"The Other Side Of Me"
Who am I? Are you sure you want to know? Actually, I probably couldn't tell you even if I wanted to. I'm trying to figure out that fact for myself. Am I Peter Parker? Shy. Timid. Nerdy high school student? Or, am I Spider-Man? The dashing, spandex wearing and publicly hated on super-hero? Is Peter Parker, Spider-Man? Or is Spider-Man, Peter Parker? Think about that. It's not as easy of an answer as putting on a mask and changing your voice. No, because when I put on that mask, I literally feel like a different person. I'm confident, strong, and quite witty. Everything Peter Parker usually isn't.
Who am I? I'm sure you're thinking not to worry about it. Because that's a question that everybody else in high school asks themselves. Newsflash if you didn't know already: I'm not like everybody else. It's more than the spider powers. Everybody else is still growing up at their own pace slowly finding their own destiny. I can't take it slow, I was forced to grow up. I didn't choose my destiny, it forced itself upon me.
It chose me the day a "genetically altered" (a mouthful isn't it) spider bit me, giving me great powers. I accepted that destiny the day my uncle Ben was taken from me, and I learned a lesson. What I didn't know was those powers that spider gave me were a two-part package. That with great power, there must also come - get this - a great responsibility. I didn't realize that until uncle Ben was murdered, due to my own irresponsibility. As much as I'd like to, I can't put that moment behind me.
If I made a bad choice then, any choice I make now could cost another life. Whether I'm trying to help or not. But it's not like I can quit being Spider-Man and be Peter full time. It's New York, too many people are gonna need me. But what about Peter Parker? What purpose do I serve wasting away in school, spending valuable crime-fighting time in classes that I could easily teach. Why? Of course, I know why. Aunt May. She's already lost the husband she'd been married too for most of her life, what would happen to her if she lost the person she took in as a son? I can't do that to her, Peter has to stick around. Even if she can't know about Spider-Man. Ugh. That leaves me with the problem I started here with. I've been so lost inside my own thoughts I almost didn't notice that Mary Jane tapped on my shoulder.
"Wake up, tiger." She said. Tiger, I love it when she says that.
"Sorry, just lost in my own little world." I told her.
"Well get out of it, Mr. Bendis is about to lecture us about how we don't pay enough attention."
I laughed. Like, genuinely laughed. Not enough to get me in trouble, but enough to make me feel a faint spark of happiness. I guess that's what Mary Jane's for. Ahh, Mary Jane Watson. The girl next door. What can I say about her? I guess there's not enough to say, because there's too much to put into words. All I know is that when I'm around Mary Jane, she makes me feel so...different. My heart beats so fast it might actually jump out of my body. I look at her and I can't look away, or I don't want to. My stomach feels like it has a spider sense (a non-sexual one if that's what you were thinking). And I feel like I can lift buildings. Can I actually do that? I should try sometime. Anyway, she's the one person who I've totally trusted, she's the one person I feel like I can be myself around. Wait. Myself...
Holy crap. Ladies and gentleman, I think I've found my answer. The answer I've been pondering this entire period. I know who I really am, it doesn't matter whether I'm puny Peter Parker or friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Because,who I really am, is when I'm with her.