Harry nears his locker, putting in his code and struggling a few times before opening it. People murmur around him, whispering and giving him quick glances. His ears perk, his senses alerted as he begins hearing small conversations.
"Isn't he the son of that famous fellow? Maybe you should go talk to him sweetie."
"Never thought he'd show up back to school."
"Okay but his performance wasn't that bad.. for a rich asshole."
"Is his father dead yet?"
"Shut up dude! He could hear you."
Harry's temper rises as he grabs his jacket out of his locker, slamming it shut loudly with a bang. People gasp as all eyes turn on him. He locks eyes with some people in the crowded hallway, causing them to immediately avert their eyes. His eyebrows furrow with anger, his grip on his jacket is tight.
He could just.. go loose right now. Maybe they're right, he's just above them all. They should be jealous. No.. no he shouldn't think that way. But.. then why did it feel so good to make everyone in the room just, shut the fuck up for once? Any other day he would've looked the other way, but today, he finally has the power to do just that. While looking into the crowd, he storms in as parents and students part the way for him. "All of you, move!"
A voice calls out in the crowd as they navigate through the various bodies. Harry gets ready to fight whoever calls his name, tightening his fists, Mr. Able appears in the crowd. Harry's eyes soften as his body relaxes. He feels comforting hands being placed on his arms, his grip on his jacket loosening. Mr. Able looks into his eyes, seeing the hurt behind his outburst. He then looks around at the crowd of people, all eyes on Harry.
"Well, move along! Nothing to see here unless you want to see Mr. Osborn's extraordinary guitar performance again." Mr. Able waves his hand as people begin moving out of the school, small talk is heard throughout the room along with loud footsteps. He lets out a loud sigh, turning back to Harry. "Are you alright?" He presses his lips together as Harry's eyes dart in all directions.
"I'm.. It's fine. I'm used to it." Harry pushes away the comforting hands around his arms as his teacher sighs. "I'm sorry. I should've had a talk with some of the parents and students about this type of thing." He places a hand on his hips as Harry avoids eye contact. "Yeah well.. I don't think it's gonna help." Harry shakes his head, his body tense. "Don't say that.." Mr. Able furrows his eyebrows, his eyes trailing up and down at Harry.
"No one should be subjected to this kind of behaviour. Neither should anyone have to worry about whether or not they deserve that treatment." He remains firm, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder without hesitation. "You call me if anyone does this again. I'll be sure to have a talk with them, okay?" Mr. Able moves his head, trying to make Harry look at him. Harry still refuses, his face twitching slightly.
"Okay?" He repeats as Harry sighs, pushing Mr. Able's hand away again as he places his hands in his pocket. "Yeah. Got it." Harry locks eyes with his teacher, an almost dead expression on display. His eyes soften slightly at Mr. Able's concern.
He knows he really means it.
Mr. Able gives him a reassuring smile, adjusting his messed up collar a second time. From a distance, Gwen talks with her bandmates as they walk along the hallway with everyone else after Harry's outburst. "I wonder if he's okay." Mary Jane fidgets with her guitar strap, pressing her lips together as her eyes follow Harry. The rest of the band looks at each other worriedly.
"Maybe you could.. talk to him. This could be your chance!" Glory nudges Mary Jane with a smirk on her face. Mary Jane shakes her head fervently, her red hair moving to show how fast she's rejecting the idea. "Don't be such a pushover. Come on, Mary Jane. It's not like he's gonna stab you or something." Betty adjusts her beanie, furrowing her eyebrows as MJ looks on.
Gwen stays silent, her eyes trailing away as she seems discomforted by the thought of MJ and Harry together. "Heh.. right, Gwen?" Betty says through her teeth, nudging Gwen to snap her out of her trance like state as her eyes widen. "O-Oh! Yeah no.. you should definitely not pass up on this opportunity." She forces a smile as MJ squeezes her eyes shut. "Ugh! Fine!" She shakes her head as Glory pats her on the back, grinning widely.
"Can one of you come with me though?" MJ turns around with a pleading face, clearly needing some backup. Glory raises her hand. "I'll volunteer since I'm an expert." She smirks at Mary Jane, who lets out a relieved sigh, pulling Glory by her wrist as Glory then in turn abruptly pulls Betty. "You guys are coming along too! We need all the support!" This causes a little human train as Betty laughs, grabbing Gwen's wrist and causing her to groan a little.
"Do I really have to come?" Gwen looks down to the side, her face scrunching. "Yes. You do." Glory replies with a raised eyebrow, glancing towards MJ who seems to be navigating the crowded hallway; determined to reach Harry. "It's the least you could do for her. After all, we did cover for you at the concert and for your little girlfriend.." Glory almost speaks like she's taunting Gwen, smiling lightly.
Gwen's face turned slightly red, rolling her eyes. "Yeah yeah.. no need to rub it in." She follows along with the pull, walking in line with her band members as people congratulate them on their performance. "Speaking.. of your girlfriend, wasn't she supposed to meet you in the hallway? Man.. maybe she got lost in this annoying crowd.." Betty sighs quietly, seeming to dislike the amount of people in the crowded hallway. Gwen puffs up her cheeks a little, pressing her lips together in a disappointed and jealous expression. "Yeah. She's probably busy with.."
All of a sudden, Gwen's spider sense tingles. Her eyes widening as a ringing noise pierces her ears. She snaps her head, swearing she felt me pass her as she does a double take around her. Quickly putting her fingers around her temple, Gwen feels around it, blinking a few times as her spider sense continues ringing. Something isn't right. Wasn't Harry supposed to be with me? If not, where was she? Gwen peeks over the crowd of people, seeing Harry alone with Mr. Able.
She then pulls her hand back from Betty's grip, stopping in the middle of the crowded hallway as the rest of the bandmastes stop too. "Gwen, come on. What are you doing?" Glory groans, rolling her eyes as Gwen's heart begins pounding fast. She twirls around, her head following her body. Her face is tense, her breathing fast. She glances at Betty, her blue eyes widened. "Go without me."
Betty glances down, reaching her hand out. "Wait! We still have your bag-" Her voice trails off as Betty turns her head to Glory, shrugging with a confused expression. "Keep walking, we're gonna miss him!" Mary Jane raises her eyebrow, shrugging as she pulls the rest of her friends along. Gwen pushes through the crowd, sliding through some people as she walks faster than the crowd's pace. She squints, catching glimpses of my hair. Gwen lets out a large sigh, continuing to squeeze through.
"Where are you going?" She mutters to herself with a concerned expression. The white bright lights of the school hallway blare down on her. She slowly but surely makes her way to me, realizing that I'm leaning on someone's back. The side of my head is turned, revealing my closed eyes and unresponsive state. Her eyes widen as she observes a tall gruff woman carrying me. This didn't make sense. This wasn't my mom.. it couldn't have been.
As Gwen reaches her hand out to grasp onto me, someone shoves her aside with their shoulder, knocking her into another person. "Hey, what the hell is your problem?!" The man shouts, protecting his young daughter from Gwen's trip. Gwen shakes her head, trying to recover herself from the obviously malicious shove. She glances towards the man and his daughter, her mouth gaped open as she looks around again.
She grunts, frustrated, clenching her teeth as she realize she's lost track of me. The exit was only a few yards away. She couldn't let me leave. Gwen then pushed harder through the crowd, uncaring of people's multiple complaints about it. As she reached the exit, she quickly looks around, her head snapping to different directions and her eyes darting.
The entrances to the school hang open, being held by door stoppers as parents and students exit. The warm night air blows through the doors, her short blonde hair becoming slightly ruffled. She takes a deep breathe, rushing towards the street when spotting someone putting me into a black vehicle. A curly-haired woman with a lab coat gets into the passenger seat. Gwen gasps slightly, recognizing Octavius.
Oh god.. no no no.
She hurriedly climbs down the steps, the woman that was carrying me slams the door shut. My figure disappears behind the black-tinted window, still unconscious and unmoving. The woman then climbs into the drivers seat as Gwen sprints faster. Her breathe panting as she avoids people and obstacles in the way, narrowly missing me as her hand hangs in the air of where the car door handle was. "NO!"
She huffs out, letting out her pent up frustration as she watches the car drive off. Her head follows other cars, identical to the one I was in, drive in the same direction. Gwen pants, her eyebrows furrowed as her fists tighten. She feels around herself, looking down. "My.. my suit." Her voice is breathy as she lets out a deep sigh, trying to calm herself down. "Shit.. Betty." She says quickly and more firmly, perking her head up as she rushes back towards the school up the wide stairs, much less crowded than before.
Gwen runs in the opposite direction of the traffic flow, spotting Harry and her friends by the lockers. She slides against the floor, stopping herself as her friends spot her. They all begin to look at her, one by one as she approaches them. "Hey, Gwen! We uh.. we were just talking about you and-" Mary Jane is interrupted by Gwen snatching her bag from Betty. She freezes, her jaw hanging open. They notice the irritated expression on her face.
"Hey!" Betty's grip on the bag is thawrted by Gwen's speedy grasp. "No time. I need to go." She slings the bag over her shoulder, beginning to walk away. Harry watches on with his head tiled down to the side slightly, his hands in his pocket. His eyes widened slightly as he watches on in curiosity. Gwen is stopped with a hand on her shoulder. Glory forces a smile, trying not to ruin the mood. "We're planning to go out after this to celebrate. Harry's even agreed to join us too. You have.. to come. Seriously, Gwen."
Glory waves her hand out, raising her eyebrows as Gwen doesn't return the welcoming energy. "I need to find Y/N. She's.. gone." She pushes Glory's hand away from her shoulder, scrunching her face up slightly at her friend's inability to read the room. Her voice breaks slightly at the end as she faces away from them. "Wait wait wait.. what do you mean she's gone?" Glory raises an eyebrow, glancing to the side as Mary Jane crosses her arms.
"I.. I can't find her. I have to get-" Gwen closes her eyes, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Just.. enjoy your night out, okay?" She glances to the side, walking away hurriedly as her band members glance at each other. "Okay.. something's definitely up with her." Betty tilts her head, pressing her lips together. "Is.. she okay?" Harry speaks up as Mary Jane turns to him, an almost guilty expression on her face. "She's.. done this before. Usually we just try to leave her alone to just give her space."
Mary Jane shrugs, pressing her lips together as she glances down. Harry raises his eyebrows, his thumb hooked with the strap of his guitar. His eyebrows furrow with a pondering face. "Right. And.. how does that work out?" He looks down, meeting eyes with Mary Jane. She sighs quietly, looking away as Betty and Glory glance at each other. Harry nudges her with his hand to her arm. "Hey. You should check up on her, just in case."
Mary Jane finally makes eye contact with him, looking back to her friends as they gaze back at her with conflicted faces. "No no.. I'm sure she's fine." Mary Jane shakes her head, smiling lightly. "Besides, if we approach her when she's like this, she does not.. let you off easy." Mary Jane chuckles nervously, trying to change the subject. Betty furrows her eyebrows slightly, crossing her arms as her eyes trail down. Glory nods along with Mary Jane, forcing another wide grin.
Harry nods slowly, giving a quick smile and not being too pushy on the subject. "Alright then." He raises his eyebrows, respecting their wishes. "Should we.. go then?" He gestures towards the exits, the hallways now bare with any people. MJ nods excitedly as Betty and Glory follow after her. Harry's bright expression drops into a serious gaze as he stares ahead. He glances back to the girl's washroom, looking for a few seconds as he realizes he never saw Y/N come out.
His nose scrunches a little, turning his head towards the Mary Jane's group as he follows them. Their loud chatter of summer hangouts and trips phases into the background. He pulls out his phone, checking his texts messages from Octavius that he's ignored for so long. She spams their chat with updates and photos of the project every single second, and everytime he threatens to block her. Octavius doesn't listen of course.
Her new message makes his eyes widen as his face tenses. It's a picture of me passed out in the backseat with Octavius holding up a peace sign. The captain's dead expression in the driver's seat contradicts Octavius' large smile. "What the fuck.." He mutters under his breathe as Mary Jane turns back, pulling Harry by his arm. "Hurry up, slowpoke!" She chuckles softly as Harry frantically puts down his phone into his pocket.
He then yanks his arm away, causing MJ concern as she gasps softly. "I.. I need to go." He steps back as his head tilts up and down. The three girls stare at him worriedly. "Harry.. wha- A-are you okay?" She asks, taking a careful step towards him. His face tenses as his chest rises up and down. "I'm fine!" He blurts out, furrowing his eyebrows as his face scowls. This causes MJ to jump back slightly, startled by his outburst.
Harry pants slowly and loudly as Glory puts a hand to Mary Jane's shoulder. Their eyes and expressions remind him of the incident in the hallway. All those people in the crowd looking at him the same way. The same judgemental and fearful expression. Harry turns around, running down the steps as he calls for a taxi in the crowded street, putting on his jacket clumsily. He waves his arm towards a yellow cab, quickly getting in. Harry puts his guitar down, laying beside him.
"Where are you off today?" The driver turns around, his hand on the steering wheel. "Oscorp. I'm in a hurry." He says with a breathy voice, his eyes reflecting a faint green in the traffic light. "Hey.. I recognize you. You're that famous-"
"JUST DRIVE!" Harry snaps, causing the taxi driver to jump a little. The driver then turns to the front, pressing the pedal to the gas. The yellow cab then drives off, the wheel screeching on the street. The Mary Janes watch in surprise and confusion. Betty's mouth hangs open as her eyelids lower.
"So.. I guess we aren't celebrating then?"