never be the same || spider-man

back to school

[warning for minor character suicide mention]

"You look like shit."

Peter looked up from where he was picking at the chicken wrap in front of him to weakly glare at MJ. "You really know how to make a guy feel special, don't you?" he remarked dryly.

MJ shrugged nonchalantly, but there was a smirk playing on her lips. "Well, you do. What's up?"

Running a hand over his face, Peter sat up straigher with a sigh. "All this shit going on with the Demons," he admitted. "Li's their leader."

MJ raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Is that what you found at the recycling center, then?"

"Well, part of." He looked around before leaning closer to both Ned and MJ. "There were a bunch of bombs in there. Infused with some kind of weird energy."

"Like the ones at City Hall?" Ned asked, eyes wide.

Peter nodded. "Dad suggested we check out Martin's office. May pulled them both away, but I found a secret room. He's got some giant grudge against Norman. He's doing this all to get back at him."

"But why?" MJ asked, eyebrows furrowed. "Does May know?"

Peter quickly shook his head. "I don't want May learning about this. She thinks the world of Li; it would crush her."

"Peter, you have to tell her. She hates being left out of your Spidey shit," MJ insisted. "Last time you left her out of it, a building fell on you."

"I know what I'm doing, MJ." Peter met MJ's eyes, a silent plea for the topic to be dropped. MJ didn't look all too happy, but, thankfully, didn't press it any further.

"So, how's the internship going?" Ned asked, trying to change the subject. "Otto still letting you work?"

"Yeah. He called in a bunch of favors, I guess, so there's a lot of different new equipment lying around. I'm not sure what he plans on doing with most of it, but he's pretty happy about it." Peter bit his bottom lip roughly. "We're making great progress on prosthetics, but I can't help but worry. Otto seems pretty desperate to see this project he's been working on through to the end. I honestly think a part of him wants to prove Norman wrong. Or prove something to himself."

"What's Norman have to do with this?" MJ asked.

"They used to be friends back in college. Started a business together, but then something happened and things have been dicey since," Peter answered. "I hope he isn't working on these out of spite. I'm all for trying new things to make them work, but even I have a line in the sand."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much." MJ shrugged, stealing one of Peter's fries. "Like you said, he probably just wants to see it through. Considering everything Octavius Industries has gone through in recent years, it doesn't really surprise me."

"Yeah, you're probably right. And keep your hands off my fries, woman."

"What? You're not eating them, and fries this good shouldn't get cold."

Peter laughed, pushing his basket closer to her anyway. He didn't have much of an appetite. There was a ball of stress and worry tangled together into a tight ball in the pit of his stomach. The three of them were able to eat lunch together nearly every day, but with Peter's mind constantly elsewhere, they hadn't been able to meet up much recently.

"I'm sorry I've been so MIA recently, by the way," he told them honestly. "I feel bad."

"Don't," MJ said firmly. "We more than understand everything going on."