Happy said Tony being my legal guardian apparently gave him the right to pull something like this. And Tony being… well, Tony, naturally managed to get his way. That was I ended up enrolled in school without my consent, prior knowledge, or even the basic courtesy of being told beforehand.
Happy handled all the paperwork like this was some kind of routine operation, and before I fully processed what was happening, I was already walking into a classroom as an officially registered student.
At least the seat arrangement wasn't terrible. I got a desk close to a window, which meant I could probably keep to myself while quietly getting a feel for the place and the people in it. Or at least, that was the plan.
Unfortunately, some douchebags sitting toward the back seemed to have already decided I was today's entertainment. Every now and then, a crumpled piece of paper would bounce off the side of my head followed by muffled snickering and whispered comments. Class bullies. Easy to identify.
Now that I'd had enough time to observe everyone properly, the social structure of the class was becoming pretty obvious. The blonde girl from earlier was most likely the class captain considering how organized she acted and how people actually listened when she spoke. Peter, meanwhile, clearly fell into the "smart quiet kid" category. The slightly overweight guy beside him, though, was definitely more than just some random classmate. From the way the two interacted, they were obviously actual friends.
The guy talked almost nonstop during lectures despite Peter genuinely trying to focus on the lesson, which honestly made the dynamic pretty funny to watch.
Honestly, before today, I figured Spider-Man would secretly be one of the cool kids at school. You know, naturally popular, athletic, effortlessly social — the usual stereotype. But from what I'd seen so far, Peter Parker barely stood out at all unless somebody was messing with him.
Which was honestly kind of insane when you knew what he could actually do.
He was so good at acting normal that people genuinely didn't notice how often he deliberately let himself become the target of other people's nonsense. Half the stuff thrown his way could've been avoided effortlessly if he wanted to. Instead, he just endured it while pretending to be an average awkward teenager.
The school day eventually dragged its way toward Physical Education, and before long I found myself dressed in gym clothes inside the school gymnasium where today's activities were apparently being held.
"Looks like dodgeball today," the lead bully announced loudly to his group while spinning a ball in his hand. "Let's make sure we give the new guy a proper welcome."
The idiot made sure I heard every word too, even throwing a smug wink in my direction like he thought he was intimidating.
Honestly, the only thing running through my mind at that moment was wondering what kind of punishment I'd get for punching a douchebag in the face on my first day here.
Because if this guy seriously thought I was anything like the other students he usually pushed around—scared, nervous, too timid to stand up to him—then both his luck and his ego were about to run out at the same time.
Please, God, let one of them step on my toes.
I'd spent years dealing with bullies who liked messing with me and Freddy, so handling people like them wasn't exactly new territory. At this point, knocking arrogant jerks down a peg and making them look ridiculous was practically one of my specialties. Especially the loudmouth types who strutted around like they owned the world, convinced they were untouchable simply because nobody had bothered to put them in their place yet.
As I silently begged the universe to hand me an opportunity to flip the script on those punks, a voice suddenly cut through my thoughts and pulled me back to reality before I could sink any deeper into my fantasies of watching them get what was coming to them.
"Don't let them get to you. You're fresh meat, and like sharks to blood, they're bound to be a pain in your ass."
I looked over to see the familiar face from class walking toward me with another student beside him. Peter. The quiet smart kid. Up close, he somehow looked even more approachable than he did during class, though there was still this awkward nervous energy around him like he wasn't fully comfortable existing in his own skin.
"You know you can avoid this if you want to, right?" the other guy chimed in. "Just pretend you're sick and you get to skip dodgeball. Unfortunately, the teacher has officially caught on to me, so that tactic's basically dead." He let out an exaggerated sigh like he was mourning the loss of a trusted strategy.
"Oh, I'm Peter. Peter Parker," the first guy introduced, extending a hand toward me. I shook it without hesitation, acting as though this was our first time meeting.
"I know you already heard it back in class, but I'm Billy. Billy Batson."
"And this here is Ned Leeds," Peter added, motioning toward his friend. Ned gave me a small wave, and I answered with a slight tilt of my chin in acknowledgment. The guy practically radiated geek energy up close, but in a strangely entertaining way.
"Alright class, you know the drill," the teacher called out from across the gym. "Pair up so I can sort you into teams of six. Minimum of two female players per team."
"Backing out?" Peter asked, glancing toward me as students immediately started grouping together with their usual circles.
"And miss a chance to smack people with a dodgeball? Of course not."
Peter looked a little caught off guard by my answer, probably expecting me to take Ned's advice and fake an illness.
"You better not hold back either," I added with a grin. "If we're doing this, make sure to let them have it."
Meanwhile, Ned already looked like a man accepting his fate. "We might as well get it over with," he muttered dramatically.
Naturally, he and Peter paired together almost immediately while everyone else gravitated toward their normal cliques. The bullies grouped up with each other, athletes linked with athletes, and suddenly I found myself standing there as the obvious odd one out.
At least, for about five seconds.
The blonde girl I'd mentally labeled as the class captain also seemed to be without a partner. Flash—the self-appointed leader of the douchebag association—was apparently trying his luck.
"Gwen, how about we pair up?" he offered, already halfway ready to ditch the person he'd originally been standing beside.
"Thanks, but I'd rather play solo against an entire team," she replied without missing a beat.
Damn. That rejection was clean.
Honestly, I would've called that unnecessarily harsh if I hadn't spent the last several hours watching Flash act exactly like the kind of guy who deserved it.
Might as well shoot my shot before the teacher finished scribbling names on whatever clipboard system of suffering he was organizing.
"Would've said that was brutal," I said as I walked over, "but I've been here less than a day and can already tell he earned it."
That got a quiet chuckle out of her.
"I see you're also lacking a partner," she noted.
"Yeah. One of the perks of being the new guy," I replied casually. "I was gonna ask if we could pair up before the teacher merges us into random groups." I paused for a second before adding, "Actually, I still am."
"Sure," she accepted without much hesitation.
"Billy, right? I'm Gwen."
"Pretty name."
The compliment had barely left my mouth before the teacher finally rounded everyone up and started merging pairs into full teams. By pure coincidence—or maybe the universe just liked stirring trouble—Flash and one of his bully friends ended up on the same side while the other got dumped onto mine.
And somehow, so did Peter.
As both teams gathered behind the starting line and people began stretching or casually tossing dodgeballs around to warm up, I glanced toward Peter standing beside me while Ned lingered just behind us looking significantly less enthusiastic about his survival odds.
"You know," I started, rolling a dodgeball between my palms, "I can't really expect either of us to give this our all if there's nothing at stake."
"A stake?" Peter repeated, immediately looking suspicious but curious at the same time.
"How about we spice things up with a little bet?"
That definitely caught his attention. Peter didn't exactly strike me as the mischievous type, but there was a noticeable spark of interest in his expression now.
"What kind of bet?" he asked.
"Yeah, what kind of bet?" Ned chimed in just as quickly, suddenly far more invested in the conversation than he was in the actual game.
"It's pretty obvious you two don't have much faith in our chances here," I said. "So the bet's between me and Peter."
Both of them looked at me expectantly as I finally laid it out.
"First one to get knocked out has to confess to a random girl in class chosen by the other person."
Peter blinked.
Ned blinked.
Then the two exchanged looks as matching smirks slowly crept onto their faces.
"Might as well indulge him," Ned said, nudging Peter slightly. "Nah, I don't think…" Peter was about to reject the idea when Ned cut him off with words of his own.
"Watching him suffer the punishment he created himself sounds hilarious."
Peter turned back toward me with an amused look. "Are you seriously that confident in your dodgeball skills?"
"Not even a little," I answered honestly. "But anything worth doing is worth doing well, and I need a good reason if I am to give it my all." I shrugged casually before continuing, "The idea of publicly confessing to some random girl in front of the class—only to potentially get rejected and have your social life dragged behind a moving truck for the rest of the school year?" I gave the ball another spin in my hand. "Yeah, I'd say that's enough motivation to go all out." Placing an embarrassing bet was something he used to do with Freddy a lot.
For a second, both Peter and Ned just stared at me like they were trying to decide whether I was joking or genuinely insane.
Then a grin slowly spread across Peter's face.
"You're a surprisingly interesting guy," he admitted before extending a hand toward me. "Deal."
"Shake on it."
Peter hesitated for a brief second, like part of him was still debating whether agreeing to this had been a terrible idea, before finally extending his right hand. Probably because he knew he had an advantage, being Spiderman and all.
Our palms met in a firm shake, officially sealing what was quite possibly the dumbest agreement either of us could've made within our first real conversation.
"Ned, you're the witness here," I said, pointing at him dramatically. "I'm potentially staking my entire social life at this school before it's even properly started."
Ned snorted while Peter shook his head with an amused grin, though neither of them realized I was taking this way more seriously than I probably should have. Sure, Peter had the absurd reflexes that came with being Spider-Man, which already made this bet borderline unfair.
But at the same time, I wasn't exactly helpless either. Weeks of Steve and Natasha putting me through brutal training sessions had done wonders for my physical conditioning, reflexes, and overall coordination. Between Steve's relentless combat drills and Natasha's efficient training methods where her and Clint has made it an hobby of theirs to drop me on my ass, dodgeball honestly felt tame by comparison.
Before any of us could keep the conversation going, the teacher blew a sharp whistle through the gym, immediately cutting across the noise of the students warming up.
The game was officially starting.
- - -
The sharp whistle from the teacher cut across the gymnasium, echoing against the polished walls as every student immediately tensed. The large basket of red rubber dodgeballs sat lined perfectly along the center line like ammunition waiting to be claimed.
"Begin!"
The entire gym exploded into motion.
Shoes squeaked violently against the glossy wooden floor as students sprinted forward. Some rushed bravely for the center while others hung back like cautious prey waiting for the first casualties.
Billy launched forward without hesitation.
Peter beside him did the same, though noticeably less recklessly.
Three dodgeballs were snatched almost instantly from the center line. Billy slid across the floor on one knee, fingers wrapping around a ball just before Flash could reach it from the opposite side.
"Move!"
Billy twisted sideways at the last second as a ball came flying toward his face.
WHAM!
The projectile slammed into the wall behind him hard enough to echo.
"Jesus—" Ned muttered from farther back, already clutching a ball defensively like a shield instead of a weapon.
Billy popped back to his feet grinning. "Oh this is way more violent than advertised."
Across the court Flash cracked his knuckles while glaring directly at Billy. "Lucky dodge, new kid!"
Billy spun the ball lazily in one hand. "Good throw though. Almost looked athletic."
Several nearby students snorted as Flash's expression darkened instantly.
"Get him!" The match devolved into chaos.
Dodgeballs flew like artillery shells from every direction. Some students screamed while others laughed hysterically as bodies dropped one after another.
A girl near the sidelines took a direct hit to the stomach and folded dramatically onto the floor.
Another student got blasted in the shoulder so hard his glasses flew off.
Peter moved surprisingly well.
Not superhumanly well.
Just enough to stand out.
Billy noticed immediately.
Peter ducked under one throw with instinctive smoothness before quickly pretending he had stumbled awkwardly afterward to hide how clean the movement actually was.
'Interesting, the lengths he'd go to not stand out.' Billy hid a smirk.
A ball suddenly hurtled toward Gwen from her blind side.
Billy reacted first.
THWACK!
He intercepted it midair with his own throw, the two balls colliding violently before bouncing away.
Gwen blinked at him in surprise.
"Nice reflexes."
"You too slow or my average throw?" Billy asked.
"A little of both."
Before Billy could respond another ball came screaming toward his head.
He leaned backward just enough for it to almost graze past his nose.
"Oh, you people are trying to kill me."
"Focus!" Peter warned.
Flash's team had clearly decided Billy was public enemy number one.
Three balls launched at him almost simultaneously.
Billy jumped sideways, one barely missing his chest while another clipped his sleeve.
The third—
Peter caught it.
Cleanly.
The gym briefly paused.
Even Peter looked surprised at himself.
A few students stared.
Flash narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
Peter immediately ruined the moment by fumbling the catch afterward and nearly dropping the ball.
"Uh— lucky?"
The attention shifted away.
Billy nearly laughed. 'Smooth recovery, Spider-Boy.'
The game continued brutally.
Students fell one after another.
Ned was eliminated after taking a dodgeball directly to the back while trying to hide behind Peter.
"I regret everything!" he shouted while stumbling toward the sidelines.
One of Flash's bully friends got absolutely annihilated by Gwen, who nailed him square in the face.
The gym erupted with laughter.
Even Billy winced.
"Remind me never to annoy you." He remarked.
"Smart decision."
Eventually the numbers dwindled.
Bodies lined the sidelines now, eliminated students watching eagerly while shouting commentary like spectators at a gladiator match.
"GET FLASH!"
"PARKER THROW THE BALL!"
"BATSON MOVE!" Yelled his already eliminated teammates.
The game had become oddly intense.
And now only three remained.
Billy.
Peter.
Flash.
At this point, the gym practically vibrated with anticipation.
Flash stood alone at the opposite side breathing heavily, clutching two dodgeballs while sweat dripped from his forehead.
"You losers seriously need two people to beat me?" Flash barked.
Billy rolled one shoulder casually. "Technically we only need one. But teamwork builds character."
Peter adjusted his grip on the ball beside him. "Pretty sure that's not how dodgeball works."
Flash suddenly hurled one ball directly at Peter's face.
Peter dodged instantly.
Too instantly.
The movement was almost inhuman.
Even Billy raised an eyebrow.
Peter quickly compensated by pretending he tripped afterward.
Flash didn't notice.
Billy definitely did.
The second ball came flying toward Billy. This one was fast, Billy caught it as the gym burst into cheers.
While Flash cursed under his breath.
"Alright," Billy said while bouncing the ball lightly. "This is getting embarrassing for you."
Flash pointed accusingly. "You've probably played on a league before!"
A grin spread across Billy's face. "Believe it or not, I've never really played dodgeball."
"Bull—"
Peter moved first.
He launched his dodgeball hard enough to force Flash to react.
Flash twisted aside barely avoiding the hit—
—which was exactly the point.
Billy immediately fired his own throw the moment Flash shifted balance.
WHAM!
The dodgeball slammed directly into Flash's chest.
A loud collective "OOOOHHHHH!" erupted through the gym as Flash staggered backward dramatically before falling onto his backside.
Silence.
Then the teacher's whistle blew.
"OUT! Game over!"
The gym exploded into noise.
Peter raised both hands victoriously while laughing.
"We actually won!" As someone who never really did things outside his academics that'd cause him to stand out, it felt really good.
Billy pointed dramatically at Flash still sitting on the floor in disbelief. "Power of friendship."
"You literally distracted me!"
"And it worked beautifully."
Flash looked furious enough to combust.
"You cheated!"
"Skill issue," Billy replied instantly.
Several students burst out laughing. Even Gwen covered her mouth to hide a smile.
Peter shook his head while grinning. "I can't believe I agreed to that bet."
Billy slowly turned toward him.
"Oh right."
Peter's smile vanished immediately as he wondered if they'd have to go up against each other since neither of them got eliminated.
Ned, from the sidelines, suddenly looked alarmingly invested again, having similar thoughts as Peter.
Billy slung an arm over Peter's shoulder as they started walking off the court. "See? With the right motivation we can accomplish quite a lot." He retracted his arm as he went on.
"If only you had been eliminated, you and I would be having a very important discussion regarding your romantic confession."
- - -
patrn/Da_suprememaverick