What do you guys want for Taka? Get a girlfriend? Harem of his own? Single Bro for life? I'll create a vote for you guys to vote for his fate!
Leave a comment if you want more!
_____
Gwen was staring at him the moment he stepped into class…
And so was everyone else, especially the girls who currently had their jaws on the floor as they gawked at him.
Peter held back a blush that was threatening to appear, especially when he could practically feel their eyes roaming across his entire body.
"You're looking rather dashing today, Mr. Parker. Since when were you so… beefy?" the beautiful blonde sitting next to him couldn't help but ask, poking his thick forearm as he sat down. "Don't tell me you were hiding all this beneath your old clothes!"
"I-I u-uh…" His face was entirely red as he struggled to say words while Gwen patiently waited for his answer, her hand feeling up his arm.
Before he could even hope to respond, he caught sight of his best friend sneakily pulling out his phone and angling it just right.
Peter's head snapped toward Taka.
"Taka, don't you dare!"
The quiet click of a camera going off sounded like a gunshot in his ears.
"Taka," Peter hissed under his breath, eyes narrowed behind his glasses, "delete that. Right. Now."
Taka didn't even bother to look ashamed at getting caught. He glanced down at his screen, grin spreading slowly, reverently, like an artist admiring a masterpiece.
"Nah, bro! This is historical documentation! The people of the future need to see this monumental moment in history!'"
Gwen laughed softly, her hand still resting on Peter's arm like she'd forgotten to pull them away.
"I hardly think this is worthy of being called monumental."
"You say that now but thirty years from now your going to look back on this moment and think to yourself, 'Fuck, Taka was fucking right! That was a monumental moment in history!' while looking fondly at this bitching picture I took!"
Taka tilted the phone slightly so Gwen could see.
"...That is a good shot." She mumbled looking rather impressed by his amateur cinematography skills.
"It's a bitchin 'shot!" His best friend retorted while admiring the picture he took before smugly walking away.
Peter sighed as he watched his best mate walk to the back of the class and sat down next to a brown haired classmate who looked absolutely terrified of him. He didn't even bother to tell him to delete the picture knowing full well his friend probably already had thousands of copies already made safely stored god knows where.
He let out another long, quiet sigh as he turned back toward his desk, shoulders finally relaxing now that the immediate danger, also known as Taka, had relocated to the back of the room.
Gwen noticed as she looked down at his tired form.
She tilted her head slightly, studying him with that thoughtful look she got when she was genuinely curious about something.
"You know," she said gently, "you didn't have to get new clothes just because of my party, sure your old clothes were apparently hiding… alot. They were perfectly fine."
Peter blinked, then looked at her, panic flickering for half a second before draining into pure exhaustion.
"Oh, no, no. This wasn't… this wasn't my idea."
She smiled, not at all believing him for some reason. "Yeah?"
He nodded quickly, rubbing the back of his neck as he pointed a thumb over his shoulder.
"All Taka, one hundred percent, I had absolutely no say in it whatsoever." His voice dropped into a tired mumble. "I just showed up to look for a present and somehow clothes happened."
Gwen giggled, the sound light and warm, and Peter swore his brain short-circuited for a moment.
"That… actually explains a lot," she said, still smiling. "He seems very… passionate about your social life."
"That's one word for it," Peter muttered. "But I'm not sure it's my social life that he's interested in."
"Then what?" she teased, wanting to know.
"W-Well in his own words, not mine… to make sure I get 'mad bitches,'" he replied flatly as he stared her dead in the eye with an equally flat look.
Gwen snorted before she could stop herself, clapping a hand over her mouth to hold back a laugh.
"Kidding! I'm sure he's just trying to make my high school life fun or something." He smiled, finding it equally funny as he let out a soft chuckle at the stupid joke his friend made.
…He couldn't be further from the truth.
They shared a quiet laugh, the kind that settled comfortably between them instead of feeling awkward. Gwen pulled her hand back from his arm and they fell into easy conversation after that.
Just small stuff like classes, homework, and quick complaints about the cafeteria food. Gwen mentioned a science podcast she'd been listening to; Peter lit up immediately, launching into a slightly-too-enthusiastic explanation of why the host's take on quantum tunneling was… questionable.
She didn't seem bothered by it at all, if anything, she looked amused by his rants before telling him she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, much to his embarrassment.
Then the classroom door opened.
Their teacher walked in, clapping his hands once to get everyone's attention.
"Alright, settle down, everyone."
The chatter slowly died as class began, the minutes slipping by in a blur of notes, diagrams, and half-suppressed yawns. Peter forced himself to focus, though his attention drifted more than once, once to Gwen quietly scribbling notes beside him, and more than once to the back of the room, where Taka was whispering something to his visibly distressed seatmate, his name was Harry? And getting a scared/pained expression from the boy.
Eventually, the teacher checked the clock and smiled.
"Alright, before you all run for the door," he said, reaching under his desk and pulling out a stack of papers, "I have something exciting to announce."
That got everyone's attention.
"We'll be handing out sign-up sheets today for our upcoming class visit to Oscorp tomorrow," he continued, passing the papers down the rows. "You'll be getting firsthand experience of what it's like working in a major scientific corporation, labs, research divisions, the whole deal. It's a great opportunity to see whether science is something you'd like to pursue as a career."
A low murmur spread through the room.
"And of course," the teacher added, glancing toward the front row, "we have Harry Osborn to thank for making this possible."
All eyes turned to Harry.
Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat, staring down at his desk.
"Yeah… uh," he awkwardly said before mumbling quietly to himself. "It was all my dad's idea."
Taka, sitting just close enough to hear, raised a brow having heard what the boy mumbled.
The word Oscorp echoed in Peter's head.
His spine straightened instantly, all traces of fatigue gone as his mind began racing at having this amazing opportunity to experience what his future career was going to be like.
At the same time, in the back of the room, Taka's smile slowly widened into a mad grin the size that would make the Cheshire cat jealous.
_______
Taka walked out of the classroom with his hands in his pockets and his brain very much not in the hallway.
Which was unusual.
Normally, he'd be loud, running his mouth, cracking jokes about teachers, students, society, or the thing called anime. But now? Now he was quiet, too quiet. The kind of quiet that meant the gears were turning in that thick head of his.
Peter noticed immediately.
They hadn't even made it halfway down the hall before Peter started sneaking glances at him, brows knitting together behind his glasses. Each step just made the unease worse. Taka's eyes were unfocused, staring straight ahead like he was walking through the hallway rather than in it.
"…You're thinking," Peter finally said, voice cautious.
No response.
Peter swallowed, that was never a good sign.
"Taka," he tried again, a little louder, a little bit scared. "Buddy. Pal. Best friend. You're doing the thing."
Still nothing.
The worry began to creep in properly now, crawling up Peter's spine. His shoulders tensed as they stepped outside, the school doors swinging shut behind them. The afternoon air did nothing to calm him.
"Okay, no!" Peter said, speeding up slightly so he could walk beside him instead of half a step behind. "You don't get to be quiet after Oscorp gets mentioned! What are you thinking about?! Because it better not be thinking about blowing the place up! You promised Aunt May you stop blowing things up!"
Taka hummed faintly…
That was it, just a low, thoughtful hum.
Peter's heart sank.
"That hum!" Peter said, pointing at him accusingly. "That hum means you're planning something! I don't like that hum!"
Taka blinked once, as if surfacing from deep water.
"Mm."
Peter threw his hands up in disbelief at the audacity. "That is not a response!"
They turned a corner and that's when it happened.
There was a soft oof, followed by the unmistakable sound of books and paper hitting pavement.
"Oh shit!" Taka snapped out of his trance instantly, stumbling back half a step. "Fuck me! Sorry bout that I wasn't looking."
He dropped to a knee without hesitation, already reaching for the scattered books.
Peter flinched and rushed forward to also help. "I'm so sorry! Don't worry about picking that up, we'll do it! A-Are you okay?"
The girl froze.
She had short, dark hair cut hair that barely reached her shoulders, glasses slipping slightly down her nose, arms pulled in close to herself like she was bracing for the yelling insults that never came. She had a nerdy look about her with the glasses and freckles.
Her eyes landed on Peter.
Her brain promptly exited the building.
"I-It's fine!" she stammered immediately, voice pitching upward. "R-Really, I-I wasn't watching either!"
Her face had gone pink and was rapidly approaching red.
Peter blinked, immediately guilt-stricken. "No, no, this was totally our fault, we shoul-"
"I-It's fine," she repeated, even faster now, hands fluttering uselessly in the air. "Really. I-I'm okay."
While those two got into who was taking the blame game, Taka, meanwhile, had paused.
He was kneeling, her books gathered in his hands, staring at her with a faint frown tugging at his mouth. Something about her tickled at the back of his mind, despite never meeting the girl in his entire life.
She reminded him of someone.
Someone important.
His eyes dropped to the books, one looked like a journal, as if it held the answer within, he promptly opened it without asking.
Peter noticed immediately.
"Taka," he hissed with an angry look as he made to grab it but was swiftly dodged. "Don't go through her stuff, that's rude!"
"I'm not going through her stuff," Taka said absently, flipping the journal just enough to see the inside cover. "I'm conducting important research."
"That's not better!" He tried again but his best friend slapped his hand away with ease.
The girl shrank a little, mortified, but too flustered to object.
Taka's eyes flicked and then stopped.
There it was.
He smirked and snapped the book shut.
"Ohhh," he said softly, the grin spreading slowly and dangerously.
Before Peter could ask what that meant, Taka suddenly stood, shoved the stack of books straight into Peter's arms—
"Wha- hey!"
—and then pushed him.
Peter yelped as his foot caught awkwardly, momentum stealing his balance.
The girl gasped.
They both cried out as they went down in a tangle of limbs, hitting the pavement with a soft thump, Peter landing squarely on top of her with his hand protecting her head from hitting the pavement.
There was a very short, very loud moment of mutual panic as their eyes locked against each other.
"Oh my god! Are you ok?!" Peter blurted, face instantly nuclear as he scrambled, hands hovering uselessly as if touching the ground itself might be illegal.
The girl was a blushing mess beneath him, eyes wide behind her glasses, brain absolutely fried.
"Alright, lovebirds!" Taka called cheerfully, already backing away in a dead sprint. "I gotta run! Big plans! Massive preparations! Time-sensitive chaos!"
Peter whipped his head around. "WHAT?!"
"Have fun!" Taka shouted, already turning the corner. "And Peter? Get ready!"
"GET READY FOR WHAT?!" Peter yelled, panicking now, still very much on top of a girl.
"FOR DA FUTURE!"
Taka disappeared down the street, laughter trailing behind him like a bad omen.
Peter slowly turned back, mortified beyond words.
"I am going to kill him," he said weakly.
The girl nodded faintly, face still burning.
"…Y-Yeah," she whispered.
Peter scrambled off her so fast he nearly tripped over himself again, hands shooting up like he'd just been caught committing a crime.
"I am so sorry," he blurted, words tumbling over each other. "That was not on purpose, I swear. My best friend is an absolute menace to society and I will personally help you kick him in the dick when I see him again."
He winced, realizing what he'd just said, then hurried on anyway. "I mean! Not that you have to but if you want to, I'd help! Enthusiastically in fact!"
The girl blinked up at him, still sitting on the ground, cheeks flushed pink.
"I-It's fine," she said quickly, waving a hand like she could physically swat the embarrassment away. "R-Really. I should be, um…"
Her voice dropped into a very quiet mumble as she looked down at her books.
"…th-thanking him, actually."
Peter was too busy internally screaming to hear that part.
He held out a hand, fingers slightly shaky. "Here, let me help you up."
She hesitated for half a second before taking it. He pulled her to her feet, immediately stepping back to give her space, posture awkward and apologetic like he was trying to make himself smaller.
"I swear," he said again, rubbing the back of his neck, "he's usually loud enough that you can hear the chaos coming. This was… new and alarming."
She let out a small, nervous breath that might've been a laugh.
"It's okay," she repeated, softer this time.
There was a brief, awkward pause, the kind where neither of them quite knew what to do with themselves.
"Oh!" Peter said suddenly as if realizing something he forgot. "I'm Peter. Peter Parker."
Her eyes widened just a little at that, and she adjusted her glasses before answering.
"J-Jessica," she said, then quickly added, "Jessica Campbell."
______
The cold room that was once full of spiders was now empty.
Where there had once been movement constant, crawling, skittering life, there was now only silence. The glass enclosures that lined the walls were empty, their interiors scraped clean, webs torn loose and hanging in limp, abandoned strands. Carts sat half-loaded, forgotten. Monitors still glowed, displaying data that no longer had subjects to observe.
The scientist swallowed and tightened his grip on the disposal tablet as he stepped inside, boots echoing far too loudly on the polished floor.
"Okay… okay," he muttered to himself. "Last one, in and out."
One case remained and he would be finally free of this stupid job he was given.
It sat apart from the others at the far edge of the wall, its glass intact, its internal sensors still humming softly. He approached it cautiously, peering inside though the glass.
Empty.
His brow furrowed, confused as to whether or not someone else disposed of it and simply left an empty cage. "That's… weird."
He reached for the top of the cage-
And froze.
The steel lid that was covering the top of the case wasn't just damaged.
It was ripped apart.
Thick reinforced steel peeled back in jagged strips, deep gouge marks etched into the metal like something had teared its way out.
His stomach dropped.
"…How the fuck," he whispered, voice barely audible, "can a spider do that!?"
Cold fear crawled up his spine as the realization hit him all at once.
A super spider.
Loose.
His head snapped up in complete and utter fear. He spun slowly, eyes darting across the room, scanning the walls, the ceiling, the shadows between equipment. His breath quickened. Every vent looked like a threat. Every dark corner felt like it was watching him back.
Nothing.
No spider in sight.
That somehow made it worse.
A sharp, panicked laugh bubbled out of his throat as he backed toward the door in a hurry.
"Nope," he said, shaking his head. "Nope, nope, nope. Not paid enough! Not even close to enough!"
He turned and bolted, badge swinging wildly as he slammed through the exit and immediately went to exit the hell hole of a building.
"NOPE!"
The door sealed shut with a slam behind him, leaving the empty lab silent once more.
…
…
…
…A spider glared from behind a vent, displeased that her prey ran away before it could become her meal.