I'm Fine

We're worried about you

DING! DING! DING!

The bell rang for lunch. Peter walked out of AP US history with tears on the brink of his eyelids.  He received a notification from the school portal that he failed his AP Bio test during class.

"Mr. Stark is gonna take me off of patrol," Peter thought sadly.

Working patrol every weekday was his favorite part of The Stark Internship. Stopping and fighting all types of crimes gave him a rush. Concluding the night by sitting on a random rooftop and looking at the stars grounded him. It was one of the only times his thoughts weren't so loud.

When Peter first started the internship, Mr. Stark told him that school came first. He gets notifications about Peter's grades because he is listed as a guardian at the school. Peter sighed as Mr. Stark's name came up on his phone as it rang. He slipped into the nearest restroom and answered.

"H-hey."

"Hey Pete. I got the notification about your AP Bio test. You've never scored this low. Is everything ok?," he asked with concern.

"I really messed up Mr. Stark I forgot to write it down in my planner please don't take me off patrol I need thi-"

"Woah! Slow down Pete. I'm not mad at you, I promise. I'm worried about you. Your grades have never been this bad. Are you doing ok?"

"I'm fine. School has just been hard lately."

"That makes sense. You're not going to like this but I'm taking you off of patrol for a while. That way, you will be able to stay after school for tutoring to get your grades up. Nat and Steve offered to tutor you if you don't feel comfortable with your teachers."

"It's ok, I understand. I would feel more comfortable getting tutoring from Steve and Nat. I'll work hard to bring up my grades.

"That is good to hear. I have to go now but thank you for taking this so well. I'll check on you later. Bye kid," he said before hanging up.

~~

Peter saw his friends talking as he walked towards the lunch table. They looked worried. He did his best fake smile and sat down.

"Hey guys!" he said too cheerily. He noticed they stopped talking when he sat down. MJ traded a look between Ned and Flash.

"Peter, we're worried about you," MJ stated.

"You've been distant and not yourself for a while," Ned explained.

"You can share anything with us. You're obviously going through something. We're here for you," Flash added.

They watched Peter worriedly. He put his hands under the table as they started to shake.

"What do you mean? Come on guys! I'm fine!" He lied.

MJ got annoyed at his response. She was tired of him lying. All she wanted to do was help him.

"You're not fine Peter! Cut the crap and tell us what's going on!" She shouted without thinking.

That statement triggered him.

"NOTHING IS GOING ON! STOP ASKING ME ALL THESE QUESTIONS AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" He yelled back.

He got up and ran to the restroom to calm himself. His friends sat in shock except for Flash. He immediately got up followed Peter.

As soon as Peter made it into the restroom, he sat against the wall, holding his chest. He started crying and hyperventilating uncontrollably. The thoughts in his head were racing so much that he forgot his coping skills.

"I'm gonna die! I'm dying!" His thoughts screamed.

Peter's eyes were closed as he sat against the wall with his arms wrapped around his knees. He felt a hand on his shoulder, opened his eyes, and saw Flash in front of him.

"Can you hear me?" Flash asked. All Peter could do was nod his head. It took too much concentration to speak.

"Look into my eyes and breath with me. In... Out... In...Out..." Peter couldn't do it. The hyperventilating got worse. He grabbed at Flash's shirt, looking for something to hold onto. He wrapped his arms around Peter, hoping it would calm him.

"Shhh. I'm here. I've got you. I'm not going anywhere, I promise. I will stay here for as long as you need."

Peter felt Flash's arms around him and they stayed like that until his breathing wasn't so fast.

"I-I-I," he stuttered.

"Shhhh. Just try to continue breathing. I'm taking you to the nurse." Flash said as he helped him up. Peter was still hyperventilating but it wasn't as severe.

Peter leaned heavily on Flash as they walked down the hall to the nurse's office.

"Try to slow down your breathing Pete or you're gonna-"

He fainted for the second time that day.
~~~~

Try to finish this cup of water. You're really dehydrated," Aunt May said with a worried look on her face.

The nurse called her and she immediately left work, drove to the school, and brought him home.

"Thanks May," Peter said tiredly.

"Of course kiddo. Panic attacks are the worst," she replied while placing a blanket over him.

"Pete, I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" he said.

"The nurse told me that you've been coming to her more than usual for your panic attacks. I've heard you having them in your room when you thought I couldn't hear you. They are definitely getting out of control. What do you think about maybe going to a therapist and getting help and meds for them?"

"Not again! Why is everyone so concerned about me? I'm absolutely fine," Peter thought.

"May, I'm honestly pretty tired. Can I sleep on that question?"

"No pressure kiddo. Sorry for springing that on you. I know panic attacks tire you out. Get some rest. I'm gonna go start dinner and I'll wake you up." May said. She walked out and closed the door.

"Mhmm," he replied while yawning. His eyes were getting heavy. He slowly drifted off to sleep.

~~~
It was pitch black outside when Peter woke up. The apartment was peculiarly silent. He turned on his phone and saw it was 10:50PM. There were several messages from Ned and Flash. He sighed and stuffed his phone in his back pocket.

"May?" Peter called.

"May?!"

He got up and walked out of his room towards the kitchen.

"Maybe she's asleep. No, that's not it. I would have heard her snoring by now."

Peter saw a mess on the kitchen floor as he walked in. Maybe she was making dessert.

"Ooo! What's for dessert? It's a mess in he-"

He stopped mid-sentence looking in shock at the sight before him. Aunt May was unconscious on the kitchen floor. Her skin, pale and arm, bent in at a strange angle. With shaking hands, he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed 911.

"911 what's your emergency?"
~~~~

"She'll be fine. It's just a broken arm." He thought to himself as he paced across the room, waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

"She'll be back at home tomorrow in her bed. There is no reason to worry because she's fine. Absolutely fine," Peter muttered to himself, trying to prevent another panic attack.

The ambulance arrived at the apartment complex in less than five minutes. The paramedics quickly loaded Aunt May into the ambulance. Peter sat in the back with her and called Mr. Stark to tell him what happened.

Mr. Stark quickly got in his car to meet Peter at the hospital. "Poor kid. He's already been through so much. I hope May turns out to be ok," He thought as he pulled into the hospital parking lot.