Chapter 11: Arc One. Chapter Eleven. Letting The Cat Out Of The Bag

Peter was riding a high and even Flash and his cronies giving him the ole stink eye couldn't dent his invisible cloud of happiness, just seeing Flash hobble around on crutches made his day. Coming back to school would normally have drowned his mood in acid but today, the day after he went on a date with Gwen he didn't care.

Aunt May have given him an interrogation and while it was obvious she had instigated the whole thing he couldn't be mad at her for invading his privacy, he even used her guilt to get the tracking app off his phone, sure he could have done that himself without telling her but he knew May meant well.

Even if the morning news gave him a dumb name, Tarantula, which he thought was stupid. He didn't care though he'd just make sure his next outing he left someone conscious enough to tell them his proper name, Venom. Phff, he thought, what dumbass thought of Tarantula? He’d even sprayed his name on the ground, stupid reporter, catching the name on the byline, Eddie Brock, he made sure to remember him. 

As Peter read the Bugle his exploits as Venom was starting to make the news already. The night before was now a memory, he knew he'd been too harsh on the man but he would learn, learn to hurt but not kill, leave a bruise, not a disability. As long as they behaved, he would be lenient, but those who attacked him would suffer,

The rest of the school now saw Peter as some kind of pariah, more than usual. The clubs Flash was a member of, not just the football team but the boxing and wrestling clubs were all now losing their first places in the district tournaments and the clubs Peter was a member of were in the same boat.

After some persuasion, he found out Gwen was experiencing how difficult it could be for a woman to get into the sciences. A new hire had given her a coffee order and shooed her away as she tried to explain she was there for sample collection. Upper management took one look at her, 5' 10", curvaceous figure, big blue eyes, and to top it all blonde wavy hair and had either hit on her, suggested she try out as a model or just ignored her, thinly veiled comments aimed at her chest or ass. Even if they knew who she was, they either played golf with her dad's boss or had "connections'' and didn't care.

But as the week wore on, so did his bad mood. It wasn't just Flash that was making life hard for him, it was everyone. Harry had stopped coming to school and Gwen had been the usual but a bit distant, her internship had taken a sour note to it but even with coaxing she refused to talk about it in greater detail, but it was fine. He was still there if she needed to talk and she knew it.

Even if it wasn't all his fault, the blame was being laid right at his door. His locker was vandalised, his lunch stolen and his book bag taken and dumped in the trash can, each thing adding to make his mood worse and worse.

As he sat, alone as usual, at the lunchroom table he was greeted by someone he didn't really want to talk to, "Hey Parker, we need to talk." Felicia Hardy, his co-chair on the mathematics club and third on the high school honour students table, well he probably needed to put her second now after the incident. Standing at the same height as him, her graceful features were a result of a supermodel mom and a fitness coach dad. It was rumoured she was gay but at high school, she would never come out publically. People like Flash made sure of things like that.

"Yeah, so, uh, you're off the math team." Felicia was always blunt, which while it grated most people the wrong way just meant that Peter could get this conversation over, and get on with his lunch and back to daydreaming about Gwen.

"Yeah, so, I uh don't care." Peter had had enough of this place and of the way high school was supposed to teach you how to be an adult but really all it did was teach you how to be a dick to those you thought lesser of. "Look, Felicia, with everything going on the math club is the last thing on my mind right now, so yeah, whatever, replace me, get Jessica in, do whatever,"

She snorted, as if they could get someone in to replace him. Peter was the biggest brain in school next to Gwen and if he left then the club collapsed. His fight with Flash and the principal's refusal to cut him any slack put the school's various clubs in jeopardy. She really didn't care that Flash would miss the end of football season, but the math team losing Peter meant that they would also lose the finals and that she did care about.

Brushing her hair behind an ear and leaned in closer to him, "You don't care? well I fucking care, your little stunt will cost us the cup and look bad on my college applications, no one likes second Peter".

Peter idly spooned at his pudding, "Well, take it up with Flash, his dad, the principal and everyone else who's giving me shit for something Flash did, cause as I said, I. Don't. Care." He made sure to enunciate each word, he was tired of people giving him the lectures for everyone else's behaviour. 

Flash and his group were sitting at their usual table, normally laughing and making a scene, right now they were watching as Peter and Felicia argued. Flash scowling as the normally timid Parker was standing up to the one person he knew could kick his ass.

"Pete, look I’m sorry about what happened but you should, there's talk-" she began but he interrupted her,

"Felicia, look you're nice and all but when I say I don't care, I really don't". Peter dropped his spoon on the plastic tray, "In fact, you're right, I should care, which is why," and he made sure to raise his voice, letting everyone hear him. "I'm sorry Flash is such an asshole that he can't even bully someone properly and I'm sorry that he's so fucking stupid that his dad has ruined each and every club that I've been kicked out of, and I'm sorry that you're all so stupid to believe anything that moron says cause his dads rich and you're all suck-ups. Lastly," he stared directly at Flash "I'm sorry you're all so fucking selfish that you don't care when anything happens unless you get affected by it. You're all so fucking pathetic." 

The whole cafeteria was stunned and stayed quiet as Peter grabbed his bag and strode out of the lunchroom through the crowd. Flash went to stand up, but a very angry looking Felicia crossed her arms and shook her head at him and he sat back down again, saying something that got a laugh from the group.

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Making his way to the principal's office he stopped in front of the main secretary's desk, rapping his knuckles on it to get her attention. "Yeah, get me the forms to withdraw from school, I've had enough of this place." Of course, she knew who Peter was, she had felt sorry for him with all he had to put up with and she knew from the look on his face that something had happened and that he'd had enough. While she wasn't allowed to interfere she was saddened when she handed over the forms

"You'll need-" she began to say,

"No, I'm 18, I don't," and she watched as he signed the forms himself. She sighed as he signed each form one after the other, he was a good student and a good boy, brought low by politics and asskissers. Even with his amazing score on the placement tests the black mark on his record would haunt him. She had already received the paperwork cancelling most, if not all, of the scholarships he had been set to receive. Somedays, today especially, she hated her job and the stupid system that made life for kids like Peter a nightmare. High School was hard enough, with cutbacks and overworked teachers they could hardly control themselves let alone a student whose father showered the school with money and used it as his son's own private stomping ground.

"Well, Mr Parker, as you are no longer a student here, please clean out your locker, hand back the key and then vacate the premises. Hand over your student ID and any hall pass you might have, and Peter, I'm sorry, I know a lot goes on here but-"

Peter interrupted her, "Sorry, Mrs Henderson but an apology isn't worth anything, it’s been four years and no one did shit for me. My locker’s empty, here's everything.” Peter didn't even look her in the eye as he emptied his pockets on the counter, leaving his student I.D and locker key, and then walked away.

Peter though, wasn't sad, he was free. Yes, he knew he'd have to endure a lecture from Aunt May and Gwen but it didn't matter right now. He could attend night classes and get his GED, community college maybe wasn't an Ivy League institution but it was still qualifications and university could wait until he was more secure. Even the events of last night were just background noise now, that mugger had been taken away and would never harm another person again, he'd had fear put into him by Venom and he deserved it, all the bullies did.

As he made his way home, Aunt May was pacing in their apartment. Since he'd gotten sick Peter had changed, maybe it was the money but he'd become more confident to the point of being a little arrogant, but this latest thing with Flash seemed to have driven him over the edge. She'd just got off the phone with the school, it wasn't like Peter to just throw caution to the wind and quit but someone must have said or did something to him and backed into a corner and he'd quit.

As Peter came in the door May rushed over and hugged him, "so, uh you know"

She stroked his head as she nodded, "If, anyone-"

"No Aunt May, no one said anything. I just, I just realised that it was holding me back, so. Make coffee and I'll tell you everything, I swear. Just, no yelling till I'm done."

It was a repeat of Gwen, a look of sadness, then anger, shock and surprise all flashed across May's face, holding her tongue at every opportunity she wanted to either comfort or yell at Peter. He'd pulled out paper after paper as he told her of his plans and one of her eyes twitched when she found out he'd spent most of the 250K Osborn had given him. She stared at blueprint after blueprint and while it was all good on paper she hoped Peter hadn't bitten off more than he could chew.

"So, Uh, what do you think Aunt May?" He asked her, staring at her white-knuckled hands.

"Well, I guess, we're going to this warehouse of yours. I can't say I'm not disappointed Peter, you could still have gone to school, you could have used" She stopped and looking at the work he had put into all his ideas, all his projects she changed her mind, "No, you know what Peter, your Uncle Ben and I made mistakes, we did things the way we wanted so no, you do what you do and don't let anyone ever tell you that your wrong, well, unless it's dumb, then Gwen can tell you." She smiled and Peter had to laugh. "Right, let me get my coat and let's see this place of yours."

~

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