Chapter 16: Arc One. Chapter Sixteen. A Beer, A Burger, And A Beating

As time moved by, the idea of going out for a celebration began to appeal to Peter. The thought of spending time with some people without all the crap of school actually seemed like a good idea so when he walked into the burger place and saw Flash, his mood plummeted.

The bar itself was one of those gastropubs the US had imported from over the water, polished mahogany bar with individual booths for the more intimate and a huge selection of both microbrew and more commercial beers lined the back wall. Neatly uniformed staff, in a more conservative shirt and trouser combo with smart waistcoats, hustled the floor with plates stacked with what Peter felt were small tires rather than burgers. He took a deep breath, smelling the inviting aroma of cooked beef and onions and even if that shithead was here, he wasn't going to let it spoil the night.

As he walked to their table, he could see Flashs face contort, what the fuck is he doing here? Peter thought to himself and watched as Flash smirked and pulled MJ closer to himself, wrapping one hand around her waist and letting his other sit on top of hers. Even as he did though, she scooted back and gave him a  slightly annoyed look but he kept his hand on hers as Peter approached

"Oh hey, Guys, Gwen not here no?" MJ was stuck, she knew that Gwen was running late and she'd hoped that she'd sent Peter a message to warn him but no, here he was, stuck with the one person he probably hated more than anything in the world and here she was, stuck between them, her boyfriend and her new landlord. Great.

Peter slid into the booth and flicked through the stack of booklets to find a menu "You know, I didn't think you'd come Flash, MJ had to tell you I'd be here, so what the deal huh?" Peter didn't even bother to make eye contact, ignoring Flash for the menu.

"Well, MJ here is moving into a rundown hell hole, so I thought I'd come and put her slimebag landlord to right before he got any ideas," Flash sat up straight, posturing before Peter.

"You know Flash, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but you should just let it go you know as the lady says," Flash growled but Peter still sat there ignoring him. "You know, I think I'll have the cheese stacker burger with chilli fries but first." Peter leaned forwards grabbing Flash by the shoulders and pulling him over the table with ease. "Listen here shitface, this isn't high school and if I took you outside and fucked you with a lamppost there would be nothing you could do about it, so sit there, shut the fuck up and don't spoil my dinner, okay?" Peter whispered so MJ couldn't hear, he sat Flash back down and dusted off his shoulders, smoothing out his shirt and then sat back down, "but let's wait till Gwen gets here before we order."

Flash was surprised, Parker had just lifted him out of his seat, not just pulling him across to his side of the table but with an iron steel grip actually lifted him up. He knew Parker had been taking classes and working at a warehouse but when did he get so strong? He shrank back down into the seat next to MJ, Parker was right, if anything happened this wasn't high school. Sure he could call the cops and his dad would get him a great lawyer but with the history between them, even Parker could probably weasel his way out of it. No one was here to help him, it would be just him and whatever monster Parker had become.

He had originally come to gloat, to lord it over Parker that he was dating his High School friend and that prom had gone great, even if it was a lie. Seeing Peter looking not just happy but now strong as well hit Flash like a rock. He knew that saying anything would just drive MJ away and if Gwen was turning up then Peter would have more chances to get some revenge against him. His dad had warned him about meeting Peter and told him not to. It was just Parker, Flash thought, what could he do really? and now the cold hard reality was very clear to him, there was a lot Parker could do, and it seemed there was nothing Flash could do to stop him.

MJ stared at the pair of them, Peters whisper wasn't so much of a whisper to her but the threat was clear, this wasn't High School and it seemed that Peter had finally grown up. She just hoped that it was all a bluff, she'd had enough of abusive assholes growing up and the last thing she needed was a landlord who started making demands of her. Feeling a little more anxious she buried herself in the menu, hoping Gwen would hurry up and arrive.

"Well, while we wait for Gwen, I'm getting a drink, you two want anything?" Peter asked the pair, Flash scowled and pointed to the open beer he had in front of him and MJ just shook her head, she had a coke and as Peter remembered he felt a little guilty. Her father was an alcoholic so she didn't drink. He shrugged and made his way towards the bar area. The woman tending the bar pointed to a sign behind her and Peter laughed, "18 and over only, yeah.” He knew he looked young, so he found his ID and handed it over.

"You do samplers? It's my first time with microbrews so I've no idea what I'll like." He asked, trying to sound as undorky as possible. Aunt May had no beer in the house so he'd never had anything alcoholic to drink before.

"Sure, we've got," and as she listed what seemed to Peter like a hundred different brew types he realised that dorky or not he would just take the plunge.

"Okay, those all sound, uh, great, so how about something to go with a burger, cause those were words but anything more was beyond me." The woman's eye twinkled as he made fun of himself, sure he looked young but at least he had a sense of humour, unlike some beer snobs who either ordered the most obscure thing they had or the standard ‘I don't care as long as its alcoholic’ type who bought commercial stuff. She poured Peter a pale light ale and as he took a sip he shook his head, pulling a face,

"Uh, no, is all beer like that?" He asked and she nodded, "then no, sorry, anything sweeter, that's, that's just too bitter for me."

“Try a cider then, crisp and sweet, depending on what one you try. Pick a few and I can pour you some to try,” and Peter smiled as she explained,

“Always nice to get an expert's opinion,” and she gave him what might have been an actual smile. Peter's experience with women was Gwen and then none, so if she was being nice or flirting, he had no clue.

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Looking through a list of ciders he felt a hand on his shoulder and soft lips on his cheek, "Hey Pete, hitting on the bar staff huh? Can't leave you alone for two minutes, can I?" Gwen winked at the server before standing next to Peter, looking over the large menu of beers.

A small hint of disappointment flashed over the server's face but she could appreciate his girlfriend, she was stunning. Damn couples, she thought as Peter selected a home-brewed Candy Apple Cider, it was being trialled for Halloween and so far had been popular.

She was about to take the undrunk beer away when Gwen shook her head, "Athisons pale?" The cute and knowledgeable server nodded. "Did you order this and then not like it, Pete?" He nodded so Gwen shrugged and took it. "Saves wasting it," Peter handed over his card and dropped a five-dollar into the tip jar. "Thanks." He lifted his own drink and then they made their way to the table where MJ and Flash were having a heated discussion.

Peter already knew what the argument was about, he could hear it of course but it wasn't the argument that surprised him, it was the topic. Flash wasn't happy about MJ living so close to Peter, that he was afraid of their history. Peter shook his head, so what if they grew up together, it was ten years ago. Being a jealous asshole about it wouldn't win him any favours with MJ, and telling her she couldn't, would get him shown the door rather than her backing down. MJ had enough assholes with her father, Flash acting like this was just stupid.

With Flash making waves, even when MJ had approached him, Peter had been forced to keep his distance, never getting reacquainted. Harry, when they had been speaking, introduced him to Gwen and it had just gone on from there. Never mending the broken line, never getting the chance to reaffirm their friendship but Flash being jealous, that was a new one for Peter. 

It explained a lot though, if Flash was willing to act like this in public Peter hated to think how he treated her in private and he added that to the things he despised Flash for. Once MJ had moved in he would see if he could talk to her, alone, with Gwen as support and if Flash was being abusive, Peter would try his best to split them up.

Knowing he'd only add fuel to an already lit fire, he handed his drink to Gwen, “I'll be in the toilet, text me when those two calm down, oh, order me the double cheese stacker burger with chilli dusted fries on the side," he spoke over his shoulder as he walked towards the toilets.

Gwen had been sitting with the pair for five minutes now while that asshole she used to call her boyfriend disappeared into the toilets. MJ looked like she was ready to cry and Flash looked like he was ready to hit someone, and I, Gwen thought to herself, am going to kill him. She had taken out her phone and was tapping a message to Peter to get his ass back here when the doors to the diner swung open and a weird cosplay boiler suit guy came in. Behind him a huge muscle freak with a grey bodysuit on motioned for her to drop her phone and he clenched his fists menacingly when she glared at him.

It wasn't how he expected the night to go, "Come out for a drink, we'll get together, have a few laughs…," he thought to himself, mimicking the famous movie he'd liked as a kid but sitting on the toilet was boring, it wasn't till he heard the screams that he realised he'd missed the noise of the bar disappearing.

Opening the door of the toilet a crack he couldn't see past the wall, but he could hear just fine. "Ms Nakatani if you would be so kind as to hand over your card and the passcode we can leave you and these fine people to their meals. No fuss," and adding an edge to the voice, "and no violence." It was a modulated synthetic voice, someone punk robber wearing a kid’s Halloween mask. 

Sliding the door back gently, Peter felt the grin on his face widen. While he couldn't see who it was, he knew that Gwen and MJ were out there and he needed to do something. 

Maybe if he was lucky they might rob Flash blind and after stopping them Venom could take his prize from the bodies. Looking around he noticed that the bathroom window was narrow and locked but letting the Venom symbskin swarm over him he pushed and the whole thing came away from the wall. Sliding himself out, it was time for Venom to have some fun.

~

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