Going Through Changes -> Peter Parker

31.

Not being Spider-Man wasn't that bad. It had its perks being able to plan his day out and getting a whole night's worth of sleep. At least, that was what Peter kept telling himself as he returned to school by Monday morning. After a few days of grieving, it was time to face the world again. And to use his new freedom to get himself that date with Liam. With that plan in mind, Peter walked through the hallways, looking out for a familiar head of dark curls and bouncing steps. But Liam was nowhere to be found.

Instead, he spotted Michelle in the distance, who, as soon as she noticed Peter, turned around. She was the only other person besides him who could have spoken to Liam, and her behavior was highly suspicious. So Peter jogged after her, highly in advantage because of his super strength, and got her in front of the chemistry lab. "Michelle!" he called out, and the girl froze for a second before turning around with that indifferent stare in her eyes. "What do you want, Peter?" she asked, slouching her posture but still towering over him. "Have you heard from Liam?" Peter responded, his eyes filled with hope. She shook her head. "No, nothing." "Please, Michelle. I'm worried. I thought you were the one pushing us together.", the boy didn't let her off that easily. He could see how she was overthinking her next move, eyeing the boy skeptically. "I thought you to argued."

"No, no, no! We got into trouble with his father, that's all. I would love to talk to him, MJ. I can call you MJ, right?" Peter vaguely explained the situation. "He doesn't seem like he wants to talk to you." Her tone was now softer, almost pitiful. "Please, at least tell me when he's coming back.", Peter now whined. He missed Liam, and he was confident Tony Stark could not just take him away like that. The boy liked him back, didn't he? Michelle shrugged: "I don't know. He doesn't know".
Peter sighed heavily. "Could you please tell him that I'm sorry and I would love to meet and talk about what has happened?". Michelle kept silent for a moment, then she nodded. "Will do. But now leave me alone, I'm on my way to the restrooms." "Of course. Thank you, MJ. You're a good friend," Peter said excitedly, and the hint of a smile scurried over her lips at the statement.

He meant what he had said. She was a good friend, probably the best Liam had ever had. But it still hurt that he was talking to her while not calling him. Peter had really thought they were close. If he still had the suit, he could just risk it all and swing over to the avengers compound to look if Liam was around. But how things ended with Stark, Peter was sure he wasn't welcome anymore. And that hurt too.
This was not how he had expected his first day back.

On the roof of the avengers, compound was smoke blown into the sky. Liam sat there, feet dangling off the edge, a cigarette between his fingers and a bottle of coke by his side. He was bored; he had been for the past days. Tony still hadn't decided if he wasn't allowed to go back to school or not, and Liam hated nothing more than waiting. He had called MJ the previous night just to make sure his friends and especially Peter were doing alright. She had told him about the trouble the spider-boy was in and how he hadn't shown up at school since he ditched detention, and the guilt deep in his stomach had growled at that.

Liam wished he could just climb through that window and take the boy he had grown so fond of into his arms. But it would only make matters worse, and as long as he was a potential threat for Peter, he would not risk it to visit him. However, he was missing him terribly. And he missed Ned and MJ, whose voice on the phone was so understanding. Thanks to them, he had felt a sense of that normality his sister had always wanted for him. Now everything was plain and boring again. He took another drag from his cigarette as his phone buzzed his pocket. "Well, look who finally managed to call.", he drawled into the phone, already knowing who it was. Only one person had his number. His all-time favorite.

"Miss me, baby boy?" she chuckled. "Of course, милая. How's Phillipe?" "Oh, I had to ditch him for Astrid. I'm high in demand." So she was in Sweden. That was good. "Have you heard about Sternchen?" she asked. "I think he and his boys are somewhere east. He calls even less often than you do.", Liam replied. "You know I miss you more than anyone else, right?" she sighed. They hadn't seen each other since Germany. Before that, they spent almost every free second together. "You'll be back. We find a way. We always do.", he answered sternly and whole-heartedly. He was going to make sure that they could all come home. "We will. But in the meantime, tell me what happened to you. Are you doing the most to annoy Tony?" He could hear she was missing the man as well. And for that, he hated Tony.

"Oh, where should I start? Helped wreak the Washington Monument and a ferry, there's a birdman flying around with Ultron's weapons and... I might have met someone.", he briefly summarized the past few weeks. "Uhhh... tell me everything! What's his name?" Of course, the woman had only paid attention to the last, more unusual part. She always wanted him to be happy. " Remember that bug - boy in that right red suit? It turned out he's like really, really hot.", he willingly delivered the latest news of his love life while snipping the rest of his cigarette over the roof's edge.
"Who would have thought that! And, you're already dating, or are you just fooling around again?" He knew she was grinning. "He's dating material... but let's just say there are some obstacles.", Liam explained with a sigh.

"Well, remove them. Get the boy. A superhero is a nice match for you.", she clearly shrugged. "There's no way he still wants me. Tony has taken his suit away all because of me." She huffed. "If he likes you, he'll forgive you. It's not like you started a war or something like that.", she huffed. Then there was rattling. "I got to go now. I'll call again. Я люблю тебя.", she whispered. "я тебя тоже люблю.," he answered, and with that, she ended the call. Removing obstacles. She made that sound so easy. He had no idea where to start making things right. With another sigh, he rose to his feet. Maybe Tony had finally decided what to do with him. And just like that, he threw the wire and walked down the side of the building casually.