I've been going back and forth on whether I should post this. I haven't finished it yet, but it's been so long since I've uploaded anything. I have 29,000 words so far, and I'm almost done, so I decided that it was time to post the first chapter. I'm still pretty new to writing, so I do apologize for any mistakes, I've read this chapter so many times but if I did miss something, please, let me know.

This story is AU. Peter doesn't have his powers, but the Avengers are a thing. Some of the characters are OOC (Peter, Tony, Steve), but I just wanted everyone (Steve and Tony) to get along! Is that too much to ask? I don't think this is a Stony fic? Like I said, I haven't finished yet, but if you have a preference, let me know!

A lot about Peter's past is revealed in chapter two, so I'm not going to explain it here.

Avengers

Peter Parker was having a bad day.

First, he slept through his alarm; then, when he did wake up, he only had 20 minutes to get to school. Of course, it took 40 minutes to get there, so he was going to be late no matter what. Then, as he was stepping off the train, someone ran by and stole his backpack. He gave chase, but after a block and a half, the backpack thief disappeared. Peter stopped and slumped forward, resting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. He growled in frustration when he looked around and realized that he had run away from the school. I'm so late. If He finds out, he'll kill me.

"There isn't even anything of value in there. Just notebooks, pencils, and my lunch." He grumbled as he trekked the rest of the way to school. At least I left all my textbooks in my locker yesterday. The teen thought sadly; he shuddered at the thought of having to tell his foster father that he needed new textbooks. He would find some way to blame me for losing them and then he'd probably beat me for it.

Peter finally made it to Midtown Tech. He was 47 minutes late. The brunette jumped when the bell rang; he hoped that he would be able to blend in with the crowd and make it to his locker and second-period without any of the faculty noticing.

Peter closed his locker just as Ned walked up. "Hey, Peter. Where were you?" He asked.

"I slept through my alarm, and then someone stole my backpack," Peter answered sullenly.

Ned winced and clapped a hand on his friend's back, missing the way the smaller teen's face pinched in pain. "That really sucks dude. Did you lose any textbooks?"

"No. Thank God." I wouldn't have been able to hide that from Him. Ned knew that Dave wasn't very nice, but he didn't know everything. He thought that it was at least better than the group home. It wasn't, at least there he had people that cared about him. Sometimes he wondered about Sammy, and if his new placement was better or worse. Not knowing whether his pseudo little brother was safe or not killed the teen; his urge to protect those smaller and weaker than himself sparked every time he thought about the seven-year-old.

"I can bring my old one tomorrow if you want." Ned offered in hopes of cheering the brunette up.

Peter Looked up and gave a weak smile in appreciation. "Thanks, Ned. You're the best."

"No problem. Let's get to class before we're late. Again." Ned said as he pulled the smaller teen down the hall.

Avengers

By the time lunch rolled around, Peter was exhausted. He had woken in the middle of the night after a nightmare. It hadn't been a particularly bad one, but it had been difficult to fall back asleep afterward. Mostly because the teen had been worried that he had woken his foster father, he hadn't, but every time Peter had started to drift off to sleep, he would jolt awake because he thought he heard footsteps on the stairs. It was why he had slept through his alarm.

He and Ned sat at their usual table toward the back of the cafeteria. Peter's stomach growled. As if I needed to be reminded that I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday.

"Here, have part of my sandwich," Ned said as he placed half of a tuna salad sandwich in front of his best friend.

The brunette smiled sadly before responding. "Thanks, Ned. Have I told you that you're the greatest?"

"Yup, but I wouldn't mind hearing it a few more times." He said with a smile.

"You're the greatest, Ned," Peter said before laughing. He took a bite of the sandwich and savored the first meal he'd had in 24 hours. When Peter had gotten detention last week, Dave had been furious; he had decided that a week without breakfast or dinner should teach him to behave while at school. He had been so relieved that missing a few meals was his only punishment. It could have been so much worse. The boy shuddered at the thought. He hadn't even done anything wrong, Flash had pulled an awful prank and managed to blame it on Peter. The teen had tried to convince Mr. Watts to give him lunch detention and to please, please, not tell Dave, but Mr. Watts had always hated him and did the opposite. He gave Peter two days of after-school detention and made the phone call right in front of the teen.

Suddenly, something sticky hit the brunette in the back of the head before falling to the floor with a wet plop. "Hey, Penis! Did you have to mug a hobo for that shirt? Cause I'm pretty sure it belongs in the trash!" Flash yelled before cackling.

"Ignore him. He's just jealous because you're smarter than him." MJ said as she sat down across from Peter. She handed him a napkin, and the teen wiped the mayonnaise from his hair. The teen smiled at his newest friend.

"That doesn't really make me feel any better." He admitted pitifully.

"I'll just punch him in his ugly face next time. Maybe he'll leave you alone after that." She responded, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Thanks, MJ, but that will probably just make it worse." He said sullenly. The bell rang, and everyone hurried to their next class.

The rest of the day went pretty well until his seventh period. Flash was in Peter's math class and would always give him dirty looks when the brunette answered a question correctly. The bully had tried to pass a note to his friend, but somehow, it ended up on Peter's desk when Mrs. Forrest looked his way. The teacher confiscated the note, read it, and threw it away without so much as a glance at the brunette.

When the bell rang, Flash must have had somewhere to go because he practically sprinted for the door. Usually, he liked to try and corner me on my way out. The teen was about to walk out of the room when someone spoke behind him.

"Peter, would you stay behind for a moment, please?" Mrs. Forrest asked.

The teen froze for a second before turning around and nodding. "Okay,"

"You're not in trouble. I know that note was Flash's." She said softly. Peter looked up and didn't see any indication of deception. It had been nearly a year since an adult had shown him much kindness. "How often does Flash bully you? I've noticed the bruises." She asked as sorrow filled her eyes.

Fear spiked through the boy. She's seen the bruises? He instinctively pulled his too-long sleeves down farther. "Uhh… J-just sometimes. He doesn't usually leave marks. He's just jealous cause I'm smarter than him." He repeated what MJ always told him, but he didn't believe that the words were true. If I'm so smart, why do I always mess everything up?

"I could talk to him or his parents if you want." The teacher offered.

"N-no, thanks, it's fine. I'm dealing with it." If she told anyone and He found out…Flash never leaves bruises, harsh words and humiliation are his weapons of choice.

"You don't have to deal with it alone." She insisted.

"I'm okay, really. Thank you for the offer, though."

"Okay, Peter. If you ever need anything, you know where to find me."

The teen nodded and hurried to his locker. He didn't have much time, and he didn't want to miss his train.

Avengers

Peter had math homework, so he had to carry his textbook home. Man, textbooks are heavy. He thought as he stepped off the last train. I just hope that He is in a good mood today, maybe he'll let me have dinner tonight.

Peter stood on the front porch, trying to work up the courage to open the door. He was terrified that Dave had found out about him being late to school. What would he do if he found out? The brunette took a deep breath and carefully opened the door. He stepped in and quietly shut the door before he turned and scanned the living room. Peter let out a sigh of relief when he didn't see Dave in his usual spot in front of the TV. The brunette silently made his way through the house toward his room. He almost made it to the stairs when a hand shot out and shoved him into the wall. The teen yelped in surprise as he dropped his textbook. He looked up into the eyes of his tormentor and shivered at the anger that filled his eyes.

"Why weren't you at school this morning?" The man barked.

Peter started trembling as he tried to think of what to say that would piss the man off the least. "I-I...I'm sorry." The terrified boy whispered to the floor.

Dave grabbed Peter around the throat and pinned him to the wall. The brunette gasped and hastily wrapped his hands around the much larger man's wrist. "Where. Were. You." Dave growled.

"I sl-slept through my alarm." He responded shakily as tears slid from his eyes.

Dave yanked the teen forward before slamming him back into the wall.

"I'm sorry! Please, I'm sorry!" Peter sobbed.

"Your teacher called me last week when you got detention. Today I got a call from the principal; he said that you missed your first class. I was at work for both calls. You're making me look bad in front of my co-workers!" Dave yelled before punching the boy in the stomach.

Peter gasped as the air was forced from his lungs. Dave released his grip, and the brunette slumped to the floor. "I'm sorry." He panted.

"Sorry, doesn't cut it! You need to do better! Stop being so worthless. Stop being a burden. Perhaps another two weeks on food restriction is in order." The man growled before kicking Peter in the chest.

The helpless teenager curled into a ball, trying to make himself as small as possible.

"I'm sick of having to repeat myself! Get your shit together!" Dave yelled before continuing to kick the lump on the floor.

The teen yelped when a harsh strike landed on his shoulder. After a few more blows, Dave stopped and panted. "I think a night in the closet is a good start for your punishment."

Peter closed his eyes and let out a sob. "I-I'm sorry. Please, I'll do better. I p-promise." He begged.

The man ignored him, and his hand shot out to tangle in the boy's hair. The teen grabbed onto the appendage and tried to relieve some of the pressure. He yelped as he was dragged down the hall to the closet. Dave dropped him and opened the door. He pulled out a roll of duct tape and kicked Peter over to his stomach. The brunette held still and silently cried as his hands were tied behind him. If he tried to fight it would just bring more pain. "Do you need some on your mouth as well?"

"N-no, sir," Peter said quietly.

Dave yanked the teen up and threw him into the closet before he glared down at him. It seemed as though he wanted to say something, but the moment passed, and the door slammed shut. Dave had never put a lock on the door, but Peter was always too scared to leave before he had permission.

Peter whimpered in fear. He was almost glad to be in the closet. Anything was better than the basement. He quietly sobbed as he tried to remember what it felt like to be loved and protected. I miss you so much, May. I wish you were here.