Always Silent, Peter Darling

Chapter 12

It was late in the evening when the bus got back to Queens, everyone was tired and a little shell shocked, but Peter was glad at least no one got hurt.

Parents were nervously awaiting the arrival of their children and the moment they stepped out of the bus parents and students alike ran towards each other giving relieved hugs.

And of course, May was there, the last person Peter wanted to see at the moment, but it was inevitable anyway. She ran towards him as fast as she could manage in heels before hugging him tightly.

Unfortunately, Peter would get no comfort from the gesture. From the painful spike of his spidey sense and the fact it was only for show, the hug felt empty and Peter only felt worse for it.

He knew it was fake, and once he was in the passenger seat of her car, she made sure he knew so not to confuse her actions with real caring. Peter learned the hard way to to make that mistake.

"You're disgusting, when was the last time you had a shower?" She was already pulling out of the school parking lot when she spoke.

Peter didn't answer but his spidey sense spiked, then he was met with a smack on the back of the head.

'Day before yesterday,' Peter signed.

In his defense, he was a little busy stopping bad guys and saving friends to be worrying about a shower, but now he's really wishing he did.

"That's repulsive," She practically snarled as she gave him side glances. "How inconsiderate are you, you probably knew I'd have to touch you when you got back and you did it on purpose!" She spat.

'I'm sorry,' he signed, that was the only thing that probably wouldn't get him a smack to the head.

His spidey sense flared up again, he was smacked in the head a little harder this time. Guess he would've been hit either way.

"You're damn right your sorry! You're taking a shower when you get home."

Peter was suddenly filled with dread.

When they got back to the apartment, May had him climb up the eight flights of stairs while she took the elevator. With the inhuman amount of stamina the stairs really didn't take much effort, but the fact that he's been running on little to no sleep followed by an emotionally stressful day, it only added to his mental exhaustion.

She was sitting in her usual spot on the couch, watching the remainder of her show when he finally walked through the door. He went to his room to grab fresh clothes before stepping into the bathroom.

He set his clothes on the sink before closing the curtain across the bathtub/shower. When he turned it on he didn't bother with the hot water, May somehow turned it off. Peter could never figure out how exactly but she knew how to turn off the hot water to their apartment. Since there wasn't a valve control in the apartment itself (Peter had spent weeks looking, so he was positive about that) she must tell the landlord to do it.

It was almost funny the lengths she would go to to make him suffer... at least it would be, if he wasn't suffering.

The moment the water turned on, he felt the bathroom drop a few degrees.

He did have a choice, but the alternative of taking a cold shower would be spending the night in the closet. Peter really wanted to sleep in a bed tonight, so freezing shower it was.

It goes without saying, but the shower was extremely unpleasant. The icy water against his sore muscles and bruises didn't help the experience, but at least it sorta blocks out his active spidey sense. He just had to focus on the cold hitting his back, instead of the spike of warning running down his spine.