Public Enemy
A Spectacular Spider-Man Fanfic by Quill N. Inque
Chapter Six: A Favor Requested
(ledah13, this one's on me.)
One week later….
Peter Parker crept quietly down the hallway of his house, clad in his signature uniform of red and blue. He paused outside Aunt May's door, and was rewarded by the sound of her slow, steady breathing. May was fast asleep, and so much the better. Hopefully, Peter could return from his little outing before she woke up, and May would be none the wiser.
Inwardly, Peter cringed at directing such deviousness toward his loving Aunt. Although May was now fully aware of his secret, Peter still didn't want to worry her any more than absolutely necessary. Tiptoeing back to his room, and pushing the window open, the young vigilante paused, letting the cool night air blow in his face. Then, he pulled on his mask, and Spider-Man now stood where Peter Parker had been.
A strand of webbing latched onto the house next door, and the web-head swung away into the night, intent on his mission.
It hadn't been an easy choice. After his brush with death a little over a week ago, Peter had seriously debated doing away with his alter-ego as he recuperated at home. But, for some reason, no matter how much he wanted to, Peter couldn't get rid of Spider-Man. Some driving, inner force kept pushing him to wear the mask, despite all the dangers that came with it.
The conversation with Gwen hadn't helped much, either. Peter ached to tell her his secret, he ached to confide in her, but he couldn't risk putting his friend, and his "secret" love interest, in danger. Spider-Man could, off the top of his head, think of several villains who wouldn't hesitate to come after Gwen, as a direct result of her affiliation with him! As much as Peter's heart hurt for her, he couldn't risk putting Gwen in danger, because, although he would never admit it to anyone else, she had become so much more than a friend to him lately.
She had become his world.
Peter's heart always leapt when she entered the room, and he felt at peace, whole, when he was around her. He adored the way Gwen made the simplest gestures, like pushing her blonde hair out her eyes, absolutely adorable. The scent of her hair, her laugh, her smile….they were intoxicating, but in a good way.
Despite this, Peter didn't expect anything to come of his secret adoration for Gwen. He wasn't sure she felt the same way, and Peter wasn't willing to risk jeopardizing their friendship by trying to turn it into anything else.
Ironically enough, it was to the Stacy house that Spider-Man now headed. Somehow, some way, he had to get a message to Gwen's father the Captain. But since the wall-crawler couldn't risk his identity confronting George Stacy directly in his own home, maybe Gwen would be willing to deliver it for him. After all, both were avid supporters of Peter's alter-ego, and the good Captain had long advocated cooperation between Spidey and New York's finest. Needless to say, such opinions had been quashed with the election of that thrice-cursed bastard Doyle, but it wasn't too far-fetched to assume that both members of the Stacy family were willing to help him outside of NYPD headquarters.
Spider-Man landed softly on the roof of the Stacy residence. He took a minute to get his bearings. Now, let me see…If I'm on the roof, facing Cherry Street, then Gwen's window should be on the left side of the house, on the second floor.
Treading softly, the hero crawled down the side of the house, looking for all the word like an oversized version of his namesake. Pausing just outside his friend's window, which had been conveniently left open, he listened for sounds of movement. It wouldn't do well if Gwen caught him sneaking into her room on a late-night trip to the toilet; what if she wasn't decent? Christ, the last thing Spider-Man needed was a reputation as a peeping tom.
Underneath his mask, Peter felt his face heat up as the mental image of Gwen, clad in nothing but an oversized shirt, flashed through his brain. Geez, Peter, get a hold of yourself! He scolded silently. This isn't a social call! And Gwen is NOT a sex object! Damn hormones….
Like a red-and-blue shadow, Peter gingerly climbed through the open space, treading carefully to avoid making any noise. After reassuring himself for the third time that the coast was clear, the web-head softly approached Gwen's bed, the blankets of which were adorned with pictures of the Looney Tunes.
Gwen was sound asleep, her breathing soft, her blonde hair slightly mussed. Every time she exhaled, Gwen made a high-pitched sound reminiscent of a kitten's cry.
Spidey felt himself blush again. So cute…
He shook himself out of his reverie. Now was not the time; he came here with an objective, and Spider-Man meant to complete it.
Spidey inhaled, nerving himself for what he was about to do.
Moving swiftly, he clapped a hand over Gwen's mouth, jolting her awake, the material of his costume muting her startled scream. Her eyes resembled a frightened doe's, and inwardly Peter hated himself for scaring her so.
"It's okay. I won't hurt you," he whispered as he removed his hand, hoping to God Gwen wouldn't start screaming.
"S-Spider-Man?" Gwen asked, now fully awake. Her tone turned indignant. "What are you doing in my room? How do you know where I live?"
"That's not important. Can I trust you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Can I trust you?" Spider-Man's voice turned harsh.
"Yes. Of course," Gwen replied as she sat up.
Though she couldn't see his face, Gwen could still feel the web-head's relief. "Then will you do something for me?"
"Are you kidding? You saved my life. Twice."
"I need you to take a message to your father."
"You know him?"
"We've, uh, worked together several times. He's one of the few cops who isn't out to kill me."
"Sure. What's the message?"
"I need to know if he's still on my side. If he still supports what I'm trying to do."
"Why can't you tell him yourself? He's right downstairs."
"I don't dare confront him like this. Otherwise, I risk exposure," Spider-Man said.
"Yeah, okay. I'll give him your message."
Spidey took her hand and pressed a scrap of paper into her palm, its message typed rather than handwritten. It was harder to trace that way.
Gwen, to her credit, showed no sign of the intense emotions she felt at the sudden physical contact. When Spider-Man took her hand, it felt like arcs of electricity were traveling up her arm. Gwen's stomach began fluttering, her breath quickened, and her knees began to feel week. Even so, Gwen was confused; only one person had ever made her feel like this.
Spider-Man gave no indication of any such feelings, if he felt them."If the Captain says yes, give him this. Tell him to meet me at this location tomorrow evening just after sundown. But if he says no, destroy it, and tell no one that I came to see you. Can you do that for me?"
Gwen was surprised and slightly unnerved by her hero's unusually serious behavior. In her past encounters with him, Spider-Man had been almost comical, prone to wisecracks and puns. But, as he stood before her now, he seemed harder, more serious, more suspicious, and even a little bitter. For Spidey, such a drastic change in demeanor felt…wrong. Of course, given what he's been through, I can hardly blame him, Gwen thought ruefully.
"Yes. I will."
"Thank you, Gwe- Miss Stacy." Spider-Man turned to leave.
"Wait."
The web head stopped as Gwen called out softly.
"What Doyle's doing…I want you to know that I don't agree with it, Spider-Man. No matter what everyone else says or what the Bugle prints, in my eyes, you'll always be a hero."
The wall-crawler's voice was tight with emotion. "Thank you. You don't know how much that means to me." And you never will. he finished silently.
And as suddenly as he came, Spidey swung into the night, and was rapidly swallowed up by the growing darkness.
A/N: Wheeeee! I just love a good romance, don't you? I had a lot of fun typing this particular chapter, and I hope you all had as much fun reading it! And, as you've probably guessed by now, this is the portion of my little epilogue where I answer your questions and comments. XD
To Soulswallows (love the name, dude! XD): Once again, you've sent in some wonderful feedback, and you're right: Now that I think about it, to my knowledge, Liz is the only one who calls Peter "Petey", and I should have noticed that. Your comments are always an excellent source of constructive criticism and ideas, and I thank you for that. A good review is the greatest reward for a writer! :D
To 0222: I'm glad you liked the more subtle signs of GwenXPeter attraction that I threw in the last chapter. And though I don't usually laugh at my own jokes, the whole "shirtless Peter" thing made me bust a gut, too! ^^
To imsoboredidk: So, you're a GwenXPeter fan? Then you've come to the right place! And please, it's Quill to my friends! ;)
To einherjar31: No worries, man. I've long planned for several other villains to make an appearance in the course of this story. :D
To ledah13: You saw through it? Really? Damn. I was hoping that it wouldn't be so obvious, but we can just chalk it up to a learning experience! After all, practice does make perfect! XD I've really enjoyed your warm reviews so far, and just in case you haven't figured it out, it was an idea in one of your previous comments (suggestion #1, I believe) that inspired the plot for this chapter! So I thank you, my friend, and I hope to see you again very, very soon. ^^
As always, if YOU have ANY constructive criticism, advice, ideas or comments, LET ME KNOW! I care about what my readers have to say, so don't be shy! ^^
Humbly yours,
-Quill N. Inque