Chapter Eighteen: Out of Control
Ned, MJ, and Peter take their time walking to school, which is now only a few blocks away. They decided to walk to school together after they spent the night at the apartment. The sleeping over part wasn't exactly planned out, they just accidentally fell asleep after the second movie. May decided to call Ned and MJ's parents to let them know they were spending the night.
"All I'm saying," Ned continues his rant, "is that it wasn't the entire military that was trying to destroy Giant. It was Manly who was so set on blowing him up! The rest of the military was standing down when Manly decided to nuke everyone," he recalls bitterly. If you couldn't already tell, they watched Iron Giant last night. A true, childhood masterpiece. But of course, MJ is critiquing it. Well, she's critiquing mankind, more specifically. Again.
"All I'm saying is that just because we have guns, doesn't mean we should use them. Humans are trigger happy. They shoot anything that moves. Not everything is solved with bullets, but if we knew that there wouldn't have been two World Wars to end all wars," MJ counters effortlessly with her hands in her pockets. Peter is about to join in the debate when his phone beeps in his pocket. He quickly pulls out his phone to see an alert banner lighting up his screen:
New York Police Department
8:08 am- Ongoing- Grand Central Station, 89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017, unidentified suspect causing a public disturbance. Armed and dangerous. No shots fired.
Public Safety
New York County
Oh shit. Peter immediately springs into action, pulling the backpack off his shoulder which instantly catches the attention of his friends.
"What's wrong?" Ned notices Peter's sudden shift in mood.
"Someone's attacking Grand Central Station. I gotta go."
"Do you need me to go back home to my computer?" Ned offers. Peter shakes his head, even though it would be nice to have his Guy in the Chair.
"You two get to class. Can you cover for me?" Peter quickly asks. MJ shrugs her shoulders before saying,
"We can try." With her confirmation, Peter sprints toward the nearest alley. "You're just going to change there?" she calls after him.
"Yep!" Peter disappears into the secluded alley and yanks the suit from his backpack. He quickly changes, webs his backpack to a brick wall, and starts swinging towards Manhattan. "Hey, Karen! Can you tap me into the Grand Central Station surveillance system?" Her voice comes to life, as cheerful as ever.
"Of course, Peter," she calmly replies. "Don't forget that you have a test in economics tomorrow. You have a B- in that class, which is currently your lowest grade by twelve percent." Peter winces at the thought of having anything less than an A- on his transcript. He swings through the streets as fast as he can and shoots a web to a beam of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge.
"I know, I won't forget, but can we please focus on the whole catching the bad guy thing first?" As soon as he finishes, a small window of footage pops up on his interface. "Thank you!" He makes it across the bridge and heads toward Grand Central Station. Unfortunately, he wasn't prepared for who was on the surveillance. "Mysterio?! What's he doing now?" This is bad. This is bad.
"He appears to be antagonizing the security guards," Karen answers his rhetorical question. It's true though. The security guards are firing shot after shot at Mysterio, none of which are actually doing any damage. He's probably using an illusion, but the guards don't know that. Okay, this is where the training comes in. Peter is almost there when Karen speaks again. "Would you like me to contact Tony Stark?"
"Wait, what?" Her sudden question catches him off guard. "Why would I want to call Mr. Stark?" Peter lands on the roof of Grand Central Station and sees a steady stream of people running out of the enormous building.
"Tony Stark informed me that you are not to engage with the villain known as Mysterio alone," Karen says regretfully. Of course he did. I don't have time for this. Peter swings down from the roof and into the building over the heads of the panicking civilians.
"Well, he was pretty happy when I kept the Washington Monument from blowing up, so I just like to think of his rules as guidelines. Send him an update afterwards. I'm my own hero." All the security guards have their guns trained on the overly confident Mysterio. Now all Peter needs to do is figure out where the real Mysterio is, because he has a feeling this isn't him.
"That was right before he took your suit, Peter," Karen practically scolds. Peter is about to give a witty remark when Mysterio perks up at his entrance.
"Oh look! Our guest of honor has finally arrived!" Mysterio announces with his arms held open.
"Awe, I'm flattered! But don't you think it's rude to greet me with an illusion?" Peter shouts over the roaring crowd that's still trying to get out. Mysterio must have used some kind of illusion to scare them out. I just have to keep his focus on me, not them.
"Why start the show before the audience arrives?" Mysterio counters. This guy seriously has some screws loose.
"I hate to break it to you, but uh," Peter jerks his thumb towards the exit, "you're losing all your audience." Mysterio gives a low, deep chuckle.
"I have all the audience I need right here," his voice is omnipresent as he shouts. Somehow, he floats into the air towards the ceiling. With his arms raised, dark thunder clouds swirl around him and roll towards Peter and the guards. Okay, at least I know this isn't real, Peter comforts himself. The security guards on the other hand…
"Stay outta our way!" One of them shouts at Peter before the lot of them open fire.
"Woah!" Peter practically jumps out of his skin at the echoing gunshots that seem to rip through the air. "You guys, it's an illusion! It's fake!" His words don't get through to them. He tries to shift his attention from the guards to figuring out where the real Mysterio is, since obviously these people won't cooperate. He shoots a web to the clock mounted on the top of the ticket booth and pulls himself towards it to perch on top. "Karen, scan for all heat signatures." A layer of infrared vision is added. It immediately confirms Peter's theory that the Mysterio in the air is a fake when it shows no heat signature. Peter's eyes dart over the rest of the floor, seeing the guard's and panicked civilian's heat signatures before they land on the real Mysterio's unmistakable figure. Man, this guy sticks out like a sore thumb. Mysterio is slightly obscured by one of the many beige, brick columns that support Grand Central Station. Above him hangs an American flag held up by strings. This should be fun.
Peter shoots two Splitter Webs at the four strings holding up the flag and yanks the flag down. It starts falling towards the ground, effectively capturing Mysterio's attention long enough for Peter to swing in. As he swings toward Mysterio, he fires a Web Grenade at the villain's feet which instantly engulfs his legs.
"I thought you were smarter than this, Spider." Mysterio seems amused as Peter flies over him. Peter makes sure to catch the flag before it hits the ground. He lands with the flag, which is easily the length of at least three of him.
"Jeez, you almost let our flag touch the ground! That's, like, super disrespectful man." He throws the flag up and webs it to the nearest wall. Unfortunately, just like in their last fight, the webbing around Mysterio's legs is dissolved by a liquid oozing from a nozzle. Definitely a chemical abrasive. I'll bring that up to Mr. Stark this afternoon. "So, what's the story this time? Couldn't catch your train and decided to throw a tantrum instead? Look, it happens to the best of us."
"I wouldn't get too comfortable," Mysterio warns. Suddenly, multiple Mysterios phase into existence around and in front of him. This…complicates things a bit.
"These odds are great! Everyone loves an underdog!" Just think about training. There's only one real Mysterio, the rest can't even touch me, just like the holographic robots.
"Joke while you can. You're not even the main event." Mysterio's voice surrounds Peter again, seeming to come from everywhere. The closest Mysterio runs towards Peter, fists tightened so much that his leather gloves are creased. No Spidey Sense warning. Peter doesn't react and Mysterio goes straight through him. Peter takes steady breaths, trying to stay calm.
"Do any of you happen to have Economics flashcards on you? I have an exam tomorrow that I really can't afford to fail," Peter banters to try to maintain his composure. That's when they all rush him. He widens his stance and tries his best to focus on all his senses. The ones that aren't real don't make noise. They don't create a breeze with their movements either. Focus, focus, foc- One of the Mysterio's arms suddenly swings towards his chest and Peter flinches, his fingers subconsciously pressing down on his web-shooter. The web goes through the Mysterio and attaches to the floor. Come on Peter, you're better than this. Tingling erupts at the base of his skull. He whips around and redirect an oncoming punch from the real Mysterio, but then Mysterio disappears back into the onslaught of fake Mysterios. "Hey, security dudes! Just follow my lead!" Peter calls back to the guards who seem to be doing a distinct lack of helping. He notices one of them talking to a young girl who looks upset, but he knows he can't focus on that right now. Flashes of color erratically swirl around him as the illusions attack and sprint back and forth. Chills spread down his arms. He quickly jumps to avoid the swift kick to his legs and shoots a Sticky Web to the back of Mysterio's cloak. Peter yanks him closer so that he can punch him into the tiled floor. When Mysterio crashes into the floor, all the other fake Mysterios disappear. The tiles crack under the pressure of Mysterio's massive metal suit. "I don't see very much lead following!" Peter yells when the guards still don't do anything.
"What exactly are we supposed to do?! Guns didn't work!" one of them counters. Are guns the only option to them?! Jeez, I'm starting to sound like MJ. Maybe I should start a "don't shoot guns, shoot webs" campaign. Gas starts to flow freely from Mysterio's suit. Uh oh.
"Get as far away from the gas as you can! All of y-" Peter is cut off by his Spidey Sense yelling at him to move, but he doesn't have enough warning before Mysterio lifts both his legs to kick Peter square in the chest. The kick sends Peter rocketing into the far wall, causing concrete to break apart at the harsh impact. All the air is forced from Peter's lungs and he can't gasp in a breath. He tries not to think about his brief inability to breathe or the concrete dust that falls onto his shoulders, both of which remind him too much of Homecoming night. Now isn't the time to panic . He quickly shakes off the sensation and forces himself to take a breath. No harm done. He blocks the next incoming punch from Mysterio. The hand-to-hand combat ensues where Peter tries his best to overpower Mysterio, but the man is still able to keep up somehow. There's no way this guy is enhanced, right?
"Remember when I said I knew what your weakness is?" Mysterio questions. His tone holds a smugness that makes Peter worry.
"Don't you think it's a bit early in our relationship to start reminiscing? At least ask me out to dinner first." Peter keeps his voice light despite his sudden anxiousness.
"I'll break your spirit along with every bone in your sarcastic body. Then, I'll be the hero." Woah.
"That doesn't sound very heroic," Peter warn him, skeptically. Danger. Move. He shifts his stance as a thin, red laser suddenly shoots from the shoulder of Mysterio's suit. It barely misses Peter's face. Peter is about to make a remark about Mysterio's aim, but all his vibrato disappears when he hears a high pitched scream. He whips his head around to see that more of the fake Mysterios are "attacking" the guards, leaving the little girl by herself. His heart drops when he sees the orange, glowing trail that the laser scorched into a column of stone above the girl. Large chunks of stone begin to break off. The beams are gonna collapse and the little girl will be trapped and then we'll all be trapped oh god.
Peter doesn't waste any time in sprinting towards her, using his webs to get him there even faster. Her eyes are wide with fear and his heart practically stops. I can't let it happen again. I have to save her. I can't let everything cave in. He uses a Splitter Web to shoot two strands of webbing at the largest piece of stone plummeting towards her. He tugs the stone chunk towards himself, simultaneously keeping it from crushing her and pulling himself forward. There isn't time to web everything else that's falling. Everything's falling apart all over again. When he's close enough, he follows through with his swing and lets go of the web to dive for her.
He presses the girl as close to his chest as possible and holds the back of her head with his free hand, tucking her underneath his chin. He cradles her as much as he can and lands on his back to take all the damage of the fall. It barely does anything to him, but it could have seriously injured her. You're okay Peter, you're alive. She's alive. You're not crushed or trapped. You're okay. Peter tries to calm his panicked heart and looks up to see if the girl is okay. Green, watery eyes stare back at him.
"Oh no, please don't cry! I promise you're okay." Peter makes sure he doesn't see a scratch on her before looking back towards Mysterio. By the time he looks, Mysterio is already gone. Of course he is, the wimp. Peter lifts the little girl off of him and helps her to stand. He can tell she's trying to hold back tears. "Hey, hey, it's okay." He wipes a stray tear that falls down her cheek. "Do you know where your mom and dad are?" Something he didn't expect was for her to sign her answer. Like, sign language. He's shocked speechless. Then he notices the hearing aids in her ears and mentally kicks himself for not noticing sooner. "Um, well, we're gonna try to find them. Is that okay?" She nods her head. God, she can't be more than eight years old.
"Hey, Spider-Man!" a guard yells from across the station as two of them walk towards Peter. The girl quickly hides behind Peter's leg and hugs it. The action makes him want to cry, but instead he gently places his hand on the top of her head.
"Um, just so you guys know, I can break out of handcuffs," Peter warns them ahead of time. One of them chuckles before speaking.
"We aren't going to arrest you," he assures.
"Actually," the woman cuts in, "we wanted to thank you for what you did. You're pretty brave. Not to mention how you saved her." She smiles warmly. Peter could get used to people actually being nice to him as Spider-Man for once.
"Yeah. Not half bad, kid," the man agrees.
"Hey! I'm not a-" Peter cuts himself off when his voice cracks and he clears his throat. "I'm not a kid," he repeats in a deeper voice. The woman holds back a laugh, but the man openly snickers.
" Sure you're not. We'll take care of the girl and make sure she finds her parents. Besides, you probably have to get to school ." The woman smirks and Peter wishes she could see him roll his eyes. Unfortunately, she's right. He's going to be so late for class if he doesn't hurry. He just hopes he doesn't get detention for being late…again.
"I do have to go. Not that I have, have school or anything! 'Cause I'm not a kid! Nope! But I do have, like, uh, spider stuff to attend to. So I'm gonna, y'know…" Peter looks down to the girl and gives her an encouraging pat on the back. She seems hesitant at first, but slowly walks toward the guards. The woman gently takes the girl's hand in hers, and the girl visibly relaxes. Before Peter shoots a web, the girl turns back to him and signs. This time, he knows what she signs: " Thank you ." Peter never wanted to know sign language more than right then when he wishes he could sign back, " You're welcome ." Instead, he settles for a wave.
By a stroke of pure luck, he's all too familiar with what she signs next. She holds up her hand with her middle and ring finger pressed into her palm. The sign is " I love you, " and also happens to be the hand position Peter makes whenever he shoots a web. His heart swells and he mirrors her sign, causing her to smile widely. Reluctantly, Peter swings out of Grand Central Station towards school.
Peter has Karen text Ned and MJ in the group chat to let them know everything went okay and that he's on his way. Their English teacher is pretty understanding, so he doesn't think he'll be getting detention. He makes sure to stop in the alleyway he changed in to get his backpack, which is thankfully still there. Before he gets to school, he stops about a block away to change out of his suit and fix his messed up hair to resemble some sort of normalcy. Then, he jogs the rest of the way and walks inside the front doors to face the music. When he walks into class, a few people look up, including Ned and MJ, but the majority look back down when they see it's only him. Peter is kind of known for being late these days. He goes up to Mr. Villarreal, but his teacher speaks before he can.
"Michelle already told me about your predicament, you can take a seat." Peter counts his blessings and scurries to the open seat between his two friends.
"What'd you tell him?" he asks MJ. She keeps her eyes trained on the board as she whispers,
"Unexpected subway stop." Huh, that's actually a plausible excuse.
"See Ned," Peter turns to his best friend, "that's how you lie." Ned almost looks insulted as he stammers to defend himself.
"You know I'm not a good liar! I get anxious!" he whispers harshly.
"No excuse can redeem you from telling Mrs. Warren that I was gonna miss class because I 'fell asleep on the subway and woke up in Manhattan,'" Peter recalls bitterly. It wouldn't have been a big deal if Flash didn't give him a hard time over it for the following week.
"You gotta learn to let things go! I miss when you sucked at holding a grudge," Ned whines.
When the bell rings and they walk out into the hall for passing period, Peter is tempted to call Tony. He has never called Tony first before, especially without something along the lines of bad news. He always thought that the first time he'd call Tony would be because he was in over his head in a fight or got hurt and didn't want May to see. Turns out, it'll be to tell Tony a good thing. Peter gets to tell his mentor that he applied his training in combat and even saved a little girl. He can't wait to tell him everything! Before his brief moment of courage dissipates, Peter scrolls to Tony's contact and calls. The phone rings. And rings. And rings…then goes to voicemail. He hangs up before he hears the tone, not wanting to add a voicemail to Tony's pile. Mr. Stark runs a company, he's probably super busy. Besides, all good things to those who wait! That's what May always says.
For the rest of the school day, Peter keeps getting glances and stares from Flash. Every time his eyes land on Peter, he can feel a dull tingling at the base of his skull, which is never encouraging. If even his Spidey Sense is picking up on Flash's gaze, then he knows it has to be bad. What'd I ever do to him? Stay strong, Peter. Don't let him get to you. I'm okay. Mr. Stark is counting on me. The mantra has become a comfort recently and he has no idea why, but it always gets him through a rough day. Just knowing that someone like Tony is looking forward to their training makes Peter's heart soar. Mr. Stark is counting on me. Don't disappoint him, he repeats it again when he hears Flash's harsh stomps coming towards him.
"Hey, Penis Parker!" Flash calls with a lot more venom and spite in his voice than usual. Mr. Stark is counting on me.
"What do you want now, Flash?" Peter mutters, but doesn't stop walking. Ned and MJ are waiting for him in the cafeteria and MJ knows exactly how to get Flash to shut up. Peter would do it himself, but Peter Parker doesn't get stand up for himself. He quickens his pace.
"You think you can walk away from me?!" Yeah, I'm doing it pretty easily too, Peter wants to say. Instead, he presses his lips together. When he goes to turn the corner, Flash leaps in front of his path. "Who the hell do you think you are? You think you can show up late to class and act like you're some special exception?" he demands. "I get detention if I pull something like that!" His voice gets more frustrated he seems to get. Peter's ears reverberate at his yells, but he doesn't show it.
"That's not my fault." Peter tries to walk around him, but Flash steps in front of him again. Flash chuckles humorlessly.
"I think someone needs an attitude adjustment. I bet your friend the Hulk would know all about that." Peter resists the urge to laugh. If only he knew. Just then, Peter's phone rings, loudly echoing throughout the halls.
"Not that I'm not having fun, but I'm gonna take this because I'm not having fun." Peter sidesteps him and runs down the hall.
"You better watch yourself! I'll get you tomorrow! I'll teach you what respect is, Penis!" Ha, like you of all people know what respect is. Peter turns a corner and fishes the phone out of his pocket. Oh my god, Mr. Stark is calling back! He wastes no more time in answering.
"Hey, Mr. Stark!" he greets enthusiastically.
"Hi, kid. About this afternoon-"
"Yeah, I can't wait! A lot of stuff happened this morning before school today! You might've seen it on the news already but Mysterio attacked Grand Central Station! I know you don't want me fighting him but, in my defense, I didn't know it was him until I was pretty much already there. It wasn't on purpose, so you can't be mad. And Karen left you a message. But I actually, like, held my own against him! He had this weird chemical abrasive thing that ate my webbing so we might have to do some tweaking with the web fluid formula. Oh, and I used what we practiced in training! Sure, I still got distracted once and flinched and got kicked, but I actually listened to my senses! It's not perfect but that's what the training is for! Practice makes perfect! Well, May says practice makes permanent but I like to stay positive, y'know?"
"Kid-"
"Oh! And I saved this little girl! She was deaf so I didn't know what she was signing, but I think I want to learn sign language! It'll help me communicate with more people!"
"Pete-"
"You're right, we can talk about it more when I get to the workshop after school. I can't wait to play cards with you! It means a lot to me and I'm really exci-"
"Peter!" Peter snaps his mouth shut.
"Sorry. I was, I was rambling. My bad. Go ahead." He catches his breath and waits for Tony to speak.
"We can't train today. I'm booked all day and Pepper hasn't given me much wiggle room. I can't reschedule any meetings today." Peter's heart practically stops. I hope he and Pepper aren't still fighting but…I thought that… He composes himself and swallows.
"Yeah. I, uh, I understand, Mr. Stark." He forces his voice to sound normal, but he can feel his throat start to tighten.
"Still need Happy to drive you home?" Tony asks distractedly. Peter's eyes sting. He bites down on his cheek.
"No, it's, it's fine." It's not fine. It's not fine. It's never just fine. "I'll take the subway and-"
"Cool. See you tomorrow." Tony doesn't wait for a response before ending the call. The line goes dead, but Peter is frozen in place as his heart pounds in his chest. He stands motionless with the phone still up to his ear. Tears suddenly fall towards the floor. Why am I so upset? So…hurt? Mr. Stark isn't counting on me. He never was. He'd never count on a sixteen year old kid. His hands start to shake. It shouldn't upset me this much. Why am I letting this get to me? I knew he didn't really care. No, he just has to focus on work. That's all it is. So why does it feel like my heart has been ripped out and stomped in the dirt? I knew it was coming eventually. He already did this once. It gets harder to breathe. He knows what's coming next. He doesn't waste another second before running down the hall and out of the school. I need to get away. An alley. Something.
He can hear the blood pumping through his ears until it's almost too loud to hear anything else. He bolts across the street to an alley and, quickly making sure no one else is around, slips on his web-shooters to pull himself onto the roof of a building. As soon as he lands, his legs give out under the pressure and he drops to his knees. The pressure of everything. School, being Spider-Man, making sure May doesn't know the worst of it, making sure Ned doesn't get in the line of fire, wanting to make Tony proud, the nightmares. It's all too much. Too much.
The tears won't stop. Stupid, stupid, stupid emotions! You're supposed to be a hero! Heroes don't have breakdowns! They don't have anxiety! Suddenly he's on his hands and knees, his hands digging into the gravel until his knuckles turn white. He never cared. He never cared. He never cared. He never cared. He pulls his knees to his chest, lowers his head, and sobs. The sobs cause his chest to constrict, wracking his entire body. He keeps his lips pressed together to not make too much noise, otherwise he's pretty sure he would scream.
I shouldn't be letting this hurt me but I can't help it and it feels like I'm dying. The sobs won't stop and he squeezes his eyes shut. What did I do wrong this time? Was it something I said or did? Were the cards too much to ask? Did he see the Mysterio fight on the news? What did I do? What did I do?! This time he does lets out a scream. The loudest scream he can possibly muster that has every single ounce of his frustrations and misery. It tears up his throat, making it raw in one fell swoop. His entire body shakes and he can't tell if he's breathing anymore. He just wants the pain to stop. It's the worst kind of pain. The kind May can't see and Ned can't bandage up. Oh god what would they say if they saw me. They can't ever see me like this. May already saw me after he took away the suit, she can't see that again. Pins and needles engulf his hands and his heart skips beats. It's too hot and he can't breathe and everything hurts and he just want everything to stop. Give me a break for once! He screams out again, knowing no one will care if they hear him. Knowing no one is coming to help him, because he's the one who helps everyone else.
When he opens his eyes, black dots obscure his vision. When was the last time I breathed? He clenches his jaw. His head pounds. Finally, he rolls onto his side and hugs his knees. It's the only source of comfort he's going to get this time. It hurts even more than the last time it happened, where he at least had Tony to help him through it. He manages to gasp in a breath, but it turns into more broken sobs.
Suddenly the cars are too loud. A car honks and he swears he has never heard anything so ear piercing. It's hard to feel his hands but he forces them to clamp over his ears. Why do I have to get sensory overload when this happens? Why can't I just pretend like it never happened? His breaths are quick and jagged, but at least he's breathing, right? That's always a plus. He tries to open his eyes again, but the light tries to rip them out. He closes them with a gasp. Shit. He carefully pries a hand from his ear and endures the onslaught of sounds to get his mask out. As soon as he puts it on, his muscles relax. Everything is dimmed down to a bearable level and he has never been so glad to have the mask.
"Hello, Peter." Oh no. I forgot about Karen.
"Hey, Karen." His voice comes out raspy and forced. He holds back another sob and rolls to his back. It's silent for a few seconds.
"You appear to be in distress. Your heart rate is elevated and you are showing signs of having just had an anxiety attack. Would you like me to call someone?" Her voice is soft in a way that makes Peter think of May. The tears well up again.
"No," his voice cracks. "I just, I just wanna lay here. For now." He sniffs and does his best to ignore just how childish he feels. A particularly cold breeze causes him to shiver, but then he can't stop.
"You are showing signs of hypoperfusion," Karen warns. Shock? Why would I be going into shock? "I suggest getting warm immediately, otherwise I will be forced to contact Tony Stark." The mention of Tony's name causes Peter's muscles to tense and heart rate to speed up all over again.
"You have to promise me you won't call Mr. Stark. Please, please, please, please. I swear it'll only make things worse if you do. It'd be counterintuitive," he tries to reason with her. When she doesn't respond, he adds, "If anything happens, call Ned. He knows how to help. Then MJ, then May, then Happy, then Mr. Stark. Last resort only." His teeth chatter as he tries to speak clearly. If Karen could sigh, Peter is pretty sure she'd do that.
"Alright." Peter puts on the rest of his suit and Karen immediately activates the heaters. Deep breaths. He rests his chin on his knees and tries his best to stop crying. "Do you want to talk about it?" Karen inquires gently. Peter seriously considers her offer. It would be nice to talk to someone, at least just to get it out of his system. He knows that bottling up the feelings is bad, May tells him that all the time, but…
"I'm okay. Thanks, Karen," he says genuinely.
"My pleasure." Peter can hear the empathy in her voice and it makes him feel a bit less alone. The weight is still there, but it's more bearable. He decides to stay on the roof a bit longer, thinking he might as well get some patrolling done. It's just one day of school, no one will care if I skip the last half. Besides, I don't think I can handle going back there right now.
"Mute everyone's calls and texts except for May."
"Done," Karen confirms. Peter doesn't want to hear Ned's concerned voice or see MJ's suspicious texts. He definitely doesn't want to see Tony's contact pop up on his interface. Not that he'll bother to call. Peter keeps May unmuted because if he missed one of her calls, she'd murder him. Besides that, he can't have anymore distractions.