Chapter 1

“Don't look up, don't look up, don't look up,” Peter Parker mumbled. He squinted and tried to will away what was coming toward him.

“Hey, bookworm!” Flash Thompson called out from the other end of the hall. Peter looked up from his locker. Flash was Midtown High's quarterback and was always followed by a group of other jocks and adoring cheerleaders.

“Think fast!” Flash said as he tossed a balled-up piece of loose-leaf paper at Peter. It bounced off his forehead and into his locker.

“Real funny, Eugene,” Peter said. He never called “Flash” by his nickname, because he knew the jock hated his real name. “Maybe if you used paper for something other than throwing, you'd actually graduate high school before you're a senior citizen,” Peter quipped.

“And maybe if you spent less time studying and more time relaxing you'd have better luck with the ladies,” Flash said, motioning to the giggling cheerleaders several lockers away.

“Luck, huh? Glad that's something you think you have, because it's all you've got,” Peter shot back.

Flash waved his hand in the air to dismiss Peter. But Peter could tell by the look in Flash's eye that his comment had stung.

“Come on, crew. Let's not waste any more time with this loser,” Flash said. Then he and his fan club headed down the hall.

Peter picked up the crumpled paper from the floor of his locker. He opened it. Even though he wasn't surprised at what he saw there, he had to admit that it still bothered him.

He tossed the paper into the recycling bin. Flash shot a look back at Peter over his shoulder. By his smile, Peter could tell that Flash had seen him open the paper and throw it away. And the worst part was that Flash seemed to be enjoying every second of it. If Peter thought he'd stuck it to Flash before with his comment about Flash's need for luck, it was Flash who had the last laugh — as usual.

Flash and Peter went their separate ways — Flash to the schoolyard and Peter to the school library. Maybe Flash was right. Maybe Peter did spend too much time studying and not enough having fun. After all, it was lunchtime, and the rest of his class was outside enjoying the beautiful late-fall weather. He was holed up in the stuffy school library, preparing for the next week's science test. And he was the only one in there.

Well, almost the only one.

“Hey, Pete!” Gwen Stacy said.

“Shhh!” the school librarian scolded.

“I thought I was the only one who spent my lunchtime studying,” she whispered.

“Even a girl as smart as you has to be wrong sometimes,” Peter said, and he thought he saw Gwen blush a little.

“Well, I couldn't ask for better company,” she replied.

Then it was Peter's turn to squirm uncomfortably. He set his books down next to her and took a seat. If Flash could see him now! For once Peter was happy to be a bit of an outsider. In this case it meant he got to spend time alone with Gwen Stacy. There was no way any other kid in his class would be joining them. Who else would pass up the beautiful weather for a study session?

Then the library door creaked open, and Peter couldn't believe what he saw.

Flash was on his way in. What could he be doing in a library? Smiling, he slowly walked over to where Peter and Gwen were sitting.

“Hey, bookworm, I noticed you dropped this,” Flash said, and handed Peter the drawing he'd thrown out just a few minutes earlier. There it was in plain sight. And Gwen was staring at it, too. What would she think? Would she find it funny? Would she laugh at him?

Peter ripped the paper off the table and grabbed his books.

“I've got to go,” he said, and pushed the chair back, maybe a little too hard.

“Shhhhhhhh!!!” the librarian said again.

“But I was just doing my good deed for the day!” Flash said sarcastically.

“You wouldn't know a good deed if it hit you like a ton of bricks!” Peter replied, imagining a ton of bricks falling onto Flash.

“How would you know about a ton of anything? You're such a weakling you couldn't even lift a pound!” Flash said.

Peter stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

“Shhhhhhhh!!!” the librarian said so loudly that Peter could hear him through the closed door.

Peter was shaking.

He was hurt.

He was embarrassed.

But most of all he was angry!