the misunderstood, web-slinging Spider-Man!

Peter can't wait to go to college. That isn't such a strange sentiment, he supposes. Most kids his age are eager to leave high school. But they aren't looking forward to more schooling. In this way, Peter has always been strange, nerdy, whatever. But really, he can't wait. He loves everything about this place. No one cares how old or how tall he is, no one calls him a nerd or tries to stuff him in a locker, no one even knows his name. After years of bullying at Midtown, anonymity was the best that he could hope for at Darrow High. But at the community college, he doesn't feel like such a loser for sitting alone at lunch. Here, people will respect his space. Here, he's unafraid to raise his hand in class when he has the answer. Here, the fact that he's younger than most of the other students makes him envious and impressive. He can stretch his legs and breathe here. This is the place for him.

He would never dream of staying a second longer than necessary at Darrow High. But after class today, he hangs around the college, walking along the path until he finds a place to sit and get started on his homework. He's hard at work, scribbling in a notebook under the shade of a large tree, when the back of his neck begins to tingle. It isn't his Spidey Sense, thankfully. That's all he needs, for some d-bag villain to invade his only sanctuary. No, it's something else. A pair of eyes trained intently on him. He looks up and a woman he's never met is staring back at him, looking very sad. He doesn't know what to do or say.

"Uh, hi?"

Idiot.