Felicia said, "But here's the thing, Parker. I like puzzles. And you're the most interesting puzzle I've found in years."
"Should I be worried?"
"Probably. I'm very persistent when something catches my interest." Felicia reached out. Adjusted his collar unnecessarily. Her hand lingered. "We should hang out sometime. Outside of school. Get to know each other better."
Peter noted everything. Her elevated heart rate. Dilated pupils. The subtle body language of attraction. But also calculation. Felicia was playing a game. He just didn't know what game yet.
"What did you have in mind?" Peter asked.
"Surprise me. You're the genius. Figure something out." She walked away. Paused after a few steps. Looked back over her shoulder. "Oh, and Parker? Whatever you're planning, whatever you're preparing for, count me in. I like interesting people doing interesting things."
She left. Just like that. No explanation. No context. Classic Felicia Hardy behavior.
Peter got in his car. Sat there for a moment processing.
Three girls. All brilliant in different ways. All interested. All complicated.
MJ with her artistic soul and journalist instincts. Gwen with her scientific mind and competitive drive. Felicia with her seemingly not so mysterious background and calculating nature.
'I need a strategy,' Peter thought. 'Can't just let this develop randomly. Need to be deliberate. Intentional.'
The question was how. How did someone date three girls without being a complete asshole? How did he navigate this without hurting anyone?
'Honesty,' Peter decided. 'Eventually. Once I figure out what I actually want. But for now, just be genuine with each of them. See where things go naturally. No lies. No games. Just real connections.'
It wasn't a perfect plan. But it was a start.
Even if some voice in his mind said: 'That BS...'
To which he replied
, 'Unless you have some form of plot armour and Peter Parker has his ..hehehe...'
---
The final weeks of junior year passed quickly. Final exams that Peter aced without effort. End-of-year parties he attended briefly. Goodbyes to teachers who'd taught him everything they could.
Coach Wilson pulled him aside after the last basketball practice. "Parker, you've got real potential. Keep training over summer. Next year, you're going to be something special."
"I'll keep training," Peter promised.
"I believe you. You've got that look. Like you're always working toward something bigger."
"Always," Peter confirmed.
June arrived. Junior year ended officially. Peter walked out of Midtown High knowing he wouldn't return until September as a senior.
One more year. Then college. Then the real world. Then everything that came with being Spider-Man.
But first, he had work to do.
---
Peter dedicated his entire summer to one goal. Reach absolute peak human capability before senior year started.
He entered his temporal acceleration dimension that first night of summer. The familiar shift happened. His empty house appeared around him.
Except it wasn't the same anymore.
The dimension had expanded. Massively. What used to be just his house was now a full city block. Buildings. Streets. Training facilities. Research labs.
[Spirit: 4.2]
[Dimensional Space: 500 square meters → 5,000 square meters]
[Expansion Factor: 10x]
Peter stood in the center of what had become his personal training complex. Purpose-built facilities for every type of skill development he could imagine.
Indeed the system dimension had upgraded in a pleasantly beneficial way.
A full-size gymnasium with every piece of equipment. A dojo with training mats and weapons racks. A laboratory with cutting-edge research equipment. A library filled with every technical manual and textbook he'd digitized. A medical facility for studying anatomy and practicing procedures.
'This changes everything,' Peter thought.
He'd been planning to build a secret base in the real world. Use some of his wealth to purchase property and outfit it properly. But now he didn't need to. His dimensional space could serve the same purpose. Better, even.
Because here he had an extra day everyday. He could work for subjective years without without working for years.
Peter pulled up his current status.
[Status Check: June 1st
Age: 15 years, 10 months
Physique: 2.8/10 (Olympic athlete level)
Mind: 8.8/10
Spirit: 4.2/10
Net Worth: $87 million (investments and new patents)]
His wealth had grown. New patents filed over the past year. Smart investments paying off. The money sat in various accounts and holding companies. Ready to be deployed when needed.
But more important than money was capability. Peter needed to reach peak human before the spider bite. Before everything changed.
He walked into the gymnasium. Started his first training session of summer.
It's grinding time.
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