Peter wasn't stupid enough to have hoped that Flash would leave him be after what happened in homeroom. As May was gone, he was staying with Mr. Stark and Miss Potts for a couple of days and had an unusual amount of confidence, so when Flash taunted him that morning, he talked back. Of course, he knew he was screwed when Flash passed him a note saying to watch his back five minutes later. He'd just kind of, sort of, really forgotten about it until now.

"Get over here, Penis!" Flash yelled, storming down the hallway.

Peter barely had time to shut his locker before Flash's fist found Peter's face. Stumbling backwards into the lockers, Peter's head slammed back and hit the door.

"Whoa, stop!" Ned exclaimed, trying to pull Flash off.

Flash ignored him and kicked Peter in the shins.

"You think you're all that?" he yelled, jamming his elbow down onto the crook of Peter's neck. He grabbed Peter's collar and forced him to look up. "I'll teach you to talk back to me!"

"Mr. Thompson!" Principal Morita shouted, stopping Flash from swinging at Peter.

Both boys looked up to see Morita running towards them with a frown.

"My office now," Principal Morita told Flash. Turning to Peter, he said, "Mr. Parker, go find the nurse for your face then join us."

As Principal Morita took Flash to his office, Ned helped Peter off the ground and guided him down to the nurse's office. Once Peter was safely in the nurse's office, Ned hurried off to English. Fortunately for Peter, Flash hadn't managed to break the bone around his eyes. He would have a nasty bruise for the next few hours though. With no other medication to help the bruising, he was given an ice pack before the nurse walked him down to Principal Morita's office.

"I'm glad you could join us, Peter," Principal Morita said as Peter walked in. He gestured towards a seat by Flash and Peter reluctantly sat down. "I've called both of your guardians and they agreed to meet with me. They'll be here in fifteen minutes. In the meantime, you two can stay here silently while I go write up an accident report."

Neither of them said a word. At their silent agreement, Morita nodded and got up from his desk, leaving Peter and Flash alone in his silent office for fifteen minutes.

Mr. Thompson was the first parent to arrive. When he walked up to the front desk, Principal Morita led him back to his office and the four sat awkwardly as they waited for Peter's guardian to show up.

At exactly 1:18pm, the office door opened and Tony Stark walked in, looking around in confusion before finding Peter. He smiled when he saw the curly-haired kid, but frowned immediately when he saw the ice pack Peter held to his black eye. Without greeting the principal, he rushed to Peter's side to ask what happened.

"It's not that big of a deal, Mr. Stark," Peter mumbled, aware of the stares he was receiving. "Can we just get this over with? I'm missing class."

Mr. Stark scoffed.

"You're coming home, kid," he replied. Peter's jaw dropped. "Your face is more purple than normal, Pepper's in the lobby freaking out, and I'm not gonna just leave you here."

"But I have school!"

"I'll handle it," Mr. Stark replied before turning towards Principal Morita and asking for an explanation.

"Eugene attacked Peter in the hallway," Principal Morita said, directing the information at both adults.

Mr. Thompson frowned and looked at his son who shrunk in his seat.

"Considering the damage done and the multiple reports that this isn't uncommon, Eugene will be suspended for two days."

"I'm sorry, what?" Mr. Stark interrupted, leaning forward in his seat. "He beats Peter up regularly and you're giving him a two-day suspension?"

"We don't have any more evidence, so I'm afraid that's the case," Principal Morita replied uncomfortably.

Mr. Stark glared at Flash but stopped when Peter elbowed him sharply.

"Peter is free to go home now," Principal Morita said, drawing Mr. Stark's attention once again. "But we expect him at school tomorrow."

"Three grand says he skips the next three days," Mr. Stark replied immediately, "No penalty or homework."

Principal Morita looked a little surprised.

Taking his hesitance as a 'no', Mr. Stark said, "Twelve grand."

"Alright," Principal Morita agreed. Mr. Stark nodded and stood up, helping Peter to his feet even as Principal Morita protested. "Mr. Stark, we're not done."

"No, I know," he said, guiding Peter out the door. "I'm sending Peter home now with my fiancée—I'm sure you know her. I'll be right back."

Peter grumbled the whole way into the lobby until he saw Pepper. Grinning, he happily let her pull into a tight hug immediately and even allowed her to look over his face.

"I'm okay!' he said, only pulling away slightly. "Honestly, you're worse than May."

"Peter, let her fuss," Mr. Stark said, letting go of Peter. "It will just be easier."

"You go get that boy expelled for this," Pepper said, pointing at Mr. Stark but continuing to gently rub Peter's bruised eye.

"I'll see what I can do," he replied, kissing her quickly.

Shooing him off, Pepper turned and walked Peter outside to the waiting car.

"What happened?" she demanded, giving him a knowing look. "I want to know everything that boy did so I can fix it."

Peter sighed and told her the story, completely aware of stares coming from the classrooms and the whispers behind the doors. Deciding to ignore them, he happily let Pepper lead him past as many classrooms as she wanted because honestly, he was more than willing to let Pepper and Mr. Stark fuss over him when May wasn't around to do it instead.