Exhausted and wishing he'd stayed in bed, Peter Parker made his way to the humble kitchen of his New York house.
He was sore from the events of the previous night and had a huge bruise on his back. There had been a major bank robbery downtown. A man had several people at gun point and was planning to steal a large sum. The cops had, as usual not been very effective or efficient. Peter had arrived just in time to knock one of the bank tellers out of the way from a bullet. He'd managed to catch the guy behind it but not without taking a crowbar to the back.
Who even uses crowbars anymore? What decade are we living in.
He was just getting his shoes on when he heard his aunt call from the other room, "Peter Parker!"
He sighed internally. He loved his Aunt May, he really did. But she worried about him constantly. He couldn't blame her of course, but it was not always convenient. She had a knack for catching Peter right before he had to leave the house. She would always question where he was going and the majority of the time he would have to lie to her which would leave him with overwhelming guilt. He kept telling himself it was to protect her but part of him felt like she deserved to know.
May Parker entered the kitchen wearing her nurse scrubs. In her mid sixties, she looked good but also tired. She'd aged quite a bit over the past few years. She had several streaks of grey in her dark hair. Upon seeing Peter about to leave, she crossed her arms over her chest expectantly and arched an eyebrow, as if she was preparing herself for his excuse.
"Aunt May I'm heading out right now," He told her, grabbing his backpack and preparing to walk out the door before she could ask him to do anything for her.
"Where are you going?" Aunt May questioned with hints of concern in her voice.
"School," He lied easily, turning towards the door to leave again.
Before he could escape he heard Aunt May clear her throat, "It's Saturday," she commented, not amused. Peter froze, cringing slightly.
Shit.
"Uh yeah I know," Peter began to sputter, attempting to think of an excuse "I have a... you know, a... a..."
"Project?" She offered, suspiciously.
"Yes a project!" Peter nodded, lying through his teeth, "A project that I need to do... At school... Which is where I am going right now."
She obviously wasn't buying any part of his lie, but for some reason she didn't question his any further. She probably knew that she wouldn't get anything out of Peter. Instead she asked, "Could you take this pie over to the new neighbors for me before you go? I would do it but I have a shift in a couple of minutes and I'm already running late."
"New neighbors?" Peter wondered aloud. He hadn't heard anything about new neighbors. Although recently he'd been a little preoccupied with saving New York.
Aunt May nodded, "The Johnson's moved last month, remember? A new family is moving in across the street."
Peter furrowed his eyebrows, "The Johnson's moved?"
Aunt May let out a dramatic sigh, "Yes Peter! I swear, I don't know where your mind is these days! I was talking about it with you just last week!" Peter wasn't paying attention though, he was watching the house across the street trying to think of how he hadn't noticed a new family was moving in, "Peter!" she scolded, trying to get his attention again.
"Sorry!" Peter apologized, turning back to face his aunt before reluctantly replying "Yes, I'll take the pie over."
"Thank you!" Aunt May nodded in approval, "I'll see you tonight?" He could hear the question in her voice. She'd gotten used to expecting him to come home late. Some nights she didn't wait up for him, but most nights she did.
"Yeah, of course." Peter said, although he himself was unsure.
"Alright," Aunt May said before turning to leave. Before exiting the kitchen she said softly, "Be safe Peter."
"Of course," He told her, trying to reassure her.
Peter always wondered where Aunt May thought he was. She had to be curious about why he would come back late at night with black eyes and bruises. The past few years had been so difficult for her, with his Uncle Ben's passing. Did she think he was out drinking or going to parties or getting into trouble?
Sometimes Peter wished he was as his life would be so much simpler.
Grabbing the pie, Peter began to make his way across the street to the Johnson's former house. It was a small white two story house with a small porch in the front. Very unassuming. He'd never really been a fan of the Johnson's. They'd been a middle aged couple who fought constantly. Their fights were epic and left the entire neighborhood talking for days.
When he reached the wooden front door he knocked against it and waited patiently, ready to get this over with.
"Jackie, can you get the door?" He heard a muffled voice from inside yell. Then when no one answered the voice cried out again in a more annoyed voice, "Jackie?"
He heard footsteps and a woman's voice say, "Calm down, I got it!" the door swung open revealing a girl around his age. Not just any girl though. With long shiny deep chestnut hair and eyes the exact same shade there was something both exotic and familiar about her. Her complexion was olive toned and faultlessly smooth. She had delicate hands, pink lips, thick black eyelashes and a small, elegant nose, and—though short—an athletic build. She was radiant. All Peter could do for a moment was stare. He'd not expected to see her and she looked surprised to see him too, "Oh... hello." She greeted him with some confusion, as if she was trying to place his face or remember if they'd met before.
"Hey..." He said trailing off distractedly, unable to take his eyes off of her. Her eyebrows perked up in confusion and he quickly realized that he needed to say something, "Hey!" He said again, more exuberantly, "Oh I'm sorry, uh, I'm Peter. Peter Parker. I live across the street with my Aunt May," He said gesturing to his house.
"Hello Peter Parker. Great alliterated name by the way," She told him with a half smirk, "I'm Jackie," she said extending her hand to him to shake. With the hand not holding the pie he took it and shook her hand. Their eyes locked, and for a second he forgot about everything. Realizing that they'd been holding hands for a little too long, he let out a small cough and pulled his hand away.
"I brought you a pie," he told her holding up the plate in his hand before clarifying, "Well it's not just for you. It's for you and you're family. I guess you could eat it all if you wanted though..." He was rambling again, "My Aunt May made it. I think it's apple."
A smile spread across her face, "Oh wow, thanks! This looks great," She said genuinely. Peter began to pass her the plate but as she took it from him it slipped through her fingers. He saw a look of shock cross her face before he caught it with ease seconds before it hit the ground.
Thank you Spider-senses.
Her eyes grew wide, "Nice save!" She said sounding impressed. All Peter could do was laugh and shrug and pretend like the whole thing had been a happy mistake, because no normal human being could have possibly caught that.
"Well, I'm gonna go put this in the kitchen before I drop it again! We don't have any food yet, so this may be my dinner," she explained only half kidding. She began to head down a hallway to the kitchen leaving Peter at the door, but she turned and faced him, "Do you want to come inside? I mean the place is a mess and we haven't opened any boxes yet, but feel free to come in," she waited expectantly for his reply.
Peter considered telling her that he should be on his way but before he could stop himself he found himself saying, "Sure," and stepping inside her house, following her to the kitchen. Moving boxes were piled high everywhere he looked. There was almost no furniture unpacked.
The kitchen was painted yellow and sun poured in through a small window. He watched as Jackie placed the pie in the empty refrigerator. He pushed his hands into his pockets and rested on the kitchen island.
"So where'd you move from?" He asked curiously, wanting to make conversation.
"California," She replied leaning against a nearby counter, "I lived in San Francisco with my mom."
He nodded, "Wow, so this must be a big change."
"Yeah a little bit," She agreed, "Less fog and less good Mexican food"
"Hey, our Mexican food is pretty-" He started but her laugh interrupted him.
"If the next word you say is good or a synonym for good, you are a liar who has never tried west coast Mexican food," she told him crossing his arms over his chest, challenging him.
"Wow, defensive," he said, taking a few steps towards her, grinning, "Have you tried our pizza?"
"Yeah it's alright," She said dismissively.
"Alright?" He scoffed, feigning shock, "Now that is just offensive!"
"I'm sorry but it's true," She told him trying to be serious, but a smile tugged at the side of her mouth.
He shook his head, "You obviously have not been going to the right pizza places or else you would not make such a brash and arrogant statement."
"Obviously," She agreed sarcastically laughing. There was a way she had of laughing that made him feel like the world might stop right there and then. As if that laughter was enough for everyone and everything and there was no point in anything else bothering to continue.
There was a brief and not totally uncomfortable silence, "So you're in high school?" He asked casually, changing subjects.
Jackie nodded, running her fingers through her hair, "I start at Midtown tomorrow."
"That's where I go." Peter told her, "Are you a senior?"
"Yeah!" Jackie said, a look of relief sweeping over her, "Well, at least I'll know someone on my first day."
Suddenly Peter heard footsteps and another woman entered the kitchen. She looked like an older version of Jackie, with bangs and a longer face, "Who's this?" She asked Jackie, seeming a little surprised to see Peter in her kitchen.
"Peter," Jackie announced, "he lives across the street. His Aunt made us a pie."
"That is so sweet! I'm Maggie, Jackie's sister," She introduced herself with a small wave.
"It's nice to meet you," Peter told her.
"He goes to Midtown too," Jackie told her sister.
"Oh how wonderful," "You'll have to show Jackie around."
"Yeah take me to some of those pizza places you claim are so amazing," Jackie teased.
"Oh they are," he assured her
"I'm sure," she said rolling her eyes.
He was about to combat her was another remark about the pizza places, when he heard several sirens in the distance. He wanted to stay, but he knew he couldn't, "I really should be going," he told them.
"Of course," Jackie said understandingly and as Peter turned to leave she followed him.
"Thank your aunt for the pie!" Maggie called after him.
When they reached the door he stopped for a moment wanting to get one last look at her. She smiled and opened the door for him, "It was nice to meet you Peter," Jackie said, "I'll see you on Monday."