-PETER POV-

I watched as the chemistry teacher continued to drone about chemical compounds that I had known since 6th grade. I stopped myself from yawning as I looked at the small stopwatch that was slowly approaching 2 minutes, I took the green compound and poured it inside the transparent one which immediately set off a chain reaction that bubbled up menacingly as If it was about to fizz out like coke.

I picked up the dropper to add the final solution which would neutralize the reaction and give it the final edge that it needed. I take the compound and pour it into a small water bottle, I put the cap on and shake the bottle for a while before I take a sip and wince as the sour taste hits my taste buds. Now I feel bad for Ned but he needs it more than his taste buds.

I put it in my bag and smile as the class continues I answer all the questions to the best of my ability and keep on smiling as the teacher asks for the Summer homework and I have to hold myself from jumping out of the window to escape her wrath because he'll hath no fury like a stuck up teacher In school.

She walked from front to back asking each person to show their homework before moving on to the next and when it came to my turn, I pulled out the best card I had which was "My homework got burned in a fire" She raised her eyebrows as she asked me "There are no dogs in your area, Mr.Parker because Mr.Jeffery over there seems to have a lot of those near his home huhuhu" Jeffery was hiding his face as I ask "aren't we all 16, why is he still using 8th-grade excuses? I am not like him mam my homework did burn down in an accident"

She had a look of disbelief on her face as she asked me with a sneer "And where were you during this accident Mr. Parker, not holding a lighter I hope" This type of teacher is the worst as they aren't looking past their noses and are only here to dog on people about their failures. I am not one to talk about justice and all when I'm lying through my teeth about where my homework is but the way she was talking about Jeffery was.

Even though he is a little slow on the uptake he still deserves respect from everyone so I told her with defiance in my voice "I was in the fire too" She looked angry as she told me "I would suggest you stop with your childish games because they won't get you anywhere" I grin as I tell her "I have the scars to show if you want to see" she scoffed as she was about to deny when I unbuttoned my shirt and showed her the deep red scars on my chest.

Her mouth was agape for a few seconds before she quietly muttered "You are excused from homework" before she moved on to the next guy. I grin as I get to escape her wrath, even though I have to lie about it. I did try to complete the homework as quickly as I could but completing the entire summer homework in a single day is impossible even for a genius.

The rest of the classes go by in a blur and it's lunch before I know. I started my plan of action by throwing a paper ball at Ned which he picked up to read and once he was done he threw it away. I headed for the roof before he could reach there only to find someone standing at the edge of the roof, I slowly got closer and noticed that it was flash but before I could ask him what he was doing there he jumped off the roof.

I ran as fast as I could thinking of sticking to the wall to catch him before my mind caught up and told me that I didn't have my powers but I didn't want to see another person dying in front of me so I jumped along with him and caught his leg just in time for my other hand to hold the edge of the roof.

I hang there as I yell "Fucking good timing flash, good timing" I look down and find him knocked unconscious from his head hitting the wall, I exhale as I think of how to get us up with one hand and 0 powers when I heard the door to the roof open, I yelled as loud as I could "HELP, HELP, HELP" until Ned peeked down from the top as he shouts "Oh my god Peter what the fuck are you doing?" I give him a deadpan look with sweat pooling on my face.

He looks apologetic as he holds my hand and helps me pull up Flash, I put in all my strength to pull Flash up and throw him onto the roof instead of the pavement 5 floors below, I lean on the wall as Ned checks up on Flash for any injuries and I snark "Yeah sure check on the former enemy instead of the guy who had to hold 2 people's weight with a single hand" Ned just gestured to the still sleeping flash as he said pointedly "He is unconscious and you are not" I was pissed off that my plan to get Ned back from flash was ruined by flash himself (unintentionally).

I snark out in anger "Whatever let's you hang out with your new best friend" he looks at me in confusion as he asks "Who?" I deadpan and gesture to the unconscious ass. Ned cringes as he says "He isn't my best friend, we just became friends at the end of summer" I gesture wildly with my hands as I ask him "Our biggest bully until I sat him on his ass" Ned just looks away as he says "He changed" I look at him incredulously as I ask him "And that settles it, he gets away with everything he did to us?" Ned looks down at the still-sleeping Flash as he asks me "Would you let him be when he is so close to killing himself?".

I look away as I think of whether or not it was worth it to save Flash and force my thoughts aside as I tell myself 'I am not a monster' but another thought comes to mind 'But I am human and it is human to be angry, not hate but angry' I ask him "And why do you care about him all of a sudden?" Ned smiles as he says "He wanted to change and I wanted to help him but turns out my help wasn't enough, he still would have...." Ned didn't finish his sentence and I didn't want to finish it for him so I let the silence hang between us for a while before Ned asked me "Why did you call me up here?" I frown as I ask "How do you know it was me?" He shows me the paper as he says "I know what your chicken scrawl looks like" I look at my writing and start to laugh loudly.

Ned joined me after a while and we both laughed away our worries or more like my worries as I was the one worried about losing a friend Ned knew I would be there for him. I wait for our laughter to subside before I tell him "I was about to give you this new compound that would make you confident in professing your love to Betty Brant" he blushed as he told me "The same trick wouldn't work twice Pete, it's just water isn't it" I chuckle as I tell him "it's alcohol" he looks at me with wide eyes as he asks me "Where did you get that and why would that help me with Betty?".

I grin as I tell him "I made it in Mrs. Hendersons' class" Ned gives me a look of disgust as he tells me "After which you went off to show off your cool new scars to the whole classroom just to escape from homework" I wince as I tell him "I didn't have a choice my friend refused to help me" Ned's eyebrows disappeared into his hair as he told me "I am not helping lazy people" I pout as I tell him "Sure, whatever but are going to drink this and confess your love or not" he looks at me with widened eyes with a blush on his face as he tells me "I don't think I need that to tell her what I feel".

I sat there with my mouth agape as I asked him "How can you be the most romantic motherfucker there ever is sometimes my dude?" He blushes as he tells me "It's all-natural" I chuckle as I say "If you are brave enough then why don't you tell her" Ned's smile becomes sorrowful as he says "Her heart is with someone else" My smile dies but I still try to find the best case scenario "Then be her friend until she needs a new boyfriend" Ned seems to consider it for a while before he shakes his head as he says "That would not be good because being a friend and hoping for her breakup would make me a bad friend and if I can be a bad friend then I can be a bad boyfriend and if I can be a bad boyfriend then I can be a bad man".

I stop to take a good look at him before I tell him "You are a good man Ned" he smiles as he tells me "I know, but I also know that you are gooder" I look at him without any change in nt facial expression as I tell him "There is no such word as gooder" he looks at me with annoyance before saying "If there was one, I would use it to describe you" I divert the conversation with the one thing I have in my arsenal "By the way Betty heard our whole conversation" he looked confused as he asked "What..? When?" before he looked behind him to find her standing at the doorway looking surprised at being found out.

She ran away shyly and Ned turned to me as he asked me in a whisper "Why did she come here?" I put a cigarette in my mouth as I tell him "I threw a similar paper like the one you got to her and asked her to come here at a certain time." I light the cigarette as I continue "The timing was a little left and right but she came just in time for her to hear your sweet, sweet words" he looks at me with his mouth held agape before he tells me in a serious tone "If you smoke you aren't my friend" I pull out the cigarette and show him "I am not smoking this Is just a lollipop."

We both get up from our sitting position and look at Flash's prone form "I ain't carrying him down" Ned says and I nod along as I ask him "Do you think he'll get a tan by the time he wakes up?" Ned looks at the sky as he says "Maybe" and that is when someone comes in through the roof's door and yells "No smoking allowed on school grounds" Me and Ned scream back "And this isn't a cigarette, it's a lollipop".