SPIDER-BOY | peter parker

EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: THE VULTURE

Ever since he had gotten bitten by that spider in freshman year, Peter had always been optimistic
and proud to be Spider-Man. He practically lived from the adrenaline of it all and the high he got by helping people and the city, constantly striving to do anything he could to help.

He knew from the start that he would have to make sacrifices, have to put others in front of himself, which he didn't mind. Peter never really put himself first even in times when he should, but this was a moment where he really wanted to.

Peter still was grateful for it all, glad that he was the one to be given the abilities, but it was moments like this where he did debate whether or not it was worth it. He knew it was stupid, saving people was so much more important than a high school dance that he would be going to again next year anyways, but a part of himself was still begging him to stay.

Seriously, the one time he actually has a date to one of these things is also the time his friend's dad so happens to be this big bad villain? Ironic.

He knew that Caleb wouldn't mind; Caleb was surprisingly more understanding than most of the people in his life, but Peter still felt horrible about leaving him right now. Go ahead and leave the guy with abandonment issues, great job Peter!

Needless to say, he felt like an asshole.

But that wasn't the most important thing right now, he had to put his own feelings aside for the greater good. Even after being threatened, he couldn't just leave the guy get away with everything, he knew he had to stop him.

Peter's heart was racing and his mind was going through a million thoughts a second as he stood outside of the school gym. His shirt was suddenly feeling tight around his neck, and he was starting to feel much too warm, sweat beaming at his forehead despite how cold the night air was.

He gazed in at his peers for a few seconds, almost frozen in place outside. Peter eventually lifted his arm and grabbed onto the handle, opening the door and walking into the room. The music was loud, almost too loud for him, but he ignored it as he took a few steps inside.

His eyes glanced around the packed room, searching for Caleb, and he couldn't help but smile slightly when he found him.

"Hey," Caleb noticed him at the same time, concern on his face. "What's going on?" he asked, placing a hand on Peter's arm gently.

Peter looked up at him, his expression somewhat a mixture of frightened and confused. "I've gotta go," he stated, looking at him with an apologetic look as he shook his head. "I-I'm sorry, you don't deserve this and I just-" he sighed.

Caleb interrupted him, "What happened?" he asked, not needing an apology. "You have to tell me what's going on, Peter, seriously. What happened at Liz's house?" he demanded.

Peter only nodded slightly, deciding to not say anything before his hand grabbed onto Caleb's sleeve as he began to basically drag him out of the gym and into the empty hallway. He couldn't tell him anything there, it was way too crowded and had too many people listening in.

Once he was out of sight from his classmates and friends, Peter dropped Caleb's hand and began to run frantically down the hallway. He untied his tie and threw it behind him carelessly, letting it land in the middle of the floor.

"Peter why are running?!" Caleb asked as he just kept up with him, watching as he almost fell over one of the balloons on the ground. "You definitely are not supposed to be getting undressed on a first date," he commented breathlessly as Peter finally stopped running when he reached the lockers, lifting them up at the bottom and taking his old suit out.

Peter picked up the suit and the web fluid that he had been hiding there for some reason. He began to take off his suit jacket, "The guy with the wings is Liz's dad!" he explained frantically. "And I have to go after him," he stated, pushing the jacket into Caleb's arms. "I'm so sorry, I just-I'm sorry," he apologized profusely.

"Liz's Dad?!" Caleb repeated, his eyes widening as he held Peter's jacket. "Did he...did he recognize you or anything?" he questioned. "Is that why he was looking at you weirdly the whole time?"

Peter's shaking hands began to unbutton his shirt as he nodded. "Yeah he threatened to kill me and everybody I love," he replied nonchalantly as if it wasn't something so serious. "Which isn't that much of a threat actually it's not like I have a lot of family," Peter added.

Caleb only nodded slightly in agreement. "That's true," he commented. "He can't really kill people that are already dead," he added.

Most people would find the nonchalantness of discussing dead relatives weird...but for them it was just a normal thing. "Exactly," Peter agreed, before he looked up and realized what he was doing in-front of Caleb. "Oh," he stated, turning around before continuing to unbutton his shirt.

"Is it really safe for you to go after him, though? You don't even have your suit, Peter," he stated, clearly concerning about how this could end. "He has all that tech, and you don't even have anything except your homemade stuff."

"Well somebody has to stop him," Peter stated, pulling on the old sweatshirt he made. "Happy isn't returning my calls and I don't have any other way to contact Mr Stark."

Peter changed into his suit before he spoke again, turning around. "I'm really sorry...you really don't deserve this and I'm-" he paused, apparently more concerned about leaving than the possibility of getting hurt. "I'm so sorry, and I swear I'll-"

Caleb could see how frantic and quick Peter was moving, his voice struggling to even keep up what he was saying. He reached forward, putting a hand on his shoulder and steadying him for just a moment. "Peter, it's fine," he assured, his hand moving down his arm subconsciously. "Just be careful okay? Don't get yourself hurt over this."

"Okay," Peter agreed with a small nod, taking a second to just breathe before he began moving quickly again. "Find Ned and let him know what's going on, I left my phone in the guy's car and he'll know how to track it."

He nodded, "Okay," Caleb agreed, still holding onto Peter's shoulder tightly. "Please be careful, alright? If it gets bad...just leave, nothing is worth getting yourself seriously hurt over."

Peter gave him a small smile, "I'll see you after."

Caleb gave him a look before he nodded, letting go of his grip and taking a step away from him; he had to trust Peter to an extent, because there wasn't much he could do right now to help. "I'll see you after," he repeated with a small but forced smile, watching as the boy began running off in the opposite direction.

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A/N - Thus chapter is really short but I couldn't really write much more after Peter leaves, and he doesn't go back to the dance so it was hard lol.

I have about 2 chapters left of the Homecoming part of this book; one still on the night of the dance and one just a few days after.

Thank you for reading!

- August ❤️