Am I (Not) a Hero?

[Peter Parker's POV]

I covered my face with my hand and exhaled sharply.

Is this teenage body affecting me this way?

Hormones, stress, dissatisfaction… Oh God, what nonsense am I spouting?

I should survive my first enemy first and not let Uncle Ben die, which is quite important.

Pushing away my depressingly excited thoughts, I returned to the boring reality.

The school didn't greet Peter with anything new… But for me, it was the first time my mood was spoiled right at the entrance.

"AAAA!"

Kong mimicked.

"Spiders! Save me! Penis Parker is afraid of little spiders!"

I tried to walk past and not look in their direction, dying inside from shame.

"Oh, I'm fainting! A big scary spider is going to eat me, and I'll finally meet my dead parents."

Flash overacted, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead.

What a kindergarten… We're not twelve years old anymore.

How can I perceive you as a rational person now?!

But mentioning parents was a mistake because that was a very painful topic.

I walked silently toward class, not knowing whether I should hit him right here or wait. I was being bullied so openly for the first time.

It was… somewhat depressing.

"Are you seriously worried about him? He wasn't even bitten. What could happen to that loser, a heart attack?"

Liz Allan sounded in while swinging her hair with all her might.

"Aren't you ashamed to even talk to someone like him?"

I already missed this stereotypical blonde cheerleader.

She must be quite the… piece of work. Before Gwen appeared, she was Peter's main romantic interest.

What an unhealthy attraction this guy has to blondes!

"Of course not, Liz! What's your problem with Peter, anyway? I thought you weren't as obsessed with school hierarchy as your dumb boyfriend, that you'd just bully people for no reason."

MJ nearly growled, trying to shoot lightning from her eyes.

I'm glad she understands the depth of her friend's idiocy.

"Oh, I couldn't care less, honestly, kiss your nerd all you want."

Liz laughed haughtily.

"Ew, I wouldn't. Guys like him shower once a month and don't even brush their teeth."

An unknown bitch said with a choker on her neck.

It's not worth thinking about her at all; she's just a side character and will die in the first attack on the school.

However, Liz … I remembered random Marvel facts I picked up from fanfics and Wikipedia.

I saw that Liz's a mutant. Her name was… Starfire? Firestar? Something to do with fire, anyway.

Who knows how the cards will fall in this universe, but I'll keep an eye on her.

It's not that she was ever really connected to Spider-Man… She's always forgotten as even a secondary character.

Meanwhile, Kong and Flash snuck up behind me while chatting.

"Mr. Thompson, I suggest you show your signature hundred."

"Oh no, Mr. Kong, I leave the honor of the first strike to you."

"Thank you, sir; it's a matter of pride for me."

Judging by the sound, Kong picked up speed, and my Spidey Sense screamed in alarm.

I knew where the hit was coming from—my right lower back.

Just as Kong's foot was about to make contact, I turned sharply over my left shoulder and swiftly swept out the one leg supporting his weight.

"Bang!"

Kong hit the floor hard, smacking the back of his head and groaning in pain while clutching his injured leg.

There would be a nasty bruise, but I didn't break anything. I softened the blow as much as I could.

It's easy to forget that Spider-Man could shatter concrete if he stopped holding back.

However, Kong deserved this for Peter, for all the good reasons.

I don't know what kind of look I gave the now-silent hallway, but they immediately shut up.

"What the hell are you doing?! Bro! Are you okay?"

Ed said that while trying to lift Kong, his efforts were in vain because lifting that huge body required an excavator.

"Parker, what the hell did you do?"

Flash asked slightly shocked.

I smirked slyly and shifted into a more comfortable stance, ready to defend another attack.

I had never felt so confident in my abilities.

"Peter…"

MJ started to say something, but fortunately for everyone present, Professor Octavius stepped out from the door.

"Well, well, children, what's going on? Are you bullying Peter again, Mr. Thompson?"

Olivia tilted her head threateningly, squinting her predatory eyes.

"No, actually, he started the fight."

Flash tried to explain.

"We're not in kindergarten to pass the blame around, Mr. Thompson. Help your friend up, he's blocking half of the hallway. I recommend you take him to the nurse's office. As for the rest of you, I suggest heading to your classes if you have nothing better to do."

She laid everything out like a true alpha female.

With great effort, Flash and Ed lifted the groaning Kong.

The rest of the students dispersed, leaving only the most curious of our classmates.

"Bullying and harassment are unworthy of a rational person, wouldn't you agree, Miss Allan?"

She approached the trembling Liz.

"However, if you do any worse on the next test, I'll be forced to question your intelligence. Unfortunately, we may have to discuss the validity of your presence at this institution with the principal. You're dismissed."

She returned to the classroom, dramatically sweeping the tails of her lab coat and leaving us silent.

'Wow, she sure knows how to dominate with her presence. Damn, cool lady. She could be a pretty dangerous villain considering what Otto was like. Luckily, I can guide her away from that dead-end path.'

"Did you want to say something, Thompson?"

I tilted my head with the most obnoxious smile I could muster.

"Oh, come on, a second ago, you were so brave, and now what, all humiliated?"

Flash came right up to me with his eyes red and, grabbing my jacket practically spat the words into my face.

"After class, at the parking lot behind the school, Parker. And Professor Octavius won't save you this time."

He tried to shove me with his shoulder, but I was tougher than yesterday.

"Sure, Thompson. Whatever you say."

I smiled defiantly.

There was no fear of this man.

He couldn't do anything to me while I stood in front of Olivia Octavius's classroom who scared him to his core.

His pathetic shove couldn't even budge me.

Flash snorted, turned around, and left while black spots danced in front of my eyes.

'Looks like I'm still not used to it... But that's fine. Peter was shaky his first few days too in the comics. Now, if I could just deal with the aggression. It's only the second day, and I've already gotten into a showdown. But so far, I don't regret a thing.'

"Peter, are you okay?"

Mary Jane grabbed my arm just in time.

I really needed some support right now.

"Yeah… Thanks for worrying."

When I stood more steadily, I gently pulled my arm free.

'I'll go wash off the garbage those... underdeveloped people poured on me.'

I couldn't come up with anything more original.

But before leaving, I flashed a grin at Liz Allan.

"Your friends can say whatever they want, and I won't even bother fighting back. Just know this, you're Flash Thompson's girlfriend. And honestly, I don't know how to insult someone more than that."

She grimaced but didn't come up with anything witty to say in response.

It would have been very embarrassing to defend such a degenerate person after such a weird freak show.

I went to the bathroom after I finished talking.

The spider abilities hadn't fully settled in yet, but cold water might help keep me from fainting.

It felt nice, like sobering up.

Since the magical tap water helped, all that was left was to survive the rest of the school day.

In the classroom, the first thing I did was place Harry's notebook on his desk.

That little rich brat didn't even nod in my direction until I cleared my throat to get his attention.

Afterwards, he lowered himself to give a grateful nod and sneaked the notebook under the table, acting like he was taking it out of his bag.

"Honestly, going back to school is pretty boring once I remove the whole 'Peter getting bullied' element. Should I consider just ditching all of this and focusing on superhero stuff? I don't want to disappoint Peter's family, but the idea is pretty appealing."

Jessie sat down next to me again.

'Though, a busty goth schoolgirl might keep me here a little longer.'

I smirked, clearing my head of uninvited thoughts.

'Horny dog that I am—shame on me.'

"Listen, I'm really glad for your company since I don't actually have any friends… But did you really get into a fight with Elizabeth?"

I asked, seeing her frown.

"No... Not exactly... She pushed me out of my seat and told me to sit next to you."

She admitted.

"Oh... Well, I knew no girl would voluntarily sit next to me. Did you lose a bet or something like that?"

I confess it stung a little, but it wasn't unexpected.

"No!"

She replied sharply.

"I mean, it's not a punishment or anything... She just guessed I had a crush on you and wanted to play matchmaker."

She blushed and averted her gaze.

"Strange."

I was genuinely surprised.

I found it hard to believe that anyone could fall for me.

That seemed like the stuff of impossible fantasies. He was a nerd and a geek, and I just didn't have any qualities that people would find appealing.

"Maybe she's just messing with me? You know, 'in a friendly way.'"

I even made air quotes with my fingers.

"Then how do you explain her constantly looking at you and sighing dreamily?"

A petite brunette with short, curled hair at the ends approached us without us noticing.

Elizabeth Brant was dressed formally in a white blouse and tight black pants. She looked at her friend mockingly, arms crossed over her chest—or rather where her chest would be.

There really wasn't much to speak of, but let's be honest… my standards aren't exactly high.

"Betty! I definitely wasn't sighing, dreamily or otherwise."

Jessica snapped.

"So you didn't notice? Ah, love makes people so clueless."

She shook her head playfully.

"Hey, where's your denial that you weren't staring?"

"I've already explained... And seriously, what kind of normal friend threatens to stop talking to you if you don't meet her absurd demands?"

"Oh, don't be so grumpy."

Beth laughed, sitting on the edge of my desk.

"What's the problem? You seem to be having a pretty good time together. And I definitely didn't tell you to follow him around all day and hug him during the field trip."

"I didn't hug him! I just helped him not fall."

"Yeah, she just steadied me by the shoulders."

I sounded in.

"So you agree that she's glued to you during classes?."

She squinted, leaning closer to my face.

"I didn't say that."

I awkwardly muttered.

She was a bit too... pushy, maybe.

"Yeah, but we all know the truth."

She smirked, glancing at her friend.

"I never would've thought the darkest girl in our school would be smiling so much. Jessica literally lights up when she talks to you. Alright, lovebirds, I won't get in your way."

Betty waved at us and walked off to join her other friends.

Jessica let out a heavy sigh.

...

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