He left during the second hour of the school day, and he came back in the fifth. So, Peter Parker had managed to skip math, which he hated the teacher so he was okay with it, and history. But he actually like his history teacher, so it did sadden him a little that he wasn't going to make the class that day. And if he did, he would just be lectured about punctuality.
He came in closer towards the end of the history hour, and by then it would be pointless to go in. So he hid out in the bathroom (and changed out of his suit since he hadn't done that) for the rest of that period until the bell rung.
Peter still managed to be late to his next class after wrestling off his suit.
"Sorry I'm late," Peter panted. His hair was a disheveled mess, and his clothes were all ruffled up.
Most would think he got mugged or something, but a certain girl new that wasn't the case. She'd seen it in class. Sure, she wasn't supposed to be using her phone, but they worked as a team. She had to watch over him when he assisted in jobs other than a simple alleyway crime. So, all of the last two hours, she'd been watching the live broadcast of how Spider-man stopped a bank heist.
And man did that do some things to her nerves.
"You're excused, but please do try to be on time," their Spanish teacher scolded.
Peter muttered another quick apology before making his way to the back of the room. It was where he and y/n sat. Always by each other; that's just a rule they'd accidentally set. If one of the two had sat down in a spot, the seat beside them had to be reserved for the other. The people in their classes would just fill other desks. And, for some odd reason, everybody else just accepted this nonverbal rule.
Well, everyone except for Flash. But even he had given up mostly on trying to secure a spot next to her. He'd still take his chances every now and then though. Which only ever resulted in someone causing a distraction that would lure Flash in and give Peter enough time to replace him in the spot.
Peter took his seat with a sigh. He slung his bag off and let it fall to the floor. Slumping down in his chair, Peter raked his fingers through his hair, "Man. That was intense. Did you see it? I know you did. How do you think I did? Wasn't I amazing? I did good, didn't I?"
"No," she flat out rejected. Her eyes were glaring at him for the side, mentally scolding him for skipping out on school. Sure, he might've saved a couple million from being robbed from the city, but in the grand scheme of things, it really wasn't much. "And you look like a hot mess."
"I may be a mess, but at least I'm hot," Peter huffed, crossing his arms with a small pout.
She turned her head towards the side he was on with the meanest scowl presented across her face. It sent shivers down Peter's spine; not only was he forced to back down from the challenge, but he also felt the sudden urge to curl up in a ball and cry his eyes out and never do anything she would dislike ever again.
He could hear her mumbled a few curses before flicking her eyes in between his mussed hair and his regretful eyes. She seemed reluctant about it, but slowly, her hands started to come up. They fixed his hair with a sort of haste. Wouldn't want anyone to see her helping out the worst boy of them all— excluding Flash of course. Ever since the "poetry" he wrote for her in seventh grade, she could barely stand breathing the same air as him (mostly).
With a huff, she pulled her hand back to examine her work. Not the best, but certainly not as bad as it had been when he first came into the room. "It'll do for now. But no more stopping bank robberies for today. People will start getting suspicious."
"Oh, I'll try my hardest," Peter gave a determined nod with pursed lips. He was joking, of course.
She rolled her eyes, turning away from him and returning her focus to the teacher once again. Something about a test was heard, but she ultimately paid no attention. Her focus, despite the fact she would never admit it, was on Peter. Watching him from her peripherals was the only way to go undetected while she zoned in on him.
He sat with his elbow propped on the desk and chin cradle in his hand; a distant look was in his eyes. Something was bothering him. Eventually though, he would tell her. After the overthinking ate away at him.
A loud sound startled both of them out of their trances. They flinched at the sudden noise; in synch, might I add. But the sound wasn't the bell. No, no, no. It was something much less familiar. It blared through the room loudly in an unrelenting beat. Even if they hadn't heard that sound since a few months ago, everyone knew what it was. And they all filed out of the classroom and headed towards their assigned spots outside.
"We didn't have a fire drill scheduled today...?" Peter and y/n heard some teachers talk quietly amongst themselves as they exited the classroom. They had been the last ones to leave because of their late reactions. The two had also stared at each other in their desks while others exited just to make sure it was actually happening.
Another teacher readjusted the lanyard that held her keys and school ID around her neck. She had furrowed brows, and when she spoke, she didn't sound very sure of herself. "I don't think we did either."
Peter and y/n looked at each other from the corners of their eyes. Either some kid pulled the alarm out of boredom, which was highly likely. I mean, it did happen at least once every school year. Or the school had sprung a surprise drill on the teachers so they wouldn't have time to prepare like they usually did. The former was probably the true one of the two.
"My bet's on a freshman," Peter mumbled as they exited out of the nearest doors.
His lab partner rolled her eyes again. She walked through the door he held open for her and gave a small nod of appreciation. One Peter wasn't expecting at all. But she continued on as if it were normal, "Well I think it was a senior."
"Ten dollars," Peter snapped out of his shock by shaking his head. He held out his hand for her to take.
She did just that; giving it a singular firm shake to seal the deal.
Peter led the two to the spot they were assigned. They headed straight for the place some of the people in their home room stood and talked. Most likely about the current circumstances; they'd spent some time figuring out the schedule for fire drills, and this was not one of those days. It was actually supposed to happen next week.
"Hey," one of their upperclassmen greeted. He was a junior, "Do you know what's happening? Why did the alarms go off when the drill wasn't scheduled for today?"
"We think someone pulled it. I bet on a freshman, and she bet on a senior," Peter explained, casually pointing behind him to where y/n stood.
She looked annoyed to be outside. Especially when taking into account how cold it actually was. Peter was quick to notice the look of discomfort on her face as well as the small movements she subconsciously made to show she was cold. He felt bad for her. Mainly because he'd just taken his hoodie off but accidentally left it in the classroom, so he didn't have the option of giving her his own.
"Ooh," one of the freshman from their home room came into the conversation. She was one of the more chill ones; the kind you actually kind of like even if they're the newbies who have a reputation of being the cringey ones. "Can I join in on this bet? My money's on Mr. Stanbury. He was extra pissed off last period, so I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled it to get out of his teaching duties."
A senior from their home room blinked. She was confused as to why a teacher would do such a thing knowing damn well they could get fired from their job. With a shrug, she let out a hum, "I bet it was one of you sophomores. Who's that kid that pesters y/n? Flag pole, or something like that?"
Peter chuckled at the way she so carelessly joked about Flash's name, "Any other betters? Teachers, seniors, freshman, and sophomores have all been taken." He looked around at the rest of the people on their home room, waiting for a taker.
"I'll bet on a junior," their home room teacher said from behind them.
They all turned around, startled from this. Not only had he managed to creep up on them, but he also placed a bet on who he thought pulled the fire alarm. Last they'd checked, teachers weren't allowed to do that. In fact, they were supposed to discourage that kind of behavior.
Their senior placed her hands on her hips and rose a brow, "Are we really supposed to place bets on who pulled a fire alarm? Shouldn't you be telling us not to place bets on such a thing?"
"You ask too many questions," their home room teacher scrunched his nose up as he started checking people off on his clip board. He was making all of his students had gotten out. When he confirmed he'd counted everybody, he spoke over a walkie-talkie he had to let the principal he had everyone. But then his brows furrowed, "Hey, has anybody seen a kid named Aidan? Apparently he's a sophomore and he went missing."
Peter squinted his eyes at their home room teacher before leaning over so he was closer to y/n's ear. "Isn't he that one kid in our Spanish class?"
"Yeah," he got a curt nod in return.
"And didn't he ask to get water right before the alarm was pulled...?" Peter started to let everything click into place. Man, he'd be screwed if his suspicions were right and he had to give up his money because of the stupid kid in his class.
A sigh escaped her lips as she bowed her head down in shame, already knowing she'd lost the bet. And to someone who wasn't even originally in on the bet, "Yeah..."
"Do you mind hacking into the school and getting the surveillance clips tonight?"
"Come over to my apartment after you're done patrolling; we can look over the footage together."