Heya! I know I've been neglecting you all by not updating 'Surprise, Surprise!' for absolutely ages, so I'm very sorry, but I've been very busy with coursework and had a touch of writers block with it. Don't worry, it's half term soon and then I'll have plenty of time to write! :P
I wrote this very quickly this afternoon when I should have been doing homework, but the idea jumped into my mind and refused to go away until I'd written the first chapter. Basically, it's Betty/Peter FRIENDSHIP ONLY, and it's plotless, pointless, and fluffy.
Oh yeah, it's set during Spider-man 1, after the Oscorp festival but before Peter's defeated the Green Goblin, so Spider-man is still regarded as a mystery.
Please read and review!
Smoking On The Rooftops
Part 1
Betty Brant cursed as she tripped over the last step to the smoking area on the Bugle's roof top. "Stupid stilettos..." She muttered, remembering the times before she'd stumbled in her pretty but impractical shoes. She pushed the little door open, minding to bend her head. She'd learned her lesson on that account, more times than she cared to count had she banged her head on the low doorframe.
Sighing, she fished her lighter out of her trench coat pocket and stuck a cigarette in her mouth without bothering to look up. It was always the same old. Smoke billowing from the chimneys, casting the Bugle's roof in a hazy cloud, in the far distance the sun going down, shining purple rays upon the granite floor. Amazing, at first glance, but Betty had been working at the Bugle for going on 6 years now, and smoking even longer.
Frowning as her cigarette failed to light, she made her way around the small raised staircase and the lighter promptly dropped out of her limp hand and the cigarette out her open mouth.
Spider-man was sitting perched on the very edge of the roof top, looking out at the sunset, seeming to be perfectly content until she dropped her things and his head whipped round to stare her in the eyes.
She stood, frozen in place by... was it fear? Shock? Or awe maybe?
Then his hand travelled up to his neck and rubbed it, before he climbed down from the ledge and stood up. She recoiled at the motion, back pedalling to gain some distance from the anonymous vigilante. He took a quick step forward, bringing his hand up to her in what he intended to be a placating manner, but to her, brainwashed by months of Jameson's propaganda, it seemed direct and threatening.
Forgetting her packet of cigarettes and lighter, she slowly reached for the structure behind her, keeping her eyes on Spider-man all the while.
"Stay back!" She whispered fiercely, and he recoiled a little at her harsh words, shoulders slumping.
Spider-man stepped back to the very edge again reluctantly. "I won't hurt you..." he spoke for the first time, very softly as if he was talking to a frightened animal.
Betty froze, she stopped edging towards her escape, but she didn't make any move towards Spider-man, either. Truthfully, she had expected Spider-man to lunge upon her and drag her off to his secret web nest; not that she had even expected to meet the legendary Spider-man at all.
She was sceptic at the best of times, so seeing the costumed vigilante so suddenly when for nearly a year she had been disbelieving of the stories, came as a bit of a shock to her.
"I just... I just came up to watch the sunset." He started hesitantly, trying to break the ice. More like arctic circle, Peter thought wryly, as she gave him an odd look and didn't reply.
Betty stared at the man in red and blue spandex who'd just told her he 'just came up to watch the sunset' like he was from another planet.
"What?" She said finally, sure she'd misheard.
"It's nice up here." He offered after a pause. "Isn't that why you came up here?" He added, not knowing what else to say.
Betty's eyes flicked down to the items she'd dropped in her surprise, and he nodded in understanding.
"Ah. Smoking's bad for your health, you know." He said conversationally, and with that, turned back to watching the sunset.
Betty stared at his back for a long while, wavering, before slowly bending down and picking up her pack and lighter. She very gingerly walked closer to the superhero, and stood beside him. Granted, it was several metres away, but it was a start, Peter thought to himself.
He glanced over at her and smiled, but she didn't look at him. So, careful not to startle her, he slowly sat down on the ledge, in his traditional spider's crouch. She followed his lead and dangled her legs over the side.
They just sat in silence for a few minutes, getting used to the rhythm of each others breathing.
Then, "Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-man." Peter offered her a hand.
Betty stared at him for a moment then a cautious smile spread across her face and she shook it. "Betty Brant. Nice to meet you."
"Ditto." Peter smiled beneath his mask, pleased she had calmed down.
"So." He said.
"So." She said.
There was a long awkward pause then-
"Do you work here?"
"Are you for real?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
There was another awkward pause, then Peter said gentlemanly, "You go first."
"Ok," Betty swallowed nervously. "Are you for real?" She hastily began to explain at his look. "I mean, I just came up here for a smoke and I find a man dressed in a funny Spider-man costume, sitting on a ledge and looking about ready to jump. You, uh, are the real deal, right?"
"By 'real deal', do you mean this?" He glanced about then saw a handy flagpole. Grinning, he back flipped up the pole to grip at the top with only the tips of his toes and fingers. He paused then somersaulted back down into his original position as Betty gaped.
Uncomfortable under her gaze he cleared his throat and said, "And what do you mean by 'funny Spider-man costume'?" he looked down at himself. "I think it's pretty funky, personally."
Betty realised she was staring and quickly shut her mouth, Regaining her composure she said, "Well, it's a little... loud."
"I guess," he mused thoughtfully. "They're my favourite colours, though".
"So... you have a favourite colour and stuff?" She ventured, wondering how much she could get out of him without him clamming up. Which didn't turn out to be much.
"And stuff," he repeated, and seemed to want to leave it at that. Betty took the hint.
"Now for my question: What are you doing up here? I mean do you work here or something?" Score 1 for the acting Peter, he thought to himself.
"Yeh, I'm JJ's secretary, actually." She replied.
"Ah, good ol' JJ. Wait, he lets you take a break?" He asked, puzzled. He'd heard Betty complain about how Jameson never slacked off, and never let any of his employees slack off either.
"Um, well, no," Betty blushed slightly under his scrutinising gaze. "I kinda sneak up here for a few minutes of peace and quiet." At that, she remembered the real reason why she'd come up there, and lit a cigarette.
Peter frowned at her. "Those are bad for you, you know." He commented.
"My mother smoked like a chimney. I guess I got it from her." She explained, then raised an eyebrow. "So what, you're the health nut now too?" She shot back.
He put his hands up in the air and backed off. "Hey, I'm just a guy in blue tights." She laughed at that, then smiled at him in wonder.
"You know, you're one of a kind. I always thought you were what Jameson made you out to be, but after-" she paused and checked her watch, "-after only ten minutes of talking to you, I realise you're an ok guy."
"Gee, thanks for your seal of approval." Peter said, letting the sarcasm drip from the words like molasses.
She laughed lightly again, then stood up and stretched. "You know what I meant." She told him, then turned her back on him and headed for the staircase.
He watched her go, and she called back over her shoulder before starting down the stairs, "I guess I'll see ya around sometime. My 'break' is between 12 and 1, just so you know."
End of Part 1
Yes, I know this would never happen. Like I said, it's pointless, but I had fun writing it. :) Review if you liked it, and I'll post the next chapter when I've written it! :D
AN for Surprise, Surprise!:
Sorrow1: You'll see soon enough. And when did I write Jameson leaving his office with a copy of the newspaper?
Brynn: Did you get my e-mail?
Mary Jane Watson-Parker: Well done for the A!
Gloomie daImproved Pot: Eddie followed Peter when he came out of the Bugle and took a photo of him changing... I think it's in chapter 4, I didn't directly say he took photos but I left it to peoples imagination.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! :D