Where is my teenage dream

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Peter Parker had gone through his fair share of trauma.

Orphaned as a child? Check.

Witnessing his own uncle's murder? Check.

Having a building dropped on him? Check.

Dying ? Check.

Watching his mentor die in front of his eyes? Check.

Oh, and not to mention; all of this happened before he even graduated high school.

So yeah.

Understandable as to why Peter Parker was sick of seventeen.

Peter Parker needed a break.

Or therapy.

Peter Parker needed therapy.

So, his aunt hired Alison Higgs.

"So, Peter, how are you today?" Alison asked.

"I'm fine." Peter mumbled, laying on the couch in Alison's office, eyes shut and head pounding.

"Do anything interesting today?" Alison prompted.

"School."

"What school do you go to?"

"Midtown Tech."

"Are you a part of any clubs there?" Alison asked.

"Decathlon."

"Do you enjoy decathlon?"

"Mostly."

"Are your friends in decathlon with you?"

"Yeah. My best friend Ned is. And my friend MJ."

"Tell me about them!"

"Ned and I both like Star Wars. We build legos sometimes. He's my best friend. I've known him for a really long time."

"And how about MJ?"

"She's really pretty. I'm kind of scared of her. She's the captain."

"Why are you scared of her?"

"She's intimidating! She's really smart and always knows what she's doing and is so organized and bossy and sarcastic and I never know if she's joking or not."

"It sounds to me like you have a crush on her." Allison teased.

Peter sat bolt upright, bright red.

"What? No!" He defended.

"There's nothing wrong with that, in fact it's really good. Do you think she likes you?"

"She hangs out with me and Ned a lot. She even came to one of our sleepovers. Maybe she likes Ned!" Peter said.

This was how most of their sessions went. Allison and Peter talking about his day, and occasionally hers. It helped, just to have someone to talk to, at all.

As the time passed, Peter became more comfortable with her. She was like a friend.

They never really touched on his PTSD, nightmares, or trauma.

Baby steps.

As the one year anniversary of the Blip approached, Allison tried harder to get him to speak about it.

"Is your school doing anything for the one year?" Allison prompted.

"Dunno. May gets me out of those things." Peter said, tone harsh and cold.

"Why?"

"It's....too much. I can't do it. They don't know what it's like."

"Peter, we all suffered with the blip. Maybe it would help to get to hear about other's experiences."

"I know plenty. I know that half the kids I used to do decathlon with are now 5 years older than me. I know that Ned and his entire family blipped. I know that MJ and her dad blipped, but her mom didn't and got remarried. I know plenty." Peter spat.

"I know you do. I just think it would be worth giving it a shot."

"No."

Allison had tried. Failed, but still tried. The poor kid had been through hell and back, she just wanted to help him.

She'd learned his triggers, she learnt that snapping, the word snap, the word blip, vultures, the name Tony Stark, all were triggers.

The poor kid.

"These are supposed to be the best years of our life, y'know?" Peter said.

"I do know. How do you feel about that?"

"It's bullshit. Where's my fucking teenage dream?"

"It sucks. I can tell you from experience, my teenage years were the worst."

"Tell me about it."

Eventually, Peter started to talk more about his trauma. They talked about the stigma around being an orphan.

"I hate that I can't remember them." Peter admitted.

"That's understandable. My grandmother died when I was eight, I wish I remembered her but I don't."

"I called May mom once. It felt wrong, because she's not my mom."

"She provides for you as a mother, she's your mother figure, isn't she?"

"It feels rude to my birth mother."

Finally, finally Peter talked about his experience with dying. They were comparing and contrasting their experiences with the snap. Allison knew he'd be apprehensive, but she had to try every so often.

"I wasn't snapped. But my older sister, Lucy was. Now, I'm older than her. I was with her when it happened."

"I died in Mr. Stark's arms." Peter announced.

"Oh?"

"We were on this planet, Titan? And everyone around us was starting to disappear. And I..I didn't want to go. I was so scared. It was our fault. We could have stopped him."

"Are you sure about that? Was it really your fault?"

"We could have gotten the gauntlet off, if we'd tried harder. We could have done it." Peter insisted.

"Maybe you should stop focusing on the could haves. Or stop being trapped in the past at all, thinking about how things could be done differently. You need to live in the moment."

"How can I? I miss him. I miss the way it was. I don't want to live in this new reality. I want it back."

"We can't do that."

"Bullshit! They figured out time travel! They could fix it!"

"You have so much to be grateful for. You're alive now. Isn't that enough?"

"I'd rather still be dead."

"Peter..."

He stopped coming after that week.

A few weeks later, a feisty looking dark haired girl walked him into her office.

"I'm Michelle. Peter thinks he doesn't need to talk to you anymore, and he's wrong."

So then Michelle started attending Peter's sessions with him. Peter was relaxed around her, more himself. Sometimes he talked to her. Allison just observed.

"It's brutal out here." Michelle agreed. "But we're doing it, step by step, right Peter?"

Peter nodded.

"He aced the decathlon tournament. And he really enjoyed the after party." Michelle told Allison.

Peter blushed.

Allison didn't pry.

And Peter started to get better.

Michelle came with him every so often.

Allison was proud of him.

His seventeen years of life hadn't been easy on him, and he was getting better slowly but surely.

Maybe one day, he would be living his teenage dream. Once he fully let go. And moved on.

He was still sick of seventeen, but maybe one day he would be living his teenage dream.

You've reached the end of published parts.

⏰ Last updated: Apr 06, 2022 ⏰

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