him before kicking hard on his calf and holding it down, keeping Flash on the floor.
"Do you know what you've done?" Peter shouted down at Flash, who struggled on the floor, "Do you know what you've done to her?"
Peter sensed someone else come through the door – Kong, surprised to hear what Peter was saying.
"What are you talking about?" Kong asked.
"He..." Peter pointed at Flash before biting his tongue, looking over at Liz, crying against the wall. Kong stepped forward to get a better view of the scene and, upon seeing the state Liz was in, looked down at Flash.
"What did you do?" he asked, angry but not surprised. "What did you do, Flash?"
"Alright, alright!" Flash whined, "I was just foolin' around, I didn't mean any harm! I swear!"
"Jesus," Kong's head dropped. Peter turned his head to face him.
"You know about this?" he asked angrily. "You know how he is with her?"
"Pete..." Liz spoke up from by the wall. "You can stop. It's okay."
Peter looked over at her, realising how violent he had been. Kong placed his large hand on Pete's shoulder.
"It's okay, man. Cool down."
Nodding quietly, Peter stopped pinning Flash's leg. Immediately, he stumbled to his feet before turning around to face Parker before Kong stepped in between the two, pushing Flash onto his ass, landing in a puddle on the ground.
"That's enough, Flash," Kong said defiantly. "Liz, you can come back inside. It's okay."
Liz took a deep breath before anxiously walking back through the door, Kong patting her on the back as she went by. Looking at Flash lying defeated on the floor, Peter felt Kong's hand on his shoulder again.
"You calmed down?" Kong asked.
"Yeah," Peter replied after a few seconds, taking deep breaths.
"You're a good guy, Pete," Kong helped him back inside, leaving Flash on his own. "You're good for helping her like that. You've just gotta be careful."
The two found Liz waiting for them, too nervous to go back on her own.
"Hey, Jason was tellin' me that Harry's not lookin' to good," Kong told Peter, "You might wanna go see if he's okay."
Peter nodded, allowing Kong to stay with and comfort Liz as he looked around the gym, not seeing Harry – or Polly and Gwen – anywhere. He walked across the gym and through the door leading into a corridor before heading into the men's bathroom, where he found Harry leaning over the sink.
"Harry?" Peter asked. Harry looked up, his face pale, hair greasy and sweaty. The room smelled strongly of vomit and, looking at the stains on Harry's shirt, it was obvious where it came from.
"You gotta help me, Pete," Harry said, tearing up, "I can't let my father see me like this."
"Hey, it's okay," Peter approached him, helping him fix his shirt and jacket. What a night.
"Man, look at me," he raised his hand at the mirror before letting it flop back down, "I'm such a mess."
"You're gonna be okay, Harry," Peter said adamantly, "What happened, huh?"
"I... drinked too much," Harry stumbled over his words, losing his balance slightly before Peter helped correct him.
"Yeah?" Peter asked as if it wasn't already obvious.
"Mhm."
"Where's Polly? Is she with Gwen?" Peter asked, worried having assumed that Gwen had not returned to the gym in the time he'd been outside.
"I dunno..." Harry shook his head slowly, causing curly strands of hair to fall out of place over his forehead, "Probably."
"Why hasn't Polly come to help you?" Peter asked. Surely, if she had seen Harry in this state, she would have helped him clean up?
"Because I – I threw up all over 'er," Harry answered. Peter stopped himself from making a face, instead opting to nod his head understandingly. Maybe Gwen's helping her clean up.
"You've gotta be more careful next time you drink," Peter chuckled, trying to lighten the situation. Harry chuckled aloud before sobbing gently.
"I don't wanna drink again..."
"That's probably for the best – but don't worry, Harry, you're gonna be okay."
"No," Harry sobbed louder, "My dad, he's gonna kill me when he sees me like this – always talking about appearances, reputation..."
"Hey, this happens to everyone," Peter calmed him down, "Even the great Norman Osborn has probably had some wild nights, right?"
"You wouldn't know it..." Harry took a deep breath, sobering up a little. "Hey, what a night, right?"
"My thoughts exactly," Peter chuckled at how Harry was echoing his thoughts. "Is this what you had in mind?"
"Can't say it is," Harry replied, lightening up a little before coming to an awful realisation. "Aw, Polly isn't gonna want to take to me again..."
"Hey, you never know," Peter put his hands on Harry's shoulders, "Hey, why don't we get you a drink – a soft drink, this time?"
"That's not such a bad idea," Harry put his arm around Peter's shoulder as they walked out of the men's restroom and back into the gym. As they walked past the door to the ladies', it swung open, revealing Gwen and Polly, who had tears in her eyes.
"Gwen!" Peter exclaimed involuntarily, glad to know she was okay. Looks like we're both in the same boat.
"Oh, God..." Polly rolled her eyes upon seeing Harry.
"Hey, I'm sorry, okay?" Harry exaggerated, "It's not like I wanted to throw up on you."
"You're such a dick!" Polly stormed off, leaving Peter, Harry and Gwen behind.
"She's not happy with you, at all," Gwen said, some disappointment in her voice.
"Yeah, I can tell," Harry sighed. "Look, I'm gonna call my dad and go home. This night has been a disaster."
"We'll wait outside with you," Peter said, nodding to Gwen who silently agreed. They lead Harry back outside – Peter noticed that Flash was no longer there – and waited at the front where, after about ten minutes, a car arrived to pick him up.
"See ya on Monday," Harry waved goodbye as he climbed into the back. The car drove off, leaving Peter and Gwen outside.
"God, what a night..." Gwen held Peter's arm as they walked back.
"Tell me about it," Peter sighed, "Looks like we've both had our fair share of drama."
"I mean, I've never known Harry to drink like that," Gwen exclaimed, "Like, have you ever seen him drink, at all?"
"Never," Peter shook his head, "I guess he thought he could handle it."
"Well, things aren't looking great for him and Polly now."
"It's not just Harry who I've had to help tonight..." Peter confessed as they approached the doorway, "There was... an incident, between Liz and Flash."
"Oh God," Gwen stopped at the door, waiting for Peter to explain. He took a few seconds before recounting everything.
"Flash went up to Liz on the dance floor," he said quietly, "Not long after you left. I watched them – Liz didn't want Flash anywhere near her. That was when Flash grabbed her. Like, he groped her."
"Seriously?" Gwen's eyes widened, "Woah..."
"I knew things weren't good between them," Peter continued, "Liz talked about it in one of our tutoring sessions. I knew Flash was a dick, but I never knew he treated her like that."
"Where is she now?" Gwen asked.
"With Kong," Peter replied, before explaining further. "After it happened, I followed Liz outside – I could see she was upset. A few minutes later, Flash came out. He wanted me to leave them both together, and I wouldn't; and when I didn't like how he was talking to me, I pinned him down."
"Pete..." Gwen gently stroked his arm.
"Kong must have realised something was going on," Peter shook his head, thinking back. "And when he saw everything, he must have put two and two together. He split me and Flash up and took us both back inside, then he told me about Harry, so I went to go help him."
"You did the right thing by standing up for Liz," Gwen nodded, "It would have been a bad idea to leave them both alone."
"Right," Peter nodded back, "Anyway, she's safe with Kong now, as far as I'm aware."
Inside, the music changed; the tempo was slower, the sound was more gentle as opposed to the pop and dance tunes that had played all night.
"Oh, this song!" Gwen jumped, looking at Peter excitedly. "Come on, come inside!"
"What?" Peter was pulled along by one hand, "Hey, I thought you didn't dance!"
"Anyone can slow dance!" Gwen replied, taking both of Peter's hands into her own. "Just hold me like this..."
She guided Peter's hands onto her hips before putting hers around his neck. The two swayed around in sync amongst the crowd of other students. Peter tried his best to move on beat, though he was never good at any type of dancing. He looked Gwen in the eyes and, as he listened to the voice singing, he felt complete infatuation.
Maybe this Homecoming wasn't as dreamy or as tranquil as he had hoped for, but this moment more than made up for it.
Take my hand,
Take my whole life too,
For I can't help falling in love with you.
Author's Note: I'm aware that this chapter was extremely Peter Parker-heavy and Spider-Man -light, but more Spidey stuff is on the way in the next few chapters, especially now that, after the ending of Chapter 9, he has a group of villains to face.
I apologize to anyone who was distressed or disturbed by the events of this chapter or to anyone who perhaps didn't expect it. I'd like to try my best to deal with those kinds of issues and I apologize again if it came across as insensitive in any way.
