Chapter 95: Growing Pains (1)
"I swear, I just pushed him a bit! I didn't mean... Well, I was angry at the time, that bastard dared to insult Gwen!" Peter complained while carrying his backpack and walking.
Stark patted his back and said, "It's okay, even if you beat him up, it's nothing. If someone harasses your girlfriend and you only give him a punch, it's already light."
"I didn't give him a punch..." Peter was very helpless.
"Okay, okay, I know. Let's go. I invited an Italian chef. We'll have pizza tonight," Stark said happily.
The incident started this morning.
Peter came to school happily this morning, waiting for Gwen at the school gate. The two of them walked and talked until they reached the classroom door, where they said goodbye reluctantly while holding hands.
American public high schools don't care about dating, as long as you don't go too far, teachers don't mind.
Therefore, Peter and Gwen said goodbye at the classroom door while holding hands. At this time, a football player from the next class walked over and not only taunted Peter but also insulted Gwen with very harsh words.
Peter was very angry. The football player came over and made a vulgar gesture, and Peter pushed him in anger. Of course, the result was that the football player was almost embedded in the wall.
Peter can control that kind of powerful force, but he was angry at the time and used more force than usual. The football player flew out and even broke a rib.
As a result, the football player's parents went to the school because of campus bullying. The school had to invite Peter's parents, but Peter could not explain to his uncle and aunt where his power came from. Therefore, Peter could only leave Stark's phone number.
The teacher naturally made a phone call to the headquarters of Stark Tower. J.A.R.V.I.S answered the phone and even transferred it to Stark.
Stark drove a cool sports car to the school. How could the opposite parents not know the world's richest person? They immediately stated that it was a misunderstanding. Stark also encouraged Peter, saying he should give that bastard a punch.
Gwen was also comforting him, saying that the jerk deserved it, but Peter was still upset. As a good student, he had never been called to see a parent from kindergarten to high school. Yet Stark was boasting about it everywhere. Within two days, the news that Peter had to call Stark to school because of his trouble had spread throughout the entire superhero community.
Children of this age group don't like being treated like children, but now Peter was the one being teased by everyone in turn, making him very depressed. (XD)
In the SHIELD cafeteria, Steve said, "Actually, you can also keep my phone number. At least I look more energetic than that jerk who stays up all night and drinks."
Coulson next to him said, "At least in terms of age, you're definitely old enough."
"Also in terms of generation, I'm Stark's uncle."
"But..." Steve cut a piece of steak and said, "You have to learn to control your emotions. That's how it was for me when I first underwent the transformation. If emotions fluctuate too much, it becomes impossible to control the superhuman power."
"How did you eventually improve?"
"On the one hand, you have to be aware of the problem yourself. On the other hand, you can also seek help from professionals and learn how to stabilize your emotions."
"I'm not really an angry person," Peter said somewhat depressingly, "but when it comes to certain issues, I can't help myself."
Steve smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm the same way. Back when I was in the military, there was this troublemaker who always picked on Peggy and cursed at her. I beat them all up."
"Of course, when you fight, you have to control your strength. Otherwise, you can easily get into trouble. But as long as you control your strength, it's just a regular fight, at most you'll get put in solitary confinement."
"Then he called me and asked if he was the world's number one villain, and that's why the world is always against him."
"And then?"
"Of course, I gave him about two hours of psychotherapy, and afterwards he made up with them."
Peter said half-believingly, "What kind of therapy? It worked so quickly?"
"I scolded him, and then he felt that what the others said to him was light in comparison, so they made up."
At that moment, Peter felt sympathy for Stark.
After a while, Peter finished his homework and ate dinner. He lay on the sofa and stared into space, not playing games with Pikachu like he usually did.
Schiller was writing a paper at the nearby desk, and Peter rested his arm on his forehead and said, "Why are there so many strange things in this world? Why do troubles always come one after another? Why do people have so many worries?"
"Because as your life gets better, the trivial troubles become more noticeable."
"Why don't you think about how your life was before, when you didn't have as many problems? If you had faced this kind of trouble back then, would you care about it?"
Peter thought about it. When his uncle and aunt got bad medical results and they didn't have money, Peter couldn't find a way out. If he had a dispute with a classmate in school at that time, he might have forgotten about it quickly because he had bigger problems to deal with.
Compared to the pressure of survival, a little argument was nothing. If it were in the past, he wouldn't have had so much free time to lie here and complain. He would probably still be running errands for others to earn money.
Peter said, "Sometimes I can't wait to grow up quickly, go to college, buy my own house, make it bigger for Uncle and Aunt to live in, find a decent job, and get engaged to Gwen. Aren't adults supposed to be like this?"
"But sometimes, I wish this year never ends, so I can forever be a high school student, just need to go to school, do homework, and sleep until dawn."
Schiller just listened quietly, the faint sound of his typing echoing in the dim room.
"Sometimes I dream of many stars, woven into a web, and dream of becoming a giant spider. Maybe being a spider is not bad, right?"
"And sometimes, I dream of losing Uncle Ben and Aunt May, and Gwen is gone too. The whole world is just me alone."
"They say dreams reflect a person's inner nature, do you think so, Doctor?"
"I crave freedom, but I'm afraid of losing, I want to be a hero, but I don't even know what a hero is like..."
Peter didn't wait for an answer, he fell asleep. The night sky outside the window was full of stars, and the computer screen in the room was still on, but Schiller had already left.
Pikachu held a pillow and stuffed it under Peter's head, then threw a blanket on him, muttering to himself, "Humans have so many troubles. Among all the people coming and going every day, there isn't one without worries."
Then he looked at Peter and said, "You're already lucky, kid, maybe these people are already lucky too, even mice are the same..."
"When does growing up not come with troubles?"