home ; peter parker

chapter eleven

     Peter silently walked into the apartment, his shoulders sagging and his head dropping. When May heard the door open she simply looked up, then went back to watching television when she saw who it was. Peter's phone buzzed in his pocket and he checked to see who was calling.
     "Hey, Ned," he greeted tiredly, kicking off his shoes and making his way towards his bedroom. He shut the door quietly so May wouldn't yell at him and flopped on his bed, immediately wincing.
     "Hey, sorry I left in a rush. I'm just making sure that you didn't run into Flash," Ned responded, and Peter could hear people —Probably Ned's family— chattering in the background on the other boy's end.
     "Oh. I did," Peter replied.
     "... What... What happened?" Ned asked, seemingly nervous.
     "Got beat up," Peter yawned. "Sorry Ned, I'm really tired, I'm going to go to bed."
     "Wait Peter you can't just tell me you got beat up and—"
     "Goodnight," Peter said tiredly before he hung up on him in the middle of his sentence. He felt guilty for hanging up on his best friend, but he really didn't want to talk to anyone right now. He sighed, putting his cracked phone on the charger. Peter sat at the foot of his bed, running his hands in his hair. Finally, he stood and made his way into the bathroom to take off a shower.
     Peter shut the door quietly behind him before spinning back around. He stripped off his shirt, trying to avoid the mirror. But as he moved past it, dark purple flashes caught his eye. Curiosity overtook him, and he figured he couldn't avoid it when washing himself in the next moment anyways.
     He chewed his lip, finally deciding to look back in the mirror. He first caught eyes with his dull face. His eyes were sunken in, and the color was drained. Then, his eyes trailed down towards the purple marks catching the corner of his eye. He audibly gasped as he looked at the dark purple bruises decorated almost all of his body. His healing factor had probably already kicked in, because they were already purple instead of red. 'This looks pretty bad,' he thought, turning the shower knob and watching as the water sprayed down. Peter finished undressing and stood in the shower, gritting his teeth as the icy water poured down on his bruises. He had almost forgotten that he never got warm water.

     Peter had finished his shower very quickly, a skill he had managed to master over the years. Cold showers were the worst, especially when you come back from being beat up or patrolling. Peter always craved a hot shower, but he had never gotten one.
     He dried himself off, shivering, and slipped on his pajamas —a sweatshirt and sweatpants—. At last, he retreated to his room and laid on the bed sideways.

***

Tuesday

     The ringing of Peter's third alarm rang through the air, and he slowly peeled open his eyes. He peered at his phone, wincing as the bright light blinded him, and turned off his alarm. He shifted out of bed slowly, feeling stiff. He lifted his sweatshirt to check his bruises, but the room was too dim for him to see. Quietly, he opened his door, peeking out to see if May was awake. All the lights were already on. Peter grimaced and swiftly ducked into the bathroom without May seeing him. He carefully shut the bathroom door and checked his injuries in the mirror above the sink.
     The bruises were almost completely healed, thanks to his healing factor, but there were still some green splotches stretched along his skin. 'Almost all better,' he thought, sighing in relief.
He got ready for school and brushed his teeth. Making his way back to his room, he noticed May's bedroom light was on. 'She must be changing,' He thought, rushing to his room to change quickly. 'Maybe I can avoid her on the way out.'
     Silently, he pulled on his jeans and hoodie. Then, he snatched up his phone and stuffed it into his pocket, throwing his hood over his head and grabbing his backpack. He walked out, tiptoeing, and glanced at May's door. She was still in her room. Peter didn't want to jinx himself, so he held his attitude until he made it to the door. He stepped into his shoes and left out the door without tying them. That's when he could let out a sigh of relief. Casually, he made his way towards the bus station.
     When he arrived, he immediately pulled out his phone. He scrolled through Tumblr, occasionally smiling at a funny post. He felt someone's eyes watching him and glanced around, but no one's eyes met his. He slowly shifted his gaze back to his phone, reading a post. It was about the Avengers, which made Peter smile softly as he looked at it.
     Eventually, the bus arrived and Peter stepped in. For some reason, he still couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him.
Settling in, he sat across from a couple holding hands. One of them looked familiar, but Peter couldn't quite place it. The woman who Peter recognized looked up at him, locking eyes and smiling faintly. Though this didn't seem like a friendly smile, it had a hint of hostility. 'Wait, that smile... I know that smile!'
Then, fear crossed his face as he realized who it was. 'Four!' The woman who had almost kidnapped him with Two and Eight! She must've noticed his face of realization because her smile grew more wicked. She looked completely different than usual, which is why he almost didn't recognize her. Her hair was messy and she looked tired, though her eyes were bright. 'It's a disguise to fit in with everyone,' he realized. Peter didn't recognize the other woman pressed against Four, but he bet she was an agent as well! His heartbeat grew quicker and louder as he stared at the two women.
Four lightly tapped the other woman on her knuckles, resulting in her flicking her eyes open. Four just silently stared at her, but the other woman seemed to know what that meant and discreetly swept her gaze across the bus. She locked eyes with Peter, and he froze in panic. All he could do was stare at them until he could get off at his bus stop. The other woman gave Four a slight nod before resting her head back against Four's shoulder. Peter pulled out his phone, staring at his few contacts before clicking Ned's.
'I've got news. I'll explain later.' The 'read' mark appeared under his message but no reply followed. Peter put his phone away, stressfully running his hands through his hair. 'Ned must be annoyed at me for hanging up on him last night,' he concluded.