[After handing over his battle suit, Spider-Man returned home in the casual clothes Tony had bought him, his mood heavy with disappointment. He knocked on the door, and when Aunt May opened it, she took a deep breath before stepping aside to let him in.]
[Relieved that Peter was safe, Aunt May's initial worry quickly turned into frustration. "I called you all day! You didn't answer even once! You can't do this, Peter!"]
["And then the ferry incident happened! I called five police stations—five! I even called five of your friends! And Ned's mother!"]
[Seeing how shaken she was, Peter hurried to comfort her. "May, I'm fine! Really, I am. Relax, I'm okay!"]
[Aunt May, however, wasn't ready to let it go. She crossed her arms and gave him a sharp look. "Cut the nonsense. I know you skipped detention. I also know you snuck out of your hotel room in Washington!"]
["And I know you've been sneaking out every night! This has to stop! Peter, you have to tell me what's going on. Be honest—it's just you and me here."]
[Faced with Aunt May's questioning, Peter's eyes turned misty. He hesitated before admitting, "I lost my internship at Stark Industries."]
["What?" Aunt May blinked, caught off guard.]
["Yeah," Peter nodded, his voice heavy with disappointment.]
Aunt May studied him carefully. "What happened?"
[Peter lowered his head, his tone full of self-reproach. "I thought… if I worked hard enough, he'd see that. That he'd—" He sighed. "But I messed up."]
[Feeling his distress, Aunt May sat beside him, running her fingers through his hair in a comforting gesture. "Oh, honey, it's okay. It's okay."]
["I'm sorry I made you worry," Peter murmured, leaning against her.]
["You know I'm not trying to ruin your life, right?" Aunt May said softly, worried he'd blame her for losing his opportunity.]
["Yeah, I know."]
[Seeing that Peter was already upset, Aunt May decided not to press further about his nightly disappearances. Instead, she ruffled his hair and teased, "You know, I used to sneak out a lot when I was younger, too."]
[Then, catching a whiff of his clothes, she wrinkled her nose. "Go take a shower. You reek—you smell like… garbage."]
[Peter chuckled wearily. "Yeah, I know." With that, he got up and headed to the bathroom.]
"Oh… he must feel terrible," Helen Stacy murmured as she watched the scene unfold. "He just wanted to prove himself, but it backfired, making everything worse."
"That's because he still doesn't fully understand what his powers mean," George Stacy added. "Tony Stark was right—if someone had died, that would've been on him. But he doesn't realize that yet."
"He wants to handle things on his own, but he doesn't know what dangers he's meddling with. And worst of all, he never stops to think if maybe—just maybe—he should involve an adult first."
"If he were just a regular kid, his mistakes wouldn't be such a big deal. But he's Spider-Man. His actions have real consequences. That's what Tony's mad about," George said firmly, glancing at the second-generation Spider-Man, hoping he wouldn't make the same mistakes.
Aunt May gently stroked little Peter Parker's hair without speaking. The young boy, watching his future self, felt just as disheartened. He hadn't meant to make Tony angry.
[The scene shifts to Midtown High School. Inside the principal's office, Spider-Man sits across from Principal Morita, who offers him some encouragement. "Peter, you're a good kid. You're smart. Stop letting your imagination run wild, alright?"]
[Peter nods. "Yes, sir."]
[Satisfied, the principal waves him off. "Good. Now, off you go."]
[As Peter exits, Ned rushes over, eyes wide with worry. "Were you expelled? Do you have to transfer to that school on 46th Street? The principal there has a crossbow for self-defense!"]
[Peter rolls his eyes. "I'm pretty sure that's just an urban legend. And no, I wasn't expelled."]
["Oh, thank God!" Ned breathes in relief.]
[The next few days pass peacefully. Peter focuses on his studies, actively participates in class, and even helps Ned complete their Death Star LEGO model.]
[One afternoon, as the bell rings, Peter exits the classroom and unexpectedly sees Liz approaching. He stops in his tracks, hesitates for a second, then greets her with a nervous smile. "Hey!"]
[Liz smiles back. "Hey!"]
[Peter shifts awkwardly. "I thought you had Calculus this period."]
["Yeah, but I'm preparing for Homecoming," Liz explains with a casual wave.]
[Peter gathers his courage and blurts out, "Hey, um… about what happened during the decathlon—I just wanted to say I'm really sorry. That was all my fault."]
["It's fine," Liz says calmly.]
[Peter blinks. "Really?"]
[Liz glances at the school trophy in the display case. "Last week, that competition was the most important thing to me. But then… I almost died."]
["Yeah, I know! And that's… that's not okay," Peter stammers, struggling to find the right words.]
[Liz turns to face him fully. Peter takes a deep breath before confessing, "I like you."]
[She smiles knowingly. "I know."]
[Peter's eyes widen in disbelief. "You know?"]
[Liz tilts her head, amused. "Peter, you're terrible at keeping secrets."]
["Wow… you'd be surprised," Peter mutters under his breath, scratching the back of his head.]
[Just then, the school bell rings. Realizing he needs to get to class, Peter points over his shoulder. "I gotta go, but… I think we should go out sometime!"]
[Liz watches him, nodding with a small smile. "Uh-huh."]
[Peter swallows, hesitates, then cautiously asks, "You, uh… already have a date for Homecoming, right?"]
[Liz shrugs. "Honestly? I've been so busy preparing for the dance that I haven't even thought about it. So…"]
[She gives him a small but expectant look.]
[Peter's heart races as he processes her words. He points to himself. "Wait—are you saying… you'd go with me?"]
[Liz nods. "Yeah. Of course."]
["Wait, really?! That's—wow, that's awesome!"]
[Peter, overwhelmed with excitement, realizes he's going to be late. "Uh—I was actually heading that way!" he exclaims, pointing dramatically behind Liz before rushing off.]
[As he jogs away, Liz turns, watching him with a soft smile. Meanwhile, Peter, barely containing his grin, practically skips down the hallway—his steps lighter than ever.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at p@treon.com/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~