Lost But Found

Chapter 7

Peter was not in a good mood.

He had spent the entire afternoon searching for his newly issued ID--the piece of plastic his future life depended on--and it had disappeared. Who knows when, but it had fallen out of his pocket. Typical Parker luck.

Now he was sitting on the edge of his bed, hands in his head, completely stressed out. So he was taken aback when someone suddenly knocked on his door.

"I'll be right there!" he said, getting up immediately and trying to fix his messy room. He first stuffed his Spidey-suit in the closet. Then, as he picked up a box, a rat scuttled out from behind. Surprises, surprises. But the greatest surprised of all was when he opened the door and found himself face-to-face with Stephen.

Peter froze, unable to move. "Uh...hi," he said. Did Stephen remember anything after Peter had ran into him earlier in the day? Had that reawakened anything?

"You're Peter Parker, correct?" Stephen asked, and Peter almost felt relieved. It looked as though Stephen didn't remember him from before the memory wipe spell.

"Yes," Peter replied.

"Well, after I ran into you earlier today, I found you dropped your ID," Stephen said, handing him back the piece of plastic that Peter claimed his life depended on.

Peter was in shock, but finally, something good happened. "Thank you so much!" he said, grabbing the card from Stephen's hands. "You don't know how much this means to me!"

Stephen just laughed. "It's just an ID," he said. "You can always get it renewed."

If only he knew, Peter thought. "Well, let's just say that I'm not a people person. One trip to the ID renewal office is enough for me," he said, chuckling awkwardly. 

==================

Stephen watched as Peter talked, not knowing that Stephen remembered him. He still had his questions. 

What had happened before the spell was cast? 

He knew he was missing something, some interaction between him and Peter. Nevertheless, he was determined to pull Peter out of his dark days--he could tell that behind every forced laugh, he was hiding grief and loneliness.  

"So, uh...Peter? Right?" Stephen said, still acting as if he didn't know who Peter was. "You, uh heading to college soon?" He figured if he made small talk, that would make Peter feel more comfortable. And then he could tell Peter, he knew.

Peter took his question in silence. "Well, uh," he stuttered. "I was aiming to go to MIT...but I don't think that's gonna work out anymore...I got family issues."

That last part was clearly a lie. Stephen guessed that when the spell was cast, all of Peter's academic and legal records were probably erased (hence why he couldn't get into MIT). And his obvious sadness at not being able go to MIT was clear to Stephen. When he cast that spell, he must've fucked up Peter's life so much...why had the kid even agreed to have that spell cast?

"I'm sorry," Stephen said. "Do you have any other colleges in mind?"

Peter obviously didn't know the answer to that question, as he shifted around nervously. "Uh...not sure yet, but--"

"Rent due next week!" Mr. Ditkovich shouted through the door in his thick Russian accent, banging on the door loudly. "Don't be late, Mr. Parker."

Peter cringed, looking at Stephen apologetically. "Sorry for that," he said, turning to rummage through a box. Stephen heard him cursed under his breath. Peter turned back to Stephen. "Came up a little short on money to pay rent," he said, sighing. 

"Do you have a job? How much money do you need? I can give you some," Stephen said, not knowing that his inner parent mode had been activated.

Peter just looked at him in shock. "Uh, yeah I have a job. I work for the local newspaper--you know what, it's fine, you don't need to give me any money."

"Are you sure?" Stephen said, softly. He hated to see how Peter was living--in a dark, cramped, dirty, moldy apartment with an uncomfortable bed, ramen noodle dinners everyday, and no one around for him to talk to. 

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine," Peter said, smiling, as he sat down on his bed, staring out the window. But the silence that followed told Stephen everything. 

He knew Peter was feeling bad that Stephen showed up. He had probably wanted to isolate himself from everyone he previously knew--to protect them? To leave them alone? Stephen didn't know why. But he definitely knew that Peter felt he was undeserving of Stephen's help.

Stephen sat down next to him on the bed, and the bedsprings squeaked. He placed a hand on Peter's shoulder, and Peter turned to look at him, confused.

"Peter," he said. "I know what happened."

Those five words sent Peter into a shock. His eyes widened. He stood up immediately, trying to move away from Stephen. "No, no, you shouldn't!" he nearly shouted.

"The Cloak told me and Wong everything," Stephen said, shrugging. "Look, Peter, your advice about reconnecting...I took it. I'm really thankful for that now. I just finished talking to Christine again..." Why was he going off on a tangent?

"But that's not the point. I want to make sure that you're okay. I know what you're going through. You have nobody. You're alone. You're struggling. And it breaks my heart to see you like this. Please, come with me. Stay with me. There's no reason why you shouldn't." He didn't realize tears were flowing until they started streaming down his face.

Peter looked broken, hurt, even. "The time in my life that I've been Spider-Man--the people close to me--they've all been harmed in some way. Even the guy I used to buy sandwiches from--his store got destroyed! Don't you get it? I'm bad luck. I hurt everyone close to me. I don't wanna hurt you."

Stephen placed both of his hands on Peter's shoulders. "Peter," he said. "I know you would never, ever, try to hurt me. You are not bad luck. You are...you're the best thing that's happened to me in a long time."

That seemed to overwhelm Peter. He broke down, sobbing. Did Peter really think that little of himself?

"Hey, it's alright," Stephen said, gently pulling Peter into a hug. Peter buried his face into Stephen's chest and grabbed on tighter.

Finally, peace.