Peters fingers tapped against his desk as his right leg began to give its normal twitch. It had to be today, he thought. It had to.
His mind swarmed with millions of thoughts, starting with a new idea, then flickering to the next through boredom, making his heart pound heavily in his chest. Why did it have to be today? This was the test that was for half of their grade, and today was the day he had forgot to take his pills?
"How stupid could I be?" Peter muttered to himself, as he attempted to stop the twitching him his leg. The anxiety was swelling at his throat through panic that he wouldnt be able to finish the test or be able to get a good grade on it. This was going on my permanent record. I can't fail this test. I can't. I can't. His mind raced more and more, thoughts clouding his brain.
Within seconds, Peter felt as if he was going to puke. His stomach had so many butterflies, he felt as if he would fall out of his chair. He wanted to stand up. He wanted to climb on the walls. He wanted to run down the hallways. He just wanted to get out of that classroom, be able to let out the energy that was picking at his body piece by piece, that was making him hurt. Peter needed air.
Before he knew it, he was standing up from his seat, his legs seeming to want to hop around with glee that he was finally standing up out of that horrid seat.
People were staring at him, a frown on Ned's face and lazy eyes from MJ. Flash readjusted his arms, giving a deviled smirk.
Quickly, Peter cleared his throat, trying to recompose himself. "Er... I... Ma'am, can I go to the bathroom?" He blurted out, much louder than he meant. His fingers were fiddling with the pen in his hand, clicking the top, up and down. Some how his heart was racing faster than his mind, making him feel dizzy.
The teacher raised an eyebrow, "may I...", she stated.
Peter's mouth was going dry, no no no, please, just let me leave. He licked his bottom lip to calm his nerves, people were staring, they must be, they were staring so much. "Uh..." His voice broke, instincts, instincts, go off instincts, "I'm gonna puke." His lied, his face beginning to glow a powerful shade of scarlet.
"Oh, dear! Go, go, go! Why'd you not just say you needed to leave?!" The teacher quickly rambled, implying him to leave before she had to clean the floor.
Peter tucked in his chair, speeding out the classroom, his body smiling because of the fast movements its been needing, but his face doing otherwise, casting a scowl.
He sped down the halls, tripping into the bathroom, into a empty stall and slamming the door shut and falling onto the toilet as he began to dial May's number.
"Pick up, pick up, pick up," Peter muttered to himself, his leg tapping the tile while he bit his nails.
"Hi, this is May Parker, I can't get to the phone right now, so hey! Leave a message?" The phone answered back to Peter.
Peter gribbed the phone tightly, knuckles turning white. "No, no, no, no, no-" Peter began to whine, eyes widening and eyebrows furrowed.
His body began to fidget more, seeming to understand that they wouldn't be getting their pills anytime soon. Its fine, everything will be fine, its okay to get off pills every once in a while, his brain seemed to lie to him. I'll never be able to go to a good college, people will make fun of me, I won't get a job, my powers will go away and I won't be able to help people anymore, oh gosh is it hot in here? I cant breathe, his other side of his brain seemed to scream.
He began to count the bones in his hand to calm his movements and anxiety, the method May had taught him when he was only the mere age of 8. But to no avail. His body proceeded to dance and his breathe still was racing.
A vibrant ring came from his phone, a loud blaring noise that seemed to scare his body to a stop. Mr. Stark, the screen read. Reluctantly, Peter answered the phone, terrified of what Mr. Stark would do if he didn't answer.
"What you doing in the bathroom for so long, kid? Either you're panicking or youre doing something freaky-"
"No, no, no, no, everything's fine. Fine... Great... Fine," Peter began to think of the words, wither they were the right ones to use, distraction hitting him across the face.
"-, kid!" Peter came back to his senses, noticing Tony was talking to him. "I was calling your name forever. What's wrong?"
"Sorry, sorry, sorry. Nothing. Nothing at all," his fingers began to twitch. Everything was not fine. His pills were gone and he was hiding in a smelly bathroom. "How'd you even know I was in the bathroom anyways?" Peter muttered.
"Tracker on your phone. FRIDAY also sends me alerts when your heart rate gets too high," Tony put emphasis on the last few words, "so I know you were panic-."
Peters mouth went dry, "I wasnt-"
"Stop interrupting me. You don't usually interrupt. What's wrong?" Tony said it as if it was a statement instead of a question.
Peter grabbed at his leg, trying to stop it from tapping. "I... Oh gosh, Mr. Stark-" his brain began to scramble, looking for something to get his mind off this, to calm his racing heart.
"I won't judge, kid. Just tell me-"
"I don't want to, though," his mouth mumbled, carelessness in the words, even though his brain was telling him to stop.
"Mr. Stark, I didn't mean to it just slipped, I just... I..." His hands began to shake and it seemed as if he couldnt get a breath.
"Woah, woah, hey, calm down, breathe," Tony's voice softened.
"Can't." The boy sputtered.
Tony's voice went lower, "Breathe, kid. I can send the sui-"
"Just interrupted me again. Tell me what's going on, now."
"I'm here for you. You can tell me what's up," Tony murmured in a calming voice that the younger boy had never heard before.
And with a shaky breath, Peter answered Tony with a small, "I... I forgot to take my... my pills today."
"ADHD... I have ADHD," Peters body seemed to remember the words, sending it into a fidgeting sensation and having his eyes scan the area for something to fiddle with.
"You have ADHD," Tony repeated to himself, as Peter grabbed at the toilet paper and began to rip it into small pieces. "Why'd you not tell me before?"
"I was... I... I'm embarrassed about it. You know how people think that it makes you dumb because you can't focus, dont you? Kids think that if you have ADHD you must be dumb or a cool popular kid that goes out and drinks twenty four seven because they're sooooo hyperactive. They think that we cant control ourselves," Peter paused, looking at the toilet paper that he ripped up and the other damage that he did to the small bathroom stall, "and I guess that's true," He frowned.
Tony sat in a tense silence, unsure of what to say to the boy. He always knew that Peter would fidget and get overly excited and it seemed to calm his nerves when he was able to be moving around but he honestly didn't expect him to actually have ADHD. Not that there was anything wrong with that. All Tony felt was pity towards the kid.
"I don't need pity, Mr. Stark."
"I... What?" Tony sputtered.
The boy gave a soft sigh, "I know that you're pitying me. With you being quiet and all. It doesnt make me feel any better."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Tony said, trying to cover up his surprise at what Pete had just said. "Um... so why are you in the bathroom?"
"I was taking a test and I couldn't focus. I started panic," Peter mumbled, licking his bottom lip. His fidgeting seemed to have went down a bit, which seemed to calm his nerves.
"And you said you forgot to take your pills?" Tony asked.
"Er... Yeah." Peter answered him, brushing his fingers through his hair. His heart seemed to be at a normal speed, making Peter let out a sigh of relief.
Tony paused, "I can go get them for you?".
Peters eyes widened, a soft warm feeling hitting him in his chest. If Peter wasn't so miserable right then, Peter might have refused the idea of Tony going out of his way to go get something he had forgot, but with a smile ghosting his lips, he gave a mere, "that'd be nice."
"K, kid. Stay on the phone with me. I don't want you having another panic attack," Tony said in a nonchalant voice.
Peter smile widened a bit more, "thanks."
"No, thank you for telling me about it. I'm glad I can help."
And as Peter waited in a empty bathroom and as Tony told him about crazy stories of himself from when he was younger, Peter's body seemed to have went completely still and not a single fidget seemed to come.
