Chapter 1

[If you see any grammar mistakes, please let me know.]

The ancient yellow schoolbus rattled along the pothole-riddled streets of Queens, New York. Looking as if it had been in service since before its passengers were born, the bus contained thirty high-school students.

Inside the usual pandemonium had already taken over, laughs, yelling, joking, yawning, singing, and a few unidentifiable grunts and groans filled the bus as it rumbled through the streets.

"Hey, spaz, where's my homework?" came a shout from the back.

"I'm doing it now!" came the strained, high-pitched reply.

A handsome, muscular boy sat with his arm around the shoulder of a pretty, red-haired girl. He glanced out the window and spotted someone running alongside the bus, desperately trying to catch up to it.

"Hey, look!" the athletic boy shouted. "Parker missed the bus again! Or maybe he's just trying out for the track team!"

Victor looked at the window and recognized Parker, he could only sigh and shake his head seeing that, late as always, but he didn't really care. Parker wasn't his friend nor anything similar, they never interacted for real, one was the leader in grades in the genius class, and the other was just someone who no one notices in the common class.

Everyone, except two people, exploded in laughs. Victor was one of two who didn't laugh, the other person was the red-haired girl who lifted the large, beefy arm from her shoulder and got up from her seat.

"Stop the bus!" she shouted, to be heard over the laughter. "He's been chasing us since Woodhaven Boulevard!"

The bus stopped and the door opened.

Peter went up the stairs, his legs shaking with the pain of running for seven blocks. "Sorry, I'm sorry..." panting he made his way to the back of the bus while bumping on some feet and knocking over backpacks.

Victor turned to look at him in time to see him being rejected a seat.

"Don't even think about sitting here, nerd." Peter lowered his head, his bad-kept hair shadowing his eyes, and continued going forward.

Seeing this, Victor frowned, for as lonely and uninterested as he is, he couldn't help but feel disgusted over those guys' actions, and it became even worse when Flash Thompson stuck out his feet to make Peter fall.

Although he wanted to act, he was too late, so he could only helplessly watch as Peter fell face-first to the ground, scattering his books everywhere.

Marry Jane was about to say something, but Victor reacted first.

"How weak-minded one must be to do this for no reason." hearing the shout that came from the last seat on the back of the bus, everyone's back shuddered.

"Look, someone angered the delinquent, will he send someone to a hospital again?"

Flash turned to look at Victor, he frowned as sweat poured down his face. "What are you talking about Graham, Peter clearly bumped into something, that has nothing to do with me!"

"I never said it was you, did I?"

Hearing his cold voice, Flash gulped. He was caught off guard and fell on the seat as Marry Jane stood up as well and bumped into him as she bent down to help Peter pick up his book and his glasses.

"Oh, give me a break, Flash," the girl said, helping Peter pick his last book. "I know you stuck your foot out to trip Peter."

"What? Come on Marry Jane," Flash pleaded. "Would I do something like that?"

"Didn't you just admitted it a few seconds ago... Or are you saying I'm hearing things?"

Flash shivered and lowered his head.

Peter looked at both of them, his glasses dangling from one ear, and smiled.

After she helped him, Marry Jane went back to her seat, but she not even once looked at Victor, for her, he was still a delinquent like many others in the school. However, one girl at the front seat sweetly smiled at him, making him blush slightly and avoid her gaze.

Seeing Peter looking at him than at the seat beside him, Victor sighed and gestured for him to take the seat next to him.

"Thanks, I'm Peter Parker." He extended his hands towards him.

Victor shook his hand and nodded. "Victor Graham."

...

Today was no ordinary day for the students in Victor's class. They are doing a school trip to visit the big, powerful, and prestigious Oscorp.

Manhattan wasn't exactly the kind of place that managed to take any reaction from Victor, others would usually think that he was dead inside, one of the few kids from the school that could one day appear with a rifle and causes quite a mess, but the truth was that after watching, reading and playing so many things, he actually wasn't as impressed as the others about the city.

He had after all seen and imagined much more magnificent places to be, and whether he had gone to such places was another thing altogether.

Besides, even if he wasn't the most intelligent guy around, he still had dreams like any other person, and he still thought that his books would one day allow him to purchase buildings as bigger as those he is currently seeing.

The bus soon stopped, leaving all the students at the stairs that led to the entrance hall of Oscorp industries. Victor had to admit, even he couldn't imagine such a contemporary design for the building he would own someday, the architect of such a project must have been the best of the best.

Victor's science teacher, Mr. Hecht ran towards the stairs in order to make sure that he could keep an eye on each one of the students. "Alright, everyone! No wandering, no- Hey! Could you all pretend at least today that you are all young ladies and gentlemen!? And yeah, that's for you, Thompson!"

Flash muttered something under his breath but didn't dare to reply to his teacher.

As Mr. Hecht explained the 'rules' of today's trip, Victor noticed that a Bentley stopped next to their school bus. In the back sat father and son.

"Dad, could you drive around the corner?" the son asked, embarrassed of showing his face.

"Why, Harry?" the father asked sternly. "The door's right here."

"These are public school kids, Dad," Harry replied, slumping down in the seat. "I'm not showing up to school in a Bentley!"

"What?" Harry's father barked angrily. "You want me to trade my Bentley for a Volkswagen because you flunked out of every private school I sent you to?"

"They were not for me!" Harry snapped back. "I told you that. It wasn't me."

"Of course it was!" Harry's father shouted, reaching past his son and opening the door. "Don't ever be ashamed of who you are. Remember that."

"Dad, I'm not ashamed. I'm just not what you-"

"What, Harry?" his father interrupted.

"Forget it, Dad." Harry slipped out of the car, with a sunken expression on his face. Turning around he found himself facing Peter.

The two greeted each other while Victor watched from afar, unaware of the conversation that the father and son duo just had.

However, his attention was soon drawn towards his own mind, where ideas for stories kept popping in and out of existence in a sea of possibilities, Victor was a good observer, always making sure to notice every possible detail of his surroundings, just in case they could be turned into part of a story.

After all, reality and art had always walked together, and one can improve the other.

But, he didn't stay there for too much time, before he could recompose himself and notice that everyone was already going up the stairs, a girl approached him from the side and shook his arm.

Startled he turned to see who was bothering him and blushed slightly.

"Lost again?" The girl with chestnut single-braided hair and amber eyes asked him with an innocent smile. "We better go, otherwise people will notice our absence."

"Y-yeah, thanks for reminding me, Maxine," Victor replied shortly and walked side-by-side with her. Trying his best to keep composed and show as little emotion as possible on his face.

She, however, laughed at him and started taking pictures of the place, and even him, using her GoPro.