[GROWING PAINS] ARC

Chapter 7

Mask and Reforged Friendships

It's been four days since you came clean with Gwen. True to word, she's been helping you out more and more and the two of you have begun talking at school more regularly. Well, the two days you've been there, anyway. Currently, she unable to give you any more information- her father and the police are more tied up with the imminent Black Cat case.

In the mean time, you've been experimenting with your new 'webshooters' and have figured out how to use them well, somewhat. Gwen's helped out with that front some, having donated some money to the 'webfluid fund' so she can try it out. Currently, though, you're almost out of money. If anything happens to your webshooters, you're out of luck.

Other than that, though, you've been spending time with tutoring Felix Hardy, who seems to be applying himself decently enough. Though, probably with not much else to do than sit around his house, that shouldn't be too surprising.

This week, more and more, you haven't been seeing a lot of Uncle Ben and Aunt May. They seem to be helping out your next door neighbor, who is your aunt's friend, with something. They're not saying what, which makes you wonder. You're still worried about the bills, but Aunt May's been especially careful not to bring them up around you.

And speaking about money- all of you applications have been rejected. Figures. You spent last night watching the news- apparently Reed Richards and his crew had to be put under isolation because of exposure to something that happened during their flight. It was mainly press conferences- apparently they'll be contained for some , the search continues for Tony Stark.

Today is Tuesday morning and you're out the door again, wishing your Aunt a good day.

You quickly pause before you head out the door and double back to the phone and pick it up, dialing Gwen's number. After two rings she picks it up. "Peter?"

"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to jog to school together."

There's silence before she answers. "I probably won't be able to until this Black Cat case is taken care of. My dad's driving me to school until it's over. Sorry."

"Nah, it's fine. Sorry to bother you."

Her voice is cheerful as she responds. "No, it's no problem, see you at school."

You hang up the phone after she does and wave at Aunt May, who looks amused before heading out the door for real this time, jogging alone. You think about things on the way, such as how best to perform corporate espionage.

Maybe you should just wear a disguise.

With that thought in mind, you arrive at school and head to your locker and then to class.

You do what you usually do when Lunch eventually hits- you have lunch with Harry. Admittedly, you've been spending less time with him lately, but you've been… busy. You sit down across from him at lunch as he gives you a slight smile.

"Hey, Pete. How's it going?"

He tries to keep the old atmosphere up, but there's an odd tension between the two of you. Maybe it's because you've been spending less time with him, or maybe its because you suspect his father had a hand in killing yours. Either way, you should still at least try to connect with him.

You give him a weak smile. "Hey, Harry. Sorry I haven't hung out with you much lately."

He shakes his head. "Nah, it's cool. You're after a girl and tutoring. You're more busy is all."

You shake your head. "No, its not. We're friends, so it isn't okay for me to not be a good friend just because I'm busy. We should try to do something like we used to sometime. Maybe after all this Black Cat stuff's cleared up."

You shake your head. "Gwen's all troubled by it because of her dad. Has yours said anything about it?"

Harry lets out a sarcastic laugh. "Him? The only thing he's said is 'The Black Cat would be a fool to make an enemy of me.'"

He mimics his father's cold and detached, almost arrogant, voice before shaking his head. "But, yeah, I see your point. Hmm… how about in like week he hit up the arcade near your house? It'd give things time to calm down and enough time for me to try to clear it with 'the Boss.""

You nod without hesitating. "Sure, sounds fun."

Harry gives you a grin and looks happier than you've seen him in a while. "Great, Pete."

He bites into his sandwich and starts talking to you about a girl he saw the other day and you listen and comment. Seems like things are back to normal. Well, closer, anyway.

The rest of the day passes rather normally. When it's over, you pack up your bags. Today's a tutoring day with Felix. You have about two hours before you have to head over to his place. Gwen's busy until the Black Cat's situation is defused.

You head over to the phones at school. You're more careful of the phones, watching who has been using them. Mainly it's been people who are on the football team, it seems.

When the last person using it leaves, you call Felix's number. "Hello?"

You hear Felix on the other end. "Hey, Felix, it's Peter. Do you mind if I head over early today?"

"Today?"

His voice sounds a bit uncertain. "Well, if it's a problem, then-"

"N-No! It's fine. You can come on over early, Peter."

His voice sounds a little worried, but quickly calms down. "Alright, if you're sure."

"I am. See you when you get here. Bye."

You hang up after the call's done and head out the door. You start making your way to Felix's- the more you've visited it, the more familiar the way to and from has become. On the way, you see how much more livelier things are- the black cat's selling papers and getting things more and more revitalized.

The news on papers and tv you see are all the same- J Jonah Jameson offering a cash reward for anyone who stops the Black Cat. The reward seems to have gone up too, it's at a thousand dollars. Seems like he's really getting worried.

Eventually, you knock on Felix's door and you're let in. The place seems a little messier than usual and Felix looks a bit flushed as he leans on a crutch.

"Hi, Peter."

You look at him, concerned. "Are you alright, Felix?"

He blinks before nodding slowly. "Yeah, why?"

You head in as the door closes behind you as you look in his eyes. "Well, you look a little flushed is all. Are you sure you're up for this?"

Felix nods again. "Yeah. I had to clean up a little. It isn't as clean as I'd like but I didn't have as much time."

You watch him carefully for any sign of deceit, but his eyes are honest and clear. You nod in understanding and go to your usual spot to begin tutoring him. Felix follows in his spot, books already sitting there.

The tutoring session is successful. Even though Felix seems a little distracted, you seem to be able to keep him focused and on track. You discuss what he's worked on since the two of you lest met and go over it, correcting what he got wrong and discussing why it was wrong and how to do it right. Following that, you began on the next lessons for several subjects.

You end up going over the normal time limit but neither one of you seems to mind. Eventually, though, Felix seems to be getting worn down. You're also finding it harder and harder to continue. Wrapping up the session, you get up and stretch, looking at your watch. It's past seven and it's evening.

Felix looks over at you. "Would you like to stay for dinner before you head out?"

You nod. "Sure, but let me call home first, make sure it's fine with aunt May."

Felix nods as you head over to the phone and call your house the phone rings until it reaches the answering machine. Leaving a message that you'll be eating out for the night, you hang up with a sigh.

"Something wrong?"

You turn to see Felix watching you as you give him a weak grin, shaking your head. "Nah, my Aunt and Uncle have been kind of busy lately. It's strange, I'm used to them always being around."

Felix nods. "I had to get used to it when my father started having to work more after my health stabilized some. It's a bit lonely at times. It's nice to have someone to talk to."

You nod as the two of you walk over to the kitchen, you helping out Felix to prepare the food. While you're setting out the bowls, you hear Felix hiss in pain and you turn to see him holding his right hand. There's a bit of a burn on the side of his hand.

"You alright?"

He nods, moving over to the sink and putting his hand under the running water. "Yeah. Just a slight burn is all."

Wrapping up his finger, he continues working. The two of you sit and talk, mainly about tutoring, before the meals eventually draws to a close.

You go and get your things, double-checking the schedule. "So, the next session's Monday, right?"

Felix nods and smiles. "Yeah. Have a safe journey home, Peter."

You nod as he walks you to the door. "You too, Felix."

You head on home after the door closes behind you as you think about costumes, Norman Osborn, bills, and the Black Cat's reward.

END

TO BE CONTINUED...

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