A/N: Yay for reviews! I was so nervous about posting this since I have never written anything like this before! So I was so happy to see that people are interested after just the first chapter! Sorry I didn't get the chance to update sooner! I was out of town and I am actually on my bus heading back now. I am going to try to update on a daily basis, at least once every week! The chapters are also going to get longer as this progresses!Thank you guys for reading and of course, don't forget to review!
Mary Jane can't help but feel excited the moment she looks over all the boxes. There aren't that many, only four. All of her clothes are jammed into her hamper and a very old duffel that has seen better days. It's move in day and she is so happy to be getting away from her own private hell. She knows that her dad is already gone otherwise he would have started yelling about how she couldn't leave. Even though he made it known he hated her, he didn't want her to leave. She knew that he only wants her around because he wants her to be as miserable as he is.
However she isn't going to let him ruin her life like he's ruined his. She reaches to place one of the boxes on top of the other. It takes her a second to grab a sharpie to scribble down what is in the boxes. After a few seconds she picks them up and begins to walk out of her room. Some people might have been upset or sad about leaving their childhood homes behind. Not her though since this place holds nothing but bad memories.
Memories like her father stumbling down the hallway in a druken haze. Memories of her father yelling at her when she accidentaly burnt his dinner. She can remember how he grabbed at her and she had to run outside to avoid him putting his hands on her. There are no happy memories of Thanksgiving or Christmas, of movie nights or pizza nights. All she remembers is running into her room and locking herself in to avoid the insanity.
She makes her way out to the cab that she called for. The driver is talking away on his phone and doesn't even look up. Thankfully he's already popped the trunk otherwise she would be in trouble. Just as she sets the boxes inside she feels a hand come down on her shoulder.
"What are you doing Mary Jane?"
It's Peter and he has a curious look on his face. She stares at him for a few seconds, wondering if he's being serious. He has to know that it's move in day.
"I'm about to head to campus after I load my stuff."
"Why don't you just let me help you out? Save your money for something like laundry or food."
"Are you sure?"
Mary Jane looks towards the cab driver who is still on his phone. He probably will be pissed if she tells him she doesn't need him anymore. Peter doesn't even answer her question. Instead he just reaches to grab the boxes like they are nothing. He balances them on one arm and slams the trunk shut. She can only stare as he slaps a twenty into the driver's hand before he ushers her towards the car parked in his driveway.
"Where's all your stuff?" she asks, peering into the backseat.
"I already dropped it off," he explains, shrugging," I had to take Aunt May to work so I figured I'd get my stuff in but I just had a few more things to grab."
"Well I have more stuff in the house," she motions towards her home," So I'll be right back."
She hopes that he won't follow her. No one has ever been in her own house. Whenever there was a sleepover of some kind Mary Jane always made sure it wasn't at her home. It was always at her friend's houses and whenever someone asked to stay at her own she told them no. Half the time she came up with some sort of lie about her dad being sick or how he was working. He didn't like people being there when he wasn't, that sort of deal.
One foot is in the front door when she feels someone behind her. That someone obviously being Peter Parker. He has followed her right up to the front door and he clearly intends on going inside. She turns to block him, her hands on either side of the doorframe.
"You don't need to come inside."
He stares at her in absolute confusion," It'll be faster if I just go in with you, less trips."
He figures that it will make sense. At least in his mind it does but not in hers. She shakes her head stubbornly and doesn't dare move. She doesn't want to give him the chance to move past her. Only because she has the feeling he would do it if he saw the chance.
"I can handle it."
"Mary Jane just let me come in."
"Peter," she hisses, her fingers digging into the doorframe," You don't have to."
Before she can even realize it he has grabbed her arm to pull it away. He steps inside right past her and she tries to stop him. Only he's already making his way through the shabby living room. Most of the furniture is old, second hand. Most of it looks like it's falling apart. There are countless stains from beer, blood and some food. Stuffing is coming out of her dad's faded orange recliner.
She notices how his eyes linger over everything before he keeps walking. She honestly doesn't know what to do but she wants to drag him out by his ear. Instead she just stands there in the middle of the living room, watching. He is looking into literally every single room. Every single room looks like it's falling apart, dirty. The only room that ever was in any kind of order was hers. Usually because she always locked the door to make sure that her dad never barged in.
The last thing that she wanted was to come home one day to see all of her stuff was ruined. She bites down on her lip when he walks into the hallway. He'll be able to see the blood stain on the wall, the one she wasn't able to get out. The one from the night she wasn't fast enough and her dad get ahold of her. He managed to slam her head against the wall like a basketball.
He is walking into her room and that's when she forces herself to move. He's just picking up the other boxes and he turns towards her. The look on his face isn't one of pity. Honestly she isn't sure what it is as she looks up at him.
"Why didn't you..ever tell anyone?"
"Better to face the hell that I know than the system."
He just stares at her for a few more seconds before he walks out towards the car. She sighs before reaching to grab the hamper filled with her clothes. He's already back from putting the boxes in the car by the time she reaches the door. Her eyes widen in surprise at how fast he seems to move. He takes the hamper from her to go put it in the backseat.
Once everything is loaded the two of them climb into the car. Mary Jane can't help but feel awkward because of what he just saw. He's now the one person who has seen her own private little hell. At least a glimpse of it anyway.
The campus is crammed with all of the students moving in. To put it simply it's one organized mess. Mary Jane and Peter go to grab some of her stuff. The two of them walk into Brittany hall after she gets her key. Her dorm room is on the second floor and Peter tells her that so is his. His room is only four away from her own. It takes them three trips to get all of her things into her room. From the looks of it, her roommate hasn't arrived yet. She ends up picking the bed that is on the right side.
Life on campus is everything that Mary Jane thought it would be. At least that's what she has come to realize after a week or so of classes. She has made friends with her roommate, a girl named Lacy. Most days the two of them eat lunch together and talk about everything. Her classes are all great, the professors are nothing like the high school teachers she's used to. She's actually able to relax and not have to worry. Of course there are some nights where her dad calls, drunk. He slurs on about how she needs to come back, she can't stay there.
There's only been one or two times that she's seen Peter. She can't tell if he is enjoying college life like she is. He always seems to be in a hurry,running like a chicken with it's head cut off. She's rarely seen him at night and she wonders if he's staying at his Aunt's. She would understand that since she is sure that he's worried about her being alone. Hell she's almost worried about May being alone even if May isn't her family.
That's why one day she decides to go visit May. It's a day that she doesn't have any classes. She takes the train to her old neighborhood. Her dad won't be at their house since she knows he's working. That's also the only other reason that she has decided to go. There's no way she would if it meant running into her old man. Only when she's walking off the train does she realize that May might not even be home either. She sighs at the thought but figures that it doesn't matter.
At least she got away from campus for a while. She reaches her old neighborhood and walks up the front steps to May's home. It takes her a second before she actually knocks. Minutes tick by before the door opens to show a smiling May.
"Oh! Mary Jane!"
Mary Jane nods and can't help but smile back," Hi May, I figured I would stop by," she pauses," Is that okay?"
It's no surprise when May nods and ushers her inside. Soon the two of them are sitting at the kitchen table with cups of lemonade in front of them. It's only a matter of time before it gets cold again so everyone is enjoying the nice weather while it lasts.
"It's good to see you," says May and Mary Jane can tell she means it," How is college going?"
Mary Jane shrugs, taking a few sips," It's going really good, I really like my classes and my roommate is nice."
For the first time Mary Jane realizes she actually likes how her life is going. Only because for the first time everything is going okay for once. She doesn't have to worry about anyone but herself. She gets to just live her own life however she wants.
"That's good to hear sweetheart, I'm happy for you."
"Yeah," says Mary Jane with a smile," So, um, how's Peter doing? I haven't really seen him around campus that much and he lives on my floor."
May sighs at the mention of her nephew and Mary Jane instantly knows that something is up. Granted she had the feeling but now it's confirmed. Something is up with Peter and his Aunt knows it. Maybe she doesn't know about it but it's something.
"He's..still struggling," explains May, a sad look in her eyes," Ever since Gwen passed he hasn't been the same. I know that he's trying but sometimes I wonder if he really will ever be happy again."
Mary Jane can't help but feel almost like it's wrong for her to hear this. Only because she isn't sure Peter would want her to know and the two of them have just started to talk. Yet she can't bring herself to say anything and just listens as May goes on.
"He's spent most nights here but I know he goes to his classes, it almost seems like he's going through the motions. I don't know, I know how hard it was for me when Ben passed on but I just hope he'll be able to move on someday."
"It'll just take time," states Mary Jane without even thinking about what she's saying.
"Yes, it just takes time."
The minutes seem to go by like hours for Mary Jane as she sits in the library. Her first big test is coming up and she's extremely worried. Which is why she's decided to spend every free second she has, studying. She's made herself comfortable in a corner on the second floor. Of course she brought plenty of energy drinks to keep herself awake and had Subway for dinner.
She barely even looks up when someone walks by. Her eyes are completely focused on her book and her lap top. Sometimes it's hard for her to study because she never took it seriously in high school. Grades weren't important to her but she knows it's important for her to pass these classes. If she gets her degree it will open many doors for her and that's what she needs. The world of broadway was beckoning and she wanted to be up on that stage more than anything.
"Mary Jane," says a voice, making her jump.
There stands Peter with books tucked underneath his arm. He looks just about as drained as she feels. She sits up somewhat straighter and lets the book fall onto her lap.
"Peter."
He seems to take that as an invitation because he plops down beside her. His eyes drink in the sight of her. She's wearing a pair of sweat pants and a white tank top with a gray hoodie. Her hair is pulled up in a messy bun and there isn't a trace of make up on her face. Normally she takes pride in her appearance but she knows that academics are more important.
"How many of those have you had?" he asks, motioning towards the empty cans of Red Bull.
Mary Jane looks up to see what he's talking about and shrugs," Um," she pauses," Five?"
He shakes his head at her and reaches to take the book from her grasp. She stares at him like he has suddenly grown four heads.
"Time to go back to our dorm."
He is grabbing her things and packing them into her bag. Suddenly she's being yanked up to her feet by him. Her foot catches on the floor and she stumbles right into his chest. He catches her with ease even while holding books and her bag.
"Peter, I have to study," she states even though her voice shows how tired she is.
She knows that she is on the verge of crashing. She can feel it but she's fighting it as hard as she can. He ignores her protests and just leads her out of the library. Together they walk out and she is half asleep by the time that they reach their building. He all but has to drag her up the staircase and to her confusion he isn't taking her to her room. Instead she finds herself being led into his dorm room. That's when it hits her, she's in Peter's dorm room.
He has set down his stuff on his desk and he turns to see her looking around. His roommate, a guy named Lucas is always gone. Something about a girlfriend who has her own private room. Which was an immense relief for Peter since he doesn't have to worry. The only time he sees Lucas is when he stops by in the morning to get his books or more clothes.
Mary Jane can't help but take a look around at everything. His wall is covered in all kinds of photos. A lot of them are pictures of Gwen. Some are just of her but others are of the two of them together. There are some of his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Of course there are some of him with his Aunt and Uncle. She finds herself staring at each and every one of them. Her eyes land on a picture of a little boy with a man and a woman, all three of them smiling.
She reaches out to run her fingers along it," Are these your parents?"
Everyone knows that his parents are dead. Mary Jane just never found out what happened. She knows that it was some kind of accident.
He nods slowly, coming to stand behind her," Yeah, that's my mom and dad."
Her attention goes down to one of the photos of him and Gwen. It's from graduation day and the two of them are giving the camera their cheesiest smiles possible. She can still remember graduation day like it was yesterday. She remembers how she was probably the only one who didn't have any family there. Instead the people who congratulated her were Flash's family. She hadn't had the heart to tell them that she and Flash weren't together at the time.
"Do you still take pictures?"
Peter nods and motions towards his desk again. That's when she realizes that there is a camera right next to his lap top. There are even more photos on his desk. Some of them are in frames which May bought for him. His lap top is open and it looks like has been going through photographs that he uploaded. To her surprise she sees that there are a few photos of her.
One of them actually looks like it's from high school. She's up on the stage in it with Flash right beside her. She remembers that night perfectly because she had played Juliet in their school's production of Romeo and Juliet. In her left arm she has the bouquet of roses that Flash bought for her. It was his way of apologizing for cheating on her with one of the school's bimbo cheerleaders.
The other two photos are ones of her on campus. She can't help but stare at them since she had no idea that he was even taking them. The first one she is in the quad with her group of new friends. She's laughing at something that was said and they are throwing leaves at each other. The other one is one of just her, sitting outside of the library on the steps. Her head is bent over and she actually looks focused on what she's reading.
"When did you take these?" she finally asks, looking over her shoulder at him.
Peter shrugs, suddenly feeling awkward," I was uh, just messing around with my camera, figured I could take pictures for the school."
She nods before turning away from his desk," Okay so can I go to my room now?"
He shakes his head and motions for her to sit. She rolls her eyes but does like he wants. Her legs swing back and forth, her feet grazing the carpet. A small sigh coming from her before she looks over at him. He looks like he wants to say something but he doesn't speak.
"I'd like..to be friends with you MJ," he states finally after what feels like an eternity.
Her head snaps up when she realizes what he's said. He wants to be friends with her? Is that why he's acting so strange? She forces herself to nod and she scoots to get closer to him.
"We will be friends then," she says with a shrug," Best friends even if you really want to be."
He laughs at her words and for the first time it seems like it's not a fake laugh. There is actual emotion and she smiles. It's good to know that he can still laugh after everything. There's the distant sound of sirens and he visibly tenses.
"You can just stay here, study more but I think you should sleep," he says, standing up," I'll go get some food I didn't, uh, didn't eat dinner."
Just like that he's gone and Mary Jane is left alone. She finds herself falling onto Peter's bed. His sheets smell like laundry detergent. If she has to guess it's because May is insisting on doing his laundry still. Most guys don't seem to know how to even operate a washer. Without even meaning to she curls up on her side and soon sleep claims her.
Peter all but ran from Brittany hall the moment he heard the sirens. He feels bad leaving Mary Jane in his room but he had responsibilites. Ones that he can't walk away from. He quickly shed his clothes to show the suit underneath. It was only a matter of seconds before he has the mask tugged on. There are some days that he wishes he wasn't Spiderman but he knows that it's a part of him. One that he will never be able to walk away from.
He finds himself getting closer and closer to the sirens. He is perched on a rooftop of one of the many buildings. Of course he's crouched down and he tries to see what's going on. It seems like there's been more and more crime since the night at the clocktower. He knows it has something to do with Oscorp but he doesn't know what. Harry is safely locked away in Ravencroft as far as he knows. It's an immense relief for him when he sees it's just a good old fashioned bank robbery.
The two men are in a car that if he has to guess is stolen. There's the sound of bullets being shot and the police are chasing after them. There's at least four squad cars on their tail. He knows that there are some people in New York that think he shouldn't interfere. Half the time though if he didn't the criminals would get away with everything. It wasn't that he didn't have respect for the police but sometimes they needed some help getting the job done.
He takes a deep breath before flinging himself off of the roof. Webs shoot out from his wrist so that he swings right on top of the roof of the car. He can hear the men yelling at each other. One of them blaming the other about how they shouldn't have done that. The other man was saying they had known the risk and yet they had still done it. Honestly their conversation was honestly amusing. He rolled forward to hit the hood of the car and soon he was staring right at them.
"Hey there! How's it going?"
His voice was dripping with sarcasm.
Instantly the man behind the wheel slammed on the break in hopes of throwing him off. Of course that didn't work since Peter was still right there. He was grinning underneath the mask at how frightened they look. It was a good thing that criminals realized that they should be scared. They never seemed to be scared of the police but they sure were scared of him.
"You guys took something that is not yours didn't you?"
Webs shoot out through the space where the window should have been. Bullets broke the glass so now it was just an empty space. The webs caught onto the driver's hands and forced them to stay on the steering wheel.
"Now how about we pull over? What do you say guys?"
They instantly began to yell, cursing at him. He didn't say anything but instead shot out more web. It went over the men's mouths. The guns were dropped and the one who still had use of his hands tries to rip it away. While the driver was trying to focus on driving inspite of the obvious fear in his eyes. The police are right behind them, just waiting for their chance.
Even though the public seems to have some form of hatred for him. He knows that the police force respect him and actually like his help. If he wasn't around than he knew that a lot more crime would be happening. No city was perfect and there would always be criminals. However Peter knew that because of him crime had gone down at least a little.
It is only a matter of minutes before the two men are taken in custody. Peter shakes some hands before he takes off, heading right back to Empire State. He makes sure to change back into his normal clothes and the mask gets shoved into his bag just before he reaches Brittany Hall. That's when it hits him, he said he was going to get food. A groan falls from his lips before he jogs to the nearest dining hall.
After getting some pizza and two bottles of soda, he heads back to his dorm. It's a relief when he steps into the door and drops his backpack. He turns, about to announce that he brought dinner. Only by the time that he turns he realizes that Mary Jane is sound asleep. She's curled up in his bed and the blankets are over her frame. He can't help but stare, knowing it's been a long time since he's had a girl in his bed.
He goes to put the pizza in the mini fridge along with the soda. Part of him isn't sure what to do. Since he thought that she would go right back to studying. That's when he remembers, she did say she had quite a few energy drinks. He has the feeling that even if he tries to wake her up, it would be pointless. From the looks of it she's dead to the world. He slowly goes over to his lap top and takes a seat.
He opens his browser to go to the Daily Bugle's site. Just like all the other newspapers they also post their paper online. The headline that he sees makes him tense up. It reads HARRY OSBOURN RELEASED. Peter feels his stomach lurch and he forces himself to look down past the headline. Underneath it is a photo of Harry himself, in a suit and getting into a towncar.
Peter doesn't bother reading the article and instead slams the lap top shut. How is it possible that Harry got out? After what he did that night? It's Harry fault that Gwen is dead and Peter doesn't know what he's going ot do. He slowly stands up and goes to shut the light off. After changing out of his clothes he puts on a pair of sweat pants but nothing else. Without thinking he goes to climb over Mary Jane with ease and crawls under the blanket.
It might be a bad idea for him to lay down in the same bed with her. He could always sleep in Lucas' bed but that seems like it would be bad too. Instead his arm goes around her and he lets his eyes close. Right at that moment he just needs to be close to her. Mary Jane is the only person that he's let himself get close to even if it doesn't seem like it. It is hard for him to let anyone in but he's trying.
It doesn't seem like it but he's trying.