Chapter 3
Peter’s next couple days were decidedly not as good as that last lab day. He found himself in school counting down the hours until he’d be back in Mr. Stark’s lab working on things he actually cared about, with someone who maybe even cared a little about him.
Instead he was stuck in chemistry class hearing about things he’d learned years ago.
“Psst!! Penis Parker!”
Oh yeah. And there was Flash.
The bell rang as Flash was trying to get his attention and Peter took the opportunity to jump out of his seat and get out of that classroom as fast as possible. Just as Peter stepped into the hallway he felt a hand on his shoulder and immediately tensed until he realised it was just Ned.
“Hey man, are you alright? You seem extra jumpy today.”
Peter took a deep breath and blew it out. “Yeah. yeah man, I’m alright. Just really looking forward to my internship today.
Ned looked up at that. “Oh my god dude that’s today!!?” He exclaimed, “I cannot believe you’re going to go see Tony Stark. Today. In his personal lab.”
“Ned, I think you’re forgetting I’ve been there before.” Peter responded.
“I know!! That makes it even cooler!! You have to tell me all about it.”
Peter laughed. “I will!! I will, I promise!”
The two walked out the front doors together and did their secret handshake before going in separate directions: Peter stopping at home before making his way to the tower, and Ned to go pick up his little sister from school.
Peter felt a surge of gratefulness for Ned just then, for being his best friend since before his parents died, for supporting him through everything he’s been through, for being able to relate to all the little things that make them both different from other kids.
He remembered the moment that Ned told him that he had autism too, when they were both nine years old.
He remembered the overwhelming relief that came with the realisation that he wasn’t alone anymore.
So yeah, Peter was really glad he had Ned in his life.
___________________________________
Peter made his way back home with a little more enthusiasm than usual. He usually dragged his feet on the way home, stopping at Delmar’s or getting some light patrolling in; he didn’t like to spend much more time at home than absolutely necessary.
He just didn’t feel like he could be himself there, at least not with May or any of her friends around.
But this time was different! Today was a lab day, and all he had to do before heading to the tower was say hi to May and pick up his internship stuff that he forgot to bring to school with him.
Peter jogged up the steps and into his apartment with his headphones on and in a good mood. He walked in the door with a smile on his face that immediately dropped when he saw who was in the living room.
May had her friends over again.
This wasn’t necessarily a terrible thing, Peter was glad May had the friends she did! He was happy for her and her friends weren’t all that bad. They were all from her work, and some of them had kids around his age that they’d tried to get him to hang out with. But the problem was that she hadn’t told him they were here. Every time they came over he felt like he had to play the part of the perfect nephew. The one who was going to a genius school, the one who had his whole life planned out, the one who had lots of friends and didn’t want to burst into tears at the thought of an unexpected conversation.
“Peter!” May exclaimed while smiling at him. It looked like a different smile than usual though, probably because she was always worried Peter would embarrass her in front of her friends.
There were about six other ladies around May’s age sitting in the living room, and they all turned their heads in his direction. The weight of their eyes on him made Peter feel nauseous, and he looked away.
“Hey Aunt May, hey everyone,” he responded, a little awkwardly.
“Peter, come sit, how was school?” May moved over on the couch so he could sit next to her. He reluctantly obliged.
“It was alright,” Peter replied. He really didn’t want to be doing this. He started bouncing his leg up and down and May put a hand on his knee to stop him, sending a sharp glare his way.
“Oh, Peter,” A woman from Peter’s left spoke up. He was pretty sure her name was Grace. “Last I heard, you had joined the coding club at your school! How’s that going? Are you and your friends working on something interesting?”
Peter didn’t know how to tell her that he quit the coding club. That nobody wanted him there, and that in a school full of nerds, he still somehow managed to get bullied. Plus, quitting the club had given him a lot more time for patrolling. But he couldn’t tell her any of that.
“Uh well, I’m not in the coding club anymore. It just… uh” Peter looked over at Aunt May, who didn’t seem pleased. “Uh, it just got boring?”
“Oh, really? I would’ve thought that sort of thing would be right up your alley.”
“Ah yeah, of course, definitely. It just uh…” Peter didn’t know where he was going with that sentence. “Uh I guess it’s just not anymore.”
The women exchanged some confused glances, probably due to his terrible lying. He knew it was a problem. One of them started to speak again, probably trying to revive the suddenly painfully awkward conversation, but Peter really just needed to leave.
“I’m so sorry, but I have to..” he pointed backwards with his thumb, and all but ran away from the conversation. He went to his room and closed the door behind him, sinking to the floor and putting his head in his hands.
He wasn’t usually thatmuch of a socially awkward mess. But this really wasn’t what he planned for the day.
May needed everyone to like her, and by extension, she needed everyone to like him. And Peter just couldn’t be who she wanted him to be.
Peter heard her apologizing in the living room, saying that he’s probably had a bad day. Talking about his program at Stark Industries where he could learn coding in a much more interesting way. Oh, that was a good idea. He should’ve used that to deflect the question.
Then he heard her say that she’s going to come check on him, just to make sure he’s alright. Oh no.
He heard her footsteps echo down the hallways and he got up from where he was sitting to give her space to open the door. She never knocks.
She looked at him and he knew she wasn’t happy.
“Peter!” She hissed. She kept her voice down. God forbid her friends hear from the other room. “What was that? You know they want to talk to you, they want to hear about your life! What do you think that says about me, when I have some bratty teenager that can’t be bothered with a five-minute conversation? And you made yourself look like an idiot out there! Now they’re gonna think I’m some kind of terrible parent.”
Peter winced. He didn’t know what he was supposed to say.
“And what the hell are you wearing?”
Peter looked down at his clothes. He didn’t see a problem with what he was wearing, they were just washed out jeans and a science pun tee shirt.
“Do you realize how embarrassing this is for me? Are you purposefully trying to embarrass me, Peter, because I can’t see any other possible explanation for this behavior.”
Peter could think of one. But Aunt May didn’t care. Again, he didn’t know what to say to that, so he didn’t say anything.
May launched forward to grab his arm, not tight enough to bruise - she’d never gotten that bad - but it was still uncomfortable. He looked up at her, a little scared.
“Are you even listening to me?” She demanded.
Peter nodded. He couldn’t speak. In moments like this, his voice always failed him. It would take a while to come back.
One of the ladies in the living room, Peter thought her name was Jennifer, started calling for May, asking if she was alright.
May dropped his hand, and gave him a look that he didn’t know how to decipher. He had a feeling he was supposed to. Whatever it was, Peter was sure it wasn’t very nice.
May then plastered on a fake smile, and turned around and walked out the door, closing it behind her and reassuring her friends.
Once Peter was sure he was alone, he crumpled to the floor and let the tears fall. He gripped his hands in his hair, not knowing what to do with himself, but aware enough not to rip out all his hair with his super strength.
He stayed there for a few minutes, a mantra of i don’t know what to do i don’t know what to do i don’t know what to do i don’t know what to do i don’t know what to do running through his head.
Then he remembered it was a lab day. He couldn’t be doing this. He had to go. The thought made him panic even more for a minute, before he managed to pull himself together.
He may be an absolute disaster right now, but hopefully a lab day could help him feel better.