Friday
     Peter blinked sleepily as his alarm woke him up. He shut it off and yawned. It was Friday. He was a little more well rested than he was yesterday, and his headache had left yesterday night. He stretched his arms and shuffled sideways, getting out of bed. He gasped as pain shot through his leg; and he moved his bedsheets, revealing his blood soaked jacket that was now loosely wrapped around his leg. Peter grimaced at the sight and carefully plucked the sleeves of the jacket, unwrapping them. He almost threw up at the sight. It was definitely better than yesterday, and Peter thanked his enhanced healing factor for that. He was so tired that he didn't have time to charge his phone, and it had died because it was already at low battery and it kept constantly turning on and off from the notifications. He also didn't have time to set his alarm early so he had to be quick in cleaning the wound. His spidey sense wasn't going haywire like it did when Aunt May was awake, so he figured she was still sleeping. She was going to have a huge headache when she woke up. Peter needed to be quick, because he didn't want to deal with a hungover May. He tested his foot on the floor and grit his teeth as pain shot through his leg. It definitely felt better than yesterday, probably because of his healing factor, but he was worried that it would get infected because of the bullet. Peter knew he had to do something, but he didn't know what or how.
     So... he didn't do anything. It probably wasn't a wise choice. Peter limped to his bathroom and grabbed a hand towel. He turned on the water and dampened the towel, and then turned the faucet off. Peter sat on the toilet lid and carefully cleaned off the blood around the wound. He tenderly cleaned the blood and opened the medicine cabinet to look for something to help him. He eyed a white wrap rolled up in the corner and grabbed it. He tightly wrapped it around his leg and tucked in the end. Peter stared at it as dark red stains started faintly pooling on the bandage. He decided to grab a few more wraps. He managed to get back to his room safely and changed into a new pair of clothes, since he had slept in what he was wearing yesterday.
     Peter took off his bloodied jeans and replaced them with new and fresh ones. He was careful not to disturb his wrap when putting them on. Peter put on a standard T-shirt (with a science pun on it, of course) and a jacket, and gathered his book bag. He quickly combed his hair and limped into the kitchen. He looked around. The place had been trashed by Aunt May, and everything was a mess. He would probably have to clean it all up when he got home. He looked at May's door to make sure it was shut, before opening the cabinet and stealing a granola bar. He put it into his pocket and it rested beside his phone. Peter opened the door and walked down the stairs, leaving the apartment. He did his best to hide his limp from then on, and only then was he thankful that he would be sitting for most of the day.

     As he got onto the bus, Peter felt like he was forgetting something.

***

    Peter got to school and reached his locker, where Flash bothered him for a bit before Ned rushed over.
     "Oh my god Peter, are you okay?" He asked, worry lacing his voice.
     "I'm fine Ned." He lied.
     "What happened?! You can't just text me that and not reply! I was so worried! I even texted Mr Stark and-"
     "You texted Mr Stark?!" Peter yelped loudly, earning a few glances from students passing.
     "What else would I have done?! I thought you were going to get kidnapped or something!" Ned threw his hands up in exasperation. Peter just groaned.
     "I sent it to Mr Stark accidentally! Then I told him it was a joke and you stole my phone! If you texted him, that means he knows I'm lying!" Peter ran his hands through his hair, a habit he picked up from Tony.
     "I see the problem," Ned crossed his arms, "but tell me what happened yesterday."
     "Well..." Peter began, and then explained everything, even the bullet wound, which Ned freaked out about. "But don't tell Mr Stark, okay? He probably wouldn't care about me anyways, but I don't want him firing me or something because I was being 'irresponsible'."
     "Peter, I know I'm supposed to back you up n' stuff, but something really bad just happened and you're brushing it off like it's nothing! I won't tell Mr Stark if you really don't want me to but you at least have to get some he-." Ned started to say, but the bell cut him off.
     "See you at lunch, Ned!" Peter called and tried his best to hide his limp as he walked off. Ned just sighed and turned to go to his own class.

***

     Peter sat down at his lunch table without a tray. He had gotten all his stuff, only for the lunch lady to inform him that he couldn't pay for it. Peter had forgotten all about that, and he had to put all his stuff away. Everyone was watching him, and it was so embarrassing. He remembered the granola bar he stole from May, and took it out of his pocket gratefully. To his dismay, he ate it rather quickly. Ned sat down next to him and offered him his apple. Ned had been standing next to Peter and talking about Star Wars, —naturally—, when the whole thing happened. Peter accepted the apple thankfully and began to eat it. He looked down at his leg and examined his jeans. He had just replaced the old wrap with a new one, but he wanted to make sure he fully covered it and that nothing was bleeding through.
     "So Peter what're you going to tell Mr Stark?" Ned turned to ask. Peter quickly looked up and narrowed his eyes. He nudged his head towards MJ in a slight gesture. 'She doesn't know.' He said with his eyes. Ned just huffed and resumed his food.
     "Ned, do you have a portable charger I can borrow?" Peter asked, "I can give it back to you in our last period, since we have it together."

***

     The bell rung, and Peter gave Ned his charger back. Peter walked out of class with the rest of the students, and made his way to his locker. He looked down at his phone and at all the notifications he had gotten from Ned and Mr Stark. Peter sighed. 'Crap, today's Tower day with Mr Stark!' He thought frantically. 'I'm sure I can hide my leg, right?' His stomach growled hungrily, but he ignored it as he put his books away. He had other things to worry about. A hand turned him around and Peter sighed, knowing who it was.
     "Parker, you have anything important to do? My friends and I were thinking our Friday would be so much better if we beat you up. Just like old times, eh? Every Friday we would beat you senseless, remember that?" Flash pushed Peter against his locker. "Good times," Flash snarled. The halls were empty by now, except for Flash and his friends.
     "C'mon Flash, I have to be somewhere," Peter sighed.
     "Where? Stark Tower?" Flash mocked him. "Yeah right, like a billionaire would ever want to associate with you! Even if the internship was real, you'd just be a charity case!" His friends joined in and started shoving Peter around, thankfully nothing too harmful.
     "Get lost, Flash," Peter told him, and Flash's face turned to anger.
     "Listen here, Parker-!"
     "Hey!" A woman's sharp voice cut Flash off. Peter heard the clicking of high heels as the woman walked over, and Flash and his friends ran off. "You okay?" The woman asked, and Peter just nodded.
     "Yeah, thanks, I'm good," Peter adjusted his backpack straps and walked down the hall, out the door. Small black spots danced in his vision but he blinked them away. He spotted a black car and hopped in. Happy just glanced back to make sure he was seated, and drove off. Peter let out a small sigh, which he hoped Happy hadn't heard, and rested his head back on the window. Happy seemed to hear his sigh and put up the black screen that separated the front of the car and the back of the car. He probably put it up thinking Peter needed some space. Now Peter was left to his thoughts, which was probably worse. 'Uh oh, now I have to talk to Mr Stark,' He thought, swallowing hard. 'Maybe I'll just say that... I...' Peter sighed again, he couldn't think of anything!
     "What am I gonna do...?" He mumbled to himself. "Tell him, 'oh, hi Mr Stark. Oh yeah, that text that I sent? Just disregard that! Oh you see that I'm bleeding? Well, I may or may not have gotten shot! No big deal or anything'!" Peter mumbled quietly, groaning to himself as he sunk into his seat. 'I need some water, I'm feeling light headed.' He pulled out his water bottle and drank the last of it. He'd been feeling lightheaded all day and kept drinking and refilling it at school. 'I should probably see a doctor, I've lost a lot of blood...' he thought. 'Nah it should be fine, I have advanced healing! A normal person probably would've bled out or something, but I'm totally fine! I even went to school! Yeah, I'm fine.' He decided. Peter's stomach growled and he looked down at it. 'What?! I ate a granola bar and an apple! Stop being so noisy!' He thought and grumbled aloud, crossing his arms. 'Stupid enhanced metabolism.' Peter thought. To ease his boredom, Peter pulled out his cracked phone and scrolled through Reddit.

***

     Once they had arrived to the tower, Peter unbuckled his seatbelt and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Thanks for driving me, as always, Happy," Peter smiled over at Happy, now that the screen separating them had come down. Happy just mumbled and got out of the car. Peter opened his door and tested his foot on the ground, before standing up. He looked up at the tower and smiled. 'Home', his mind said, though Peter knew it wasn't. 'No, stop thinking like that. You're going to get fired today, anyways.' He looked at his feet in misery as his thinking. 'You don't have a home.'
     "You coming, kid?" Happy asked, his arms crossed when Peter looked up from his feet.
     "Yeah, sorry!" He quickly scrambled over to Happy, not bothering to hide his wince when Happy turned away. Peter looked down at his as he walked, faking shyness to those around him, when he was actually making sure blood wasn't seeping through his clothes or running down his leg. 'I wonder how long bullet wounds would heal with my enhanced healing ability. Who knows? Maybe this is a good thing, and I can be prepared for how long it will take next time it happens.' He thought, but then corrected himself. 'If it happens again.'
     "Happy Hogan, welcome back," FRIDAY said when they entered the building, "Peter Parker, welcome back. Boss has been notified of both of your arrivals."
     "Thank you, FRIDAY," Peter said. Happy walked off, since Peter already knew his way to the lab. Peter nodded to the receptionist, who gave him a small wave, as he walked through the big lobby. Then, he pressed a button on the elevator. The elevator gave a little ding before the doors slid open, and Peter walked in.
     "Mr Parker, it appears you have a serious infliction on your leg. Should I notify a doctor or-?" FRIDAY started to ask, but Peter cut her off as the elevator started going up.
     "N-No thank you FRI, it's nothing," Peter bit his lip and shifted his backpack straps. His shoulders were tired from lugging the bag all day, and his leg stung really badly.
     "Mr Parker, are you aware of what caused this injury?" FRIDAY ignored him.
     "Uh..." He thought up a lie, "I was walking through the woods and a stick stabbed me. It's fine though. I'm going to clean it up when I get home. I have to work now, so please don't say anything in front of Mr Stark!"
     Before FRIDAY could reply, he scurried out of the elevator and into the lab so FRIDAY couldn't question him. His leg hurt really badly just walking a short length, so he was grateful that he was about to sit down.
     "Hi, Mr Stark!" Peter smiled excitedly and sat down, putting his backpack beside his seat. Tony just stared at him, making Peter shift uncomfortably.
     "...So what was with that text?" He finally broke the silence, crossing his arms.
     "... I-I... um... someone stole my.... phone and uh.... i-it was an accident I'm sorry!" Peter felt his heart beating in his chest as he lied. 'I'm sorry for being a burden,' he wanted to say. "A-Am I fired now...?" Peter asked, looking down to the floor. 'If I lose the internship... May will... May will-.'
     "Fired? Of course not," Tony clasped a hand on Peter's shoulder. "If it was just someone messing around, then that's not your fault. Try to tell your friends not to message me something like that though, I was about to track your phone and come after you." He chuckled good-naturedly. Peter just quickly nodded, his face red out of embarrassment.
     "Sorry," He said again, sheepishly.
     "You're fine kid. Do your homework so we can get to work," Tony smiled and turned back to tinkering with various things. Peter nodded and pulled out his homework, uneasily shaking.

     He finished his homework pretty quickly, as always. He put his papers in his folder and slid it into his backpack, zipping it up.
     "If you're finished with your homework we can work on your suit," Tony looked over, noticing Peter putting away his homework.
     "Sure!" Peter perked up.

***

    A beautiful dark orange crossed the sky as Peter walked back to the apartment, feeling nervous. May was still hungover, so she probably wasn't in the mood to talk to him. However, that means she would be more easily annoyed at him. Peter decided it was best just to try and ignore her. He pushed open the door to the building and walked up to his actual home's door. Uneasily, he turned the knob and tried his best to casually walk in. The place was still trashed because May hadn't bothered to clean it, --which he expected--, and he froze when he spotted her splayed out on the couch. After a closer look and blinking away the black spots in his eyes, he calmed down. She was taking a nap. Quietly, he crept into his room and let out the breath he was holding. He sat down and stared at the wall, not sure what to do. Pulling out his phone, he decided to look through memes before May woke up. He figured she would make him clean the whole apartment up tomorrow, —as usual—, so he wanted to get in his free time.
     Peter Parker didn't seem to realize how wrong his life was. He certainly didn't enjoy how May treated him, and judging by what Ned said about his parents, this wasn't how normal families were treated. But, Peter didn't know how to change this. How to fix it. For all he knew, this was how it was always going to be, and he would never feel truly at home. Though even he didn't know if he was okay with that.

-author's note-
WHOO! Okay so that was kinda long cause I didn't know where to end it 😂

sorry this took so long I was kinda on a mental break and I kept having anxiety attacks and blah blah blah but I'm all good now ❤️

If you enjoyed this chapter please let me know by voting for the it and commenting! I really appreciate the feedback ☺️❤️💞💕❤️💕