Growing Up

14 Years Old

Not related to spider incident like the last 14 Years Old one.

From the moment he woke up, Peter wanted to disappear into his blankets and sleep the day away. His body ached, he was dizzy, and his nose was running. There was no doubt he was sick, but he had three tests today and he was not about to skip them just because of a cold. Unfortunately, that meant the morning would now have to become a game of Avoid Dad or Else. His dad was sure to keep him home if he found out Peter was sick.

Begrudgingly, Peter pulled himself out of bed and stumbled towards his closet. He nearly fell over putting on his jeans when his vision went momentarily black, but he managed to catch himself. Tugging the closest shirt over his head, he stepped out of his room and walked towards the kitchen. Luckily, his dad wasn't in the kitchen when he arrived which meant he would be able to skip breakfast without him noticing. He didn't think he could keep the food down.

"Morning, Pete!" his dad said, walking into the kitchen happily.

Turning quickly, Peter kept his back to his dad and grunted in reply.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked, stopping by Peter.

"Nothing," Peter said a little too quickly. Tony frowned. "I'm just tired and I have a bunch of tests today, so I'm gonna take the subway to meet up with Ned early and study."

Not waiting for a reply, Peter grabbed his backpack and moved as fast as he could towards the lift. Tony caught him easily, though, and stopped him.

"Just have Happy take you," Tony said. Again, Peter turned his face away from him and Tony became even more confused. "He's already downstairs. Besides, you know how I feel about the subway."

"Okay," Peter agreed. He wasn't in the mood to argue anyway. As the lift doors opened, Peter shuffled in a muttered, "Bye, Dad."

As soon as the elevator doors closed, Peter sniffled and wiped his nose with his jacket. His head was pounding and he was starting to wish he had grabbed some medicine before rushing out of the penthouse. Too late now, though, so Peter just leaned against the cool wall of the lift.

When Peter reached the ground floor, he found Happy waiting for him and silently followed him out to the car. Confused, Happy shut his door then climbed into the driver's seat. As he pulled onto the road, Happy glanced back at Peter and was surprised to find he was already fast asleep, using his backpack as a pillow. Tony had told Happy that Peter was tired, but Happy had never seen the kid so quiet in the car. And no matter how tired he was, he always hated sleeping in cars.

Happy didn't wake up Peter as soon as they arrived at school. They had come thirty minutes earlier than they needed to and Happy wasn't going to wake Peter up no matter how bad he needed to study with Ned. If the kid was tired enough to fall asleep in the car, he would remain sleeping until he had to go to class. Besides, Happy couldn't see Ned anywhere.

* * * * *

The bell rang and Peter's eyes snapped open. Scrambling to pack up his things, he rushed out the door after Ned. He had fallen asleep in English class. Thankfully they hadn't been taking a test, but Peter wouldn't be surprised if his teacher called him up front tomorrow to give him detention.

"Dude, you look awful," Ned said as they walked to the cafeteria.

Peter rolled his eyes but stumbled when his world spun. Grabbing his arm, Ned helped him keep his balance and gave him a concerned look.

"You should be at home."

"No, I'm fine," Peter said as they walked into the cafeteria. Immediately, the smell of food made him want to vomit. "Could we eat outside?" Peter asked.

Ned gave him a look but agreed.

They got their food then walked outside to eat. Instead of eating, Peter picked at his food and dozed off. While Ned didn't say anything about it, he was still concerned. Nevertheless, he kept quiet and walked with Peter to the gym after lunch to get changed for PE.

In the gym, Peter stood by Ned with his eyes on the floor in front of him as the world spun. When the coach demanded they all do three laps around the gym, Peter knew he was screwed. He was never good at running, but he knew he was going to be even worse if he was sick.

"Pick up the pace, Stark!" Coach yelled.

Peter sighed and struggled to go faster. He was still on his first lap while everyone else was finishing their second. Although Ned could run faster than he currently was, he stuck by Peter's side and kept him from toppling over.

They were nearing the end of their second lap when Peter's vision began to spin again. He stumbled, reaching out for Ned, but still collapsed. From the sidelines, the coach rolled his eyes and yelled for Peter to finish his second lap then be done, but Peter didn't move.

"He's not moving!" Ned told the coach.

Sighing, the coach jogged over to the two boys and looked down at Peter. He was out cold. Now concerned, the coach knelt down beside Peter and felt his forehead.

"Go get the nurse and tell her to call Mr. Stark," the coach instructed.

Ned nodded and ran for the nurse as fast as he could. As soon as she saw Peter, she had the coach take him to her office. Ned hurried after them and was sent to call Mr. Stark while the nurse tended to Peter.

When Tony arrived at the school, he was panicking. All Ned had told him was that Peter had passed out in gym class and still hadn't woken up. After asking at the front desk where the nurse's office was, Tony hurried down the hall and threw open the door. Although awake now, Peter didn't look very well or happy.

"What happened?" Tony asked worriedly.

The nurse's eyes widened and she stumbled over her words as she spoke.

"His temperature is currently 39.3 degrees," she explained, "He should have been kept at home today with a fever that high."

She gave Tony a pointed look and he rolled his eyes, turning to Peter and running his hand through the kid's hair. He almost pulled back at how hot Peter's skin was, but Peter leaned against his hand and closed his eyes.

"He didn't tell me," Tony said. Looking back at the nurse, he said, "I'll be taking him now."

Thanking both Ned and the nurse, Tony helped Peter up and walked with an arm around him out to where the car was waiting. Peter laid down in the backseat and fastened his seatbelt while his dad got in the front seat then sped off towards the Tower.

The walk across the lobby and into the lift was difficult, but Tony helped Peter walk without stumbling all the way up to his room. Leaving Peter to get changed, Tony went in search of medicine. When he returned, Peter was sprawled out on his bed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, fast asleep.

With a small smile, Tony shook his head and set the medicine on Peter's nightstand. He quietly shut the bedroom door and walked into the living room.

"FRIDAY, let me know when Peter wakes up," Tony said, sitting on the couch and pulling his laptop onto his lap.

"Sure thing, boss."