Archive of Our Own ^beta

Unlike most school days, Peter woke up late.

He woke up late enough that he had to take his breakfast on the go to catch the subway on time, his heart racing as he stumbled into the station with a minute to spare. No amount of apologies satisfied the disgruntled people who glared him as he shoved through the crowd to get to his platform before he missed the subway entirely.

Thankfully, Peter managed to make it through the doors just in time, chest heaving with exertion despite his powers. Even people inside the carriage itself gave him dirty looks, but he ignored them in favour of getting himself together.

Peter hadn’t meant to wake up late, but he’d been out late the night before on patrol and forgot to set his alarm before he crashed.

To his relief, May wasn’t at home to chastise him.

There were no seats left on the subway, so Peter wrapped one arm around a pole and used the other to eat his toast. There’d been no time to make anything else or buy something on the way, so burnt toast had to do. People around him continued to give him looks, some annoyed, some intrigued, even some sympathetic. His cheeks burned with embarrassment, but that didn’t stop him from finishing off his breakfast.

Once the last piece of toast was gone, Peter wiped the crumbs off his fingers and pulled out his phone and earbuds.

For the rest of the ride to school, Peter was able to tune everything out with his music, the trip going without a hitch. Ned was waiting for him by his locker as usual, head buried in his phone as he waited for Peter to arrive.

The second Ned looked up and saw him, his face brightened and his phone was pocketed.

“Hey, dude.” Peter said as he offered his hand to do their secret handshake.

As Ned followed through with the handshake, he eyed Peter curiously.

“Dude, are you okay? You look…” Ned trailed, eyes taking in Peter’s ragged appearance. “Stressed?”

“Yeah, I woke up late.” Peter sighed tiredly, sleep still clinging to him. “I almost missed the subway. I was out late doing, uh… you know what.”

“Sick.” It was Ned’s turn to sigh, though his was wistful. “Your life is so cool.”

As Peter opened his locker to gather his things for first period, Ned suddenly shuffled closer, his face serious. Peter raised an eyebrow, curious at the sudden chance in demeanour, but the question didn’t even pass his lips before Ned asked him a question.

“Have you heard?”

Curious, Peter turned to Ned. In his rush to get to Ned and his locker, he hadn’t paid much attention to the conversations around him.

“No, heard what?”

“Ms. Warren was in a car accident last night.” Peter’s eyes widened. “She’s in hospital.”

“What? Really?” Peter asked as he closed his locker. “Is she okay?”

“No one really knows, it’s just rumours right now. We’ll find out in Physics, I guess. If it even happened, I did overhear this from Flash…”

“Shit.”

They started their walk to homeroom, dodging other students as they went.

As if he’d been summoned at the mention of his name, Flash stuck his foot out and tried to trip Peter as he walked past. Normally, he would let the bully get away with it, but this time he let his spider sense do the work and stepped over the teen’s foot without even looking.

“I doubt he’d make something like that up, would he? I hope she’s okay.”

“Me too.” Ned’s shoulders slumped a little. “She’s one of my favourite teachers. It would suck without her here to embarrass Flash every day.”

“Hey! I heard that, dumbasses!” Flash called out behind them, and when Peter turned back to the bully, his cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. “What the hell are you looking at, Penis?”

Peter sighed, rolled his eyes and turned back around.

Their conversation eventually returned to its usual speed as they started talking about another, happier, topic. Homeroom sped by, and soon, they joined Michelle in English.

Michelle was hunched over her desk sketching in her notebook like she always did before class. When they sat down, she instantly picked up her notebook and showed it to them.

Her latest drawing was of Flash, much to Peter and Ned’s amusement.

Yesterday, Flash had embarrassed himself in front of the entire class by tripping and falling on his way to the trashcan, and Michelle immediately opened her notebook and started drawing. It was almost finished, and he couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up his throat. Neither could Ned, who let out a loud laugh that caused multiple heads to turn in their direction.

The expression on drawn Flash’s face perfectly resembled the face he’d made on his way back to his desk, blushing profusely as the students giggled at his misfortune.

“That’s awesome, MJ.” Peter said as Michelle dropped her notebook back on the table.

She didn’t say anything, but Peter saw her lips quirk into a smile.

“He’s right, it’s perfect.” Ned, having recovered from his fit of laughter, looked directly at Flash at the front of the room. The bully was already looking at them, sneering, but there was no way to tell if he’d seen the notebook or not. Flash always sneered at them no matter what they did. “You should frame it.”

“Oh, I will.” Michelle also looked straight at Flash, her expression fierce. Flash rolled his eyes, stuck out his tongue, then finally turned around. “It’s one of my best yet. I’m sure Eugene will think the same.”

Like homeroom, English and the periods after flew by. When the three of them sat down at their usual table for lunch, Ned immediately started to ramble.

“So, on my way here I overhead one of the seniors talking about Ms. Warren, and it’s true. Flash actually wasn’t lying for once.” Ned paused to eat some of his sandwich, then handed one of the halves to Peter. Peter opened his mouth to decline, but Ned shook his head and continued before he could say anything. “Apparently Principal Morita said she’s in a critical but stable condition. We’re going to have a substitute for the rest of the year, or at least until she’s better. I couldn’t hear the sub’s name, but apparently he’s super cool.”

Peter started to eat the sandwich, thankful for his friend. Usually, he would bring his own lunch because the cafeteria food wasn’t enough for his metabolism, but he’d been in such a rush that he’d completely forgotten. He wouldn’t have had time to make it either way.

The sandwich wouldn’t be enough, either, but it was better than nothing.

“He can’t be as cool as Ms. Warren.” Peter said, his shoulders slumped. He liked Ms. Warren, even when she had relentlessly called him out for not paying attention in class. That had been when he was still making his web fluid in class, however. Things had improved since then. “She’ll be okay, right?”

“Well, Principal Morita said she was stable, so that means she’ll be fine. Right?” Ned shrugged, though Peter could tell he was concerned. “I hope she will be, at least.”

“Hear anything else about the sub?” Michelle asked, feigning disinterest. “Other than that he’s super cool.”

“You don’t even do Physics.”

“So? I’m interested. Spill, Leeds.”

“Not much else. Just that he’s good at his job, cool with the students. I don’t know. We’ll find out next period.”

Peter had various encounters with substitute teachers across the years. Terrible ones, great ones, ones that had no idea what they were doing or others that simply didn’t care. But, he’d never had one for the long term, aside from when one of his elementary school teachers went on maternity leave.

Elementary school was different to high school, though. In elementary, he didn’t need to worry so much about grades like he did now.

Hopefully, this new teacher would be good like Ned said, because he didn’t want May, or the school itself, on his case for slipping grades.

Or Tony, for that matter.

He didn’t want his Spider-Man privileges to be taken away again.

Honestly, he just didn’t want to disappoint any of his loved ones again.

“As long as he’s actually a qualified Physics teacher, it should be fine.” Peter took another bite. “Not like the last substitute teacher we had.”

“Oh my God, she was terrible!” Ned exclaimed. “She didn’t even try and control the stuff Flash was saying. All she did was sit on her phone the whole class!”

For the rest of lunch, they talked about various substitute teachers they’d had over the years, and even Michelle got fired up about one of them.

When it was time for lunch to end, Peter was almost nervous to face whoever was going to be his physics teacher for the rest of the school year. It wasn’t even a big deal, but something about the thought was unsettling. He’d gotten so used to Ms. Warren that he didn’t want anyone else.

“See you later, MJ!” Ned called out to their friend as she walked off in the opposite direction. She didn’t turn around, just gave them the middle finger over her shoulder, which made both Peter and Ned laugh. “She loves us.”

Peter laughed along with his friend as they approached the physics classroom. When they walked in, there wasn’t teacher in the room yet, so they took their normal table towards the back and started talking amongst themselves. Flash tried to get a rise out of Peter once again, but he just pretended not to hear and kept talking quietly with Ned.

Then, out of nowhere, his senses started to scream.

Peter jolted with the ferocity of it, trying to school his expression as he looked around the room for any possible dangers. Ned obviously noticed the sudden change in his mood and was trying to ask what was wrong, but Peter could barely hear him.

There was danger somewhere but he couldn’t see it.

Sweat beaded on his forehead as his eyes darted, up to the ceiling fans, the cabinets, his classmates. There was nothing in the classroom that warranted his spider-sense to go haywire like this, which only made his heart beat faster. It pounded in his ears, loud and suffocating, almost like he was having a sensory overload.

“Peter, dude, what’s wrong?” Ned grabbed his hand, which had clenched into a tight fist around the paper of his notebook. The paper, littered with notes from his last Physics class, was ripping from the spine under his hold. “Peter?”

Peter couldn’t reply, even if he wanted to. The warning was too intense.

Then, the second someone walked into the classroom, the warnings dissipated. His senses hadn’t completely stopped, the threat of danger now humming in the back of his mind, the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck still standing straight as he looked to see who had entered the classroom.

Whoever it was, they were dangerous.

The second Peter saw the man’s face, his entire body went rigid.

It felt like the air had been punched out of his lungs, the same feeling he got when Toomes’ warehouse collapsed on him. Fear paralysed him in his chair as he stared at the man, who hadn’t noticed him yet, as he placed his books on the teacher’s desk. Ned was still trying to catch his attention, but there was no way Peter would be able to force the words past the massive rock lodged in his throat.

Peter blinked, incase he was hallucinating or having another nightmare.

The man didn’t disappear like he hoped.

The overwhelming feeling of terror only got worse when he heard that voice. The voice he heard in his nightmares for years, the voice he wished he would never have to hear again.

“Good afternoon, class.” Peter couldn’t breathe. Ned was still trying to pry his hand from his notebook. “As you might’ve heard, your teacher Ms. Warren was in a horrible accident last night. For the time being, I will be your substitute for this class. My name is Mr. Westcott, but you guys can call me Skip. Mr. Westcott feels like someone more professional than me, and I hate formalities. Let me tell you a little bit about myself before we get started today.”

Peter felt sick when the class let out a chuckle.

“Peter.” Ned finally managed to pull Peter’s eyes away from the walking nightmare at the front of the room, posing as their teacher. Ned’s eyes shone with concern, not even looking at Skip, who continued to tell the story of his life to the rest of the class. “What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.” It was like there was razor blades in his throat. He coughed in an attempt to clear it, unable to shake the immobilising fear from his system as his voice echoed around the classroom. His classroom, his school, where he was supposed to be safe. “S-sorry, I just- I just panicked a little.”

Ned was no stranger to Peter’s panic attacks. He’d had them all his life, ever since his parents died. They worsened after Ben and the spider bite and became more frequent. Most of the time they happened when he least expected it, and everyone close to him knew about how bad his anxiety could get. Even Michelle.

But this, this was different.

He’d never told anyone about Skip.

“Do you want me to take you to the nurse?”

Peter wanted to say yes, God did he want to say yes, but then Skip would notice him.

Maybe he already knew Peter was in the room.

Maybe he already knew Peter was in this class before he even stepped into the room.

The urge to be sick almost took over, but he forced it down along with the tears and shook his head. Slowly, he released his fist, which trembled so much he had to hide it under the table. Ned watched him with worry, his hand following Peter’s to clutch his fingers. Barely able to control his super strength, Peter squeezed Ned’s hand back, before he let go incase he accidentally hurt his friend.

“Oh, yes, I need to take attendance.” Skip was in the middle of saying, and Peter’s heart skipped a beat. Then another, and another. “I hope to get to know all of you, as we’ll be together for some time while Ms. Warren recovers.”

“Peter.” Ned whispered again. “Are you sure you don’t want to leave?”

“I’m o-okay.” Peter forced himself to look up at the front of the room. “I promise.”

Ned didn’t believe him.

Skip started to list off student’s names. Peter wanted to get up and run, but he was rooted to the spot. He couldn’t move a muscle, his entire body frozen, just like it had been when Skip…

The closer it got to his name, the more Peter’s chest tightened. He stared at Skip, gauging for a reaction.

When he got to Peter’s name, he saw the second his eyes widened slightly. It wouldn’t be noticeable to anyone else, but it was noticeable to Peter. Noticeable enough that he almost projectile vomited on his desk.

“Peter Parker.”

Skip looked up, eyes searching the room for him.

“H-here.” Peter forced out.

The shakiness to his voice caused most of his classmates to look at him, along with Flash, whose eyes brightened at his visible distress.

However, Peter wasn’t looking at any of them. When he and Skip made eye contact, his fist clenched again beneath the desk and he almost stopped breathing entirely. The man gave him a smile, the smile he used to give him before it happened, a smile that would look perfectly friendly to anyone else who didn’t know.

Skip continued with attendance, and Peter felt like he was going to pass out.

Once attendance was finished, Skip started to hand out papers for a pop quiz.

When the class groaned, Skip laughed. Peter’s eyes welled with tears at the awful sound.

“I know, I know. You all hate pop quizzes.” Skip said as he went through the rows. “This is only so I can gauge where you all are at, due to the sudden circumstances of my employment. I’m sure this will be a walk in the park for all of you.”

Skip didn’t linger at Peter’s desk when he handed him his paper, but he could feel the man staring. Peter kept his eyes firmly on his desk, body completely still, waiting for it to be over. He hardly relaxed when Skip was at the front of the room again, his pen threatening to snap in his hand as he looked at the paper.

Ever since Skip stepped into the room, Peter’s senses hadn’t stopped warning him. It was constantly there, nestled in the very back of his head, waiting for him to get away from the danger. Peter wanted to leave more than anything, but that would raise more questions. Questions he couldn’t handle answering.

Skip would know, Skip knew everything, and Skip would use that to his advantage again.

Skip knew where he lived.

Peter forced himself to write the answers, but his handwriting was barely legible. Ned clearly couldn’t concentrate either, if the glances he kept shooting Peter meant anything. When he was finished, he nearly shoved his things off the desk with how hastily he pushed the paper away, knowing that Skip had touched it.

This wasn’t real. He was dreaming. He had to be.

Skip had plagued his nightmares for years. He hadn’t had one in a while, but they were always reoccurring. It was more terrifying than his other nightmares because it was real.

His dreams about a building dropping on him was real, too, but dreams involving Skip were always worse.

Always.

The next hour of class dragged, unlike the rest of his day. Peter couldn’t relax at all.

He couldn’t force himself to write any notes, and he sure as hell couldn’t look at Skip. Peter just stared at the whiteboard, body rigid, until the bell finally rang to signal the end of the school day.

“I must say, out of all my classes today, you guys have been the best. You’ve all been surprisingly well behaved.” Skip said cheerfully as they began to pack up their things, still stood up the front of the room. Peter haphazardly shoved everything in his backpack, not caring when he accidentally ripped his zipper clean off. He just had to get out. “I look forward to teaching you all, for how long that may be. I’ll see you all tomorrow!”

Peter had never left a class so fast in his life. He didn’t look at Skip, or anyone else for that matter, as he sped out of the room with his head down. The second he passed the threshold, his senses cooled off and the warning of danger lessened the further he got away from Skip, but that didn’t stop the tears from burning fiercely in his eyes.

Ned eventually caught up to him and grabbed his hand. Beside him stood Michelle, who must have been waiting for them outside of class. They both wore identical concerned expressions, and this immediately made Peter break. He bit his lip, trying to hold it in, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to.

He hadn’t felt this sort of terror since the last time he saw Skip.

They didn’t say anything as they led Peter outside and around the side of the school building, away from prying eyes.

The second it was just the three of them, the second he was safe, Peter felt his body release from how rigid it had been for the last hour. Tears spilled over his cheeks, a panicked breath escaping him as he slumped against the wall of the school. Ned and Michelle caught him before he could fall over and gently lowered him to the ground, their concern doubled as they watched him break down into the panic attack that had been brewing since the second Skip walked in the classroom.

He could hear Michelle asking Ned questions in the background, both his friends hovering in front of him.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, he started acting strange just before class started.” Ned replied. “Peter, you need to breathe.”

Peter forced his lungs to cooperate as he let out a broken, raspy sob. Ned and MJ stayed with him the entire time, not touching him, but close enough that he could reach out if he wanted. Finally, after what felt like hours, he managed to calm down enough with his friend’s help to breathe clearly. The haze that had settled over him lifted, but the discomfort remained.

Skip’s smiling face haunted him, but he forced it all away in an effort to keep calm.

“What happened, dude?” Ned asked, his voice quiet. “One minute you were fine, and then you…”

Peter could tell them.

He should tell them.

But he couldn’t get the words past his lips, just as he hadn’t been able to since it first happened.

Instead, he lied.

“I just…” Peter sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was so embarrassed. “I don’t know what h-happened.”

“That’s okay.” Michelle reached out, then hesitated. Peter let her hold his hand, grateful for the comfort. Ned took his other one, looking at him with such sad eyes that he suddenly wanted to unload everything that was on his mind to his friends, but he couldn’t. “You don’t have to talk about it right now.”

They sat there quietly for a few more minutes as Peter gathered his bearings, the sounds of the other students leaving the school almost comforting. Comforting, until he remembered that Skip Westcott was somewhere in the building right now, closer to Peter than he ever thought he would be again. He was in a place full of children.

This thought alone almost made him break again, but he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to keep his heart rate steady.

Then, his phone buzzed.

Letting go of his friend’s hands, he pulled out his phone and checked the text message.

From May

Hey honey, I’m working a double shift tonight so I won’t be home until late again. Order whatever you like, I’m so sorry. Larb you.

Usually, this wouldn’t bother Peter, and he’d just go out as Spider-Man until she got home.

Today, however, that was the last thing he wanted to do.

“May’s not going to be home until late.” Peter sighed and texted May a quick reply, then turned off his phone and shoved it back in his pocket. “Can I… Can I stay with one of you guys for a few hours?”

“Of course, dude.” Ned nodded immediately, already pulling out his phone to call his mother. “I’ll get my sister to pick us up.”

Peter wanted to say no and not to worry about it, but he didn’t want to be alone.

“I’m coming too.” Michelle rested her hand on Peter’s knee this time. “Uh, that is, if you want me to?”

“Yes, please.”

It was all Peter could get himself to say.

Michelle understood, even despite his bluntness.

Peter loved his friends.

-

Hours later, Peter still didn’t feel okay.

They spent the afternoon at Ned’s house, him, Ned and Michelle all crammed on Ned’s bed as they watched movies. Peter had felt safe there, sandwiched between his best friends, far away from Skip and school.

Ned had one arm draped over him, his head resting just above Peter’s on the pillow. Similarly, Michelle had one arm wrapped around Peter, though her head was tucked into his shoulder. For a while, he’d been able to forget the sight of the man that was now his teacher and draw in the comfort from his best friends, but the second Ned’s mother dropped him off at home, it all came rushing back in a wave.

May wouldn’t be back for another hour at least, so all he had was his thoughts to keep him company. Peter curled up in bed with his old teddy bear against his chest, the teddy bear that mostly remained hidden in his beside drawer until times like this.

It had been there after every single one of Skip’s visits to comfort him afterwards.

As he laid there, tears threatening to fall, he considered calling Tony. The man would still be up at this hour, mostly likely tinkering in the lab like usual, but the thought of trying to explain everything to his mentor made him feel sick. The thought of explaining it to anyone…

Skip was in a school. His school.

He needed to tell someone. Other kids could be in danger if he didn’t.

Peter’s stomach churned, and he curled tighter around the bear. He’d have to see his face almost every day, the face that had hovered over his so many nights, that smiled cruelly as Peter cried and begged him to stop. The face he dreaded seeing every time May and Ben told him that he needed a babysitter for the day, or even worse, for the night.

Eventually, he managed to drift off, but only for a few minutes before May got home.

He didn’t get out of bed or open his eyes. He stayed where he was, heart pounding as he listened to his aunt move around the apartment.

May entered his room not long after and sat on the edge of his bed. When he felt a hand card through his hair, he couldn’t help but sigh with relief that he wasn’t alone anymore.

“Are you alright, sweetheart?” May asked. She knew he was pretending to be asleep, and she also knew that the appearance of his bear meant something was really wrong. “I’m sorry about the double shift, I tried to get out of it but there was no one else that could cover.”

“It’s okay.” Peter replied and cracked his eyes open. He rolled over to face May, who looked down at him with the same concern that his friends had displayed. “It’s not your fault. School was just… I had a bad last period.”

“Oh, honey.” May cupped his cheek. “Is there anything I can do?”

Peter shook his head, ashamed that he couldn’t muster the courage to tell her about Skip.

“I’ll let you sleep.” May smiled sadly at him, then leant down and kissed his forehead. “I love you. You know you can talk to me about anything, right? No matter what it is, we can work through it together. Yeah?”

Tears brimmed Peter’s eyes as he nodded.

“I love you too.”

“I know he only comes out when things get really bad.” May tapped his bear on the nose, then carded her hand through Peter’s curls again. “You can always come sleep in my bed if you don’t want to be alone, just like always.”

“Thanks, May.” Peter whispered, a tear forcing its way from his eye and down his cheek. May immediately wiped it away. “I should be okay for tonight.”

“Alright.” May gave him a second kiss on the forehead. “Goodnight, honey.”

“Night, May.”

With one last smile, May quietly left and shut the door behind her.

Comforted by the presence of his aunt in the apartment, Peter finally managed to drift into a fitful sleep.

-

To no one’s surprise, Peter had multiple nightmares throughout the night.

All of them had Skip’s face in it.

It was Wednesday, which meant Peter was going to the Compound after school for a few hours. He couldn’t be more thankful to be seeing Tony today, especially since May had taken another longer shift and couldn’t be home until late once again. This time, he just managed to catch his aunt in the morning, who gave him a massive hug the second she saw him.

“Feeling better?” May asked as he pressed his face into her shoulder.

“Not really.”

“Oh, sweetie.” May squeezed him tighter. “Do you need me to call you in sick today?”

“No.” Peter wanted to say yes more than anything, but he couldn’t miss school. He didn’t want to be burden on May, or anyone else if he fell behind in his homework. At least he still had the Compound and Tony to look forward to after school. “I’ll be okay.”

“If you’re sure.” May kissed the side of his head. “Alright, honey, I have to get going now. I’ll see you when you get home from Tony’s?”

“Yeah.” Peter tried to smile, but he knew it fell flat. “Love you.”

“I love you too.”

With one last squeeze, May reluctantly disappeared through the front door.

The rest of Peter’s morning was the same as most days, but somehow, felt incredibly different at the same time. By the time he got to school, he was exhausted.

Throughout first and second period, Peter was constantly on edge. He couldn’t concentrate and barely listened to any of his teachers or took notes like he usually would. Ned and Michelle keep sending him concerned glances, but didn’t pressure him to talk about it. Peter was glad for their patience, because he was sure he would throw up if he tried.

All he could think about was the impending Physics class.

He should have taken the sick day.

The second he and Ned got in range of the Physics classroom, Peter’s senses started to warn him of incoming danger. Nausea churned in his stomach as they got closer, his throat closing in as his senses dialled up.

Skip was already in there, waiting.

The second Peter stepped into the classroom, the man’s eyes were on him.

Just like yesterday, fear paralysed Peter’s entire body. Somehow, he managed to keep walking alongside Ned, hands trembling violently when he saw the sickening, knowing smile Skip gave him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to keep himself together.

The man was visibly older, but barely. He almost looked exactly same as he had when he used to babysit Peter. How he had managed to get into a teaching position, Peter didn’t know or care, but he did know that he wanted to be anywhere but here.

School was supposed to be safe.

“Hi Peter, Ned.” Skip greeted them like nothing was wrong, like he had no idea who Peter was. “How are we, boys?”

“Hey, Mr. Westcott!” Ned said cheerfully. “We’re good!”

“It’s Skip, remember.” Skip laughed, the exact same way he used to. Peter’s stomach churned even more violently. “Please, Mr. Westcott makes me feel far too old.”

Ned laughed along, but Peter didn’t say a word.

Once they took their seats, Skip’s attention went back to whatever he was doing on his laptop.

Peter kept to himself, eyes trained solely on his desk, unable to look at the front of the room. Ned tried to engage in conversation, but eventually gave up when Peter wasn’t able to say more than a few words. Concern practically radiated from his best friend, and no matter how guilty it made him feel, he couldn’t find it in him to give Ned some reassurance.

Especially when he would be lying.

Class started a few minutes later. Skip came over to their table and placed Peter and Ned’s pop quizzes in front of them, what would be a charming smile to anyone else on his face as he looked at the two teenagers.

“Well done, Peter.”

“You did so good, Einstein.”

Peter shivered and almost choked as the words echoed through his head.

“And you too, Ned. You’re both some very bright students, I see. Makes sense in a school like this.”

Peter didn’t look at him, nor did he hear Ned’s response. He didn’t breathe until Skip was a safe distance away, and didn’t touch the paper until he absolutely had to. He immediately felt the urge to wash his hands until he couldn’t feel his fingers anymore.

Like the day before, Peter didn’t listen at all. He stared at his desk, completely tuned out, lost in his own fear that Skip would come back over or call him back after class. The entire time Peter’s senses tingled in the back of his mind, repeatedly telling him to get out.

When the hour was up, Peter hightailed it out of the room without as much as a glance in Skip’s direction and went straight to the closest boy’s toilets.

Vomit surged up his throat as he hurried towards a stall, a boy at the urinal making a disgusted face when Peter gagged as he rushed by. Ned followed, concerned as ever, and patted his back while Peter threw up his breakfast into the toilet bowl. Tears involuntarily leaked down his cheeks as he gagged again and again, the anxiety making his entire body tremble so violently he could hardly keep himself up.

“You have to go home, Peter.” Ned said when he sat back on his heels, panting. “You’re not okay.”

“Can’t.” Peter heaved. “I’m fine.”

“No you’re not.” Ned pleaded with him. “Can you want to tell me what’s going on?”

“No.” Peter shook his head, more bite in his tone than he intended there to be. “I’m- I’m sorry, I just- I can’t.”

“At least go to the nurse?”

“I’m going to the Compound after school.” Peter replied. “I’ll be fine until then. Promise.”

Ned looked like he wanted to argue, but changed his mind at the last second. Instead, he gave Peter a brief but tight hug.

Together, they got off the bathroom floor, and headed back into the school.

-

The rest of the day went as good as it could have. Peter saw fleeting glances of Skip in the hallways, but always managed to avoid him thanks to his sense’s warnings.

Peter couldn’t have been more thankful to see Happy’s sleek, black car parked outside. He said goodbye to Ned and Michelle, who continued to give him and each other worried looks every time they thought he wasn’t looking. He was grateful for such caring friends, but with that came the guilt.

He was worrying everyone he loved and he couldn’t even bring himself to tell them why.

Peter had gotten used to people not knowing about Skip. Over the years, he’d gotten so used to pretending like everything was fine that the mere thought of telling someone made him want to hide. No matter how much he researched, no matter how much he tried to make sense of it, he couldn’t say it out loud. He was terrified about what they would think, what May would think, if she even believed him. She and Ben had thought Skip had been an amazing, kind babysitter.

Peter had gotten used to pretending like it hadn’t even happened.

“Hey Happy.”

Peter slid into the backseat, almost overwhelmed by finally feeling safe.

“Hey, kid.” Happy replied, eyeing him in the review mirror. “You’re looking a bit green back there. You feeling alright?”

“Yeah, fine.” Peter lied as he buckled himself in. Through the window, he spotted Skip leaving the premises, laptop bag slung over his shoulder. He didn’t even look in Peter’s direction, but he still felt like the man could see him even through the tinted windows. His stomach jolted painfully with anxiety as he turned to Happy, desperation taking over. “Can we go, please? Now?”

“Yeah, yeah, alright, hold your horses.” Happy grumbled like he always did, though Peter could tell he wasn’t really mad. The man had odd ways of showing his concern. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, Happy. I’m fine.”

Happy, much like his friends, didn’t believe him one bit.

-

If he could fool anyone into thinking that he was okay, it definitely wasn’t Tony Stark.

The second his mentor saw him, his expression of excitement morphed into one of concern. Peter almost folded into tears right there in the lift entryway, but managed to reign in his emotions at the last second. Tony stopped what he was doing, unceremoniously dumping his tools on his workbench and got out of his chair.

“Hey, Mr. Stark.”

Tony didn’t say anything. Instead, he brought Peter into a hug.

“Hey, kiddo. May gave me a heads up.” Tony rested his chin on top of his head. Peter wrapped his arms around Tony and hid his face in his shoulder, tears already welling up even though he tried to hard to keep them back. “Wanna talk about it?”

Peter shook his head. Tony nodded and hugged him for a little longer before he pulled back.

“You still wanna work in the lab, or go upstairs?”

“The lab!” Peter replied without hesitation. He’d been looking forward to it all day. “Please.”

“Sure thing, Underoos.” Tony grinned at him. “Did you bring your suit?”

“My backpack, uh… broke.” Peter sighed, shoulders slumped. This time, he wasn’t lying. The evidence was on his back, wide open, which Flash had taken great amusement in all day and kept trying to steal his things. “I didn’t want to risk anyone seeing it, y’know.”

“Another backpack?” Tony sighed, though he looked amused as he ruffled Peter’s hair. “Don’t worry about it, kid. We’ll get you a new one.”

Peter wanted to decline, but he found he didn’t have the energy to argue. Instead, he followed Tony over to the man’s workbench as he explained what he was working on. To no one’s surprise, he was working on another new Iron Man suit, and Peter couldn’t deny the excitement that filled his chest when Tony asked if he wanted to help.

When Peter put his backpack on the couch out of the way, he wasn’t surprised when some of his books spilled out onto the floor. He sighed and bent down to pick them up, insides churning violently as he looked at the rip down the side of his backpack.

This was Skip’s fault.

Once again he had to force back another round of tears as he picked up his textbooks and put them back in his backpack.

For the next few hours they worked mostly in silence, broken only when Tony would ask for a tool or what song Peter wanted to play. Usually, Peter found silence suffocating, but today he was thankful for it. Tony’s presence alone was enough to keep his anxiety at bay, along with his scent and heartbeat. Thoughts about Skip faded into the background as they worked, and for a while, Peter felt like himself again.

He was even able to pretend that he hadn’t been a mess in the school’s toilets just hours ago, throwing up his morning’s worth of food. He was in one of the safest buildings in the world with Tony Stark. There was no possible way that Skip could reach him here.

However, as it got closer to the time that Peter was supposed to go home, he felt his mood start to decline.

As cool as working on the Iron Man suit was, Peter couldn’t find the courage to keep going. Like he expected, Tony immediately noticed the dip in his mood, and he too stopped what he was doing to look at him.

“What’s up, kiddo?” Peter anticipated the question, but still had no idea how to answer it. “Tired?”

“Yeah.” It wasn’t entirely a lie, Peter was exhausted. “I guess.”

“Fri, it’s not Pete’s home time yet, is it?”

“No, Boss. Peter has one hour and thirty-three minutes until Mr. Hogan will drive him home.”

“Great.” Tony clapped. “Hungry?”

“Starving.” Peter almost groaned. “I didn’t eat much today.”

This seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Tony’s eyebrows immediately furrowed, a look that reminded him of Uncle Ben when Peter came home in tears from school thanks to Flash’s relentless bullying.

“Come on, up. We’re going to the penthouse.” Tony patted his shoulder. “You get to pick what we order.”

“Actually, Boss.” FRIDAY interrupted. “Ms. Potts requested I tell the both of you that she has just finished cooking dinner.”

“Perfect timing, Pep.” Tony muttered, most likely more to himself than Peter. “We’re in luck, kiddo.”

Peter didn’t hesitate to get up and follow his mentor out of the lab. On the way past, he picked up his backpack and held it in front of him in an attempt to keep everything inside. Without the zipper, the fabric was having a hard time staying together.

Tony slung a casual arm around his shoulders when they stepped into the lift, but Peter knew it meant more than that. The man was trying to comfort him without outright asking what was wrong.

Suddenly, Peter wanted to unleash everything on his mind to his mentor, but the sudden embarrassment choked him before he could even open his mouth. It was the same feeling that had kept him from saying a word to anyone for years.

When the lift doors opened, it revealed the sight of Pepper at the dining table and the smell of lasagna. It smelt delicious, and all at once Peter’s hunger returned at full force.

“Hello, Peter.” Pepper smiled at him from the table and ignored Tony’s indignant scoff when she didn’t even glance at him. “I assumed the two of you hadn’t come up for food yet, so I took matters into my own hands before Tony decided to be unhealthy and order take out again.”

“Hey!” Tony snapped. “I’m a hard working-”

“Yes, I know you are, dear.” Pepper cut him off with a fond smirk. “Come sit before the food gets cold.”

Dinner was nice. Really nice. Pepper was an amazing cook, and despite the nausea that had swirled in his stomach, Peter was able to polish off his plate without any problems. A steady stream of conversation flowed between the trio until it started getting closer to nine thirty, which is when Happy was due to pick him up, the same time it was every Wednesday.

For the last half an hour, Peter curled up on the couch and watched TV, Tony at the other end on his StarkPad and Pepper in her usual armchair with a book in her lap. Neither of them questioned his silence, and he was content to focus his attention onto the series FRIDAY picked for him to watch.

Quicker than Peter hoped, the episode was over at the same time it hit nine thirty.

“Alright, Pete.” Tony clapped, which made Peter jump. “Time to go, or else your aunt will be on my case again. Did I remind you how much of a tongue lashing I got from her the last time you were late? I swear my ears are still ringing from that phone call.”

Despite Tony’s attempt to make him laugh, Peter sighed as he sat up, the dread already returning. Not because he was going home, but because tomorrow was approaching. Tomorrow meant seeing Skip again.

“Okay, okay.” Peter’s voice was small, smaller than he intended as faced Tony. “Mr Stark?”

“Hmm?” Tony had already turned off his StarkPad, fingers tapping against the device as he looked at Peter. The concern that had been lingering in his expression all night was there, but was now more prominent than ever. Peter was sure that if he looked at Pepper, she would have the exact same look on her face. “What’s on your mind?”

“Can you…” Peter let out a short sigh, mostly out of embarrassment for what he was about to ask. “Can you drive me home?”

For a moment, Tony just blinked at him, and Peter feared he’d made a terrible mistake.

He was about to backtrack, but the fond expression that appeared on his mentor’s face stopped him.

“Of course I can.” Tony’s eyes twinkled, like this was the best thing Peter had ever asked him. He still looked worried, however, even as he reached out to ruffle Peter’s hair. “Any reason why?”

“I just- I don’t want to- I just want you to drive me home today.”

Peter shrugged as he spoke, unable to do much else.

“Still not feeling the best?” Peter shook his head with a slight sigh, only for his eyes to suddenly well up with tears. He held them back again, but Tony definitely noticed his glassy eyes. The man rested a hand on his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze, just like Ben used to do. “That’s okay, I’ll drive you. Happy’ll appreciate the night off. Fri, let the man know, would you?”

“Will do, Boss.”

“Oh, shit!” Tony suddenly barked. “Wait here a second, kiddo, I have something for you.”

In a flash, Tony was gone. Peter blinked, then turned to Pepper, who just gave him a shrug and a smile. Just like he predicted, badly hidden concern was written all over her face too.

Tony returned a few minutes later with a backpack in each hand. In one hand was Peter’s ripped up backpack, completely empty of the textbooks that had been weighing it down. In the other was a brand new backpack, zipped up and ready to go, a small Stark Industries logo on the zipper. It was subtle, but not subtle enough for people like Flash not to notice.

Still, Peter’s chest flooded with warmth. He didn’t even care if Flash accused him of stealing.

“Everything’s in there already.” Tony handed the new backpack to him, which held the same weight that Peter’s had all day. “That thing’s been lying in the lab storage for years, so I thought, why not give it to my favourite Spider-Kid?”

“Thanks, Mr. Stark!” Peter smiled as he put his arms through his new backpack. “I love it.”

“Thought you would.” Tony winked. “Don’t go breaking it or leaving it webbed to a dumpster.”

“I won’t!” Peter blurted, though he was still grinning. “I promise.”

“I know you won’t, Underoos.” Tony wrapped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed him in a half-hug. “Now go say bye to Pep, we’re late.”

After Pepper gave him a tight hug goodbye, Tony and Peter headed down to the garage. Much like their time in the lab, the drive home was spent mostly in silence with the radio softly in the background. Peter took his shoes off and curled up in the front seat, hugging his knees as he watched the lights pass by outside.

His new backpack sat on the floor, just as sleek as the car itself, his old one left behind at the Compound.

He wasn’t going to miss it.

“Alright, kiddo, we’re here,.” Tony said as he pulled up in front of Peter and May’s apartment. “Do you want me to walk you up?”

“No, it’s okay.” Peter’s heart twisted as he unfolded his legs and started to put his shoes back on. He didn’t bother tying the laces and turned to his mentor, who stared back at him with the most worried look Peter had seen on him all night. “Thanks for driving me, Mr. Stark!”

“‘Course.” Tony’s eyes twinkled again, and he held his arm out for a hug. Peter immediately accepted it, which caused another round of tears to burn in his eyes at the thought of losing how safe he felt with Tony. He felt safe with May, of course he did, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that Skip knew where he lived. “See you on Friday.”

Just as Peter was about to get out of the car, Tony stopped him.

“You know.” The man began, suddenly serious. “If anything’s going on, you can talk to me, too. I know I’m not the best with the emotional sh- stuff, but I mean it.”

“I know.” Peter’s eyes watered again. “I’m okay.”

“Whatever you say.” Tony offered him another grin, but this one had a softness too it. It reminded Peter of the way Ned’s father looked at Ned. “In you go, your Aunt May’s probably getting her pitchfork ready to stake me with in there.”

Despite the looming dread, Peter laughed.

When he heard Tony’s car drive away, his smile faded.

That night, his sleep was once again tainted with nightmares.

Skip’s face was in every single one of them.

-

Thursday and Friday were just as terrible as Peter expected.

Flash, as expected, noticed the Stark Industries zipper on his new backpack the second he spotted Peter in the hallway. There began the rumour that Peter had stolen from Tony Stark, which served to create a wide berth around him as the other kids whispered about him as he passed by. Even some teachers eyed him, but said nothing.

Skip had also stared at his new backpack with interest.

Peter spent each Physics class rigid in his seat, fists and jaw clenched as Skip’s voice echoed around him. He felt sick when the class laughed at his jokes, he felt sick when they told each other how much fun Skip was to have as a teacher.

When Skip met his eyes and gave him that full-teeth smile that haunted his nightmares, he wanted to cry.

He couldn’t focus, he couldn’t take notes, he couldn’t do anything when he was inside the school building. Peter could hardly function in the place he’d come to know as safe.

His friends continued to ask if he was okay. It made Peter feel awful that they were so worried about him, but he continued to lie straight to their faces, even when he knew the both of them could see straight through him.

The more classes he had with Skip, the more on edge he became, and the more he wished he could get over the shame he felt and tell someone. It was rooted to his core, and it had been that way ever since it happened.

Skip was never supposed to come back into his life. The man had moved to a different state, far away from Peter, and it was supposed to stay that way.

After spending the night at the Compound on Friday, which had been a welcome reprieve from the last four days, Peter spent almost the entire weekend on patrol. With May at work for most of both Saturday and Sunday, he tried to stay out as long as he could no matter how tired he got.

Every night, Peter curled up in bed with his bear and cried when May wasn’t around to hear him.

-

When Monday arrived, Peter couldn’t get out of bed.

May called him in sick when she saw the state he was in and asked him hundreds of questions, but all Peter could do was say he didn’t feel well and didn’t want to go to school. May had frowned, carded her hand through his hair like she always did, before she disappeared into the other room to call her work, then his school. Peter wanted to assure her it was just a stomach bug, that she could go to work, but he wanted her to be here.

However, Peter only managed two days off before he knew he had to go back to school. Ned and Michelle had sent him the homework for the days he’d missed, but he hadn’t had the motivation to work on any of it or respond with much more than a thank you. The homework sat abandoned in a folder on his laptop, untouched.

May was still worried. She took both days of work to be with him, but it was clear she was at a loss of what to do. She tried her best to hide it, but Peter could tell.

Now, he walked through the school’s front doors with a whirlwind raging inside his stomach. The only thing that reassured him was the fact that he was going to the Compound after school, back to Tony and far away from Skip. He couldn’t stand being on edge in his own apartment when May wasn’t there, but he also didn’t want to keep her from work when he couldn’t even tell her what was wrong.

Like usual, Ned met him at his locker, but this time Michelle was with him. They both had their eyes on him, their worry hardly concealed as they watched him approach.

“Hey guys.” Peter tried to smile, but the fear was almost too overwhelming.

“How are you?” Michelle was the first to ask. For once, Peter could read everything on her face. For the first time since he’d met her, she was a completely open book. “You’ve hardly answered any of our texts since Friday. We’ve been worried, loser.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” Peter fiddled anxiously with his fingers as he looked between his best friends, unable to hide how guilty he felt. “I’m okay, I promise. I was just sick. What have I missed?”

It seemed like Ned had been waiting for him to ask that question. He watched his friend’s concern fizzle into glee, and even Michelle seemed amused by whatever Ned was about to say.

“Dude, you won’t believe what Flash did yesterday!”

With that, Ned fell into long-winded description of Flash’s latest embarrassing moment as they made their way to homeroom, Michelle having to split off from them halfway. Peter used Ned’s story as a distraction, smiling and nodding in all the right places and laughed when his best friend did. Whether Ned could tell he was just going through the motions to please him, he didn’t show it.

First, second and third period went as smoothly as they could. He got disappointed looks from his teachers when he didn’t hand in the homework that was due, but he couldn’t find it within himself to care. He took some notes, but didn’t do much else.

When lunch came by, he shared food with Ned, who had brought several extra sandwiches.

Peter felt okay. He hadn’t seen Skip all day, nor had his senses warned him of any danger. Even though Physics class was next up, he had managed to keep most of it out of his mind for the time being.

But, he knew it had to happen at some point.

When his spider senses started to warn him, Peter instantly started to sweat. He repressed the urge to look around, his fist clenching beneath the table as the warning grew louder and louder until it was deafening.

Skip was approaching them specifically. He had to be.

Finally, Peter looked up, and spotted the man headed straight for their table. His body automatically went rigid as he held his breath, the fear immediate as he watched his old babysitter get closer. As usual, Skip was smiling, and he was only looking at Peter.

That was, until, Michelle followed Peter’s line of sight to him. In the blink of an eye, Skip turned his attention away from Peter and towards his friends instead.

“Good afternoon, kids!” Skip stopped at the head of their table, arms crossed over his chest with a smile on his face. “Ah, Peter! I haven’t seen you in a few days, have you been sick?”

“Yeah.” Peter managed to force out.

Suddenly, Michelle was staring at him.

“Feeling better, I hope?”

“Yeah, fine.” Peter forced a smile onto his face, and he felt it wobble when Skip’s eyes met his again. Michelle continued to watch him, analysing his behaviour. Peter’s heart started to pound at the thought of his friend figuring it out. “I’m good.”

“That’s great to hear, kiddo!”

It took everything in Peter not to have an emotional reaction to the nickname.

No one ever called him that but Tony.

He couldn’t let Skip ruin the only father figure he had left.

Skip was grinning, but that grin soon faltered when his eyes drifted to something beside Peter. He followed the man’s line of sight, only to find it on his backpack, which rested on the seat beside Peter that wasn’t occupied by Ned. The Stark Industries tag was flipped right side up, the signature logo legible to anyone who was close enough.

“Stark Industries, huh?”

Peter gulped, hopefully subtly enough that his friends wouldn’t notice the tension.

“Yeah.” Peter muttered. “I have an internship.”

“Really?” The look on Skip’s face was unreadable. He was smiling, but there was nothing there. He was like a shark closing in on his prey, his white teeth on full display as he looked between Peter, his friends, and Peter’s backpack. “That’s pretty awesome, huh? I admit, I’ve heard the rumours. You’re quite the topic of conversation among the students, Peter.”

“It’s real.” Michelle cut in, almost protectively. “Obviously.”

“Oh, I don’t believe we’ve met. What’s your name?”

“Michelle Jones.” Michelle snapped, a particular bite to her tone. “I’m not in your class, Mr. Westcott. That’s why we’ve never met.”

“Well, Michelle, it’s nice to meet you. Call me Skip, I hate formalities, as I tell all my students.” Peter saw the exact moment he looked between him and Michelle, like he was trying to figure something out. Nausea almost choked Peter in that moment, but he forced it down and looked at his abandoned sandwich instead. “I’ll see you boys next period. I’ll let you in on a little secret, we have another pop quiz today.”

With that, Skip was gone, and Peter’s senses eased.

“Another pop quiz?” Ned groaned. “Seriously? We had one last week!”

“I don’t like him.” Michelle ignored Ned as she watched the man leave. “There’s something off about him. Why would he mention what other kids say about Peter?”

“What?” Ned exclaimed. “Skip’s the coolest substitute teacher I’ve ever had! You talked to him for like ten seconds, MJ!”

Even though Peter knew Ned couldn’t possibly know what Skip had done to him, the words cut through him like a knife. It wasn’t his friend’s fault, it was his for being too ashamed to utter the truth out loud.

“Ten seconds is enough.” Michelle’s eyebrows were furrowed with thought. She got that look when she was trying to figure something out. “He seems… something’s weird. Especially that he wants to be called Skip. We’re not supposed to call teachers by their first names, its unprofessional. What do you think, Peter?”

She knew.

She couldn’t possibly know all of it, but she knew he didn’t like Skip either.

“He’s…” A rock lodged in Peter’s throat. He coughed, heart pounding as he tried to come up with a response. Michelle quirked an eyebrow as she studied him, her piercing gaze making him feel even more on edge. “He’s alright.”

“You think something’s weird about him too, don’t you?”

“I don’t know, I guess.” It took all of his restraint not to react outwardly to her words. “I don’t like him either.”

“Really?” Ned sounded shocked. “Is there something I’m missing?”

“You can’t tell anyone, Einstein.”

“I just don’t like him. I miss Ms. Warren.”

Peter kept his mouth shut when he could for the rest of lunch. Michelle’s gaze eventually stopped searching his face, but he knew she knew something was up. Skip’s words echoed around his skull as he and Ned made their way to Physics, his friend rambling on about the next comic he wanted to buy when his senses started to warn him of danger yet again.

When they entered the classroom, Skip gave his usual greeting, his eyes lingering on Peter for just a bit longer than Ned. Anxiety clawed its way up Peter’s throat, but he swallowed it down, took his seat and immediately hunched over in the hopes of making himself invisible.

Peter wasn’t sure he was going to survive the rest of the school year with Skip as his teacher.

He wasn’t sure he could survive the rest of the week.

When class began, so did the pop quiz. All Peter could do was stare down at the paper, sickened at the thought of touching it. His pen hovered over the test, his hand trembling.

He had to tell someone.

Peter didn’t write anything. When the time limit was up, Skip moved around the classroom to collect the student’s quizzes. The closer the man got to his and Ned’s desk, the more Peter’s senses screamed at him to run, and the more dread flowed through his body.

To Peter’s internal horror, Skip stopped at his and Ned’s table and frowned down at Peter’s blank quiz.

“What is this, Einstein?”

Peter’s entire body went cold.

Skip realised his slip-up the exact same time Peter jolted. Unable to control his strength through the blinding panic the nickname inflicted, Peter pushed the desk away from him in an attempt to scramble away from the adult. His chair screeched loudly against the tile as he backed away from Skip, who had gone as white as a sheet as he realised his mistake. That didn’t stop the man from wincing when the table collided with his thighs hard enough to make him stumble, but Peter didn’t care about the man’s pain.

The entire class turned to stare at him with wide, interested eyes as all of Peter’s things toppled off the desk and onto the floor.

“Peter?” Ned was trying to talk to him, a hand hovering above Peter’s shaking one. “Dude, are you okay? What happened?”

Tears welled in Peter’s eyes, frozen in his chair as he stared at Skip. He couldn’t even open his mouth to reassure his friend that he was fine, because he wasn’t.

Familiar, undeniable fury had become present Skip’s eyes. It was the same look he got when Peter would cry for him to stop, and that look alone caused Peter to hold his breath and swallow his tears in the fear of making everything worse.

“Parker.” Peter flinched, aware of all his classmates’ eyes on him. Skip’s tone was scarily calm, which was also familiar to him. The real Skip was starting to break through the facade. “This kind of behaviour is unacceptable in my classroom. I think you’re due for a visit with Principal Morita. Pack up your things and head down to the office, he’ll know you’re coming.”

Peter did as he was told in a haste. He almost collapsed to the floor to gather his things, shoving everything into his backpack at lightening speed as Skip returned to the front of the classroom to call the principal.

Skip called him Einstein.

Skip called him Einstein in the middle of class.

His classmates began to giggle, especially Flash, whose eyes were as bright as a Christmas tree. Peter getting sent to the principal’s office was probably on the very top of his wish list.

“Alright, Parker. Off you go.” Skip dismissed him, eyes sharp when they pierced into Peter’s. Vomit surged up his throat, but he forced it back down and tried to hold it together. “Principal Morita is waiting for you.”

Peter ignored Ned’s worried look as he hightailed it out of the classroom. The second he was away from Skip and the eyes of his classmates, the tears immediately broke free and spilled down his cheeks. He choked on a sob, his knuckles white where they clutched his backpack straps as he made the walk of shame to the principal’s office. Even when his spider sense calmed, his heart didn’t.

Once he was in range of the principal’s office, Peter stopped and forced himself to calm down. There was no way to conceal that he’d been crying, but if he stopped the sobs, maybe Principal Morita would take him seriously.

When the sobs weren’t tearing from his chest anymore, Peter took a deep, shaky breath and continued to the rest of the walk to the office.

The second he walked through the door, Principal Morita’s eyes locked onto him.

“Ah, Mr. Parker.” The man watched him with an unreadable expression, hands clasped on top of his desk. “Please, sit.”

Peter removed his backpack and slumped into the chair opposite his principal.

“Take a breath, kid.” The man frowned at him. Peter hadn’t even realised he’d started holding his breath. “I’ll give you a second to calm yourself down. Here.”

Morita offered him a bottle of water from a small fridge in the corner of his office. Peter took it with a shaky hand as he let go of the breath he’d been holding, a small whimper catching in his throat as he did so. He took a small sip, then another, before he screwed the cap shut and placed it on the floor beside his chair.

“You know why you’re here, yes?” When Peter nodded, Morita sighed. “Mr. Westcott says you pushed a table into him on purpose hard enough to bruise. I haven’t known you to be a violent kid, Peter, but this could warrant at least a two weeks detention. Violence against teachers, against anyone, is not tolerable at this school.”

Peter couldn’t even react. He wished he could laugh in the man’s face, however.

Flash seemed to dodge the rules no matter what he did.

“While you were on your way, I called your aunt. She’s on her way.” Peter’s heart almost stopped. May was working today, he couldn’t take her away from her shift. “Mr. Westcott will also join us so we can all get a clear picture of what happened.”

“No.” Peter shook his head immediately. “Not- not Skip.”

At Peter’s panic and resurgence of tears, Principal Morita’s eyes actually softened.

“Peter.” The man leant forward a little and made direct eye contact with Peter. “Like I said before, I have never known you to be a violent kid, and I can see you are very distressed about this matter. If there is something else going on at home, or if Mr. Westcott did anything to provoke this kind of reaction from you, I need to know so I can help you.”

The opportunity was right there. It was in his grasp, an adult with power who might be able to do something about it, but he couldn’t say it.

“No one would believe you, Einstein. Kids lie all the time. All you would do is get yourself into trouble. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

Peter barely even knew his principal. Not like he knew Mr. Harrington, or Ms. Warren.

What if he thought he was lying to get out of punishment?

But he needed to tell someone.

However, Peter’s mouth wouldn’t cooperate. At his silence, Principal Morita’s frown deepened, but he didn’t push.

“I hope you’ll be able to explain your side of the story when your aunt arrives. For now, just try and keep yourself calm, okay?”

For at least twenty minutes, the two of them sat in silence right up until class was over. It wasn’t long before Peter’s senses started to rise the hairs on his arms, but he kept his body rigid and didn’t look up when Skip entered the office.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Westcott.”

Principal Morita almost sounded relieved at Skip’s arrival. Any thoughts about telling his principal died in Peter’s throat.

Morita would never believe him.

The two engaged in small talk like Peter wasn’t even there. He could feel Skip’s gaze fall on him every now and then, but Peter kept his eyes firmly on his shoes as he waited for his aunt to arrive.

When he finally heard her approaching the office, his shoulders slumped with relief.

“Peter?!” May exclaimed as she burst into the room, still dressed in her scrubs. Guilt clawed at him as she rushed over and knelt down to cup his face. She wiped away some of his almost dried tears, eyes shining with worry as they flickered over his face. “Oh, sweetheart. What’s going on? I almost didn’t believe what I heard on the phone.”

Peter almost said it. He almost let everything go, but then May turned around and saw Skip.

“Steven?” Recognition filled her features as she stared at the man. May openly gaped, clearly off guard at seeing her old friend stood in front of her. Like Peter, May hadn’t seen Skip for years. “What are you doing here?”

“Hello, May.” Skip’s charming persona was in full force. “It’s been a few years, hasn’t it? I’m a substitute teacher for the rest of the school year due to an unfortunate accident involving one of Peter’s teachers, he hasn’t told you?”

“No, he hasn’t.” May frowned slightly at Peter, but then smiled at Skip. “This is certainly a surprise.”

“You two know each other?” Principal Morita glanced between the adults.

“Yes, he used to babysit Peter for us.” May paused for a moment, eyes sad. “He was my husband’s colleague. A good friend.”

“It’s a small world.” Skip interrupted. “It’s been such a-”

“Excuse me.” Principal Morita interrupted, much to Peter’s relief. He didn’t know how much longer he could stand watching May and Skip get reacquainted with each other. “But we have an actual matter to discuss.”

“Right, of course.” May immediately became serious. “Peter didn’t… actually shove a desk into his teacher?”

“I’m afraid he did.” Skip said in such a false apologetic tone that a sudden rage rose within Peter. However, it was gone as quickly as it came, his lips firmly sealed as he listened to the man talk. “After his two days absent from my class, it would make sense that he is falling behind with the material. I planned a pop quiz for my students, as I like to do on many occasions with all of my classes, and as I went to collect Peter’s, I saw that he had not made even an attempt to answer any of the questions.”

Peter watched May’s expression contort through several different emotions, mostly concern, as she listened intently.

“Now I understand there may be something going on outside of my class that caused such an… emotional outburst from Peter, but I do not tolerate behaviour like this in any of the classes I teach. Violence especially. ” Peter couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was Skip saying all of this shit on purpose to rile him up? To threaten him into silence just like he had when he was younger? “In my opinion, since this is only a minor incident, detention would be a suitable punishment. That is not for me to decide, though.”

“Peter?” May turned to Peter, a stern set to her brow. “Is this true?”

“Yes, but-”

Peter choked at the look Skip gave him over May’s shoulder.

“Peter…” May looked like she wanted to cry, too. “I know you’ve been going through something, but you can’t take it out on your teachers like this, or anyone. You talk to me when something is bothering you this much. You know you can talk to me about anything. It’s not like you to act like this with anyone.”

Suddenly, Peter didn’t want to be in the room anymore.

He didn’t want to be around Morita, he didn’t want the around May, and he especially didn’t want to be around Skip.

Skip, who effortlessly manipulated everyone around him, including Peter.

“Two weeks detention.” Principal Morita declared with an exhausted sigh. “That is suitable enough for Peter to learn from this. As it is the first time anything of this nature has happened, I am inclined to let it go. Peter has always been a model student, and I am willing to give him another chance. For the rest of today, however, you can take him home. I think that would be best.”

Peter didn’t even care about the detention, or that he was finally going home.

“I hope you’re feeling more like yourself the next time I see you in class, Peter.” Peter’s senses suddenly told him to move, so he did without thinking. He flinched violently away from Skip’s incoming hand, which had intended to land on his shoulder. Skip paused when Peter’s chair skidded across the floor a little, eyes wide, but he said nothing and raised his hands in mock defence. “Sorry, kiddo. I didn’t realise that would-”

Not Tony’s nickname

“Don’t call me that!” Peter almost yelled, his voice much louder than he intended. “May, please-”

“Peter!” May almost scolded, but the worry remained present. “I know he used to be your babysitter, but Steven is your teacher now. You don’t talk to your teachers like that, I can’t believe I have to say this.”

She didn’t understand. She didn’t understand and it was Peter’s fault, but he could no longer think clearly.

Skip had tried to touch him.

“It’s okay, May.” Skip’s voice. “I think he’s just emotional right now. A good night’s sleep might help.”

Skip had tried to touch him.

“I think it’s best if you take him home now. He needs to calm down.” Morita’s.

Skip tried to…

“Come on, sweetheart, let’s go home.”

“No.” Peter shook his head, almost blinded by the debilitating fear. “I want- I want Mr. Stark.”

For a second, the room was dead silent aside from Peter’s panicked, uneven breaths.

“What, honey?” May knelt down to meet his eye, but he refused to look at her. “Just tell me what’s going on, Peter. This isn’t like you. We all just want to help you.”

We.

Not Skip. Never Skip.

“Please call Mr. Stark.” Tony was the only person Peter knew who had never met Skip. Out of everyone in the room, maybe Tony would be more likely to believe him… “Please, please call Tony.”

“Tony Stark?” Skip sounded on the verge of laughter, despite the tense air in the room. Just like Peter suspected in the cafeteria when the man mentioned his backpack, he didn’t believe him. Or, maybe he was jealous. That thought alone made his stomach churn with disgust. “I’m sorry, kid, but I don’t think Tony Stark can get you out of this one.”

“Steven.” Principal Morita, surprisingly, snapped. “Not now.”

“May, please.” Peter begged.

“Alright, I’ll call him.” May pulled out her phone, then reached out to squeeze Peter’s hand. “It’ll be okay, honey. Whatever’s happening inside that head of yours, we’ll figure it out.”

Over her shoulder, Skip gave Peter another look.

May then excused herself, which left Peter alone with Skip and Principal Morita. The two were having an intense, hushed conversation that Peter tuned out, unwilling to hear what they were arguing about, especially if it had to do with him and the Stark Internship. Instead, he listened to May’s phone ring on the other side of the wall.

“Hey, May.” Peter had never been happier to hear Tony’s voice. He sounded distracted. “Aren’t you supposed to be working? Is the kid okay?”

“No, I need you to come pick him up from school.”

“What? What’s going on?” Tony’s voice was immediately panicked, all signs of distraction gone. “Do I need to bring the suit?”

“No, no suit. Just come as yourself.” May let out soft, sad sigh. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears, her words shaky. “He’s asking for you. I don’t know what’s wrong, he won’t tell me anything and he won’t let me take him home either. His principal told me he pushed a desk into his teacher. Just please come, Tony. I don’t know what else to do. He’s never shut me out like this before.”

“That doesn’t sound like him.” Through the phone, Peter could hear the lift ding, along with FRIDAY’s soothing voice in the background. “Tell him I’m on my way. I’ll be as quick as I can.”

“Thank you, Tony. You have no idea… he’s really upset. I’m worried.”

Shame shot through Peter’s veins at the words.

“Me too. I’ll see you both soon.”

When May returned, she relayed the same message to Peter, even though he’d already heard everything. He nodded, relieved that Tony really was coming to get him, but he still couldn’t look up from his lap and face his aunt.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go home with her. He did, of course he did, but as bad as it made him feel, he wasn’t sure she was going to believe him. She’d known Skip for years, even before he was Peter’s babysitter, and they’d been close. Skip had been a close friend of both May and Ben.

Peter was terrified of the chance of her believing Skip over him. How irrational the thought may be, it was enough to keep his mouth shut.

The only other person he felt safe with was Tony. The only person who had no previous opinion of Skip.

Tony arrived so quickly that Peter was sure he’d been speeding the entire time. The second he heard the man’s familiar footsteps hurrying down the hall, his shoulders slumped with relief, even with Skip still hovering around the room. He’d refused to leave, given he didn’t have any more classes for the day.

The air immediately shifted when Tony stepped into the office. May looked relieved, Skip looked like a deer caught in headlights, and Principal Morita looked remarkably unfazed.

Tony ignored everyone and headed straight for Peter.

“Hey there, Underoos.” Tony said as he knelt down in front of him. He tucked a finger under Peter’s chin and lifted his head so they could look at each other properly. Tony’s frown only deepened when he met Peter’s eyes. “What’s going on?”

“Can we please go?” Peter almost whined, on the verge of a panic attack. “P-please.”

“‘Course we can, kiddo.” Tony then cupped his cheek and wiped away a stray tear, the action so parental that it almost caused Peter to break again. “Shh, don’t cry. We’ll talk about it in the car, yeah? Happy’s waiting for us.”

Peter nodded. Tony wiped another tear away before he stood up and picked up Peter’s backpack from where it sat on the floor.

“Care to explain why my kid’s crying his eyes out?” The question was directed at Principal Morita. “I can hardly believe he would intentionally hurt anyone, let alone a teacher.”

“It’s true, Mr. Stark.” Morita glanced at Skip, who looked like he wanted to disappear. “We’ve settled on two weeks detention.”

Tony was silent for a long time.

“You’re the teacher?” This time, the question was directed at Skip.

“Yes, sir. Steven Westcott.” Skip offered his hand for a handshake. Tony stared at him for a long time, his gaze even more scrutinising than Michelle’s. He ignored the man’s raised hand, which prompted Skip to cough awkwardly as he lowered it. “I hope that Peter can learn from this. In the few days I’ve had him as my student, it’s definitely not in his character to do something like this.”

“Hm.” Tony hummed, stared at Skip for a few more seconds, before he turned back to Peter. “Alright, Pete. Let’s get out of here before Forehead of Security gets bored.”

Peter wished he could laugh at Tony’s attempt of a joke, but he didn’t have it in him.

As he got to his feet, Tony slung his free arm around his shoulders and pulled him to his side. Peter leaned into the safety that was his mentor, fingers twisting frantically as he itched to leave the room. In the corner of his eye, he could see May’s distraught expression, which only served to make him feel worse.

“Any forms I have to fill out?” Tony asked.

“Just this.” The man slid a paper and pen across his desk. “Since you’re his emergency contact.”

That explained why Principal Morita was hardly fazed by Tony’s appearance.

Tony quickly signed at the bottom, and with stiff goodbyes all around, Peter, May and Tony exited the office and headed out of the school.

“I’m sorry, May.” Peter said the second they reached Happy’s car. The man in question was sat in the driver’s seat with the window rolled down, eyes hidden behind his sunglasses. He nodded at Peter in greeting, but didn’t say much else. Peter could tell that Happy, like May and Tony, was worried. “I didn’t mean to drag y-you out of work.”

“No, don’t apologise for that. Never apologise for that, I’ll always come and get you whenever I can.” May shook her head and brought him into a tight, comforting hug. “I understand there are things you might want… a father for. I understand, sweetheart. I do. I’ll always be here for you no matter what. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.” Peter whispered. The guilt was threatening to eat him alive at this point. “Love you.”

“I love you too.” May kissed his forehead. “Call me tonight?”

Peter nodded. With one last squeeze, May headed off to her own car parked just ahead of Happy’s.

“In you hop.” Tony opened the back door for him. Peter dropped into the seat and moved over to the middle with a short sigh that turned into a strangled kind of whimper, which made Tony’s face crease with sadness. “Aw, kid. It’s okay.”

It wasn’t.

Peter just nodded. The truth weighed heavy on his shoulders now, heavier than it had been since it happened.

Tony hopped in beside him and shut the door, then immediately wrapped his arm around Peter’s shoulders. Peter suspected Tony had gotten Happy to drive just for this reason, and couldn’t have been more grateful. He leant into his father figure’s side and shut his eyes.

“Want to wait until we get to the Compound to talk about it?” Tony asked, his voice low.

Peter, unable to use his words, nodded. If he could put it off any longer, he would.

“Sounds good to me, kiddo.” Tony squeezed his shoulder. Peter opened his eyes again to glance at Happy, who watched over them through the review mirror, his lips in a thin line. There was no denying the concern written all over the man’s face. “You know I’m not good with this kind of stuff, but you know I would never judge you for anything, right? Even if you pushed that desk into your teacher, you couldn’t have done it without a good reason.”

For the first time in the entire day, a genuine smile formed on Peter’s lips. It only lasted a few seconds before it fell, but the gratitude he felt remained.

“I know. Thanks, Mr. Stark.”

“Of course.” Tony’s smile was softer than usual. Sadder than usual. “We’ll worry about it when we get home. Let’s get going, Happy.”

As soon as the car pulled out onto the main road, Peter dozed off into an uneasy sleep.

-

The second they reached the Compound, Peter had headed straight for the couch to lie down. Tony, without saying a word, grabbed Peter’s pillow and favourite Star Wars blanket from the room he used when he stayed over on Friday nights and brought them to him. Happy had disappeared onto his own floor, but not without giving Peter a comforting squeeze of the shoulder.

“Do you need anything else?” Tony asked, his arms full. “A drink, food?”

“No thanks.” Peter whispered.

“Okay, lift your head.”

Peter did as he was told, surprised when Tony sat down instead of putting the pillow under his head like he expected. Tony put the pillow on his lap next, and Peter took that as an invitation to lower his head again. He closed his eyes when Tony draped the blanket over him, the reality of what he was about to do washing over him when Tony rested a hand on his shoulder.

“Do you want to talk about it now?”

Tony was giving him an out, Peter knew that. But, he had to tell someone.

If he didn’t, Skip could hurt someone else, another kid.

“I did push my desk into my teacher.” Peter began, and as he spoke, his body started to tremble. Tony’s hand squeezed his shoulder, and when Peter glanced up at the man, he was already looking down at him. Peter turned away and shut his eyes so he could take a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to, it was just a… reaction. I really didn’t mean it.”

“Is there any reason you reacted like that?”

“B-Because…” Peter choked on his words. “He- he called me something. A nickname.”

Peter felt Tony’s body tense.

“What kind of nickname?”

Peter was silent for a long time, working himself up to say the word he’d tried to avoid ever since Skip.

“E-Einstein.”

Saying it made Peter feel sick.

“Oh?” Tony was confused, understandably. Peter was skirting around the topic, even though he had to be completely transparent. He never thought he would have to tell anyone. He was still worried Tony wouldn’t believe him. “You don’t like that nickname?”

Peter shook his head.

“Is there… something else you’re not mentioning?”

“Yes.” Peter curled up tighter, his fists clenched so tight he could feel his fingernails digging into his palms. “He’s a substitute teacher. Ms. Warren got in a bad car accident last week and won’t be teaching us for the rest of the year, s-so we have S-Skip now.”

Peter paused to take a deep breath.

“I… I already know him, he was my babysitter a few years ago. He used to… h-he used to call me that all the t-time. He was good friends with Aunt May and Uncle Ben.”

“Right.” Peter risked a glance up at Tony. He was looking ahead now, his frown darker than it had been since he’d picked up Peter from school, and he could practically see the cogs turning in the genius’ brain. It wouldn’t take long for him to realise exactly what Peter meant. “You don’t like… Skip? Does he get all the kids to call him that?”

“Yeah, he hates formalities.” Peter paused, then shook his head. “No. I don’t like him.”

“That’s inappropriate.” Tony squeezed his shoulder again. “Why don’t you like him?”

“He…” Sudden tears welled in Peter’s eyes as he looked up at Tony. This was his one chance. If he didn’t get it out now, he feared he’d never be able to muster up the courage again. “He- he used to call me that w-when he-”

Tony looked down at him then, his expression unreadable.

“When he what?”

“When he hurt me.” Peter looked away from Tony, not wanting to see the look on his father figure’s face when he realised what kind of hurt he was talking about. “Every time he babysat me, apart from the first few times, he would- touch me after the first time he showed me a magazine with… those k-kinds of pictures in it. He said it was a game.”

Tony became incredibly tense, almost like stone. His hand on Peter’s shoulder remained gentle, however.

“I panicked when he called me that, and I just- I didn’t know what to do!” Peter’s breaths started to pick up the longer Tony remained silent. Panic churned in his stomach as he spoke, tears leaking down his cheeks as his entire body shuddered. “I accidentally used my powers when I pushed away from the table, I didn’t mean to! I just wanted him to get away from me!”

“Pete…” Tony sounded heartbroken. The rest of his body was tense, but the thumb that wiped away his tears wasn’t. Relief surged through Peter as he drew in the comfort, heart pounding. He’d finally said it. “Does anyone else know?”

“No.” Peter shook his head. “Skip moved away and I was never supposed to s-see him again. He always said no one would believe me, so I just didn’t s-say anything. He said I would get in trouble. May and Ben loved him, they were close, I didn’t want to… I didn’t t-think they’d believe me!”

As if Tony could sense the heavy shame Peter felt, the next words that came out of his mouth were fierce.

“None of that is your fault, Peter. None of it.” Tony’s hand tightened around his shoulder, the message loud and clear. Realistically, Peter knew it wasn’t his fault, but the shame continued to rise up his neck. Tony used his other hand to wipe away his falling tears, the crease between his brows deeper than Peter had ever seen it. “Can I ask… how old were you when this happened?”

“Nine.” Ashamed, Peter ducked his head and pulled the blanket higher over his face.

“Jesus Christ.” Tony sounded angry, but Peter knew it wasn’t directed at him.

“I’m sorry.” Peter muttered. His chest shuddered with the effort to keep himself from sobbing. “I was s-so scared when I saw him, but I c-couldn’t tell anyone. I wanted to, b-but- he’s been in my nightmares ever since, always telling me no one would ever believe me over him. It makes me feel like I’m that defenceless little kid again.”

“Shh.” Tony hushed him, his eyes looking glassier than they had a few seconds ago. “Never apologise for something like this. He took advantage of you, Peter. He’s a fucking- he’s an adult. He’s a predator. None of that is on you, you hear me?”

“But-”

“No buts. You were a child. You still are.” Tony shook his head, cutting Peter’s reply off. “I will always be in your corner, kiddo.”

Peter nodded and sat up a little so he could wrap his arms around Tony’s middle. He hid his face in his father’s shoulder, and finally let go of everything he’d been holding back since he stepped into Morita’s office. Tony just shushed him, one hand rubbing his back while the other rested on the back of his head, muttering comforting words under his breath as Peter exhausted himself.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he finally came back to his senses, his eyes hurting from how much he’d cried.

“Thanks, Mr. Stark.” Peter whispered. He was safe. “I was so scared no one would believe me.”

“I’ll always believe you, Underoos. There isn’t anything that would make me love you any less.” Tony mumbled. “Get some rest, we’ll talk about everything else tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.” Peter wiped his eyes and curled up tighter.

Within a few minutes, Peter fell asleep.

There were no monsters in his nightmares.

-

A few days later, Peter told May with Tony right by his side.

It had been one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do. They’d both cried, Peter out of fear that his aunt wouldn’t believe her friend could have done this, May because she’d been horrified that she never knew. Peter even saw Tony cry a little, his hand firmly rubbing Peter’s back as he recounted some of the worst times in his life to May.

After May came the police. Both Tony and May had been with him this time, sat on either side of him as he told the officer everything that had happened.

After the police came Ned and Michelle, who Peter found out from that Skip had already been removed from the school and replaced by another substitute. Both his friends believed him, the three of them shedding tears together as Peter struggled to get through the confession. Unlike with Tony, or May, or the police, he didn’t go into any detail.

They understood, though.

Skip was in custody, but it was far from the end.

It would take a long time for him to really be okay, and there was still a fight to come, but Peter couldn’t help but feel like a massive weight that had been lingering for years was finally lifted off his shoulders.

He had everyone he loved in his corner. May, Tony, his friends.

Maybe one day, he’d be able to feel okay again.

Maybe one day, he’d finally be able to heal.