Chapter 5: Power and Responsibility.
The snow was falling, it was already mid-December and my promise to Davis was still there, like before... I was alone. I didn't know where I belonged, I never really participated. I was back to my usual routine once I came back to school, even then no one noticed me except for Liz and Gwen. Then, I remembered the Winter Ball was coming up, and my plan was to ask Liz. I saw her in the popular crowd, and she saw me. We connected in a way, she smiled and I smiled back. "Hey, Peter!" She said as she was walking up towards me, I chuckled a bit and waved back. "So, I was thinking." I announced, "That if you want, you and I... Well... The dance is coming up, and I was thinking... We could... I don't know, I mean... If you want we could go to the dance together.... It's okay if you don't, I mean... It's fine." I stuttered all the way through, she was smiling as I was trying to ask her to the dance, I'm not sure if that was either good or bad, but then she chuckled and said, "Yes. I would love to go to the dance with you." She smiled, and my heart skipped a beat. "O-Oo-Okay. Sure... Um..." I was speechless, Liz Allan said yes. Her and I chuckled a bit, and then I laughed a bit more. The bell rung for 5th block, and she had to go her own classes, I had to go to mine. As she walked, I just stared, smiling and skipping off to my class. It was magical, amazing, spectacular!
I couldn't think throughout the entire day, smiling, waiting for the dance to be near, it was just a joy to realize Liz had said yes to me, me! Peter Benjamin Parker! King of Science, no no, that's a rubbish name for myself, but still!! Things had started to change for me, until a basketball hit my head. I realized it was P.E, and I looked around, Flash was laughing at me with the other jocks, Gwen was decorating the 'Winter Ball' sign, and Liz was practicing her cheerleading. "PARKER!! BALL, IN BASKET!! NOW!!!" The coach yelled in my ear, and then I shot the ball, but it stuck to me. "God, Parker I swear your shooting skills should be in Guinness for worst shooting skills ever!!!!" I looked at the coach with anger, and then a sense came all around me, like something was alerting me. I looked around, and saw Flash hitting on Liz, telling her she should go with him to the dance instead of me, it also looked like he was sort of, harassing her in a way. The coach yelling was blurred out, and then in a motion without hesitance, I shot the ball straight at Flash;s head, "Leave her alone, Flash." I declared. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Flash snapped at me with anger. "Whoa, Parker! Seems like you can throw a ball whenever you want." The coach continued, "Hit the showers Thompson, you're done for the day." I smirked a bit, and Flash came near me, "3'o clock is one hour away, Parker!!" I replied sarcastically, "Really? What's five plus four!?" The gym fell silent, and Flash yelled as he walked into the change room. "Liz.. I." But before I could say anything else she said, "Peter... Thanks." and we both smiled at each other.
The school bell for dismissal rang, and as I opened my locker it seems as if I also bent it a bit. I looked around if anyone else saw, and then the ring from earlier kicked into gear, and I looked around again. A basketball was heading straight to my face, but I crouched quickly and it hit the principal. The hit came from one of Flash's jocks, I didn't know his name, but he was definitely in trouble. I felt good with this power I gained from the spider, and I felt blessed with it definitely. No, not blessed, gifted was the word to put it. I felt gifted with the power from the spider, I gathered my belongings to take home, and put my gym strip in my locker. I walked home alone, as usual, and then I got ganged up by Flash on the way home from school. "Why you gotta be all up in my business, bro!? I knew what was going inside Liz's head, she wanted me. I don't really wanna know why she went with you, but I can tell one thing..." He pushed me with his hand, so that I tripped. "She was dared to say yes." Flash's crew laughed at my face, along with himself. "Knock it off Eugene." I snapped back, but they continued to laugh. I stood up, and just then... My arms felt as they grew bigger, and I looked at my hands because I felt a pop, and then I saw veins, not gross veins, but muscle, actual muscle! Flash then started to mock me, saying I was trying to be a big man. "Shut up." I said angrily. He threw a punch at me, but I just dodged it swiftly, and I also dodged the other hits, he was running out of breath more than me, but I felt powerful. And once he landed that last punch, I ended it indefinitely by blocking his hit, and breaking his hand. But I heard a crack, and it didn't sound all that good. I was shocked, it felt sudden, and then I saw how much pain he was in, he was crying, and I even saw some blood dripping, "I said, I-I-I-I told you, I-I didn't want to fight." But then, something triggered inside of me that spoke out, "Hit me, or harass any of my friends again and I'll blind you." I guess those weren't the right choices of words, because once I got home my Aunt and Uncle confronted me.
"Peter, what were you thinking doing that? That wasn't the way we raised you!" My Aunt yelled, "I know, I'm sorry. But this was for Davis, Gwen, and Liz. Flash was harassing all of them, and me as well! All I was trying to do was defend myself and them. I'm so sick of Flash and his jocks making me look like a wimp, and treating me like I'm some kind of freak!!!!" I shouted, and then I left my Aunt and Uncle speechless. My Uncle Ben finally spoke, "Peter, you're a lot like your father, you really are! But he believed if you could do good things for people with the power you had, you had a moral obligation to do those things! And with those powers in mind, there must also come great responsibility! Understand, son? Choice isn't the stake here, responsibility is. Listen to me good and carefully, Peter... With great power comes great responsibility, you've been given a gift with your intellect, use it well. Please, for your own benefit, not ours.... Snap out of it, I know you can!!" Silence fell, "Well, all of that is great. Everything is great, then where's my Dad?" I snapped, "He didn't think it was his responsibility to tell this to me himself!?!?!" My Uncle felt appalled by my answer really, "Come on, how dare you!" "How dare I, how dare you?! Where the [frick] is my father when I needed him the most?!?!" I stormed out the door, and slammed it, breaking the glass.
I went to a high school party where I was invited to, and Kenny Kong, one of Flash's pals invited me to it. It was filled with drinks, smokers, stoners, you name it. Liz wasn't there, so I was disappointed. I got tricked into eating a weed brownie, and it was pleasant. I was talking to the populars, especially this really attractive girl, Mary Jane Watson. Apparently, she was literally the girl next door to me. Her parents and her just moved into the condominium. She asked if I had any friends before Liz, Gwen, and Davis. I told her I had one, his name was Eddie Brock Jr. And another one, in middle school... His name was Michael, I told her he shot himself. And how I just wished... He would've left a note, before he did that. MJ made me a milkshake, and she smiled. Yet, even when I was stoned, I knew she was worried and sad for me. Everyone started to leave the party, including me and MJ. I snapped out of it, and started running. Thinking about Michael, Mom, Dad, Davis... I lost almost everyone. I have such bad luck, god! I wonder what it must be like to be someone like Superman.
The rain was pouring, I didn't have my hoodie on, and the storm was crackling, I was jumping on rooftops, leaping across skyscrapers. And then, I realized how stupid I had been, it wasn't their fault. Aunt May and Uncle Ben were just doing their jobs being the parent-figures I needed. I was being irresponsible, I was selfish, I was wrong. "I'm sorry, Uncle Ben. I didn't mean it." I whispered to myself. I landed on the sidewalk, and I saw a burglary happen. I actually managed to land on the horrible side of NYC, and when I ran to see what happened, it was Davis's mother who was running the store... I was shocked, not even... Depressed. I rushed over to her side, she was crying as well as I, not only did Davis lose his father, but his mother now too. "Mrs. Anderson, please... Please. Stay with me, you can't leave Davis alone, please, please, please!!" I was crying, trying to stop the bleeding, I rushed to grab my phone in my pocket, and dialed 911. "Mrs Anderson, please! Please! Stay with me, the ambulance is on the way, please!" She spoke, "How's.... How's my beautiful baby boy doing?" I reply stuttering, "He's, he's fine. He's still in a coma, I visit him everyday, and it's fine. He's fine, I write a journal entry everyday on what's it like in school." I chuckle, yet at the same time cry. I'm trying to stop the bleeding, it won't work. Once the ambulance gets here, I talk to them about how it happened, and after that, I run home thinking of how I should apologize to Uncle Ben and Aunt May, but once I got home police cars, and ambulances were surrounding the neighborhood, but it was my house that had the most. "Oh no." I said.