Rumors

School the next day was…eventful. Peter was exhausted. He was moving slower. Flinched a lot too. Felt like crap. Ned even helped him walk for a few, him using his friend as a crutch in a way. It was a weird day. Less staring, thankfully. But at lunch, people gave him extra food. But he didn’t eat it. He didn’t eat anything. He was too stressed. He wore the beanie to school too and kept it on all day, up until he didn’t.

Peter and Ned were in their last period. The teacher let them chill for the last few minutes of class since there wasn’t much to do. And…that’s when it happened.

Flash came up to him. Ned walked away to go talk to someone else. And Peter stayed in his seat, him too tired and sore to move.

“Nice hat,” Flash said.

“Oh, funny,” Peter said sarcastically with an eye roll.

“No, really. I like pink,” Flash said seriously.

“Seriously?” Peter asked, Flash nodding.

“It’s a nice color on you, Parker,” Flash said. “It goes with your skin tone.”

“I couldn’t find another hat,” Peter admitted quietly before smiling slightly.

“Why even wear one?” Flash asked, almost hesitantly.

Peter froze. He was too tired to come up with an explanation. And he didn’t wanna be sarcastic, not with Flash actually being nice to him for once. Well, not once, since he’s been leaving him alone for a while now. But still. He wanted their relationship to start to repair itself. So him being nice in return was needed.

“Uh…” Peter said before slowly sliding the hat off, everyone in the class freezing.

Flash stared before the sound of the bell caused Peter to flinch. He quickly put the hat on and left the classroom. Everyone immediately pulled out their phones to text their friends, all of them spreading the word that Peter was now bald.

——

“I have to get to the Avengers Tower,” Peter said to Ned as he walked down the street.

“Anything I can do to help your anxiety situation?” Ned asked.

“If you could find out why people are being so weird around me at school, I’d appreciate it,” Peter said before adjusting his hat.

“Got it,” Ned said.

——

The walk to the Tower was…really boring. He stumbled a few times because of stress and exhaustion but he made it there just fine, thankfully.

“Hey, Peter,” Bruce said with a smile as he saw Peter coming into the Medbay.

“Hey, Dr. Banner,” Peter said tiredly before yawning.

“Tired?” Bruce asked, Peter nodding before he stumbled slightly. “Peter?”

“I’m okay. It’s stress, and exhaustion, and the fact that I haven’t eaten because I haven’t had an appetite today because of stress,” Peter listed.

“It’s actually good that you didn’t eat. I’m gonna be taking some blood if you don’t mind. Cho is busy so I hope you’re fine with me,” Bruce said.

Peter nodded and made his way over to the gurney. He lied down on it and stared at the ceiling. His vision swirled when he hit the bed and got even worse when he felt the needle go into his arm.

“You sure you’re okay? Other than everything you listed,” Bruce said awkwardly.

“No,” Peter mumbled. “I have too much schoolwork to catch up on. I have no motivation. I’m just…a mess.”

“I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?” Bruce asked as he took another vial of blood.

“Freeze time so I can get a break and complete my schoolwork,” Peter said, Bruce smiling.

“I can’t freeze time but once I’m done here, we can not do tests today. You look exhausted,” Bruce said seriously. “Why don’t you just lay down for a while in here? Sleep.”

Peter nodded, him being too tired to argue.

“Nice hat by the way,” Bruce said, ushering to the pink beanie he was wearing.

“Oh, yeah. My…my head was cold,” Peter said with a slight smile.

“Your head get cold often?” Bruce asked.

“Ever since I shaved my head, yeah,” Peter said, Bruce doing a double take. “Oh yeah, I shaved my head earlier.”

Peter slid off the hat, Bruce staring.

“Okay…” Bruce said slowly. “Why?”

“Because I ripped a clump of hair out of my head during class,” Peter mumbled, Bruce frozen.

“You what?!” Bruce yelled anxiously.

“My anxiety makes my hands go sticky and I ended up ripping my hair out. It was a clump and I couldn’t exactly hide it so I just…shaved my head when I got home,” Peter said before going quiet.

“I’m sorry this is so difficult for you,” Bruce said sincerely. “But take it from someone who had to…adjust to their powers…like a lot…you’ll be okay.”

Bruce smiled. Peter nodded and closed his eyes. He was so exhausted, and honestly he was too stressed that he was calm. And he fell asleep without even caring when or if he would wake up.

——

Peter woke up slowly to a ringing sound. He groaned and realized he was in the Avengers Tower. He noticed his phone next to the gurney in the Medbay and grabbed it.

“Hey, Ned,” Peter said tiredly as he got off the gurney and heard his stomach make a noise.

Shit. He needed food. There was food in the common room/kitchen. And honestly, Thor wouldn’t notice if one of his pop tarts went missing. So he made his way up there while staying on the phone with Ned.

“So I found out why everyone has been staring at you,” Ned said.

“Great. Why?” Peter asked before talking to the elevator. “Kitchen please, Friday.”

“So they may or may not think you’re…sick,” Ned said slowly.

“What? Why?” Peter asked.

“You miss school. You have doctors appointments all the time. You don’t take gym because of ‘medical reasons.’ You leave early. You come late. You miss assignments. You look exhausted. Oh and today you ripped out a part of your hair,” Ned listed. “Which people noticed by the way.”

“Oh my god. This is too much,” Peter whined anxiously before running his hand over his head but groaning.

Peter fixed his beanie and closed his eyes. He stumbled and held onto the wall of the elevator.

“People think you have cancer,” Ned said.

“What?! No,” Peter whined again as he got out of the elevator. “What do I even do?”

“What if you pretend to have cancer?” Ned suggested.

“No, Ned. Just because it’s a rumor that everyone thinks doesn’t mean it’s true. I’m not faking having cancer,” Peter said as he walked into the kitchen and froze, realizing about half of the Avengers were staring at him. “I gotta go.”

Peter hung up the phone and stared, everyone staring back.

“I can explain,” Peter said slowly.

“Yeah, yeah…that would be nice,” Sam said awkwardly.

“But I need food first,” Peter said before Sam tossed him a bag of chips. “Thanks, Mr. Wilson.”

Sam nodded before Peter opened the bag. He started eating and didn’t stop, not until the whole bag was empty. He practically inhaled the contents of the bag.

“Peter?” Sam asked.

“Huh? I’m sorry, did you want some?” Peter asked, his mouth and face filled with chips.

“No, I’m good,” Sam said.

Peter went to reach into the bag and whined when there wasn’t any left. He folded the bag into a smaller size and put it in the trash. Sam handed him a napkin before ushering to his face.

“So what’s going on?” Clint asked as Peter wiped the chip crumbs off his face. “What’s this about you faking cancer?”

“That’s…not okay, Peter,” Sam said awkwardly.

“No, I’m not faking it. But I don’t have a choice,” Peter said before sighing. “Because of being Spider-Man, I need tests done with Doctor Banner and Doctor Cho. And I miss school. A lot. I end up in the nurses office a lot too taking nutrition supplements that Doctor Banner made. And everyone thinks I’m dying of cancer.”

“That’s a pretty huge assumption,” Steve said awkwardly before Peter slid off his beanie.

Everyone froze.

“I started pulling my hair out in class yesterday, not on purpose but…everyone apparently saw,” Peter said quietly. “And today…now that I think about they, everyone probably saw me show this to Flash. So…”

Peter stared at the ground.

“I don’t know what to do,” Peter said, his eyes watering slightly.

“It’s okay, kid,” Sam said before sighing.

“We’ll think of something,” Steve said.

“As much as I hate to say it, he should fake it,” Clint said before getting glares from Sam and Steve. “Hear me out. If people think he’s dying, they won’t think he’s Spider-Man. And the more tests that happen now, the less that need to be done in the future. So theoretically, the amount of ‘doctor’s appointments’ he has to go to will lessen with time. So if anyone asks he can just say that he doesn’t wanna talk about it. But he can fake having cancer now, without actually confirming it if he’s uncomfortable with that, and then as the tests lessen and eventually disappear, so will his ‘cancer’.”

“Cancer?” Tony asked as he stopped in the doorway. “You have cancer?!”

“No!” Peter said frantically as he saw Tony on the verge of hyperventilating. “I’m okay, Mr. Stark! I’m just fake dying!”

“Wha-” Tony asked as he tried to catch his breaths.

“The kids gonna fake having cancer so no one suspects he’s Spider-Man,” Clint said.

“That’s an extremely oversimplification of the conversation,” Sam said before glaring at Clint.

“So you’re not dying?” Tony asked, Peter shaking his head. “Thank god, kid. Giving me a heart attack. You do realize I have heart problems, right? Don’t do that to me.”

“Sorry, Mr. Stark,” Peter said as he rubbed the back of his head.

Clint rubbed his eyes. Steve left the room, him not even bothering to have a conversation on morality and ethics. Sam watched as Clint left the kitchen after Steve.

“I promise not to fake getting cancer ever again,” Peter said awkwardly, Sam and Tony both rubbing their eyes.