A Family of Flaws

Chapter One; Bullies and Criminals

*Peter's POV*

  Peter barely finished the rest of his homework on the subway, getting pushed and shoved the whole way as he tried to get off on the right stop. Having stayed out a little too long during patrols last night, his homework was never completed and there was no way he was going to hand in a blank paper.

  Peter walked down the sidewalk, making brisk steps to keep up with the fast crowd. He glanced down at the page to see messy writing all across it, showing how quickly he had filled in the answers. Thankfully, with one final glance, he saw that his work was flawless. It was easy work that the teacher had assigned over the weekend so it wasn't that much of a challenge. If he had been less of a procrastinator, choosing to ignore his school work in favor of patrolling, it would have been completed Friday night, but that wasn't how the weekend went. The bruises across his chest were a painful enough reminder of what transpired.

  The school came into view, prompting Peter to shove the homework deep into his bag and toss it over his shoulder, feeling the extra weight added by his suit. He chewed the inside of his cheek as he walked up the stone stairs, passing the familiar faces of classmates, praying that Flash wouldn't happen upon him before first period.

Peter crept through the school hallways, dancing on the edge of his feet as he glanced around. If Flash really wanted to find him then he would. There was no avoiding it. Any kid in this school would rat Peter out to him in a flash (no pun intended), put aside MJ and Ned of course.

His locker was just as bruised and beaten as he was. It had befallen yet another brutal attack from none other than Flash. The retched lock barely worked properly, leaving him barely able to squeeze his things into the tiny compartment.

He pulled out the necessities; things such as his notebook, homework, calculator, and so on. Though if he carried his bag around with him all day then Flash would no doubt steal something important or see his suit, so he had to leave it in the abused locker. Another look behind his shoulder confirmed that said bully was nowhere in sight. With that relieving thought in mind he made a run for his first period class.

Ned and MJ were already in there, seeming to be enjoying themselves. Ned was chatting nonstop about Star Wars, the logistics and probabilities of how likely it is that one day our world can be like that. MJ, on the other hand, seemed content to listen and sketch the scenery outside of the window that she sat beside.

Peter sat down beside them with a relieved sigh, finally feeling comfortable. Flash and him didn't even have class together until after lunch. As long as he avoided him in the halls he would be fine for now.

"C'mon, MJ, admit it! I'm right!" Ned was whining, tugging on MJ's shirt. "My theory makes complete sense and you know it!" Peter chuckled as she gave an unamused glance towards Ned and simply shook her head in exasperation.

Peter leaned forward and pulled Ned off of her, possibly preventing a murder. "That's enough of annoying MJ." He stated while grinning at her, seeing the way Ned rolled his eyes and gave up on her. "How'd you do on that homework last night?" The conversation was easy and simple, calming. Familiar. It was really nice.

They talked for as long as they could, even getting MJ to butt in here and there when something particular caught her attention; like something she viewed as sexist or racist. That was MJ for you. The teacher walked in and shushed the class, launching right into the lesson that they had just started discussing last week.

Ned was focused, probably really interested in whatever the teacher was speaking about. MJ looked plain bored, staring out the window lazily while sketching absentmindedly in her notebook. All Peter felt was pent up energy, his leg tapped from under his desk.