Chapter Eleven

"You're back!"

Thanks to his spidey sense Peter can feel Ned's arms wrapping around his neck and upper back before his best friend does it. But in order not to cause any panic he lets himself be caught by him, grateful that the welts had finally disappeared from his back.

The remainder of his suspension went without any other incidents besides the minor one where Jake basically used Peter as his dancing monkey, afraid Peter had actually said something to the Avengers about him being a raging piece of shit.

Thankfully, Peter was small and had gotten used to hiding in small places, once even hiding in a closet to do his math homework. May had also had a few days off which meant Jake hadn't had the opportunity to use him as a punching bag. When May was home, Peter breathed a little easier. He even offered to accompany her on her errands which his aunt thought was sweet, but it was just another way for Peter to avoid his step-uncle.

Peter grinned at Ned. "I'm back, buddy."

"You missed a test in Spanish," Ned offered helpfully. "How was May? Was she pissed?"

"A little," Peter wished he could tell his friends about the whippings, about how Jake seemed to be a fan of torturing him, but he couldn't. A part of him refused to budge. Maybe it was the same. Maybe it was because he knew he couldn't say everything that was happening to him without bringing up Spiderman. And if they knew about Spiderman then he would be putting them in danger. "She was just glad I wasn't expelled."

Peter caught Flash's eye and he saw that his classmate had thick bandages around his nose and ugly bruises on his left cheek and neck. Peter winced, he had really lost control, hadn't he? Flash whimpered and speeded off in the opposite direction.

"That's the first time I've seen Flash generally scared," MJ mused. "I feel like I should take a picture."

"Don't," Peter pleated. The last thing he needed was to have Jake on his case when his wounds had just started to heal. Not to mention he already felt shitty enough for beating him to a bloody pulp even though he deserved it. "Let's just drop it ok."

They walked down the corridors for a few minutes before MJ spoke again. "Hey, dweeb. Are you going to decathlon practice today?"

Peter shook his head; Jake had picked up an extra shift and May was going to have dinner with a friend meaning both of them would be out late. It was the perfect time to patrol after not doing it for days. Who cared what Stark thought.

"Grounded for at least a month," Peter opened his locker and grabbed an English textbook. "Which means my social life is dead as well for the foreseeable future."

Ned and MJ exchanged grimaces before Ned looked at him pleadingly. "Do you think May will let you go to the Rocky Horror Picture show on the 17th?"

"I'll try to convince her." If he asked Jake the answer would probably be no, but maybe he can offer to do some extra chores.

The rest of the day went by smoothly as his classmates ignored Peter either out of fear or applauded him silently because Flash had been getting on their nerves as well. Once school finished, Peter found an alleyway and changed into his suit which he still thought was better than any Stark suit money could buy.

Happiness finally spread across his body as he paroled for two hours resulting in: rescuing two cats, helping an old lady cross the street, avoid an atm robbery.

It wasn't as impressive as say Tony Stark's background, but it was still a good start especially since he hadn't gone on patrol in a while. Peter was about to go home when he saw Ned. Decathlon practice must have ended early as his friend was wearing big headphones as he walked home.

Peter was about to leave as he always felt anxious when someone he knew was near him. He flinched when he saw a yellow taxicab drive rapidly heading in Ned's direction. The driver was on his phone, oblivious to the fact that Ned was crossing the street.

He needed to leave, if Ned saw Peter, then it would be a disaster. But he couldn't just let the taxicab run over Ned either. Without thinking twice he flung over to where the cab was about to squish Ned and placed himself in the center.

Holding both hands outstretched he managed to stop the taxicab from hitting Ned. The front part of the car was ruined by the impact, but at least Ned and the driver were safe. The driver looked dumbfounded as he gaped at him.

Peter slapped the destroyed front of the taxi. "Watch where you're going. There are people walking!"

"Sorry man," the man looked terrified, and Peter didn't realize how angry he had been until that moment. He almost lost his best friend. How many people died because others were being so reckless?

Peter turned to Ned who had stumbled down from fear. He offered his hand. "Are you ok, man?"

"You're-you're-" Ned pointed to Peter's chin. A part of his mask had been ripped apart exposing the lower half of Peter's face. Shit. Peter pressed a hand on Ned's mouth before he babbled and dragged him to a nearby alley. Thankfully everyone seemed to be focused on the taxi driver.

Ned was still trembling as Peter pressed him against the wall to keep him from running away from panic. "Peter, you're the flying monkey?"

"Spiderman." Peter blurted out. Why wouldn't the name stick? "Listen, Ned you cannot tell anyone ok? This has to stay between us. I've worked too hard to keep this secret from everyone. May and especially Jake cannot know. This has to stay between us, please-"

Ned frowned as he held Peter steadily by his shoulder. "Peter, now you need to calm down. You're shaking."

"Sorry I just," Peter stopped. His throat felt tight and why the hell did he feel like he was about to burst into tears like a four-year-old? "May and Jake cannot know. It has taken me a lot of time to hide things from them and if they find out-"

"They won't," Ned insisted. "You're shaking, Peter. I won't tell a soul. Not even MJ."

Peter breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. The reason for this," he pointed to his torn costume. "It's because I wanted to help the little people. Without knowing it was me of course."

"How did this even happen? Can it happen to me?" he asked hopefully. "Think about it, we can be the double spiders or something cool like that. Like the Ninja turtles."

Peter laughed dryly. "Believe me, Ned, you don't want this."

"Will you tell me everything from the beginning?"

Peter nodded, his body finally relaxing. "Yes, every last thing."

-End of Chapter Eleven-