Life had never been easy for Peter Parker. He was an orphan, he wasn't popular at school, girls weren't interested in him, bullies tormented him for years, and his beloved uncle had been murdered the previous year. Before his uncle died, Peter believed his life had finally started to turn around after that fatal field trip to Oscorp Industries. He knew the idea of getting his special abilities from a simple bug bite would make people think he was crazy, but there was no other way to explain it. It wasn't normal for human beings to acquire godlike powers during one random night in their teenage years, and Peter didn't think anyone else had ever been bitten by a genetically modified spider, so it made some sense, if there was any truth to it at all.

Peter quickly used his new abilities to his advantage, as they ultimately put popular jock, Flash Thompson, and his group of friends on notice. Flash's last attempt of messing with Peter resulted in Peter giving Flash a black eye, bloody nose, and wounded ego among other things. Peter warned Flash that if he and the rest of his friends messed with him again, he would end Flash's football season before it even began. Flash quickly obliged, as he knew his team would have no chance of even making the state playoffs without their quarterback.

While Flash kept his distance from Peter, it didn't change his negative interpretation of him. He hoped someday that he'd get a chance to get back at Peter, but he didn't want to get beat to a pulp. It really irked him that 'Puny Parker,' the school's nerdiest nerd, had somehow wiped the floor with him in front of the whole school. He would never admit it, but he secretly envied Peter for his intellect. Peter always got good grades even without studying so much. Whenever Flash studied for a test, he always barley managed to pass. Unfortunately for his girlfriend, Liz Allan, she was really struggling in her biology and algebra classes. Flash did all he could to help, but he couldn't offer much. Liz was eventually on the verge of losing her spot on the cheerleader team, and had no other choice but to search for a tutor, one that could actually help her unlike her boyfriend.

The biology teacher, Professor Warren recommended Peter for Liz. At first, Liz was hesitant, as she wasn't so fond of Peter any more than Flash was, but she knew she had no choice if she didn't want to be kick off the cheer squad. But as time went on, Liz soften up on Peter. The news of the death of Peter's uncle played a big role in that, along with Liz starting to feel bad for her and her friends' constantly harassing Peter over the years. Little did Liz know Peter was less than enthusiastic about doing it. When Professor Warren informed him of the possibility, Peter wasn't at all excited. Peter had finally gotten Flash to leave him alone, and he planned on keeping it that way if that meant not hanging out with Flash's girlfriend. His life was complicated enough outside of school, with his life as Spider-Man and making money from The Daily Bugle being the hardest of it. Peter felt he had no reason to make his life harder just because Flash's girlfriend was failing two classes. He expressed his disgust about it to his only friends at Midtown High School, Ned Leeds and Harry Osborn in the hallway.

"Does Warren not know about things between me and Flash, or just not care?" he asked them. "I have enough on my plate right now. Wouldn't it make more sense for Liz to ask Gwen? I'm pretty sure they're friends, right?"

"It's probably because you're his best student," replied Ned. "That, and she and Gwen would probably just get distracted and start talking about Beyonce's newest songs and forget about tutoring."

"Warren takes his job too seriously if you ask me," said Harry. "All that matters to me is passing. Not everyone here can get straight-A's. No offense Pete."

"None taken, Hare," affirmed Peter.

Just as they were about to change the conversation, Peter suddenly felt his spider-sense flow through his head. He tilted his head to his right and caught the arm of Flash before Flash could grab his shirt. Ned and Harry quickly stepped backward as they knew things were about to get intense.

"Alright, listen here, Parker," he growled menacingly. "My girl's failing two classes, and you're gonna fix that."

Peter wasn't scared at all. He didn't want things to get ugly, but it would be hard to avoid that if Flash wanted it to go there.

"You really think you can still tell me what to do, Flash?" asked Peter. "Need I remind you what happened last time you tried to do that?"

Flash's glare grew bigger. If Peter wasn't going to cooperate willingly, he was going to try and force him to. He knew what Peter was capable of, but he was perfectly fine with risking a bruise or two if that meant helping Liz.

"You little sh-," Flash began, but was stopped by the feeling of a hand on his shoulder before he could finish what he was saying or land a punch on Peter.

"Flash, stop it!" shouted a voice.

It was Liz. She walked in front of him and put her other hand on his other shoulder.

"Just relax. I can ask him myself."

Liz turned towards Peter.

"Look, Petey," she began. "I know you have every reason to hate me and Flash, but I really need your help. If I don't pick up my grades, I might not graduate on time, and you're grades speak for themselves. If anyone can help me, it's you."

Peter didn't say a word. He still didn't want to do it, even if Liz wasn't trying to be a pain.

"Please, Petey? I'm sorry for calling you Puny Parker and and laughing at you whenever Flash gave you wedgies. I'll even pay you for tutoring if you want."

Peter was surprised when Liz offered to pay him. It made her sound like her apology was sincere. He still felt like he was taking a risk, but with Uncle Ben gone, he felt obligated to help Aunt May pay the bills in any way he could, and this way of making money almost sounded easier than taking pictures of Spider-Man for Mr. Jameson. Even if Flash and Liz had an ulterior motive, what did he have to worry about? Flash had no chance against him, and what was Liz going to do? She didn't have any dirt on him. His instincts told him that he had nothing to worry about, but he needed to hear something from Liz before he could decide.

"You sure he's okay with it, Liz?" Peter asked.

"Don't worry about Flash," replied Liz. "I'll make sure he doesn't cause any trouble."

Peter could see Liz glance her eyes in at Flash as if he was subtly warning him to stay quiet, which he reluctantly did. Peter had seen enough to agree to it.

"Alright, I'll do it," he said. "Where do want to meet up?"

"Give me your number, and I'll message you," she replied.

Peter was almost taken aback. He knew this wasn't a scenario where a girl was asking him out, but with as awkward as he felt, it almost seemed like it. As Liz handed Peter her phone, he could the red in Flash's eyes. He knew it was directed towards him, but he wondered if any of it was towards Liz. Peter turned to Ned and Harry who just shrugged. They were just as confused and surprised as Peter was. Peter quickly put his number into Liz's contacts and handed her back her phone.

"Thank you so much, Petey," said Liz gratefully. "I hope we can be friends from here on out."

As Liz turned to leave, she and Flash linked hands, but not without Peter seeing Flash clench his other hand in fury as they walked away. Peter couldn't predict if things would go smoothly between his tutor sessions with Liz, but he couldn't have predicted what just happened either. Maybe it wouldn't go as bad as he initially thought. His life may not have been easy, but even after everything he's been though, there was always moments of hope that kept him going. He wasn't exactly the Cyclone from Coney Island, but Peter truly believed his life was like a roller coaster.