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chapter five

Friday
     Peter blinked sleepily as his alarm woke him up. He shut it off and yawned. It was Friday. He was a little more well rested than he was yesterday, and his headache had left yesterday night. He stretched his arms and shuffled sideways, getting out of bed. He gasped as pain shot through his leg; and he moved his bedsheets, revealing his blood soaked jacket that was now loosely wrapped around his leg. Peter grimaced at the sight and carefully plucked the sleeves of the jacket, unwrapping them. He almost threw up at the sight. It was definitely better than yesterday, and Peter thanked his enhanced healing factor for that. He was so tired that he didn't have time to charge his phone, and it had died because it was already at low battery and it kept constantly turning on and off from the notifications. He also didn't have time to set his alarm early so he had to be quick in cleaning the wound. His spidey sense wasn't going haywire like it did when Aunt May was awake, so he figured she was still sleeping. She was going to have a huge headache when she woke up. Peter needed to be quick, because he didn't want to deal with a hungover May. He tested his foot on the floor and grit his teeth as pain shot through his leg. It definitely felt better than yesterday, probably because of his healing factor, but he was worried that it would get infected because of the bullet. Peter knew he had to do something, but he didn't know what or how.
     So... he didn't do anything. It probably wasn't a wise choice. Peter limped to his bathroom and grabbed a hand towel. He turned on the water and dampened the towel, and then turned the faucet off. Peter sat on the toilet lid and carefully cleaned off the blood around the wound. He tenderly cleaned the blood and opened the medicine cabinet to look for something to help him. He eyed a white wrap rolled up in the corner and grabbed it. He tightly wrapped it around his leg and tucked in the end. Peter stared at it as dark red stains started faintly pooling on the bandage. He decided to grab a few more wraps. He managed to get back to his room safely and changed into a new pair of clothes, since he had slept in what he was wearing yesterday.
     Peter took off his bloodied jeans and replaced them with new and fresh ones. He was careful not to disturb his wrap when putting them on. Peter put on a standard T-shirt (with a science pun on it, of course) and a jacket, and gathered his book bag. He quickly combed his hair and limped into the kitchen. He looked around. The place had been trashed by Aunt May, and everything was a mess. He would probably have to clean it all up when he got home. He looked at May's door to make sure it was shut, before opening the cabinet and stealing a granola bar. He put it into his pocket and it rested beside his phone. Peter opened the door and walked down the stairs, leaving the apartment. He did his best to hide his limp from then on, and only then was he thankful that he would be sitting for most of the day.

     As he got onto the bus, Peter felt like he was forgetting something.

***

    Peter got to school and reached his locker, where Flash bothered him for a bit before Ned rushed over.
     "Oh my god Peter, are you okay?" He asked, worry lacing his voice.
     "I'm fine Ned." He lied.
     "What happened?! You can't just text me that and not reply! I was so worried! I even texted Mr Stark and-"
     "You texted Mr Stark?!" Peter yelped loudly, earning a few glances from students passing.
     "What else would I have done?! I thought you were going to get kidnapped or something!" Ned threw his hands up in exasperation. Peter just groaned.
     "I sent it to Mr Stark accidentally! Then I told him it was a joke and you stole my phone! If you texted him, that means he knows I'm lying!" Peter ran his hands through his hair, a habit he picked up from Tony.
     "I see the problem," Ned crossed his arms, "but tell me what happened yesterday."
     "Well..." Peter began, and then explained everything, even the bullet wound, which Ned freaked out about. "But don't tell Mr Stark, okay? He probably wouldn't care about me anyways, but I don't want him firing me or something because I was being 'irresponsible'."
     "Peter, I know I'm supposed to back you up n' stuff, but something really bad just happened and you're brushing it off like it's nothing! I won't tell Mr Stark if you really don't want me to but you at least have to get some he-." Ned started to say, but the bell cut him off.
     "See you at lunch, Ned!" Peter called and tried his best to hide his limp as he walked off. Ned just sighed and turned to go to his own class.