Peter hadn't been feeling like himself lately.

Most days he went around in a haze that he couldn't quite shake. It felt like he was constantly drunk, in a state between consciousness and unconsciousness. He was drowsy, finding himself falling asleep in classes he usually payed attention too. Ned was starting to get worried that he was getting sick, but he wasn't, not anymore anyway. Aunt May had brought him to the doctor a few days after the biology tour when he, as she told it, scared her half to death when she couldn't wake him up one morning. The doctor hadn't detected anything to make him worried so he was sent home with antibiotics and an order for a few days rest. Still, even after that, Peter felt no different.

Now, he sat in his chair in Spanish, head in his arms, trying to get rid of the headache now trying to jackhammer through his skull. Ned sat beside him, trying to figure out a question he couldn't do using Peter's notes. At the start he had kept trying to tell Peter to go home but with a swift death glare and a shove that nearly made him fall off the chair. Now he just let Peter be, whispering to himself as he tried to do the question. The teacher hadn't come in yet, so he was trying to get a bit of shut eye before the class started. Despite Aunt May telling him she couldn't wake him up, he felt like he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep.

After what felt like two seconds, something in the back of his head tingled, like someone was breathing down his neck. His head shot up, looking all around him to see Ned staring at him confused, obviously perturbed at the speed his friend reacted to the girl that was in front of them. In front of them was Nora, who had taken a step back in surprise at Peter's move. "Hi," she laughed, smiling fondly. Ned blinked at her for a second, then at Peter who was still trying to process who was in front of him.

This had been happening a lot too, his glasses weren't doing their job at letting him see.

"Is this a bad time?" she raised a brow.

He opened his mouth to reply, but Ned beat him to it. "No, it's not. What's up?"

"Just wanted to know if I could sit with you guys?" Ned nodded, moving his stuff out of the way, Peter just shifted a little so she could sit in the middle. When she settled, she pulled out her textbook and notebook, glancing at the half dead boy beside her. "Everything all right?"

Peter just groaned, before sighing and lifting his head up. "Don't feel well."

She grimaced, her face conveying how he felt inside. "That's the worst. I think it's going, Cindy's at home today."

"Tell me about it." he grumbled, taking his glasses off as they were starting to annoy him. His head was pounding. Everything was hell at this point, he knew he shouldn't be here, but he didn't want to bother his aunt and uncle. Ben was working and May wouldn't be able to collect him today due to her job interview. He blew out a hard breath, burrowing further into the table. Suddenly, he felt a warmth spreading from his left shoulder, rippling up his neck and pooling at his temples. The hard breath turned into a sigh of content, his body calming, his tense arms relaxing. He peeked out from his elbow, seeing Nora smiling at him comfortingly, her hand on his shoulder. "What are you doing?" he asked, his speech muffled by his shirt.

Her eyes widened slightly, her hand leaving his shoulder but the warmth stayed. "I was just going to ask you if you wanted some tylenol or something? My brother packs some in my bag in case I don't feel well." she rummaged around in her bag long enough for Peter to catch Ned giggling at him. Before he could retort, a small box was handed to him. "Take one."

"No, it's okay."

"Are you sure? Maybe you should go to the nurse?"

Peter shook his head, finding it in him to smile. His headache had subsided, maybe he just needed a bit of warmth and comfort. He couldn't wait to drown in his blankets that night. But looking at this girl, who seemed to care about someone like him, a guy who didn't matter, made him feel better. "Seriously, Nora, it's fine."

She didn't seem fine with that answer, but she didn't have a choice but to accept it for the teacher came in, apologising for being late and class was in full swing before she knew it. At the speed Ms. Suarez went, it kept Nora's attention on her and not on Peter who spirits seemed to have risen. To be honest, she wasn't sure if using her abilities would work on him. Ever since the biology tour, the weird red mark on his neck had perplexed her. She still didn't understand why it had gotten worse, it was some a rash right?

"Alright, you guys know your Spanish test is on Friday?" a few groans of displeasure sounded in the class. "I expect some improvement in some individuals—"

"Oh, uh, miss!" Nora raised her hand. "I won't be in on Friday."

The boy beside her deflated slightly, but she didn't notice. "May I ask why?" Ms. Suarez questioned.

"I have a doctors appointment I can't reschedule." there was something about the way she said it that made the brunet boy question the credibility of the excuse.

The Spanish teacher sighed hard, before nodding. "All right, but don't think you're getting out of the test. You'll get it on Monday." beside him, Nora nodded, jotting the information into her notebook.

Feeling the need to pry, he leaned in. "Everything all right?"

Nora took one look at him before scoffing. "That's usually my saying, huh?"

"Still want to make sure." he added with a shrug to hide the fact that he was a little bit too worried to just be curious.

Beside them, Ned snorted. "Dude..." he muttered under his breath, still taking notes. "You're terrible at this."

Her dark mocha eyes softened, the gold flecks in them almost swirling like sprinkles on hot cocoa. She wet her lip, trying to hide the giggle that was creeping out. The young Parker went red, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm all right, I promise. It's just routine check ups."

Something about the way she said that made him suspicious once again. It sounded rehearsed. Maybe if he didn't feel so out of it, then he would've gone further. Right now, though, his attention was sporadic at best, and all his felt like doing was throwing up. Actually, that was rather prominent right now. Oh god...

"Miss!" his hand shot up, his shout making the teacher jump. "I don't feel good."

Noticing the child's practically grey face, Ms. Suarez went to the door. "Go, go!"

In a matter of seconds, Peter was out the door and into the nearest bathroom he could find. He ran to the sink, trying to get rid of the rising feeling to puke his entire stomach out onto the floor. His hands gripped the ceramic of the sink until his knuckles went white. His face scrunched up, his eyes screwing shut. In an effort to cool down, he reached for tap. Using strength he didn't know he possessed, the top of the faucet popped off, cold water spraying everywhere. "Shit!" he cursed, staring at the metal in his hands. He tried to drop it, but it was stuck to his hand. It took him far too long to rip it from his palm. The bell rang, a shrill alarm that pierced his eardrums painfully. He could hear the clatter of students outside in the halls, so much so that he had to stick his fingers in his ears, to try and block it out.

Ned eventually burst in, panting heavily. "Peter!" he cried, looking at the boy curled up in the corner.

"I think I need to go home." he whispered, shaking in his spot. Ned took a seat next to him, putting his arm around him.

Something was not right with him, something very wrong.

-

Meanwhile, Nora was not so secretly camping outside the boys bathroom.

Her foot tapped against the concrete wall of Midtown High as she waited for Ned to come out with Peter. The moment the bell had rang the both of them had bolted in the direction their mutual friend had ran. "This has been going on for awhile." Ned informed her. "I'm getting worried."

"Maybe he should go to the hospital." Nora supplied.

Ned stood at the bathroom entrance for a moment. "I'll see what's going on, you should head to your next class, Nora."

"What? How could I do that, we need to make sure he's okay."

"Give me a moment." he had said before disappearing into the restroom and now here she was, still waiting after ten minutes. Part of her wanted to run in and help but the sensible side was telling her that was a bad idea, that it was the boys bathroom and while that didn't bother her, it may bother the people inside. That sensible side was also telling her to go to class, the bell had long since rung and she knew she wouldn't be able to come up with a good enough excuse if her math teacher asked her about her whereabouts. She just wanted to make sure he was feeling okay. She had called Cindy's house this morning when she didn't turn up for homeroom, the girl's mother telling her she was coming down with something awful. She offered to come over with chicken soup and other remedies, but her mother had told her it wasn't necessary. Her mother had never been so cold to her before, so that entire conversation was rather confusing to her. It sounded like there was something she wasn't telling her, but in reality, Nora shouldn't be one to judge. She was keeping something rather big from her friend too.

Nora blew out a breath, a piece of her hair flying away from her face, pinching the bridge of her nose. She was the only one in the corridor now, which meant hallway monitors and teacher's on a free period were on the prowl. Thankfully, Ned reappeared with Peter beside him. Nora couldn't help the sharp tug in her chest at the sight of Peter. He had broken out into a sweat, he was as white as the walls around them and worst of all he was shaking profusely. The bags under his eyes were practically sunken in. He looked like the poster boy for dying. Ned had his arm around his friend, a crutch in case he felt light headed. Nora reached out to do the same but Peter held up a hand. "No, it's fine."

"Fine? Peter, you look like death." Ned stated.

Nora agreed, shaking her head enthusiastically. "Seriously, please go home."

"Ned made me ring my uncle Ben. He said he'd get to me as soon as he could."

"That's good." Nora wanted nothing more than to alleviate his pain. She had tried in the Spanish room, but it seemed it was only short term relief. That sensible side in her told her that it would look weird if she tried anything else, even if there was no one else in the corridor. Peter might react badly and even though they didn't know each other very well, he came across as a friend she would like to keep. All she could do right now was give him a look of concern. "You need the rest."

At that, Peter's eyes drooped, like hearing that made them realise that he was indeed, tired. "Yeah." he murmured. "Hopefully this will go away quick, I want to do well on the Spanish test on Friday."

Ned scoffed. "Please, you'll ace it." he checked his watch. "Nora, what are you doing here anyway? Math is half way through, did you wait here for us?"

That question suddenly made her blush. Both boys looked slightly touched and confused at this, but she nodded. "Y-yeah, I did."

"Why?" Peter questioned.

"I care about you guys." Ned grinned, cooing at that revelation while the boy beside him turned a furious shade of scarlet. To recover, she added swiftly. "I mean, I wanted to make sure you weren't dead in there, you know?" her nervous laughter just made them smile bigger. "Oh, shut up."

"Well, it's not that I don't want you here, but maybe you should get going. We can go to the nurse, it's not far." Ned told her.

Nora hesitated, but in the long run, Ned was right. Peter would be fine in the nurses office. Still, that instinct that came with her abilities made her not want to leave him so suddenly. She took a look around before giving in. "You're right, I probably should." taking one last look at them, she took a step back. "I hope you feel better, Peter."

"Thank you." he smiled softly. "See you on Monday!" when she turned the corner, he turned around and whacked his best friend on the arm.

"Ow, what the hell?"

"That was for earlier." he rasped.

"What? It's not my fault you can't flirt for your life."

Peter's eyes went as wide as saucers. "Flirting? I was not flirting!" Ned gave him a look. "I wasn't!"

"Sure, Pete."

When they got to the nurses office, Peter had the job of trying to explain what was wrong with him. From the looks he got from the woman, he could tell he was not making any sense. Then again, he didn't really know what was going with him either. Uncle Ben came after about twenty minutes, when Peter was fast asleep on the bed. "Do you have any idea what he caught."

"I'm not sure." the nurse said. "But he was right to call you, he shouldn't be in school."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he's okay." Ben smiled, walking over to stir his nephew. "Hey, buddy, I'm here."

"Hi, Ben." Peter said sleepily. "Sorry to bring you out here."

"Hey, I would do any for you. You know that." he sat next to him as Peter got up. "So, you seemed to have picked up something awful, huh?"

Peter didn't respond, just threw on his jacket.

That was the understatement of the year.

-

not edited

A/N: not sure how I feel about that ending but fuck it, I won't be able to look at this website for a week and a half. I'll be in Spain, so this is the last update for awhile. Hope you guys enjoyed it! Btw if you're wondering, the chapter title is a reference to a Robert Frost poem, 'Out, out.' in which a little boy looses his hand. It made sense to me because of Peter getting sick before he becomes you know who ;)

Who saw that bts of spider-man: homecoming? My boy Flash is looking good!

Comment, vote, follow & stay awesome Gotham! - Emma