The First Day

Even as he got back home Peter felt terrible. His body shook and he felt as if he had a fever though he was sweating so he didn’t understand that. His aunt May asked him to come down for dinner but he told her that he wasn’t feeling well and went to bed. He was plagued by very odd dreams through the night. Dreams he was thankful he couldn't remember. When he woke up, it was a bit earlier than he usually woke up for school, he felt much better. Great in fact…

When he got up and put on his glasses he noticed that when he put them on his vision became blurry. When he took them off he could see just fine. ‘Well that’s odd’, He thought as he set them aside. He yawned and noticed his arm right away. His muscle tone in his bicep, tricep and forearm was...well if he were to explain it he would say, cut. Like someone who worked with small weights and ramped up repetitions at a gym...for years! He looked at his other arm, then his legs, then his stomach. He had very little body fat and small, tight muscles everywhere. ‘What the hell?!’ He thought.

Getting dressed was odd as well. His hands, his palms and fingers seemed to have tiny, little hairs that appeared to grip objects when he picked them up. He could barely see them but he knew that they were there. He also had odd fistulas on the bottoms of his wrists. They didn’t hurt but after inspecting his left wrist closely he flexed his hand and something white and sticky flung out! It hit the lampshade on his end table and it was still attached to his wrist.

“Ah!” he yelped in surprise and as he moved the lamp toppled. After he calmed down and looked at it more closely, and examined his hand that had been, what, bitten? By possibly a radioactive spider?! That HAD to be it he knew. He had been bitten and now it had changed him. He got ready for school.

He arrived about the time he normally did but he was having difficulties with how his hands gripped things. It took some hasty practice at his locker but he thought about his hands not gripping anything and after asserting his will on the situation eventually he found he was able to control it to a degree. Unfortunately the practicing made him late for class and as Mr. Harrison, his Calculus teacher began his lecture he came in. Peter was never late and looked somewhat disheveled when he moved to his usual seat. He didn’t look at anyone and quietly sat and opened up his book.

Serena was worried about Peter. It never was late for class. She began to wonder if he really was sick when suddenly he walked into the classroom. The first thing that struck her was that he wasn't wearing his glasses. Then she noticed how healthy he looked...very healthy, if not disheveled. There was something different about him though...and it wasn't just the fact that he wasn't wearing his glasses. She tried to get his attention throughout class, but he never looked her way.

As soon as class was over she got up and walked out behind him. She reached out and grabbed hold of his jacket to stop him. "Hey Peter...I was worried about you last night. Are you alright? Where are your glasses?"

Peter could feel eyes on him and he noticed Harry looking at him ever so often and thought that that might have been it. When class broke up he moved quickly for the door. He wasn’t really ready to talk to anyone and he wondered how he would get through the day as he felt a hard tug on his jacket. He turned and saw Serena.

“Oh, uh, Hi Serena...They...broke and I don’t have another pair,” he lied. It was a simple enough excuse but lying was not his strong suit. “I must have just eaten something that didn’t agree with me but I felt much better this morning,” he said even though he wasn’t looking at her in the eyes like he usually did. He loved Serena’s eyes but right then he was out of sorts and not acting like he normally did. Harry stopped as he flung his backpack on his shoulder.

“Hi Serena, Hey Peter, you feeling better? You certainly look better, You forget your glasses this morning?” Harry said with a smile. That would be a first. Peter never forgot anything. Somehow it made Harry happy to think that Peter was more like everyone else in that he forgot things sometimes and made mistakes. His father Norman always held Peter up as an example to him of how to be and Harry resented it. Resented it, not Peter, they were best friends after all. Harry noticed ‘other’ things about Peter to, namely the muscles in his neck and in his arms. Somehow that made him grin even more. “You been hittin the gym lately to impress the girls or what?” Harry said to get his goat and embarrass him a little in front of Serena. He winked at Serena as if they were sharing a moment. Peter flinched his arms down though when Harry mentioned that. That and he looked uncomfortable under such scrutiny.

Serena didn't believe Peter's lie about breaking his glasses, but before she could question him further about it Harry appeared beside them. Serena gave Harry a polite nod in greeting, but didn't really focus on him. She was looking more closely at Peter and, like Harry, noticed his muscle tone. Having been working close to him yesterday she knew that his muscles had not looked like that yesterday. Something was going on. Serena did not care for Harry's teasing at Peter's expense and she rolled her eyes at his comment. She wanted to say something more, but their dad's knew one another and she didn't want to cause any problems between them.

She knew that Peter wasn't going to talk about whatever was going on in front of Harry. She sighed when she glanced at the time and knew she needed to get to her next class. "I gotta go. I'll see you guys later."

The school cafeteria was much like any other. With chairs, long tables and the lunch line. Peter was starving and Harry was moving behind him with his lunch tray. “You’ve been really quiet today Peter, you sure you’re alright?” Harry asked. It was kind of funny to him at first but now, after almost a whole day of Peter seeming down Harry wanted to lift his spirits. “I think Serena likes you,” Harry said as he selected a vanilla pudding, a baked potato and the turkey with gravy. The girls tended to eat together and Serena had her own little girl posse. There were the ‘pretty girls’ that sat at one table, the ‘burnouts’ at another though the ‘skuds’ the burn out guys sat with them usually. There were the jocks and jockettes as they were called and then the nerdy kids that usually sat together though self segregated by sex. Her posse were the intelligent, outgoing sort that included the preppies and several of the nerdy girls who never spent much time on their appearance though they were getting better at it with helpful suggestions from some of the others who wanted to help them. Harry was kind of the ringleader of the group of boys but their was a feud between them and the jocks right now.

“So what’s going on with Peter?” Melissa asked. Several of the girls were looking at him and Harry though Tamara only had eyes for Harry. She was leaning on one elbow drinking a milk just staring at him longingly. “He looks...good,” Kelly, a friend of theirs with long, blonde hair and blue eyes said and smiled interestedly at him.

As everyone began to eat one of the jocks, Daniel, a linebacker for their football team nearly tripped over Jordan’s leg as he was about to get up. Jordan was a small kid with shaggy black hair and blue eyes and Daniel was a large, beefy kid with brown hair and eyes. “You tryin to trip me worm?” Daniel said in outrage. The other boys at the table looked worried and even terrified. “I...uh, I didn’t see…” Jordan began to say but Daniel cut him off. “Don’t try to talk your way out of it, I saw ya,” he said then noticed Jordan had only eaten a little of his lunch. He picked up Jordan’s half drunken milk and splashed it into his face. “Aww, how did ‘that’ happen,” Daniel said mockingly and Peter suddenly got up from his chair and moved over there.

“That’s enough Danny,” he said though he called him ‘Danny’ which everyone knew Daniel hated. Daniel smiled a dark smile at Peter and shoved Jordan’s face into his food. “This ain’t none of your business Peter,” Daniel said. “I ‘said’ leave him alone!” Peter said more forcefully and loudly to. Harry had stood hoping to get over there before Daniel pounded Peter into a pulp but now that the lunchroom quieted he froze and looked around concernedly. Daniel saw it to and now knew he had to make an example out of Peter. The table with all of the girls were all watching seemingly fascinated with the prospect of seeing two boys about to fight. Though it was clear, to them anyways how this was going to end. With Peter getting a black eye if not something worse.

As Daniel stepped up to Peter, Peter did take a step back. Daniel was tall. Tall and broad. Peter ‘felt’ something though. A twinge in the back of his head. As if something was about to happen. He wasn’t afraid of Daniel, not right then anyway though he certainly used to be. Before Serena could do anything herself to stop it Daniel threw a punch at Peter. Peter ‘felt’ it coming as much as he saw it. And what he saw was very strange. The punch was ‘slower’ than it should be coming at him and he just simply moved out of the way. To everyone else Peter moved extremely fast and shifted his upper body out of the way of the punch. Daniel swung again with the same result. He swung at Peter twice more, faster and again Peter calmly dodged, not even moving his feet. Harry grinned no longer worried. Everyone else looked poleaxed at what they were seeing. A little boy standing up to a bigger boy and holding his own. Finally Daniel charged at him to tackle him and Peter, somehow, kicked himself up and to the side.He put his hand on Daniel’s shoulder and hopped behind him and shoved him forward. Daniel slid, the floor squeaking as his cheek hit it and slid until he came to rest at the feet of the Principle himself who had moved up to see what the ruckus was about. He did not look pleased.

“Daniel...Peter, my office,” he said angrily. Fighting was not allowed!

Serena's parents ate fairly healthily due to their jobs and needing to keep in shape. Such habits had worn off on Serena, though she also ate her fair share of junk food. Due to her high metabolism because of her mutation she could eat anything she wanted and not gain any weight. Today she had grabbed a salad, a yogurt parfait, and a bottle of water. She glanced over and saw Peter and Harry together in line behind her and sighed a little. She liked Peter and had thought yesterday that he liked her, but now she was beginning to question that. She had told him a secret of hers, and yet though something was clearly going on with him he didn't seem to want to talk to her about it.

After paying for her food, she walked over to the table where she always sat with some of the other smart girls in school and took her usual seat. She opened up the top of her spinach salad and began to eat while the other girls talked around her. She didn't feel much like talking today. Suddenly though, she heard a commotion to her left. As she looked over she saw Daniel, a linebacker for the football team, confronting Jordan. Everyone in the cafeteria was looking their way and Serena was about to get up to stop Daniel when suddenly Peter did it. She held her breath as she watched Peter confront Daniel, who towered over Peter. Peter held his ground though and didn't look afraid. That wasn't what surprised her the most though. It was what happened next. As Daniel took a swing at Peter, Peter easily dodged out of the way. Not only that, but he moved so fast that Serena could hardly believe what she had seen. Then Peter did it again and again and again. His feet never moved, only his upper body. She seriously could not believe what she was seeing. Then, when Daniel grew angry enough he charged at Peter, but Peter easily got out of the way, sending Daniel flat on his face on the cafeteria floor. Serena just stared at Peter and if he looked her way he would see the intensely curious look in her eyes. She wasn't afraid of what was happening to him, that much would be clear to him.

Harry thought it was unfair for Peter to be caught up into this. Yes he had confronted Daniel but Peter never really touched Daniel. It was less of a fight as it was an odd dance. But Peter was doing something good and he would not stand for him being treated like this. He was often arrogant like that, and felt his clout could get him out of whatever trouble Peter was in. He was surprised to see Serena step up to him as they moved down the hall toward the Principle’s office.

“You saw?” Harry asked plainly as they walked. Serena had clout to as it stood. Together they were actually a pretty formidable force if they ever stopped to think about it. He stopped though and took Serena aside. “Serena, did you...say something to Peter yesterday? Did anything, you know ‘happen’...between you two?” He asked. “I know Peter and ever since yesterday he has not been at all himself,” He said. “It’s either that or we’re the ones going crazy,” Harry said almost absentmindedly like it was a real option.

Serena was no longer hungry. She deposited her tray and then walked over to Harry as Peter left with Daniel and the Principal. She could tell he was just as curious about what was going on with Peter as she was. However his question about whether anything had happened between Peter and herself the day before caused her gaze to narrow at him. “No, nothing happened between us. We just did the experiment at the lab together. I never saw anything happen to him so I’m not sure what’s going on but clearly something is. I’m not happy with Peter being dragged to the principal’s office either. He never touched Daniel.”

Harry paused to look at Serena. Beautiful with her hair done just so and her nice clothes. She had nice eyes and a sexy body. “Me either,” Harry said as he walked with her. “You know I’m not really...attracted to Tamara,” He said as if he had to explain himself. “I was just being nice to her. Would you...like to go out to dinner sometime? Or a movie?” Harry said taking a chance. He had not approached her when he saw Peter liked her but now, he wasn’t so certain Peter and her were going to be ‘a thing’.

Serena glanced at Harry when he explained to her that he wasn't actually attracted to Tamara. She knew that Harry liked her by the way he always looked at her and flirted with her. She had thought that perhaps something might happen between Peter and herself, but now she wasn't so sure. She had put the ball in Peter's court by giving him her phone number, but he had never even given her his. She looked at Harry for a moment when he finally asked her out. He was attractive and they did have a lot in common. She finally nodded a little. "Sure, we could do that."

“Well, now that we got that settled, lets see what we can do for Peter,” Harry said. With the both of them standing up for him Peter did not get suspended. Daniel did though for bullying and fighting. A 2 day suspension. So few because he was one of their best players on the football team. As the three of them walked back, Peter in front he seemed...unhappy that they had interfered. Harry was worried about Peter, he had never not seen him out of sorts like this.

“No good deed goes unpunished Peter, you know that by now,” Harry said as he took his arm to stop him. When Peter looked back at him though he frowned. “I know Harry,” Peter said then looked over at Serena. “I...would have called…” Peter said to Serena and then just sighed as if he were defeated in some way. “Thanks guys...I’ve got to get to class” He murmured and moved quickly down the hall away from them.

Harry frowned at his back. “Well something is bothering him,” Harry said though by now that was the understatement of the year. Little he could do about it now until he could get him alone to talk to him. He looked at Serena who looked just as troubled. “You free tonight, say around 7?” Harry asked her, seizing the moment.

Serena was not afraid to stand up for Peter. He didn't deserve to have his record tarnished because of Daniel. He hadn't even tried to touch Daniel, but there was an entire cafeteria of people who could vouch that Daniel had taken multiple swings at Peter. Peter really wasn't acting like himself though and as she watched him walk away down the hall she sighed and then glanced at Harry. It was Friday so she didn't have any reason to rush to get her homework done. "Yeah, I'm free tonight."

After Peter got home he left again and this time he went into the city. Something was happening to him and or had already happened and he needed to get a grip on himself. For starters he needed to understand all of what has changed. His entire body seemed to be able to move and react much faster than it ever had before. He had sensed Daniel’s swing before it happened and it was like he was moving in slow motion. His eyesight was acute and he could see details about everything that he never could before. He turned and walked into an alley. The brick buildings were old and it smelled awful with all the dumpsters. However as that same twitch came he instinctively leapt to the side as someone on a dirt bike sped through the alley. As he watched the crazy rider go he noticed that he wasn’t on the ground. He was on the wall, his hands down near his hips, pressed up against the wall. And HE was on the wall ten feet above the ground. He smiled and went to work to discover what else he could do.

The next day Harry had told him that he and Serena had gone out and were dating. Peter had taken it all well but most of that was just putting on a good face. He really liked Serena but now it felt ‘odd’ thinking about her romantically when his best friend was dating her. Which was how he found himself at Osborn Corp. doing another experiment with her as his partner. This time the experiment involved taking the samples they had from the first day and they themselves designing 3 experiments to determine the radioactive decay on the arachnids cells. As they worked Peter noticed Serena wasn’t saying much.

“I would have called you if I wasn’t sick, honest,” Peter said finally though kept his voice down. Tamara was not pleased that Serena and Harry were now an item. She felt betrayed to a degree. There was an unspoken rule that when a girl liked a guy, he was off limits to her friends! Concern for Peter had been the link their though. “Or did you just give me your number to make Harry jealous?” Peter said really wanting to know her motivations. One moment he felt they were getting closer and the next she was dating his best friend. He didn’t ‘want’ to feel betrayal so he didn’t but it still hurt a little.

Serena and Harry had gone out to dinner and then a movie that night. By Monday morning everyone seemed to know that they were now an item. She didn't make a big deal of it though. Deep down she still felt that she liked Peter better, but now that she was with Harry she felt it was only fair to give him a chance. That afternoon on the way to Osborn Corp. she sat next to Harry on the bus. She felt Tamara's eyes boring into the back of her skull during the ride since Tamara had liked Harry. Tamara hadn't spoken to her all day and was making her feelings known silently.

Peter and Serena remained lab partners and she could feel a bit of awkwardness settle between them, which was different than last week when there seemed to be something happening between them. She sighed a little and glanced at Peter when he said that he would have called her if he hadn't been sick. She decided to side-step responding to that comment and instead focused on what was going on with him.

"Peter, I've been worried about you all weekend. I know something has happened. Would you please just tell me what it was?" she said in barely more than a whisper.

Peter didn’t want to say it outright but Serena had hurt his feelings by going out with Harry. It was stupid to feel that way he knew, they hadn’t declared anything but he still felt ‘raw’ about it. Even if she wanted to sidestep it all he wasn’t certain he was ready to do that. But then he recalled her telling him some very secret and personal on the bus Monday. She had trusted him with that secret and he felt he owed her that same trust. Her parents were Avengers after all.

“Alright, but...but I’m not certain I can tell you where you’ll understand. I’d...i’d have to show...you,” he said awkwardly and saw her eyebrows draw up. “No, nothing like…’that’!” he said as his cheeks colored in embarrassment. Harry was watching them, though he could not hear them and Tamara fumed as he saw him watching them. “After school?” Peter asked though that might not be possible with her having a car come to pick her up. She was one of the few students besides harry who had a cell phone. He didn’t, he never had money for anything even like that. His camera had cost him alot and he was still making payments on it.

Peter wanted to tell Serena that he felt something for her. ‘More’ than just friendship. That and alot more but he also felt that he had missed his chance with her. That thought burned a lump of coal into his stomach which made the butterflies flutter around it. It hurt but what could he do? He didn’t want to lose her as a friend. Her or Harry. He didn’t want...whatever was happening to him, he wanted Serena. This ‘spider’s stuff, was already screwing with his life!

Serena tried to focus on the experiments that she and Peter were designing, but she was finding it difficult between thinking about her new relationship with Harry, thinking about what a relationship with Peter might be like, and worrying about what was going on with Peter. Thankfully, he agreed to show her what was going on after school. She would have to make some kind of excuse to Harry, who she could already tell was watching Peter and herself closely. “Ok, after school.”

They managed to finish up their experiments and on the bus ride back to school she sat next to Harry again, who insisted on holding her hand. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but it she allowed it to happen. They got through the remainder of the day and then after school she texted Happy that she was going to be a few minutes late. She made an excuse to Harry that she had an appointment she needed to get to (which wasn’t entirely a lie) and quickly left. She and Peter had agreed to meet behind the school and no one else was around. She looked at him as he approached. “I promise whatever is going on I’m not going to laugh or judge you. I just want to know that you are ok.”

Peter had a basketball. He wasn’t on the team, JV or otherwise, he was not athletic...well, he wasn’t until NOW! Which was probably more of a surprise to himself than it would be to anyone else. He held onto the fact that Serena was a mutant and lived in a place filled with them and altered...humans like Captain America. He bounced the basketball as he waited for her. When he saw her, he wasn’t certain if he was relieved or more nervous.

“Ok, i’ll start by saying I think I was bitten by a radiated spider. I think its what made me sick,” he said as he bounced the basketball. Then he began to play. He did layups, backwards and forwards, all sorts of super difficult basketball moves that even a pro would have difficulty doing. Including hanging from the basket. He used his webs to shoot the ball as he threw it, pull it back then throw it easily into the basket. He climbed up the brick wall of the school using his hands and just sat there on the wall above her. He doubted this was anything truly amazing for her. Her parents flew around in suits and There had been a Spider Woman at one time in the avengers. He hopped down from over 20 feet as if it was nothing and finished by lifting up the back of a car parked in the parking lot with one hand...easily.

“Well?” he asked as he waited for her to say something.

Serena just stared at Peter for a moment or two as her mind tried to comprehend everything. This was big...really big and she could understand now why he had been trying to hide it. She knew what that was like. For the first two weeks after discovering her powers she didn’t tell anyone. Suddenly she began to grin. “Peter, that’s incredible! Perhaps you should come to the Tower with me so my dad can look at you and make sure you’re ok.”

Peter barely broke a sweat with all of that activity. He was happy that Serena wasn’t put off by any of that but he frowned when she spoke about telling her father about him. He wasn’t certain if he wanted anyone to know. But...but it was Tony Stark! Ironman! He had more than a little excitement about meeting ‘The-Tony-Stark!’ But it warred with him wanting to keep it all a secret.

The more people that knew...the more likely it was no longer a secret. And he had people to protect. He looked down and shook his head. “I...don’t think that is such a good idea,” he said reluctantly as he scratched the back of his neck. “You know and I think that’s enough, for now ok? You...won’t tell anyone will you?” He asked hesitantly.

Serena respected Peter’s decision and she understood why he wanted to keep this to himself. She nodded. “If you keep my secret I’ll keep your Peter. Please let me know if you change your mind about my father though.” She knew she needed to go but she wanted to say one more thing. “I do like you Peter. Even if we aren’t together can we still be friends?”