With those thoughts cleared away, Hawk wrung out his washed T-shirt, placed it with his freshly cleaned pants into a plastic bag, and wrapped a towel around his waist. He dried his hair while pushing open the stall door and stepped out of the shower area. At that moment, the shower room door was shoved open from outside.
With a dull thud, a thin figure was pushed inside. The boy stumbled a few steps and fell onto the tiled floor, landing hard on his backside. Hawk looked over and raised an eyebrow.
"Is that… Peter?" he said. The skinny boy on the floor was Peter Parker. Peter also saw Hawk coming out of the showers, his expression awkward as he hesitated, unsure how to greet a classmate he barely spoke to.
Before he could say anything, laughter came from outside. A tall, broad-shouldered boy carrying a football walked in with three followers, laughing loudly. He was Flash Thompson, known as "Flash," also infamous as the Midtown bully and the captain of the football team.
The laughter stopped abruptly. Fresh from the stall, Hawk stood there with wet hair, a towel around his waist, and a plastic bag of clothes in one hand, his gaze settling on Flash Thompson. Flash was big, but Hawk was no less impressive.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine consecutive days of ten thousand punches had carved his body into something solid and real. His arms showed clean lines of strength, not exaggerated bulk, but compact power. The towel sat low on his hips, defining a narrow waist and clear, evenly shaped abs.
Their eyes met, and the room seemed to go quiet. Everyone knew that American schools had clear hierarchies, chains of contempt and bullying. By background alone, an orphan like Hawk should have been an easy target, but reality said otherwise.
It was not because he had ever fought the bullies or taught them a lesson. The reason they left him alone was simple. Whether by looks or by build, Hawk had nothing to do with the words "easy target."
For the past three years, since no one bothered him, he had never tried to play the hero for others either. No one was anyone else's savior. This time was no different.
Hawk looked away, took a clean T-shirt and pants from his bag, got dressed, and packed the plastic bag inside. Slinging the backpack over one shoulder, he walked straight toward Flash Thompson at the shower room entrance.
Flash frowned as Hawk stopped in front of him. He knew who Hawk was. Anyone who punched a bag ten thousand times a day in the corner of the gym for over two years was hard to miss, even if they never spoke.
"Ho…" Flash began. Hawk cut in calmly. "Please move." Flash instinctively stepped aside, and his three followers, who had wanted to say something, also shifted away when they met Hawk's calm blue eyes.
"Thanks," Hawk said evenly. He walked past them and left the shower room without another glance. Flash watched his back, frowning, lost in thought.
Then one of the followers shouted. "Holy shit." Another added, "Boss, Peter ran." Flash snapped back to attention and saw Peter Parker sprinting out after Hawk while no one was looking.
"What?" Flash roared. "After him. Nerd Peter Parker, stop right there."
Hawk left the Old Gymnasium and headed toward the parking lot.
He did not know what happened behind him. Even if he had known, he would not have cared.
Although Spider-Man was known as the top character in American comics, Hawk was not familiar with Peter Parker at all. Even though they were in the same grade, they barely spoke.
By the time Hawk reached the parking lot with his single-strap bag on his shoulder, the door of the last orange school bus was already open. A bearded driver in a school uniform was leaning on the steering wheel, passing time with a portable radio.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Hall." Hawk boarded the bus and greeted him politely. "Any special news today?"
With his thick beard, Mr. Hall looked fierce at first glance. In truth, he was not a harsh man at all, but a decent one.
"It is still news about the collapse at the Quantico Building. They say it was a terrorist attack." Mr. Hall fiddled with the radio, glanced at his watch, and looked at Hawk. "Hawk, you are two minutes later than yesterday."
Hawk shrugged. "Sorry, the shower took a bit longer today."
"Good thing I know you always take my bus home, or I would have driven to the front gate already." Mr. Hall started the engine. "Sit tight, we are heading out."
"Okay."
Hawk kept his manners, walked toward the back with his bag, and found a seat. Mr. Hall was about to close the door and drive to the school gate to pick up more students.
At that moment, Peter Parker rushed over from a distance. Just as the bus door was about to close, he squeezed inside, breathing hard.
Mr. Hall was startled. "Ho—" He swallowed the curse halfway, realizing it would be rude, and looked at the panting Peter Parker. Then he glanced outside at Flash Thompson and his three followers running over.
Flash Thompson and his lackeys did not board the bus. They stood outside, staring at Peter Parker who had made it inside.
Mr. Hall looked between Peter Parker and Flash Thompson, then frowned at Flash Thompson. "Hey, are you getting on or not?"
Flash Thompson glanced at Mr. Hall without speaking. He turned around and left with his three followers, clearly annoyed.
Bullying classmates was one thing. Doing it in front of school staff was another. He was a bully, not an idiot.
Peter Parker was not an idiot either. After Mr. Hall closed the door, he thanked the driver.
Mr. Hall looked at him but said nothing. He knew what had happened, and as long as no bullying happened on his bus, that was enough.
As for elsewhere, it was not his place to manage. He was just a school bus driver.
Peter Parker did not say anything more. He turned to find a seat, noticed Hawk sitting by the window at the back, thought for a moment, and walked over.
"Thank you."
Hawk had been staring out the window, thinking about how midnight would mean a new day. He came back to himself, looked at Peter Parker, and spoke with no expression. "I did not help you. You do not need to thank me."
After saying that, he turned back to the window and ignored Peter Parker.
He did not know whether Peter Parker had mutated yet. Most likely, he had not become the spider figure from memory.
Even if he had, Hawk did not want to deal with him. To be exact, he did not want to deal with any superheroes at all.
Superheroes sounded nice, but they were always tied to disasters. Before the System appeared, he had no interest in getting close to them, and he only wanted to live longer this time around.
If possible, he wanted to study well and live a freer life. Now that the System was online, his original intent had not changed.
The only difference was that living freely had become living longer, and then living more freely. No matter which it was, the condition was the same.
In simple terms, do not get involved in superhero trouble.
That was why, after enrolling, even though he knew about Peter Parker Parker and knew about Gwen Stacy, he had no desire to get close to them. Gwen was a special case, but only because she was an eleventh grade student assistant.
As for dating the famous comic book girlfriend Gwen Stacy, Hawk had no such thoughts, at least not now. He was not qualified to think about love yet.
Peter Parker looked at Hawk, who had turned away again to watch the scenery. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then thought better of it, closed it, and sat down on the seat to the right.
Before long, the bus reached the school gate. After Mr. Hall opened the door, the students waiting for the last free bus boarded one after another.
The quiet inside the bus quickly turned noisy with chatter.