Spider-Man: Year One- A Spider-Man Fanfiction
Summary: Lonely sophomore Peter Parker was the most gifted student at Midtown High, until one day when a bite from a genetically modified spider turned him into something else. Now, he's just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Follow his journey. Rated Teen.
Disclaimer: I do not own Spider-Man
Chapter Four
"Do you have a specific chapter you want to cover, or should we just start with last month and continue on til we cover everything?" Peter asked, staring at Liz over the steaming coffee cup he had ordered a moment before. He wasn't surprised when instead of answering him, she opted to take a selfie with the beverage she ordered. He wouldn't have been too overtly upset about this, but this had been going on for around ten minutes and he was already getting tired of her lack of attention. It wasn't like Peter needed to be there for his own benefit.
"Did you say something Petey?" she asked, quickly uploading the picture to Instagram. She flashed him a quick, superficial smile before she began to text again.
"Yeah, do you have a specific place you want to start studying," he asked through gritted teeth.
"Um... no... not really. Whatever you think will help me get the best grade. Like, focus on what you did or whatever. That should be good."
"Well, where are you struggling?"
Liz looked at him for a moment as if he had grown a second head. "If I knew that I wouldn't need you."
The snotty response startled Peter for a moment. "Look, I can go if you want. I'm not the one who needs these lessons."
Peter moved to stand from the table and head home, or possibly out to the streets, when Liz's hand shot out and held his in place.
She seemed to struggle with what she wanted to say for a moment. "Look, I'm sorry for being short with you. But, I don't understand any of this. I need some help."
Peter glanced her way for a minute. Something about this situation was just off with him. "This really doesn't seem like it would be something you're interested in. Why are you so focused?"
"How is that any of your business?" she snapped back viciously.
Peter held up his hands in surrender. "If I know what's going on, I can better help."
Liz sighed. "...It's gonna sound stupid."
"Try me."
Liz opened and closed her mouth a few times, gaping at Peter and trying to find the correct words to express what she wanted to say. She raised her hands as if to demonstrate, lowered them again, shaking her head. Just when Peter had resigned to continuing the lesson, she blurted. "It's just... I... don't want to be known as only Flash Thompson's girlfriend."
She blushed for a moment and stared defiantly at Peter, daring him to say anything about her momentary lack of control.
Peter raised an eyebrow in confusion, waiting for a moment to let her continue. But as the seconds passed by, it seemed she wasn't going to say anything more and all he could do was answer with confusion. "What?"
"I know you've seen those girls... the cheerleaders who graduate without a plan and marry their quarterback boyfriends. They either get knocked up and spend their twenties raising kids or sitting in some house making sure that they have the booze out or... you know."
Peter nodded. Though their area of New York wasn't terribly poor, or poor at all really, he still had plenty of neighbors who never grew out of their high school glory days. When he would take out the trash for Aunt May or walk to school, he'd often see them standing in the door of their house in a nightgown wishing their husbands a good day at whatever factory hadn't closed in the near vicinity. Peter and his aunt had begun to feel something like this in recent weeks as well. Without his uncle's supplemental income, and the corporate assassination of his union benefits, there had been a strain on extra spending in his house, thus Peter's job at the Bugle. The emerging corporate culture of New York and the not-so-subtle gentrifying of the city hadn't done the factories any favors either. If you could even get a menial job at Oscorp, you weren't paid much. Norman Osborn and Tony Stark had too much control of the city practices. For a techie like Peter, that wouldn't be a problem. His knowhow could land him a job with either tech giant if he wanted it. But for someone like Flash, who Peter was sure wasn't winning any science fairs in the future, it was football or bust. And how many players actually managed to get full rides for football? Beyond that, how many would go pro?
Liz seemed like a bright girl, but she also seemed unfocused and too obsessed with popularity. And if her bio grade was any indication, her school work was suffering as a result. Without better grades she would never get into ore than a community college. Her future with Flash would be all but assured.
"Yeah," Peter said. "I get it. The question is, though, what do you want to do?"
"Promise you won't laugh?" Liz asked in a small voice that seemed so off from her usually boisterous personality.
She steeled herself for a moment after Peter nodded. "I want to be a lawyer. I want to save the environment."
Of all the answers she could have given, Peter was not expecting that response. But, it made sense with what he knew of her. She was never quiet and always made her opinions known. Plus, he vaguely remembered Harry saying something about her joining the Environmental Club at school last year until cheerleading too up too much of her free time.
"So, you want to understand Conservation Biology a bit better," Peter concluded. "Makes sense."
"Well, yeah, but I also want to get into a good college. Can't do that with my current science grade."
"Okay, let's start there."
"You're not gonna laugh at me? Or tell me my dream is stupid?" Liz sounded genuinely surprised that he wouldn't mock her for having such lofty goals.
"Why would I do that? Your dream is your business."
"Sally did when I told her. Said I should just focus on my looks, they'd get me farther. I think she can't quite grasp anyone wanting to live a different way than she does. Flash just looked at me like I was insane."
Peter chuckled. "I think environmental might be too big a word for the quarterback to handle. And Sally, well, if she manages to be more than a trophy wife then I'd be surprised."
Liz looked like she wanted to both scowl at his casual insults of her friends, but couldn't help the smile that cracked her facade.
"But, it's more than that," Peter continued. "My uncle once told me that if you have the desire to do something good, if you have the ability to do something good, then it's wasteful not to do that something good. In other words, you have a moral responsibility to use your talents for the benefit of the world around you. Otherwise, what's the point?"
"You're uncle seems like a wise man."
"He was."
Liz paused for a second. "You know, Petey, you aren't at all how you come off at school."
Peter was surprised that anybody even thought about him at school, let alone that there may have been a prevailing opinion of his personality. "Yeah, being Flash's punching bag doesn't leave room for a more encompassing opinion."
"Well, at least we know the snarking isn't true," Liz deadpanned. "But, really, you aren't as arrogant and standoffish as I thought you were."
"Arrogant?"
"You didn't know?" Liz raised an eyebrow. "Always answering every question in class. Walking down the halls, with only Osborn, and a look that screams we're all beneath you. And there's how you talk to Flash."
"Flash is a bully."
"Yes, and I'm not defending him. But I think Flash is scared of you."
"Yeah, he seems real shook whenever I catch a right to the cheek," Peter rolled his eyes.
"I'm being serious. Flash has been praised his entire life for his athletic talent. He's never had to work for anything. It hasn't left him with a lot of humility. I don't think he knows how to deal with someone who outsmarts him without even trying. It has to scare him that he can't just punch your brain into submission the way he can everyone else in his life."
"That doesn't justify the way he acts towards me or any of the other geeks at school."
"You're right, it doesn't. I do hope that one day Flash will grow up and realize his flaws, but if it doesn't happen than I want a Plan B. Something that's mine in case Flash doesn't move past high school jock. That's why I'm here."
Peter smiled at her and was pleasantly startled to get a smile back. "Okay, then, let's get started."
"Let's," Liz responded. She spared him another glance. "Just because I told you this doesn't mean we're friends or anything Petey. I so don't want you coming up to me in the halls or anything."
Peter sighed. "I wouldn't dream of it."
…
Peter arrived home later that evening with a small smile on his face. His study session with Liz could have gone better, but it wasn't the disaster he was expecting when he arrived. Maybe he could get a friend out of this entire scenario.
As he arrived home after five, he found his aunt sitting in her favorite chair in the kitchen with a tea kettle on and their neighbor Anna Watson sitting across from her. Much like his own aunt, Mrs. Watson was widowed in her early forties. However, unlike Aunt May, Mrs. Watson was independently wealthy through her father and had no dependents living with her. So, it was anybody's guess what she did with her time when she wasn't visiting with Aunt May. Peter assumed a lot of soap opera were involved.
Still, Mrs. Watson was a nice enough woman, if a bit of a busybody. She was always asking if Peter had a girlfriend yet or if the girls in his school were blind. Peter appreciated the compliment, but could never really explain the perils of the high school geek to someone who had been a beauty contestant in her youth. Besides, he didn't want to worry Aunt May that he wasn't popular. She still thought he was friends with "little Eugene" from the down the street. He didn't have the heart to tell her that "little Eugene" grew into Flash and had been tormenting him since seventh grade.
Mrs. Watson smiled at Peter when he entered the room, her green eyes following him as he poured himself a cup of tea and sat down at the table. "Aunt May, Mrs. Watson. How are you ladies today?"
"Better now that you've graced us with your presence Pete. Shouldn't you be off on a date with one of your many admirers and not stuck here with us old women?"
"I don't have time to date Mrs. Watson. Need to keep my grades up and get a scholarship so I don't have to burden Aunt May."
"Nonsense, Peter, you aren't a burden," Aunt May responded.
"But he is responsible, not wishing to make you work any harder May. Such a nice young man. I bet your girlfriend has a hard time fighting the girls off."
"I don't have a girlfriend Ma'am," Peter responded as he done at least once a week since he started high school.
"No girlfriend? I'm shocked. Don't the girls at your school see what they are missing?"
"Don't torture the boy Anna," Aunt May chuckled with a smile and a shake of her head. "I'm sure when Peter decides to get serious about a girl she will see the qualities we've seen for years."
"I'd have to know a girl well enough to let her see those wonderful qualities."
Aunt May turned to look him directly in the eye. "That's simple, you just need to go on a date. Any girl would be lucky to go out with you."
"I'll make sure to tell them my aunt said so," Peter grumbled.
"Isn't your Homecoming dance coming up in a couple of weeks?" Aunt May pressed on, ignoring his barb. She was used to dealing with his humor by know. "Why don't you take a girl to that. You know, I met your uncle a week before our Junior Homecoming. My parents couldn't believe I said yes to that Parker boy. But, I'm glad I did."
Peter rolled his eyes. He had heard this story plenty of times by now. "I'm not you and Uncle Ben. Besides, I was planning on skipping it. There's a Miyazaki retrospective playing downtown that night that Harry and I are planning to see."
"Nonsense, Peter. You skipped all the dances last year. You aren't skipping this one."
"You know," Mrs. Watson piped up, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "He could always take my niece Mary Jane. She's coming to live with me and she'll be transferring into his school."
Peter suddenly felt trapped, as if he played into their hands. This was a planned attack and his spider-sense didn't save him. Sure, when he needed it the most it failed.
"That's true," Aunt May said in an exaggerated manner. "Why don't you take Mary Jane to the dance? I met her once, she's such a sweet girl."
"A sweet girl?" Peter thought. "When has that ever been code for something good?"
He couldn't help the shiver that ran down his spine.
End of Chapter Four
Sorry for the shorter chapter this time around. There is no character bio for right now, but next chapter will feature Eddie Brock. Until then, any and all reviews are appreciated. As are favorites or followings. Until then.