Euphoric | Peter Parker

05- Playing Hooky

I sat on my knees and sobbed. I got so frightened it made me throw up. It made me throw up three times.

I thought seeing things that weren't there were over. I thought my mind would be better.

But I was wrong.

I knew this wasn't my brother's doing. I murdered him with my own hands. I felt as he left my head. I knew he was dead.

My heart was pounding so hard it made me have a severely painful headache. A bell chimed throughout the school again.
I was late for class. I wasn't there and I didn't care.

I kind of had an idea as to why Stark made me come here; he must've wanted me to be close to people my age. Certainly, this was a step in the right direction, but I just don't think I could mentally handle it.
Heck, I didn't even know a single thing about how a teenager acts in a school setting!

To make matters worse, I had to pretend to be someone I wasn't. I suddenly was the relative of the famed Tony Stark, and apparently no one knew I existed until now.

My body was shaking. I felt as my body was heating up from the electricity as I cried silently but still accidentally letting out a loud sob every now and then. My body reacted differently whenever I experienced certain emotions. It was as if when I was angry or sad or scared, the electricity charged up just so I could stay alive.

Death was supposed to make me better. I was in a safe environment now. I still had people that cared for me, even though the Avengers split apart.

I sat there with my head in my hands. As I sniffled, I sensed a strong vibration coming from my back pocket.

I stopped crying and reached back and felt the phone Stark gave me. I pulled it out from my pocket and stared at it. It had a green button shining on the screen with the words CALL FROM TONY STARK written across the top. I hesitantly pressed the green circle on the screen and held the phone against my ear, as I saw Stark do once before.
Before I could say anything, Tony decided to speak first.

"Why aren't you at school?" He asked me. "I thought I made it quite clear on what you're supposed to do."

"I am at school." I said. It felt weird talking to him through the small phone.

"Is that so? Then how come you were marked absent during second period, huh? Got an excuse for that?"

"Um....I got sick," I told him weakly as I sniffled again.

Even though he didn't say anything for a while, I could sense a change in his attitude.

"How sick?" He asked.

"I threw up in the restroom."

He sighed. "Go back to the office, tell them you're sick and they'll let you see the nurse so you can be taken care of."

"Okay." I stood on my feet. "Stark?"

"Yeah?"

"Why am I your niece?"

Silence again. I heard him clear his throat.

"Rumors been going around for years that my dad had a secret love child. So, since you needed a new identity, I decided to make the rumor true."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Didn't know how good of an actress you are. Besides, I made it clear to the principal that I wish for your privacy to be secure there. Only him and you should know that you're my niece."

"My chemistry teacher knew."

"What?"

"She knew that I lived with my uncle."

He scoffed. "There goes the principal's picture of me and him to put on his desk. Anyway, go to the nurse. If you are truly sick, Happy will be there to pick you up."

"Okay."

He hung up. I placed the phone back into my pocket and left the stall. I went to the sinks and examined myself in the mirror.

I never told Tony about what happened. He doesn't know about why the twins were actually there and he doesn't know that Peter and I were taken to an alternative universe where I was killed. For all he knows, the twins chickened out during the fight and ran, never to be seen again.

My eyes were shining a brighter blue than ever and my cheeks were a dark red. I lifted up my jacket to see the scars on my stomach. They were an even darker purple than before.
I lightly pressed against one and winced when I could feel nothing but shooting pain coming from it.
It was as if the more the electricity surged through my body, the more painful my wounds became. It felt like they were being reopened.

I sighed as I slowly put my shirt back down. My head was pounding. It was hurting so bad, I couldn't sense what was around me.

I shook my head as I glanced back at my reflection.

Maybe life after death wasn't made to be easier.