Goodbye Summer Hello Trouble


Chapter VI


Sam was bored to say the least. He was frustrated as well. With a small puff he recalled what had happened last night or rather remembered the lack of events. He had not found anything about the strange explosion at the Zoo and oddly had not encountered any villains or goons. Nobody had tried to rob the bank, steal valuable information or threatened a civilian(s). Hell, there had not even been muggers around and that was unusual. With a slight frown Sam noted that he had not stumbled upon Spiderman, although he had seen the hero join and give him and the others a hand. What bewildered Sam slightly was the fact that he had disappeared suddenly. What could have caused him such distress that he would have left so fast? Usually he would stick around or would web his way around the city, searching for trouble and eventually their paths would cross, but not that night. Nothing of the usual had happened.

Speaking of oddities, it seemed that the night's antics had been passed on to the day because the last bell had just rung and there was no sign of Peter Parker. Sam frowned. Peter was as punctual as a clock. There was no way he would be late unless he had a damn good reason to be.

It seemed the teacher was not pleased at all to have her number one student arrive after the beginning of class had been signaled. With a small glare and motion of her head, she dismissed his profuse apologies. Sam smirked slightly when he noticed that Peter had a slight blush of embarrassment that adorned his cheeks. A trickle of sweat made its way from his forehead, past his bangs and cheeks and went all the way to the boy's mouth where it lingered before it dropped on the floor. Needless to say Sam had not observed each and every detail of said journey at all.

He could not help but chuckle when Peter nodded and quickly tried to make his way to his desk. Key word was tried because he ended up stumbling and almost fell down. Luckily for him Sam was quick to react and grabbed his hand. He helped the embarrassed teen back to his feet and soon let go, not ignoring the slight jolt he felt when their skin connected.

Once Peter was seated behind Sam and the teacher was satisfied there would be no more disruptions of her lesson she turned back to the board and began writing the notes the class was supposed to take on it. Sam quickly copied most of what he could see, but soon gave up on trying to see past the woman's back. He glanced at Peter and noticed that the boy was having the same, if not bigger trouble. He had copied only one fourth of it, while Sam had managed to write down half.

Nice to see that even Peter Parker faces hardships when it comes to academics. Wait a minute. Peter never finds it hard to keep track of what's happening and he's usually done by the time I've completed one fourth of the assignment we have. Same goes for copying the notes on the board. Something's not right here.

Sam's eyes widened when he snuck a glance at Peter only to find out that the teen's hands were not moving. Sam's gaze went up and noticed that Peter's mind was somewhere else. He turned his attention back to the board and tried to jot down the remainder of the novella their crazy literature teacher had written on the board. Damn, that woman could write so fast. If Sam were to be honest, he had thought about talking to Peter right then and there, but that would mean disrupting the class and eventually drawing attention to themselves which would not be enjoyable for both of them. Sam had considered passing a note to Peter, but that would be risky as well. At last, he had decided he would simply wait till the end of class and confront the teen then.


Sam finished copying what was written on the board around a minute before class finished. Their teacher bid them farewell and wished them a good and successful school day before she allowed them to leave. Sam immediately shot out of his seat and turned around only to find that Peter was no longer there. He frowned and looked around. After a few seconds he spotted his friend at the door. With a curse Sam bolted out of the room and ran after Peter in the hallway. Needless to say it was a bad idea. He stumbled, bumped into people and in the end tripped. The collision with the floor was painful and unpleasant. With a groan Sam got up, shook off the hands that were trying to help him and looked around. Peter was nowhere to be found.

Peter sighed as he sat on one of the benches near the school he had been forced to attend. He looked at the worn building with a scornful expression. He hated it. Abhorred everything it had to do with his current predicament. Why? He could not help but ask. Why did he have to go to high school like everyone else when he could have easily graduated at least a year earlier, maybe even two if he had not had Spiderman's responsibilities on his back? The answer was easy – because he did not feel like it. He knew what he was capable of, knew he was 'gifted' as some people said, but it had never crossed his mind to actually push himself to his so-called limits and finish school earlier than it was expected to.

Peter rubbed his temples. It seemed his sleepless nights were finally catching up to him, He groaned. Why couldn't the migraine just go away?

"Because it usually likes to stay and torment you instead of obeying your wishes." Someone suddenly said.

Peter looked up and his eyes widened. Before him stood none other than Sam. Peter could not help but smile when his eyes met the familiar warmth that resided within Sam's usually blazing forests.

"Can I sit next to you or would you prefer to be alone?" Sam asked.

Peter scooted closer to one end of the bench and motioned for Sam to take a seat beside him which the teen did. Silence fell over them, suffocating both of them or was it just Peter?

"I'm sorry." Sam suddenly uttered.

Peter looked up with a perplexed expression. He could not help but ask, "What for?"

"For acting the way I did yesterday. You were trying to help and even after I told you that I needed to confide in someone I…"

"No need." Peter cut him off, "You are free to choose what to face and what not to. If you found it necessary to run away, then it had probably been for the best."

Sam thanked Peter for understanding before he took in everything his companion had said. He frowned before enquiring, "What do you mean 'it had probably been for the best'?"

Peter sighed, scratched the back of his head, opened his mouth, then closed it and shook his head before answering, "Nothing in particular."

Sam turned his head away and looked down. He clenched the bench with both of his hands and suddenly slammed his fist into the wood, making Peter flinch and yell:

"Jesus Christ! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

Sam looked up and glared at Peter. "The question should be what the fuck is wrong with you?"

Peter frowned before enquiring, "What do you mean? Nothing's wrong with me."

"Damn it, Pakrer!" Sam yelled and punched the wood in frustration again, scaring Peter this time. He then gripped the edge of said wood with both hands and whispered, "And they call me a coward."

"Who call you a coward Sam?" Peter asked once he had got over the initial shock and fear.

Sam resisted the urge to answer at first. However, once his eyes met those of Peter he mumbled, "Everyone, Luke, Ava, Danny, mym….my uh….my f…father."

Peter's eyes widened. Was this it? Was Sam actually opening up to him? Had the boy really decided he could confide in someone and chosen said someone to be Peter? Apparently the answer was yes to all.

"Why do they call you a coward?" Peter asked as he put his hand over Sam's shaking fist, managing to calm the boy down strangely fast.

"Because I run away, because I never confront my demons, because I don't do things the 'right way', although I don't think their right way is my right way. Do you know what I mean?"

"If you mean something along the lines of other peoples' principles and beliefs being forced upon you, "Peter smiled sadly as he looked away, 'Then yes," He then looked back at Sam and gazed at those mesmerizing pools that now contained hurricanes, "I know exactly what you mean."

Sam's breath hitched. He looked at Peter's eyes to find them glistening slightly. However, aside from the slight tremor of his lower lip nothing else betrayed the inner turmoil Peter's heart was suffering. His blue oceans were calm and not one wave ruined the still surface. Not until Sam brushed his thumb over Peter's hand unconsciously. Something moved. Something changed. Something burned. The first lone tear escaped its confines. Unconsciously Peter found himself using his other hand that was not currently being caressed by Sam to wipe it away. It was odd to act this way. It was unusual to be this close to someone and yet not be more than a good acquaintance to them. But that had changed. Was Peter Sam's friend now?


Thank you everyone for your reviews, follows and favourites. I was surprised by the love this story received. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Although it is short and could be considered a filler or teaser, I kind of feel like I needed it (Darkend: More like she was just too lazy to give you the whole 'Sam confides in Peter moment' and decided to tease you and not feel as guilty for not updating sooner by giving you this so-called fluffy moment at the end.)

Not true! Anyway, before my muse tries to um... helpful with her explanations again, I wanted to ask you something - should I go for darker themes in this story or stick to lighter ones?

ALSO - very important note - I will try to update my other spideynova story 'Rain' ( Darkend: Bout time you finished it!) so I may not be able to update my other ones as fast as you would like so please be patient! I promise or rather hope the wait will be worth it.

*hits Darkend for interrupting her again*