home ; peter parker

chapter nine

When Peter had arrived at the apartment, his hand hovered over the door in hesitation. He pressed his ear against the door, but heard silence. However, he didn't let himself let out a sigh of relief just yet.
He opened the door slowly, grimacing as the door creaked, and peered in. The bright light flooded his vision in a bright contrast after walking home in the dark. After a quick glance, he stepped inside and shut the door quietly behind him. 'Maybe May went to bed?' He thought hopefully, but as he walked through the kitchen, he noticed light cast from the hallway. He stuffed his hands in his pocket, trying to look nonchalant as he approached the hallway, expecting May to be in her room. But May's room was dark, and the light cast from the doorway was from Peter's room. Peter's heart thundered in his chest as he opened the door.
     "Hello, Peter," May greeted, looking at him with a steely gaze. Peter couldn't pin the emotion in her voice, but he knew it probably wasn't good.
     "Hello, ma'am," he swallowed hard, trying not to stutter. 'You're Spider-Man, you shouldn't be afraid of her,' he scolded himself.
     "So, I heard you had dinner with the Avengers. How was it?" She asked, tilting her head slightly, venom laced in her voice.
     "It was good," Peter replied coolly, fidgeting his hands on the zipper of his jacket.
     "Hm," she locked eyes with him, "you know you were wasting their time, right?" She chuckled. "You must've looked so stupid, a small high schooler with the mighty Avengers. Why would they want you over for dinner?"
"I-I don't know," he said softly, truly wondering that question himself. He shuffled in discomfort as he broke May's gaze and looked to the floor. He heard May give a small, cruel laugh.
"I know. It's because you're just a charity case!" May said, and it made Peter feel worse when he realized it was probably true, "After all, you're just a pathetic little kid. You'll never amount to anything, you know that? Everything about you disgusts me. But you should thank me, I give you a home and food. Would you rather live on the streets?" She asked him, smirking when he silently shook his head. "Then say it. Say how thankful you are that I'm here. It's true, is it not?"
"I'm very grateful for you, ma'am," Peter said, hurt slipping in his voice as he watched the floor.
"Good," May stood. "Now I'm going to bed."
     Peter stepped to the side as May pushed passed him. He let out a sigh of relief once she left, slamming the door behind her. He decided to just go to bed. As he laid on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, he thought about how he had just had dinner with the Avengers. He wish he would've cherished the moment instead of spending the time feeling guilty and panicked. But he couldn't change the past, so he just changed into his pajamas, scolding himself again. 'Why would you take that time for granted? You're so selfish. Think of all the kids that would love to meet the Avengers! And yet you took the situation for granted!' He slipped into his pajamas, not really paying attention, and laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling. 'Maybe May's right... Why else would the Avengers let me have dinner with them? You're just a charity case,' he told himself. 'No... You're giving in to what she wants you to think.' He sighed aloud and turned on his side, relieved that his leg didn't hurt as much anymore. 'It'll all be better tomorrow...' He thought as he drifted off to sleep.

Sunday

     The first thing Peter noticed when he woke up was that the pain in his leg was gone. He sleepily smiled as he realized this, mumbling a quiet 'hooray' to himself as he sat up. The second thing  he noticed was that it was 10:33 am. He blinked in confusion, staring at his clock. To confirm that this was the correct time, he checked his phone. 10:34 am. Okay, that was strange. He shuffled out of bed, stripping off his pajamas. Glancing at his leg, he noticed a scar where he had been shot. On the bright side, it had healed. But, it still scarred over. Oh well; that's what Peter gets for not telling anyone he had been shot. He quickly climbed into his suit —he was still shaken up from the whole 'almost got kidnapped' thing— and pressed the spider emblem to adjust tightly around his form. Peter pulled on his jeans and a T-Shirt (with a science pun, of course). He slipped on a light jacket, too.
Standing, he walked out the room, glancing at May's door out of habit. The door was still closed, so he leaned in and pressed his ear against the door. The sound of snoring made Peter's shoulders sag in relief. 'She's still sleeping!'
He tiptoed into the kitchen, immediately stopping in front of the cabinets to search for food. He snatched up two granola bars, a small bag of chips, and some money left out on the counter. Peter quickly grabbed a notepad and a pen, leaving May a note that said he had left.
Then, he stuffed everything into his pockets and silently shuffled to the door. He couldn't risk getting caught after he had stolen some food. The thrill almost excited him, but he swallowed it and slipped on his shoes. Peter threw open the door and ran out, slamming it behind him. He raced down the steps and down the street. The thought that he had just slammed the door made him bolt even faster. Eventually, he slowed to a stop and continued to walk normally, ignoring the annoyed looks he got. He was safe now.
Buzz... Buzz... Buzz...
Peter pulled out his phone, staring at the contact calling him. 'Mr Stark?'
"Hi, Mr Stark!" He greeted cheerfully to the man on the other line. 'Why's he calling me?' He wondered, panic and uncertainty clawing at his thoughts
     "Hey, kid," Tony replied, but not before adding, "and I've told you to stop with that 'Mr Stark' business. It makes me feel old."
     "O-Oh-! Sorry, Mr Stark. I-I mean... Tony," Peter rambled out, his voice heavy with nervousness.
     "We'll work on it," Tony sighed. "Anyways, I was just calling to say you left your Advil here."
     "Oh! I'm sorry," Peter apologized sheepishly.
     "Why are you sorry? It's no big deal, you can get it when you come to the tower on Friday. Also, the Avengers wanted to invite you to dinner again. When are you free?"
     "I-..." Peter stopped in his track. "Sorry, what? I didn't hear you correctly," he said, getting shoved forward by people elbowing past him.
     Tony chuckled but repeated what he said. "When are you free for dinner? The Avengers want to get to know you better. After all, you'll be their colleague one day."
     "Wait, really?! They want to have me for dinner! Wow, this is- this is awesome!" He started to process what this meant. 'I can't wait to tell Ned!'
     "Yeah, it's pretty cool I guess. Anyways, when are you free this week? I need to hurry because I'm in between meetings right now— Oh, and there's Pepper. Okay, I gotta go, but let me know when you're free! Bye kid."
     "Bye, Mr Stark!" Peter replied cheerfully. The call ended and Peter slid his phone into his pocket, smiling brightly in contrast to the grumpy people swerving around him as they rushed past him. He smiled happily as he closed his eyes, enjoying the sunlight; despite the chill in the air. For now, he was at peace.

author's note;

I'm sooo sorry that I haven't been updating! And sorry that this chapter is sorta short. This month has been really stressful for me and I've finally opened up to my mom about my feelings so now she wants me to get a therapist so yeahh I'm scared. Anyways, I hope you're enjoying the story so far, and I'm sorry that updates have been slow! 💕 Thank you to those who have been patient! :)