Chapter Text
“It’s So Quiet” and Panicky
Peter woke up in May’s apartment, alone. Which, normally, wouldn’t be that much of a surprise, really. May’s shifts were sporadic, at best. Honestly, both of their sleep schedules were so completely screwed up, it was a wonder how they were able to function at all, most days.
But, today was supposed to be different; it was the halfway point between his birthday and May’s. He didn’t have school, and she’d gotten a rare day off between two shifts with mostly-normal hours. They’d be relatively well-rested, and they were going to make the most of it! Plans had been made, and while May could have gotten called into work, it was unlikely.
The second thing that Peter noticed, other than the fact that he couldn’t sense May nearby, was the fact that he couldn’t sense anyone nearby. In fact, he couldn’t hear anyone at all. Or anything. Hell, he could barely hear the struggling hum of their apartment’s air conditioning. He couldn’t hear the neighbors, or the police sirens in the distance, or the sound of anything other than his own racing heart, god, why was it beating so fast, that’s not normal-
Peter cut off his train of thought, and slowed his breathing. Panicking would not be helpful. In fact, it was probably the only thing in this situation that he could do that would be unhelpful , so of course that was his natural reaction. He purposefully took a deep breath in, concentrating on the way the cool air filled his lungs, before breathing out, slowly, carefully.
He swung his legs over the side of his bed, and flailed about for his phone, set to check the time. Maybe May had texted him. He frowned when he didn’t immediately come up with it. God, the last time it took him this long to orient himself had been before the Oscorp field trip, when he’d still had to wear his-
Glasses. His glasses were on top of his phone, which was why he couldn't find it, and the only reason he hadn’t noticed it earlier was because his vision was so blurry, and holy fuck what is happening-
A few more deep breathing exercises later brought Peter a moment or two of peace, and then more questions. He was definitely feeling light-headed, now, which also hadn’t been a problem for him in a while. He slapped his glasses on his face, feeling a bit unnerved at how natural the action still seemed, before unlocking his phone. It was a bit after ten in the morning, which was, quite frankly, a bit early for his tastes, and he had no new messages from May.
He did, however, have a new message from Ned, which had come through approximately six hours earlier, reminding him to bring his permission slip in on Monday, or risk getting left behind while Ned thoroughly impressed the Oscorp scientists with his "unparalleled hacking skillz".
Peter didn’t even have to read all the way through it. He knew what it said- he’d read it before, the weekend before he’d gotten his powers. Somehow he’d- he’d, what, gone back in time? How was that possible? Was that even possible? Oh, god, was he going to have to live through it all over again? The bite, the fear, the excruciating pain, the feeling of Uncle Ben’s blood pooling in his hands as Peter stood there being absolutely useless-
Peter’s shaky breathing exhaled his mind’s questions into the empty apartment, and only the quiet answered back.