Behind the Mask

NINE: Amazing


.:::.

I was already smiling when I unlocked my door, but Chase's dog Onyx made the smile widen with her greeting.

"Hi, girl." I scratched at her ears, briefly forgetting that I wasn't supposed to do that; she was still in training. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Chase shook his head at me from his place on the sofa. "Doesn't matter. The damn dog isn't cut out to be a cop anyway."

I hung up my jacket and set down my keys. "She isn't training well?"

"She wants to play all the time. She gets distracted too easily. She's not aggressive." He listed off her faults. "It'll take too much time to train her properly."

I frowned down at the pup, her sparkly brown eyes asking for another pat on the head. "You're giving up on her?"

"We can't waste our time on a lost cause."

My heart broke for the poor thing. I dropped to my knees and pet her again. "It's okay, baby. You're still a good girl."

Chase grunted.

"What's the matter with you?" I checked the score of the Rangers game on TV. They were winning, so it wasn't the game that was making him grumpy.

"We were supposed to meet for lunch today." He said flatly.

I bit my lip, feeling incredibly guilty. "I'm so sorry. Something came up, and I -"

"You know, I'm really trying to work with you here, Liv. You could have called or something."

I sat next to him on the sofa, but at the farthest end away from him. "I know, and I should have called. I'm sorry."

He switched the beer in his right hand to his left. It was the first time I noticed he was drinking it. "So where were you?"

I figured I might as well be honest and lie some other time when it was necessary. "Peter got me a job interview for the Daily Bugle. I have to write a column by Friday."

I half expected a congratulations or a pat on the back, but then I remembered it was Chase. "Why are you hanging around with him so much lately?"

I shrugged as innocently as I could . "We're in the same photography class, and he knew I was looking for a job. It was nice of him to do that for me."

Chase grunted again.

I sat silently with Onyx's head in my lap and watched the game without really watching it. I was thinking up questions to ask Peter about Spiderman. It was a priceless opportunity that I couldn't pass up without being thorough.

Chase was passed out the next time I looked over at him. This was another opportunity that could not be missed. I tiptoed out into the hall and closed the door quietly behind me.

. . . . . . . .

I paused before writing down another word in my notebook. "Answer truthfully, please."

"I am being truthful." Peter insisted, though that smirk told me otherwise.

"Everybody in the city is going to read this, Peter. Stop being silly."

"Olivia, it is the honest truth." He was tinkering with his police scanner, a mix of static and tones escaping the speaker before it went silent. "What's wrong with this thing?"

I poked the side of my face with the end of my pen. "So you're telling me that you got your superpowers after being bitten by a radioactive spider?"

He nodded. "Exactly right."

I shook my head to myself and wrote it down anyway.

"Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Where the hell do you come across a radioactive spider in the first place?"

"In a radioactive lab." He answered simply, abandoning the scanner and sitting in the wooden chair across from me.

"Did it hurt?"

"Not really. I didn't even notice until the next morning. That was when all of my powers started surfacing."

I still wasn't buying it, but I decided to move on. "What kind of powers did you see first?"

I was looking down at my notebook and scribbling down his last answer when my pen disappeared from my hand. Peter sucked up his web and twirled the pen in his fingers.

"Besides that one." I clarified.

"Well, I was pretty strong and I was sticking to stuff like static cling. I just saw the world differently. Everything was clearer, and much more fascinating." He found entertainment in rolling the pen through his fingers.

I followed the pen with my eyes. "So what made you decide to fight crime with your new abilities?"

"Same answer as anybody. I had a lot of time on my hands. I decided to use it for good instead of evil."

I shifted in my seat. "Can I have my pen back?"

That smirk returned, and he shook his head. "This is boring."

"Fine, we'll take a break." I sat back in my chair and dropped my notebook on the floor beside me. "I probably have enough to write for Friday, anyway."

"Make sure you make me sound amazing."

"Well you are the Amazing Spiderman." I reminded him. When I stretched out my shoulders, I discovered the mask resting on the end table beside me.

I looked to Peter for permission. "Can I see?"

"It's nothing special." He said, though I completely disagreed.

I felt the fabric between my fingers and was surprised at how light it was compared to how thick and heavy it appeared. I ran my fingers over the ridges in the webbed streaks of black on the red fabric beneath.

I felt my cheeks pinch red a little. "Can I...try it on?"

I decided that his smile would someday kill me."Knock yourself out."

I searched for the opening, my fingers trembling in anticipation. I held it open and spread it over my head.

The mask clung to my features so closely without being tight. It wasn't necessarily comfortable. I couldn't see anything and I could barely breathe. It didn't seem to fit as fluidly as it fit Peter.

"How do you even breathe in this thing?" I asked, though my voice wasn't as clear as Peter's when he wore it.

I heard the suppressed chuckle in his voice. "You put it on backwards. Hold on," I felt his hands readjusting the mask and before I knew it I could see, breathe, and speak just as naturally as I could without it.

"Wow!" I gasped, feeling my nose through the mask. "It's like a second skin!"

"Cool, huh?"

"It's so cool! Amazing!" I was fascinated by everything about it. Not just it, but also Peter Parker himself. Everything about him was truly amazing, but not for the reasons everyone thought. The man behind the mask was just as incredible as the one wearing it. It made me feel special to know I was the only one who could see that.

I felt at my neck for the edges of the mask to peel it off. My hands were constrained inside of Peter's for a moment before he dropped my wrists into my lap.

"What are you doing?" I asked quietly.

He didn't answer. Instead, his fingers replaced mine at the bottom edges of the mask. He tucked his fingertips beneath the material and slowly rolled it up, his skin running gently over mine. I felt the goosebumps shoot up my arms before he pulled the mask over my chin.

The mask only made it to the tip of my nose, allowing my nostrils free but everything above them still hidden by the bunched fabric. I couldn't see anymore, and I couldn't decide if that was a good or a bad thing.

I should have seen it coming. I hadn't realized how dependent I was on my senses until half of them were taken away. He held the mask in place with his thumbs beside my ears and cupped the rest of my cheeks in his palms.

There was only a moment of warmth as his breath hit my mouth before everything turned hot. The first touch of his lips on mine was hesitant, its purpose to observe my reaction. The surprise factor didn't allow me to enjoy much of it.

My mouth parted slightly to suck in a breath of air. My body seemed to have forgotten how to function without my concentration. I barely had time to exhale before his lips returned, connecting with mine for a second time, then a third, in a real kiss.

His hands held my face tighter as his lips tried to coax a response out of mine. Once they did, all of my senses beside touch were worthless.

We practically jumped out of our skins as the police scanner blared with several mixed tones and voices that I couldn't understand. Peter's lips left before his hands.

I yanked the rest of the mask off of my head. I was trying to focus my eyes while he lowered the very high volume.

I could not physically bring my eyes to meet his. The silence was unbearable, but what I had just allowed to happen was unacceptable. It may have been the greatest kiss of my life, but it wasn't fair to Chase.

I cheated on him. It didn't matter how rude or immature he was. I wasn't a cheater, yet I had just cheated.

I felt nauseous. I tried to hide the fact that my heart was threatening to beat out of my ribcage. "I'm sorry. I have to leave."

Peter almost groaned like he predicted I would react this way. "No, please don't leave."

I kept my eyes low, mostly on the hardwood floor. "It isn't that, I just don't feel well." It wasn't a lie. Not this time.

"I'm sorry."

I hugged my notebook to my chest and wished for an easy getaway. "Don't apologize."

"I don't want it to ruin what we have."

"It won't."

Peter pressed the door closed as I tried opening it. His arm was extended next to my head. "Olivia."

"I just need to clear my head. We'll talk in the morning, okay?"

Peter dropped his head against his arm. "Okay." He allowed me to escape without another word.

.:::.

Oooooh ;) I wanted to try out a little twist on the famous Spidey kiss! I actually didn't want them to kiss yet but this chapter was basically begging to be posted. I hope you liked it! Be sure to leave me a review :)