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Chapter Eighteen
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Peter can't believe that he has Mary Jane's cell number. If it were a month ago, the day after his accident, he would've been in complete disbelief. Especially after not being able to say goodbye and thinking that he would never see her again.
He was lying in bed, so very tempted to text her, but he wasn't sure how to start the conversation without being weird.
"Hey, MJ," Peter practiced to himself aloud as he stared up at the ceiling with his arms propped behind his head, "You'd make a perfect model. You know why? You're hot- no, pretty- no, stunning. Wait-"
He cut himself off and started over.
"Hi, MJ. I think it's great that you're trying to follow your dreams-" No wait. That made him sound like Jiminy Cricket or something.
He had to think of something original. Something that someone like Harry Osborn wouldn't think to text her. He frowned as he remembered that he still had to text Harry, a stranger, and invite him over for a 'guys night'. Honestly, the things that he did for Mary Jane… But at least he could now get to know this guy that Mary Jane calls 'her friend' and keep a close eye on him if necessary.
Thoughts of this morning and their shared laughter came to mind and he had to suppress a smile. He wanted to send her a text that may make her laugh. Because he loved her laughter. It was so contagious.
He lifted his phone that had been resting on his chest and started typing.
Peter: Did you know that there is a village in southern Norway named 'Hell'? And get this, every winter, it freezes over!
As he typed, he was starting to second guess himself and was about to delete it, when-
"Peter!" He started to drop his phone but it bounced off his hand a couple of times before he caught it. Aunt May's exclamation behind his bedroom door had startled him. "Lights out. You know you're in trouble, young man."
He sighed and didn't reply. Instead, he reached over to turn off his bedside light and waited until he saw her shadow disappear from underneath the door. When it did, he lifted his phone and nearly groaned aloud. The text to Mary Jane was sent. Shit! Did he just have the worst luck, or something?
He set his phone down on his chest again and covered his eyes with his arm. Now this on top of Aunt May finding out that he stopped that bomb last night, it was shaping up to be a weird day, overall.
But there were some good things, too. A lot of them had to do with Mary Jane. Like when he had agreed to be her photographer to build her modeling portfolio, she had launched herself at him and hugged him tight. It had startled him so much by the unexpectedness of it that he hadn't the chance to wrap his arms around her before she had released him and started happily babbling about her plans. What sort of clothes she would need to get, wondering how she should do her hair. Peter had no clue about these sorts of things so he had just stood there and enjoyed her excitement with a smile.
There had also been the fact that he had gotten Mary Jane's cell number today. But that was currently starting to feel like a curse. She was going to think that he was a total weirdo.
He sighed and uncovered his eyes, his thoughts drifting again. Maybe he should tell his Aunt May that Mary Jane had been at that party and if he hadn't been there, she would've… his thoughts broke off. No. He couldn't even think of the possibility of what would've happened if he hadn't been there. It was for this reason why Uncle Ben's words about great power and responsibility were so important to him. It was also why he knew that he was going to have to continue to break Aunt May's rules. He hated that he had to defy her but if he hadn't, then last night, Mary Jane… He shivered.
He would continue to try and reason with his Aunt May. He would sit her down and have a mature conversation with her to get her to see his point of view on this. He just had to.
His phone pinged and he warily lifted it.
Mary Jane: So, when I told my ex-boyfriend to go to Hell, he actually just moved to Scandinavia?
Peter smothered a laugh with his fist. All his worries melted away leaving behind only one prominent feeling - he felt giddy.
Peter: Unfortunately, yes. If you really wanted to hit him where it hurts, you should've told him to go to outer space instead, sans suit. Where he'd die in 15 seconds of asphyxiation or he'd freeze. And if there was any air left in his lungs, they would rupture.
He pressed send and eagerly awaited her response. He didn't have to wait long.
Mary Jane: Huh. Good to know. Sounds like something he deserves.
Peter bit his lip, considering for a moment, before he typed out his new text.
Peter: If you don't mind me asking (and you don't have to answer, btw) what happened with him?
He swore that if this guy had hurt her… a ping interrupted his thoughts.
Mary Jane: The jerk cheated on me with a girl from another school named Gwen.
What?! Cheated? On Mary Jane? Was he blind? Dumb? Obviously yes. Peter couldn't even fathom it. If he was fortunate enough to be Mary Jane's boyfriend, he would be counting his lucky stars every single day. How was it even possible for people like her ex or her parents to take someone like Mary Jane for granted?
Peter: Definitely something he deserves. He sounds stupid.
He wished that he could say more but he felt that he would be crossing the line by doing that. He has already risked poking his nose in her business when he asked what happened with her past relationship.
Mary Jane: Thanks, Tiger. He dropped out of school last year, so I think it's safe to say that he doesn't have much of a future. So I kinda win by default.
'You win just from being so far out of every guy's league.' Peter thought when another ping came before he thought up what to text back.
Mary Jane: Do you have any ex-girlfriends that you want to send to outer space?
Peter flushed. Not because he thought that the question was intrusive but because of his lack of answer. He has never had a real girlfriend before, at least from as far as he could remember. And he felt like a girlfriend in his life would've been a memory he would've recovered by now. Would she think that he was a loser for never having dated anyone? Or even had his first kiss before? Man, he sure felt like a loser.
He sighed and thought up an answer that was still honest but made him out to be in the best light possible.
Peter: No, not really. I had a brief fling with a girl that I took to the Homecoming dance. But she moved away.
He still couldn't remember her name yet. But he could picture her face. Maybe he would ask Ned about her.
Mary Jane: Not to Hell, Norway, I hope…?
He had to stifle another laugh. Of course MJ wouldn't make a big deal about his lack of dating history. She was cool like that.
They texted back and forth for a few more minutes after that, with the both of them confirming their plans for her photoshoot that they set for Saturday mid-afternoon. Peter suggested that they get some shots during the golden hour and she had enthusiastically agreed. In the meantime, she was working on getting a wardrobe together of some vintage items she was finding at the thrift store. The excitement that he felt for her pursuing this caused for him to be emotionally invested in her success as well.
He would make sure that he got the perfect shots for her portfolio. He would bank his honorary Avengers membership on it.
When they finally said goodnight, Peter put his phone on his bedside table and put his hands behind his head, a satisfied grin on his lips. Before he remembered that he had one more thing he had to do before it completely crossed his mind. He sighed and grumbled as he grabbed his phone from the nightstand once again and began to type.
Peter: Hi Harry. This is Peter Parker, a friend of Mary Jane's. I hope it's ok that she gave me your number. MJ told me that you are enrolled to come to my school this next year and I was wondering if you wanted to hang out and play some video games with my buddy, Ned, and I before the school year starts. If that's not your thing, then that's cool too. Let me know.
He hit send and didn't even wait for a response as he closed his eyes and fell asleep, secretly hoping that Harry Osborn would tell him no.
…..
As the days passed, Mary Jane was prepping for both her upcoming photoshoot with Peter as well as going out with Aunt Anna to buy the supplies needed for her new school. She grinned broadly at the thought of her school. She had just gotten her acceptance letter back yesterday and she was already daydreaming about their theater program.
Ever since she had moved out of her parent's house, things were really starting to look up for her.
She hadn't yet told Peter that she had been accepted to her new school. She wanted to tell him the news in person but she hadn't seen him since the morning that she asked him for those two favors. She had knocked on his door yesterday afternoon to see if he was there, but May told her that he wasn't in.
And now, today was finally the day of her photoshoot with Peter. She could hardly wait, she did her hair and makeup far too early and already had to do a touch-up. When it was finally time for her to meet Peter, she was relieved that she could finally begin to spend up all of this nervous energy by focusing on getting the best shots that she could.
She left the apartment with a call of goodbye to her Aunt Anna and walked next door to knock on the Parkers' door. May opened the door with a smile. "Hi, Mary Jane!"
She grinned broadly, her left arm full of the garment bag filled with her wardrobe. "Hi May, I've come to kidnap your nephew."
May Parker laughed then turned her head to yell at what she assumed was Peter's closed bedroom door. "Peter! Mary Jane is here."
There was a distinctive crashing sound that came from the bedroom before Peter's voice within yelled, "Just a second!"
His voice was cracked and breathless. When May turned back to Mary Jane, she shot the older woman a questioning look. May waved it off with a laugh. "You know… boys."
Then she turned to walk toward the living room, leaving the door wide open as she said over her shoulder, "Come in, Mary Jane. I'm sure Peter won't be long."
But as she said this, his bedroom door burst open and he slid out into the hall in a rush. Mary Jane nearly snorted when she spotted him. His hair was a complete mess with his curls standing on end. But there was a part of her deep inside that whispered that she wanted to run her fingers through those very curls. Actually, the more that she studied him, the more she thought that the look suited him more than his normal slicked-back look.
"Sorry!" Peter was immediately apologizing as soon as he spotted her. Then, he seemed to remember that he was forgetting something as he patted his entire torso and turned in a circle to inspect the room.
"Here," May said from her place on the couch, holding up his camera bag without even looking up from her book. He ran forward and plucked it from her hand.
"Thanks, May," Peter said as he slung the bag over his shoulder and then turned to Mary Jane, "Are you ready to go?"
Mary Jane grinned wide at both his antics and his question as he stepped forward to the rack next to the door in order to slip his shoes on. "I was born ready, Tiger."
…
Peter had told her that he had a few different sites in mind for the backdrops of her pictures since she didn't know Queens very well. As they took the bus toward the first destination, they chatted and laughed about many nonsensical things, where she had also told him the exciting news of her getting accepted to Rosalind's Art Academy. That was when Peter beamed at her and grabbed her into a congratulatory hug.
Whoa.
He seemed stronger than he looked. Aunt Anna must be right. Peter did seem to be working out.
Her thoughts were interrupted from that train of thought when Peter told her that he was taking her to the 'Queens Botanical Garden' which was said to be a nature's paradise in the midst of the city - according to Peter.
She was in high anticipation when they arrived and she gasped at what she saw. It was beautiful. She hadn't seen so many trees and plants in New York outside of Central Park. And she had never traveled outside of New York City before - as if her parents would've ever taken her on a road trip out of state.
Regardless, it was the perfect site for some of the summer outfits that she had chosen.
They found a bathroom for her to change in at one of the buildings and she did so quickly, not wanting to waste any time on the natural lighting.
When she exited the bathroom in a pair of some tight high-waisted jean shorts and a loose, sheer, blood-red button-down, she hadn't expected Peter's appraising reaction. She knew that she had deliberately left a few of the top buttons loose, but she hadn't seen Peter check her out like that since the night that she met him, which she had originally chalked up to her sudden presence at his doorstep. Was that not the case? She felt her cheeks warm. Another unexpected reaction.
But still, she smiled at him. "Where to?"
Stiffening, he shook his head of all other thoughts and pointed to a field that had trees outlining the open space in an orderly line. "I thought that I could get some great focus shots over there."
She nodded, her garment bag still over her arm as they made their way to the field. They stepped onto the grass, Mary Jane left her bag on the ground by Peter's feet, and Peter had positioned her to stand directly in the middle of the parallel lines of trees.
Then, he took his camera out of his bag, removed the cap off of the lens, and looked through the viewfinder. "Yes, this will work. I just have to adjust the lens a bit and… there. Ready?"
Mary Jane nodded and then she went about doing what she was born to do. She easily maneuvered into many different poses as she heard the click of Peter's camera shutter fly. It almost felt like a dance that she was performing to a very unique song. Where she was the dancer and Peter was the conductor who created the music.
And she had to say, so far, they made a great team.
When she left to change her outfit again, she returned in a two-piece, light blue dress that showed off her midriff. When Peter saw her again, he swallowed thickly. But this time, he tried to avoid looking at her for longer than a second.
Interesting.
"Any ideas of where to go now?"
Peter nodded and pointed toward a field of pink and yellow tulips. It was stunning. "I thought that we could take some of you lying down in a bed of flowers?"
Mary Jane grinned broadly. "Great idea, Tiger!"
They made their way to the field and Mary Jane laid down, making sure to fan her hair out around her. Peter hesitated as he bit his lip, before he stepped closer to her until his feet were standing on opposite sides of her torso, caging her in. Then, he lifted his camera to hover high over her face and started to snap the pictures in an aerial view. Every once in a while, he would take the camera down to his face so that he could see if he was getting the shots correctly.
"They're turning out good." He finally said as he looked through the last few of them.
Mary Jane beamed. "Really?"
He nodded and held the camera out to her, "You wanna look?"
Taking the camera from him eagerly, Mary Jane nodded. As she scrolled through them, she couldn't help but gape. When she finished, she looked back up at Peter with a stunned expression. "Peter… you have a real talent."
Predictably, his face immediately flushed. "What? No…"
He tried to wave off her compliment, but Mary Jane would not be swayed. "No, seriously Peter. These are really good. I can hardly see any editing that would need to be done. You should consider freelancing weddings or something."
Face flushing even further, he pondered her statement before he raised a brow at her. "Are you just trying to flatter me up so that you can squeeze another favor out of me?"
She threw her head back and laughed. "No way! I don't want to be in even more debt when it comes to you and favors," Then she bit her lip, surveying him with her most earnest and open expression. "Seriously, Peter. Accept the compliment. You've earned it."
He looked down at his feet, the redness now traveling down his neck. "Thanks." He said quietly.
And before she could make any word of response to him, he held his hand out to her to help her up. She took it and he heaved her to her feet so effortlessly, it left her breathless. Aunt Anna was definitely right about Peter being fit.
"Come on, I think that's enough shots for here and it's almost golden hour," Peter said as he checked his watch. "I was thinking that we could get some rooftop shots of you with the skyscrapers in the background. Our apartment building roof should have the right angle for the lighting."
He peeked at her out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge her acceptance to this plan. She opened and closed her mouth. On the rooftop of their apartment building?
Her first thought was that the rooftop was her and Spider-Man's place, and how he would feel if she brought another boy up there without him knowing. But then she shook her head at the ridiculousness of it. Peter had lived in the building for far longer than she had. She had no ownership of the rooftop, for heaven's sake.
"Sure," She found herself saying as she reached down to grab her garment bag off of the ground.
They rode the bus back in relative silence. Mary Jane was lost in her thoughts over the little things that she had noticed about Peter today. Was it possible that Peter liked her? Had a crush on her?
She was trying to justify this theory in her mind as she compiled the evidence in her brain, and she came to the conclusion that she was at least 68% sure that Peter Parker had a crush on her. She blushed at the thought.
Now, the real question was, how did she feel about that? She could honestly say that she wasn't entirely sure… What she could admit was that yes, she thought that Peter Parker was cute. Attractive. And maybe even adorable.
But then, her thoughts automatically turned to Spider-Man. To the bond that they shared. How witty, kind, and heroic he truly was. And also lovable. There was a reason why her thoughts kept turning to him. She just couldn't get him out of her head.
Before long, they had made it back to their apartment building. Peter told her that he would meet her on the roof while Mary Jane went back to her apartment to change once again. She chose the sparkly, tan dress this time, with the plunging neckline and a slit up her thigh.
This time, when she walked up the stairs in her heels and opened the door, Peter's gaze landed on her and wouldn't drift away…
He swallowed thickly and pulled at the neckline of his t-shirt. Then, rather boldly for Peter, said, "You look beautiful, by the way."
She was stunned. Frozen in place by his mere words alone. Peter Parker thought that she was beautiful?
He sort of smiled at her lack of response, then quipped, "Learn to take a compliment, Red."
Ah. Throwing her words right back at her. Still, it helped her to thaw out a bit enough for her to match his soft smile. "Thanks, Tiger."
They stood there for a beat, staring at one another, before Peter cleared his throat and gestured toward the ledge, "Golden Hour is about to start in a couple of minutes. Good choice on the sparkly dress. It will reflect the light."
As he said this, she moved to her place by the ledge, the background of the city skyscrapers behind her. Peter dropped down on one knee a short distance away from her, uncapping his lens once again. Then, the sun hit just the right angle as the golden light hit upon her. She started to pose and Peter's camera shutter went off in soothing clicks.
When several minutes passed, Peter lowered his camera and just stared at her. And there was something about the look in his eyes… His gaze was deep. She was used to being stared at, with boys and men alike always ogling her. But this felt different. Peter Parker wasn't just looking at her, he was really seeing her. The true her.
And that terrified her.
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A/N: Thanks so much for reading this story! I would really appreciate it if you could leave a comment on what you think of it so far. Predictions? Theories? Likes? Dislikes? Let me know! I love reading !
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