The buzz of the alarm clock roused the teen from his deep slumber. He had trouble falling asleep the previous night as he had been worrying about going to school the next day due to his problems with almost everybody in the place. The football team, the cheerleaders, the basketball team. Hell, there had been several occasions where the members of the chess team had taken a few jabs at him. There came a knock at the door and the young man stuck his messy quiff of brown hair out of the bed, his blue eyes groggy as he looked at the door. It swung open slightly to reveal a man in his late fifties with a pair of thick, black glasses and combed back white hair and a kind smile.
"Ah, you're awake Pete" he said with a chuckle "Your Aunt's got breakfast ready downstairs for you when you've had a shower" Peter sighed loudly, rubbing his weak eyes with a yawn before reaching out of his bed and grabbing his glasses.
"Alright..." he said in a tired voice "Thanks Uncle Ben"
"No problem kiddo" the older man said before ducking out of the door again and leaving Peter to wake up on his own. He dragged himself out of his covers and put on his glasses before looking into the mirror he had on his wall.
"Uh" he groaned as he examined his scrawny, wimpy figure "I need to start working out" After loathing himself for a while longer he headed into the bathroom and kicked off his nightwear before ducking into the shower. He had only been in for several seconds when he heard his aunt call to him from downstairs, something about a 'fish-wasser'.
"Fish-wasser?" Peter asked himself as he washed the product out of his hair. It only took him a second to realize that his aunt hadn't said what he thought she had.
"Dishwasher!" he yelled, attempting to dive through the curtain to escape the shower. But he was a second too late. The dishwasher activated an took priority over the shower's hot water, cutting off the heated water from the boiler and the shower head began to spray him with ice cold water. A very feminine squeal escaped Peter's lips as he threw himself out of the shower and onto the shower matt they kept on the floor. He scurried over to the wall and grabbed a towel that he had been keeping on the radiator around his shivering body. He felt the hot steam in the room quickly cool and leaving him half-washed and freezing in a tiled room that was just as cold.
"Great..." Peter growled, turning on the hot tap, which was always heated even though it was weaker, and continued to wash himself as best he could. After scalding himself several times he eventually decided that he was sterilized enough and that any bacteria had he on him had been burned off he began to get dressed. He wrapped the towel around his waist and went back into his bedroom, stepping over a pile of clothes that needed to be, and were going to be, washed whenever he got around to. Or whenever his Aunt May found out about it, whichever came sooner. He dug around in his wardrobe before pulling out a pair of boxer shorts, a pair of black skinny jeans, a Rolling Stones fiftieth anniversary T-Shirt and his blue hoodie and dark green jacket. he got dressed before going over to his mirror and doing his hair, a combination of hair products and a hair dryer to get it to its usual style and volume before heading downstairs, kicking the door shut with his heel, and into the kitchen where his uncle was reading the paper and his Aunt May had her long black hair tied behind her head as she cooked breakfast over the oven. She turned her head as she heard her nephew enter the kitchen, giving him a welcoming smile.
"Good morning Peter" she chimed.
"Morning Aunt May" Peter said, using his foot to hook the chair leg before pulling it out and underneath him. He sat down on the edge of the chair and rested his elbows on his knees, locking his hands together and bouncing his right leg up and down repeatedly.
"So..." Ben said, licking his thumb before turning the page of the paper "Anything special happening today at school?"
"No idea, it's kind of hard to get a good look at the bulletin board to see what's happening when you're stuck inside a locker" May sighed angrily, laying the breakfast out onto the plates and setting them down on the worktop next to her.
"All done" she said, turning off the cooker and taking the frying pan over to the sink and dipping it into the soapy water. The pan hissed loudly and a large amount of steam rose into the air as Ben began to get out of his chair.
"Don't bother Uncle Ben" Peter said as he quickly got to his feet "I'll get it" Ben nodded and relaxed his legs to return to his previous sitting position.
"It's that Flash boy again isn't it?" May asked angrily. Peter didn't answer as he set down the two plates and taking two slices of toast from the rack in the middle of the table. Despite his silence May knew that it was Flash who had been picking on Peter again.
"I don't understand why he does it" she sighed "The two of you used to be great friends, what happened?"
"He got popular and I didn't" Peter answered bluntly, using his knife to cut through a slice of bacon before eating it. Not in the mood to talk about school Peter quickly changed the subject to another one.
"So Uncle Ben, what's the latest in the paper today?" Peter asked, eating a piece of buttered toast.
"Well..." Ben hummed, catching on to Peter's intent and following along with him "It says here that Oscorp's stock share value have gone up forty three percent and that their projects have broken through the billion mark"
"What are they working on in that tower of theirs d'you think?" Peter asked, making a bacon sandwich out of what he had left of his toast and bacon.
"Well whatever it is, I've got a feeling it's going to change the way this world works" Ben said gravely.
"C'mon Uncle Ben" Peter said with a chuckle "That's a little bit melodramatic don't you think?" Ben didn't answer him but instead he looked at the clock with his glasses sat on his nose.
"Aren't you going to be late?" he asked.
"Yes, yes you are!" May snapped, walking over to Peter and making a shooing motion at him "Get going!" Peter laughed quietly as he got to his feet and hurried over to the door. He stuck on his shoes and grabbed his skateboard as he headed out the door.
"Be careful Peter!" May called out to him in a worried tone.
"I will!" Peter called back, kick-flipping off the edge of the sidewalk and skating down the street. May rolled her eyes and closed the door before turning to face her husband.
"Why does he ride that deathtrap everywhere?" she asked, walking back into the kitchen and picking up a dish cloth.
"Because Peter is stupid and dangerous" Ben chuckled as he set down his paper "Do you remember when we were stupid and dangerous?"
"No, I don't" May said sternly "I wish he'd a least wear a helmet"
"Hey, what can you do?" Ben shrugged, getting up from his seat "You take a break, I'll clean this stuff up"
Twilight softly ran down the stairs only to hear a familiar voice growl angrily. She stuck her head around the wall and saw her sister in law standing with her arm lodged half way into her purse.
"Cadence?" Twilight asked "When did you get here?" The woman turned her head to see her old friend, smiling when she saw her. Cadence wore her usual outfit of a pink shirt with a dark pink hoodie underneath a black jacket added in with a pair of dark blue jeans and black high-heeled boots that made her usual height of five foot nine increase to six foot.
"Hey there Twi" Cadence nodded "I got here about half an hour ago when you were in the shower, I just stopped in to see how you guys were doing before I went to university" Twilight scratched the back of her head as she cocked an eyebrow.
"You go to uni?" she asked "Where about's?"
"Midtown" Cadence said, opening her purse fully and peering inside it with an agitated glare.
"Wait... I go to Midtown, its a high school not a university" Twilight said, crossing her arms over her woolen purple jumper, the wide sleeves hanging open as it fell slightly off position on her right shoulder, being a jumper that exposed her shoulders and neck.
"Yeah, but the school has starting letting uni students like me study at your school" Cadence answered in an irritated tone, though not being directed at Twilight.
"Right..." Twilight said, willing to take the answer without further questioning "So what are you looking for?"
"I'm trying to find my keys..." she growled "I could've sworn I put them in here somewhere" Twilight looked the angered woman for a short second before walking over to her and sticking her hand in her jacket pocket and closing her hand around a set of keys. She dangled them in front of Cadence's eyes with a very unimpressed expression on her face. Her sister in law grinned sheepishly before she took them with a quiet thank you.
"So..." Cadence asked, eager to change the subject "Do you want a ride to school?"
"Yeah, sure" Twilight nodded "In the Honda?"
"Nope" Cadence said with a wide and excited grin "I've got a Porsche" Twilight's eyes widened slightly as she heard the news, greatly surprised that Cadence had been able to afford a new car. Ignoring the fact that she was Celestia's niece slash adopted daughter the older princess had never treated Cadence any kinder than a normal parent would on their child. This meant that if Cadence wanted a three million dollar car then she would have to work and save up for a three million dollar car and Celestia would not just give her one because she could afford to buy her one.
"Where did you get the money to buy one from?" Twilight asked quickly.
"It turns out being ridiculously hot has more benefits than being able to get a few few drinks at a bar" Cadence chuckled, crossing her arms over her chest with a smirk "I got a four million dollar contract in modelling for a few magazines and I had enough to get myself something nice"
"What about Shining?" Twilight asked "Does he mind it?"
"Well seeing as how my husband is the probably the only man in the country to have a Bugatti Veryon as a company car I don't think he'll be that upset if I tell him I got a Porsche"
"True" Twilight nodded before breaking out into a grin "Let's go for a drive!"
"Oh yeah!" Cadence said, high fiving the small girl as they both headed out of the door.
Peter sat on the small brick wall that was outside of the school with his eyes buried in a comic book. He turned over the page slowly and attempted to read the next dialogue box when the comic was roughly snatched out of his hands by a taller student.
"What have we got here Puny Parker?" a loud voice asked. Since this was happening during their morning break there were a lot of people around in the school courtyard and of course this was going to make a scene. Peter looked up to see Flash Thompson holding the comic and grinning at him viciously. Peter sighed loudly and placed his hand on his lap.
"Come on Flash, gimme it back" Peter said, reaching out for it only to have it snatched away from him. By this time a small crowd had formed around them and it was getting bigger as the seconds went by.
"Flash, seriously, just give me it back" Peter repeated, biting back his frustration.
"Why?" Flash asked arrogantly.
"Because it's mine" Peter said.
"Really?" Flash asked, examining the comic book with a mocking expression "I don't see your name on it" Peter stood up and tried to reach for the comic book but Flash pushed him back down onto the wall and held the comic book in the air.
"I would ask you what a kid your age is doing with a little baby's book but we're all aware of what a dork you are Parker" Flash said. This comment gained a snicker from the crowd which had grown considerably in the past thirty seconds and Peter could feel their eyes burning holes in him. From the second the first person had started watching Peter knew that all they wanted to see was a fight where Peter got beat up again.
"Can I just have my comic back please?" Peter asked, his anxiety beginning to act up again. His heart rate increased as he began to feel afraid of what Flash was going to do despite knowing full well that this was only going to end one way and that was with him in a heap on the floor.
"Well if you want it bag Puny" Flash challenged "Just grab it" Peter analysed the crowd for a long second before standing up, being three inches shorter than Flash who held the comic up above his head for all to see. Peter made a short motion of his arms to try and reach for it only for Flash to slap his arm away and take a step back.
"Too slow Parker" he taunted "Try again" Peter made several more advancements to try and get his comic back before he sighed angrily.
"Come on Eugene just give me it back" Peter growled. There came a loud cooing from the crowd as both they and Peter realized they had made a mistake. Flash's smile dropped off his face and was replaced with a cold look of rage in his eyes. He threw the comic book to the ground and pulled back his right hand before swinging for Peter and punching him in the jaw. Stars lit up Peter's vision as the fist contacted his jaw, being knocked to the floor with his neck cracking loudly.
Twilight pushed her way to the front of the crowd to see Flash Thompson repeatedly kicking another student in the stomach. Twilight knew the face and recalled his name from having seen him a few times in the corridor as they briefly passed each other by.
"Come on Parker!" Flash yelled, booting him firmly in the stomach again "Get up!"
"Man..." Peter groaned, looking Flash in the face with a grin "How'd you make quarterback with a kick that weak?"
"He's gonna regret that" said Cadence from behind Twilight. Twilight growled angrily before storming into the fight, putting herself between the student on the floor and Flash.
"Twilight!" Cadence yelled as the younger girl stood her ground, holding her arms out by her sides.
"Move geekette, or you're next!" Flash snapped furiously.
"Really?" Twilight asked, cocking an eyebrow "Well if you hit girls about as well as you hit on them then I think I've got nothing to worry about" There was another round cooing from the crowd as Twilight spoke. Flash gritted his teeth furiously, his pride obviously stinging after Twilight's remark, but he quickly waved the two of them off and began to walk away.
"You got lucky this time Parker" Flash spat "Next time your girlfriend won't be around to save you" The circle disbanded as Flash pushed his way through it and they all began to walk away, laughing to themselves as they did. Twilight turned around to look at the other student.
"Thanks" he grunted. Twilight offered her hand to help him up and he took it firmly. She helped him up to his feet and he dusted himself off quickly.
"You alright?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah... thanks" he nodded.
"What's your name?" Twilight asked, folding her arms over her chest.
"You, uh, don't... know my name?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck with a blank expression.
"No, I know your name" Twilight corrected "I just want to make sure you do, that was quite a hit you took back there"
"Oh, right" he said with an awkward smile "I'm, uh, Peter... Peter Parker" He held out his hand to shake it and Twilight closed her hand around his with a firm shake.
"Twilight, Twilight Sparkle" she said "Nice to meet you"
"You too Twilight" Peter nodded.
"Pete!" an angry voice yelled. Peter turned his head to see his long time best friend Harry Osborn sprinting over to him.
"Harry, great timing as always" Peter chuckled. Harry dropped a skateboard he was carrying onto the ground and looked at his friend.
"I just heard what happened" Harry growled "You alright?"
"I've been worse" Peter shrugged with a grin. It was at this point that Cadence walked over to the small group and make herself known.
"And I'm guessing you've been better" she said "That's quite a mark on your face there kid" Peter and Harry turned their heads and both did a double take. Peter managed to quickly recover himself and keep his hormonal teenage mind in the back of his head while Harry couldn't take his eyes off Cadence's chest. Cadence raised her eyebrows before crossing her arms and clearing her throat.
"Eyes up here cowboy" she said sternly. Harry shook his head rapidly as his cheeks turned red from embarrassment.
"I'd forgotten how perverted teenagers were these days" Cadence said "You're lucky my husband isn't here"
"Even if he was I don't think your husband would want to mess with Harr here" Peter chuckled "Because his dad is not someone you want to annoy"
"Pete, don't bring my dad into this" Harry said irritably, keeping his voice low.
"I'm only trying to protect you" Peter whispered back.
"This coming from the guy who can't even protect himself?" Harry asked.
"Details, details" Peter said, looking out of the top corner of his eyes with a grin.
"And who exactly is your dad?" Cadence asked.
"That would be me" a cold voice said from behind the group. They all turned to see a man standing at six foot three with a very expensive looking black suit on with cold eyes.
"Norman Osborn" Cadence said dryly "What a surprise to find you here"
"Yeah dad, uh, why are you here?" Harry asked.
"I'm here to talk to your teachers about your failing grades" Norman said, his eyes scanning the group until they fell onto Peter. He walked over to him and gave him a small smirk.
"You must be Peter Parker then?" he asked "I've heard a lot about you" Norman held out his hand which Peter shook firmly before nodding his head.
"Yes sir... if you don't mind me saying I've read your book" Peter said nervously "I think it was amazing, all of your research is fascinating"
"Thank you Peter, from what Harry has told me I'm led to believe you're somewhat of a brilliant scientist yourself, is this correct?" Norman asked.
"To a certain extent" Peter nodded "I would hardly call myself brilliant though"
"You don't give yourself enough credit young man" Norman chuckled "From what I've been told by yours and Harry's teachers you're as good a scientist as your father was" Peter's eyes widened slightly as he heard the compliment and after a short second he cracked a smile.
"Thank you sir" Peter nodded.
"If you keep up your grades you might end up working for me at Oscorp in a few years" he said before turning to Harry with a cold expression "And I would've thought having a friend as talented as Peter would've rubbed off on you"
"Sorry dad" Harry said, his face becoming downcast.
"Don't apologize" Norman said quickly "I never do" With that he turned around and walked towards the school, completely ignoring Twilight and Cadence.
"Wow" Cadence said "He never ceases to shock me" Cadence turned her head to see Harry's fist trembling down by his side with Peter noticing a second later.
"Harry?" he asked "You alright?"
"Y-Yeah" Harry sighed "I should be used to it by now"
"Come on man, don't take it to heart" Peter said, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder only to have it shrugged off a second later.
"I gotta go, see you Pete" Harry said before quickly storming off. Peter called out to him but Harry ignored him, disappearing behind a wall and leaving the group.
"He forgot his skateboard" Cadence said, nodding at the wheeled piece of wood.
"No he didn't, that's mine" Peter said, stepping over to the board and stamping on the kicker and as the board flipped into the air he caught it in his right hand and held it underneath his arm.
"You're a skater?" Twilight asked with intrigue.
"Yeah" Peter nodded with a smirk.
"Can you do any tricks?" she asked.
"A few simple ones, I can show you a few if you want" Peter offered "...And then maybe I could buy you something to eat" The last sentence caught Twilight by surprise and she decided to question it.
"Did you just ask me out on a date?" she asked with a small laugh.
"Not a date, really, more of me thanking you for stopping Flash from mopping the floor with me" Peter said.
"I wouldn't really say I stopped him from doing it, more like stopped him from continuing" Twilight corrected.
"Eh, it's potayto, potahto really but I think I like what I said better" Peter shrugged with another sheepish smile.
"Alright, we'll go with your version" Twilight chuckled, nodding curtly
"So is that a yes?" Peter asked.
"I guess it is" Twilight answered.
"Cool, so what do you want to eat?" Peter asked.
"I think a burger will be enough to pay me back" Twilight grinned.
"Alright, a burger it is" Peter smirked.
