Rollercoaster - Peter Parker

07. So, like a Double Date?

Peter winced in pain which was how every Friday morning had started since his birthday. His eyes darted to his leg, examining for spots of blood or anything of that sort. He looked away once he saw the needle, admittedly never fully getting over his fear.

"I've never struck a vein before, Peter. I think I'm a professional at this," May joked, placing a bandaid on his upper thigh. "All done." She gave him a thumbs up, smiling at him before cleaning up the syringe and the vial of testosterone on the kitchen counter.

"Thanks, Aunt May," Peter softly said, a blush creeping up his neck. "Almost five months, you know." Peter looked up slowly at May who smiled while putting away everything. He smiled widely, standing up from his seat.

"Yeah, I know. I'm proud of you, and I'm happy for you." She adjusted her glasses, walking over to hug her nephew. "Ben would be happy, too," she added quietly, squeezing him tightly as they hugged.

Peter nodded at the statement, offering her a sad smile. He nodded once more then turned and walked to his room to get ready for the school day.

Feeling pleased with himself, along with his progressively deeper voice and darker hair that was a lot more noticeable on his arms and legs, Peter decided on wearing a T-Shirt. He added a hoodie on top of that just for good measure, but it was definitely much more exposed than his usual layers of clothing.

"You have everything for the school day? Water bottles? Homework?" May asked as Peter was prepared to walk out the door.

Peter turned, smiling at her. "Don't worry, Aunt May, I've got it down to a T," he deadpanned, cracking a smile when she rolled her eyes at his joke that was actually well thought out.

He waved quickly to May before leaving to catch the bus, propping his backpack higher up on his back as he braced himself for Flash's inevitably comments.

Surprisingly, Flash wasn't on the bus that morning meaning Peter had lucked out pretty well. MJ noticed his wide smile as he sat down, looking around in disbelief.

She smiled at her friend, hiding the grin behind her book. Peter turned to her, gesturing to the back row of seats that were practically empty.

"It's a Halloween miracle," he marveled. He smiled again, jokingly taking out his phone. "I might need to photograph this rare sighting because... wow."

MJ snorted, rolling her eyes. However, she did refrain from calling him a loser, like she usually would have, because he was way too happy. It was pretty nice to see Peter happy, even she could admit that. "Why don't you just tell May about the Flash thing?" she questioned him, confused at Peter's approach to the situation herself. "Clearly you're happier without him here. You're practically oozing happiness."

Peter shrugged, playing with the zippers on his bag in an attempt to avoid her question. She cleared her throat loudly, placing her book into her bag before looking at Peter. "Well?" she asked in an expectant manner.

Peter sighed, dropping the zippers and looking towards his friend. "Well... it's just that May is super happy right now. She's with Harper and is really happy with her. And, last year was enough stress with Flash, right? She doesn't deserve to go through that again."

"You don't deserve to go through this everyday!" she shouted, causing some younger kids to turn their heads at the outburst. "It's not right. They're harassing you daily, and I won't stand for it anymore. If you don't tell May, I'll just tell the principal. And, I'll bring Ned with me too, no matter how nervous he gets. I'll bring everyone I just- I care about your mental health and everything, alright?"

Peter remained silent throughout her spiel, surprised at MJ's level of care she had towards him. He nodded when she finally finished, giving her a small smile because she was completely right. Peter didn't have to take anything Flash threw at him, and he was able to have things lighten up the previous year. He would be able to do the same, he just had to be a little selfish which he was dreading.