Spidey and the Iron Girl: Vol. 2

#2: Typical College Burnout

A few weeks later Peter found himself waking up to his alarm clock, the dissonant buzzing ripping him from the delicious, borderline delirious sleep he'd been in. With a groan he wiped the drool from his mouth and then mashed his fingers into the screen of his phone until the noise stopped.

He'd been out way too late last night. Not, you know, having fun as May kept pushing him to do, but trying to kill two stressful birds with one stone by taking pictures of the crimes he stopped while on patrol. He had to be careful, since pictures that were taken too close or too consistently of Spider-man's activities would blow his cover. But it had been working up until this point. At the very least, J. Jonah Jameson, his new boss, had been yelling at him marginally less. The man sure had a bone to pick with Spider-man. Peter didn't fully understand it, but as long as it kept his pictures in demand...

His secondary alarm went off now and Peter woke with a start. Shit, he'd fallen asleep again! He checked the clock-- 8:15 am. Professor Butler was going to kill him!

Quickly, he rolled out of bed, ready to take on the day in just his pajamas if necessary. Thankfully, he caught sight of himself in the mirror and stopped to change out of his Spider-man suit that he'd apparently knocked out in. That would have been a disaster.

Professor Butler was a witty, charming, intelligent man in his late thirties who's overall attractiveness kept his class filled to the brim with young women. The professor seemed more than delighted by this-- almost inappropriately so, if Peter's opinion counted for anything. But the professor was much less fond of the young men in his early Biology class. Peter had been late a few times already and each time the professor found some new way to embarrass him.

"Peter Parker!" Professor Butler exclaimed as he tried to quietly sneak past the front of the room to sit down. "Good morning! How nice of you to join us."

"Oh, uh, good morning, Professor. I'm sorry I'm late, I just--," Peter stuttered.

"You just what?" Butler crossed his arms. "What's the excuse this time for showing such complete and utter disrespect of my time?"

"I, uh, my alarm--," Peter began to explain.

"He was just grabbing my textbook for me, I forgot it when I came to class," Collin cut in, from her place in the back of the classroom. She had been changing seats in almost every class to talk to new people. Today, it seemed, was the day to socialize with the loners in the backseats. She waved Peter up to come sit with her. "Thanks so much, Pete, you're a real lifesaver."

"Ms. Stark, I would have let you go back to your dorm if you'd just asked," The professor frowned up at her as Parker made his way hurriedly to the row she was in.

"I'll remember that next time, Professor. I just didn't want to miss a second of your lecture," Collin laid it on thick, smiling charmingly. The professor chuckled.

"Flattery, eh? Is this what we're resorting to?"

"They say it will get you anywhere," Collin smiled winningly at him. Butler shook his head amusedly before turning back to the board just as Peter sat down.

"Thank you," He whispered earnestly.

"No problem. You know I'm the only one allowed to bully you," Collin smiled at his tortured expression... but then the smile faded as she took in his sunken eyes and gaunt cheekbones. "Peter, are you okay? You look like shit."

"Thanks," He replied dryly.

"No, I mean it. You look exhausted," Collin frowned.

"I hear talking, Ms. Stark!" The professor called from in front of the board without turning around. The two of them immediately quieted but as soon as class was done, Collin latched on to Peter's elbow.