The chill of mid-November in New York City was biting at Peter Parker's nose.

He isn't a fan of the cold. At least, now he isn't.

As a child, Peter loved the winter weather that came with living in New York. At his request, his parents would bundle him up so tight, he could hardly move his arms, then Peter would run out into the flurry. Snowball fights with his old friend Harry would last for hours. Peter would try to win with physics on his side, but Harry would always win because he was bigger than Peter and he didn't spend 5 minutes muttering about the trajectory of his ice crystal sphere.

Peter was a nerd, he'll admit that.

Being a nerd got him into a lot of trouble in his life. Bullies loved to pick on him, especially Eugene 'Flash' Thompson. Flash never physically bullied Peter beyond shoving him into walls, so Peter put up with it. However, Peter did owe it to Flash for changing his life forever.

During a field trip last March, right before Spring Break, Peter's entire physics class went on a field trip to Oscorp Tower. They toured the upper levels and labs of the building but were given one simple rule.

Touch.

Nothing.

To Flash, however, this rule was so simple it could be ignored.

Flash thought it would be funny to mess with the settings on a nearby microscope, but when Peter tried to stop him, things went south. Literally. One solid shove later, Peter and several specimen containment boxes crashed to the ground. Flash walked off laughing as Peter scrambled to get what he thought were cobwebs, off of his jacket.

Now, looking back, Peter knows he should have told someone what had happened, but in his panicked state, he thought fleeing the scene would be better than being caught.

No sirens went off as the day went on, so Peter thought that everything would be fine. That is until he felt the bite on his left hand. Peter yelped in pain as he looked down, squealing in fright when he saw the spider right where the pain originated from. He shook his hand viciously until the spider flung off.

Peter's best friend Ned Leeds asked him if he was okay. Peter said he was as he tried to ignore the pounding headache that had quickly set in.

Oh, how wrong he was.

Now, 8 months later Peter had an alter ego as a hero. Spider-Man.

Peter gained more than the ability to climb walls, super strength, and incredible agility. He also acquired several arachnid-like attributes like the inability to regulate body temperature.

Hence why Peter was currently wearing a long-sleeved shirt, a hoodie, two jackets, a scarf, and a pair of snow gloves.

Even with all of this, he was still cold.

"Dude, how are you still cold?" Ned asks Peter as they walk down the street, just after 2 pm on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Peter huffs in annoyance and goes back to his teeth chattering.

"Dorks freeze at a faster rate than normal human beings."

Ned and Peter turn around to see Michelle Jones Watson approach them.

"Hey!" Peter says. "That's n-n-not t-t-true!" He says through his shaking. MJ just rolls her eyes and grabs Ned and Peter's arms and pulls them down the street. "C'mon, hurry your asses up before Peter dies of hypothermia."

Once Peter and Ned catch up to her fast pace, she releases their arms. Peter shoves his gloved hands in his pockets. "Where are we going again?" He asks. MJ nods her head in the direction down the street. "Just a few more blocks. It's called the Daybreak Drip. Just opened up last month." Then, a malicious grin spreads across MJ's face. "You'll like it, they have quack-saunts."

Peter stops his steady pace and pouts. "MJ! That was 5 years ago! Let it go!" MJ and Ned laugh as Peter rushes to catch up with them. Ned looks at Peter and chuckles. "Dude, you have to admit, it's a little funny." Peter hangs his head in shame.

Okay, maybe Peter pronounced 'croissant' a little weird. What's the big deal?

MJ chuckles as she grabs the door to Daybreak Drip, holding it open for Ned and Peter. Peter sighs in relief as a wave of warmth washes over him. As he takes in the warmth greedily, he looks around the coffee shop.

Not only did it feel warm and inviting, but it looked like it too. From the walls to the furniture, everything was a warm shade of soft brown. The booth seats looked comfortable and even had little displays honoring a different person, from Ghandi to Captain America.

Another side effect of Peter's spider bite was that his senses were all dialed up to 11. Not only does he no longer need glasses, but his sense of smell has also improved greatly. The smell of arabica coffee was strong, but not quite overbearing. Peter caught whiffs of cinnamon, lavender, and vanilla and for some strange reason, he felt his pupils dilate. He felt drawn to the smell, and not in a human way. It was almost primal.

"Peter!" MJ calls. Peter looks over to her as she gives him a look of confusion as he is still standing by the door. He looks from MJ to the direction the smell is coming from, frowns, and then walks over to MJ and Ned where they have taken the booth dedicated to Black Widow. He sets his bag down under the table, then slides into the booth seat across from Ned and MJ.

Ned hands Peter a copy of their economy study guide that he had printed off and Peter looks at MJ who is still giving him a strange look. She blinks in shock once he looks at her, then chuckles. "Did you get a secondhand high, or something?"

Peter takes his turn with a look of confusion. "What are you talking about?" Ned looks up and sees it too, laughing slightly. MJ smirks and takes her phone out and snaps a photo of Peter. She hands her phone to him and Peter hunches over the screen to see what all the fuss is about. Then, he sees it and his face flares up in a bright shade of red.

His pupils are so large, that they almost hide the color of his iris.

"What the hell?" Peter asks as Ned and MJ laugh. "Dunno, but it's funny as hell," MJ says as she takes her phone back and puts it away. Peter creases his eyebrows in confusion, then his body goes stiff as the smell grows stronger. "Oh sweet, here comes the waitress," Ned says. Peter's head snaps up as the smell becomes so strong, it makes him dizzy, but not in a bad way.

A menu is handed to Peter, but he doesn't seem to notice and Ned and MJ laugh as the waitress looks at him, confused. MJ shakes her head and kicks Peter from under the table. He jumps and looks at MJ, who in turn, points for him to look at the menu. Peter flushes and looks down at the menu. MJ begins to state her order, but when she looks at the waitress as she points at the pins on her apron, she nods and stops.

She leans towards Ned. "Point out your order." Ned nods and points out a few food items and a caramel latte. MJ just ordered a peppermint mocha and a cinnamon roll.

Peter squeezes his eyes shut as the alluring smell makes his vision swim. "Um, can I get-" Peter looks up again and sees the waitress point out her pins and flashes him a smile. Somehow, Peter just turns a deeper shade of red, but he does acknowledge her 'I'm deaf :)' and 'point out your order please' pins. "Oh! Sorry, yeah, um..." Peter points out a hot chocolate and chocolate and raisin croissant. Peter takes a moment to read her last pin and bites his tongue and he tries not to blush any further.

Spencer. Her name is Spencer.

Spencer glances at the three and raises an eyebrow with a thumbs up and Ned smiles and offers her the same gesture. She takes their menus and smiles, then pockets her notepad and pen and walks back to the counter, presumably to get started on their order.

Peter stares at the table in shock and confusion as Ned and MJ share an amused look and begin to pull out their notes.

"So Peter," MJ says, not looking up from her unsurprisingly unorganized binder. "Are you just cosplaying a tomato today, or did you find that waitress cute?" Peter groans in pure agony and hides his face in his hands.

~ author's notes ~

welcome to my "the mute" rewrite everyone!

I can't promise I will update regularly but I will try my very best

when I originally wrote "the mute" I was not in a good mental state and that reflected into my writing. "The mute has taken off with roughly 1.21 million views and I want to rewrite and make it something I'm proud of.

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year and I hope you enjoy!