Not What It Seems

Chapter 7: One Hell of a Beating

*seven years later*

Peter
"Come on, Flash. Can you just leave me alone for a day?" I said quietly while looking at the floor. If I keep my head down, he will leave. He will leave.

"Awww. Then who would I mess with? Besides, you're my favorite, Petey." Flash said in a mocking tone as he pushed me. The lockers rattled when my back made contact.

"Flash, knock it off!" He looked over at the girl who spoke. Mary Jane Watson. Oh boy. She had to be one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen. Too bad she was into the wrong type of guys.

"I ain't doing anything, MJ. Relax." He said as he grabbed a fistful of my shirt. "Petey and I were just having fun, weren't we?"
My hands wrapped around his fist as I tried to pry his grip loose.

"Let go of me, Flash." I said as sternly as possible. Flash smirked. "Alright. Alright. I'll let ya go. No problem." He said quietly and released me. I sighed and brushed myself off.

"Hey, Petey, one more thing before you go..." As I looked up, I was suddenly knocked back into the lockers. A terrible pain exploded from the bridge of my nose to my forehead. Next thing I knew, I was sitting on the ground.

"Flash!" MJ screamed as she grabbed his arm. Flash gently pulled his arm out of her grip and formed his hand into a fist. My hands covered my nose in a weak attempt to block the incoming punch.

"Leave him the fuck alone." That clearly wasn't MJ. I looked up to see who it was. A tall boy with dirty blonde hair stood in front of me. "Get the hell away from him." He said in a low voice. Flash chuckled dryly. "And what are you going to do if I don't?" There was a long pause before my savior reacted.

He reacted by punching Flash several times in the nose. Flash fell to the ground after being thrown off guard. MJ and some of his friends came to his rescue. Flash thanked them by pushing them out of the way with one hand. He held his nose with the other. "I am going to get you, Wilson! One of these days! I am going to get you!" One of his friends tried to lead him away, but Flash fiercely ripped his arm out of his grip before walking down the hallway.

The boy extended a hand towards me. I took it and held on as he pulled me to a stand. "Thanks, man." I said quietly. My hands felt warm and sticky. That's when I noticed the blood. "Sorry for getting blood on your hand." He chuckled. "Don't worry. I've seen worse." He said as he wiped the blood on his jeans.

"Oh my God." I looked over to see Harry running towards me. "Jesus Christ. It's worse than I thought." I chuckled dryly. "Thanks, Harry. That makes me feel better." Harry looked over at him. "I got it from here." He nodded. "I'll be on my way then." He said before walking off.

I wrapped my arm around Harry's shoulder. He supported me as we made our way to the nurse's office. Even though the pain was excruciating, I held my nose with my other hand trying to stop the bleeding. "Why the hell was he with you, anyway?" I glanced at him. "He gave Flash a taste of his own medicine."

Harry stopped walking and looked at me. "Wade Wilson came to your rescue?"

"That was Wade Wilson?"

Harry sighed. "Yes. That was Wade Wilson." We started walking again. "Why would he help you? Out of everyone at the school, why you?"

I looked down. Why would Wade Wilson help me out? I never even spoke to him before today.

"I don't know...it was good that he did though, or I could've gotten it worse."

Harry smirked. "I don't know about that. You still look a lot like crap right now."

I chuckled. "Thanks, Harry. You really know how to boost a guy's self esteem."  He smiled. "It's one of my specialties." I shook my head. "So is being an annoying little shit." We both laughed for a little bit before calming down.

Harry's tone suddenly grew serious. "Are you going to tell your parents?" I looked at him. "Are you kidding? The last thing I need is having my superhero parents coming to school and trying to kick Flash's ass." Harry sighed. "How are you going to hide your violently bleeding nose?" I bit my lip. "I will figure something out."

"Okay. Whatever you say. It's Flash's funeral if they find out."

*a few hours later*

"So, you are telling me that you busted your nose because you fell off of your skateboard?" Dad asked sounding very unconvinced. Oh boy. This was going to be harder than I thought.

"Yes. I already told you. I was skateboarding at the front of the school when I hit the curb and lost my balance."

"And you didn't see the curb?" He asked with his right eyebrow raised.

"No. I was waving at Harry like an idiot. I didn't see the curb." Pops walked over and observed my now purple nose. "It looks more like somebody punched you." I sighed heavily. "For the last time, nobody punched me." Pops crossed his arms. "Peter, I am not an idiot. I know what being punched in the nose looks like."

Dad crossed his arms as well. "Was that Thompson kid messing with you again?" I groaned. "No, he wasn't. He didn't even mess with me today. He bullied someone else. Look, I fell off my skateboard. That's all that happened."

Pops sighed. "Watch your attitude, Peter."

I can't take this anymore. I must be the worst liar in history.

"Alright. I believe you, Peter. Be more careful on that thing." Dad said quietly. I sighed. "Thank you for believing me." Dad smirked. "Well, you would never lie to us...right?"

I chuckled. "Right." Pops smiled slightly. "I will go grab you some painkillers. That looks like it hurts." He said before walking off. I laughed. "Oh yeah. It's throbbing."

Dad rubbed his head. "Speaking of medications, have you been taking your pills?" I nodded. "Yes, I have. Everyday." He smiled. "Good. Do you need more?" I bit my lip thinking. Do I? I may have a few left. Hmmm...

"No. I should be good."