Here we are. A month later. Apologies for what seems to be my schedule not being consistent. I'm blaming it on a combination of this being my first story and me falling into the temptation that is video games and anime.
That said, my goal of 10k was reached without me needing to pad out the chapter. I hope this also shows more of the character's feelings in a believable way and setup how future interactions might go!
Beta'd by my friend LastRonin
Peter Parker - Parker Industries
Peter was feeling great and totally not awkward from yesterday's events repeating in his head now that he was done fighting for Earth. He was in his office, the black widow and its terrarium off to the side. At the same time, he worked on the finishing touches for the schematics of his Parker Particle Generator and its sibling, the Parker Particle Absorber.
It was coming along nicely. He planned to share it with his dad and mom tomorrow to get the ball rolling on its inevitable showcase.
'Now, about how to handle the excess power…'
Snkt!
Peter popped his head above his monitor to check who came in and grinned.
Susan entered dressed in a white blouse and black dress skirt with matching heels, carrying a clipboard.
"Hey, Sue!"
The woman grinned in response. "Hey, Peter." She moved around his desk to speak with him properly.
"I wanted to speak with you abou— What is this?" She said in wonder, immediately forgetting what she came for and the term personal space, scooting up behind his head to view the schematics inadvertently leaning on him.
'Gahhhh! Soft!'
"Uh, Sue. You're kinda touching me." Peter stammered.
'If I were actually my age, I'd be jumping for joy. Instead, I'm sitting here criticizing the fact that I feel self-conscious of my body in relation to females even more than normal.'
"What? Oh, I'm sorry Peter. I just wanted to get a better look." She backed away with a light blush, and shook her head. "Your machine, though. It's…" She roamed her eyes over the schematics again. "Peter, it's fantastic if it can work. But I have to ask. How do you know it will work? I feel like we would have noticed you working on something like this before."
Peter smiled sheepishly. "Ah, you see, this is in theory only for now. But the science of it checks out."
The blonde was incredulous. "Really?"
Peter nodded emphatically. "Really, really. If it helps, these aren't the final designs, just prototypes or mockups, if you will."
Seeing that she seemed unconvinced, he tried giving her a charming smile, not noticing her face slightly redden. "Tell you what, when I start building it, or at the very least a small-scale version of it, I'll show you that it works and go into more detail. Sound good?"
Eyes wide, Susan shook her head before giggling. "Sure, it's a date."
Peter felt a part of him jolt before shaking his head.
'She obviously means it as a joke. And she's my best friend's sister; I'm sure she doesn't mean anything more than that, she's seen enough of Johnny and I's antics to last a lifetime…we're bound to make her feel like pulling her hair out, her being interested in me would exacerbate that. Plus, she's older than me.'
Satisfied with his logic, completely ignoring thoughts of Silver that should have similar reasons, Peter beamed back and leaned into the joke. "Yup. Make sure to dress your best. I heard the place is expensive! We don't want to look out of place."
Susan snorted before shaking her head. "I'll be sure to dress in my workplace best."
They both laughed before letting the moment wash over them.
'This is nice… I missed this.'
Susan, though, did remember why she came to the office and asked. "But I wanted to ask if you could double-check my designs here for our latest design of prosthetic limbs. Dr. Connors has been a boon, and other than his asking to move into more biological forms of limb replacement, he said that my current design needs to account for…."
Peter smiled and listened as Susan continued explaining before looking over the clipboard and explaining his thoughts combined with Connors' words, as said by Sue.
'Yup, life is good.'
The memory and phantom feeling of Umar's lips and tongue washed over him; he winced internally but continued the conversation.
Susan Storm
"–let me know if it works or not, okay?" Peter finished with a grin.
'Gah, the smile is back.'
Susan grinned back. "Sure, thank you Peter." She turned to leave before hesitating. "Actually, Peter. Can I ask you something?" She turned back around, noticing his curious face, and felt her face heat up.
'Cute… wait, don't make it weird. Gotta wait for that Susan. A year and a half to go. Just a year and a half to go.'
She tapped her clipboard. "There a reason you haven't spent as much time with me?" Peter's face, if possible, showed even more profound confusion, and was that a hint of concern?
'You weren't supposed to make it weird, Sue!'
"And Johnny!" She quickly added. "I know it hasn't been that long since we've seen each other, but I'm not ashamed to admit I miss your company." She let out a laugh. "And anyone with a brain can see that Johnny is more bored than normal without you to hang out with as well. So maybe we can try to schedule a time after Johnny lets out of school?"
As she finished, Peter's face went through many emotions: surprise, remorse, pensive, and sheepishness. "You know what, you're right. My dad even brought it up to me yesterday." He rubbed the back of his head. "I asked for us to have a get-together a couple of days ago, and he asked me if I wanted to invite you and Johnny to it tomorrow."
Sue felt excitement flood through her. 'Wait… but I'm just hearing about it.' Her excitement quickly changed to a chill, her mind jumping to a hurtful conclusion.
"I didn't want to overwhelm my Aunt and Uncle with too many people last minute, so I told him no…" He winced, trailing off as though expecting her to lash out at him.
'Oh, that was all?' The tension she felt drained away. 'It was just a matter of him being considerate to his family…' If it were anyone else, she would take it personally and start reading into their words, maybe, depending on her mood. But she's known Peter for most of her life, and while he can be a little blunt or honest in his reasoning, he was precisely that when he spoke. So it was easy not to take his comment to heart.
"Peter," Susan began genially, "it's fine. I know you don't mean anything further than what you say when you speak to me." At seeing him calm down, she smiled. "I take it then that you mean to ask if Johnny and I want to go?"
The young man sighed in relief. "Yeah, pretty much."
Smirking, Susan shook her head.
'This boy.'
"I think now you're getting into the territory of inconveniencing your Aunt and Uncle if it's this last minute." She said gently.
"Ah." Peter blushed. "You're right. I'm sorry, Sue."
"It's okay." She smiled again. "How about we meet another day?"
"Sure! Maybe this weekend? That is, if Johnny doesn't have anything going on. And you as well."
"Works for me. I'll ask Johnny, but I'm positive he'll be free. Should we pick you up from your house, or will you find a way to ours?" Susan asked, knowing that until Peter hits sixteen, he's limited in the distance he can travel by himself in a timely manner.
He seemed to mull the decision over his head before deciding. "Yeah, if you could pick me up, that would work. What are we doing though? Movie? Meal?"
She shrugged. "Both? I think Johnny might want to go for a movie and meal or vice versa."
Peter nodded, "Alright, sure. Sounds good." He smiled. "See you this weekend then."
Susan felt giddy at seeing him smile and her face redden again. "Yup, see you tomorrow! Looking forward to our date!"
Seeing his confused face, she cursed inwardly and laughed it off. Badly. At least to her ears.
'God, it sounds awful.'
Thankfully Peter bought it and chuckled as well and made to say something before his phone rang. Smiling in apology, he waved goodbye as he answered the phone. "Yellow?"
Blushing in a combination from her social faux pas and still feeling slightly giddy at seeing his wonderful smile Susan let herself out with a wave. After hearing the clean Snkt at the door closing, she leaned her head against the nearest wall and let out a muffled but short scream.
'Ugh, that could have gone better.'
Susan sighed before composing herself. No use worrying over the moment anymore. She knew once she chose to wait before pursuing Peter that she'd feel awkward on her end in their interactions, and other than her mother, she was still uncertain if the rest of their family members would be accepting if Peter did enter a relationship with her.
The blonde walked toward the elevators trying to keep her mind calm.
'Not to mention there's no guarantee that Peter will be interested….'
Susan shook her head as she entered the elevator.
No! She needed to be calm; waiting to pursue romantic relationships, in general, was the optimal choice for her anyways, let alone waiting till Peter would be of age.
As the elevator descended to her floor, she went over why her choice wasn't just emotional— inadvertently reminding her of her conversation with her mother, who grilled her about her feelings.
She was one of the youngest doctorate owners her age; few could boast of her accomplishment as their own. Peter's fields of interest just so happened to coincide with hers regardless. 'But would you have been motivated to do so if they didn't? How many conversations were you able to start thanks to moving into Biophysics? '
Susan shook her head again, getting flustered. So what if it brought up more options for them to talk together outside of Johnny? I-It was healthy that they could start conversations outside of Johnny. It's not like she's hoping it's showing Peter they could have more in common. She pointedly ignored that Peter and she have always had conversations outside of Johnny.
The elevator dinged as she made her way back toward her office, smiling at the few coworkers she did have on her floor.
Are you sure you don't want to date other guys? Her mother's words rang in her head, causing her face to stiffen as she hurriedly moved to her office.
It wasn't like she didn't get propositioned by other men during her time in high school and college. Ignoring the ones lusting after her only, turning down guys that were just as career driven and would have been okay with her doing her own thing was utterly rational, t-th-they wouldn't have worked out anyways. They were obviously just interested in her body, or they would have tried getting to know her before asking her out. She ignored that some of her male friends confessed to her once she was of age, causing her to let them down gently and only one aggressively, saying she already had someone she was interested in dating.
Sitting at her desk with a sigh, she glanced at the photos she had on display to distract her. Her family, of course, took holiday portraits without fail, much to Johnny's chagrin, and she had their fourth of July one displayed currently as it was the most recent. She had one of even just them, the Storm siblings as well.
Next to it was one with the Parker family, Johnny in between her and Peter with his arms wrapped around their necks as he grinned excitedly while Peter and she seemed to smile at each other exasperatedly. Their parents were smiling behind them.
The following picture was of her, Peter, and Johnny caught laughing at a carnival while they ate, Peter's mother capturing the moment as Peter finished telling a joke. Her heart swelled, and she palmed her phone before deciding to open it and look through her gallery before moving toward the most recent picture of Peter and her.
It was a selfie and more of the spur-of-the-moment thing; Peter's mom asked what he was doing since he wasn't home, 'Sometimes he can be forgetful…' and because they were waiting for Johnny to come down the stairs, she decided to be playful and pull him into a hug before snapping the photo and sending it to his mother with the message waiting for Johnny, ignoring how weird it can be taken since she asked Peter. She happened to see it as he opened his phone. Peter looked shocked but peaceful while she smiled at the camera. 'You're lucky his mother didn't say anything further than have fun with an emoji for laughing.'
Susan smiled to herself before closing the gallery and pocketing her phone. She had others where Peter wasn't so surprised to be hugging her and even some of just Peter himself… but it wouldn't be appropriate for her to display those pictures like that on her desk. 'At least for now.'
The final thought was her undoing, and she facepalmed. 'Ugh I'm hopeless…'
The young woman sighed to herself and straightened. 'Dr. Connors and Peter have both given you some advice on our new designs. Back to work, Sue.'
As the young woman started getting to work on building her schematics for prosthetics, she comforted herself with thoughts of cherishing Peter's presence in her life at the very least. After all, without him, she'd still be feeling invisible.
Peter Parker
As Susan left, Peter smiled to himself while the caller responded to his greeting and let out an airy laugh.
"Hello to you too, Peter!" Liz greeted her smile coming through clearly from her voice.
"What can I do for you?"
"Welllllllll…You missed 'tutoring' the group last week, and I was wondering if you were free to come sometime this week?" Liz asked, her voice becoming noticeably nervous at the end.
Peter grimaced.
His first week back, and he was already feeling the stress of having to schedule and make time for his friends. 'There's Xavier's kids as well, who are probably missing me….'
A sense of fondness spread through him; it was nice to be wanted. Though, if his experience has taught him anything, it's that something almost always seemed to crop up when trying to make time for his friends or family.
"... You know what, Liz, how about I come by today?" Peter said suddenly, hoping he wasn't silent for long.
"You are?" she said in confusion before excitement bled through her tone. "I mean, you are; that's great! I totally aced my previous chem exam, by the way! So like, you won't need to spend as much time going over my work." She huffed. "Jessica and the others also might have passed their tests with flying colors."
Peter smiled. "Really? That's great, Liz. If you all don't need help with anything, then we can see about just having lunch and hanging out."
The teen hummed her agreement. "Mhmm. Guess I'll see you when I see you. Later, Petey!" she giggled.
"Yeah yeah, see you soon, Liz." Peter said before hanging up the phone. He sighed, taking a moment to relax for a bit, his day about to get hectic dealing with teens.
'Better call Principal Davis to let him know I'm coming by today… I should bring Silver as well.'
Peter sent a text to Silver asking her to meet him in his office before calling Midtown and being directed to the principal as he was free.
"Hello, Principal Davis speaking," an aging voice greeted.
"Hey, Principal Davis, it's Peter."
Silver Sable
"–nt the patrols to be on the new schedule by tonight. Mr. Fox's 'found' plans to infiltr–" Silver cut herself off as she heard her phone chime that she had received a text message. She opened her phone and saw it was from Peter.
Can you meet me in my office? Need to take you with me somewhere. P.
The silver-haired woman felt a heat suffuse from her core as her imagination jumped to illogical conclusions.
She'd walk in, greeted by Peter capturing her mouth with his own, his co–
"Ma'am?" The guard on the other end of the radio asked, interrupting her fantasy before she could get carried away.
"Huh?" Silver shook her head. "Oh, yes. Mr. Fox's 'found' plans. Thanks to our source, we know he and Mr. Hardy will attempt to gain access through two points, and the new guard rotation and schedule take that into account." She paused, gathering any essential items for going out with Peter. "I have to attend an event with Mr. Parker now, but call me if any complications arise."
"Roger, Ma'am." A different guard acknowledged.
Silver nodded, mainly to herself, at having everything to leave her office before she paused and spoke into the radio again.
"I shouldn't need to say this, but because some of you are still new hires and may act rash in the heat of the moment. In reality, Mr. Fox and Mr. Hardy are not trying to steal from Parker Industries. If and only if you are unsure of an intruder's identity, you are to ask them the code of the day and wait for the appropriate response as Mr. Fox and Hardy do not want to cause a real issue. If you receive it, proceed as usual for Red vs. Blue interactions. If you don't, don't kill them unless your life is in danger or they leave with an object deemed lethal."
"Understood." A chorus of guards responded.
With that, Silver left her office within the guard station and headed to Peter's office. Taking the time to empty her mind and relax before she needed to be vigilant.
Snkt!
"– Great! We'll be there by lunch." Peter said smoothly, throwing a wave to Silver as she walked in before hanging up.
"Be where exactly?" She asked, moving to stand next to him, and noted the schematics he had up.
'Huh, that's a lot of electricity.'
She shrugged mentally before staring at him expectantly.
"Midtown High School. I missed going last week, and Elizabeth called me asking if I was going this week. Decided why not today, ya know?"
'Ah.'
Silver nodded. "Understood, I'll get the car started; you can join me when you're ready."
Quickly turning to leave, she caught that Peter winced and grew puzzled.
'Did my hair hit him in the face? Why would he – oh' Silver's face changed into a grimace as she remembered her last interaction with Peter.
'Does he think I'm still upset?'
After getting to the garage and starting the car, Silver frowned as she waited for Peter to arrive.
If anything, the sparring session removed any lingering feelings of anger and hurt.
While yes, he seemed to be still holding back during their spar, he was almost superhuman in his performance still, to say the least. From the outside looking in, it might have looked like Peter could only beat her by surprise for the first round and then simply was more skilled than her in subsequent rounds as she started landing more hits.
From Silver's view, that was not the reason she lost; she winced internally; okay, her pride was talking there. Peter was probably more skilled than her, so that was also a part of her reason for losing; it wasn't as if he tanked every hit or swung wildly. He expertly dodged, parried, or deflected her blows, capitalized on those openings, or even created his own. Going beyond that though, every time she hit him, and he would recoil, it felt like she was hitting a wall. 'A wall of muscle…'
Silver slammed her head against the steering wheel with a sigh and cursed her body for going into…baser instinct territory. She closed her eyes and continued her train of thought, deciding to ignore it for what it was.
Ignoring his… durability. There was also his strength; while his blows hurt, Silver felt the power he didn't transfer in each hit and knew he was holding back more than what a spar should constitute.
Not to mention his speed, his limbs almost seemed to be blurred as he moved, and it was a wonder she didn't get tagged more.
And finally, his endurance. He was unbothered from over an hour of almost constant fighting while Silver was sweating up a storm. While she could have continued, that is not normal for a human; even ignoring their biological differences, an ordinary manshould have worked up just as much of a sweat.
Suffice it to say that Peter was very different compared to just a few days previously.
Combined with his sudden interest in a spider, which coincidently looked like it could fit into the palm of his hand. 'He looked pained while grasping the back of his neck and was adamant about not opening his palm….'
Her eyes widened as she remembered the new vigilante swinging around the city. 'Could it be? The man seems otherworldly in his movements, but so far, he favors his 'webs' to take down his foes.' The woman frowned in thought and leaned back in her seat.
She shook her head, noting that Peter was arriving, and straightened. He entered the passenger seat and gave her what might be a smile, if cautious, and simply motioned his head to leave as he placed his new backpack behind the seat.
The woman winced again but acquiesced and started the path towards what might as well be Peter's high school.
Not wanting to turn on the radio, she glanced at Peter and noticed he seemed to be deep in thought himself and continued her train of thought.
'If Peter is this Spider-Man, would that affect my image of him? No. Well, it'd make me worry about his health… Unless he thinks I am that much of a stickler for laws?' The silver-haired woman glanced at her charge, who gave her a sheepish smile at noticing her attention.
'Ugh…' She couldn't help herself and felt herself blush before smiling tentatively back and focusing on the road. 'It's the only thing that makes sense and honestly does fall in line with him; Peter always seems to see the best in people. Though I think it's naive of him to view me that way. I have leaned on him after all to discuss some contracts. Not all of them would be allowed here.'
Silver glanced at him again and nodded. 'Doesn't hurt to ask, and this silence is stiffening.'
"Peter," She started, gaining his attention as he raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you the vigilante Spider-Man?"
The young man choked on air and started a coughing fit. After making sure to pull them over, now in a neighborhood, Silver waited for him to finish.
"W-What?"
"Are you the vigilante Spider-Man?" Silver asked again, handing him a bottle of water which he took gratefully.
The woman snorted internally at seeing his face contort through different emotions: Surprise, fear, worry before he took a breath and asked. "What makes you think that?"
Seeing that he was fine, she continued driving; he did say he wanted to be there before lunch.
"Your physicality has changed to something beyond human limits. Which the vigilante Spider-Man has showcased. In addition, you have a pet spider." At seeing his incredulous stare, she had to fight a blush. "It's not wrong to think that Spider-Man might be interested in spiders. It is his motif, after all." He nodded in agreement.
"So is that all?" He asked, looking at her in surprise. As though he couldn't believe she was guessing him being a vigilante at so few points.
Silver glanced at him, "Honestly? There are a few more, like his appearances coinciding with you leaving the building almost daily. You suddenly carry a backpack—" She paused, noticing him tense but said nothing, "— as he seems to wear bulky armor. But ignoring all that, it was also your behavior leading up to and after the expo. Combined with the spider, which I'm assuming must have bit you, it fits."
She sighed as she parked them in the school parking lot. "So am I right?"
Once again, Peter seemed to be fighting within himself. 'It's normally harder to see what he's thinking….' He sighed, seeming to center himself.
"Yes." He stated clearly, staring at her waiting to see her reaction.
Silver frowned. Other than now having to keep a secret, she felt no different towards him. Knowing he wanted to fight criminals instead of just creating products that saved lives or made lives easier did not instill her with a sense of an image change, let alone a negative one.
"So why did you think—"
"Silver," he interrupted, a haunted look entering his eyes. "Me being a vigilante isn't the thing I'm worried will change how you think about me. While I'm surprised you were able to figure it out, my worry about that is your safety."
Silver couldn't help the look of anger she gave him at those words but let him finish.
He closed his eyes as though pained. "That's not a dig at your skills or ability to kick someone's ass." He sighed before continuing. "Look, ignore that comment. You'll know what I mean by it later. What I'm worried about is…." He trailed off, again looking at her as though pained. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I won't tell you right now. You wouldn't believe me even if I did."
The mercenary felt the unfamiliar anger of him closing up again and made to say something before noticing his eyes; despair filled them as though he genuinely believed that whatever secret he had would irrevocably change how she thought of him. She felt her heart weep in sympathy and her eyes wettened as well.
She calmed herself. Noting how Peter waited patiently for her to say something, even if they were now running a few minutes late.
While Silver has never felt as though she couldn't tell Peter about any part of her life, she understood that he was mature enough to grasp his own feelings, and if he felt he couldn't tell her about his, that was on her to correct.
"Peter," the young woman started, moving her hand to caress his face before grasping it to ensure he stayed looking at her. Probably too forward, but she liked to think it helped convey her words. "I will keep to what I said earlier about waiting for you to speak to me about it when you're ready. I only asked about you being a vigilante because it was the most outrageous thing I could think of that coincided with your changes." She paused to stare into his hazel eyes with her cerulean ones, hoping he saw the sincerity of her following words. "But I think you should also know that there is absolutely nothing you can say to me that will change how I view you as the kind, thoughtful young man who I—" Her breath hitched 'Who I love.' "—who I care for deeply." 'Coward.' "So please don't be afraid to tell me anything. I promise you I will always be by your side."
Instead of her words calming him down, Peter became agitated, and a tear escaped his eye before he grasped her hand in his own and gently removed it from his face. "Silver, I…" He trailed off and squeezed her hand though to let her know he was merely thinking, and his face showed that he was thinking over his words.
"Thank you. I will cherish those words for probably the rest of my life." Silver felt her lips move into a smile but waited for him to finish. "I'll…I'll tell you next week. Let me know when you are free for the entire day. What I have to say is going to be heavy regardless if your image of me doesn't change."
Progress. "You already know my schedule." She said with a warbly smile.
He smiled weakly in response. "Humor me."
She glanced at the time from her phone before responding, "I'll let you know a day that works later. Your friends are already missing you."
Nodding, he pulled out a napkin and offered it to her, and she looked at him questioningly.
"I'm not the only one who started crying, Silver." Peter said jokingly, grabbing his backpack.
The woman reached a hand up to her face and felt that he spoke the truth, her cheeks wet with tears.
'Huh, not since my mother….'
Silver wiped her face and reached to squeeze Peter's arm. "Thank you. Now let's go."
Flash Thompson - Midtown High
Flash grumbled to himself mindlessly as he picked at a flaking letter on his hoodie (school colors, of course). Trying to ignore the rest of the group, he sat with: Jessica, the relatively new one in the group, who was trying to fit in with the more popular girls, Sally and Liz. Jason and the others already left due to Peter being a no-show. He glanced again at the clock, hoping the hour would pass without dealing with Peter.
'How did I get roped in with these losers again? Heck, why am I staying here?'
Oh, that was right; it's because of his grades, he thought to himself irritably. Why did he need to worry about grades when he was the school's star quarterback? Flash would like to see the other students pull what he did.
But the teachers and even his coach have told him he needed to stay here, regardless of Peter showing up, as a sign of commitment. If he wanted to remain on the team he needed to put in the work academically. Which is where Peter came in. The nerd. The rich kid, the one the girls wanted, at least the girls Flash wanted to look his way.
He glanced at the now laughing girls, something about Peter passing through their lips.
'Ugh.'
It was sickening that Peter had it all.
The brains? He might as well be God's gift to the science world to hear the girls speak of it.
The muscle? Even when they were kids, Flash joined 'the group' 'Peter's group…' they all seemed to rely on him if he was available. Flash was still considered the backup for all his work put into his body.
The social standing? He was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Liz and Sally adored him, arguably some of the most popular girls at school. Not to mention the general student body and school staff.
Family? A bombshell of a mom who cared for him, a role model of a dad, and an adorable little sister.
He was lucky.
And to top it all off…
"Hey everyone, sorry for arriving so late. But I talked to the principal, and I have some passes for you guys— Huh, where'd everyone else go?" Peter asked, taking a seat next to the girls, his bodyguard, 'Silver or something?' faded into the background, a look of annoyance crossing her face when staring at Peter surrounded by the girls.
'Trouble in paradise? Maybe I could get in on that.'
"— Ah, oh well, sucks for them. The principal let me keep you guys for the remaining time plus another hour as long as you turn in these passes. I ordered us a pizza as well, so it looks like you all get some extra slices!" The charming man continued.
…He was kind.
"We don't need your pity for being late, Peter." Flash let out with a scowl. Aggravated that someone could have such a fulfilling life.
Peter only smiled in response, meeting his aggression with kindness. "It's not me pitying you at all, Flash; I'm simply taking responsibility for making you all wait when I made you a promise to be here."
Flash scowled that Peter didn't rise to the challenge. Peter was making him look like a chump. 'Bastard.'
"Anyways, you guys need any help on your homework before the pizza gets here? Liz already told me that you all passed your tests. Congratulations, by the way!" The annoying young man continued.
Jessica beamed and hugged the notebook she thought she hid well enough from everyone that had the letters "P+J" written on the top before speaking. "Um, nope, not from me, Peter. I mean unless you'd like to review it quickly." As the girl finished, she brought out a couple of paper sheets before showing them to the boy, placing
Not to be outdone; Sally and Liz also brought out their homework. Causing Peter to let out a laugh as he sorted it before looking expectantly at Flash.
The blonde young man let out a grimace before handing over his homework. Knowing he wasn't as academically inclined as the girls. It wasn't his fault that the teachers put so much emphasis on homework that he lost interest in trying.
Accepting the paper, Peter hummed under his breath, glossing over the matching assignments before letting out a smile.
"I don't think you guys will need to worry about your homework. You guys have answered these pretty well." He said with a beam towards them all.
Flash felt his face move into a grin and let the smugness rule over him. "Heh, I guess you don't need to check up on us so often then."
The girls each let out a horrified look toward Flash, but he only had eyes for Peter, who, once again, only let out a laugh. "Well, that'll be nice then, wouldn't it Flash? I'll only need to come by and hang out instead of spending time making sure you all do well in school." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "After all, we don't need to tell the school I'm soon unneeded unless that overcame the perks of me being here, wouldn't you say?"
As if he timed it, which Flash wouldn't put past him, Silver returned, 'When did she even leave?', carrying a few boxes of the pizza Peter promised.
"Perfect timing, Silver!" The cheery young man exclaimed.
"No thanks." Flash said with a scoff. His body then decided it would betray him once it smelt the aroma of the pizza and let out a loud grumble.
The girls looked at Flash before giggling, causing him to scowl as his face burned.
Peter, the bastard, only handed him a plate of pizza without changing his expression or saying anything.
Flash wanted to scream in embarrassment and anger, but his body did the opposite and easily accepted the food, and he muttered a word of thanks.
Peter passed back their homework and smoothly changed topics to about their hobbies, making sure they all had a chance to speak and felt included.
It was infuriating.
'Perfect Peter Parker. Whywhywhywhywhywhywhy!? Why him!?'
By the time Flash left the group his belly was full and he still had some lingering pride in getting his homework done, but the lingering anger was there and he had no outlet.
"Hey Flash, hold up." Liz asked angrily behind him.
'Ugh…'
"Look Liz, if you're here to tell me off for mentioning that we won't need Peter eventually I don't want to hear it. You gotta get your head out of the clouds and realize that we aren't going to follow him around forever." Flash spat out with a frown.
"What?" She asked confused, before her face settled into a scowl. "No, it's not about that. We all know Peter won't be helping us like this forever. This is about how you still have a problem with Peter after all this time. When you were the one to come in and try to push him around on the playground we all might have laughed not knowing any better, but you have to remember as well as I do Mrs. Parker's fury and our parents afterward. We're lucky Peter chose to stay friends with us after that!. I thought maybe it was just your pride holding you back after all this time, but even when you're reaching what might as well be your peak you're still this asshole toward Peter. What's your problem with him? You aren't like this with anyone else, just Peter."
Flash listened to her impassioned speech and flinched at the reminder of his actions toward Peter when they were younger and his path to almost being a bully. He tried to physically overpower the boy at the time and had a few other boys help him out as the others looked on laughing.
He didn't know how at the time, but Peter ran circles around him and the others without hurting them. He later found out that Peter's parents were already teaching him self-defense but it was disheartening to see a group of kids try and fail to beat one up.
He still remembered the tongue-lashing his mom gave him and the sting of embarrassment of Peter brushing his actions off. While he tried doing the same to other kids Peter seemed to always be there and stare at him in disappointment stopping him if needed. Eventually, the intervention for his father's alcoholism was the wake up call to his actions and he stopped.
"Well?" Liz asked indignantly, unaware of Flash's own critical thoughts of his own actions.
Unwilling to show signs of weakness Flash finally retorted. "Why wouldn't I dislike the guy? He's too perfect. Everyone else has some flaw. What's his? And don't get me started on his lack of backbone. He's never angry even when something doesn't go his way. His family is so fricking rich none of us will probably reach that level of wealth. He's got the brains and the muscle that he seems untouchable. To top it off, he doesn't stumble around when talking to the adults. The guy is literally unrelatable Liz. I should be asking you why you seem to hang onto his every word."
Liz, for her part, became even more incensed. "Flash, are you even listening to yourself? Not everyone needs to be a failure at something to be liked! Let alone be poor! So what if the movies like to say rich people aren't as kind as Peter. He's not like that. If anything that should showcase that Peter doesn't let his money, skills or looks get to his head. To top it off, I think it's telling that he chooses to hang out with us even though we aren't as mature as him."
"Are you even listening to yourself or what I said? He's too perfect and has no flaws that we can see. And you also just said it, the majority of people like Peter are assholes, who's to say he's not just hiding his true colors from us just to play us sometime down the line." 'Or do you just not care because you're some kind of gold digger?' Is what Flash wanted to ask, but even though he was angry he was aware enough to still hold back vitriol that not only would be untrue, it would damage whatever friendship he had with Liz. He has enough social tact to recognize that.
Now more incredulous Liz responded. "Flash, that's crazy. You're just jumping to conclusions now. Peter would need to have planned that out since we were kids! Kids, Flash! Peter's smart, maybe one of the smartest men out there, but even that's far-fetched to believe he had the ability to plan something like that out since we were kids."
Anger reaching a boiling point, Flash ignored her logical retort. "You still haven't said why you seem to hang on his every word."
"Why wouldn't I? He hasn't steered us wrong yet, Flash. You remember how I was at the beginning of the year? I was a bitch. I thought I was on top of the world and let it get to me and almost ruined what I'm finding is a good friend in Jessica because I was stuck in my head. It was only thanks to Peter stepping in that I didn't alienate her further."
Flash grudgingly agreed with Liz there, she was kind of haughty freshman year and the beginning of this year and seemed to not understand other's had lives outside of hers. But Flash appreciated that since with Liz what you saw was what you got and he had thicker skin than most. Before he could respond Liz continued.
"I'll be further honest here. I'm hoping to have something more with Peter— " Flash felt his heart ache at the admission. "—not only because he's an amazing guy and I'd feel like the luckiest girl in the world if he spared me the time, but also partly because I want what he had for my future children and know he could provide the other half of what I know I want. A home with wealthy yet loving parents, the environment to grow and succeed in any fashion and the maturity to come with it. I mean doesn't that sound awesome? I sometimes can't help but wonder how much time I would have saved if I had grown up like Peter and want that for my kids. Don't you?"
Liz's words echoed in Flash's mind and he froze up. How would he act if he had what Peter had? It was too easy to picture 'Selfish. Greedy. Sleazy.' The thought terrified him. And then he felt a chill as he realized exactly why he had an issue with Peter.
'I wouldn't be the same if I was in his shoes… heck without him I'd probably be that way right now.'
The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and he felt hollow. What did that mean for his future prospects in not just relationships but career options. Liz was right, he was on top of his game right now in high school and was only an asshole to Peter, but that was with Peter having had to divert his attention. How would he act when he had to enter the adult world and not be as successful? How would he act if he eventually had Peter's success? 'Not well… Not like Peter.'
"–sh? Flash?" Liz's voice tried reaching him. Something about apologizing for making the conversation drift into heavy territory past Peter. But Flash left, he thought he said something about needing to get to class. He didn't hear as Liz sighed and walked away.
He only had eyes for the bland halls of the school and saw himself walk slowly toward the nearest men's restroom and walk to the nearest sink to stare into the mirror.
Flash saw the haunted look in his eyes, the haggard look on his face, he also noticed that he had the beginning of tears forming.
'Why?' His tears fell and he clutched onto the sink like a lifeline. 'Why am I like this?'
He knew from tutoring sessions with Peter and lessons taught in class the difference between Nature vs Nurture. He understood that if Peter wasn't so mature since they were kids, let alone already so tough he'd be worse than he is right now. So why did he feel like if he had what Peter had he'd still end up like an asshole?
'Am I just like this?'
Peter Parker
'That was nice.' Peter thought to himself as he and Silver drove away from the school. He liked to think his friends were doing better this go around compared to before. Liz seemed hyper-focused on bettering herself already instead of just around graduation. Sally, while still wanting to be the center of attention, seemed a bit more grounded in how to gain it. Though only time would tell if that held. 'I hope it does. The world could do with some smiles and laughter.' Jessica was a surprising new addition to the group, but she's been fitting in well after a rocky start at the beginning with Liz. 'Always was kind of flighty and thoughtless in her remarks.'
And then there was Flash. Still just as immature as before just without a lot of the bullying tendencies. So it made him supremely tolerable. It also helped that Peter didn't need to deal with him except for maybe once or twice a week.
'They're all doing so well though in school that it could bring a tear to my eye!'
"What's got you smiling?" Silver asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh nothing much. Just feel like my efforts are paying off. I've always liked teaching, something about sharing knowledge and seeing it put to use just fills me with pride. It doesn't hurt that I can see those I teach are excited to see themselves learn of their potential as well."
Silver snorted. "That boy Flash has let it go to his head."
Peter shrugged. "Flash has always been cocky, I'm sure he'll mellow out once reality hits him in the face. He also could be worse."
The woman hummed in reply, drumming her fingers along the steering wheel. "What happens now?" She asked, staring intently at the road.
"What do you mean?" Peter asked, confusion clear on his face.
Silver rolled her eyes before gesturing at his backpack. "You know, with your… new activity. How do we proceed now? Do you need me to take you somewhere? Tail you while you…" She trailed off grunting in frustration.
"Ah, well. Taking me back to the building is fine for now. I'm going to finish those schematics before I patrol. As for you tailing me. I think it'd defeat the purpose of a secret identity if people learned that you pretty much follow Peter Parker around all day and then suddenly Spider-Man."
The silver-haired woman pursed her lips. "I could wear a mask as well, you know."
The spider-themed hero laughed. "That's an idea, but how would you follow me around?"
Arriving in the garage the woman shrugged. "I thought you'd handle that part."
Peter started to cackle. "Glad to know I'd still be having to supply you with everything to follow me around." He chuckled good-naturedly and shook his head. "But you don't need to worry I have SHIELD agents following me around."
Silver parked the car and turned to look at him incredulously. "Your parents know about your activities? I can't imagine that conversation. I had to fight tooth and nail to get to where I am today with my father."
Peter's expression turned sheepish. "Actually, they don't know."
Silver's expression turned to stone as Peter continued. "I actually had to ask SHIELD to lie and cover for me to my parents. So I have these two agents following me around. They've actually been pretty helpful. There's no reason for you to— Silver?" The young man asked worriedly, noticing his bodyguard's expression and tensed fists on the wheel.
"...You mean to tell me that you have people other than me guarding you?" Silver let out with a whisper.
"Um, yes? But that's par for the course. SHIELD agents have been following me around when you can't, you know this."
The older woman turned to glare into his eyes. "That's because your family notified me of your circumstances. If my company's contract wasn't for the building I'd push for it to be for your family. You're mine to guard." She said with a straight face, where if Peter didn't think he'd get an angrier Silver for it he'd laugh at the bizarre situation he was in.
"I only allowed SHIELD to guard your life when not interacting with the company because that's your parents prerogative. I may be young but I know I'm one of the damn best when it comes to asset protection. Let alone when it's the ma– when it's someone I care for!" Silver continued heatedly, face flushed.
Peter paused wondering how best to defuse the situation. "Silv–"
"I want you to make me something to follow you around ASAP." She interrupted.
"Bu–"
"No fighting me on this. When it's done you'll see I can do just as much if not more than these agents can. You can even have us both on the first few details you'll see the difference then." Silver finished before nodding rapidly. "Yes. Yes, that'll show them."
A maniac look entered her eyes. She quickly hugged him, causing him to squawk since she rarely performed public displays of affection even when alone.
"Remember, I want that mobility device ASAP. I have to prepare."
"Prepare for what?" Peter asked incredulously.
Exiting the car she said evenly. "War. Let them know as such"
'What in the– War!? Let them know?!'
Peter finished the schematics shortly after the conversation with Silver. And on seeing that Val was resting leisurely on a SHIELD hoverbike swung down to meet her.
"Hey Val!"
"Spider-Man." Val greeted easily, before standing up and stretching her arms behind her head. Her SHIELD uniform seemingly about to burst at her actions.
'... Dude what the hell is it with women stretching like that in tight clothing?' He thought to himself while turning his head slowly to the side.
The woman smirked, "Are you ready for your patrol now?"
Sighing at being teased he nodded his head. "Yep. Actually before we start I have to warn you. My bodyguard, Silver." At seeing Val nod her head that she knew of her he continued. "She uh, well she found out about my activities as Spider-Man— Don't give me that look! She's probably the only one who would notice that my physical changes are superhuman due to us sparring so often with one of them happening before I gained these powers and another happening quickly after." Peter chastised at seeing the look of disbelief on Val's face.
He continued at seeing her nod her head to do as such. "Anyways, when she found out that I had SHIELD agents providing me overwatch, she grew incensed. Needless to say she's throwing down some kind of gauntlet once I build her some mobility device to follow me like you and Natasha do."
"Are you serious?" Val said in a deadpan before facepalming.
"No, my name's Spider-Man."
Other than a snort Val didn't reply for a couple of moments before muttering under her breath. "I swear if she's another one… I don't know if I want to obey the law."
Peter frowned under the helmet. "I'm sorry?"
Val sighed. "Nothing, don't worry about it. It's a woman thing. So what's happening when she gets a mobility device?"
Spider-Man shrugged. "I guess a guard off?"
The woman sighed. "I have no idea what that even is."
"Maybe who can guard me better?"
"Yeah sure. And you're going to be the judge?"
"I think so from how she put it."
"Blast it's another one." She cursed under her breath. Val sighed. "You know what, fine tell her to bring it on. Natasha and I are the best in the biz."
Peter chuckled and waved his hands in surrender at seeing her stink eye. "I'm sorry. I'm only laughing because in the future there's so many people that say they're the best in their field. In my experience it's almost always a close call or a constant one-up situation."
Val rolled her eyes before getting on the hover bike, motioning her head for him to move. "Of course it is. Gotta learn to have pride in your work."
'Pride huh?' Thoughts of his ending actions yesterday and his conversation with Silver flashed through his head. 'I don't know if I should feel prideful about that kind of stuff.'
Stopping a bank robbery and saving a kid's balloon in the same hour though? He could take pride in that.
"You're all over the place." Val said to him as they finished patrolling, Peter now changing into his civilian clothing. They were on a roof, Val leaning on her hoverbike and Peter near the edge of the roof.
"What do you mean?"
"You don't just go for crimes. You help people just to help them. Like that tourist couple. They probably would have figured out where to go but you decided to try and help them out before the language barrier slapped you in the face, causing me to jump in."
Spider-Man felt confused. "Is that a bad thing or something?"
The SHIELD agent sighed wistfully and shook her head. "No actually. Just me commenting on it. I've fought for the safety of society for a few years now and been in some intense battles. But seeing that, and being a part of it." She smiled at him. "It's nice. Not as intense as knowing the safety of the world was preserved, but seeing a random person smile at knowing their problem, no matter how small, has been solved makes me feel a certain sense of peace. Do you do this as Peter Parker too?"
Peter laughed and shook his head. "Not as often, no. Normally as Peter Parker I'm working, hanging out with friends or trying to relax."
"That's good. Trying to have a normal life is important, else you end up like…" Val trailed off frowning.
Peter shifted. "You mean like Fury?"
Val nodded sadly. "Yes, like Fury. He's got Laura, the other woman with us back when you dropped the mother of all bombshells, and I'm sure he acts like a human being with her when none of us are around. But she's not attached to his hip nor he hers, and I can count the number of times on a single hand that I've seen Fury not think about work or perform an activity that was meant for relaxation."
Peter didn't really know what to say at first but also got the feeling that Val simply wanted to vent and made himself comfortable, he had time. 'It's also a distraction from my thoughts.'
"Anyways it's good that you know to try and take care of yourself as well." Val finished with a smile. "I wanted to thank you as well for taking Natasha to the movies. I've tried getting her to start other hobbies but I think because of my interactions with Fury, I have a hard time keeping the conversation steered away from work when the other person wants to talk about it."
Peter chuckled. "I think you could be forgiven for doing so. Fury was a piece of work even as I got older. You know I like to crack jokes, imagine how bad it might be whenever we had to work together, then multiply it by 100."
Val giggled. "You sound like a menace."
"Oh you don't know the half of it. Pretty sure most of the superhero community only tolerated me because of how long I was around."
Val herself scooted to sit next to him. "How long was that?"
Peter grinned. "Guess."
Val pouted but tilted her head up in thought before stating. "8 years? You were 28 when you were sent back, you said. And based on your comment of being around for a while, 20 seems like a good age to start fighting crime. I get it right?"
Peter had a shit-eating grin and shook his head in the negative.
Sighing Val continued. "Well 18 years old is still an adult age. So 10 years active?"
The young man was having too much fun to say it yet and shook his head again.
Aghast Val asked. "It's not an actual lower number right? I mean how many years you were active, I didn't go over?"
"Nope, I was active for longer."
"What in the? Did you start when you were 17!?"
"Nope." He finished with a pop. Enjoying her mounting horror.
"16!?"
"Nada."
Horrified Val whispered. "Were you a child soldier?"
"Neg– Whoa what no!" He said with a laugh and another shake of his head. "I was 15, the same age as now."
Fifteen she mouthed to herself, staring at him wide-eyed. "That's…I mean…14 years. Wow. Almost enough time served for retirement. What made you start at such a young age? I can guess that this go around you simply already know the dangers of crime fighting and are confident in your skills."
"Hahaha, yeah. My retirement fund would have sucked though. Don't tell anyone but I was gaslighting as a student to eventually find a job in the civilian sector." Peter laughed before whispering conspiratorially. Pointedly ignoring her last question.
Pausing minutely to see if he'd continue she nodded to herself while giggling and placing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Your secret's safe with me." She mimed, zipping her mouth shut and throwing away the key.
"Thanks." Peter said, for her not prodding and for her going along with his joke. Letting the moment sink in as they watched the New York skyline.
Seeing that she was fine with companionable silence and remembering that she was somewhat open about her own past, he said, "I'll tell you the answer to your last question another time. It's not as noble as your reason."
Val only nodded before noting the time. She bit her lip. "Random question. Do you wanna see a movie?"
Confused Peter looked at her to convey as such.
Val grinned, "I'm a little jealous of Natasha and I find that a good flick helps after a good conversation."
Seeing no reason not to deny her he nodded his head. "Sure. Though hopefully unlike Natasha you'll choose. It's stressful when the guy has to decide what to do."
"My dear but that's where the fun for us women comes from on a date, making you guess what we want." Val said seductively before motioning for him to carry her down the roof and lead the way.
"Hardy har har. Hope the reward is worth it." Peter said sarcastically before doing so.
Val's laugh sounded like music to his ears.
Peter traced Umar's passionate tongue, her small gasp eliciting some pride in his chest as he became more aggressive in his movements.
'Ugh, stupid brain. What's up with me?'
Contessa Valentina de Allegra Fontaine - Val and Natasha's Apartment
Val entered her shared apartment and noticed that Natasha was up watching some martial arts flick.
'She really does seem to be all in now on media consumption.'
Val snorted, causing Natasha to glance at her and nod in greeting before diverting her attention to the movie.
'She looks so engrossed.'
Valentina really couldn't thank Peter enough for being the nudge Natasha needed to enter the gateway that was self relaxation.
'Well, the kind that's not masturbation.'
Natasha for all her experience and wisdom when it came to the spy underworld and frantic space that was battlefield had little to no experience when it came to living a normal life, at least when not related to assassinating a target. It was why she sometimes joked by calling her 'Little Natasha'. Natasha obviously was older than Val, even biologically, Natasha was closer to 26 than she was, but was so lost like a little girl when faced with something new outside of her work.
Val, while still being new to the field of spy work and not too shabby in her own opinion, was the opposite in experience. The life her parents gave her was sheltered, but a fun and educating one nonetheless. Especially compared to the likes of Tony Stark.
To hear her parents speak of it, Howard Stark was a party animal and partook in many an event that her family steered her clear of. Until Maria Stark it seemed like Howard would never conceive an heir or learn to curtail his perversions. But lo and behold the world was graced with Tony Stark. Who has followed in his father's footsteps for both good and ill.
'I swear to hear of how many times SHIELD has had to interrogate captured honey pots for him is too many. The man has no self-control.'
But she digressed, Val still knew how to live a normal life, a privileged one yes, but SHIELD paid well and she could still afford to live that way so the point was moot.
Peter for his part, seemed like the perfect balance of those experiences at least from what she was able to guess from his actions in and out of his suit along with his stated age.
'14 years… That… is a long time. I can only imagine what started it all if he didn't want to talk about it. But he's learned to not let his work consume his life. I doubt his claims of this superhero community only tolerating him… unless he really was that bad with his jokes. More likely they respected him but didn't know how to convey it, it probably didn't help that he tends to deflect compliments with a joke. Or turn it around to praise the other person… he's a good man… If only he was already of age. And if only we weren't in New York. Ugh!'
Peter's warning suddenly flitted through her mind. 'Best warn Natasha now.'
"Silver Sablinova is now aware of Peter's activities as Spider-Man and is apparently going to join us on his patrols in a competition with Peter as the judge."
Natasha nodded sagely. "Ah yes. A good ol' fashion guard off."
Val paused to stare. "Wait, that's a thing?"
The redhead grinned. "No Little Val. It's not, I was merely joking."
The raven haired woman huffed. "I think Peter's rubbing off on you too much."
"Maybe in my dreams." Natasha muttered tiredly, it was pretty late after all.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, I'm just tired. But it sounds like Silver is letting her emotions get in the way of her job." Natasha quickly said.
"Yes it does." Val said in agreement.
The sounds of fighting erupted from the TV filling the lull.
"She's going down." Natasha stated suddenly.
"Yes she is." Val agreed just as quickly.
Though she didn't know how it would be done. She was sure her and Natasha with their combined experience could handle whatever the young woman tried to throw at them.
Before I get into the chapter notes...
(MARVEL COMICS RANT INCOMING) - Want to end on positives
Just, what are they doing with Peter?! What are they doing with MJ? And to top it all off at a panel recently in August the EIC of Marvel pretty much stated that fans can't expect for Peter and MJ to marry each other or have kids. So I'm not really feeling it for Well's run, especially now (they'll just come up with an asinine reason for them to split is what we know now). Don't even get me started on us still barely knowing whatever the fuck it is that Peter did to be hated. But I can certainly point out that Peter getting his ass kicked by an old man in a suit is all kinds of wrong after this long, and that Peter caving into Norman's offer to be hired is just out of character...plus we all know how this is going to end. Norman is going to end up betraying Peter by relapsing or, like Otto 'need' to revert to how he was before to save the day. It's so damn infuriating.
To add insult to injury to all of this, I was rereading the Kindred storyline and came upon a theory (as Marvel hasn't outright brought it up again...yet - but according to scans of her whisper to Mephisto and with how MJ acted at the dinner table I'm livid if it's true.) MJ remembers the original timeline from before OMD. You've. Got. To. Be. Fawking Kidding me. So that means MJ should still remember being married to Peter and remembers her promise to him about being together no matter what, yet she's had a string of boyfriends and gets upset at Peter for finding love (Only one of them knows they are cheating pretty much - I'll get back to this at the end). Should have been aware that Peter was OOC when Otto was taking his body for a ride, no change there. And worse, remembers Norman being connected to the death of her child yet is trusting enough to allow him to give her meds for her Aunt? She's that sure that Norman is a changed man? There's more I could go off on but I'll just say that I hope this theory is just that, a theory. Because there's no reason for MJ not to have told Peter the minute she knew about them being married. It begs the question of her love for him for one (The closest thing to this is a person having amnesia while in a relationship and the other, seeing that the injured one doesn't remember, decides to say fuck it and sleep around. I get that this is controversial but the other thing is that Peter STILL loves her negating the point of contention most would have.), and the other is that she could have helped Peter understand Harry more pretty much changing the ending of how Kindred ended.
Some might be wondering why I'm so heated about this, and outside of actually reading the comics or writing this story (as I need to dip my head in the Marvel-verse more to research for upcoming chapters and storyboarding), I want to say this doesn't affect my day-to-day or even cross my mind, but as a longtime fan, it's infuriating to see some of your beloved characters dragged through the mud for no good reason.
I will say that this gives me an idea for how to write MJ in this story, just debating if I should run with that theory, I can see great potential for drama but also an affirmation of their love if I go through with it.
RANT OVER
Now for the chapter notes...
Aaaaand done! So again, I hope I nailed down the character interactions in a believable way while also introducing more characters (without being too saturated). And we get to see hints (in his first week no less!) that Peter's going to have to deal with managing his social life still even if he's better off now!
Liz, for instance has already grown to be more in line with her older canonical self (she was always kind of unaware of others lives except those like Flash. I believe the closest we got to a glimpse of her future personality was trying to figure out how to console Peter when his Uncle's death was announced before being called over by her friends. - this was in a flashback comic iirc.)
Flash, oh boy. I hope I made him still a believable asshole while also portraying how to him his logic makes sense. As you can see he's not a bully and is instead just an arrogant popular boy. Due to Peter curtailing it when he was younger and also (again due to Peter.) Flash's father getting help.
We also saw some of Susan's and Silver's inner thoughts while they interacted with Peter and after the fact. Hope I am doing this slow burn thing justice (Expect an Inferno once it reaches a certain point ;D xD) Silver is not going to be prepared at all when Peter meets with her next.
Also, I actually would have ended it after dropping Silver's over-the-top challenge, but found myself with a path to showcase Val's inner thoughts a bit while also deepening her relationship with Peter further.
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! - Also I'm compiling a character sheet 'story' as on AO3 a commenter asked for one. Do you guys on FF want me to post it here or just take the L and go to AO3 for it? (Will contain no spoilers and simply be a reference if you are that interested in having a reference sheet handy for the age of the women and a small blurb about their current character.