AN: Thank you guys for reviewing! I, too, love snarky MJ. For context, Staten Island is in NYC but people from the other areas tend not to like Staten Island... apologies if anyone readers are from there! It's just a joke

"Baby, I know places we won't be found and, They'll be chasing their tails trying to track us down, 'Cause I, I, I, I know places we can hide," Taylor Swift – I Know Places

...

One would also think that after almost 6 months of living in a world that doesn't remember him, Peter would be more careful. He should've been more cautious, but, alas, he decided to make a habit of meeting MJ and Ned after school.

MJ and Ned were finishing their senior year at Midtown High. They were preparing to move to Massachusetts and giving in to the inevitability of senioritis. So, when MJ wasn't training the decathlon team to win their final championship of the year, and when Ned wasn't hacking into random corporate accounts for Peter (crime-fighting reasons, of course), the three of them were hanging out. The problem seemed to be that the three of them were no longer an invisible trio.

Instead, after becoming more confident, snarky, and even more beautiful, MJ was impossible to ignore. She radiated what Peter could only call "bad bitch energy." She owned her awkwardness, and Peter was proud to see it. But it caused students to raise questions that were very difficult to answer.

Ever the spidey fan, Flash Thompson pestered MJ and Ned with many questions. "Yo, who is this kid? Ned, is that your boyfriend?"

All of them rolled their eyes. "No, actually. He's OUR boyfriend," MJ said, gesturing to herself and Ned. "Idiot," she murmured.

"If only he knew," Ned responded.

"Oh no, no. Don't want that." Peter shook his head.

But after a while, the questions became more complicated. How come we've never seen this guy? How'd you meet him? Where does he go to school? Why is he so buff?

The truthful answers, in order, were "you forgot," "in school," "self-taught," and "he's a superhero." Instead, Peter said something like, "uh, I'm from Staten Island." As a Queens kid, that lie hurt, but it got everyone off his back. They started focusing on MJ instead, asking why she was always with a white boy from Staten Island. She shrugged it off.

It was trickier when he had to be Spider-man while with MJ and Ned. He had to leave, change, do his thing, change back, then take a different route back, stopping on the way there at a store. They say "blend in," right?

Peter had to stop meeting Ned and MJ so close to their school. He settled for a spot in Madison Square Park instead, where Ned and MJ could seem like two regular nerds looking for a scenic place to study. More accurately, though, sometimes Ned would walk MJ there if she didn't have work (to be nice), and he would volunteer at the LEGO store and help kids build their sets.

Then, MJ and Peter would take advantage of quality alone time. They only had a few months before MJ had to leave for college anyways.

In the meantime, Peter earned his GED. He was saving up the money he earned from tutoring and selling Spider-man pictures to apply for college. With luck and a captivating sob story, maybe someday he could make it to college. He wasn't sure if he had it in him to leave New York, though.

"It's nice to be alone," he said to MJ, who lay next to him under the shade of a tree. Peter lived for days like this–the time could be theirs.

MJ nodded. "I hate most of the people in that school."

Peter laughed. "They're jealous of you."

"Jealous? Of me? Who works at a diner?"

"Yes, you. You who works and manages to do a billion things and still make straight A's and be gorgeous."

MJ shook her head and rolled her eyes playfully. "Yes, my spiderlord."

The pair busted out in laughter, remembering the silly, forgotten stories of the press.

With the sounds of NYC in the background, they sat in comfortable silence. Peter was watching the clouds. MJ was watching weirdos in distress.

"I'm glad," Peter said suddenly, "that I did what I did. You're not running from the world anymore or yourself. I'm not pressured to be more than Spider-man. No press. No cameras."

"Yeah, well. When you trust yourself, you're going to make better choices than you would with doubts."

"Like how I almost didn't tell you?"

"Exactly."

"Well," Peter began, "what if I don't know what side to trust?" He was thinking about whether he could leave his city behind for his favorite people.

"You'll figure it out," MJ said, turning her head to look at him. Her eyes showed certainty.

"How do you know?"

"Because I know you better than you think I do," she said.

Peter couldn't argue with that.

Then all of a sudden, his spidey sense went off. He jumped forward, alert.

"Peter? What's wrong?" MJ also shot forward.

Then Peter saw him, one of the Wall Street guys involved in organized crime. Shit.

"That's one of them," he whispered, then pointed toward a man about a block away, 7 feet tall, wearing an all-black suit and carrying a maroon briefcase.

"Okay, well he's never seen your face right?" The man was getting closer and began to enter the park.

Peter nodded, but his mind was racing. "We should get out of here just in case. I think he knows my voice."

Together, they packed up their bags and books. The situation reminded him too much of Toomes–Liz's dad. He didn't know Spider-man's unmasked face either, but he knew Spider-man's voice.

Peter and MJ didn't look back, opting to hold hands and blend in with other coupled-up teenagers. Peter led MJ across the park and whispered to her, "I know a place."

It was the kind of place one might not expect to find a plain-clothed superhero and his girlfriend.

"A church?" MJ was incredulous but followed him anyways.

Peter greeted a custodian, then continued down a dark staircase.

"Woah Peter. Taking me to an abandoned church basement?" Maybe for two other people, it would've been scandalous. But Peter's cheeks turned red with innocence.

"It's just a safe place. One time, I found and returned the custodian's dog. He said I could come here whenever."

"You as in Peter?"

"Yep."

The bottom of the stairs opened up to a space the size of an average classroom. The walls were painted a plain bronze color, but the molding was gold and decorative. Linoleum tiles lined the floor, creating a white and blush zig-zag pattern. There were no windows. The only furniture seemed to be boxes and chests (presumably for storage) and a single bench in the middle.

"Wow," MJ said. She was about to sit down, but Peter stopped her. He took her hand and pulled her back, placing his other hand on her waist.

"Thanks for trusting me," he whispered. A part of him was scared that she wouldn't. He still wasn't completely used to his new life–being seen and known.

"Of course," MJ said, her tone soft. "Why wouldn't I?"

Peter shrugged. "I dunno... But we're safe."

Peter's heart was racing. Seeing that guy while with MJ and being unsure if he could protect her rattled him. He caressed her cheek and saw their relationship flash before his eyes. All of the memories he had with her played like a stop-motion movie on 5x speed.

"I know," she said. "We'll be okay, I promise."

She must've sensed his anxiety because she pulled his forehead to hers.

"Yeah," Peter murmured.

They took a seat on the bench, and Peter couldn't help but ask, "Well, how do you like this as our new spot?"

MJ scoffed. "As long as it's not our ONLY hideout. Once a week, max. Or else I'll have to tell my parents that you've been making my allergies act up."

The sound of their laughter cleared the air, and Peter knew that it was all worth it. They outsmarted destiny.