Spiders and Seas (Heroes Come in Many Forms)

Chapter 2: With School Comes Change

Peter POV

As he walked through the doors, Peter was extraordinarily excited. The year was going to go amazing - he could already tell. As he looked around, he saw that none of his friends had arrived yet, but that there was a boy sitting alone. The boy looked unfamiliar to Peter -he was pretty sure that no one at school last year had curly black hair- so he guessed that he was new. Peter remembered what it was like to be new and without friends, and decided to sit by the new kid (at least until Peter's friends arrived).

As soon as he sat down, Peter knew that there was something different about the boy. For one, no one had eyes like that - somewhere between green and blue, always changing, and a touch overwhelming. It reminded Peter of when Tony would take him to the beach in Malibu. The boy had eyes like the sea. Another factor that contributed to Peter's snap analysis was the fact that the boy didn't say anything when Peter sat down. He just waved at him then went back to staring at the space in front of him. This silence continued in fact as Peter asked questions - the boy responding with shrugs or head shakes. At one point,when Peter had asked for his name, the boy did something that Peter vaguely recognised as sign language, but Clint wore his hearing aids most of the time, and Peter had never picked up on what any of it meant. Eventually Peter said bye, and went to sit by his friends and talk to them instead. He felt bad, but he didn't really know how to interact with someone who didn't talk. Maybe he'd ask Clint to help him learn sign language.

As he walked to class, he saw that the boy avoided everyone - squinting at each desk before going up to the teacher. He didn't say anything to her - just moved his hands around again, but she seemed to get the message and directed him to his seat - a seat right next to Peter, as it turned out. Looking at the desk, Peter was finally able to see what the boy's name was - Perseus. He had no idea why someone would name their kid that, but still, it was nice to be able to have an actual name for him.

Not too long after that, class started and Peter was taken in by what the teacher said - he noticed that Perseus still refused to talk, but that was the only strange thing he noticed. (He may have gotten too caught up with playing with his friends to see the way that Perseus looked at them with sad eyes or the way that some of the bigger kids picked on him, but Peter was eight and hadn't seen his friends all summer. Some mistakes are not sins.)

By the time he was going home, Peter had almost forgotten about the strange new boy - almost. He remembered while he was telling Tony about how one of his friends - Alec Benjamin- had already lost his voice. "Dad, we have a new kid! He doesn't talk but he seems nice still. His name is Perseus, which is really weird, but really cool at the same time. I can't talk to him though, because I have no idea what he's saying ever. Do you think Uncle Clint will help me learn sign language?"

"Woah. Yeah, I think Clint will help you learn some sign language - but it will take a while okay?"

Peter fought the disappointment that rose up in him at the realization that he wouldn't be able to talk to Perseus right away. Still, he figured that it was better than nothing. He'd just find another way to communicate in the meantime. Just then, a thought popped into his head and he grabbed a piece of paper, a pen, and a bunch of colored pencils (in case Perseus wanted to color with him).

He was absolutely determined to make Perseus his friends by the end of the month. (It would take a little while longer, but Peter has no way to know of all of the barriers he would have to get past first.)

Percy's first day at school, meanwhile, went precisely how he thought it would - with 2 notable exceptions.

First, he had been approached for friendship twice. The first time it was by a quiet but happy boy named Peter, who Percy had actually wanted to be friends with. (Peter left once he realized Percy wouldn't talk. Watching the way Peter played with his friends was almost enough to make Percy want to talk - almost.) The second time it was by an older, more popular from what Percy could see on his first day - which was a surprising amount. (His dismal grades were not for a lack of awareness.) The boy was quite tall, and strong - nothing like Percy - but that didn't seem to mean much here. (Or anywhere, Percy was small and scrawny but all of the bullies thought he had some kind of potential. Percy didn't see it, and once the kids realized his whole "not talking" thing was more than a way to get out of talking in class, and to students he disliked, they stopped seeing it too. The longest he had lasted without drawing a bully's ire was two days. He lasted about two hours this time.