Hey y'all! So this is basically my first fanfic (not counting the awful one I wrote when I was 13) and I'm actually super excited to write this. I have been diagnosed with Bulimia and EDNOS and am using this fic to write down my thoughts to cope with shit. A lot of this fic is based on my own personal experience with EDs and it MAY BE TRIGGERING so please don't read this if you are currently struggling with an ED.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Where am I? Wait, I need to go after that mugger! What's that noise? Suddenly the memory of Peter fainting came back to him. As he opened his eyes, he realized that he was no longer on the street, but rather in the medical section of the Avengers compound.

In the corner of the room, Tony anxiously paced the room while an Asian woman appeared to be reading something off a StarkPad. "Mr Stark?" Peter whispered, "What am I doing here? When did I get here? What happened? I don't even-"

"Woah there kid, slow your roll for a minute. Long story short, you passed out while you were on patrol because your blood sugar levels were fucked up. Your heart rate is also dangerously low, at 40 beats per minute, which is terrifying considering that after the spider bite, your heart rate but unusually high, at 120 beats per minute. Your electrolytes are all over the place and you-" Tony began rambling on about the medical consequences that Peter hadn't even given a second thought about. After all, he was Spider-man, his body should've been able to handle a "little discipline" when it came to food.

"Uh...Mr Stark? I don't know if you know the definition of "short", but I don't think this is it," Peter joked as an attempt to lighten the mood and hopefully delay the conversation he knew was inevitably coming.

"Peter. This is serious. You could've died, and if you keep going on like this, you're going to. It's okay that you're struggling kiddo, and I want to help you. I called May already and explained the situation. This is Katherine Cho, Helen's cousin. She's a doctor that specializes in eating disorders. I'd talk to you myself, but I'm not an expert in eating disorders and despite being a genius, I don't have the qualifications to diagnose you with anything and determine the right treatment program for you. I'll leave you two be," Tony responded seriously.

"Wait? Eating disorder, what? Mr Stark, you can't be serious? I don't have an eating disorder, I just forgot to eat, I swear. I don't need treatment!" Peter exclaimed.

Tony looked Peter in the eye and responded sympathetically, "I know it's hard to admit you have a problem, but you need help Pete, I'm sorry."

Katherine Cho was nice, but she didn't accept Peter's bullshit about "not having an eating disorder", or "having the whole thing under control". Apparently the whole disorder stemmed from control, which Peter could accept, not that he'd admit it out loud. It seemed like Katherine never stopped asking questions. "Have you ever purged?/Any laxative or diuretic abuse?/What kind of restrictions do you have when it comes to food?/Any odd food rituals?" At first, Peter denied everything until he realized that Katherine wasn't going to leave him alone until he was honest. Little by little, the truth behind how the whole thing began came out. It was a difficult thing to admit, and a voice in his head was screaming at him the more he opened up. However, it did feel a bit freeing to let go of the secret that had quickly taken over his life.

"Peter, based on your vitals, lab tests, and frequency of eating disorder symptom use, my typical recommendation would be intensive inpatient care at the Melkat Clinic. However, with your enhancements and mutations, I cannot send you there as they would be unable to accomodate a suitable treatment plan for you, and it would also put your identity at risk. I however, run a residential program over in Brooklyn called The Anna Program and I'd like to admit you today. Mr Stark has already signed all the papers, and if your aunt agrees, you'll go right over there after this session is over."

"Ms Cho, I can't go to a mental hospital! I'm not that bad! Like, I know this looks bad but I promise I'll start eating! And I have school, decathlon, and responsibilities as Spider-man. I can't just drop everything to go into a treatment center. If anything, I'd just be taking the spot of someone who actually needs it and wasting resources." Peter couldn't believe that Katherine had convinced Tony that he needed to be placed in some facility. He finally had admitted that he was sick, but he wasn't that sick. He wasn't even at his goal weight yet.

"I'm sorry Peter, but your test results clearly tell us otherwise, and as a minor, as long as your guardians sign off, you will be placed into treatment, whether it is voluntary or not," Katherine replied.

By the time Peter's evaluation with Katherine was over, Tony had already filled May in on what was going on, and they'd collectively agreed that he be admitted right away. May went back to the Queens apartment to pack Peter's things, and Tony was currently driving Peter to the facility. I can't believe that they agreed to this without even talking to me. They have no clue if I'm really sick or not because they haven't even talked to me! How can they just expect me to drop everything and go to some hospital that I don't need to be in?

Peter had refused to talk to Tony the entire car ride, still angry at being blindsided and forced into treatment. That didn't stop Tony from prompting him every five minutes with a "hey kid", or "are you going to ignore me the entire car ride". However, thirty minutes into the ride, Peter finally exploded.

"I can't believe you! So the first thing you do when I'm struggling is send me away? I thought you cared. I thought you were done with the whole 'hands-off parenting' thing after the whole 'Thanos snapped half the universe to dust' shit went down!" Peter was shaking in his rage at his mentor.

Tony looked at Peter like with an expression of pain as if he'd just been stabbed by a knife. "I do care kid, that's why I did this. I knew something was going on with you for a while, you haven't seemed like yourself. You need help kiddo, more than I can give you. Treatment's hard, but it's necessary. Otherwise, things are just going to get worse until you die. That's the hard truth kid. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you again."

"And how would you know? You know nothing about any of this? You can't just control me and force me to go somewhere that I don't need to be! If you'd even bothered to talk to me first, you'd get that I have this whole thing under control! I don't need help, not from this facility, and sure as hell not from you. You know NOTHING!" Peter regretted the harsh words the minute they left his mouth. He wasn't sure where all that anger had come from. Maybe it was the lack of nutrition messing with his brain, or the stress from running his body into the ground that was causing him to lash out so uncontrollably. Either way, the words were out and he couldn't take them back now.

"I do know what it's like kid. I had...have Anorexia Binge/purge subtype. I've struggled with it since I was 14 and I have been hospitalized five times for it. Yeah, it's a miracle that the tabloids didn't find out about it and have a field day with it. I think Howard paid a ghastly amount of money to hide it because he was so ashamed of me for something I couldn't control. I've been in recovery maintenance for the past ten years and I still see a therapist for it. I slip up occasionally but I've been lucky enough to have the support to help me. So maybe we aren't exactly the same, but I know how hard it is to have an eating disorder and how hard it is to even admit that fact. I know I don't say it enough but I love you kid, and the only reason I'm doing all this shit is to help you."

"I'm so sorry Mr Stark! I didn't know!" Peter exclaims regretfully. "But thanks...you know...for caring...and I love you too."

The rest of the car ride goes by rather quickly, and before Peter knows it, they're pulling up to a brown brick building that has a giant sign in front with a design saying "The Anna Program heals eating disorders", and another with a bunch of colorful zigzag lines that said "Recovery isn't linear" underneath.