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Chapter Thirty-Seven
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"Mr. Stark!" Peter exclaimed, dropping his pillow on the floor altogether. Tony was back! The urge to run up to him and throw his arms around the man was strong but he managed to resist - he was supposed to only be an intern, afterall. Such familiarity in front of Harry and Mary Jane would surely raise more than a few questions. But just seeing him quelled the undercurrent of worry that had been brewing underneath the surface ever since Tony had left. So many questions flitted through his mind. Why is he back? Did he defeat the Mandarin? Peter would have thought that he'd have heard about that on the news if he had, but maybe there was something secretive about it all? If yes, Peter hoped that Tony would tell him all of the details. One thing that Peter knew was for certain was that Tony got in some sort of fight judging by the state of him. He looked dead exhausted by the look of the heavy bags under his eyes. Peter also eyed the cut on Tony's forehead with concern but the look that he got in return was bemusement - from both Tony and his Aunt May.
Hell, Aunt May looked like a cat that ate the canary as she eyed Mary Jane's presence close next to him. Peter was actively avoiding looking at Mary Jane because of this fact, but all of his senses were honed in on her body standing right next to his.
"I found him in the lobby," Aunt May explained with a smile, trying to cover up her devious and nefarious intentions regarding his love life… or lack there of.
"Yep," Tony confirmed as he eyes roamed over all of his friends, a twitch of amusement on his lips, "I came by to give you another assignment but it looks like I caught you at a bad time."
It was a coverup, Peter knew that for sure. Tony wasn't here to pass on an assignment to him because the internship excuse was bogus. He was coming by to let Peter know that he was alright. Tony was checking in with Peter the same way he always expected Peter to check in with him. Something swelled inside of him at the thought. They were well and truly a team now, weren't they? Somewhere along the way since Berlin, Tony had grown to trust him and brought Peter into his inner circle.
"Right," Peter said before he turned to his friends. Harry and Ned's eyes were especially wide as they eyed the billionaire superhero. He had never before seen Harry so affected by anything. He was usually so blasé by what life threw at him - rolling with the punches, if you will. "You remember Mary Jane, right? And this is Ned and Harry. We were just…." Peter flushed as he remembered the scene of what they walked into. "Goofing off?"
"As we can see," Aunt May said with a little laugh as she hung up her purse and started unbuttoning her coat. "I'm glad to see that you all are having a good time."
"Yeah, quite different from the ragers that I had back in my day when I was your age-" Tony began but he cut himself off by the look that Aunt May shot him.
"Now, don't go encouraging them on that front, Mr. Stark."
Peter shot Tony a shit-eating grin. It was an amusing sight to see Tony Stark get scolded by his Aunt May. Wasn't this the man that flew a missile through a wormhole in space? "You're a terrible influence," Peter teased sarcastically.
The glare that he got in response was more than worth the shit he would be getting later for that snarky remark.
A giggle interrupted his attention on Tony and he looked to his left toward Mary Jane, despite his earlier resolve not to look at her. "Wow, Tiger. Bad-mouthing a superhero? You got the brawn to back up the words?"
Now that was a thought, wasn't it? In a fight, he wondered who would win - Tony or him? Probably Tony… but it was still fun to think of the possible maneuvers he would use against some of his Iron Man gadgets.
Tony actually let out a laugh at Mary Jane's sassy remark. "He wishes. I knew that there was something that I liked about you, Kid." He said to Mary Jane, who flushed with pleasure at the compliment bestowed upon her by someone of such high esteem as Tony Stark.
"Speaking of," Aunt May piped up as her gaze zeroed in on Mary Jane, "Belle caught us out in the hall, asking if we've seen you. Apparently she didn't know where you went and you haven't been answering your phone."
Mary Jane's shoulders slumped in response and a sheepish look overcame her features. "Shit- Sorry, I mean shoot," Then she turned to the three of them and gave an apologetic smile. "I'd better run, guys. Thanks for having me, Tiger. It was fun."
Then much to his surprise and pleasure, she wrapped her arms around his neck in a quick embrace before she released him just as quickly. His arms didn't even have a chance to awkwardly raise to wrap around her in turn. Then she turned and gave Harry and Ned a wave as she started making her way toward the door. "Y-Yeah. See ya, MJ." Was Peter's delayed response, trying not to notice the sway of her hips as she walked.
"Bye, MJ," Harry echoed, seeming to finally be able to find his own voice.
It was difficult to watch her walk away. Peter was having a blast with her here and it was a bummer that she had to leave early. Her actions were always so spontaneous that it made him feel that he could let loose and be free - almost like he was just a normal teenager with zero responsibilities.
"I'd better run too," Tony said after Mary Jane walked out the door, much to Peter's disappointment. It made sense that he wanted to leave because Peter had company but Tony only just came back! But then his spirits were lifted when Tony shot Peter a look and said, "Can I have Happy pick you up for tomorrow?"
Beaming, Peter nodded. "Of course!"
With that, Tony gave a nod and a wave to his friends before he left as well, closing the door behind him.
It was quiet for only a second before-
"HOLY SHIT!" Ned cried, dropping his pillows to the floor and turning on the spot to gape at Peter. "I MET TONY STARK!"
"You didn't even say a word to him," Peter pointed out with a snicker.
A snort left Harry next to him, adjusting himself on his crutches. "Can you blame him? I was a bit star-struck myself. If my dad ever found out, he would kill me…"
Harry gave an exaggerated shiver and they all laughed at the image.
"Now why are my pillows in the living room?" Aunt May laughed, with a raised eyebrow as she got herself a water from the kitchen.
All three boys flushed. Before Harry piped up and said, "We blame Mary Jane."
…
It was not long after they had cleaned up all of the pillows in the living room that Peter suggested they start another game of PUBG - an idea that Ned eagerly agreed to. Harry looked to be deep in thought but he also nodded as he limped back with them down the hall to Peter's bedroom.
Peter walked into the bedroom first, eyeing the place on the floor where Mary Jane sat. Ned was kinda right earlier at how wild it was that he had a girl in his bedroom - especially Mary Jane - but he was embarrassed that it was advertised as some sort of rare thing. It was like all of the people in his life wanted Mary Jane to know how much of a loser he actually was.
Harry walked in behind him with Ned taking up the tail-end.
"So, Ned?" Harry began as soon as Ned closed the door behind him. Harry fell back into the chair that he had occupied previously and took the time to prop his leg back up on the stool as he leaned his crutches against the wall. "Before tonight, I would've said that one of the smartest people that I knew was Peter Parker. Hands down, one of the guys with the biggest brain that I knew. But now? Now, I'm not so sure…"
Peter blinked, then turned slowly to face his friend. What he saw was scrutiny and a raised brow leveled back at him. "What? What's that supposed to mean?"
To say he was confused was an understatement. This was literally coming out of nowhere. And if he wasn't so puzzled by it, he would actually say that he was a bit insulted. His intelligence was something that Peter actually took a lot of pride in and to have it be called into question out of the blue rattled him more than he cared to admit.
To Peter's gratification, Ned also looked confused, which Harry saw - much to his frustration - and dropped his head in his hands, groaning in complete agony.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Then his head snapped up so that he was looking pointedly at Peter. His entire expression screamed that he thought that Peter was a total moron. "Please tell me you're not this blind!"
"I don't even know what you're talking about, man!" Peter cried back, throwing his arms up in the air with his own agitation. He wasn't yet to the point of anger, per say, but he was quickly on the verge of exasperation. "Use your words!"
Harry's jaw was tilted upward toward Peter with a stubborn jilt. It must be bugging him that Peter was standing over him while Harry was forced to sit. Well, the power dynamic of towering over him in that moment suited Peter just fine. Finally, Harry responded in a definitive voice, "Mary Jane."
"What about her?!"
"She likes you, man."
Peter froze. It felt like ice water was poured into his veins. It was certainly not the answer that he was expecting… and it took him a moment to be able to process it in his mind - as though it were an old computer trying to connect to dial-up internet. When it finally connected, Peter almost felt the urge to laugh right in Harry's face. It was the most wild and absurd thing that Harry has ever said to him, and Harry has said a lot of bizarre things in their short friendship.
To think… Mary Jane Watson likes Peter Parker? It was a pipe dream, that's what it was. It was like a man trying to chase after the sun in order to keep it hidden in his pocket - when it didn't belong in the man's pocket… it belonged in the sky to shine bright and beautiful for all to see.
Even more bizarre would be the idea of the sun chasing after the man…
Or a more apt description would be the parallel he and Mary Jane could have with Hades and Perspheone. Where he watched her from afar, desiring to be with her, but the only way for that to happen would be for him to force her down to his level - when she so clearly belonged to be in the midst of the beauty of springtime.
In short, Mary Jane was so far out of his league that Peter knew without a doubt that Harry's theory was impossible. He looked up at Harry's encroaching gaze and shook his head at him and his nonsensical notions.
"You're delusional." Peter finally said.
Harry sputtered, blinking furiously. "No. You're the one that's delusional, Parker. Or are you just blatantly ignoring all of the signs right in front of you?"
"Like what?" Peter scoffed, crossing his arms in defiance at the idea. While in the back of his mind, whispered thoughts were telling him that his budding anger really had nothing to do with Harry at all and had more to do with this all being a defense mechanism against the meaning behind Harry's words. With a clenched jaw, he told those whispered thoughts to shut up.
"She was practically sitting on your lap, man!" Harry exclaimed, his hands animated as he talked with them in order to help further his point. "Not to mention that she fucking crawled through a window to spend time with you tonight."
His hand gestured to said window but Peter refused to look at it.
"She also only hugged you goodbye, Peter," Ned supplied in a softer voice than the one that Peter and Harry had adopted. Great, now Ned was weighing in on this?
Harry gestured toward Ned in an exaggerated manner as if that proved his point. "And I saw the way you two were dancing together at my party, man. She was about one step away from grinding against you."
Despite himself, memories of dancing with Mary Jane at Harry's party flooded Peter's mind. The way that she had moved had been hypnotic to his senses. The curve of her hips as they swayed to the beat. How she had placed his hands on those very hips of hers, accentuated by that killer outfit she had been wearing… He felt his dick twitch at the memory and the reaction jolted him back into reality.
"But- I mean- You've seen her, right?" Peter asked, grasping desperately at straws. He couldn't allow himself to hope only to later be bitterly disappointed… He knew that was the true reason why he was fighting back on this so much. Why it bothered him that they were even suggesting it as a possibility. Because it would more than just hurt for Peter to take this plunge only to find out that Mary Jane wasn't interested. It would crush him… not to mention the fact that it would ruin their friendship. "Why would she be interested in me?"
Harry scoffed, leaning back in his chair as he rolled his eyes. "Quit acting like you're some sort of ugly troll, Peter. You've got a lot going for you and Mary Jane must have seen those qualities in you too. I wouldn't go out of my way to try and convince her otherwise, if I were you."
"He's right, Peter," Ned supplied, his eyes telling him that he wanted an end to the tense atmosphere that was taking place in the tiny bedroom. Ned never was any good with confrontations. "Why else would Liz agree to go to the dance with you last year? She was the most popular girl at school. There had to have been something that she liked about you."
Remembering Liz right now was almost outlandish to his senses. It felt like a lifetime ago when Peter had a crush on her - a lot of that had to do with the fact that he only truly remembered her a few weeks ago after recovering from his amnesia. But… admittedly, Mary Jane was another factor that made him completely forget about Liz.
Liz was Pre-MJ… where, looking back, life was notably bleeker. It was crazy to think that getting discovered in an alleyway with amnesia would be a real turning point in his life, but he couldn't help but recognize that to be true. He wasn't the same person that he was back then… and a part of him recognized that the changes were for the better.
"Liz only agreed to go with me because she was too busy planning Homecoming that she didn't manage to get to the date part of it…" He felt the need to explain. "I literally asked her last minute-"
"There's always an excuse with you!" Harry groaned in frustration.
"You're right, Harry," Ned said with a nod in the other boy's direction, a slight bit of irritation making itself known in his oldest friend. "In this subject matter at least, Peter is incredibly stupid."
"See?" Harry cried, his hand gesturing toward Ned once again. "Ned agrees with me. The only person who doesn't see it is you, Parker."
Peter hated to admit it, but he could feel a bit of his resolve weakening - the wall that he had built to protect himself crumbled a bit against the onslaught of their words. As though what they were saying to him was finally catching up in his mind, threatening to take root and plant the seed that Peter most desperately wanted to reject.
There was still no way that Mary Jane had feelings for him. No way.
"But I thought…" Peter began, his voice now hesitant as he eyed Harry with a both speculative and insecure eye. "I mean- Don't you like her?"
At this, Harry paused and his cheeks darkened. The look alone confirmed Peter's suspicions. "Well… I mean, yeah. A bit. Who wouldn't, right? She's gorgeous and fun. But it's not me that she's interested in, man. We only talk frequently while you two are on a completely different level - the amount of inside jokes that the two of you share always go completely over my head. I have no idea how this 'Tiger' business started. And you calling her 'Red'?"
Peter didn't quite know what to say to that, so Harry continued.
"Besides… don't worry about me. I'm a billionaire's son. And unlike you, I know that I'm good-looking and have a great personality. There are plenty of beautiful girls out there for me to find. Mary Jane isn't the only one."
"Mary Jane is more than just beautiful," Peter felt the need to interject, defending Mary Jane on her behalf. Her personality and liveliness was everything - actually made Peter believe that he didn't have a care in the world, sometimes. Which was a feat that he once thought to be impossible. Even before he was Spider-Man, Peter would find himself stressing over the stupidest little details.
"Aha!" Harry cried, sitting up straight in his chair as he pointed an accusing finger at Peter, "So you admit it? You like her!"
The color of Peter's face deepened to that of crimson blood. "Well…"
"Come on, man," Ned complained, his voice pleading and his eyes hopeful. "We're your friends! You're supposed to confide in us about this sort of stuff."
"I…" Peter sighed and dropped his head forward in defeat. "Do. I really like her. Happy?"
Harry grinned as he finally relaxed back in his seat with a self-satisfied grin. "Just about jumping for joy - if I were able."
"I think you're wrong about her liking me, though," Peter said, his voice defeated. Finally, he was getting to the bare bone truth as to what was truly bothering him to his friends. Because Ned was right… If he couldn't confide in them about this sort of thing, then who could he talk to? He had to recognize that not everything in his life had to be some big secret. The weight of which was becoming an unbearable burden to carry sometimes. Perhaps he had to learn to lighten the load a bit from time to time. "I have it on good authority that she likes someone else."
"Who?" Harry asked.
Peter bit his lip. He couldn't say that it was Spider-Man… and he also didn't want to lay it out there that she was also into Harry. Man, did that make him selfish. Here, Harry was trying to bolster him up and Peter was actively trying to hold him back in return.
Beyond that, Peter had still been considering what he should do as far as Mary Jane's confession to Spider-Man about her feelings. And the more that he got closer to her as Peter Parker, the bigger the temptation it was to don his costume and show up at her window - telling her that he's decided to give them a shot. Maybe, if she got to know him as Spider-Man on a deeper level, she wouldn't care that he was Peter Parker by the time he unmasked himself to her.
"She didn't say," He finally said, weakly. Ned shot him a look behind Harry's head. Of course, Ned already knew all about Mary Jane's infatuation with Spider-Man…
At this, Harry shrugged. "Well, people are allowed to change their minds, right? Maybe she got to know you a bit more and liked what she saw? Because there is no way that what I witnessed tonight was anything short of a crush on MJ's side, Pete. Just the looks alone that she was giving you was making the room temperature rise from the amount of heat in her gaze."
Peter rolled his eyes at him. "Now you're just being dramatic."
"He's really not," Ned chimed in, "Anyone besides you can clearly see it, Peter. I saw it, and I'm terrible at reading girls. Mary Jane wasn't exactly trying to be subtle."
Harry nodded eagerly at Ned for that statement. "Right? If anything, I would say that she was a woman on a mission tonight… I wonder if she even knew if we were here before she crawled out onto the fire escape?" He broke off with an apologetic look toward Peter, "Sorry if we cock-blocked you tonight, man."
Heat immediately erupted on Peter's cheeks at the thought. Because holy fuck… What would he have done if Mary Jane showed up at his window and he was alone? What would she have done? Peter shook his head of the thoughts. "No way, man. She knew you guys were here. We weren't exactly quiet and this is an old apartment building."
Harry sighed heavily but chose not to argue against that point. Why bother when it was only just a theory on his part, anyway? But then, it seemed that Ned was up to bat and was ready to push Peter further…
"Can you at least consider for just a moment that Mary Jane does like you?" Ned asked, his voice pleading and his eyes soft and understanding. A part of Peter's resolve further withered away at the look. If anyone could understand his thought process on this, it would be Ned Leeds - who was with him through the worst and most awkward years of Peter's life. Who would know of Peter's deepest fears and insecurities regarding nearly all things - including girls. "Just pretend if it helps and look at her actions tonight through that lens."
Peter sighed as he lifted his eyes up to the corner in consideration. He let himself believe for a moment that Mary Jane had feelings for him… and went through the memories of the night. He thought back to the way that she clung to his shoulder when he helped her through the window, as well as the smile of thanks that she had flashed in his direction. The memory of her crawling on the floor toward him then came to mind, before she had plopped herself down in front of him - practically in his lap, just as Harry said… then the expectation she had of him wrapping his arms around her in order to help her with the game. And when she had successfully managed to kill Harry's character on her own, she had chosen to hug him in celebration rather than continuing to focus on winning - almost as though the game was the last thing on her mind. And then, when they were in the midst of their pillow fight and she had tripped backward onto his bed - her hair fanned out and her face flushed with laughter as he stood over her… his mind formulated the opinion without his consent that she looked really good lying down on top of his bed… not only that he thought that she belonged there with him, but that she looked pretty comfortable herself being there. Especially with the radiating smile that she flashed up at him that had his heart beating double-time.
His resolve was nearly shattered as he shook his head, dazed. "I don't know… I can't just base it off of tonight. Maybe… I don't know, maybe I'll think about it more. Pay closer attention to how she acts around me."
He didn't even want to mention to them that he sees her nearly every day after school at Delmar's… Peter had thought that she went every day because the sandwiches were just that good. But could it be for another reason? Could he dare to hope that she went there just so that she could see him? He knew what Harry and Ned would say about it, so he chose to remain silent.
"I wouldn't ignore this, Peter," Harry said pointedly before adding, "You should ask her to the Homecoming Dance next weekend."
His thoughts whirred. That was next weekend?!
"That's next weekend?!" He echoed his thoughts aloud. He couldn't believe it. Where had the time gone? Was he really that unobservant?
Ned nodded as if reflecting Peter's thoughts aloud. "Yeah, it's on Friday. Where have you been? There have been posters all over school and announcements as a reminder to buy tickets."
"It's the perfect opportunity to ask her out, Peter." Harry said, expressly and with purpose. His tone bridged no argument and Peter almost felt as though he were being scolded like a school boy by his strict teacher… "And this time, not as friends."
Peter took a moment to look back and forth between his friends - both of which had hard, blazing looks on their features as they stared right back. He could feel his steadfast stubbornness waning… especially as fantasies of picking up Mary Jane for the dance flitted across his mind. Where they would spend the night swaying on the dance floor, while she knew without a doubt that it was a true date this time and not a pity one that he used to win some sort of stupid bet.
That is… if Mary Jane said yes.
Peter swallowed.
"I… I'll consider it."
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A/N: Hey guys! I haven't really gotten much feedback on this site for this story and I think that the issue is that on there isn't a back and forth dialog that we can have when you leave a comment (unless we switch it over to PMs).
So, if you ever want a response from me to a question or to your comment in general, I have this story posted on AO3 as well under "Spider-Who?" by brooklynvtc. I respond to ALL of the comments left on there - which leads to some fun dialog! PLUS, I always add a fun picture or comic at the bottom of each chapter there now (something that I can't do on ).
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NOW back to this chapter: Harry hitting Peter over the head with an intervention-like confrontation was pretty fun to write, not gonna lie. Haha. Can we all agree that Harry Osborn is a good bro to Peter Parker? He was in the comics and sometimes, he isn't depicted as such in the new adaptations. Sometimes they only really focus on his hatred for Spider-Man but his character has so many more layers than that, you know?
ALSO, for those of you who are asking about my Harry Potter fanfics and when I plan on updating those - I will at some point. I just have the sort of mind that needs to focus on one thing at a time - and that thing is Spider-Man right now. I feel like if I wrote the next chapter for one of my HP fics right now, it just wouldn't be very good because I need to renew/spark my interest in it again (if that makes sense).
I would also have to take the time to reread my HP fics in order to remind myself of the story. That will take a bit of time. I hope you understand and are enjoying this Spider-Man fic of mine so far in the meantime. It will probably be the only Spidey fic that I will write so I'm trying to put all that I love about the character into the story - by drawing inspiration from many places like the comics,T.V. shows, and movies.
I would really appreciate it if you left me a review/comment. Thanks so much!
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