Chapter 8: Meet the Parents
A bored Harry was lying on his bed, looking at Snapchat. Opening up Peter's story, there was a photo of Peter and Gwen at the mall, with the caption "Hangin' with this girl!"
"Lucky you," Harry sighed.
"Harry!"
Harry looked to see Norman open the door to his room.
"Dad?"
"Harry, I was thinking, would you like to go get lunch or something?" Norman asked.
Hesitating, all Harry could manage to say was, "Okay..."
"And he literally has to leave after half an hour due to some 'important work business,'" Harry recounted to Peter in the school cafeteria.
"Well…he tried," Peter pointed out.
"He doesn't try enough," Harry complained. "And whenever he does, it never works out well."
"It's like what I said before, Harry. Your dad's a busy dude, and-"
"Pete!"
Peter and Harry turned to see Gwen sitting down at their lunch table. She had orange round glasses on.
"Look who it is," Harry chuckled.
"Well, well, well, what's with the new look?" Peter joked.
Gwen shrugged. "I was too lazy to put in my contacts today."
"Too lazy doesn't sound like the Gwen I know," Peter teased.
Gwen laughed and punched Peter in the arm.
"Anyways, Pete, guess who wants to meet you?" Gwen asked.
"Who?"
"My parents. I mean, technically you met my dad a month ago when he threatened to shoot you, but you haven't met my mother yet," Gwen answered.
Peter gulped. "Really?"
"Yep, I've been bragging to them about the Einstein you are."
"I don't know. What if I, like, say something completely stupid or-"
Gwen pat Peter's shoulder. "Hey, we've hung out a few times since our pizza date. You're a natural. You should be fine."
"Hopefully I will be. What do you think, Harry?"
Peter turned around, only for Harry to be gone.
"Now, I feel stupid," Peter admitted.
"Sooo, tonight?" Gwen asked.
"I mean, I-I might be busy," Peter lied.
"With what?"
Fighting bad guys, Peter thought in his head.
"Fighting bad guys," Peter blurted out.
"Sureeee," Gwen scoffed. "C'mon, Pete, tonight. My house. You're gonna be there."
"Looks like there's no other way out of this."
"Nope."
In Peter's room, Aunt May was helping Peter prepare his outfit for his dinner with Gwen's parents. As always, she always had the best taste in clothing.
"Alright, blue collar shirt, khaki pants, dress shoes, and you're all set," Aunt May said.
"Sweet. Aunt May, I gotta ask, how'd it go the first time Uncle Ben met your parents?" Peter questioned.
Aunt May's face cringed at the thought of the memory.
"Okay, now you gotta tell me," Peter insisted.
Aunt May sighed. "Fine. Sit down, Peter."
Peter and Aunt May sat on the bed.
"So, my freshman year of high school, your uncle was always the nerd who nobody ever really sat at lunch with. He never really got picked on, but he didn't really have any friends to talk to."
"How 'bout you?" Peter asked, genuinely curious.
Aunt May smiled. "Well, let's just say I did a lot of things in high school I'm not proud of. I still remember just hanging with the jocks, smoking with the other cheerleaders-"
"Okay, okay, go on, please!" Peter interrupted.
"Well, as much as I don't want to admit it, it's true. Eventually, my sophomore year, I started dating this guy named Brad, and it was great for the first couple of months."
Aunt May hesitated a little before continuing, "One night, though, Brad and I were kissing in a diner. Ben happened to be there with his friends. Brad really wanted to go further, but I wasn't ready yet. He didn't listen, and I made a scene. Ben swept right in and gave him a broken jaw."
Peter's eyes widened. "Holy crap. Uncle Ben was a badass?"
Aunt May nodded. "Pretty much. He brought me over to his friends and held me until the cops came for Brad. Never saw that son of a bitch again."
"Wow."
"Yep. Two weeks later, I was kissing Ben at his house, and then your grandpa and father walked in. Being the scared teenage kid he was, Ben got on his bike and rode off."
Peter couldn't stop laughing.
"Many dates and years later, we were married."
"Well, I just learned more about you and Uncle Ben than I ever thought I would," Peter admitted.
Aunt May nodded. "Looks like you did. We should probably get you going now. You don't want to be late."
"Thanks, May. I'll meet you at the car in a few minutes." Peter thanked.
May walked out, patting Peter's back. "Anytime, kiddo."
Peter rang the doorbell to Gwen's house with butterflies still everywhere in his stomach. After what felt like five years, a middle-aged blonde woman bearing a strong resemblance to Gwen opened the door.
"M-Mrs. Stacy, so nice to meet you," Peter greeted with a nervous smile.
"Peter! So nice to meet you! Come on in," Mrs. Stacy happily replied, giving the nervous teen a hug.
Mrs. Stacy brought Peter into the dining room where Mr. Stacy and an eight-year-old blonde kid were waiting.
"Peter, so glad you could make it!" Mr. Stacy stated, shaking Peter's hand.
Mr. Stacy brought Peter over to the young boy. "This is Gwen's brother, Phil."
"How you doing, buddy?" Peter asked, giving the kid a high-five.
"You dating my big sister?" Phil asked.
Before Peter could respond, Gwen appeared and chuckled, "Who knows, Phil?"
Peter's eyes instantly turned to Gwen and her outfit, which comprised of a blue off-shoulder top and black leggings.
"Holy...y-you l-look great, Gwen," Peter complimented.
"One month later and still stuttering. Thanks, Pete," Gwen laughed.
"Alright, guys, I got my famous lasagna ready!" Mrs. Stacy announced.
They all sat down and started eating.
"So, Pete, where you thinking of going to school?" Mr. Stacy asked Peter.
"Well, Mr. Stacy, right now, I'm thinking of possibly Columbia or NYU," Peter revealed.
"Nice! By the way, you can just call me George," Mr. Stacy insisted.
"And I'm Helen," Mrs. Stacy said.
"Good to know. How long have you been a cop, George?" Peter asked.
"Let me tell you, Peter, I've been in the force for over twenty years, and I've experienced a lot of irritating crap. However, nothing this bad had ever interfered with me and the force until that Spider-Man came in," George answered.
The rest of the family groaned.
George shrugged. "What?"
"Here we go again, Dad," Gwen sighed.
"George, you should probably just give this Spider-Man a break," Helen suggested. "I mean-"
"I'm sorry, Helen, it's just impossible to. Nearly every day, he's causing problems for us."
Peter put his glass of water down. "George, with all due respect, how specifically has he been bothering you and the force?"
"Oh, Pete, I could go on for hours. Our pay gets docked with every crime we can't stop because of him, and that freak causes collateral damage everywhere he goes."
"I wouldn't necessarily say everywhere, but-"
"And that's not even the worst part! Gwen's told me you're very smart, one of the best in your school. Do the math. All these bad guys started emerging after Spider-Man came into the city, and look what's happened in the past year. He and the Vulture nearly take a bridge down, he gets a classmate of yours killed-"
"He did his best, George," Peter defended.
"Dad, come on. Don't bring Valeria into-" Gwen started.
"With everything Spider-Man has tried to do, there's always been a negative outcome. For example, when that Shocker attacked, it caused a lot of damage. And don't even get me started on how many people died when that hunter attacked. I could've had my men there and finish the situation before Spider-Man had time to swing there."
"Then, why weren't they?" Peter asked.
It was that moment where Peter literally regretted what he said not even a second after saying it.
"Excuse me," Peter excused himself, getting up from the table. "I have to use the restroom."
Gwen got up as well. "Peter-"
Peter searched as fast as he could for the bathroom. He walked inside and tried to shut the door, only for Gwen to grab it and walk inside.
"Gwen, it's gonna look really bad if we're both in here," Peter pointed out.
"Then, let's go for a walk," Gwen said.
Peter and Gwen were walking outside the building when Gwen grabbed his hand.
"Pete, don't let my dad get to you like that. He's gone through some bad shit in the past few years."
"He's honestly not wrong," Peter irrationally said.
"Don't talk like that. Valeria's death wasn't your fault. Spider-Man couldn't save her in time."
"Gwen, you already know the whole story about it. Tell me with a straight face that if I had gotten a cop sooner-"
Gwen grabbed Peter's face. "Peter, you did everything you could. Now, let's go back in there and-"
"I honestly think I should go home," Peter muttered.
"What?"
"Gwen, I don't know if I'm the right guy for you. You honestly belong with someone much better than me. Just because we have the same interests doesn't mean-"
"It means that you are the right one, Pete. Those people don't understand me the way you do. You're not focused on trying to be cool. You're just a good guy."
Peter smiled a little. "So are you. I mean..."
Gwen laughed. "It's okay. I know what you meant."
The two stopped and just looked at each other.
"This is probably really awkward for your family right now. If we don't go back, they'll be wondering where we are, and your dad would freak, and-"
"Peter."
Peter's heart started pounding.
Gwen wrapped her arms around Peter's neck and kissed him. Peter's eyes widened in shock, and he found himself wrapping his arms around the girl that gave him his first kiss. After a few seconds, Peter and Gwen stopped and looked at each other once again.
"What was that?" Peter asked.
"I think that was pretty obvious, Pete. I just kissed you," Gwen answered.
"Soooo, are you into me?"
"I thought I made that pretty clear. But let's check again."
Peter nodded and brought her in for another kiss. However, Peter's phone started buzzing, and although he ignored it to enjoy the moment, the caller ID read: "Harry Osborn."
When he got home after reconciling with Gwen's father, Peter saw that he had a missed call from Harry. Laying on his bed, Peter called Harry back.
"Peter, what happened to you? I tried calling you."
"I know, Harry. I was at Gwen's house, remember?" Peter reminded him.
"Oh, right. How'd that go?" Harry asked.
"Well, it started off pretty bad. I kind of got into a heated debate with her dad."
"You fought with a police captain?!" Harry asked in shocked.
"Yeah, I'm surprised he didn't arrest me," Peter said with a laugh.
"How'd the rest of the night go? It had to be awkward."
"Well, I tried to leave, but Gwen stopped me. She pulled me outside and convinced me to man up, and then she told me that she liked me."
"Did you make a move on her?" Harry asked.
"She kissed me."
"WHAT? No, no fucking way! I'm proud, dude!"
"Well...yeah. I'm still kind of in shock, but we're definitely together."
"That's great, Pete. Are you and her dad okay now?"
"I think so. I apologized, and he accepted, but I don't know how crazy he is about me dating his daughter. I'm kind of worried that I made the worst first impression impossible and that he'll always be bitter around me," Peter confessed.
"Well, if you're okay now, what's your concern?"
"He hates Spider-Man. Remember? He issued an arrest warrant on him."
"Oh, yeah. You were pretty pissed about that," Harry remembered.
"Well, Spider-Man is what this dilemma was about. That's what we argued about."
"Look, Pete, if you want the guy to like you, you have to let it go. I know you don't want to because I know how much you like Spider-Man, but you don't want to disappoint Gwen. Do this for her sake. If her dad ends up hating you, she probably won't stay with someone who disagrees with her dad," Harry assumed.
"Yeah, but, Harry, she doesn't agree with him, either. She knows Spider-Man is a hero."
"Peter, trust me. Just don't bother with it. You have to accept that this guy hates Spider-Man. You seem to tolerate Jameson even though he despises him," Harry countered.
"That's different. That guy could fire me," Peter said.
"But Gwen's dad could come between your relationship."
Peter really thought about what his best friend was saying. Even though Gwen on his side, she was the most important thing to him, and he couldn't let anything come between them, not even her father.
"You're right. So, why did you call?" Peter asked.
"Oh, yeah. Did you hear the news?"
"What news?"
"Remember how that Fisk guy got busted?"
Peter's heart raced in his chest. He didn't get released, did he?
"Yeah. What about him?"
"Well, it's not about him. Somebody else seems to be giving him a run for his money," Harry told him.
"What are you talking about?" Peter asked, confused.
"Some guy named Hammerhead is being named the new crime boss. He murdered triple the amount of people Fisk supposedly had killed."
"Has anybody stopped him yet?" Peter started getting worried.
"Nobody knows where he is," Harry answered.
"I bet Spider-Man could find him," Peter declared.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Reviews are greatly appreciated. Next chapter: Spider-Man vs. Hammerhead.
