Zooky: Hey everyone!! here is the newest chapter? how was that for a much faster update? well I'm already knee deep into chapter 7 so that would shouldn't take to much longer...this story is almost finished! but don't worry, that only means that we are that much closer to Hero High 2. I promise a lot more of your favorite character come in in the next one. (incase you haven't noticed this story has been Petrelli focused...I can't help it I'm biased!! lol) well enough of this author rambling. Enjoy! (review replies after the show)

Chapter 6: The Apology

Peter slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. His head was aching awfully and his whole body was in agony. His mind felt slightly cloudy.

Slowly he crawled out of bed. He tried to remember why he was sore, but his mind was far too sluggish. Peter yawned and stretched slightly. This small action sent pain shooting through him. He looked down at his arm and noticed the bandages all over it.

Glancing around Peter saw the clothes he had been wearing hanging on his chair. He lifted the shirt to find it badly torn. There was blood and dirt splattered all over it, he realized that his jeans were in the same condition.

Peter darted from his room and into the bathroom. He looked in the mirror and felt his breath catch. His lip was slightly swollen and a nasty bruise was beginning to color his cheek. A little streak of dried blood was visible just below his hair. He wiped the dark locks away from his forehead and found an oversized bandage covering it. The crimson color of his blood could just barely be seen through it.

Peter leaned weakly on the door for support and shut his eyes, trying to sort through the mess that was his mind. What had happened?

He remembered Nathan dragging him to that stupid game just to ditch him for that Meredith girl. Typical. He remembered running like mad to escape Brody and his brute squad. It gave Peter a great, ironic pleasure to realize that he was faster than the entire football team.

He remembered Brody grabbing his ankle and after that everything grew hazy. He forced himself to focus. He had been falling toward the ground when something had happened. He'd begun falling sideways…

He collided with the ground and slid across it because of his…sideways momentum? That explained his battered body, but opened up a series of new questions. He pushed off these confusing thoughts and focused on what had happened next.

Peter remembered lying winded and hurt on the ground, just waiting for Brody to come get him when a familiar face leaned over him. Charles Deavux. The man looked him over with concerned eyes and then scooped Peter up into his strong arms. Peter remembered drifting off to sleep in the safety of Charles' arms.

Peter sighed. He needed more answers than his tired mind could reveal so he left the room and headed carefully down the stairs, leaning heavily on the hand rail the whole way.

He made his way slowly into the kitchen and found Gran happily cooking away. She turned to him as he entered and her eyes were instantly full of that loving concern. She hurried over to Peter and helped him into a seat.

"How are you feeling this morning?" She asked while checking his injured arm.

"Bad," Peter replied honestly. "My head hurts." Gran nodded sympathetically. She hurried off and came back with a first aid kit.

"We should probably change those bandages," She explained. Gran carefully peeled away the one on his forehead. She pulled out some medicine and rubbed it gently on his forehead. Peter cringed as the cream stung him greatly. "It will only hurt for a second." She informed him, and then placed another large bandage where the old one had been.

"Charles Deavux brought you here last night," Gran informed him as if she had read the question off his face. "He said he saw you fall from the bleachers, but he said he wasn't sure what caused it." Gran let her glasses slip to the end over her nose and looked over them at him.

"I tripped," Peter replied innocently. In truth he had tripped, it was really hard to keep your balance when someone pulls your leg out from under you. Gran looked at him skeptically but did not push the issue. She took a wet clothe and begun wiping the remaining blood of his face.

"I would have taken you to the hospital," She informed him "but Charles assured me that you didn't have a concussion or any broken bones."

"How would we know?" Peter asked thickly.

"He's a doctor Peter," Gran explained. "There all done." She said standing back and examining him. She nodded, obviously content with her patch up and she headed over to the kitchen. She pulled a mug out of the microwave and brought it over to him. Peter smelled the hot chocolate before the cup was even in his hand.

"It will make you feel better," She said pulling up a chair. Peter smiled gratefully. The warm liquid felt wonderful, and somehow it seemed to help clear the clouds from his mind.

Gran gently patted his uninjured arm.

"You should get some rest. It's Saturday so you don't have to worry about school. You'll feel a lot better after you sleep some more," She encouraged him. "After all it's early, Nathan isn't even up yet." As if on cue the older Petrelli brother came down the stairs and into the kitchen. He was about to say something but the words got stuck in his throat when he saw Peter. In an instant he was beside his younger brother.

"Peter! What happened?" Nathan cupped Peter's chin lifting his face to examine it.

"I tripped," Peter replied shortly, pulling away from Nathan. He was still mad at his older brother for ditching him the night before.

"Into what?" Nathan asked unhindered by the rude response.

"The ground." Peter stood. "I'm tired." He turned to Gran and his face softened. "Thanks for the hot chocolate." With that he made his way slowly back up the stairs. Nathan watched him go and had to force himself not to run after him. Nathan always felt Peter's pain like it was his own. He had no idea what happened and he planned to find out, but Peter obviously just needed rest now. He turned his eyes toward Gran searching for answers.

OoOoO

Peter perched on the railing of the stairs outside of school, his feet dangling freely and his mind lost in thought.

"ARGH!" A yell of frustration startled Peter, nearly knocking him off the railing.

"What the heck Isaac?" He stammered seeing the source of the outburst. Isaac looked more grungy then normal. He was stomping on a sketchbook as if to put out a fire.

"It's horrible! They are all horrible!" Isaac raved.

"He's been like this all weekend," Simone said as she walked up to Peter. A look of concern crossed her face.

"How's your head?" She gently pushed his hair away from his forehead to reveal the nasty scar there.

"How did you know?" Peter asked. He had worn long sleeves to cover his arms, and his hair naturally covered most of his forehead.

"My dad told me," She informed him. "He was really worried."

"It's a little better," Peter answered honestly. "I basically slept all weekend." He looked back at Isaac, egger to change the topic. "What's his problem?"

"Oh, his art. He claims that it is 'evil'." Peter raised an eyebrow. "He gets this way every once in a while," Simone explained. "I guess it's like they say 'all true artists are haunted'." Peter chuckled.

"Maybe so," he agreed in amusement.

Finally after five more minutes of raving and stomping, Isaac came over and joined them. For a few moments they sat in a comfortable silence, watching students pass. Peter drifted back into his reverie, until a sight brought him instantly out of it.

"Crud." Peter grumbled, ducking to hide his face.

"What is it?" Isaac looked at Peter in confusion.

"Peter you can't hide from him forever." Simone sighed. Noticing what Peter had seen.

"What is it?" Still clueless, Isaac asked.

"Besides it's not like he's gona waste his time looking for you. Even Brody Mitchum has more life then that."

"Oh!" Isaac exclaimed. "That's all?"

"Shut up Isaac!" Peter growled quietly so his voice wouldn't carry.

"Come on, let's just go." Simone suggested, hoping down from the stair rail. Isaac did the same and Peter was about to follow lead when he noticed Brody coming their way. Peter stuck up his chin and tried to hide the intimation he was feeling.

"Petrelli," Brody's said slickly as he walked over.

"Mitchum," Peter replied matching Brody's tone defiantly.

"Well well aren't we cocky," Brody taunted, "Planning on jumping again Petrelli?"

"Ya Petrelli think you can fly or something," one of Brody's goons added coming up beside him. Brody laughed.

"Petrelli think he's a bird, eh?" Brody grabbed Peter's shoe, and the youngest Petrelli had to grab the rail to keep from falling. "Maybe we should give you a flying lesson." Peter's eyes widened. They were more right than they knew. They may have just been joking but they revealed to him the truth he had been missing. He had flown! Peter was just surprised that it took him this long to figure out. It explained his sideways "falling". He flew! Not overly well maybe but it had happened. He flew and it broke his fall instead of breaking his bones.

Peter smirked as a wave of confidence washed over him. He thrust his free foot into Brody's groin. The football player doubled over in pain and Peter took that chance to hit the ground running.

OoOoO

"Peter." Simone hurried over to his locker. She had been searching for him between classes since the confrontation with Brody earlier that day. "Brody is steamed!"

"Good," Peter replied with a smirk.

"No not good. He's going to kill you." Peter shut his locker door and turned to her.

"Look Simone I seriously doubt I made Brody and my already 'wonder' relationship all that much worse," he replied.

"Peter he was just messing with you before, it's going to be different now. Now it's payback," Simone's eyes were wide with concern.

"Has Brody suddenly joined the mob?" Peter jested hoping to lighten the mood, when a scowl crossed her face he sighed and decided to take a different rout. "Simone I really doubt there is anything to worry about but if it makes you feel better I'll be careful. Ok?" She considered his words carefully.

"Ok I guess…but maybe you should talk to Nathan before things get worse," She coxed. He placed a hand on her arm gently.

"I'll be fine Simone, don't worry." With that he turned and disappeared down the crowded hall.

OoOoO

Peter headed to his locker to collect his books, he knew Nathan would be waiting outside by now. Maybe I should tell him. Peter thought as he grabbed the overly heavy books and shoved them into his backpack. Things had not been good between the two brothers of late but…at least Nathan cares.

"Hello Petrelli," The cool all too familiar voice hissed. Brody leaned against Peter's locker, and Peter knew that his posse couldn't be far away. Peter looked into his eyes bravely. The younger Petrelli had been expecting this showdown, and he wasn't at all surprised that Brody choose now, when the students were too eager to leave school to notice any sort of confrontation. "I really think I should apologize for the way I've been treating you."

"Apologize?" Peter repeated dumbly, a blank stare coming over his face.

"Yes," Brody replied. He moved his hand, and Peter flinched from the anticipation of pain, but instead Brody placed his arm around Peter's shoulder in a brotherly fashion. "I've really been unfair to you, and I think we should start over."

"You do?" Peter stammered. Brody began to walk leading Peter along. This was not the way Peter had expected things to go down. Brody stopped and turned to face him.

"No hard feelings?" Something in Brody's eyes caused Peter to do a double take. It was like a snake luring in its victim before it struck. Peter stepped back and collided with something hard. Turning around he saw one of Brody's cronies leering down at him. Flash backs from the Rocky movies flipped through his mind as he raised his fists in the best imitation fighting stance he could master. "I don't want to fight you Peter." Brody said in a way to sweet voice. He placed his strong hand on the younger Petrelli's shoulder. Suddenly Brody shove him backwards. Before Peter could grasp what was happening he stumbled into a closet and the door was slammed shut.

Peter quickly recovered himself and slammed his fists against the door.

"Dang it Brody!" He called, but all was silent outside of the door. "BRODY!" Peter banged on the door again, but it was no use. They were gone and he assumed that so was everyone else in the school.

Peter kept banging despite the futility of the act. He felt the skin on his knuckles beginning to crack. Finally he stopped and leaned against the door. He slid down to the floor and closed his eyes, forcing himself to remain calm. It was dark and tight in the closet but Peter had never been particularly afraid of either thing. The impenetrable silence, however, was suffocating.

He opened his eyes and realized he was no longer in the closet. He was standing on the roof of a New York City building. In front of him on the very edge stood his father.

Mr. Petrelli was staring off the edge in away that unnerved Peter greatly. It was like the man was planning on jumping. Peter tried to cry out but no sound came. Mr. Petrelli turned slowly to look at him, but suddenly Peter's vision was disrupted by something covering his eyes. He reached up and realized that it was soft delicate fingers. He pulled them away. Peter caught a glimpse of blonde hair as he turned, but then the person was gone.

Suddenly a horrible pain filled his forehead. He felt the warmth of blood trickling down his cheek. A choked scream escaped his lips. A horribly evil laugh came from somewhere behind him. His brain was on fire. It felt like someone was trying to saw his head open…

Instantly he opened his eyes to find himself back in the closet. His heart was pounding a mile per second. He felt his forehead but found only the bandage. The pain was gone, but the sound of that horrible laugh still rang through his mind.

Peter suddenly felt like he was falling backwards. Light met his eyes and suddenly he was on his back. Someone had obviously opened the door he had been leaning on.

He squinted against the sudden light and saw the silhouette of a man leaning over him.

"Are you alright?" The man's voice was strong but not harsh. Peter's breath was still coming ridiculously fast, so he only managed to reply with a weak nod. A strong hand grasped him by the shoulders and lifted him up to his feet.

As his eyes finally adjusted to the light he examined his rescuer. The man was tall, average looking and dressed in a suit. His most catching feature was the horn rimmed glasses he wore.

"You're a student here?" The man asked. Peter managed another nod, his mind seemed to have come to a stand still. "Would you like to tell me what happened?" Peter swallowed the lump in his throat.

"No sir," he uttered weakly. The man merely laughed.

"Honesty, that's quite refreshing," the man replied. "Everyone's gone. Do you have someone you can call for a ride?" Peter stared dumbly at the man, his mind still reeling from the terrifying dream.

"My brother," He finally replied once the question made it through his skull. The man pulled out his ceil phone and placed it into Peter's shaky hand. Peter punched in the number his body moving even though his mind couldn't seem to.

One ring…

"Hello?" Nathan's worried voice finally cleared the fog from Peter's mind.

"Hey Nathan…it's me."

"Peter?!? WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU?" Nathan screamed into the phone.

"At school," Peter replied. He had no idea how long he had been in the closet, but it was obviously long enough for Nathan to get worked up into a frenzy—which didn't seem to take that long when it concerned Peter. "Please come get my Nate." Peter's pleading tone broke through Nathan's anger.

"I'll be right there."

Peter hung up and handed the phone back to the man.

"I should go wait for him," Peter said nodding toward the door.

"Will you be ok?" The man questioned.

"Ya I'm good."

The man gave Peter a once over with his eyes as if to assure himself of the validity of the statement, then he turned and began to walk off down the hall.

"Wait!" Peter called, stopping the man in his tracks. "Who are you?" It hadn't even accrued to Peter that he didn't know this man until that moment.

"Mr. Bennet…the school's Guidance Counselor." And with that the man disappeared around the corner.

Peter sighed and headed for the doors. The cool evening air met him and he sucked in a deep breath of it. The sky was already quite dark, hinting that he had been stuck inside the school for a lot longer than he had first assumed. There was only one car left in the parking lot, probably belonging to Mr. Bennet.

Peter practically jumped when he realized he was not alone.

AT: cliff hanger! dun dun dun!!!!! so guesses as to who the new character is? I'll give you a hint...you won't expect it.

RBDFAN: you get a special award for being the first to review 2 chapters in a row!! brovo!! yes...Brody is stupid. lol

GreenLeofiend: hahaha!! -Brody cowers in a cornor- anyways thanks for the review and constant support!!

katbb1: before the show revealed that little plot twist I promised i would include ALL the heroes. and I will keep that promise...after all this is an AU story...I do try and hold true to the show but some changes have been made

lonely-dreamlover: thank you so much! your compliments are so sweet!! I love the Petrellis too...incase that wasn't obvious LOL! actually I had a beta reader for a while, but with this story it's difficult because that would mean you guys would have to wait even longer for an update. so sorry about the mistakes. I do try really hard to get all of them out.

Nakeli Maklio: thank you so much! I'm really glad you like the story! you're so sweet!