Since it was Clark and the others' first day of high school, as far as classes went, they barely remembered a thing.
Well, that was mostly true for Eddie. Everyone else had been blessed with pretty solid memories.
And during biology, Peter very quickly found the first true kindred spirit of his high school life. Not Mary Jane, of course, but an academic soulmate: Cindy Moon.
She was a girl with long black hair and delicate East Asian features. When the balding teacher decided to put the grade-skipping Peter in his place with a surprise question, Peter and Cindy raised their hands almost at the exact same moment.
Then it was like the two of them had suddenly exchanged some secret code. They launched straight into a back-and-forth packed with technical jargon and scientific shorthand no one else in the room could follow, turning the class into their own private symposium.
Right then, a pale-faced boy with perfectly styled hair and an expensive custom casual blazer walked into the classroom.
Harry Osborn.
The son of the Osborn family, and a new transfer to Midtown High.
He scanned the room once, visibly disgusted by the people trying to cozy up to him, or shrinking back just because of his last name. He hated people who sucked up to him for money and status, so he walked straight to the back row, pulled out a chair, and sat down next to Clark.
Harry glanced at Peter and Cindy, the two science-obsessed weirdos, then at Clark, who was lazily spinning a pen between his fingers.
"That your brother?" he asked with a raised brow. "Weird kid."
"No," Clark said without looking up, still twirling the pen. "He's a genius. The real weirdo, from where I'm sitting, is the rich kid who could go to the best private school in the state but chooses public school for the authentic commoner experience."
Harry paused. He clearly had not expected this broad-shouldered guy, who looked bright and easygoing and just a little nerdy, to have such a sharp tongue.
But instead of getting angry, Harry did something far rarer.
He smiled.
"Harry Osborn." He held out his hand.
"Clark Parker." Clark shook it. "The one up there giving the TED Talk is my brother, Peter."
Before long, noon rolled around.
After all, lunch was serious business for students. Growing teenagers needed food. Teachers dragging class past the bell? Not happening.
The second the fourth-period bell rang, students with lunch on their minds bolted for the cafeteria. Clark and Peter stopped by their lockers to drop off their morning books before going to meet up with Eddie and Mary Jane.
Then a voice none of them expected sounded behind them.
"Hey, sorry to bother you, but do you know where freshman check-in is? And where the lockers for Homeroom 9A are...?"
It was a girl's voice, bright and pleasant, with an accent they all knew instantly.
Peter had just opened his mouth to helpfully point her in the right direction, but instead his eyes went wide behind his glasses and he started smacking Clark on the arm.
Clark thought his brother had frozen up, so he started to turn to help.
Then he saw her, and his whole body stilled.
Standing in front of them was a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair, a black headband, a white knit sweater, and a pleated skirt. Her features were delicate, and her eyes were the vivid blue she had inherited from her father.
The girl got a clear look at the two of them and froze too.
Then, after one beat of silence, came Gwen's scream.
Yes, this was how girls had expressed shock for generations.
With a scream.
"Gwen!" Peter lit up with delight. To him, she was basically an older sister, just like Clark always looking after him.
"Peter?! Oh my God... did you get taller?" Gwen Stacy looked thrilled, but she barely spared Peter another second before turning toward the sunny-looking boy behind him.
Her heartbeat sped up without her even meaning it to.
And Clark, naturally, heard every bit of it.
That was super-hearing for you.
"Clark..." Gwen said softly, and all at once her voice turned sweet in that shy, unmistakably girlish way.
Years ago, George Stacy had been promoted after doing excellent work and transferred to Boston, and his whole family had moved with him. Now, a few years later, the newly promoted police captain had brought his family back to Queens.
So naturally, Gwen had transferred to Midtown High.
In Gwen's childhood memories, the afternoon when the swing broke remained the most shocking moment of her life. None of the other kids had noticed what really happened, but she had seen everything.
That plain-looking boy, the one who did not seem special except for being a little bigger than the others, had been the one who saved Peter and Mary Jane.
From that moment on, a tiny seed had been planted in young Gwen's heart. She knew Clark was different. He was not an ordinary boy.
He was a protector.
At first, that feeling had only been a child's admiration. But as she grew older, it had slowly become something else.
"Welcome back, Gwen." Clark smiled like sunshine itself, stepped forward, and very naturally took all the books from her arms.
"Thanks..." Gwen looked up at him, at the broad chest and shoulders he had grown into, and suddenly felt shy. Back in the beginning, she and Clark used to be eye level.
Now, all she could really see was his chin.
That height difference gave her an odd sense of safety.
"Oh my God, I knew it was you! Gwen!"
Mary Jane came flying in like a gust of wind and threw her arms around Gwen. The two girls started bouncing and laughing right there in the hallway, and when Eddie came up a second later, he greeted Gwen with a fist bump.
The four-person crew from that morning was complete again.
The five old friends were finally back together.
"Come on," Clark said, slinging an arm around Eddie and Peter as they headed for the cafeteria. "To celebrate Gwen being back, lunch is on me today. My allowance just got a raise."
The two girls followed behind them, already whispering to each other.
When they walked into the cafeteria, it looked like a miniature society, complete with rigid social tiers. Cheerleaders and sports stars occupied the best tables in the center, while the nerds clustered in the corners.
Everyone else filled out the middle.
Background characters, basically.
So after one look at the human seating chart, Clark's group claimed a table by the windows, while Harry Osborn wandered nearby holding his tray.
He looked at all the people trying to attach themselves to him and immediately lost his appetite.
In the end, without bothering to ask whether anyone minded, he walked over and dropped into the seat beside Peter, clearly trying to work his way in.
Peter looked baffled. The Osborn heir had suddenly sat down next to him, even though Peter was pretty sure they had never spoken before. Harry probably did not even know his name.
But Clark's mouth had already started twitching.
What is with this guy acting like we're old friends? We literally just met!
The thought practically shouted itself in his head.
And as soon as it did, there was movement.
A tiny chibi version of Superman with a glowing halo popped up at one side of him, while another tiny chibi Superman with a red devil tail appeared on his other shoulder.
"Oh, relax~" Angel Clark said into his ear. "He looks kind of lonely, doesn't he?"
"Oh, come off it!" Devil Clark kicked Angel Clark away and snapped back, "How do you know he doesn't have some ulterior motive for getting close to us?"