It'll Only Get Better From Here

Things Are Getting Better

   The next morning rose, giving a shiny bright light, and dust particles everywhere. Tony knew the kid should go back to school, but he didn't know how to break the news. It was already late morning, so if anything, Peter would only go for a few more hours. But that's if the teen ever woke up, mornings were never his thing, but especially now, when motivation was lacking. Tony looked around his room, trying to find his beautiful fiancee, but was disappointed when greeted with a note out in the kitchen.

                                                

                                                          Gone out for some errands <3                                                                                                                                                                              -Pep

      

   With that said, he smiled, having hope that Pepper would overcome the obstacle in their house that took form of a teen who lay in room down the hall. 

   "Oh, hey kid, how are you feeling?" Tony asked the sluggish teen, who squinted from the ambush of sun that coated the room. Overall the teen looked a bit better, more refreshed, but still pale. Plus his features started to look more relaxed, less frowning, although there was a few occasional ones, but he even smiled when FRIDAY decided to pipe in every now and then. 

   "Okay I guess" The kid looked around for food, but not feeling up to it, so he just sat on the stool across from older man in the room. Even though Peter was the one who has been put through hell lately, Stark looked pretty deprived of sleep too, even a few wrinkles spread through his face, either from age, or stress, or even both.

   "Listen, so uh, I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I think you should go back to school, maybe even for just half of the day? You don't want to be behind" He said wisely and slowly, trying to let the teen process why this is the right choice.

   "Mr. Stark" Peter tried explaining a way out of it before getting cut off.

   "Listen, it's Monday, just pretend nothing happened, you literally just got kicked out, it's not that big of a deal, I'm sure your friends will even laugh at that. And you can tell them that you even got to spend the night at Stark Towers! How are you not rushing to explain everything to them? I know the old Peter would" Tony started getting annoyed by the end of the little rant. It made no sense to him why the boy was acting this way. Yeah getting the boot was unexpected,and hard, but every kid gets it in their life. If anything, Peter is just being over dramatic.

   "Mr. Stark, you don't understand" But once again, he was cut off.

   "You're right, I don't understand, but that's because you haven't told me everything. Or you have, just not very well. You shouldn't be acting like this from only getting kicked out. So either tell me everything, and I mean everything that made you act this way, or go to school. That simple." Tony was beyond frustrated at this point, especially seeing the kid shuffle under his intense stare. Peter looked to be contemplating what he should do, when all of a sudden he got up, speed walking to his guest room.

   "You better be getting ready for school!" Tony yelled, rolling his eyes, finishing his coffee before getting ready with his meeting for Aunt May. Even though she made the rash decision to kick her own nephew out, who was basically a son to her, maybe Stark could get through to her, or to even get her to tolerate Peter so he could have a home again.

   After a few minutes, Peter came back out, into different clothes; the same ones he was in while he was out on the streets. They had been washed a few times, but still had a few stains on them, and a bit of a smell. He seemed skittish, and anxious, but since he was dreading what will come in the next few hours, he just wanted to get them over with.

   "Okay, ready? In the car" Tony motioned towards the lift, walking without waiting for the boy.

   The car ride wasn't too long, but it was enough time for Peter to go over everything that had happened in the last three days, properly. During the drive, he even remembered some trees, and streets, from when he was exploring the city on the first night. Some of the paths brought up bad memories, but others brought up really bad memories. He shook his head, trying to get them out of his mind.

   "You okay kid?" Tony finally broke the silence.

   "Oh, uh yeah, just some memories popping back up" Tears started building up, but not enough to spill. The older man noticed this, taking a note and decided to save it for later, not wanting the teen to go back to school crying. He already gets bullied, but him crying will just start a whole new thing no one could stop. "Uh, Mr. Stark?" Peter continued the dead conversation. The teen was staring out the window, so when he got a hum in response, he continued. "So I don't have anywhere to go after school, and my spider suit is still at the tower being worked on"

   "Ah" The man acknowledged. "You can stay at the Stark Towers after school today" He gave his approval, but no emotion showed onto the kids face, which was still unlike him. "So, uh, were you thinking about going back out? As Spiderman? The town really misses ya, it's on the news"

   That statement finally got the teen to look up, locking his eyes with disbelief at the man who actually watches the news. "Wait, really?" Before even hearing an answer, a smiled broke onto his face, not a big one, but a noticeable one.

   "Are you kidding me?" The man laughed yelled with excited, for actually finding something the kid could be happy about. "Do you millennials every get out? Or watch something other than vampires and surgeons and whatnot?" He looked at the teen in the car, laughing, before turning back to the road. "Yeah, you've been on the news before, but now it's huge, well not Iron man huge, but you'll get there. Anyways, they have a tracker of days you've been gone, they miss you"

   Peter started looking back out the window, picturing Spiderman swinging through buildings and shooting web after web. The air whizzing through the wholes in the eyes of the mask, making his cheeks cold, and red. Missing his alter ego, a first true genuine smile was formed, looking like the calm after a storm, like hope that had been set for this poor boy.