4. Gym Class

Jean and I talked more during the classes we had together, which was most of them. She was struggling with spanish, so I offered to tutor her in the language whenever she wanted.

At first she wanted me to tutor her at her house, but she realized how embarrassing that sounded and retracted her statement.

I helped her by suggesting to go to the public library every Tuesday and Friday to study Spanish and any other subjects she was having trouble with.

"Yeah, that sounds nice!" Jean said excitedly.

We are both heading to our last class of the day, Gym class.

We separate from each other and I head to the boy's locker room.

I entered and was greeted by a loud chanting. The typical 'boys locker room' situation. I saw some sophomores among the freshmen. It seems freshmen and sophomores share gym classes. That's good for me, I might see Gwen in her gym clothes too.

I found an empty bench and took off my pants.

I had sport short-shorts with the band over my hips, hiding my tail, but I still put on some slim fit black sweatpants on top of it. I took off my shirt to reveal a tight fitting white compression shirt.

The style of 2011 is still with loose fitting clothing and semi-baggy pants, but since I am still comfortable with 2017+ styles, I put on clothes that are slimmer in appearance.

"Haha, what're you wearing, kid? You gay or somethin'?" A voice called.

There it is. The typical 'wearing something vaguely tight means you're gay' type of insult. What year is this dude's mind in? Oh, yeah, 2011.

I turned to the voice and see that it's Flash Thompson. Of course it is. I look around and see a skinny Peter Parker looking at me with pity.

Nice. My favorite superhero of all time. I can't wait to see him swing around in real life.

I turn my face back to Flash, who's wearing a baggy athletic outfit.

"Well, since I'm so short, I gotta wear something that emphasizes my muscles." I responded, flexing my chest like I was Arnold Schwarzenegger.

First rule of reflecting bullies is to admit your flaws before they could point it out. If you do, they can't really bully you about it and will look for something else.

"Yeah...? Well, uh, you still look... gay, Shorty." Flash stammered, not expecting me to be so confident.

I saw Peter in the back, snickering at Flash's terrible attempt at bullying me.

After I finished changing, I went out to the gym and stood around, waiting for the teacher to come in.

I looked around and spotted some pull up bars.

Since I'm bored, I might as well warm up. I jumped up to grab the highest bar and lifted myself up until I was upside down. I then began pushing up, instead of down, doing full body push ups.

I hear the door open from the girls locker room. I could hear some of them complimenting my looks, and some pointing out that I'm a bit short.

"What are you doing?" A voice asked. It was Gwen, wearing a large loose pink shirt and yoga pants.

I stopped my push ups and landed on the ground.

"Showing off, of course. A guy my height has to work harder to impress." I responded.

"So, you finally admitted your short? Wow, you've sure 'grown'." Gwen teased.

Oof, that was a good one.

"Well, I'm only saying it cause I know I'll be much taller in the future." I retorted.

A girl wearing a blue sleeveless shirt tied up at the waist and sport shorts came up to Gwen and started talking. Nice thighs.

"Wow, Gwen, you know this guy? He looked pretty cool doing those push ups." she said.

"See? I know how to work with my strengths." I said to Gwen.

"Oh, shut it, Little Man." Gwen rolled her eyes. She turned to her friends and spoke to them. "He's my adopted brother, Arthur. Arthur, this is my friend. Don't say anything stupid." Gwen continued.

"Ahem. Why, hello, beautiful friend of mine dear sister. Would thine please share with me thine name?" I said as I bowed. Gwen just facepalmed.

"Hahaha! Your brother is pretty funny, Gwen!" The girl laughed. "My name is Liz Allen. Nice to meet you, Arthur." She continued.

I spot Jean hanging around the back wall, looking over to where I am and hesitating whether to join the conversation or not. She's wearing a long sleeve shirt and loose-ish sweatpants. She looks nice when wearing her clothing conservatively. A good contrast to the other popular girls who show off more of their bodies.

"Hey, Jean! Why don't you come over?" I called.

Jean jumped slightly and hesitated once more before giving in and walking over to us.

"Oh? Made a friend already? She's a pretty one, too." Gwen stated.

"Yep, she sure is." I agreed.

Jean stopped beside me and said hello weakly.

"Let me introduce you. Gwen, Liz, this is Jean. She's a little timid and shy, and she had some trouble in the past, so treat her well." I said.

"Hi, Jean. I'm Gwen, Arthur's sister. It's nice to meet you." Gwen said.

"And I'm Liz Allen! You can just call me Liz! Your so pretty! Do you use make up?" Liz asked. She's pretty extroverted.

"Oh, um, n-no. No make up..." Jean explained.

"Oh! I'm so jealous! Your so pretty without having to do any work! Please let me do your makeup one day!" Liz pleaded.

"Um, s-sure, okay." Jean accepted, smiling a bit. It seems she has a good opinion of Liz. Maybe Jean read her thoughts and saw that she's genuine.

"Congrats, Jean. You've made another friend." I said as I elbowed her arm.

Jean just looked at me and nodded with a big smile.

Liz saw Jean's smile and leaned into Gwen's ear.

"Ooh... I think she might like your brother, Gwen." Liz whispered.

Jean, probably reading her thoughts, just looked away with a slightly red face while she twisted a lock of her hair. It's nice to know she's interested in that way.

We continued to talk to each other until the gym teacher came in and had us do the typical high school fitness tests.

Of course, I did the best in the class. I held back of course. I need to improve for the mid and end of year fitness tests.

Needless to say, my physical prowess impressed all the girls in class, except for Gwen, because she already knows that I'm physically gifted.

The gym teacher was excited for me, saying that I should join the track and field team.

I declined, obviously. I will have no time for sports when I'm being a superhero.

With the end of gym class, came the end of the first day of school. I offered to walk Jean home since she lives close by.

"See ya later, Gwen. Let's go, Jean." I said.

"Yeah, thanks." Jean said.

Most of our walk to Jean's house was silent. She seemed to be thinking of something most of the way.

Jeans then suddenly stopped in front of a cafe.

"Do- do you want to grab a drink?" Jean stammered.

"Oh? Feeling parched?" I asked with a knowing smile.

"Y-yeah. This is a good place. You don't have to come if you don't want to..." Jean said.

"Oh, no, it's fine. I'll gladly hang out with you." I said.

Jean smiled brightly and opened the door to the shop. We grab a seat and order some fruit tea. Jean ordered a small lemon apple iced tea and I ordered a large pomegranate blueberry iced tea.

We talked about normal things high school students talk about and shared a bit about ourselves.

"You skipped a grade? So does that mean you're younger than me?" Jean asked.

"Yep, I'm 13 years old. I'll be turning 14 in a few months. Although I said skip, I was homeschooled until this year, so I basically passed a state test which allowed me to skip a year's worth of school." I said.

"Oh, you were homeschooled? ... H-how are you so good at talking...? I went to public school my whole life and I can barely hold a conversation..." Jean said as she whispered the last half.

"Hehehe, you have a bad habit of whispering things." I said.

"O-oh, I'm sorry! It's just-" Jean apologized.

"No, Jean, you don't have to apologize for everything. I think it's one of your cute points." I said truthfully.

"You- you really think I'm... c-cute?" Jean stammered.

Yes. 100%. It's unbelievable how cute and sexy a real life comic book female looks like.

"Of course. Your really pretty. Even Liz, one of the more popular girls, said so." I added.

"Thanks... you- you're pretty handsome, too..." Jean said as she added a compliment.

"Ooh, nice job, Jean. You're getting bolder. That's a good way to start making friends, being more outward." I said as I smiled brightly at her compliment.

We continued our regular conversation and shared our drinks. Jean very much enjoyed my pomegranate blueberry tea. Watching her eyes light up at the delicious drink almost made her look like a normal girl.

Too bad she has a dark future ahead of her. She'll probably get better on her own, but if I can stop her from suffering, I'll do it.

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After finishing our drinks, I walked Jean to her house and said my goodbyes.

I walked back to the tea shop and turned a corner into the alleyway beside the building. I changed into my orange track suit and mask and flew back home, landing a few streets away from the house.

I changed back and started walking normally. I went up the porch stairs and opened the front door with my key.

"I'm home!" I yelled.

"Welcome home, loud mouth." Gwen called from the living room couch as she worked on her AP classes homework.

I skipped a grade, but I chose not to take any AP classes. I'm smart, but lazy. Instead of worrying about careers in the future, I instead secretly bought stock in Stark industries using the allowance I've saved since I was five.

I barely have one percent of the company, but that's enough money to be set for a few decades and I don't even have any bills to pay yet. The money is just sitting in my bank account and continuously piling up. I've made sure to have my tax returns sent to a P.O box so that George doesn't see it.

I don't plan to be a saint of a superhero like Spiderman. If there is a large criminal organization that happens to be transporting the money they gained from selling drugs, I won't just let the state seize it after I've dealt with them, I'll be taking the money and using it for myself.

I'll open a legit business for tax purposes and I'll just sit on my ass while I pay other people to run the business. I'll be able to focus solely on superhero activities.

I plop down next to Gwen and start working on my own homework, finishing faster than her since mine is easier.

"Having trouble? Want some help?" I offered. She's been stuck on the same AP science question since I started my homework.

"Uh, sure, thanks." Gwen accepted my help and explained what she didn't understand.

It's a question on quantum physics.

I'm not an expert on physics, I'm more interested in modern technology, mainly advanced prosthetics since I think metal arms are cool. It would also help people who lost limbs, so that's another plus if I manage to make strides in the field.

I help on the question to the best of my abilities.

"Oh! I think I got it! Thanks, Arthur." Gwen said.

"No problem. How about a reward?" I added.

"Ugh, fine... I guess you deserve one. Come here." Gwen said as she opened her arms in a hugging motion with a tiny blush to her face.

I dived into her embrace, getting a small feel of her breasts with my chest, and let go a few seconds later. We've hugged like this plenty of times before, but I don't hug her for long to prevent any awkwardness. I'm a gentleman like that.

"Well, I'm hungry, so I'll be off the the convenience store for some junk food. You want a snack?" I asked.

"Sure. Get me bottled lemon tea, low sugar, and a chocolate protein shake. Gonna hit the gym later." Gwen said.

"Got it. I'll be back in a few." I said.

I put on my shoes and headed out the door.

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He felt the 🅱️🅾️🅾️🅱️