I Was Joking

B-Baka!!

Flash, true to his word, did not go to school that Monday. Or Tuesday. Or Wednesday. The only reason he went on Thursday was that his father threatened to ground him if he didn't go. And even then, it took dragging out of bed for him to finally get ready.

Thompson was just thankful that Peter didn't tell anyone, though it was just as surprising. Parker had all the evidence; maybe it was because if he tried, he might have to out himself as Spider-Man.

Oh yeah. That was something else entirely. He'd been bullying his favorite superhero for ages; Thompson wouldn't be surprised if Parker actually hated him. No wonder he's been acting so different lately. The more Flash thought about everything, the more guilty he felt. Karma's a b*itch, he thought while taking notes for physics.

The teen had gone pretty strong until lunch. He WAS on his way to sit with his friends from the football team, but then he heard Peter laugh at a joke Ned had told him. Flash had turned to look his way, and...

"Okay, I can't handle this.", Flash muttered, only to realize he was on his way towards the group. Finally giving in, he sighed and prepared himself.

The group of friends silenced when they noticed him coming forward. MJ glared, while Ned slightly flinched. Peter sat there, completely calm, with a welcoming smile.

"H-Hey.", Flash stuttered, waving slightly. Oh god, they were staring. He was backed into a corner, wasn't he?

"Hey, Flash.", Peter greeted casually, waving back as he took another bite of his lunch. Ned glanced awkwardly between the two, clearly not filled in on what was going on. MJ basically did the same, though pretending to have more of a clue. "Did you need anything?", the brunette asked, looking up at him.

"No...no. I just...wanted to say...", he trailed off, realizing any chance he had of not making this awkward had gone down the drain. "Spit it out, Thompson.", MJ said after a moment, getting impatient and defensive. Yeah, he deserved that.

"I'm sorry, okay?"

The group blinked at him in shock; he was even surprised with himself. Whelp, Band-Aid's ripped off, time to deal with the aftermath.

"I'm...sorry. For everything. I was operating under some screwed up logic and by the time I had realized that, it had become the norm and I had already dug my hole deep enough, so I just kept on going. I'm sorry. I shouldn't've been acting the way I was.", Flash explained himself, looking down at his lunch tray in embarrassment and humility. After the spiel was finished, he looked back at the group for their reaction.

Ned and MJ looked pretty surprised, and confused, though seemed accepting of his apology. Peter gave him a soft smile, with a hint of pride seen in it. Flash had to use all of his willpower to bite his own back. "Do...you think we could start over?", the teen asked expectantly, honestly sure of what to expect. They had every reason to say no to him, to snarl and see him off. Which is why it was a wave of relief when the group smiled and Leeds answered, "Sure dude."

Physically relaxing, he sat a seat away from MJ, and started trying to join the conversation. Peter seemed more than happy to have him, including the former bully in everything. Right before lunch ended, Parker's phone rang. "Whoops, I need to take this.", he said, getting up and walking off. "It's for the, uh, internship.", the hero explained, dropping subtle hints that Flash caught on quickly. And the rest of the friends caught on that he caught on. "Alright, I gotcha. Go.", Ned waved Peter off.

"So. You know.", MJ said, inspecting every aspect of Flash's face for fear and panic. "Y-yeah." "Is that what all of this is about? So you can get on his good side?", she interrogated. The teen answered honestly; with a shrug. "More or less."

"What? What do you mean by that?", Ned asked, confused. Flash huffed, pulling out a white envelope from his bag and stuffed it in his pocket. "Well, not gonna lie, Parker scares me now. I just wanted to make sure he doesn't hate me or anyth-"

"No way.", Leeds breathed, holding back his laughter. Flash felt himself turn red. "What?", he asked defensively. "That, that envelope. Is that what I think it is?", Ned muttered under his breath. "Is that for Peter?", he asked, loud enough for Thompson to hear, but for no one outside the group could. MJ was very confused.

Now especially red, Flash grumbled. "N-no it isn't! Don't get any ideas, idiot!", the teen hissed, though Ned didn't seem hurt in the slightest. "Oh, oh god.", he breathed, taking a break from laughing.

"Alright, alright, your secret's safe with me.", he said after finally calming down. Flash nodded. "Thank you, but he already knows. I was veeeery wasted.", the jock admitted lowly. "Also how I kind of found out."

The two nodded. "You swear ultimate secrecy to protect his identity?", MJ asked, getting a nod in response. "Sweet! Let's get you into the group chat.", Ned responded, pulling out his phone.

"The what?", Flash asked with an amused grin. "The Peter Parker Protection Squad.", Ned answered, still adding Flash's number. "We basically make sure he doesn't go off and do something stupid.", MJ explained after a moment of confusion. "It happens more often than you'd think."

The bell rang loudly, making the group get up and head off to their next classes. "Hey, so...do you think I have a chance?", Flash asked Ned in a low voice after they got separated from MJ. Leeds was his best friend after all, he would probably have the best idea.

"...Maybe, but not for a while.", Leeds answered truthfully. "He's very bisexual, but he doesn't exactly realize it yet, so you'd have to wait on that. And he's not into tsunderes, so... I can't help with that."

"Tsunder-what?"

Ned joined Peter for chemistry, leaving a VERY confused Flash to walk to his next period on his own.