STING [peter parker & betty cooper]

Chapter Twenty: Can I Come Too?

Peter's POV

I ran down the hall and stepped into the living room before making my way into the kitchen, the smell of bacon calling to me. May was sitting at our small kitchen table reading the newspaper with her morning tea as usual.

"Morning." I said cheerfully, well as cheerful I could be for a Friday morning. A yawn broke through and I covered my mouth with my hand, blinking my eyes to get rid of the moisture that accumulated.

I went straight for the coffee and poured myself a cup, grateful she put it on before I got there. I need my coffee in the morning, a habit that both May and I inherited from my uncle.

"Morning. I put your breakfast in the oven to keep warm." She gave me a smile before returning to her paper. I opened the oven and pulled out the plate of eggs, bacon, and toast before taking it to the table with my coffee.

"Where's Veronica?" I took a sip before digging into my food. Hiram was off today and usually the two of them have breakfast together. Why they would get out of bed early when they didn't need to is beyond me.

"Oh she wanted to get some early discounts and Hiram volunteered to take her." I could see how proud of him May was. There were times when he was exceptionally busy but today he somehow arranged some time to feed into his daughter's addiction. I figured Veronica must have some dirt on him or something.

I finished my breakfast and rinsed my dishes before heading towards the living room where my backpack was. "See you later!" I called out. I started putting on my shoes when I heard the thumping of feet on the wood floor.

"I don't think so." I looked up and May her standing there with an expectant look on her face. I chuckled and kissed her on the cheek as was mandatory in the morning before I left.

"Love you, May."

"That's better, love you too."

I put on my beanie and slipped outside of the building. I shivered a little from the initial shock of the cold but I quickly adapted from my weeks of experience. As I was walking down the steps I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I knew who it was and I was already laughing. I took it out and read the text message from Archie that he sent daily.

Archie: ACRIMONY: anger and bitterness, harsh or biting sharpness especially of words, manners, or feelings.

Ever since New Year's eve and that word of the day calendar moment Archie had been sending me and everybody else present a new word each day. Some days they were like today with actual words and definitions and other days he made stuff up thinking we wouldn't notice.

I shook my head and placed my phone back in my pocket, exchanging it for my car keys. Now that I have my driver's license May has been allowing me to drive her car to school every other day and while the car might be extremely old, it's better than nothing.

The drive to school was casual and smooth until I heard someone honk at me from behind. I tightly gripped the steering wheel, increasing the speed of my vehicle and lowering the volume of my music, but the mystery driver still wasn't satisfied.

My eyes focused on the road ahead, ignoring whoever insisted on honking for no apparent reason. That was until the person tried to pass me on the left.

Usually I let people pass with no hesitation, but this person was openly giving me the stink eye. In the side view mirror, I could see his black hair, black sweater, and grey beanie cut in a way that made him look like he was wearing a crown. I had never actually talked to him before but I had seen him a few times in school. He was a junior and I think his name was something peculiar like Juthead or Jughead.