Disclaimer: Characters owned/belong to Marvel Comics, Sony and the CW4Kids.
Summary: A look at the Spectacular Spider-Man Universe through Mary Jane's POV. Written for the Yuletide 2008 Challenge.
AN: I would like to thank sean montgomery for her wonderful betaing skills.
It had been an interesting few months since Mary Jane Watson had transferred to Mid-Town High. She never thought that she would leave her old school until her path had crossed with that of her neighbor, Peter Parker. Meeting that young man and accompanying him to his Formal had started her on a very unique journey. Also, she got to meet some new friends and get a first hand look at the Spectacular Spider-Man.
My life certainly hasn't been boring lately, Mary Jane mused while in Math class. This subject had never been one of her strong suits and she was lucky that she would not have to put up with this class much longer. Her final one of the day was Drama and that was one subject that she always looked forward to.
"Hey, MJ…" a voice called out to her without a response. "Mary Jane?"
"Uh, what…?" Mary Jane replied with a start, finally hearing who the voice was.
"You okay?" asked Peter after giving his friend a slight nudge.
"Oh, hey, Tiger. What's up?"
"Well, class is officially over now. You must have been somewhere not to notice."
"Yeah, just deep in thought."
"Anything you want to talk about?"
"Nah, nothing important but I should be off to my Drama class now."
"Mind if I walk ya there?"
"Why not."
Mary Jane gathered her things and headed off with Peter to her final class of the day.
"What's on your agenda for the rest of the day, Pete?" asked Mary Jane as they strolled through the halls.
"I thought I would swing by the Bugle after my last class to drop off some pics that Mr. Jameson may be interested in," Peter answered happily.
"Good, how's your Aunt?"
"She's glad to be home and it will take her a bit before she is fully recovered. Aunt May even has plans for another cookbook to help with the cost of her medical bills."
They both chuckled over that. Mary Jane would make an effort to visit with May very soon and perhaps her Aunt Anna would accompany her.
"Here we are," Mary Jane stated as they reached her Drama class.
Opening the door for her, Peter said, "Enjoy your class, MJ and talk to ya later."
"I will, Tiger. Later."
*****
Drama class seemed to cruise on by for Mary Jane and that is one of the reasons why she enjoyed it so much. It also didn't require a lot of brain power like her previous class to get through it. For Mary Jane, her natural talent made her breeze through any of the class's lessons.
As she left the classroom, Mary Jane spotted one of her good friends heading for the nearest exit.
"Gwen, wait up!" MJ shouted out towards the blonde and sprinted to catch up.
Hearing her name called out, Gwen Stacy took a look behind her to find out who had called out to her. Seeing that it was Mary Jane, she stopped and waited for her friend to catch up.
"What's up?" asked Gwen once MJ had reached her.
"Glad that the school day has finally come to an end but it's always nice to end it in Drama class," Mary Jane said as they both continued on out of school. "Do you mind walking together?"
"I've got no problem with that."
Gwen had become a very good friend to Mary Jane. Part of the reason why they clicked was due to Peter and that MJ didn't care to hang out with the brainy crowd at Midtown.
"Have you seen, Pete?" Gwen asked as they got on the bus after a not too long of wait.
"Yeah, he said that he was heading to the Daily Bugle to drop of some photos and to see if he can wrangle an assignment out Mr. Jameson." MJ replied as the pair found an open seat and sat down. "So, how are things going between you two crazy kids?"
That question got Gwen to blush a little bit. "Things are going well."
"So, you finally moved from the friend's stage to the more-than-friends stage."
"Uh huh and we've gone out a couple of times."
Mary Jane was happy to hear that. "How did this happen?"
"This all started after we talked about the kiss I gave him during Thanksgiving."
That last statement of Gwen's surprised MJ.
"Whoa there, girl, let's back this up a bit. Did you say you kissed, Peter Parker?"
Gwen blushed again while she pushed up her glasses. "Yeah, it happened when my dad and I were leaving his place. I was about to head to the car and turned around and kissed him."
Mary Jane then gave her friend a playful nudge from her elbow. "So you made the first move - very impressive. Knowing Pete, he would've taken forever to do that."
"That's very likely."
They both shared a laugh over that.
"You got a great guy there, Gwen," Mary Jane mentioned, happy that her friend had finally made her feelings known to Peter.
"That I know."
The rest of the bus ride they chatted about this and that until it was time for Mary Jane to get off.
"See ya tomorrow, Gwen."
Just before MJ got off the bus, Gwen asked, "Would you like to go skating at Rockefeller Center this weekend? A bunch of us from school are going."
"Sounds like fun. Are you going to bring Pete along? I'd like to see him on skates."
"I think that can be arranged. If all else fails, I just have to give him 'The Look'."
"You do that," Mary Jane chuckled as she left and waved goodbye to Gwen.
As she walked from the bus stop to her home all Mary Jane could think about was how Peter would look like skating.
*****
MJ did not go home right away; instead she went to visit May Parker from next door. Her talk with Peter earlier really prompted her to do so and she really enjoyed talking to May. It happened that she wasn't the only Watson interested in visiting May because when Mary Jane had knocked on the door to the Parker's residence, her Aunt Anna opened it.
For the next hour or so, Mary Jane had spent some quality time with May and Anna; she even did some homework while the adults were embroiled in adult conversation. Plus it was not long until Peter arrived home and that was a godsend for MJ. She was having trouble with some of her Math homework and asked Peter for some help. He happily obliged.
Of course, as Anna and Mary Jane attempted to leave, May invited the pair to stay for supper. That was another thing that MJ adored about Peter's aunt. Both her mom and aunt were very good cooks in their own right but it certainly was a treat to be able to eat a meal prepared by May Parker.
In gratitude for the invitation Anna and Mary Jane aided in the preparation and setting the table. Peter was drafted to help as well but he didn't seem to mind. With everything in place for the meal, May brought out the main dish which was a hearty meatloaf. Anna, MJ and Peter brought in some side dishes and a freshly tossed salad.
Everyone enjoyed the meal and when the time was late, Anna and Mary Jane bid the Parker's good night and headed for home.
"Mrs. Parker looked well today, didn't she, Aunt Anna?" Mary Jane asked once inside their home.
"She looks like her old self again. Also, she hasn't lost her touch in the kitchen," replied Anna as she took some leftovers that May had given her to the kitchen.
"And I bet Peter is proud of that fact, too."
"I think so."
"I believe I will go to bed now, Aunt Anna. All that homework and dinner has made me tired."
"All right, sweetheart. Have a good night, Mary Jane."
"'Night, Aunt Anna."
*****
Later that night
"Where's that noise coming from?" asked a groggy Mary Jane who awoke from some strange kind of sound.
Getting up from bed and putting on her robe to keep the chill off, she went to her window to see what could have caused that noise. It must be the house creaking or something, she mused as couldn't see anything out of her window that could have done the noise making.
But something had caught her eye. Next door, she could see a dark figure crawling around the outside. A thought of a burglar did not cross Mary Jane's mind because she had a very good idea on the identity of the person she had seen. The shadowy figure briefly stepped into the moonlight and confirmed her thoughts. It was a blue and read garbed figure and that meant only one person - Spider-Man.
"I wonder what Peter's up to tonight?" wondered Mary Jane. She had seen this display at night before. It was her first sighting of the wallcrawler that made her realize that Peter Parker's face was behind that of the webslinger. Seeing him like that brought back that memory.
A few months ago…
The police appeared to be out in force one night and their focus had been on the Parker residence. Mary Jane had heard that her neighbor, a Ben Parker, was killed and that her aunt had went next door to console the late man's wife. She had stayed home so as not to be in the way.
She knew that the Parker's had a nephew that lived with them but they had never met, personally. From time to time, Mary Jane got a glimpse of their nephew and she found out that he was the same age as her and named Peter. It made her wonder if he knew what had happened to his uncle.
It looks like he's about to find out, MJ thought as she saw the younger Parker talking to one of the police officers. Her heart broke seeing him react to the news and rushed inside. A few minutes later, she noticed something coming out of one of the upper windows to the Parker home. The figure was clad in red and blue with some kind of web design over the red parts of what Mary Jane considered was a costume. She continued to watch the masked man as he fired some kind of line and then swung off into the night. That was a sight Mary Jane would never forget.
Present
It had taken Mary Jane a while to get use to seeing Peter in costume but she never told him that she knew. She figured that no one knew about this - not even his aunt or Gwen. That puzzled her, but Peter probably had his reasons for not telling anyone. Well, she would keep her friend's secret.
The last thing she saw him do was shoot a webline and swing off into the distance.
"Take care of yourself, Tiger," Mary Jane said as she left the window, got back into bed, and tried to get back to sleep.
*****
Rockefeller Center, Skating rink
"You know, Pete, I'm kinda surprised that you're still on your feet," Gwen mentioned as she, MJ and Peter skated around the rink.
"Well, I'm not just a big brain after all. Plus, it didn't hurt having Aunt May take me skating from time to time," stated Peter as he demonstrated skating backwards with a couple of turns added for good measure.
"Tiger, you definitely have some skating skills," complimented MJ as she too showed off her ability to her friends.
"Would you take a look at that… Nerds on skates," Flash Thompson chuckled out as he noticed Gwen and Peter skating.
Flash's comment got his friend Kenny "King Kong" Harlan laughing as well.
"Don't mind them, Petey. You look pretty good on skates," Liz Allan said in Peter's defense.
"From what I've seen, Parker can surely handle himself on the ice," added Rand Robertson.
Flash then skated right up to Peter and challenged him by saying, "If you think you're so hot, why don't we have a race to find who truly is the better skater?"
Gwen pulled Peter aside and told him, "You don't have to prove anything, Pete."
"Go ahead and race Flash, Parker. Unless you're chicken," Kong added and further goaded Peter with some clucking.
"All right, Thompson. You're on," Peter finally answered with determination.
Rand and Kong etched a line in the ice as a starting/finish line.
"Two laps around the rink and we'll have a winner," explained Rand as both Peter and Flash took their places behind the makeshift starting line.
"Be careful, Peter," Gwen said and gave him an encouraging kiss on the cheek.
"I will, Gwendy," Peter replied with a small smile.
"You ready to eat my dust, Parker?" asked Flash as he dug his skates in the ice.
"I don't think so, Flash, but perhaps you would prefer to suck on shaved ice as I zip by you," answered Peter who also prepared himself to go.
"When Liz lowers her scarf, you two go," Rand explained to the competitors. "On your mark, get set…"
Liz dropped her scarf and the racers took off.
As Peter and Flash commenced their dash on the ice, there was some pushing and shoving. Flash did the most while Pete fought him off.
"Come on, Pete! You can beat him!" Mary Jane happily cheered.
"Kick Parker's butt, Flash! He's not good enough to win," Sally Avril encouraged.
"Mary Jane, do you really think Pete has a real chance of beating Flash?" Gwen asked with concern for her boyfriend.
"You know, Gwen, I wouldn't be surprised if he does," replied MJ as she pondered on how Peter's spider-like abilities would assist him.
As Flash and Peter entered the first turn of the rink, they were pretty much side by side. Flash, being on the inside line had a slight advantage over Peter and after the second turn had taken the lead. Seeing this, Peter knew that he needed to get on the inside if he had a shot of beating his high school nemesis.
When the entered the third turn, Peter had narrowed the gap between him and Flash. In the last turn of the lap, Flash took a wide turn which had given his opponent a chance to pull even once again.
They neared the line that signified the first lap had been completed and seeing that Flash could use a little help, Kong stuck out his skate in order to trip up Peter. Unfortunately for Kong, Peter's spider sense warned him of the action. A push from his rear skate, Peter leapt into the air and not only sailed over the outstretched skate but into the lead for the first time during the race.
"What was that for, Kenny?" Glory Grant angrily asked her boyfriend, tapping her skated foot on the ice as she waited for an answer.
"It was nothing, Glory - honest," he pleaded and hoped that Glory wouldn't breakup with him again.
The 'assist' from Kong spurred Peter on further and he had lengthened his lead on Thompson as he entered the first turn of the final lap. His spider-agility came in handy as Peter zipped through the next turn and easily avoided some skaters who had recently taken to the ice.
Flash hoped that he would be as lucky as Parker but he had to slow down to get past some people. Once through the pedestrian obstacles, he picked up speed in hopes of catching his rival.
As he entered the second last turn, Peter took a look over his shoulder to see where Flash was. He was delighted to see that he had a pretty lengthy lead but knowing that his opponent would not give up so easy, continued into the last turn at his current pace.
The current state of the race did not go unnoticed by Flash and he knew it was now or never to make a move. He mustered up a burst of speed in order to catch Parker and in doing so he narrowed the gap just bit as he made the second last turn. Flash then sped through the last turn and caught up a bit more.
Everyone cheered them on as they neared the finish line. Peter took one last look and noticed that Flash was catching up. With the end in sight, he put on a burst of speed which did not go unseen by his fellow competitor.
Flash tried to quicken his stride but in the process one of his skates hit a bad spot on the ice and he came down hard. This allowed Peter to easily cross the finish line first, much to the delight of Gwen and Mary Jane. Trying to finish the race in a respectable fashion, Flash had gotten up and continued towards the end. Unfortunately his skate caught an edge and he was on his face as crossed the finish line.
Everyone tried to hold back their snickering but seeing Flash like that made it difficult.
"Nice job, Parker," Rand congratulated, giving Peter a high five.
"Thanks, Rand," replied Peter merrily.
"You were great out there, Tiger," Mary Jane added.
"I'm proud of you, Peter," said Gwen and she gave him a kiss for his victory.
Peter blushed a little saying, "Aw, Gwen."
While everyone was fussing over Peter, Kong went over to Flash and helped him off the ice.
"You gotta admit, Parker skated his tail off," Kong told his friend as he too was impressed on how Peter faired.
"I guess he did," Flash replied as he brushed himself off. He went to where the others where gathered around Peter and did something that he thought he would never do. "Good race there, Parker. You beat me fair and square." Flash then stuck out his hand for Peter to shake.
"Thanks, Flash," Peter said while he shook hands with him.
*****
Parker Residence, Christmas Day
Mary Jane had been looking forward to this day since her aunt told her about spending the holiday with the Parker's. While her Aunt Anna helped May with the cooking, MJ would be spending time some time with Peter before the other guests would arrive. Not all of her time was spent with Peter because they also helped their aunts with some of the meal preparation.
The next to arrive were the Stacy's, Gwen and her father, police Captain George Stacy. Peter and Mary Jane greeted the pair who had brought a couple of pies with them, an apple and a pumpkin pie. After handing their coats to Peter, Gwen assisted her father in taking the pies into the kitchen. May and Anna told them that they had things under control so that meant the Stacy's could spend time with Mary Jane and Peter.
Dr. Bromwell was the last to arrive. May had invited the good doctor to thank him for how he cared for her after the heart attack she had. Plus, he had become a good friend to the family. The good doctor had also brought some dessert for after the meal in the form of a pineapple upside down cake. MJ took the doc's coat while Peter brought the cake into the kitchen.
When Peter came back, he announced, "Christmas dinner shall be served in a couple of minutes."
"Gwen, take a look at where Peter is standing," Mary Jane commented with a mischievous look in here eye.
Taking a look in the direction MJ pointed out, Gwen understood what she was getting at. "Ah, I see what you mean."
"Shall we?"
"Sure."
The two girls got up and went to where Peter was, who still hadn't moved since he made the dinner announcement.
"Merry Christmas, Peter," Gwen and Mary Jane told him as they gave Peter a kiss on the cheek.
Peter blushed profusely from the double kiss. "Merry Christmas to you too, but what was that for?"
"Take a look above your head, Tiger," responded Mary Jane cheekily.
Peter looked up and saw their reason for kissing him he was standing underneath some mistletoe.
Two can play at this game, he thought as he gave a kiss to Mary Jane on the cheek. To Gwen, Peter gave his girlfriend a heart-quickening kiss on the lips that made her slightly swoon.
"Dinner is ready," May announced to all.
Peter stuck is arm out to Gwen who happily took it as they entered the dining room. Mary Jane did the same for Gwen's father and Dr. Bromwell. When everyone took their seats, they said a prayer of thanks and began eating.
During the meal, all MJ could think about was how fortunate she was. She had a loving aunt, went to a great school with good friends and had great neighbors in the form of the Parkers. This was a very Merry Christmas for her.
The End
AN: Please feel to let me know what you thought of this story by leaving a review. Constructive criticism is always welcome but flames are not.