Okay, I finished replaying the game and it turns out Harry, MJ and Peter are childhood friends, so May and Anna setting them up wouldn't work in this universe. Anyway, I'm going to ignore this little plothole, because I don't know how to fix it, and I don't think it's that important. I know I messed up publishing the first part before getting my facts straight but oh well, what's done, is done.

"I don't smell that bad, do I?" Peter asked with concern as he caught up to MJ and took her hand in his. MJ laughed again.

"No, don't worry. It's a manly smell," she said, "I like it."

They walked hand in hand to the school, it was only a 20-minute walk from Peter's house. As they got closer, the music coming from the school's gym could be heard, even though the school wasn't even in sight yet. Once they got to the school's parking lot, they started looking around for familiar faces in the sea of students.

"Do you think we are the last ones here?" Peter asked and tried to stretch his neck as much as possible to see further.

"Could be ... Hmm, I don't see anyone- Oh, wait, I see Harry's car over there," MJ pointed to a dark blue Mercedes, "so he's probably inside with everyone else."

They followed the rest of the students flowing into the school. Everyone was dressed up and wayyy too happy for people technically going to school. The hallways were decorated with lights, black, white, and golden balloons, and white puffy things that turned out to be made from napkins. Peter had to admit that this felt a lot different from a regular school day, something he was weirdly surprised about.

Peter was heading straight for the gym and was a little surprised when MJ pulled him in the opposite direction down the hallway.

"Where are we going?" he asked her.

"To get our picture taken in the cheesy photo booth," she answered as if that was supposed to be obvious.

"I thought you didn't like getting photographed?"

"I don't but this is different,"

"How is this different?"

"You wouldn't get it even if I tried to explain it, it just is. Now come, put your hands around me and kiss me," MJ said, already having pulled them both in the booth in front of a bored-looking photographer.

"That I can do," Peter said and leaned down. He did feel a little bit weird about kissing her while surrounded by other students and being literally in the spotlight, but he wasn't about to complain. He did hear someone shout "Get it, Parker!" and Peter was ready to bet 10 bucks it was Flash, although he couldn't see him anywhere once he looked up again.

"Come, now let's go find Harry," MJ said after their picture was taken and Peter found himself being pulled again, this time towards the gym.

They didn't have to look hard as Harry was standing not far from the entrance with the rest of their friends - Liz, Sally, and Randy.

"Hey, guys!" MJ greeted everyone loudly enough to get their attention over the music, while Peter came in with a quieter 'Hey' and a wave of his hand.

"MJ! Pete! You're finally here. I was starting to get worried your Hermit the Crab personality will take over and you won't show up," Harry said to Peter.

"MJ wouldn't let me," Peter answered.

"He would be so hopeless without you," Harry said to MJ.

"I know," she replied.

"You know I'm standing right here?" Peter said while looking at his two best friends.

"You look drop-dead gorgeous, MJ! Where did you get that dress?" Liz asked, joining the conversation.

"In that shop Sally told us about,"

"I told you it was worth checking out," Sally said with a smirk.

"So who did you end up coming with?" MJ asked Liz with curiosity.

"No one, actually, I came as an independent woman who doesn't need someone drooling after her to have a good time," Liz answered.

MJ looked at Sally in disbelief.

"It's true, she came alone. Well, Harry gave her a ride over here but they both swear they didn't come together together,"

"Really?" MJ eyed Liz and then Harry who was talking to Peter and wasn't listening to them.

"You look good, Pete," Harry said as he started to tune out the girl talk, "red really is your color," he smirked.

"What?" Peter tilted his head a bit. Harry pointed to his own lips, still smirking.

"Oh, shi- why didn't she tell me?" Peter wiped at his mouth and saw light pink stains on the back of his hand. Harry started laughing.

"It's MJ, dude. Maybe she didn't notice ... or thought it was funny,"

"Probably the latter. Better?" Peter asked after having thoroughly wiped his mouth.

"I wouldn't say better, that color really brought out your eyes, you know, -"

"Oh, shut up," Peter rolled his eyes.

"-but it's gone now," Harry reassured him.

"Hnn... So you really didn't bring a date?" Peter asked.

"Nope,"

"That's kinda uncharacteristic for you," Peter said lifting an eyebrow, "are you feeling okay?" he tried to put his palm to Harry's forehead but Harry smacked his hand away.

"I just didn't feel like it," Harry shrugged, "It's not that weird. Plus, I think I've had enough of dating just by being around you two all the time,"

Peter laughed, "C'mon, we're not that bad,"

"You just don't see it yourself,"

"Hey, Harry, wanna go dance?" Liz asked as she and MJ started paying attention to the guys again. Randy and Sally had gone off to the dance floor already.

"Sure," he reached out his hand to her and bowed his head, "M'lady," making Liz laugh.

Peter looked at MJ, "What about you? Would you like to try your luck with having me as your dance partner?"

"Try my luck? Are you that bad?" she looked up at him half laughing.

"Well, I wouldn't actually know, I haven't had a lot of experience on the dance floor,"

She pretended to be deep in thought, with a finger on her lips, "Hmmmm," and after a couple of seconds she took his hand to let him know her decision, "I think it will be okay, it's a slow song now, you should manage that,"

They went to the middle of the dance floor where the rest of their friends were dancing. MJ's hands found their way around Peter's neck and Peter put his arms around her waist as they both started swaying lightly in the rhythm of the music. It didn't take long for their bodies to close the little gap they had left between them at the beginning and MJ put her head on Pete's shoulder.

After one more slow song and two faster ones, MJ took pity on Peter as he turned out to be very awkward whenever a slightly faster song came on. She let him lead her away from the dance floor and out of the gym. They sneaked off to a quieter hallway far away from the gym and sat on the floor in darkness with their backs against the wall. Peter had his arm around MJ's shoulders and she was leaning against him.

"How long do you think it will take Harry to find us?" Peter asked her.

"Mmmm, I don't know, but I also don't think we have to worry about that. Didn't you see how he was talking with Liz?" MJ said while playing with the fingers of his other hand, " Sure they say they just came together as friends, but everyone can see they are full of crap,"

"What? Harry and Liz?" Peter looked down at her in shock.

"Oh, don't tell me you are that clueless, Pete. They've been holding on to each other the whole time we've been here in one way or another. You didn't even see the death stare Harry gave Flash when he tried to ask Liz to a dance? "

"No..." Peter said deep in thought, "but now that you mention it, I guess he's been talking about Liz an awful lot. Huh ... Who would have guessed."

"Everyone, Pete. Everyone guessed it."

"Hmm,"

A comfortable silence settled between them until MJ broke it.

"Peter?"

"Mmm?"

"I ... There's something I wanted to talk to you about ... For a while now, actually, but I ... I don't know how to ... It's about..." he could feel her becoming tense as she shifted and let go of his hand. Something told him he won't like what comes next.

When she didn't continue, Peter asked her, "What is it, MJ?" His phone started buzzing but he ignored it.

"I just ... No, never mind. It's not important," she looked mildly frustrated and was biting her lip which made Peter worry a little.

"Are you sure? You don't usually have problems expressing yourself,"

"No, yeah, it's fine. I changed my mind, I don't want to talk about it," Peter's phone was still buzzing and it added to MJ's mood, "can you get that?" she asked with annoyance.

"Uh, yeah, it's probably Harry," he was still very confused about what was happening with his girlfriend. He checked his phone and it turned out to be a web alert about a hostage situation in Hell's Kitchen.

"Um, MJ, I need to-"

"I know Peter," she said suddenly and a little too loudly.

"What?" Peter exclaimed, surprised at her tone of voice.

"I know that .. you're him. I've known for a while now," she said, now slower and quieter.

She cant possibly mean -

"You're .. Spider-man," she whispered.

Crap.

"MJ, I .. That's ridiculous-"

"Just please, Peter, spare me, " she shook his hand off and scooted away just a little bit so she could look him in the eyes, "I've seen you with my own eyes in the costume climbing through your window. We live next, for God's sake. And I have so many mixed feelings about this, I've been trying to pretend I don't know and ignore how you suddenly disappear with some lame excuse or show up afterward, wincing in pain when you move too fast. And I've been waiting for you to tell me and I'm not mad that you haven't told me, I mean I get that, but I just ... It's been boiling inside me for so long, I can't take it anymore," she looked extremely tired all of a sudden, "This evening has been so perfect, and I get so scared every time you run off suddenly, and I can never talk about it with anyone. I just ... don't want to feel that way tonight,"

Peter couldn't keep her gaze and looked to the side, "How long have you known?"

"I saw you the first time on the day of Harry's birthday party," she said. Peter did the math in his head, that was in November and now it was May. Six months. She's known for half a year. But how? His Spider-sense was supposed to alert him if someone was watching... unless he had spent too much time with her and at that point, it didn't register as a threat.

"I understand that you have to go," she gestured at his phone still in his hand. He looked down at it.

"It's okay. We can talk after you get back, you can climb through my window. I'll leave it open," she took his hand and he looked up at her face.

"MJ, I .." she could see guilt in his eyes.

"Just promise me you'll be fine, okay?"

"Okay," he kissed the top of her head, "I promise." A part of him was telling him not to leave now but he ignored it, got to his feet, and ran down the hallway, leaving her alone in the darkness wondering what she had just done.

Peter was also thinking about what had just happened. MJ knows. Oh, man... He was planning on telling her at some point, but the fact that she already knows and has known for so long... This made Peter rethink everything. What if anyone else he knows has seen him, like Aunt May - No, she wouldn't ignore that. But anyway he will have to be more careful from now on, spider-sense isn't as reliable as he thought.

But he couldn't think about it now. There were people in danger and he could help them, so he is going to do just that. As he got to his locker, he remembered that he had left his costume at home and he only had a mask at school. Should he risk it and go in his prom suit? Somebody could recognize his clothes... He decided that that was unlikely to happen, and anyway, he didn't have a choice. Going home would be a waste of time. MJ could cover for him. At least he hoped she would.

He grabbed his mask and ran out of the school, trying not to run into anyone who knows him. He ran down a couple of blocks before putting on the mask in the cover of the shadows and shot out a webline.

As he was swinging, he checked the news for more info. The hostages were taken after a drug deal gone wrong, where undercover cops unsuccessfully had tried to apprehend the dealers. They had taken refuge in a half-finished building west down the street from Fisk Tower and cops had surrounded them.

He was swinging as fast as he could but his suit was much less comfortable than his Spidey costume. He didn't want to rip the suit since it was rented so he couldn't move his arms as freely thus making his swinging slower than what he was used to. He made a mental note to get more Spidey suits.

He found the place easily as there were police cars everywhere and he dropped down on a nearby lamppost, out of everyone's sight. The reporters were already there and he would like to avoid getting into a newspaper in his prom suit with a mask on.

Now, how to get inside? He looked the building up and down from the front and quickly decided that that was too much on display. He swung down the alleyway to the back of the building where fewer people had gathered aaaaaand ... Bingo. He saw a ventilation shaft above the second floor and in he went.

As he was crawling through the darkness, he tried to listen for voices that might tell him where the party was happening. He couldn't hear anything and his spider-sense told him it was safe to drop down. He found himself on a freshly built second floor. The place was completely empty, it looked like there were going to be apartments here in the future but there was still plastic wrap and equipment everywhere.

The place was under 'Fisk Construction'.

Hmmm, that can't be a coincidence.

After months of investigating, Peter had found out that Wilson Fisk was behind most of the drug deals Spider-man had stopped in Hell's Kitchen. He didn't have any evidence though, and he had never seen the man himself in real life either. All he knew he had gotten from eavesdropping and playing spies. He had tried to beat some of the dealers and force them to say something, but he wasn't very intimidating and, to be honest, Spider-man lacked the guts to use actual torture. One thing he did get out of the crooks were warnings and threats not to get in Kingpin's way.

What's to be afraid of? He probably only gets up for press interviews and cheeseburgers, Peter had thought to himself after doing research on Fisk and seeing his picture.

He moved to the staircase. Up or down? Common sense told him to go down.

He quickly got to the first floor without making a sound and started to hear muffled voices coming from even lower.

They were in the basement. He looked around for another ventilation shaft and, once in, crawled towards the sounds. He found the spot where it was going downwards and from there he could already make out what the words were saying ... or shouting, to be more accurate.

"FOOLS! Do you have any idea how deep in shit you have dragged everyone here?"

"Boss, we panicked! We were set up, we couldn't have known-"

"DO I LOOK LIKE I CARE ABOUT YOU? WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN IF I'M ASSOCIATED WITH THE LIKES OF YOU IN ANY WAY?"

Now Peter was right above them, seeing and hearing everything clear as day. The one shouting definitely was Wilson Fisk himself, standing in the middle of the room next to a desk. There were wooden crates stacked all around the room. Two of them were open and Peter could see that one contained what looked like old tea sets and the other had several katanas. Besides Fisk, there were four more men, two of whom were sweating heavily.

Peter had to admit, the pictures hadn't done the man justice. He was much larger than one could expect but that was not it. Peter didn't believe in auras, but he honestly didn't know how else to describe it, he could feel Fisk's presence down in his bones. Everyone else in the room looked like they were about to pass out or run away screaming.

"Where did idiots like you even come from? I will have to deal with whoever hired you after I clean up this mess,"

"Boss, I'm-"

"SHUT UP!" Fisk shouted, grabbed the guy's head, and smashed it through the table, wooden shards flying everywhere. The guy fell to his knees and then collapsed on the ground, blood pooling underneath his head.

Holy shit, Peter almost exclaimed out loud. Everyone else in the room froze in fear of being next.

"I'm thinking," Fisk said calmly and took a deep breath, having gotten his anger out.

Peter was about ready to give his left arm in order to have his camera with him at this moment. The stuff he could get on Fisk from where he was now.

"Where are the hostages?" Fisk asked the other man.

"Down-Down the hall, boss," the trembling man answered.

''How many are there?"

"Just two,"

"Fine, you will take me to them, I'll pretend to be a hostage. Mark, you will come with me too. We will pretend that I was here to examine the progress of the construction work and accidentally got caught up in this. The building is mine, after all, me being here shouldn't raise suspicion," Fisk said. He went to the wall and flicked a light switch and a hole in the wall opened out of nowhere. Peter just now noticed that there were no doors in the room, this must be a secret space of some sort. That also means that whatever is in those crates couldn't be legal.

"And you," Fisk addressed the last of the men, "wait until this dies down and then clean this up," he pointed to the body of the guy who had gotten his face smashed in.

"Got it, boss," the man answered.

Nah-ah, no way you're leaving now, Peter thought and kicked open the shaft.