Chapter 34
Valerie and Harry pull out of the kiss, the both of them opening their eyes and blinking several times. Valerie shies back,
"Harry...that was nice and all, but I don't want to give you the wrong idea-"
He lets go of her, his arms sliding away, "No, no, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed…"
Valerie shrugs, "Well, if you don't try first, how else were you going to find out?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Harry looks down as the elevator comes to a stop, "hey, you still wanna hang out in my apartment? You still technically owe me that sleepover."
She nods, "Alright."
The elevator door opens and they walk out onto a narrow hardwood floor. There's a small display table with a potted plant, and a hallway leading to a side kitchen.
"Well, what do you think?" he asks, "I designed the place myself. I'm only one person, so I figured I wouldn't need anything too big."
"It's very nice." she compliments, looking at the smooth white marble breakfast bar separating the hallway and the kitchen.
They reach the end of the hallway, and Harry opens the door to a rather small living room. The room is lit by small, crystalline bulbs hanging from the ceiling. There's a small flatscreen TV mounted to the wall, along with several large, colorful bean bags. Harry plops himself down on one of the bean bags and looks down, "Shoot...where's the remote?"
"Here, I'll help you." Valerie offers, walking over and bending down to help him search.
Getting down on her knees, she crawls around in between the bean bags. She easily finds it, amid the blue and red bean bags,
"I found it-"
Harry pops his head out from between the bean bags, his face shooting out so it's practically touching hers. Valerie's cheeks become flushed red, but she laughs it off, playfully tapping him on the head with the remote before handing it to him.
"Thanks." he smiles.
They get up, and the both of them sit down on the bean bags as Harry turns on the TV. The channel that immediately comes on is the news, and a news camera is following a red and blue figure swinging through Manhattan, holding a man in one arm and swinging with a web with the other. Harry quickly flips the channel,
"Man, Spider-Man's been everywhere on the news lately since that attack on Oscorp," he comments, "you know something? I think Spider-Man stole his powers from Oscorp."
"Really? What makes you think that?"
He leans back in the bean bag, the fabric scrunching against his weight, "I've been reading into Oscorp's research history. Apparently they've been looking into genetically altered spiders for years now. That is, until an unknown assailant managed to get into the labs and messed with the equipment."
Valerie's attention perks up, "...what do you mean by...messed up?"
"The idiot opened the storage containment containing the spiders, which threw off the laser sensors used to keep the radiation beam in check," he pauses, "hang on, weren't you involved in some kind of accident with the radiation equipment?"
She nods, "Yeah, we were examining the spiders when the equipment went hay-wire. I was in the hospital for a couple of days."
"Wow...it's hard to believe you survived that without any kind of side effects…" Harry marvels, staring up at the ceiling, "so yeah, they noticed a little later on that one of the spiders was missing. They never found it though."
She holds her chin with her hand, she'll have to ask Peter about this…
Harry flips to a movie channel, where they're showing a movie about three teenagers who get superpowers.
"Wouldn't that be cool, to fly like that?" he asks, as they watch the movie.
She nods, "Yeah, getting to school would be so easy."
He chuckles, "Is that literally the first thing that comes to mind? C'mon, be more creative than that."
"Well then, what would you do if you could fly?"
He thinks on that for a moment, "I'd...well, first I'd bring you," he begins, "then...maybe I'd go to the top of the Oscorp building and just enjoy the view."
"That does sound like a good idea..." she replies, right before her cell phone goes off, she checks it, and sees that it's Peter, "hang on, gotta take this."
She gets up and walks into the hallway before answering her phone, "Hey, what's up?"
There's a heavy amount of static, before a low growl comes through, followed by more static. Finally, Peter's voice comes in, "Yeah...kind of having trouble with Animal Man here. He keeps changing back and forth, and I can't control him."
There's a crashing sound, and Peter cuts out for a second as there's more crashing noises and the sound of punches and kicks, "Huh...huh...we're at my house, and Aunt May is gonna be home any minute now, please, help me!"
"I'll be there as soon as I can." she assures him, before hanging up.
She walks back into the living room, where Harry is intently watching the movie as one of the three kids goes rogue and starts destroying the city, "Hey, I've gotta go, it's getting really late, and I have some work I gotta do."
He frowns, "Awe, no sleepover?"
She shrugs, "Sorry, maybe another time?"
Harry remains quiet, shifting his weight in the bean bag. Valerie walks up and kisses him on the forehead, giving a small smile.
"So...does this mean yes?" he asks, placing his hand on hers.
She twists her lips, "It means...I'm not sure what it means really." she confesses.
He rises up and kisses her on the lips, grabbing her arm and digging in. He lets go, and smiles, "Hopefully that'll help you decide."
Grinning back, Valerie waves goodbye before walking out of the room. Harry watches her leave, but what he doesn't see is that as soon as she's out of his apartment, Valerie finds the nearest open window, and jumps out, but it's Tarantula who reaches the bottom of the Oscorp building.
Author's Note:
highlander348: Sorry, but it doesn't mean that she has a crush on either of them (Harry maybe, but she's still undecided, at least on the outset). Thomas Fireheart is Puma, a rather obscure Spider-Man villain. And Gwen doesn't know, hope that answers your questions! :)
CharitinaX: Yes, the slow burn has finally paid its due.
MehWantCookies: Hey, haven't seen a review from you in a while, missed you! And I totally agree on how their superhero personas have chemistry while their alter egos are just friends. While I feel that Harry and Valerie have really connected during the short time they've known each other, she has been totally clueless to Harry's signs up till this point. As for Eddie...well, I don't wanna give away what I have in store for him, but something's definitely coming, just not in the near future.
WinterRain36: Oh, MJ and Valerie should totally be friends, but somehow I feel their personalities might clash (Valerie is definitely more compatible with Gwen). And of course MJ would be a great love interest for Peter (I'm trying to think of a way to use the famous "face it tiger" line).
Thanks! :)