The Spider's Web

Part 5

As (Y/N) walked to school, his thoughts kept going back to last night. Mary looking through his bag, him lunging for his bag, Mary.. snapping at him. Part of him knew that he deserved it. Standing her up on the previous study date didn't win him any brownie points. Then there was the stress after her assault. The fear, the anger, the stress, the humiliation. That kind of event can stick with you for your entire life. (Y/N)'s thoughts then wandered back to his little private declaration to himself. Should he tell her? Would It do him some good? Having someone to talk to about what he might see, what he might do. Then another thought crawls its way into his head. Would she even be able to handle It? The pressure, the burden.. It won't be easy for her.. It might even be impossible for her to handle, she might just shut down! More and more thoughts kept swirling into his head as he walked up the steps and went inside, stuffing his backpack into his locker. He glances around him and sees everyone else. Some argued about things that have recently started to feel trivial to him, others laughed and enjoyed the company of familiar friends and faces. And two other people; a couple, embraced each other, their lips fervently locked together as if this was their last moments on Earth. Part of (Y/N) wanted that. He imagined himself and Mary doing the same thing.

God, how he wished he could do that with her. Maybe he could... but he couldn't put her through that, that'd be selfish. He attempts to put aside his thoughts and grabbed his books.

*  *  *  *

His classes rolled by, and the shrill ringing of the school bell told him it was lunch time. As he sat alone in a corner, his thoughts from earlier today wormed their way back into his head like a bad smell. He thought about it. Then thought about it some more. He kept thinking about it until his head throbbed and a headache started thumping in his skull. But through it all, he kept thinking, until he came upon a rather.. sobering conclusion. He looked up and saw her talking with Harry and Peter, then closed his eyes. "I can't tell her." He murmured. "I can never tell her.. maybe not anyone." He opened his eyes and looked down at the cold lunch that he's suddenly lost his appetite for.

*  *  *  *

The lunch break ended and it was back to the nose grind for him. He didn't really pay attention to any of his class. He just sat there; blankly staring into space. After school ended, he grabbed his bag and walked out of school. Just as he was about to head off into any alley, he heard someone calling out to him, "Hey, (Y/N)!" He glanced back and saw Peter walking up towards him. "Yeah? What do you want?" (Y/N) replied, rather harshly. Peter slightly flinched at this. "Geez, what crawled up your butt?" Peter snarked. "Nothing. I'm just in a hurry." (Y/N) replied. "Off to get more pictures of that masked jerkwad?" (Y/N) furrowed his brow at the little comment. "What do you mean?" He asked. "Really?" Peter quirked an eyebrow and raised up a newspaper. A newspaper that had one of (Y/N)'s photos on it, with a small caption of text on the bottom right of it. 'Pictures by (Y/N) (L/N).' It read. "Oh. That. Yeah, so I've picked up a part-time job, so what?" (Y/N) said irritably. "So what? The guys a criminal! He's--" "He's a criminal?! Peter, he's saving lives, I've seen it with my own eyes!" (Y/N) declared. "Yeah, so? He can't--" "Are you fucking kidding me?! That's your response?! Yeah,so? You're fucking unreal." (Y/N) threw his hands up and stomped away before his anger could get the best of him.

(Y/N) walked around the streets of queens, his hands stuffed into his pockets as he glared at nothing. He couldn't believe Peter said those things. He thought It would be a one-off thing, but no; apparently the fame's inflating that already big head of his. (Y/N) kicked a nearby soda can and kept walking before coming across a secluded alley. He went in and changed, leaping up and over the buildings. As he leapt off of rooftops and swung from buildings, he hoped he'd find someone to punch. Until then, he was left with his thoughts. And they lingered on his promise, his spat with Peter, and a couple new ideas for a costume.