"We're covering the first day of senior year for Midtown High's most famous student, Peter Parker!" You heard Betty Brant's cheery voice broadcasting for Midtown High. "Go get 'em, Tiger! Or should I say, Spider?"

Your eyes slowly widened to see hundreds of people crowding the building. "Oh, my God..." You softly gasped.

"The crowd has continued to grow here all morning long at the Midtown School of Science..." You heard a reporter state. "The crowd seems evenly divided between supporters of Spider-Man and protesters."

Peter glanced at you in worry as you both walked while Ned, Michelle, and Flash were behind. You gave him a knowing look before intertwining your fingers with his.

"MJ! MJ, we love you!" Michelle looked away from discomfort as she glanced at Ned.

"(Y/n), are you gonna have his spider-babies?" One person asked, causing you to hold Peter's hand tighter. Peter slightly sent a glare to the guy who asked before continuing to walk. "Just look away and don't listen to them." You whispered to Peter.

"Mysterio forever!"

"Murderer!"

"(Y/n), you know he's a murderer, right?"

"Do a flip!"

One guy pushed his way out to try and ask Peter an inappropriate question. "Hey! Did you and (Y/n) kiss?"

Ned stopped in his tracks, sending a glare to the man in anger. "Back off!"

One woman noticed him. "Who are you?"

Ned blinked in surprise. "I'm Ned Leeds. I'm Spider-Man's—"

"Peter Parker's best friend." Ned turned around to see Flash by his side, defending him. "You come at my boy? You come at Flash Thompson. If you wanna read about our inspiring friendship, you can now with my new book, Flashpoint." He pulled out his own book with his face on its cover. "One spider, two hearts, a million crazy-ass memories. Check it out."

Ned shook his head incredulously before walking away from Flash while Flash followed behind.

The officers checked on Peter first before pushing him away from you. "Go. Go, go, go. Go!"

Peter glanced at you as he shook his head at the lady officer. "No, I gotta wait up..."

When the officers didn't allow him, Peter looked at you. "I'll see you inside, okay?" You nodded as the officers started checking you.

Peter entered the school and heard Betty's voice through the speakers. "Keep watching Midtown News all year as we bring you up close and personal coverage of Peter fighting his biggest battle yet: college admissions."

Peter sighed until he almost stopped walking when he found his three teachers. Behind them was a small shrine dedicated to him. He stopped as Julius Dell started talking nervously. "Peter. We would love to... welcome you back... to Midtown High."

As Dell continued talking, Peter noticed his gym teacher, Coach Andre Wilson, giving him a death glare. Dell cleared his throat. "Where we shape heroes."

Roger Harrington nodded while raising his arm up to point the small shrine. "Yeah. Uh-huh."

"Or murderers," Wilson added.

"Stop it." Harrington scolded. He looked back at Peter; his voice was monotone from nervousness. "It's an honor to serve you..." He saluted Peter. "...sir."

"He's not—" Wilson groaned in frustration. "Mysterio was right. Mysterio was ri—"

"Stop," Harrington warned before looking again at Peter to continue their small gratitude for him. "Some of the students put this together for you." Dell nodded along as he pointed the shrine again.

"No. You did that." Wilson corrected. "You did that."

Peter, confused and bewildered, looked at the shrine the students—well, Harrington—made for him. The small shrine was filled with his achievements, fans' drawings, his pictures with the teachers and his classmates, his Decathlon blazer, a sculpture of his head, his trophy, and many more. "Oh, wow."

"I helped a little bit." Harrington continued to explain while Wilson shook his head, still against Peter. "I tried to stop him so many times, but you piled through. He did all of that."

"You did a great job," Dell commented on Harrington's work.

"I hope you have time to stop and check it out..." Harrington told Peter.

"A-And feel free to walk..." Dell reminded. "O-Or swing through the hallway... or crawl on the ceiling to avoid everybody."

Harrington nodded. "Y-Yeah, we all know you can do it."

Peter gave them a small smile. "I'm just gonna..." He started walking away while Wilson resumed to rant and glare. "You know what you did."

"Stop it. You're embarrassing yourself." Harrington rolled his eyes.

"I know what you did."

"He's a conspiracy theorist."

Peter began to walk through the hallways but struggled to ignore everyone, with his schoolmates and classmates flashing their phones at him. Peter saw the others with smiling faces, while the others were glaring at him. He clenched his fists anxiously and looked down.

°•○●○•°

"Can we just like, stay up here all day?" You heard Peter ask as he stared up to the sky. "It is so crazy down there."

You and Peter were at the rooftop of Midtown High's building, avoiding the chaotic crowd below. You were sitting up, reading a newspaper, while Peter was lying on your lap. He looked away from the sky and looked at you, focused on the words in the paper. You grinned. "Hold on, this one's good." You started reading the paragraph you saw in the newspaper. "Some suggest that, Parker's powers include the male spider's ability to hypnotize females, which he used to seduce Stark into his cult of personality."

You started laughing while Peter cringed. "Stop! Stop." He snatched the newspaper from your grasp as he playfully glared at you. "I command you to stop."

You giggled. "Yes, my Spider-lord." Peter reached his hand out to caress your face as you looked down at him. Peter leaned up to kiss you, but you both heard footsteps and noises behind. "Finally. Some privacy." You heard Michelle's voice.

Peter instantly sat up and sat next to you while Michelle and Ned sat in front of you two. "It is so crazy down there." Ned sighed. "So, I was thinking, when we get into MIT, we should live together."

You smiled while Peter nodded. "Yeah, for sure."

"Yeah. Love that." You chuckled.

Ned began to unzip his bag and pulled his laptop out to show MIT's official page. "This is gonna be us."

Michelle nodded as she moved next to you. "Yes." She pointed at the picture presented on Ned's screen with people playing frisbee. "Minus the frisbee. And the smiling."

"MIT's obviously the dream..." Peter spoke up. "But if we match-up our backup schools, either way, we'll all be together in Boston." He explained. "New school, new town. I can Spider-Man there. I mean, they have crime in Boston, right?"

You hugged your knees together and nodded. "Oh, absolutely."

Michelle nodded along. "Yes. Yes, they do."

"Yeah, wicked crime," Ned added.

Peter smiled. "Yeah, so it'll be like a fresh start."

You turned to Michelle, who was conflicted and unsure with no signs of enthusiasm or optimism. "What's up?" You asked worriedly.

Michelle shrugged. "I don't know. I just feel like if you don't..." She sighed heavily. "If you expect disappointment, then you can never really get disappointed." She stifled a laugh nervously.

Peter frowned. "Come on." He tried to cheer her up. "It'll be a fresh start." He held your hand and looked at everyone. "And, we'll all be together."

Michelle smiled, slightly moved by Peter's words. "Yeah. You're right. A fresh start."

Ned leaned closer to hold your and Peter's hands. "Fresh start." He grabbed Michelle's hand and placed it on top of yours and Peter's. "Together."

°•○●○•°

"First one's here!"

You and Peter snapped your head towards the door to see May out of breath with an envelope in hand. Peter stopped with his work while you stopped wiping the dirt from Dum-E.

May sat beside Peter while you stood next to him. May opened the letter, letting you and Peter read what was inside. After reading the letter, May frowned and smacked the letter away from irritation. Peter sighed. "It's okay. It's a backup school." You rubbed his shoulders, and he held your hand.

May nodded. "Alright. I'm cooking dinner." May stood up and pointed her finger at you. "You, missy, are staying here and having dinner with us."

"Oh, but I have leftovers and—"

"That wasn't a request, dear!"

As soon as May walked towards the kitchen, you moved to the chair where she sat recently and seated closer to Peter, holding his arm. Peter looked at you. "Were you accepted by your backup school?"

You shook your head. "Nope. They say they didn't care, even if I'm a Stark. They believe that I think being a Stark was my advantage of getting to that school." You scoffed. "All I want is to study, not to boast I could do whatever I want because I'm a Stark. That school's terrible anyway."

Peter lightly laughed as he placed his hand on top of yours. "They'll regret that they ever let go one of the smartest people I know."

You rested your chin on your palm as you stared at him. "And they'll regret that they didn't let my Peter Parker get into that school. MIT's better anyway."

Peter laughed again before sneaking in a kiss on your lips. You flinched in surprise, and your eyes widened when he pulled away. "You sneaky little spider!" You gasped.

"Only for you." Peter pushed his chair closer to you and started attacking you with kisses all over your face. You burst into laughter as his hands cupped your face. "Alright, alright, stop!" You giggled.

Peter pulled you away from him as he pretended to think. "Hmm... no." He pecked your cheeks, forehead, and nose, covering you with his kisses. You squealed when he placed butterfly kisses on your neck.

"You kids better not have sex, or I'm kicking you two out." You heard May's warning. Peter pulled away, staring at your slightly messy hair. He fixed your hair before landing one last kiss on your lips. You chuckled and looked down at Peter's work, helping him to answer some formulas. You glanced at his arm to find your hair tie wrapped around his wrist.

°•○●○•°

"So, what happened to your second backup school?" You heard Michelle ask from the counter. You visited the coffee shop where Michelle was working to chat with her.

Before you could answer her, one customer raised her hand. "Bill, please." Michelle gave you a look first before approaching the customer with her receipt. While waiting, you opened your laptop until a pop-up ad showed up. "Huh?" You saw it was a magazine cover of Liz Toomes. "Oh, her." You rolled your eyes and immediately closed the ad.

You munched down your muffin as you looked through your e-mails. You found one from your mother causing you to smile in relief. You immediately composed a short message to her, thanking her. 'I'm sure he'll love it.' A few minutes later, Michelle approached you with a pot of coffee to refill your cup. "So, about that second backup school?"

You sighed. "I wasn't accepted. My mother's getting irritated with the schools, but I reminded her that we're still waiting for MIT's response."

Michelle nodded. "I mean, even if you weren't accepted in any other schools, I'm sure your mother will find a way to get you in."

"And I'll make sure to get you, Ned, and Peter in as well." You shrugged. "I'll bribe them if I have to."

"Nah, that'll cause more controversy."

You sipped on your coffee and looked up at Michelle. "Did you ever regret knowing Peter's secret? Or did you ever regret being friends with any of us? Like, have you ever thought that if you didn't meet Peter or me, none of this would've ever happened?"

"The only regret I will have is to lose a great friend like you," Michelle answered truthfully. "Being friends with you, Ned, and Peter turned my life upside down but not in the worst way. Actually, being friends with you, three made my life more excitable, I guess."

"And probably more dangerous." You added with a chuckle.

Michelle stifled a laugh. "Yeah, we can't ignore that since we're literally friends with Peter."

You stared at her, a smile still plastered on your face. "You're a great friend, MJ. Sorry if you got dragged along. You just literally found out Peter's secret and did nothing wrong."

"It's fine." Michelle shrugged. "It's better that I knew than learning about it through the news."

°•○●○•°

You rushed inside the coffee shop to see Michelle standing up straight when she spotted you. "Last one. MIT." You informed her as you showed her your envelope. Michelle nodded and raised her envelope up. You turned to Ned, who also presented his envelope to you. "Where's Peter?"

Just on time, Peter swung by and landed near the door. He opened the door, causing you to turn around. Peter showed you his envelope. You, Peter, and Michelle walked quickly towards Ned, with Michelle still behind the table. You sat next to Peter while he sat next to Ned. Michelle took a deep breath. "Okay. Ready?"

"Jones..." Michelle heard his boss calling out her name. "I told you to take down the Halloween decorations."

"Actually, that was Sasha, so..."

"Enough attitude, just do it."

Michelle pressed her lips together in frustration and annoyance. "On it." She said while her teeth were gritted.

Ned shook his body back and forth for comfort. "I feel like I'm gonna puke."

Michelle shook her head at Ned. "Well, don't because my boss will just make me clean it."

"This is our only shot. It's here, or nowhere."

"Hey!" Peter exclaimed. "Come on."

You let out a big huff. "Okay. You guys ready?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

You nodded. "Okay, on three. One... two... three..." The four of you started tearing up the envelope to take the letter out. All of you began to read the letter, and with each word you read, you let out a shaky exhale.

Peter looked at Michelle to ask, but she immediately shook her head. "No." He looked at you, and you sighed. "Nope. You?"

"No." Peter turned to Ned. "You?"

Ned began to read the letter. "In light of the recent controversy, we are unable to consider your application at this time."

Peter lightly scoffed. "This is so not fair. I mean, this is so not fair. I didn't do anything wrong!" He looked at you and his friends. "And you guys definitely didn't do anything wrong."

Michelle looked at Peter. "Expect disappointment, and you will never get disappointed." She reminded.

The door opened, causing you, Peter, Michelle, and Ned to turn around to see Flash in his MIT hoodie. He started yelling and cheering until he realized the faces you and the others have. "You guys didn't get in?"

"Yeah. Because we're actually friends with Spider-Man." Ned replied.

Flash gulped and looked down at his watch. "Uhh, yeah... I better get going. There's a mixer for new admissions..." He opened the door and looked at you, Peter, Michelle, and Ned one last time. "And... sorry, guys."

"Jones, what are you doing?" You heard Michelle's boss ask. "Get back to work."

Michelle huffed. "Yeah. I'm coming." She grabbed her letter. "You know what?" She started tearing the letter into pieces. "I wouldn't change a thing."

She left the torn letter and returned to her work while Ned took his letter and ripped it. "Me neither." Ned froze for a second. "Although, I still need to show this letter to my parents."

Ned picked up his torn letter and took his backpack. He patted Peter's shoulder and gave you a smile before leaving. Peter sighed heavily as he lowered his head down. You rubbed his back in comfort. "I'm sorry..."

"Do you think you still have a chance if your mother's willing to pay for you to enter MIT?" Peter asked.

You shrugged. "Every school hates controversies... and I just happen to be in one. I know my mom could try for me, you, and our friends, but... I don't know." You stared at Peter in worry. "Are you... mad?"

Peter shook his head and took both of your hands. "No, no, no, why would I be mad? I mean, I'm mad that people are unfair, but that's it."

"You're not mad at me?"

Peter stared at you in curiosity mixed with confusion. It was as if he was talking to a younger version of you. He had never seen you this scared and nervous since the brick incident. "Of course, I'm not mad. Are you okay?"

You slowly nodded. Peter pulled you in for a hug before looking at the Halloween decorations hanging around the shop. He observed the lights with a bunch of wizard designs. An idea popped into his mind.