A New Home (2.0)

Chapter Six

Peter straightens his glasses and adjusts his bag on his shoulder before walking into his first period class. Stepping inside, all eyes were on him. His chest tightened in panic, but he buried it as best he could. Honestly, he just wanted to go back to the tower and hide in his room. But he’d told Mr. Stark that he didn’t want to be homeschooled, and he knew he needed to make new friends. 

The time taken to pick up his schedule had caused him to be a few minutes late. The halls were already empty by the time he’d made it to class, and Peter had spent at least a minute trying to build the courage to walk in. Room 212, AP physics. 

His hands shake, and he tightens his grip on the strap of his backpack, attempting to steady them. Whatever discussion the class had been having comes to a halt- and everyone’s eyes are on Peter. 

“Can I help you?” The teacher questions, much more politely than the secretary from before.
 
“I’m Peter Parker. The new student.” Her eyes light up with realizations, and she motions for Peter to step further into the room. 

“Oh, that’s right. Mr. Parker, come on in.” He closes the door behind him. “Why don’t you go ahead and introduce yourself. It’s been a while since we’ve had a new student here at Midtown.”

Peter runs a hand through his curls, anxiety rolling off him. Anyone could see how nervous he was; any attempts to hide it were failing miserably. 

“My name i-is Peter Parker. I’m 15 years old…” He can’t help but cringe. His accent alone draws everyone’s attention. He can hear the whispers and occasional laughter of his fellow students.

His face feels hot as he turns to the teacher,  silently asking for permission to take his seat. She nods, and takes an empty seat in the back of the room. Each table seats two, and the seat next to him is empty. 

So much for making friends…

About halfway through class, the door swings open. Peter, like the rest of the class, looks away from his notes. He watches as a boy walks in, out of breath and looking almost afraid. 

“Mr. Leeds, you’re late.” Mrs. Warren tells him.

“Where were you?”
“I was… um….”

“Just have a seat, Ned. But know that next time I won’t be so lenient.”  The boy- Ned- nods, quickly moving to the only seat left; which just so happens to be the one next to Peter. 

Peter isn’t exactly sure what to say. He’s never been great with social interaction. All of his friends back home, he’d grown up with. They’d known each other all their lives. Peter had never had to go out and actually make friends, because they’d always been there. 
He ends up deciding to just keep to himself, in hopes of avoiding embarrassing himself.

If Ned wants to talk to him, then he will talk to him, right?

“New kid?” 
Oh thank goodness

“Yeah.” Peter answers awkwardly. He extends a hand. “Peter Parker.” 

“Ned Leeds.” Ned shakes his hand and gives him a smile; and Peter feels slightly more at ease. So far, so good. Disaster has yet to strike. “I promise, in a few weeks the ‘New Kid’ thing will fade. I know how irritating it is.”

“Thank goodness. It feels like that’s just about all I’ve heard today.”

Peter notices that Ned hasn’t pointed out the accent; in fact he’s acting as if he hasn’t even noticed.  The two continue to talk all throughout class, being careful to keep their volume low, so they don’t disturb class for the third time that day. He finds that he and Ned actually have a lot in common. And though he didn’t want to call it a friendship yet (He doesn’t want to get his hopes up), he did see this as a good place to start.