Chapter 3: Friendly Neighbourhood Hero
Peter opens his eyes and squints from the sunlight shining through the window. Why didn't he close his curtains when he came in last night? Would Aunt May have done it when she knew he'd was home? She knew about his secret identity and while she didn't always approve of what he did as Spiderman, she'd still wait until he was home and do her best to take care of him afterwards. Maybe he'd been out too late, and she hadn't checked on him.
He notices that he's still in his suit, which wasn't all that weird…
God, why is his mattress so uncomfortable and why does his neck ache?
Where are my posters? What's wrong with my ceiling? He thinks to himself.
Peter's go wide and he jumps upwards in fear, throwing the blanket that had been wrapped around him, knocking the nearby coffee table over and spilling everything on it, including a hot cup of freshly made tea. He's on his feet and gazing around in alarm and panic when he's hit with the realization: he was in a strange apartment!
What had happened? Had he been kidnapped? Had he gone into the wrong house? How long had he been here? Why was he here?
Aunt May is going to freak out. She's probably worried sick and calling his phone like crazy. Plus, today was a school day! Oh Crap!
He's so panicked that he doesn't realize what the person had done for him to make him as comfortable as possible or that she'd saved him from almost certain death using her own sort of powers.
"So, the city's superhero is awake," a voice says
Peter turns to see the girl from last night, the one who he'd met on the roof and who had opened the door in his face. She stands in the doorway of her bedroom with a cup of tea in hand and a smile on her face. He freaks out when he realizes he doesn't have his mask on.
Said object is now on the floor after he knocked everything off. He wished that he'd used the usual automatic device that retracted his mask and his suit when he needed to, but Mr. Stark insisted on doing upgrades on the device, so he was using the regular mask for the time being.
He uses his web-shooters to pull the mask and reattach it to his face.
"You can relax you know," the woman says. "I'm not going to tell anyone and I don't even know your name… Spiderman."
Peter can't think straight, he can't form words and he's confused as hell. His heart is in his throat and he's cursing himself for letting someone see his real identity. It just made everything worse and who knows who this chick might talk to; The Daily Bugle?
Even though he wants to bolt, he has to ask or say something:
"How… how… how… long was I out?" he finally manages to say.
"All night, it's only 8:00."
"8:00! Crap, I'm going to be late!" Peter panics. He heads for the window, which seems to open by itself for some reason, but he can't think about that. Despite his confusion, he turns back to the woman.
"Thank you… thank you for… whatever you did… I have to like go…"
Without another word, he leaps out, runs to the edge of the roof, shoots his web and is gone in a flash.
Crystal smirks to herself. "Saving a spider superhero…" She shrugs. "I've had weirder nights." and proceeds to clean up the mess he'd left behind.
A/N: I know it's a quick chapter, but you can't blame Peter for trying to minimize his contact with someone who could reveal his identity. It won't be the last time they meet. Please follow and review.