Peter sat through math class with his phone propped between his books.
Occasionally the teacher would ask him a question to see if he was paying attention but with a quick glance, he was always able to rattle off the correct answer until eventually he was left alone.
He smirked at the current video he was watching of himself swinging through the streets of Queens.
Deciding he was being a bit narcissistic though he switched to some humours fail videos before finally shoving his phone away moments before the bell.
With a grin he made his way to his locker to get rid of his books.
It was finally Friday and he had some plans that needed to be started. Most included him running around the city in his red hoodie and blue sweat plants, but he was also planning on watching a movie with Ned, and surprising his Aunt May with dinner.
It had been almost six months since his uncle Ben had died and he was finally starting to feel human again. He could smile without feeling guilty, he could sit by himself and not cry, and he was able to talk to his aunt for more then five minutes and not have a panic attack.
Peter paused only long enough to watch a group of senior girls walk by, one of which was Liz. Her lovely blue top and black skirt made him sigh before blushing once he realized he was staring.
As he headed out the door Ned caught up to him.
"Are we still good for tomorrow night?" He asked happily.
"Yup. Aunt May already knows!" Peter answered with his grin. "Are you bringing the Star trek box set?"
"You know it!"
Peter knew that Ned was just happy to spend time with him again and it wouldn't matter what they watched. It had been a long six months for both of them, albeit for different reasons.
"See you tomorrow night!" Peter called as they spilt ways.
Peter did a quick two step to avoid being hit by Flash Thompsons car before continuing on his way. The loud 'PENIS PARKER' being yelled from the bully was easy enough to ignore with his mind being pulled to the task at hand.
May wouldn't be home till eight which meant he could get a couple of hours of patrolling in before hitting the grocery store. He might not get a chance again that night and his conscience wouldn't let him skip Spiderman's responsibilities altogether.
As soon as he was off the train he was sprinting down the sidewalk towards his favorite alley. It was dark, without much foot traffic going by, which meant a teenage boy stripping to his boxers would go widely unnoticed.
He quickly pulled on his blue and red outfit along with his newly tweaked web shooters. His bag was tossed into the corner secured with said webbing to ensure no one would take his homework.
A single breath was slowly released then he gripped the wall and crawled all the way to the top of the tall apartment complex.
The view of the city was breathtaking, and Spiderman didn't think he would ever be tired of it.
With an excited whoop he bolted towards the ledge, leaping out and free falling for a few seconds before catching a building with his web effectively turning himself into a human pendulum.
His goggles gave him just enough vision to zero in on his next target with a quick mental calculation. His timing was always perfect between the shot and the angle of his swing to the next shot. He just wished his landings were a bit more on point.
After hearing a scream to his left, he tried to drop into a proper superhero landing but instead overshot it and landed on his face.
"AH man!" He whined as he pulled himself to his feet. "Hope that one doesn't make the gag reel!"
The panicked voice that he had originally heard came again and he forgot his embarrassment and quickly zeroed in on the source.
Two men had a woman backed into a corner. They weren't armed from what Spiderman could see, but their attention was clearly not wanted.
"No need to scream sweetheart," one man was saying, "We don't wanna hurt ya! Just give up the purse and that pretty little necklace yer wearin' and we'll be on our way."
"T-take it. Please," She begged, "please don't hurt me!"
Just as the second man reached out for the offered bag Spiderman pinned him to the alley wall with a web.
"What's up fellas? I hope you aren't planning on wearing that purse with those shoes! Major fashion no-no!" He quipped.
"Get lost freak before I hide this blade in your eye!" The first man sneered pulling out a switch blade. The woman gave an audible whimper and tried to back farther into the brick building.
Spiderman didn't like the look of terror on the woman's face, so he promptly cleared the fire escape catching the second man in the face with a falling knee. Before he could recover two more webs stapled him in place.
The purse had been dropped and its contents were laying on the concrete, so Spiderman quickly gathered everything together and handed it towards the women.
"I believe you dropped this ma'am." He said politely, "There is a cop cruiser sitting a block down at the corner store. You should make your way there!"
"Th-thank you!" She squeaked, "Thank you so much!"
She grabbed the purse and ran from the alley without a single look back.
"Freak, when I get out of this I am going cut out your intestines! You little fu…"
What ever the man was going to say was cut short by a web across his mouth.
"Shhhhhh," Spiderman cooed, "No one wants to hear you finish that thought!"
With that Spiderman scaled the closest building and continued on his way. Leaving only thin webs hanging from the building to dissolve in his wake.
By six thirty Peter was back in his normal clothes and heading for the grocery store.
Delmar was gone for the day, but his part timer was always willing to help Peter out. They picked out some noodles and sauce and some fresh hamburger.
After paying, it was a mad dash back to the apartment. He skidded to a stop about two blocks away when something caught his eye.
"Score!" He mumbled as he added a discarded computer tower to his already full arms. Thankfully his enhanced strength aided him on the rest of the jaunt home.
It took two failed attempted to juggle his purchases before he finally got his key in the lock and got inside.
He left the computer on the table and took the rest into the kitchen.
With an hour before May got home it would be pushing it.
The meal turned out quite edible and May was beyond grateful. It had been a long day and the hot food was so nice.
While Peter served himself another helping of spaghetti he noticed that May's blinks were getting longer and longer.
"May?" He inquired softly, "May?" He smiled then added a bit louder, "May, go to bed! I can clean this up and you need sleep before your weekend shifts!"
She flinched awake at that and gave Peter a small smile.
"Alright hun," she said kissing his forehead, "Thank you. You have no idea what this means!"
Peter was a bit relieved when May disappeared up stairs because he didn't have to be self conscience about what he was about to do.
He moved the almost full pot of noodles in front of him and managed to scarf the whole thing down in record time.
His metabolism would burn through it quick enough, but it was nice to feel full for once.
After cleaning up, Peter went upstairs to do what homework he had so he wouldn't have to worry about it all weekend. He barely had to think about what he was writing to get though it all, nothing was very challenging.
He tinkered with the old computer tower for a bit before he was certain his aunt was truly asleep. He hadn't been planning on going out again that night but with a full stomach and energy to spare he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep.
It was getting late and Spiderman was just thinking he should start heading home when his enhanced hearing picked up some commotion a bit farther out of his normal patrol route.
Not one to pass up a chance to serve his city he swung through the buildings with ease trying to locate what he had heard.
He landed on a high roof top and peered over the side cautiously. There was an armed robbery going on below him, but the cops were already there. They had flood lights trained on the building, people were yelling from inside and out, and there were crowds of people gathering to watch.
There was no way he could really help here and by the sounds of the police scanners there was already someone inside that may or may not be a vigilante. So, with a shrug Spiderman decided to move on, just as he was a floodlight below was knocked over sending the blinding beam skywards, but not before burning into the web-slingers eyes.
It was like a switch went off in his head. Suddenly all the sounds and lights broke through his subconscious and assaulted him at once. Pain exploded inside his head and Spiderman scurried back into the shadows of the roof, hands tenderly holding his skull while trying to block his ears as well.
A knife in his gut would have felt better then his current hell.
He had to get back to his apartment. He couldn't be out on an exposed roof top, helpless.
Gritting his teeth through the pain of opening his eyes he made himself focus on a building to his left.
He pushed himself to his feet and took a couple wobbly steps before firing his web and leaping.
To his credit he managed the first swing and even managed to get the web shooter off a second time. But the second one was at a poor angle and with his mind being pulled in a thousand different directions at once he didn't have time to register the metal fire escape.
With a loud 'Ooaf' his midsection hit a protruding bar and he lost his grip. He tumbled down into the alley and cried out when his back slapped into the pavement with his head hitting second.
It took several minutes for him to get his breath back but when he did his mind exploded again with input. Thousands of voices, every sweat drop or hair touching his skin, the smell of garbage and mold, and all the lights tried to register at once causing another wave of panic and pain.
He couldn't get his breath, so he tore away his mask trying to get much needed air while frantically trying to cover both his eyes and ears in an attempt to shut it off.
The thankfully abandoned alley filled with his sad whimpers as the young hero fought for his own sanity.
There was no way Peter could have heard the faint footsteps coming towards him in his current state, and his Spidey sense didn't alert him to any danger, but when he did hear some one speak it seemed so loud it felt like someone hit him in the head with a hammer.
"Hang in there kiddo, I know what you need."
Strong arms carefully hoisted the boy up bridal style.
With a finale whimper Peter passed out.
It was well into Saturday before Peter was able to open his eyes. Thankfully the pain had subsided. He had dealt with the sensory overload a few times before but nothing quite as intense as that had been.
His surroundings started to come into focus and all's Peter could do was stare, confused.
He was in a soft queen-sized bed with simple but clean sheets. The studio style bedroom had no lights, nor windows but did have a simple wood sliding door.
Peter suddenly remembered his mask. He reached up and had to fight back a panic attack when he realized it was still off. In it's place though were a pair of construction grade noise cancelling headphones.
Carefully he removed them and set them on the bed.
As quietly as he could he got to his feet and crept to the sliding door. It opened easy enough and without a sound.
His bare feet had barely touched the living room floor when a voice made him jump.
"I was wondering when you would be up."
Peter twisted around to see a man, probably in his thirties, standing in the kitchen area. He was wearing simple sweats and a t-shirt but was obviously in good shape. His brown hair was slightly messy, and he held a coffee cup in one hand.
Most curious was his round, red tinted, sunglasses. Yes, it was about noon and bright outside, but inside the apartment it was anything but.
"Uh, uh … hi? So, where am I? How did I get here? Who are you? Where's my stuff? I remember the alley …" Peter suddenly found his voice and started with all the questions his mind could throw out.
The man straightened at the sudden bombardment of questions but with a slight smirk he held his hands out and made a calming motion.
"Easy! Easy! You are at my apartment, in Hell's kitchen, I found you in an alley having an episode. I know what it's like to have an overload, so I brought you back here, you had some injuries as well to your ribs and head, so I took the liberty to patch them up as best as I could. Your things are all on the sofa to your right and you are free to leave when you feel up to it." The man answered swiftly with a confidence that was disarming.
Peter looked down his naked torso to the bandage around his middle he hadn't even noticed.
"I guess I should be thanking you, Mr. … " Peter said slowly.
"Murdock. Matthew Murdock."