MJ glanced at the door for one-hundredth time. Her boyfriend- gosh it felt good to say that- was supposed to be here.

But this is Peter Parker. Punctuality is not found in his vocabulary.

The bell rung, signaling the students to enter the rooms for homeroom. Peter Benjamin Parker, you are late and I will murder you. She toyed with the broken necklace around her neck, thinking of when they first kissed. He was so obviously in shock, but he still smiled. Sometimes she wondered how he could do that.

She was pulled from her thoughts as the last student filed in. Sleek, dark hair fell in graceful locks around the shoulders of the pale blue sweater. Pink, full lips contrasted with the olive skin, framing her shy, hazel eyes.

MJ dropped her pen and closed her open mouth, realizing that she probably looked like a goldfish who had run into the edge of the bowl and was staring stupidly at the glass, wondering why there was an invisible wall preventing it from feeding on the fish food.

"Liz?"

Liz smiled and sent her a little wave. "Hi."

"Welcome back."

her smile grew real. "Thanks."

The final bell rung just as Peter skidded through the door, hair falling everywhere and panting like a dog. He plopped down next to MJ with a heavy exhale and grinned sheepishly. "Don't be mad! My alarm broke."

"Because you put your fist through it again?"

Yes was written across his ashamed features. "I can't help it! It's so loud!"

"Mr Parker, please quieten down."

"Sorry sir." The boy slouched down in his chair, leaving only his forehead visible and MJ snorting quietly.

Mr Dell continued to mark the roll, boredom evident in his monotone voice.

"Liz Allen?"

Peter sat up instantly. "What?" he whispered.

"Yeah, Liz is back. She better not want to be the captain of the decathlon team."

The boy blink rapidly. "Dude do you know how awkward this will be? As far as I'm aware she hates me!"

"Well, I don't."

"True."

Liz had been watching the encounter the entire time, not necessarily hearing it, but still finding something odd. Peter and MJ had never interacted like that before. It was like they had gotten... closer? And there was something off with Peter. The way he almost seemed ready to spring out of his chair at the sound of any noise, the constant fiddling of the pen, the tapping foot...

It was extremely odd.

The bell rang and students filed out into a mass of moving bodies, following the current to classes, merging and turning like cars on a highway. She turned into her English class and promptly ran into the back of someone, sending their light form stumbling forwards and her books dispersed across the floor.

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry-"

Peter looked up at her, holding out her notebook. "I-it's fine."

She could practically see him mentally kicking himself for stuttering. Her lips pulled into a tight grimace as she took the book and wedged past, not saying a word as memories flooded to her mind. She didn't notice the way Peter's hand trembled as he let go of the book or the way he steadied himself against the wall.

"Ok, ok, guys shush, sit and shut your mouths."

The team obliges to MJ's orders as they readied themselves for the first decathlon meeting of the year.

"Welcome to the decathlon meeting. I hope we all had a good break, when we weren't being attacked by M-monsters, and I do not expect tardiness." She glared pointedly at Peter, who's face reddened as he looked sheepishly back.

"I would also like to welcome back Liz and say that it's a pleasure to have you back."

The team clapped and Liz smiled softly. It was nice to know that people didn't hate her.

"However, this is the first practice of the year and I'm lazy, so this is just gonna be a chill-out session. Oh, and we have a field trip."

She slapped the papers on the desk and walked off, clearly indicating for people to grab their own.

Peter, however, stayed put.

"You're not gonna grab a note, loser?"

"I don't like field trips."

MJ quirked an eyebrow. "They couldn't all have been that bad."

Peter cleared his throat and began counting off his fingers. "Oscorp was a flop, DC was a mess, MoMa I still have nightmares about and Europe-" he broke off with a shudder.

MJ blinked. "The universe really hates you and field trips together, doesn't it?"

"Mhm. So I'm not going."

"Why not?" Betty appeared next to them, along with Ned.

"Oh, uh, I just have bad luck with field trips."

The change in Peter's posture was evident to Liz as she studied the group on the other side of the hall. Peter had been a lot more confident with MJ, but as soon as the others arrived, he had almost curled up instinctively, as though he didn't want to be seen or was... scared? Why would he be scared?

Flash walked over to her. "Hey Liz! Long time, no see, right?"

Liz nodded with a small burst of laughter. "Yeah, Oregon was a bit crazy."

They both turned their heads to a shout of laughter from Peter and Ned.

"Stupid Parker."

"What have you got against him?"

"He's just so... grrr!" He growl in initiation to execute his point.

"Yeah, I get that."

Flash blinked at her, surprised. "You- what?"

"Homecoming would have been a much better night if someone hadn't run off and left me. He keeps on vanishing for no reason, not seeming to care about the rest of us."

Flash nodded. "He still does it. He vanished three times in Europe. Once in Venice, twice in Prague and we didn't see him until London."

"Why did he run off?"

Flash shrugged. "No idea, but I think Ned and MJ know."

Liz nodded slowly, looking at Peter as he laughed with his friends. There was something knew about him, almost as though... He had an experience. An experience that taught him many lessons at once.

But what was it?