[GROWING PAINS] ARC

Chapter 4:

School Daze

Man, you don't know how you've survived this past week. Ever since you agreed to test what you can do with you new abilities with Gwen, she's been driven, like a gym teacher from hell!

Though, to be fair, it was pretty nice hanging out with Gwen.

Still, you have a rough idea of where you're at physically. You're able to do much more than you could before physically. You could run at a good speed like a marathon runner and your reflexes are like that of a gymnast.

There wasn't any good way to test how much you could lift in secret, but based on your tests so far you're sure you could lift a ton or two if you needed. And that's.. rather scary, so naturally, you've begun on making sure you've got that strength under control.

Overall, though, there hasn't been any strange mutations or deformities popping up, so looks like you're probably still in the clear. Still, you're getting blood samples taken by Gwen for the both of you every week or so to be sure.

So that's what you've started the past few days on. Well, that and school work. Naturally, that brings you back to the subject of Mr. Lee's offer. As in, should you take it or not? End of the day today is the deadline according to Mr. Lee, so you have some time to think about it still.

Also, Harry's still absent, but you did get word from him that he'll be back soon. Which, as always, is a relief. He's always in a funk when he's forced to do stuff like this by his dad, but hopefully it won't be too bad.

Still, it's about time you should be getting to school.

Hmm, you've been working on jogging to explain your physical fitness, so it'd be probably better to do that. You have enough time to have a leisurely jog, but maybe you could jog with Gwen?

You look over at the house phone and pick it up, looking at it. You notice that the phone's currently in use and let out a sigh. Aunt May's on the phone again, maybe she's almost done?

You slip on your glasses, modified to have fake lenses as to not arouse your aunt and uncle's suspicions, and slip down stairs to quietly see if she'll be done soon. You quietly near the kitchen and hear your aunt's voice, sounding upset.

"What do you mean that we're overdue? We paid that last week! I want to speak to your supervisor-"

You slip away, not catching any attention and let out a sigh. They've been trying to hide it from you, but now that you've been more perceptive about things you've been noticing it. They've been having problems with bills. Recently or for a while, you're not sure.

Looking back towards the kitchen, you give it one last look before heading out the door.

You break out into a run, trying to get to Gwen's before she heads out. You remember the shortest way to her house that you can think of and make your way there. As you run up the street, you see the school bus drive by and you see Gwen on it, reading. She doesn't seem to notice you, though.

You let out some deep breaths, resting your hands on your knees. Standing back up you start to make your way towards Midtown High. You let your mind wander as you jog, mulling over the different ideas in your head.

Should you take the tutoring position? What can you do to help your aunt and uncle out? Then there's still that problem of Smythe that looms over you distantly.

You arrive at school as you see Harry sitting out front, waiting for you. He gives you a wave as you jog up. "Pete, what's up? Did you miss the bus?"

You shake your head as you take a deep breath of air. "I've been working out more. Figured having some meat on my bones would help. Make sure I don't lose my natural skinniness, y'know?"

Harry nods his head as the two of you walk in, separating as you go to your lockers. Like it has been for the past few days, ever since Gwen threatened him, Flash has been leaving you alone. You grab your books for your next few classes and head to your first one, Chemistry with Mr. Lee.

You sit down and pull out your papers for the day, but you're rather distracted. Your jog only helped clutter your mind, not clear it.

You shake your head and take a deep breath, focusing on the classes ahead. You organize your notes and ready yourself for class as Mr. Lee walks in, looking cheerful as ever, starting class. You breeze through it and give him a nod as he reminds you to see him at the end of the day.

You sit through your other classes and easily pass them, even an easy pop quiz for history. At lunch, Harry's too busy playing Catch Up on his work he's missed to talk, so you sit and think about things. You give a wave to Gwen when you see in the halls, but today's pretty uneventful, thankfully.

When the last bell of the day has rung, you make your way towards Mr. Lee's classroom to speak with him. When you enter, he waves you over, drinking a cup of coffee from his thermos.

"So, Mister Parker, today's the last day I can give you. What's your answer? Are you going to be able to tutor Mr. Hardy or not?"

You think about it. Honestly, it would be a benefit to you academically, but any day you'd be tutoring would be a day you'd be busy, for the most part. Still, Mr. Lee's been more than fair to give you enough time to consider things, so you need to give him an answer.

You try to think of any reason you shouldn't, but you can't honestly, it's overall a net gain for you. You give him a nod. "Yeah, sorry about taking so long, Mister Lee, but I'll do it."

He gives you a grin. "Excelsior! That's great to hear! Now, I do need you to sign some papers here, here and here."

You look them over before signing them, its basically notes acknowledging that you will have to report in on how often you're tutoring for credit purposes. Nothing important. As you finish signing, you hand them back to Mr. Lee.

"Hey, Mister Lee, you wouldn't know of any places that'd hire me part time ,would you?"

He glances at you before looking upwards and shaking his head, giving a bitter smile. "If you were graduated and in college? Yeah, I could put a few words in at labs and get you in as an assistant or something. But considering that you're still a high school student and under eighteen, there's not much I can do for you. Sorry, Mister Parker."

You shake your head. "Thanks anyway, Mister Lee. What are the details of the tutoring assignment. Like, where should I meet Mister Hardy?"

Mr. Lee pulls out a paper and hands it to you. On it are a number, an address, and an overall schedule. There's a date on there for today and as you ask Mr. Lee about it, he shakes his head. "That's only if you want to go and meet Mister Hardy early, they don't expect you to tutor today. If you do, just give the number there a call and you'll be able to arrange it, alright?"

You give a nod as Mr. Lee packs up, grabbing his coat, briefcase, and thermos.

"Well then, Mister Parker, have yourself a wonderful day!"

You both leave the classroom as he locks it behind him and he heads off, whistling. You look down at the paper.

You make your way over to the school's phone and give the number a call. After a few rings you hear someone pick up.

"Hello?"

It the voice of an older man, with a bit of a British accent. "Yes, this is Peter Parker. I accepted the tutoring position for Felix, so I was wondering if today was a bad day for me to come over so I could meet him, discuss the schedule and see roughly where I should begin."

The man gives a note of assent. "Well, that should not be a problem. I'll be leaving soon, but Felix will be there. I'll make sure to let him know that you will be stopping by to talk with him. Do try to be here by five in the evening, will you? Was there anything else?"

"No, Mister Hardy."

"Very well. Thank you, Mister Parker. Goodbye."

He hangs up abruptly and you follow suit. Letting out a sigh you look at your watch. It's not even three yet. You could do something in the meantime or you could head home first.

You pick up the phone and call Gwen's cell phone. It goes to voice mail immediately, her phone must be off. You leave her a message telling her that you took the tutoring position for Felix Hardy and will have to schedule things around it in the future.

Hanging up, you decide to head on home to check in with Aunt May and go job hunting. Stopping by your locker, you grab everything you need before heading home. After a bit of a jog, you make it to your house and walk in. Calling out for your Aunt, there's no reply, so you check the bulletin board and see a note.

-"Peter, went over to Anna's for a while. Will not be back for dinner, your Uncle will be joining us for dinner there. Feel free to fix yourself something for dinner. If you have plans, please write me a note telling us where you'll be.

-"-Aunt May"

You quickly pick up a pen and paper and write a quick note to your aunt and uncle before going over to the basement door and opening it, turning on the lights. Walking down the stairs, you give it a look over. This house used to belong to your parents before… the accident. So, your Aunt and Uncle moved in and raised you. The basement still is about the same as always. It was your father's home lab, so he made sure it was as sealed and safe as a normal one.

Looking around, you see the boxes where his old equipment is kept. Naturally any chemicals were safely disposed of, but everything else was packed up by your uncle.

Eventually, you start heading over to the computer there and turning it on. As it boots up, you log in to the computer and open up the internet browser.

You have about an hour before you should head out. It's about three twenty, but it'd be better to head out with some time to spare.

You begin by writing yourself a resume. There's not much to put on it, to be honest, but it's still, it'd help. You finish it up before going website to website, filling out online applications for stores nearby you.

You start with fast food, considering that with your hours and some nights taken up by tutoring, it might be the best option. You're a bit limited by lacking a driver's license for several positions, especially delivery drivers. You get about five that look good as well as an application for a nearby bookstore cashier.

Filling them out, you think about maybe considering tutoring as a career if this one you've got works out. However, you're not too sure how to go about doing that yet. Still, it's worth considering.

As you finish up, you shut down the computer and give the room one last look over.

You shake your head and head up the stairs, turning off the lights behind you. Maybe one day you'll be able to use the stuff your father left behind.

Grabbing your old notes from your room, you head back downstairs and head out the door, making sure everything's locked up before you do so.

As you leave your house, you stretch before setting out. The Hardy's are in a different area and it'd take forever by bus, but on foot you might be able to make it with some time to spare. Well, that's the plan anyway.

You start jogging to the Hardy's residence, relying on the directions you printed out to get you there.

You jog up to the Hardy's property before stopping and more calmly walking to the door. The place is two stories and seems really secure, if the concrete wall around most of the property is anything to go by. It also seems to be built with someone handicapped in mind, if the ramp to the door is anything to go by.

You head up to the door and knock. After a few minutes, a voice buzzes on the speaker next to the door. The voice is faint and raspy. "…Who is it?"

You press the button to response and speak clearly into it. "This is Peter Parker. I'm here to introduce myself and set up the schedule for tutoring for Felix?"

There's no noise from the other side, but after a few moments the door opens automatically, revealing a young man with pale skin, short white hair, and red eyes leaning on a crutch. He gestured for you to follow with a pale, sleeved arm. "…C'mon, it won't stay open long."

His voice is raspy, like it isn't used often, and he speaks very softly and slowly. You step inside as the door begins to shut behind you, closing with an automated lock. He walks over to a nearby chair with a small table next to it and gestures for you to sit-down in the other chair next to the table.

"So, you're my tutor?"

His red eyes stare at you, as he nervously clutches at his cane.

"Y-yeah, I'm Peter. Peter Parker. W-we, uh, we had a couple of classes together, if y-you remember. It's nice to make your acquaintance."

You extend your hand to shake it, but he shies away from it, looking away. "I-I don't like being touched."

You pull your hand back and give an awkward smile. "So, I heard that you needed some help and that's why I'm here! Is there any thing in particular you wanna focus on in the first session?"

He shrugs, getting up and walking out. A few moments later he limps in, a book and notebook under his arm, setting them down on the table between you two. He slides over his rather large notebook. "That's where I'm up to."

You flip open the notebook and give it a look through. There's notes here and you can see, slowly, where he's begun to get things wrong and those problems begin to build up as the lessons continuing to pile up until he just quits. There's a lot of work needed to be done here. You look at the schedule and try to do some mental mathematics. While you might be able to fix things up, there's no way he could get up to par on everything by the time the year would end, not with the schedule you have.

You go through it again to be sure, but there's no mistaking it. There's just too much to have to teach him as things are.

You close his notebook and look over at him, as he watches you, chewing on his lip gently.

You look over at him. This guy's probably been given the kid gloves all his life, so the least you can do it be honest and direct about it.

"Unfortunately, with our current schedule we won't be able to get you caught up in time."

Before he can say anything, you raise up a hand to indicate you aren't done yet.

"Now we can either increase the amount of meetings or duration of our tutoring sessions, or just focus on a couple subjects. But, as things are, there's too much to catch you up on with the current schedule."

He stares at you as you look back at him. You don't give him a sympathetic smile, but you also don't give him a hopeless look. You flip open the notebook gesturing with a pencil.

"You see, the problem is that you didn't have the chance to get help earlier on and the problems have built up over time. You're smart, Felix, don't get me wrong, and I'll do everything I can, but there's no way I could lie to you."

He stares before shaking his head, a smile playing at his lips. "That's the first time in a while that someone's been that honest with me. It's… refreshing. Can I call you Peter?"

You give him a nod as he looks over at the notebook. "Honestly, I had about given up hope. There's been a few tutors hired for my by my father, but they'd only coddle me, so I got sick of them."

He picks up the schedule and looks it over, his slow, raspy voice sounding a bit warmer. "There's no way I can say for sure I'd be good every day, I have my ups and downs, after all, but whenever you're free to tutor me I'd appreciate it. And if you need to extend the durations, that's fine too. I can't pay you, but I could at least let you eat here on the nights we have to go for longer."

He runs his hand through his hair before setting down the paper. "…I'm probably not going to always be the easiest to work with, but I'd appreciate any help you could give me, Peter."

Slowly he brings up his hand as he bites his lip, extending it into a gesture to shake your hand. You carefully take his hand and shake it. His hand is soft, the skin very smooth and warm. After a second, he pulls away, clearly careful not to jerk his hand away, and clears his throat.

"So, would you like to start tonight, or would another time be preferable?"

You give him a smile, remembering that nobody is going to expect you home. "Tonight works for me, actually. I'll just leave a message at my house. Um, do you have a phone I could use?"

Felix raises an eyebrow amusedly before pointing over to another small table, where a phone is sitting on the hook. Picking it up, you quickly call your house and leave a quick message on the answering machine stating that you're going to be out for a bit because you're tutoring. Hanging up the phone, you return to your seat.

"Alright, so we have several subjects to cover here. Which should we start with?"

Seems like mathematics and sciences are his real problems, though he could always use some help having his English essays edited. So, you decide to start with the subject you're best at, chemistry. You go back to where you started to notice he was making mistakes and start from there.

"Alright, so we'll start with Chemistry."

You begin to explain to him, using the books, his notes as well as yours, his mistakes and how he got them.

It takes a little while for you to get how to connect with him and help him learn it, but you think you finally managed it. You start from the basics, basically, and start helping correct the errors he was making.

The two of you do stop through the session as he quickly makes a quick meal of canned chicken noodle soup with juice for you two, adamantly stating he'd refuse any help, before you two continue. Eventually, your watch beeps. Looking at the time, you see that its Nine at Night.

You finish up the rest of the lesson that you're on before you hand him your old notebooks for subjects such as history. "Here I have to get going tonight, but you can use these to help you catch up, if you'd like. I'll call you early in the day any day not scheduled to see if you're available if I'm available."

He takes the notebooks and gives you a grateful smile. "Thank you Peter."

You shake your head and give him a wave goodbye. As the door closes behind you with a locking sound, you head out into the streets at night, intent to make your way home as quickly as possible.

You head back towards your house, trying to follow the route back exactly by reversing the directions you followed.

At some point, you take a wrong turn and look around lost. Damn it, where are you? You frantically look around, trying to find the right place to go to.

"Something wrong, kid?"

You freeze and turn as you see a blond man in a black coat looking at you curiously. Seems like he had just left the nearby church from the direction he was walking from. Your spider sense doesn't seem to be going off though.

"Yeah. I'm trying to find my way home, but I think I'm lost."

The man looks concerned as walks closer to the light pole you're standing under, illuminating him. This person… you swear you've seen him before…

Yeah, you know this guy, definitely. It's been a few years, but back when your dad was alive you saw him when his father would visit. His name was…

"…Eddie Brock?"

He starts and looks at you before his eyes widen in recollection. "Holy crap, Peter Parker? That you?"

You nod your head as he grins. "How've you been, man? It's… been years."

You nod. The last time you two had seen one another was back when your parents' funerals happened. After that, you never really saw him much. "How have you been doing, Eddie?"

He lets out a sigh, rubbing at his hair. "I'd love to say I'm doing great. I'm a journalist at the Daily Bugle. Through hard work and effort I've managed to make my way up the ranks, but as I was doing an expose on crime, I was pulled off of it so Jonah could have me investigate more about this whole 'Black Cat' thing. Unfortunately, the guy covers his tracks and is apparently a master of disguise."

He gives you a wry grin. "So, naturally Jonah's been busting my balls. Guy's really worried and he has good reason to be. No-one's caught or stopped the Black Cat yet. For a man as proud as Jonah, the fact he's offering a reward is basically him on his knees begging for help."

He pauses, shaking his head. "Don't worry about any of that stuff though, alright? I was about to head home after mass. If you want, I could give you a lift. You do still live at the place in queens, right?"

/Edward Brock, an old friend of the family who works for the daily Bugle. He was almost like an older brother to you, but it's been years. Wonder how life's been treating him?/

You give him a smile. "Sure, Eddie. I'd appreciate it."

He nods, leading you over to a small white car with black accents. Its one of those hybrid cars you immediately notice. As you look at it, Eddie shoots you a look.

"Hey, don't say anything. It's very gas efficient."

You shrug. "What? it's a nice car."

Eddie relaxes, scratching at his ear again. "Sorry. I get crud about it from the guys at the Bugle. But Ann thinks it's cute, so y'know, its great."

"Ann?"

He grins, unlocking the car. "My girlfriend."

The both of you sit down and buckle in as he starts the car. After a few minutes, he spares you a glance. "I don't mean to pry, but what're you doing out here this late?"

You shrug. "I'm trying to get extra on my transcripts for college so I'm doing some tutoring. The student I'm helping is really behind."

Eddie lets out an 'Ah' of understanding. "So, Peter, I told you about Ann. You got anyone you like? I remember back when I was your age I was always awkward with talking to girls. A lot of people, actually. Had to get over that to become a reporter. You've got to be able to maintain your cool during the interview you see."

He pauses, shaking his head with a grin. "And there I go rambling again."

He shoots you a curious look.

You give a chuckle. "Haha, like I'd tell you. You'd use it to embarrass me, like you always did."

Eddie grins at you. "Yeah, I was a bit of a dick wasn't I? Well, you have my word whatever you tell me will not be used against you for a humorous piece in my next article. Reporter's honor."

You give him a hard look before letting out a sigh. "Y-yeah, there is. I don't know if she likes me but she's got long blonde hair, blue eyes, glasses, and she's really smart. She also thinks she's able to hide her beauty, but, honestly, she doesn't do a great job because she's beautiful."

Eddie grins as you flush. "Sounds like you've got it bad, Peter. So does this beauty have a name?"

You give a grin. "Yeah, her name's Gwen."

Eddie's eyes widen as he pulls over the car and stares at you long and hard, his pace pale. "Is her name Gwen STACY by chance?"

You nod as Eddie gives you a pained look, clapping a hand on your shoulder. "Good luck, buddy. You'll need it." He gets back onto the roads as you look at him. "Wait, what do you mean? Eddie?"

He refuses to answer, humming over your words. Soon enough the two of you arrive at your home. Eddie gives you a grin. "Well Peter, it was great seeing you."

You give him a nod before pausing. "Hey, Eddie, could you give me a way to get a hold of you? I'd like to keep in touch."

He pauses before nodding. "Sure, Peter. Got any paper?"

You pull out a notebook and a pen as he writes down some information. "There's my private email and cellphone, alright? Don't let those get out, but if you want to get a hold of me, that's the best way."

You give him a grin. "Thanks Eddie."

He grins back. "Any time, Peter."

You unbuckle and get out of the car and wave as Eddie drives off. You go towards your door and pull out your key, unlocking it. Stepping inside, you look around but the lights are off. However, your Aunt's coat is back on the hook and Uncle Ben's boots are by the door, so they're back already. Probably went to bed early.

You pause as you think about going up to your room before looking at the basement. You probably shouldn't, but your father probably had some books on chemistry down there. They might be worth a look.

You quietly climb the stairs to see if Uncle Ben is awake, only to be greeted by the sound of his loud snoring at the top. Quietly walking back downstairs, you head over to the basement door and open it, turning on the lights and going downstairs, closing the door behind you.

At the bottom, you turn on the computer and wait for it to boot up before saving Eddie's email as a contact in your email before shutting it back down and surveying the basement.

You open several boxes and find some basic books on chemistry or different subjects before closing them. You look around and when you finally go and find a box by the far wall, you notice something out of the corner of your eye. Its almost impossible to see, but with your better vision, you notice a hairline crack running along the wall, in the outline of a small door. Pulling on it with your fingers firmly attached, you get it to open. Inside, there's two things there. The first seems to be a hard drive from a computer that was removed and put into a ziplock bag.

The second was a bag with the words 'Property of Richard Parker' engraved onto it.

The dust in there makes it seem like they haven't been used for year.

END

To Be Continued

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