iSpidey-vision/i

Something's up with bucket-head. He's been acting mega weird since the Abomination apparently bowled him over. But hey, I guess everyone has their off days! ...Right?

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Sam was being distant. Ever since they met in the park, ever since Reagan found out who he really was, ever since he said she might have to...be forced to forget everything. He had been so hopeful that day; now he was...barely there.

When he smiled at her at lunch, it seemed hollow. Their conversations were missing that spark. He seemed distracted in the one class they had together (though Peter Parker assured her that Sam was always a mess in all his classes). Reagan was finally fed up with it, enough so that when she and Kaitlyn and Maddie sat down at their favorite froyo place after school, she brought it up as subtly as she could.

"Hey," she squinted an eye, "have you guys ever noticed, like, boys being weird?"

Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow, but Maddie chimed in before she could speak. "Aren't boys ialways/i weird?"

Reagan laughed awkwardly, "I guess so..."

"Do you mean someone specific?" Kaitlyn leaned in, curious.

"Oh, you know who she means," Maddie smirked, and she and Kaitlyn both exclaimed. "Nova!"

Reagan reddened, frowning at the two of them as they giggled. "Come on, guys!"

"Oh, if not Nova, then...Spider-man?" Kaitlyn offered.

Reagan puffed her cheeks out while Maddie tried to stop laughing.

"No, she's been hanging out a lot with Sam, right?" Maddie asked.

"Other Sam?"

"No, Sam Sam. It's probably him."

"Oh, he is kinda a weirdo, though. I have World History with him. He's been, like, weirder than normal. I overheard him talking to that Ava girl about the 'morality of brainwashing' or something before class the other day. Bizzaro!"

Reagan swallowed awkwardly. "Really?"

Maddie shrugged. "Or they were talking about some video game? I wasn't really paying attention."

Reagan sighed and rolled her eyes.

Kaitlyn put a gentle hand on Reagan's shoulder, "if you think he's acting weird, you should just, you know, talk to him."

Reagan nodded, but the truth was, she was nervous. If they talked alone again, he might have to do something. Now that she knew his secret, she was putting both of them at risk way more.

She frowned, but was resolved to take action. "I guess I will."

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Before Reagan had a chance to text Sam, he had texted her.

Four simple words:

"We need to talk."

The words made her stomach twist on itself. In a way, it was way worse that he had reached out to her first; she felt out of control, but she responded.

"Sure."

He sent her an address, and she followed the directions to a small coffee shop and bakery, Shirley's Elegant Delights. Inside was dark, the walls a velvety red, the tables a deep mahogany. Heavy curtains encased the windows, offering only a slight peak into the outside world, and the lights were dimmed by thick colored glass. Reagan could barely spot Sam, but he was one of maybe only four people in the shop, tucked away in a corner booth in the back of the shop.

He waved, meekly gesturing her over to the seat across from him. As she slid into the booth, the balding waiter/barista, one of the four people in the shop, came over. He adjusted a pair of sunglasses, an odd choice in such a dark shop, and smiled warmly at her, "can I get you anything?"

Reagan watched Sam fiddle anxiously with his own paper cup. "Sure. A hot chocolate, please."

"You got it." The man headed behind the counter, busying himself behind the metal espresso machines that block Reagan and Sam's view of the prep area.

"So," Reagan didn't know where to start. "What are you drinking?"

Sam looked up, surprised, and maybe a little confused. "Coffee."

"That stuff'll stunt your growth." She smirked a little.

He laughed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, well too late for that."

She nodded. "Anyway, what did you want to-" the balding waiter came back, handing her a paper cup full of steaming hot chocolate and a plate with a big cookie on it. "Oh, I didn't..." she started to protest.

"It's on the house, kid." The waiter smiled and nodded to Sam a little before turning back to wipe down the counter.

She looked into the swirling brown in the cup and Sam started to talk. "I just wanted to apologize. I...I put a big burden on you. You shouldn't have to deal with my secrets..."

"It's not like you did it on purpose." She touched his hand, and briefly felt that same spark again.

"Yeah, but I've let you sit on it for, like, a week."

She shrugged and sipped from her drink. "It's not that big a deal, I can keep secrets."

"Reagan, you could be in danger!"

"I can handle myself. Nobody knows I know." She bit into the cookie, chewing thoughtfully. "So I'm not really at risk."

Sam looked down at his lap. "I'm really sorry, Reagan."

"You shouldn't be." Reagan blinked, her vision blurring a little. "There's no reason to apologize." She yawned.

Sam shook his head as Reagan rubbed her eyes blearily. "I'm sorry...for everything."

Reagan was going to protest about Sam's weird apologies, but before she could say anything, she felt her head tip forward and the world dissolve into black in front of her.

The last thing she saw was Sam leaping across the table to catch her head.

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In the darkness of sleep, she imagined a conversation between a boy and a man.

"Are you sure she's going to be okay, Phil?"

"It won't effect anything but her memories of him. Er, you."

The boy sounded sad. "Oh."

"It's for the best," the man assured. "I promise it's for the best."

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Reagan closed her textbook. She hadn't slept well the night before, so school had been a total fog that day. She was glad that it was over, and that she could take a break that night, since she didn't have a lot of homework.

She left the classroom, waving goodbye to Maddie and Kaitlyn and headed into the hallway to escape from school.

MJ, from a few grades ahead of her, approached Reagan enthusiastically. "Hey! Are we all set?"

Reagan was confused. She vaguely remembered meeting MJ a few weeks ago, when there was another big superhero fight in the city, but she didn't have any plans with MJ that she knew of. "All set for what?"

"Um, the interview with Nova? And you?"

"Nova?" Reagan looked at MJ confused. "I...I don't know anything about Nova. But he seems really cool." She smiled and shrugged. "Anyway, I have to go home."

She waved goodbye and skittered away before MJ could stop her. MJ turned to Sam, who had appeared at her side. "Well, that was weird."

Sam stared intently at his feet. "Yeah...weird..."

One day he would find the courage to tell her the truth on his own terms. But for now, he would just have to start all over. He pushed himself through the crowd, hoping to catch up with Reagan at the same time he was worried what he might say when he did.

That was when he slammed directly into Reagan.

"Ouch!" She shouted.

"Ah! Hey!"

"Hi."

"We have to stop meeting like this." Sam smiled, and offered his hand to the prone Reagan.

She took his hand and stood, but raised an eyebrow. "What?"