Another day of being Spider-Man... Well, no, today was not a good day for being Spider-Man, because Peter Parker had to go to school with Gwen. It was a good chance to leave Chameleon hanging. He was probably waiting for Peter to find him this morning, only for Peter not to show up. Then Peter could go find The Punisher in the afternoon and let Chameleon work for him all day for nothing.
Gwen did not wear her Supergirl cosplay to school. Unlike Peter's suit, Doctor Who did not really have a uniform and mostly wore ordinary clothes, so Peter could just leave home already dressed up. Gwen chose to put hers in her backpack and change at school instead—despite being able to explain that it was Midtown High School's theme week, Gwen still did not want to wear cosplay on the way to school.
Still, it was more convenient than Harry's electric wheelchair.
"So, Peter? How many classmates have you met since coming to the new school? Besides Harry, Amadeus, and Jessica from your Detective Agency... how many other classmates do you know?"
Peter looked a little awkward at Gwen's question. There was also Flash Thompson, but considering Flash did not know Peter Parker, Peter thought about it for a long while before honestly answering, "No one else."
"It's the second week of school, and you're telling me you've only met three new classmates?"
Gwen was genuinely stunned. "You broke your middle school record, bro. How did you manage to spend a whole week in high school and only meet three people?"
In my previous life, I spent four years in college without even matching the names and faces of the girls in my class, let alone with me having to be Spider-Man. Where would I find time to socialize?
Peter muttered that to himself inwardly, but he could not exactly say it aloud. He could only shrug helplessly. "I'm not really sure how to socialize with people. Especially opening topics and stuff. I can't talk about the weather in every situation, right?"
"What about your friends? Harry and Amadeus? Haven't they introduced you to any of their friends?"
"Forget Amadeus. I think his situation is even worse than mine. He's an international student, lives with a host family, and got bullied by someone like Carl on his first day of school..." After saying that, Peter thought of Harry again. Harry had to be Harry Osborn. He kept watching videos about Spider-Man, had a poor relationship with his father, and was unwilling to bring friends to his house. Peter could basically draw a conclusion now. The only question was what exactly was going on with Norman Osborn—whether he had already become the Green Goblin or not, how much he knew about Spider-Man, and what his attitude was.
"Harry... he doesn't get along with his father. He said his father has disliked every friend he's ever had since he was little. So I guess he's probably not very good at socializing either."
Gwen opened her mouth, then shook her head hard. "What kind of friends have you even made?"
"A middle school mutual support group? I handle the treatment, and they handle the venting. Something like that."
The two boarded the subway as they talked. As usual, Peter took out his phone and opened a video about Spider-Man. Gwen leaned over and stared at the screen. "Are you interested in Spider-Man?"
"No. Harry watches them all the time. I asked him why, and he said it was basically homework, so I started watching too. Do you think Harry's family has something to do with Spider-Man?"
Not a single word was a lie. Peter fooled Gwen with exactly that. Gwen thought for a moment without replying, while Peter opened the next video. "At two yesterday afternoon, Spider-Man helped two addicts in Hell's Kitchen and prevented them from being beaten to death by drug dealers collecting a debt..."
"What's wrong? You don't sound very happy."
"Nothing. I just think... even if Spider-Man saved them, it wouldn't make their lives any better. Some things are better left untouched from the beginning."
Peter said that, and as the subway gradually approached Manhattan, Gwen seemed to think of something and told him, "I'm going to the police station after school to see my dad. Are you coming?"
"Huh?"
"It's nothing. It just occurred to me. The people at the station don't know you, so they probably wouldn't let you wander around freely."
Gwen smiled, brushed back her hair, and changed the subject. At that moment, the subway conveniently pulled into the station.
A few minutes later, Peter arrived at his locker, already prepared for Carl to have put something inside to scare him. His Spider-Sense did not warn him, which meant whatever was inside would not be dangerous.
"Three, two, one..."
He flung open the locker door. There was nothing inside. Peter put his bag away, then took out his books.
There was one benefit to having the same theme day for five days in a row: if someone felt their outfit on the first day was not good enough, they could simply switch to a better one. For example, Harry's dull, bulky Dalek shell was gone today. When Peter entered the classroom, he saw a Cyberman watching Spider-Man videos again.
"Hello, Doctor."
"Hello, Cyberman."
Harry spoke in a half-joking tone. Amadeus, sitting in the back, seemed to be spacing out, so Peter greeted him as well.
"Hello, Amadeus. You really dressed up as Doctor Banner? I thought you'd dress up as the Hulk."
"I have a Hulk mask. There's a green T-shirt underneath." Amadeus lifted his mask, smiled, then put it away again.
"How are you feeling?"
"Pretty good. Just a bit of a cold. Some medicine and a day of sleep should clear it up."
Amadeus nodded. He really did not seem to have any problems. Peter took the opportunity to ask his next question. "Where are you living now? Maybe we could come visit sometime. And if you get sick again, we could come check on you."
Amadeus was stumped by the question. He hesitated, seemingly trying hard to find an excuse.
"Well, you know I'm living with a host family... I don't know whether they'll let me bring friends home, so I'll have to ask my host mother first."
After giving what felt like a perfunctory answer, Amadeus shifted the topic to Harry. "Besides, we don't know where Harry lives either, do we?"
"My dad has some issues. He doesn't like me bringing friends home. Sorry."
So after all that, Peter Parker's house was the only one they could casually visit.
"We don't have much going on these next few days. How about we go to Peter's place and play DND?" Harry looked at Peter and asked cautiously, "Your uncle and aunt won't think we're too noisy, will they?"
"I don't know, but they've gone away recently. It's just me at home, so it's fine if you come over. When do you want to go?"
"Maybe sometime in the next couple of days?"
"Then remember to call me before you come. If I'm busy outside, I'll let you know." Peter thought about it briefly. There really did not seem to be anything he needed to deal with lately, so he agreed. If he was free in the evening, that would work too.
Good socializing was a crucial part of concealing Spider-Man's identity, even if Spider-Man only had two friends.
The group spent a class period like that. After class, Peter left the room and found someone standing beside his locker. Looking closely, he realized it was the person who had come with Carl yesterday to pry open his locker lock.
But today, the guy was neither picking locks nor running away upon seeing Peter. It was as if he had been waiting for him.
Peter frowned and walked over. "What is it?"
"I-I don't know. I wanted to ask if you know what happened to Carl. He didn't come to school today." The guy, who looked like a little thug, acted timid and submissive in front of Peter, as though something had frightened him. He looked around nervously.
"Didn't you call Carl and ask?"
"I did. His mom answered and said he was sick and couldn't come to school, so... I mean, he's been really scared of you lately, so I was thinking..."
Peter roughly understood what the guy meant and sighed speechlessly.
"I didn't do anything, okay? I'm not Carl. I'm not going to become a bully. If you're worried I'll come beat you up, then you can relax. How about Carl becomes a good person instead? Then he won't have to be so scared."
Before you continue