Chapter 11

[Peter's POV]

I was greeted by the usual scene when I descended to the first floor.

"Good morning, Peter." 

Aunt May greeted me, turning toward me, "Sweetheart, you look a little pale, are you feeling alright?"

There's no hiding anything from this woman.

"I'm fine, Aunt, I just didn't sleep well. I was thinking about the experiment, and that's why I couldn't fall asleep."

"You're always with your science. You should get out more, maybe talk to someone." 

Aunt May began her usual lecture from a distance.

"If you haven't forgotten, I was hanging out with friends late recently. And by the way, Harry Osborn is supposed to be back at school today if you remember him."

"Oh, Harry, that's great news, Peter. But I meant not those kinds of friends. Maybe... a girl?"

Huh. Is this what I think it is?

"Next school year, Anna Watson's niece, Mary Jane, is moving to the city. You probably remember her, you played together when you were kids. I hope you'll get along." 

Aunt May winked.

"Peter. Peter! Are you listening to me?"

"Yes, Aunt May. MJ, you say? I remember, and I'll be happy to see her again."

"What a joy! Honestly, I thought you'd be stubborn and avoid the topic as usual. Alright, eat your breakfast quickly, or you'll be late for school."

"Of course."

...

Midtown High School.

Right now, I'm standing and watching as Flash Thompson picks on Harry Osborn.

I don't know what issues Thompson had with Osborn, but he couldn't have seriously chosen him as "the replacement for Parker," right?

"What's going on here?" 

I step in between Flash and Harry, acting as some sort of buffer.

"Parker? I'm just showing that the golden boy has forgotten a lot about how things go down at our school while he's been off traveling through Europe."

"So, what did he forget, Flash?" 

I cross my arms over my chest.

"It seems to me, Pete, that Osborn is getting a little too full of himself around all of us." 

Kenny Kong spoke this line.

"And where's the disrespect?" 

I glance slightly at Osborn, who's staring at me with wide eyes.

"He was flirting with Liz!"

Eugene yelled.

"Ah, that's what it's about." 

"Listen, Flash, I'm sure Harry didn't know, and he's really sorry. You'll apologize to Mr. Thompson, won't you, Mr. Osborn?"

"I really didn't know, I'm truly sorry, Flash."

Harry repeats like a puppet.

After throwing a fiery glare at Harry and a look of mixed respect and disappointment at me, Thompson and his gang left. 

The crowd was hoping for a fight, but it was also dispersed. Only Harry and I remained on the grounds.

I had already decided to head toward the entrance when I was suddenly stopped.

"Pete! Is it really you!?" 

Harry rushed toward me and hugged me.

"Yeah, it's me, Harry."

"I can't believe it. Did I end up in some alternate New York during my flight? In what reality could you see Flash Thompson actually listening to Peter Parker instead of trying to punch him for fun?"

"I guess in the one where Peter Parker is tired of being the victim and decided to settle his issues with Flash before his prodigal friend returned."

Did I just call him a friend?

"Wow. You never stop surprising me, Pete. So, I gather a lot has changed while I've been gone?"

"You have no idea. Anyway, classes are starting soon. Let's go."

There weren't many classes shared with Harry, only biology and physics, and that's it.

The conversation continued during lunch.

"Harry, let me introduce you to my friends, Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy. Miles, Gwen, this is my childhood friend Harry Osborn."

"Nice to meet you, guys."

"Nice to meet you too, Harry."

"So, how was Europe?"

"Actually, it was pretty boring. I rarely left my private schools."

"And the girls? They say the girls in Europe are just..."

"Miles!"

"Sorry, Gwen. Healthy curiosity."

I just chuckled at the conversation between my friends.

"By the way, maybe you can explain how the nerd good guy Peter Parker turned into a confident capable of shutting down Flash Thompson?"

"You wouldn't believe it, Harry, but literally five months ago, Peter wasn't much different from the image you described."

"I'm the new one here, but I admit, at first, Peter didn't come across as someone who stands up to muscleheads like Flash Thompson."

"And he's sitting right here with you, hearing everything. For those who still don't get it, I'll repeat: at our age, hormones do all sorts of things with Flash's constant bullying into the mix and boom, there you go."

"So, our boy has grown up?"

"That's very funny, Miles, but you can consider it official."

"Well then, we'll take that as the official version."

"Finally. So, how are you, Harry? Were you really planning on something with Liz Allen?" 

I change the subject decisively, opening a delicious pudding.

"Honestly, I didn't expect her to turn into such a beauty, and even less did I expect her to already be with Flash." 

He said with a bit of sadness.

"Well, I wouldn't give up so easily in your place. Even a fool can see that things with her and Flash aren't going smoothly, so who knows how fate will turn."

"Wow, Mr. Parker, since when did you become a relationship expert?"

"Not that much." 

I smirk.

"I'll take that into consideration."

The rest of the day went by quite dynamically. 

It felt like Harry was trying to catch up on what he'd missed and was very aggressively starting to blend into our group. 

Well, I'm not against it.

Actually, I expected different things, but Harry turned out to be incredibly sincere.

With these thoughts, I made my way home and suddenly realized something.

Deciding not to go home, I head straight to my lab.

I open my laptop and wait for it to load while checking a couple of my developments and experiments.

Once it was ready, I went to the Daily Bugle website.

Suddenly, an ad offering a reward for photos of Spider-Man appeared.

Whistling a cheerful tune, I open my secret suitcase. 

Pushing aside the suit, web-shooters, and other items, I grab a stack of photos wrapped with a rubber band.

After checking the photos and gathering some things, I decided to head to the Daily Bugle.

After all, I need money.