Growing Pains (Part 1)

"I swear, I only pushed him! I didn't mean to... well, I was just angry, that bastard dared to insult Gwen!" Peter complained as he walked, carrying his backpack.

Stark patted him on the back and said, "It's okay, you can beat him up. It's not a big deal. Someone was harassing your girlfriend, and you only punched him. That's too lenient."

"I didn't punch him..." Peter helplessly.

"Alright, alright, I know. Let's go. I hired an Italy chef. We'll have pizza tonight," Stark said happily.

The story begins this morning.

Peter was in high spirits when he came to school this morning. He waited for Gwen at the school gate early in the morning. The two chatted as they walked, and were reluctant to part when they reached the classroom door.

United States public high schools don't care about dating at all; as long as you don't go too far, the teachers don't mind.

So Peter and Gwen said goodbye hand in hand at the classroom door. Just then, a member of the Football Team from the next class came over and not only mocked Peter but also insulted Gwen with very offensive language.

Peter was furious. The Football Team came over and made an obscene gesture at him. In a fit of anger, Peter shoved him, and the result was that the Football Team was almost embedded in the wall.

Peter was actually almost able to control that powerful force, but he was in a fit of anger at the time, and when he pushed that person, he used a lot of force, and the person flew out and broke a rib.

As a result, the other party's parents went to the school because of the bullying. Of course, the school had to invite Peter's parents over as well. However, Peter couldn't explain to his uncle and aunt where he got such power. So, Peter had no choice but to leave Stark's phone number.

The teacher then made a call to Stark Tower headquarters, and Jarvis, after receiving the call, specifically transferred it to Stark.

Stark drove a flashy sports car to the school. How could the parents across the street not recognize the world's richest man? They immediately said it was a misunderstanding. Stark kept encouraging Peter, saying he should punch that bastard.

Gwen comforted her, saying that the bastard deserved it, but Peter was still upset. As a good student, he had never had his parents called in since he was a child, but Stark, with his big mouth, kept bragging about it. In just two days, the news that Peter had gotten into trouble at school and had Stark called in had spread throughout the entire superhero community.

Children of this age don't like being treated like little kids, but Peter was now subjected to a barrage of teasing from everyone, which made him very depressed.

In the S.H.I.E.L.D.. cafeteria, Steve said, "Actually, you can leave me your phone number. At least I look much more energetic than that jerk who stays up all night drinking."

"At least in terms of age, he's definitely old enough," said Coulson, who was standing next to him.

"In terms of seniority, I am Stark's uncle."

"But..." Steve cut a piece of steak and said, "You have to learn to control your emotions. I was like that when I first underwent the transformation. Once my emotions fluctuated too much, I couldn't control my Superman strength."

"So how did you finally improve it?"

"On the one hand, you need to be aware of the problem yourself, and on the other hand, you can seek help from some professionals to learn how to calm your emotions."

"Actually, I'm not a very easily angered person," Peter said, somewhat frustrated. "But when it comes to certain issues, I just can't help myself."

Steve chuckled and said, "Don't worry about it. I was the same way. Back in the army, there were troublemakers who always messed with Peggy and swore at her, so I beat them all up."

"Of course, you have to control your strength when you beat someone up, otherwise you'll easily get into trouble. But as long as you control your strength, it's just a normal fight, at most you'll be put in solitary confinement."

Coulson raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected Captain America to have this side to him, but then again, it made sense. The perfect saintly image portrayed in promotional videos and movies was impossible to find in reality.

That evening, Peter went to Schiller's psychiatric clinic again and said, "Doctor, I'm afraid I'll have to borrow your place to do my homework. My uncle and aunt insist on renovating my entire bedroom, and the smell of paint still lingers. I really can't stand it."

"Come in. Go tidy up that desk. Pikachu! Pikachu! You come here right now! Get those boxes and boxes of peanut butter out of my way. You've been taking up my desk for over three days..."

Peter picked up Pikachu, who had jumped over, and said, "Have you gained a little weight? Why do you seem heavier?"

"Of course he's fat. If you ate five jars of peanut butter and two pounds of cheese a day, you'd be fat too."

Pikachu flicked its tail and said, "I advise you to mind your own business, kid. I'm just a mouse, not a bodybuilder. So what if I'm a little chubby?"

Peter opened his schoolbag at the table and took out his textbooks. Schiller, who was cooking in the kitchen, said, "I heard that your teacher asked your parents to call Stark? Didn't the teacher get so angry?"

"I had no choice. How could I explain to my uncle that I could push a 90-kilogram Football Team flying?"

"Oh, right," Peter turned to the doctor and said, "Doctor, could you teach me how to control my emotions? I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I was just too angry and lost control of my strength..."

"Why do you do this? Why did you start thinking about controlling your emotions and restraining your power?"

"I... because I don't want this power to hurt others if I lose control one day."

"Then why did you lose control?"

"Because that person insulted Gwen, and the insults were really nasty."

"Isn't that his problem? He's the one who needs to learn to control his emotions, not you."

"But..."

"You are always too good at reflecting on your own problems and taking all the blame on yourself, but the truth is that you are far beyond the moral standards of ordinary people, which will bring you greater pain."

"You shouldn't just look for the cause of everything within yourself. Have you ever considered that the problem might not be you, but the world?"

Peter opened his mouth, somewhat puzzled, and said, "I thought... I thought Doctor should be..."

"That's just what you think."

Schiller walked over with a plate. Peter swallowed hard, Peter the aroma of the scrambled eggs. Schiller put the plate down and said, "A Doctor isn't an army drill sergeant or a school teacher. We're not responsible for telling you who's right or wrong in a situation. All the guidance and treatment I give you is from your perspective—that is, putting myself in your shoes to discover your psychological problems from another angle..."

"Okay, I know I sometimes overthink things and worry about things that haven't happened yet."

"This is a common trait among geniuses, and Stark is no exception."

"What's wrong with Mr. Stark?"

"He had another big fight with Pepper the day before yesterday, and in a fit of pique, he went out racing. Connors saw him, and the next morning Connors mocked him. Then, he ran into Steve when he went out..."

"Then he called me and asked if he was the number one scumbag in the world, which is why the world is always against him."

"Then what?"

"Of course, I gave him about two hours of psychological therapy, and then he reconciled with them."

Peter asked skeptically, "What kind of treatment? So effective?"

"I scolded him, and then he felt that other people scolding him was too lenient, so of course they made up."

Peter felt sympathy for Stark at that moment.

After a while, Peter finished his homework and ate his meal. He lay on the sofa in a daze, instead of playing games with Pikachu as usual.

Schiller was writing his paper at a nearby table, Peter put his arm around his head and said, "Why are there so many strange things in this world? Why do troubles always come one after another? Why do people have so many worries?"

"Because your life is getting better little by little, the better your life is, the more noticeable some trivial troubles become."

"Why don't you think about what kind of life you lived before you had so many worries? If these kinds of troubles happened before, would you have cared about them?"

Peter thought about it. Back when Uncle Ben and Aunt May had bad results from their medical checkups, they were broke and Peter couldn't find a way out. If he had gotten into a fight with a classmate at school back then, he probably would have forgotten about it quickly because he had bigger problems to deal with.

Compared to the pressure of survival, a little argument is nothing. If it were before, he wouldn't have had so much free time to lie here complaining; he'd probably be running errands for someone else to earn money.

Peter said, "Sometimes I just want to grow up quickly, go to college quickly, buy my own house so that my uncle and aunt can live in a more spacious house, find a decent job, and get engaged to Gwen. Isn't that what all adults do?"

"But sometimes, I wish this year would never end, that I could stay a high school student forever, just go to school every day, do my homework, and then sleep until dawn."

Schiller listened quietly, the soft sound of his typing echoing in the dimly lit room.

"Sometimes I dream of many stars weaving a web, or I dream of becoming a giant spider. Maybe being a spider isn't so bad, right?"

"Sometimes, I dream that I've lost Uncle Ben and Aunt May, Gwen is gone too, and I'm all alone in the world."

"They all say that dreams reflect a person's inner nature. Do you think that's true, Doctor?"

"I yearn for freedom, yet I fear losing it. I want to be a hero, but I don't even know what a hero is..."

Peter didn't receive a reply, so he fell asleep. The night sky outside the window was full of stars, and only the computer screen was still lit up in the room. Schiller had already left.

Pikachu hugged a pillow, stuffed it under Peter's head, and then threw a blanket on top of it. He muttered to himself, "Humans have so many problems. Of all the people who come and go every day, not one of them is without worries."

Then he looked at Peter and said, "You're lucky, kid. Maybe all these people are lucky, even the rats are..."

"Growing up is never without its troubles."