FULL SUMMARY:

Caelum Forest hated three things.

1. His birth name, Algol. It literally meant "Head of a Goat", or alternatively, "Demon God." Half the time, he didn't know which was worse.

2. Tardiness. Caelum valued time and how one spent it. He was a firm believer in that in order to get respect, you must first give it. Therefore, he respected people's time, and they respected his in response.

3. Peter Parker. Caelum couldn't stand Peter Parker. Not how he looked or how he sounded. Yet, Peter insisted on being Caelum's friend.

Caelum hated three things, but he could control these three things. He could control what people called him and how he managed his time. He could manage.

But Peter? Peter stuck to him, stubbornly, and wouldn't seem to let him out of his possession.

chapter one:

Caelum Forest hated three things in this world.

The first thing he hated, was his first name, Algol, which meant - quite literally - "Head of the Goat" or "Demon Star". His younger brothers had prided themselves in teasing him with that, despite knowing that he loathed it with all of his being.

His mother would, too, use the name if she was upset, but he couldn't exactly hit her with pillows or dangle her by her ankles like he did his brothers. In order to avoid this, he stayed on her good side, compiling with what she wanted and not wanting to upset her at all.

The second thing he hated was being tardy. Caelum valued his time, and resented being mismanaged with it. If he wanted to be respected, he would have to emulate it.

So, he kept a very neat schedule of all of his activities. Where he will be, when he will be doing those things, and how long it may take. He turned in class assignments on time in pristine condition and refused to give anything but his best efforts towards his education and his life.

These, he told himself repeatedly, were very good skills to have later on, and if he didn't practice now, he wouldn't be able to have as much control of it in the future.

The third and final thing, Caelum hated with all of his being was Peter Parker. Yes, the bumbling idiot who has been drooling over the same girl since they were in middle school.

Peter Parker, the same annoyance who insisted that they were friends when clearly Caelum wanted nothing to do with him.

Peter Parker, the silly, goofy teenager who he had grown up with in middle school and somehow, some way couldn't get him to leave him alone. Just once, just for one day, so that Caelum wouldn't have to see his grinning face and hazelnut eyes. Just so that Caelum could breathe - just for moment!

Yes. Caelum hated three things. Three entirely separate things that by themselves, were very much simple to deal with. He could silence his brothers when they used his birth name. He could listen and reason with his mother if she used his annoying name. He could manage his time and keep himself even.

And concerning Peter Parker... He could avoid him, ignore him, and insult him until he finally gave their one-sided friendship a rest.

These three things separate were easy to deal with, easy to... Compartmentalize and sort until he could find time for later. That's how most situations went down. One issue at a time, maybe two, if it came down to it.

But all three? The unholy trinity of things Caelum just couldn't stand?

That was a match made in hell, by his standards.

° · ° · ° · °

Caelum say silently in the principal's office, his hand folded and shoulders squared. On his right, was no one other than Peter Parker himself, sporting a bloody nose, and busted lip, holding an ice pack to his swollen cheek. He sent occasional glares towards Caelum, but he didn't entertain him by noticing and making an even bigger scene.

On his left was Ned Leeds, Peter's best friend and follower. They were through the thick and thin together. One was rarely seen without the other. Today, he was serving as an 'eyewitness' of sorts ― even though the boy had nothing to do with the scene.

The three of them sat waiting outside of the familiar office door of Principal Davis. Caelum sighed at the thought, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.

Andrew Davis was an... Interesting figure in the school. He was an older gentleman with slicked back white hair and wrinkled skin, aged with time and liver spots. He had blue eyes the colour of the deepest parts of the ocean and when he was upset, they crinkled at the corners. He was tall, heavy-set, and had a bit of a hunch - probably from hours of leaning over a desk. His fingers were long and thin, and usually found curled around a cup of coffee. That was probably why his teeth were forever stained an ugly shade of brown.

Several times, Caelum had spoken with him, negotiating his stay at the school ― his scholarship was only partial after all. He sometimes would come up and have conversations with the staff, offering to do odd jobs during his free-time, in order to gain their favour. Because of this, much of the school staff liked him and would continue to see his stay at Midtown High School.

His main reason for repeatedly coming to the office, however, was to get extensions on his semester payments. Caelum worked a part-time job after school, a job he was not quite proud of, but necessary. It was with a small auto repair shop a few blocks from the school.

It was simple, and far enough from the school that nobody important would see him. He also worked a few hours after the school day ended, mainly because most kids had gone home at that time, or their extracurricular activities were done.

The job was mainly to pay for the other part of his tuition, the part his partial scholarship didn't pay for ― including lunch and books as well. Midtown High wasn't a public school, it was a very pompous private one, and most students came from big families to get to such a place.

Caelum didn't have that, unfortunately. But, he did have his wits and intelligence, two things he was justly proud of. His reputation was known throughout the school for this, and he wouldn't allow someone as simple as Peter Parker to ruin that. Not after all the work he put in to be here ― and to keep his place.

The bell rang for the class change just as the door opened and Principal Davis stepped through. His eyes glazed the room, seeing Caelum, Peter, and Ned. His eyes narrowed and Caelum straightened in his seat. "Principal Davis," He greeted, but the man stopped him with a motion of his hand. Then, he waved them inside, leading the three boys into his office. He turned and left the door open for the three of them.

Caelum was on his feet immediately, and striding towards the office he knew so clearly. In front of Principal Davis' desk, were three chairs, one of them obviously pulled from the wall, because it didn't match the other two.

Caelum sat himself in the middle, watching carefully as Principal Davis sat down on his desk. Ned and Peter situated themselves beside him, Ned on his left, Peter on his right. Always the same, always the way Caelum wanted it to be.

Principal Davis made himself comfortable for a few moments before his eyes settled on Caelum, "What seems to be the issue?" He finally asked.

"He," Ned pointed to Caelum, "Pushed Peter down the stairs!"

Caelum resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes, wanting to swat Ned's hand away. "This is hardly the case, sir," Caelum replied simply. "He and I were heading the same way, at the same pace, and we collided. I grabbed the side-rail and he, unfortunately, fell." Principal Davis rose an eyebrow, "The security footage will show the same, if Ned believes my story is false."

Principal Davis turned to Peter, who looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but in this office at the moment. "And what is your story, Mr. . .?" He trailed off.

"Parker." Peter answered."

"Porter. What is your story?" Caelum suppressed the twitch of a smirk at the corner of his lips.

"I. . . uh," Peter tried to scratch his messy hair ― something Caelum always wondered if it were against the dress code ― and winced. He must've hit his head hard, was Caelum supposed to feel guilty? "It's kinda fuzzy. . . uhm, we were both heading for the steps, and. . . Cael did grab the rail."

"He tripped you!" Ned argued, unnecessarily loud. Caelum would ask for him to be left outside had Peter's memory, and headspace not been compromised. "I saw! You two were arguing and he tripped you."

"I did no such thing, sir," Caelum defended simply. "And, I do believe that your take on the story, Ned, was that I allegedly pushed Parker. Now, you're saying I tripped him? Which was it?" Ned went red with anger, his small, almond eyes narrowing at Caelum. Caelum was unfazed.

"You didn't help him afterwards!" Ned accused. "You just stared at him!"

"I was in such a state of shock, I didn't know what to do, at first," Caelum admitted. "I didn't know what happened. Are you going to sue me for freezing up?" Ned looked like he wanted to hit Caelum.

The late bell rang, and Caelum let out a sigh. Tardiness ― he hated tardiness. "It seems the story is rather mixed between all three of you," Principal Davis said. "Mr. Porter, as you are the one who is injured, what do you believe should be the treatment of Mr. Forest? Do you believe he pushed you and the fall was intentional?"

"I. . ." Peter looked at Caelum, who returned the gaze. His eyes weren't narrowed or angry. He just looked confused, sad, and hurt.

Peter, unfortunately, knew Caelum. He knew that he was on a partial scholarship, only because Peter had the full scholarship. He knew that if this blemish was on his record, that Caelum had allegedly attacked another student, his scholarship would be revoked, despite the favours owed to him and the hard work he put in place to keep his stay here. Caelum would have to go home and tell his parents that he was no longer allowed to go to the prestigious school that they all praised him for getting into ― the few times he had received his parent's praise.

To have this revoked, to have this taken away after all the work and stress he has put himself through to keep himself coming there. . . Caelum probably wouldn't be able to live with himself.

"Mr. Porter? Did Mr. Forest attack you?" Principal Davis asked, and Peter turned back to the man.

"No," He finally said. "It was an accident. Caelum didn't push me." Caelum didn't realize the tension built between his shoulders until the words left Peter's lips. He tried not to show his instant relief.

"Well, there you have it," Caelum said, and gave Principal Davis an easy smile.

"But―" Ned motioned across Caelum to Peter. "Look at him!"

"Mr. Leeds," Principal Davis stopped him. "If Mr. Porter is unconcerned, then I believe it is not your place to be upset for him. He is capable of speaking for himself, aren't you, Mr. Porter?"

"Parker," Peter corrected, but it was muffled and Principal Davis waved a hand, unconcerned.

"Exactly. Now, you boys will be late. Take Mr. Piercer to the Nurse's Office if he needs to. Hurry back to class ― Mr. Forest, if you could stay behind, please."

Ned and Peter stood, grabbing their bags. Ned shot him a look, but left, Caelum stayed seated, and Principal Davis folded his hands, smiling at him. "Sir?" Caelum asked.

"I had Ms. Keeley contact your mother," He said, and Caelum tried not to wince. "She will be here soon."

"With all due respect sir, that was unnecessary," Caelum said, trying not to express his frustration. He curled his hands tighter, and kept his gaze even on the man.

"Altercations like this will not be tolerated, Mr. Forest," Principal Davis explained. "Midtown High has a lot of eyes watching it. We can't exactly have fist-fights in the halls. We aren't some primitive public school, I'm sure you understand that."

"Yes, of course, sir," Caelum replied easily.

"And, I contacted your mother for a different reason," Principal Davis leaned back in his seat, the chair squeaking as it tried to support his. . . mass. "Your tuition hasn't been paid this month." Caelum inhaled, that. Oh shit.

"We have been working on it," Caelum replied easily. "Money's been. . . tight this month. I ha―we haven't had the income to foot the bill quite yet, but I assure you, sir, it will be coming soon. Either this week or the next."

"I hope so, Mr. Forest," Principal Davis moved to leave his chair, and stood, with much effort on his part. He walked over to Caelum, to kept his gaze even, staring at the spot where he had left as he walked over.

He cupped Caelum's face with his hand, forcing him to look up at him. Caelum swallowed hard, his heart thrumming in his chest. His spinly thumb trailed Caelum's cheek. "I'd hate to see you leave, Mr. Forest," he whispered, his voice no more than a hush, just for them, the two of them. "Lock the door, will you? I'll write you a note for your next class."

"Will. . ." Caelum swallowed, "Will you call my mother again? Tell her that everything is fine?" He had to ask, he had to be sure.

Principal Davis smiled, "Of course," he said, and walked ― more like waddled ― to his desk. He picked up his phone and dialed a familiar number. Caelum watched, patiently. "Mrs. Forest? Yes, this is Principal Davis, there's no need for you to come up to the school ― everything has been handled. Your son," He looked at Caelum, "Is a very convincing boy. They explained that it was merely an accident. Yes, the other boy is fine. No, he will not be suspended. He is being sent back to class now, actually. Yes. . . yes, thank you, Mrs. Forest. You have a good day, goodbye." He set the phone back on the receiver, and Caelum felt another weight leave his shoulders.

Now, was his part of the deal. He closed his eyes for a minute, exhaling as he listened to Principal Davis fiddle with his belt buckle.

° · ° · ° · °

Caelum hated three things in this world. His first name, being late, and Peter Parker.

There, however, was a fourth hate. One he hated secretly, more than any of the other three combined, but he knew was a necessity.

He hated Principal Davis.