liar liar ⦚ spider-man

ACT I, SCENE VII * ONLY HUMAN

"Okay, quick questions." Karter said in a panic as the two sat on Peter's bed. "What the hell was that? Who the hell were they?" Peter shrugged and laid back. "Seriously? You're so calm about this."

"I'm as calm as you are, I'm just masking it better." Peter shrugged, before wincing in pain. He'd completely forgotten about his binder and had worn it for far too long. "I think you should go." He said, hiding his pain.

"What? Why? After what we've just seen you're gonna let me go home alone?" Karter said, freaking out even more. Peter was suddenly aware of the crushing pain in his torso, and was desperate for Karter to leave so he could get rid of it.

"You were fine walking home after we almost got shot at." Peter said, venom seeping into his words. Both Karter and Peter were shocked at his tone, and the two shared a look before Karter stood up.

"It's fine, I get it." Karter said, not really knowing what he said he understood. "I'll just go home. Alone. Whatever, Parker." He said, before heading straight out the door. Peter jumped up to chase after him and babble out an apology, but he couldn't find the speed or words. He ripped off his shirt and binder with a wince, and pulled on a massive oversized hoodie.

Peter suddenly hated everything. He hated the spider that bit him, he hated binding, he hated his weekly shots, he hated May, he hated Karter, he hated himself, he hated everything. None of it was justified, but he was so angry and confused that nothing made sense. Instead of curling up into a ball on his bed like he wanted to, Peter scaled the fire escape outside his window and sat on the roof, looking at the sky.

Why did he send Karter home? It wasn't the first time that Peter had dealt with certain issues with Karter, the boy even helped out if Peter freaked out before he had to do a shot, so why was this different? Peter's internal melt down would have to wait though, as a cough drew his attention away.

"Oh, um, shit, I'm sorry." Peter said, when he saw who it was. Derek, Ronan's boyfriend was standing a couple of metres away. "I didn't know anyone else was up here."

"Yeah, well, Ronan and Abby are busy freaking out about Spider-Man so I came up here so I could think without someone shouting in my ear." Derek said, shaking his head. "I was waiting for them to get back and suddenly they burst in like everything is dangerous and are freaking out. All I wanted to do was talk to Ronan."

Peter sat frozen on the edge of the roof. Derek, the major scary asshole that not even Flash messes with, was casually talking to him like an old friend. Sidelining his confusion, he smiled at Derek.

"They can be over dramatic sometimes." Peter said with a smile as Derek walked towards him. "My boyfriend's the same way with Iron Man." And then Peter froze. He'd said boyfriend. He was screwed.

"So it's not just girls who freak out, huh?" Derek responded casually, it didn't really surprise him Peter was gay, and it was cute to imagine him and Karter together. "Damnit, there goes my backup plan." He joked, taking his hands out of his pockets and sitting down next to Peter.

"Yeah, what a shame." Peter said with a forced laugh, screaming internally. Derek didn't seem like the asshole everyone made him out to be, but the idea had to come from somewhere. "Why is everyone so scared of you?" Peter blurted out, his eyes slightly widening in realisation after he realised what he said. "Oh, shit, I didn't mean-"

"It's cool, Peter, chill." Derek said, smiling slightly. "People got the wrong impression. Flash made a shitty joke, I beat the crap out of him and anyone who laughed, he made another shitty joke and no one laughed. He went home missing a tooth and with a black eye. Pretty soon he stopped joking."

"What joke did he make?" Peter asked quietly, expecting the answer to be something homophobic or something sexist. Instead, he was answered with a moment of silence, and he looked at Derek who's face was now filled with pity. Eventually, Derek responded, and the answer both made Peter sad and make his heart skip a beat.

"He called you Penis Parker." Derek whispered. "I wasn't having it." Peter had noticed the use of the nickname had ceased quickly, but he couldn't work out why. Now he knew, and it petrified him.

"Thank you." Peter said, after another moment of silence passed. "Not for beating the shit out of him, but for sticking up for me."

"No problem, Peter." Derek said, patting him on the shoulder. "Someone's gotta stick up for the little guy, huh?" Peter didn't know how to feel about that comment, but he couldn't respond as Ronan called for Derek from her window. "Duty calls. See you around, Peter."

And with that, Peter was alone on the roof, left with an internal conflict and a messy breakdown.