He had forgotten just how... Utterly obnoxious teenagers and high schools in general were. He had been enrolled for all of three months when the administration had taken note of him and his intelligence and had ended up taking placement tests that saw to him being placed three years ahead of his peers. At the young age of 12, he was a sophomore and a straight-A student. He wasn't complaining as it had given him a lot of freedom and moved his schedule up all that much more.

Step 1. Ace school

Step 2. Look for potential would be future super hero. Make connections.

Step 3. Get emancipated.

Step 4. Full scholarship to Empire University.

Step 5. Become rich. Invest in upcoming companies using my meta-knowledge.

Step 6. Become OP. Acquire infinity stone. Learn Magic. Immortality.

Had to work on the last part, but how hard could gaining powers be when everybody and their grandma seemed to be getting them. Seriously, it seemed everything gave you powers in comics sometimes. Heck, any and every form of radiation seemed to, maybe he could get some from microwaving some styrofoam cup ramen and eating it? Or have a play date in some dangerous factory?

Anyways, the only real issues he had was with the other students. He didn't mind not making friends, after all, he was mentally in his mid-30s, he hardly needed their validation or companionship. Being friends with people so... Dumb and immature was bothersome, to say the least.

Frankly, he got along more with the teachers and the Janitor Stan, an older gentleman with greying hair and a perpetual smile, who for some reason seemed to always wear aviator sunglasses even at night or indoors. A strange old man, but friendly and a good conversationist.

Not having friends wasn't the issue.

The problem was that apparently in the 90s, nobody batted an eye if other kids beat the shit out of you. Teachers didn't blink an eye if you walked in class with a black eye, and informing the staff or authority only got the little assholes a slap on the wrist, especially if they were football players. He could spend a week with his face covered in bruises, but God forbid any of them from doing anything more than spend a few days at detention.

Oh sure, he fought back, and while he wasn't trained in anything he had good instincts if he could say so himself and had been in his fair share of street brawls as a kid. He just wasn't used to his new body quite yet, and his lanky frame could hardly pull off some of his attempted maneuvers. Which was frustrating to say the least, when you know you can beat them up, see exactly what they are going to do and how to counter, and yet fail to stop it.

More than the beatings, his pride took a hit that day when he attempted to toss Rick Alderman, the high school quarterback and initiator in most of his beatings, only to promptly fail as his short frame failed to make full use of the momentum for a Judo toss. All he ended up was getting crushed beneath the jock's weight and have them both tumble to the ground.

The more things change the more they stay the same he suppose, as it wasn't that much different from back home now that he thought about it. Man, assholes truly were the same no matter the time or dimensions you go to it seems. An unfortunate universal constant.

The latest stunt Rick's gang had recently pulled on him was playing monkey in the middle with his bag. Three guess on who the monkey was, and two of them didn't count. It ended with his stuff being flung out the window via an over-enthusiastic pass. They soon got bored without being able to continue their game and left, so he rolled up his sleeves and started to climb up the tree. Good thing classes were over for the day and he had nothing important in it.

He had finished just fishing out his backpack from out of it when a shout caught his attention.

"Hey! What're you doing up there?" A young girl with long red hair and bright green eyes stared at him with a small wave. She was a bit taller than him, not that he was all that tall being barely a preteen, standing at a height of 5'4 and in a yellow T-shirt and blue jeans.

"Huh? Ah, I was just grabbing my bag." Tugging it off of a branch he tossed it to the ground and jumped down after it. He got off the crouch he landed in and dusted off his pants.

"How'd it get up there?" The redhead asked him with a raised eyebrow and an amused grin. It was a fair question by any means, although he could do without the funny look, it wasn't as if he had meant to have it hanging there!

"Ya know our quarterback? Rick and his gang threw it out the second-floor window." he nonchalantly said as he opened his bag to make sure nothing was damaged. 

"What?! That's horrible! Come on, we have to let the teachers know." She grabbed his wrist and proceeded to drag him towards the school building. John found himself surprised by her strength and the sheer ease she in pulling him.

Thankfully, he found himself before they had gotten too far. He managed to get her attention by tapping her shoulders and digging his heels in the ground.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Hey, it's really not a big deal, I'm used too it. Thanks though, I appreciate the concern!" 

"What do you mean it's not a big deal? You shouldn't have to deal with this sort of crap, nobody should! You don't have to be afraid of speaking out, I'll be there with you."

"Eh, I've already told the teachers, they won't do anything anyways. My name's John Doe by the way, what's yours?" He gave a casual shrug as he spoke about his issues like they had nothing to do with him. And in truth, it really wasn't a big deal to him. He had aspirations to become a hero known across the world. He can't be bothered by mere schoolyard roughhousing. Besides, it seems as if he might've just gotten himself a new friend? She was interesting enough, that was for sure. He extended out a hand to her as he introduced himself.

The girl's face lit up as bright as her hair in embarrassment as her mind finally caught up to the situation and she released him as if he was a hot potato.

"Sorry about that, my name is Mary Jane Watson, but you can call me MJ for short! I just moved here recently actually so I don't know many people. Hey, do you want to be my friend? I'm going to be a freshman here, I'm starting next week!" she smiled prettily as she introduced herself, giving his hand a light shake. His smile turned stiff as his brain had trouble processing what he just heard. Surely if this was an anime the sound of glass shattering would reflect the state of his mind.

His heart raced in excitement before he mentally slapped himself. Calm yourself, John, she was Spiderman's girl. Future Supermodel, actress, and singer! Does he have a shot with one of his literal fantasies come true?! Does Gwen Stacy go here too? Or did they only meet in Empire State college?! Wait what Earth continuity is this? Can he smash? Would smashing destroy this world by butterfly effect? What if the world ended because he listened to his Little John.

Wait, no, before that, she's fucking 14, you weirdo! Wait...Midtown high...Holy fucking shit this was where Peter and Green Goblin went to school, he had thought there was a chance, but he wasn't sure which version of Earth this was. But he had obviously hit the jackpot!

John's mind raced in chaos as he mentally beat himself up over his thoughts.

"John? Hello? You there?" MJ waved her hand back and forth in front of his eyes, yet he could only see the image of her future self superimposed on her. Shit. This isn't the time to freeze.

"Sorry, was just remembering an assignment I had due soon. It's very nice to meet you MJ, I'd love to be your friend. Come on, I'll give you a tour since you're new here."

"Huh? What about your classes? It's only around 12:15 now, right?"

"Don't worry about it, the teachers let me get away with a lot of things since I'm pulling up the class's overall GPA. Besides, showing a cute girl around is way more fun than doing calculus!"

He mentally facepalmed over his comment, but it was too late to take it back so he kept walking without looking back at her.

'She's 14, remember that, say it with me now, 14, don't be a creep, don't flirt with Spiderman's future wife...Wait, I'm physically 12, wouldn't she be the cradle robber? No, 2 years isn't that big... Should I set some foundation for when she gets older? I mean, kids dating young isn't anything strange right? No, stop it, do not cuck Spidey. He's a great dude. Think of the repercussions on the timeline!... But time travel and dimensional collapse happen so often, surely his interference is an average Tuesday to them? No, wait, holy shit, those things ARE normal... Fuck was his life in danger right now without him knowing? There are plenty of apocalypse storylines.'

"Oh, and I'm a sophomore. Pro Tip #1, If anyone tries to sell you a ticket to the pool on the fourth floor, they're trying to scam you. I don't know who started it, but it's something of a tradition here to mess with the new freshmen. You should be safe though since you're transferring in mid-semester."

They had a fun time touring around the building before they went to the local park nearby for lunch. They sat on a bench with two chili cheese dogs, truly the staple food of New York, his heart and arteries may hate him, but his tongue and stomach sang in pleasure.

"So, what classes do you think I should take?" Mary Jane had her eyebrows scrunched together in concentration as she stared at a pink sheet of paper full of a listing of classes. He took a large bite of his hotdog as he looked over her shoulders at the courses offered for this year's freshmen. It seemed pretty standard to him, nothing new from when he had started out. Although that might not be saying much considering how he flew past it in record speed. Frankly, he had been considering if he should get apply to get his GED since high school was boring and he couldn't scope out any figure of importance, but he was SO glad he didn't. 

"That depends on what you like wouldn't it, tell me what classes you are considering and let's go from there."

"Oh, that's a good idea. Well, I out of the English classes I was considering an algebra class, Shakespear's works, ..."

She gave him an entire list of possible classes and John felt he got a better grasp of her personality. It was truly a surreal moment as he truly got to interact with Mary Jane, and it was so different from merely reading about her. The concept that she was a living breathing person right in front of him was... it was amazing in how it filled him with excitement as he wondered who else he could meet, but also a scary thought. It was a wake-up call he desperately needed. This was real. This wasn't a dream and he wasn't the protagonist. In a few short years, shit would hit the fan and people could and would die. He had to prepare.

He didn't let any of his turmoil show on his face however as he pretended to be carefree as he gave her suggestions. "Personally I think you should take ENG117: American Literature. Shakespear is sooo overrated and the language might be a bit difficult to understand if you aren't used to it, and Mark Twain is just so much more fun to read. Plus it lets you read from a variety of authors and different styles. ENG108: Poetry is also pretty good, the teacher is really nice and the class is fun, or so I've heard."

He took another bite of his meal and gave a short hum in thought. "For math, I recommend AP Algebra, if you pass it will count as credit towards college and it'll give you access to some of the cooler and more advanced science classes"

It took half an hour but the happily chattered away until she had finally decided on what classes she wanted. They headed back towards the school so she could hand in her paper to get her class schedule when a kid ran from around the corner and fell down.

Two groan of pain was simultaneously heard as MJ had rushed over to help him up. He offered the poor lad a hand.

"You alright there?"

"Y-yeah, sorry about that, I should've watched where I was going." He gave a slight stutter with his head hung down.

"Eh, no big deal, don't sweat it. The name's John. John Doe."

A pale hand grabbed the offered limb and the boy hauled himself up, but the words that came out of his mouth almost ensured John dropped him again by mistake.