It wasn't that Peter didn't want to go back to school. He missed Ned, and Mj, and the decathlon team, and even the work. But he didn't want to be reminded of the life he had been living when he had last been to school.

  The meeting with Principal Moria had gone well enough. After some persuasion and mild threatening by Mr. Stark himself, Peter was completely excused and free to go to class. So, here the teen was, walking through the deserted halls of Midtown School of Science and Technology.

  Then the bell rang.

  All the doors along the walls exploded, high schoolers pouring out into the halls and swarming Peter. Peter found himself smooshed against the wall in order to avoid all the moving bodies. Hands grabbed at him, pulling back his shoulders and twisting him around. When Peter expected to come face to face with Flash, he found the one and only Ned Leeds instead.

  "Peter?!" Ned exclaimed as if he was not quite sure he was real.

Peter was hit with an intense wave of nostalgia. Ned Leeds was someone from another lifetime. "H-hey," his voice shook when he spoke. "What's up?"

Ned looked fit to burst. He blubbered for words before settling with, "Nothing much! What about you? How are you?!"

Peter wasn't sure how to answer but he was thankfully saved by the warning bell. He knew that once he started talking about it all, he couldn't be able to stop. The pair started down the hallway towards their next class, all the while Ned was blabbering on about everything Peter had missed during his absence.

***

The Tower was quiet and Tony was not used to it.

Tony was used to having a certain spider-child running around at his side all day long. But alas, spider-children had to go to school. So, here Tony was, sitting at the kitchen island, stirring his cold coffee.

"Good morning," a voice said from behind the billionaire. Tony smiled.

"Good morning, Pep," he replied as the strawberry-blonde came up and kissed the top of his head. She took a seat next to him.

"Where's Peter?" Pepper asked, taking the coffee mug from Tony. She took a sip of the cold beverage and blanched.

Tony chuckled. "School. His leave of absence was up so i finally made him go."

Pepper nodded, pushing the mug away from her. "So, that leaves you...?"

"Alone and bored."

"Ah."

Tony looked at his fiancé longingly. "What am i supposed to do all day, Pep? I'm not used to having all this free time."

Pepper scoffed. "You know, there was a time when you didn't have a son to take care of. I'm sure you'll come up with something," she said, standing up. "And I'm assuming all the coffee is cold, so I'm going to run out and get a cup. Would you like anything?"

  Tony whined. "For something to dooooo."

  Pepper rolled her eyes. "Can't help you there," she said and swooped down for a peck on the lips, which Tony happily obliged to. Then she left the kitchen, a woman on a mission.

On her way out, she bumped into Steve Rogers, coming back from his morning run.

"Hello, Ms. Potts," he greeted the woman, who in turn gave him the cold shoulder.

Tony couldn't help but laugh at the interaction. "Ha!" He exclaimed.

Steve furrowed his brows. "What's so funny?" He asked.

Tony shook his head as he rose from his chair. "Nothing, nothing at all, Captain."

Steve slammed his hand down on the counter, trapping Tony there. He leaned down.

"Tony," he started, frustration dripping from his lips. "We have to stop this. We can't keep disrespecting the other, not if we're going to be a team again."

  Tony glared at the man, forcing down his panic and shoving him aside. "Hate to break it to you, Cap," he sneered and started to make his way out of the tense kitchen. "But until i can trust that you won't betray me and attempt to kill me for what you want, I'm afraid we'll never be a team again."

Steve stiffened. He wasn't sure whether to be angry or guilty, because yes, he did regret what he had done to Tony, but yes, he knew he would do it again. Why couldn't Tony understand?

So, Steve went with anger.

"You can't just-!" He tried before Tony whirled on him.

"Yes, actually I can! I can, i can, i can! Because I'm not the one who put a shield in my teammates chest!" The billionaire exploded.

"You would if you were in my place!" Steve shot back, voice rising in volume.

Tony shook his head. "No, that's where you're wrong. I would never do that to someone over my past. Because i know how to live in the present, Steve. And i advise you do the same," and with that, he strut away, having said what he'd been holding back since Siberia.

  There was no other way to describe how Steve felt other than heartbroken. He stood there for a moment, his being aching not from his run, but from the truth he had just been dealt. He sighed heavily and took a seat at the island.

***

  Peter flopped down at the lunch table and ripped into his lunch bag immediately. He forgot how hungry he got within the school day, when he wasn't allowed to eat whenever he wanted.

  "Loser?" Came MJ's voice. Peter looked up, his mouth full of PB&J.

  "Hey, MJ!" Peter said, swallowing thickly.

  MJ cocked an eyebrow and sat down across from the spiderling. "When did you get back?" She asked.

  Peter shrugged. "This is my first day back."

  MJ nodded and opened her own lunch, pulling out a bottle of iced tea. "How are you?" She asked quietly.

  Peter stopped chewing. Oh, how he hated that question. "I'm okay," he said slowly, pronouncing each word carefully. "How are you?"

  Now it was MJ's turn to shrug. "Just another day in hell," she said as Ned appeared behind Peter, taking his own seat.

  "Hey, guys," Ned panted. His face was red and sweaty.

  Peter made a face. "What happened to you?" He asked.

  MJ and Ned answered at the same time. "Flash."

Peter nearly choked on his sandwhich. "Flash Thompson?!"

MJ nodded. "Since you stopped coming to school, he had to get a new target-."

"Me," Ned finished, pushing his sweaty bangs back.

Peter pursed his lips together, guilt seeping into his skin like a sponge soaking up water. "I'm sorry," he whispered, suddenly losing his appetite.

Ned placed a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Not your fault, dude. You were dealing with your own stuff. I can handle a stupid bully."

MJ snorted. "Can you? Looks like you ran a marathon just to escape."

"Shut up," Ned said. "I so can-."

"Shh," Peter placed a hand over his friends mouth as his neck pricked, a tingling sensation traveling down his spine and pooling in the small of his back. He turned just as the window on the opposite end of the cafeteria exploded, sending glass shards raining down on the scattering teen's below.

"Holy shit!" Ned cried, toppling out of his seat. MJ had pushed her lunch aside to make room for her journal, no doubt drawing the terrified faces of her peers. Peter hopped up from his seat and craned his neck to get a better look at what was going on. His heart nearly stopped when he spotted what had caused the window to shatter.

A woman, with a face red and raw, and blank white eyes. She clambered up onto the lunch table on all fours, making some inhuman sound as she did so.

  By now, MJ has put her journal away, instead latching onto Peter's arm. "Peter..," She said, the arachnid detecting fear in her voice. "What is that thing?"

  Peter gulped down his panic. "I-I'm not sure. Let's just get out of here," he said over the chaos. He found himself internally praying that his dad showed up. He didn't want to do this alone.

  Ned scrambled back on to his feet, grasping MJ's elbow. "I got her," he said, already starting to pull her towards the emergency exit. "You do what you need to do."

  MJ glanced at Peter in confusion, her eyes asking the unspoken question of, what does that mean? But Peter just turned away, already snapping his web-shooters onto his wrists. He dug his mask out of his backpack and pulled it over his face. He really didn't want to do this, the memory of holding up the building still looming over him, but he knew he had to. If he wanted to save his friends and looking at it now, possibly the entire city.

He shot a web and swung into the fray.