Chapter Text
Peter really hadn't known how everything had come to this. The day had started pretty normally, with him getting up about half an hour later than he should get up and hurrying through the morning routine, running out of the house after kissing May's cheek with a hurried goodbye and almost missing the bus because he just had to pet Mr Ronald's Labrador. Not a particularly pleasant start, but normal nonetheless . So naturally, something had to be ruined. And ruin it did.
When Flash had walked to his locker, his normally present swagger was missing. In fact, he looked almost nervous. On a normal day, Peter would've been relieved, happy even, if Flash didn't start insulting him the moment he saw him, but today, it just felt odd. Then Flash did something something which was so out of character that he had a strong urge to check out of the window to see if pigs had suddenly started flying. Flash had smiled- honest to god smiled at him and said "Hey Peter, How are you?" Yes, the smile could be better described as a grimace, but that didn't change the fact that Flash had willingly walked over to make small talk with him.
" Hello Flash.... Are you....... fine?" He asked, a little frown of concern making it's way to his face. There was no way Flash would ever willingly smile and ask him how he was unless he had undergone a complete personality overhaul in the last 12 hours. Or maybe he was sick?
"Uh, yeah. I am fine. Why do you ask that?" Flash asked in a faux nonchalent tone.
By this time, his classmates had crowded around them. Many were looking at Flash as if he had declared his neverending love for Teletubbies or something as ridiculous as that. And considering how their relationship was, a smile/grimace and polite, small talk from him came under the same category of ridiculousness. Clearly, he wasn't the only one who was concerned about Flash's behaviour .
"Ummm because you are asking how I am?" He hadn't intended it to come out as a question but..... whatever.
" Yeah.... Why am I asking that? Nevermind. See you around Parker" with that Flash walked away without looking back once.
"Dude. That was super odd. Do you think he hit his head over an iron pole or something?" Ned remarked with a frown.
"Dunno man. I hope whatever it was didn't do any permanent harm. " Peter shrugged. Yeah, whatever. Flash talked to him politely. So what? Stranger things had happened ......... alright, maybe not. But whatever it was, he supposed there was no use mulling over it. Everybody proceeded to their classes as the bell for the first period rang.
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The first half of the day went by without much incident . It was much the same thing, barely keeping awake through boring lectures about the theory he had learnt back when he was 10, surviving through the looks MJ gave him which made him feel like a bug under a microscope and ignoring his tingly spidey senses. Alright, maybe he felt a bit out of the ordinary without Flash glaring a hole in his back whenever he answered a question correctly and maybe he was a bit nervous about the warning nature of the tingles from his spidey senses. But it was a school. What possible danger could be here?
Wrong question. Why, haven't you heard Murphy's law? Anything that can go wrong, will definitely go wrong.
Ned and he had been eating lunch. Well, it was more of an argument over whether Voldemort was more evil than umbrige, with MJ throwing sarcastic remarks and popcorn (where did she even get it from? The cafeteria did not serve popcorn. He had checked. For science, of course) from her chair two seats away from the nerds. He was almost winning the argument over why Umbrige deserved to be thrown in the darkest pit of hell with slimy toads when somebody cleared his throat behind him in a rather Umbrige like fashion-
"Hem hem"
He turned to look at the offending person who kept him from his victory and came face to face with - you guessed it right- Flash Thompson.
"Can I talk to you for a minute...... alone?" He asked without preamble, glancing at Ned and MJ.
"Why? I am sure whatever you need to say can be said in our presence." Ned unwittingly repeated Flash's words from last night. "Nobody pays us any mind, you won't be overheard." He continued.
Flash looked at Peter , almost pleading , but Peter had no intention of meeting the person who bullied him everyday without any witnesses if he could help it, especially when said bully was acting unlike himself. After sometime, Flash huffed and said
"God Parker, it is not as if I am calling you alone to murder you or something ......."
Well, when he put it like that........ it was worrying.......
Peter slowly inched away from Flash, halfway over the lunch table. Something was wrong. But Flash seemed lost in his own thoughts. Then he frowned.
"On second thoughts, it would be better if we talked right here"
Peter straightened. This was getting out of hand. Flash wasn't supposed to agree to anything he or Ned suggested. Flash Thompson going out of his way to inconvenience him was how the world worked, and right now nothing made sense.
"Alright, what happened to you. Why are you behaving so out of character? Did you hit your head or something?" There. He said it. Might as well get this over it. Besides, if Flash needed medical help then that was what the school nurse was paid for, right?
"What is wrong with me? I could ask you the same question Parker" Flash growled. Well, that was more like him- wait!
"What do you mean?" Peter asked in confusion and worry. He replayed the events of the whole day but couldn't find anything that suggested that Peter had slipped out of his harmless, nerdy persona.
"Don't act so innocent. You know that I am talking about last night's dinner when you gave my uncle the shovel talk, complete with serious threats about bodily harm on his person-"
There was a loud choking sound from Ned, who had been in the process of drinking water and suddenly both Flash and Peter found themselves sprayed with water. Eww. MJ, who had been surprisingly clean tutted and sat back with her popcorn, clearly enjoying their misey.
"Ned, totally not cool" Peter grimaced with disgust. But Ned did not give any indication of hearing him, he seemed too shocked and awed for that.
"Dude, you what ?" He asked after he got himself under control.
"Yeah yeah, Aunt May introduced me to her boyfriend who is Flash's uncle. We met and talked in a family dinner that happened last night." Peter said in a bored tone, then he turned sheepish "I.... may or may not have threatened him with certain death if he ever decided to upset May....... and...... a certain merc with a mouth may or may have been involved-" Then he glared at Flash "but remember that I will go through every warning I made. They are not idle threats, they are promises ." He glared some more.
Flash gulped. "See, that is what I was talking about! You are Peter Parker, the biggest nerd and softie in the school. You are not supposed waltz in and give people shovel talks and threaten them with severe bodily harm while being all dark and menancing. And you even pulled it off!" At this point, he, a (somewhat) mature, self respecting teen, was outright whining. " You are supposed to talk about peace and non violence, maybe go and save a kitten or two" he continued.
Peter looked on in pity, torn between laughing or sympathizing. Flash looked as if his whole world had tilted on it's axis. But Ned had no such qualms. He snorted and chuckled without any care in the world, as if all of this was too good to be true. Maybe it was.
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MJ was busy drawing furiously in her notebook, intent on capturing every line, nook and cranny of Flash's flabbergasted expression. Peter's half worried and half exasperated expression and Ned's uncontrollable looks of explosive amusement made the whole scene into a masterpiece. If she ever decided to open an exhibition of her art pieces, she would keep this one on a golden pedestal. Eyeing the completed piece of perfection before her, she hummed to herself. Maybe opening an exhibition was worth it, even if for the hilarious expressions all three were bound to have when they see it. That would make for another masterpiece. See, this was why she sat near them. It was always so entertaining. There was also the fact that they were her only friends, but mostly, she sat here for the drama. Her speculations complete, she looked up to see Flash whining about how unfair it was that Peter actually had a backbone. Oh, how surprised he would be.....
"You know, for someone who has been supposedly 'terrorising' Peter for almost two years, you are surprisingly ignorant to the way he is."
Three surprised heads swivelled to her direction. It took them a moment to get over the fact that MJ had spoken something which wasn't an insult or pure sarcasm. It took them another moment to process her words, after that, each gave a different reaction. Flash was sputtering and whining, Peter sat slack jawed, surprised that MJ had come to his defence and Ned was busy snorting again.
"Seriously, did you really think that Peter did not have a backbone? Why is it so surprising to you that the person who endured your bullying for two years without breaking, actually had a personality?"
It seemed that Ned had finally gained control of his laughter as he continued where MJ had left
"If there is one thing you need to know about Peter Parker, it is that he is fiercely protective of his loved ones. If you did something to harm or upset somebody he cares for, then there is nothing you can do to save yourself. Aunt May is his guardian and he is aunt May's guardian. He may not look like much to you, but you better hope that he doesn't need to break that image."
Then he stopped and turned to look at Peter, worried that he had said too much, but the look on Peter's face made him more than a little worried. Just as he was going to ask him what was wrong, Peter looked at him and yelled-
" Eveyone DUCK! "
And a loud bang echoed in the cafeteria.