The replacement

At first I didn't mind it. Well, I did a little, but not too much. And it wasn't because I was jealous of William, more because I was jealous of him getting all mr Starks attention.

Mr Stark had gotten a new intern. An actual intern, unlike me, using it for a cover. 17, a year older than me ('a year more mature') blond entirely short hair, blue eyes, tall, perfect.

Everything I couldn't be.

He was really nice, too. To everyone. Some would call him a kiss ass, but I want to see the best in people, and after all, he was nice to me too!

For a while.

Then he began the snarky remarks, the occasional push, and suddenly it was every day I got bullied by Flash in school and by William at the tower.

I stopped my train of thoughts as I arrived in Tony's lab, making my way through the doors.

"Hey, mr Sta-"

I stopped when I noticed William helping Mr Stark with his suit.

That's... Odd, i thought to myself. Mr Stark only lets very few people in here, and even less touch his suit because it was 'too dangerous'.

I never got to play with the suit.

"I don't think this is right, kid," Mr Stark muttered to William; "The colour isn't quite there."

"Hi," I greeted, trying to keep my voice from breaking.

"Hey Parker," Mr Stark replied; "I didn't realise you'd be visiting today."

Parker. Visiting.

"It's wednesday... I'm here every wednesday," I reminded him quietly.

"Well, why are you here?"

That one hit me by surprise, and my lips parted slightly.

"I... You said we'd work on that thing," I reminded him, not wanting to reveal it to William, who hadn't said a word since I'd arrived.

"Ah, right. Well, Will's here, so maybe another day?" he suggested, taking a step closer to me; "But, now that you're here - you don't mind emptying out your room here do you?"

"What?"

"Well, Will be staying here for a bit, so I figured he could have your room," Mr Stark explained.

"Mr. Stark, there's countless rooms here," I argued; "Can't he just have any other?"

"That's the only free room on my floor though."

Free room. His floor - no longer ours.

"Right... Well, I'll just... See you next week," I realised quietly.

"Actually, I have plans next week - the week after, maybe. I'll see you around, Parker."

"Bye, Pete," Wills voice sounded from behind his grin.

TONY

"Sweetie, have you seen Peter? It's not like him to be this late," Peter stated, looking at her boyfriend who was deeply indulged in his phone.

"Hm?"

"Maybe he saw something - a muggery or such, and got delayed... I should check on him."

"Who?"

Pepper sighed. It wasn't like Tony to be this distracted.

"Peter, for gods sake. He's not here yet."

"Oh, right, no, he was here," Tony explained; "I sent him home."

"What? To May? Why?"

"I said Will could have his room in case he should want to stay over. Or, I might've told Peter William was staying here, just so he wouldn't be upset."

Pepper placed the glass in her hand on the table hardly, finally gaining her boyfriends attention.

"You kicked Peter out?!"

"No, I'll find him another room somewhere," Tony improvised.

"And why couldn't you do that with William? Get him another room?"

"I wanted him close," Tony admitted quietly.

"I can't believe this."

"What?!"

"You've really outdone yourself, Tony," she told him before pulling on her coat; "Call me when you fix this."

"Excuse me - Tony?" William asked carefully as he entered the living room. He'd heard the argument between the two adults, and knew he needed to up his game if he wanted to end up with a high position with, hopefully, one hell of a pay.

"Yeah, hey kid," Tony greeted, running his hand through his head; "What's up?"

"Can I talk to you?"

"Of course. What's wrong?" Tony asked, growing concerned.

"It's about Peter."

"What about him?"

"He... He's been bullying me," William told, forcing tears into his eyes.

"What?"

"He kept telling me to stay away from you or he'd kill me!"

"William, I need to you to be completely real honest with me here. It's not that I don't believe you, but I need to know this for sure. Did Peter threaten you on your life?"

"Yes."

PETER

I opened my phone as I heard the message pop in.

Mr Stark:

You can leave your suit in the lobby. You're not welcome here anymore. Delete my number.

"No," I whispered; "No, no no!"

"No!" I yelled, pulling my hair as tears streamed down my face.

They hate you

"They don't!"

Of course they do - isn't it obvious?

"No," I repeated, falling on the floor.

THE MORNING AFTER:

"I can do this," I repeated to the mirror. I looked at the list.

Wake up

Shower

Breakfast

Go to school

Go to class

Lunch

Go to class

Decathlon

Go home

Dinner

Homework

Sleep

I marked off 'Wake up' and 'Shower' before pulling my bag over my shoulder.

END OF THE DAY:

Wake up - check

Shower - check

Breakfast - wasn't hungry

Go to school - check

Go to class - check

Lunch - too much talk in the cafeteria. Hid in a bathroom stall all break.

Go to class - check

Decathlon - so what if I missed it just once. Not like anyone wants me there.

Go home - check

Dinner - technically, I did eat... Just not a lot

Homework - I'll do it sometime else

Sleep - hopefully..

SEVERAL WEEKS LATER:

Wake up - didn't sleep

Shower - didn't feel like it

Breakfast - had half an apple

Go to school - maybe tomorrow

Go to class - same answer

Lunch - same

Go to class - same

Decathlon - same

Go home - never left home

Dinner - it's only 2 o'clock, so..

Homework

Sleep

Right in the middle of me updating my list, I heard knocking on the door.

"There's no way he is home, it is school time," he heard Wanda say.

"He hasn't been going to school lately," Natasha's voice replied.

Great, so they're here to yell at me, I realised.

I ignored the voices.

I slowly got up from my spot on the couch, making my way to the bathroom.

I hadn't been taking my antidepressants for a fair while, but...

"Where are theyyy," I whispered quietly.

"Not here," I muttered as I remembered I'd left them at Mr Starks.

I went back to the living room, where I could once again hear the voices outside the door.

"Peter, we need your help."

That did the trick, and I sighed before opening up.

Wanda, Bucky, Sam, Captain and Natasha all stood there.

"Yes?" I asked tiredly.

"Kid, are you okay?" Steve asked worriedly.

"Yeah, when did you last sleep?" Bucky added.

"What do you want?"

They looked awkwardly between each other before Natasha came clean.

"We need somewhere to stay. It's a long stor-""I don't care," I interrupted; "Come on in. You can crash in my room and Aunt May's."

"Where is May?" Sam asked, scuffing his nose at the mess in the living room.

"She needed a break from me," I told.

"What? That's her words?"

"She said she needed a vacation. Guess I must've really been bothering her," I shrugged.

"Make yourself at home. I have to go, but I'll be back in a few hours," I informed.

I made my way to the tower, got my medicine before going back. I paused outside the door, looking at the small jar of pills.

I had originally been on Fluoxetin, an antidepressant, but when I got bit they stopped working. These are the ones Bruce made me. I broke one in half and took it before going in, hiding the rest in my pocket.

I went in the room to see the group hanging out in a nice and neat living room.

"Wha - what happened?"

"We cleaned," Wanda stated.

"I - I can see that. Why?"

Because you're disgusting.

"Thought we'd cheer you up," Natasha replied happily.

"Oh... Thanks," I replied, fully well knowing they were lying.

"Where's Cap?" I asked, realising he wasn't there.

"He's... Taking a nap," Sam lied.

"Where is he?" I repeated.

"He's on the phone with Tony," Natasha admitted.

"Right..."

"Tony said he'd come here to talk to us, Steve is trying to talk him out of it," she continued.

I didn't reply. I was getting dizzy from all of this and just wanted to lie down.

A bang sounded as the door burst open, revealing both Tony Stark and William.

In that moment I would've been swearing if I hadn't felt so off.

"What the hell are you doing hiding here with that guy?!" Mr Stark yelled at his teammates, who looked between me and him.

"Tony, how you're acting, it's not okay!" Steve told him.

Is the room spinning?

"Because you don't know the whole story! Peter has been bullying William since the beginning!"

"Wait, wha-" I felt out of breath and leaned against the table.

"That's not all," I heard William add. Did someone turn off the light? It was dark.

"I saw him do, drugs, too!"

"Peter?" Steve confronted me.

"It's.. They're.. Antidepressants," I stuttered out before I felt my legs collapse under me.

"This... Is nice," I decided, finally relaxing; "I'm tired." 

It's officially my 18th in an hour (the 16th).

My dad thought it was today, my boyfriend forgot the last few years and is avoiding me now, I think because he's nervous.

I'm torn between wanting to be happy about my birthday and hating it because I always get disappointed when I realise how many people close to me forget.

Anyway, here's a chapter! 

You guys are amazing, thank you times a million for all the support and love you give me! 

-Tessa