Thanks to everyone who left me reviews. :) I really, really appreciate them
all and am very glad that everyone is enjoying this story.
Thanks!
Disclaimers all are in part 1.
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When Peter awoke, bright lights flashed before his eyes. Everything around him was a gigantic, bright blur. He blinked a few times allowing his eyes to adjust to the light. The right side of his face felt numb after his encounter with Harry, and his whole body ached.
That's when Peter realized -- it was morning now. Dawn had long come and gone, and he wasn't back at his apartment yet. Mary Jane, he thought to himself. She's going to be worried about me. Groaning, Peter climbed to his feet, holding his throbbing head in his hands as to not rattle his brain around so much.
Extending his hand, Peter let a strand fly up into the sky, knowing that he should get back to Mary Jane as soon as possible because she had probably worried herself sick about him. He was closer to his apartment than he had originally thought last night, and was home within seconds.
"Mary Jane?" he called out as he stepped into his room. Peter pulled off his mask and sighed, dropping the piece of fabric to the floor. He took a few steps into the room before turning around and shutting the window behind him. The bed was made up and everything looked normal, as if she hadn't even been in his room. Peter changed out of his suit, careful to not aggravate his injuries, and changed into some sweats.
"MJ?" he called out, headed towards the stairs that would lead him down into the kitchen and living room area.
"I'm down here," she said, her voice traveling from downstairs.
When Peter looked over the railing of the stairs, Mary Jane was sitting at the dinner table, a full mug of coffee in her hands. "Hey," he greeted softly, walking down the rest of the stairs. Peter walked up to her and gently placed a kiss on her forehead as he ran his fingertips through her hair.
"Where were you?" MJ asked, worry in her tone. "You were out for more than twelve hours."
"I...I got beat up pretty bad," Peter admitted. "But it's okay now."
"I got worried. I stayed up until...well, late, last night. You didn't come back home, so I went to bed thinking that you'd come back sometime in the middle of the night. But you weren't here when I woke up, like you promised you would be," MJ said, looking up at him. Peter pulled out a chair and sat down next to her. "I just thought that something bad had happened to you."
"I'm sorry, MJ," Peter apologized. "I...ran into some guy who has some vengeance plan for me."
"Well, at least you're okay now," MJ said, grabbing his arm and squeezing it tightly. "I guess that it's like having a police officer for a husband...well, boyfriend, when he leaves in the middle of the night and then the girlfriend has to wait up for him to return."
"What time did you get up?" Peter asked her. Apparently, MJ had been more worried than Peter thought when she woke up this morning when she saw that he hadn't returned from his patrol around the city.
"Around 7:30," MJ replied. "I just...I couldn't sleep without you here."
Peter moved the chair closer to MJ's and took her into his arms. She lay her head against his shoulder as he hugged her. Only in his embrace could she ever feel safe and protected from everything around her. Peter wrapped his arms around her tighter and pulled her into his lap. He gently kissed her forehead, whispering words of sweet nothings in order to soothe her. "I'm sorry," He apologized. "But I'm okay."
"Then who ran your face into a tree?" MJ asked, pulling back and looking at him with a smirk on her face. "You look pretty beat up. What, was it like the attack of Goblin Junior?"
Peter thought back to the image of Harry beating the living daylights out of Peter. "Something like that," he managed to say, unable to tell her that the man she had fought was Harry Osborn.
"Well, let me get you something for that," Mary Jane said, standing up and walking over to the fridge. She pulled out a blue ice pack and wrapped it inside of a towel that lay on the counter. "Here," she said, walking back over to him and placing it against the side of his face.
"So, are we okay then?" Peter asked.
"You know we are, Tiger," MJ said, leaning forward and gently brushing her lips against his. "I'm going to go upstairs and change." She leaned down and gave him one last kiss before moving towards the stairs. "I'm glad that you're okay," she said, smiling at him.
"You and me, both," Peter replied before placing the ice pack on his right eye.
***
It was late that night when Harry decided to drop by Peter's apartment. He assumed that Peter didn't know what was going on. If Mary Jane were in really serious danger, then Peter deserved to know about it. Although he wasn't too fond of Peter anymore, he knew that he could trust him. Maybe he could help keep her safe from Spider-man when Harry wasn't around.
Harry knocked on the other side of Peter's apartment. A second later, Peter opened the door. His face brightened when he saw who was stopping by to visit. "Harry!" He said, surprised to see him here. He extended his hand, which Harry shook, as he worked on hiding his concern for why he was here. Does he know? Peter thought with worry.
"Peter, hey...how are you?" Harry said.
"I'm...I'm fine," Peter replied. "Come on in."
Harry stepped inside and smiled at him. "How are things here? I see that you've keep the place looking pretty clean."
"Things are good," Peter replied. "How...how are you? I haven't seen you in months."
"I'm...well, I'm as good as can be expected." Harry replied. "I guess that I still have some problems getting over...well, you know..."
"That's understandable," Peter said. "I know what you went through, so trust me...I understand."
"Hey Tiger!" A voice called down from upstairs. "Are you coming up to bed yet?"
Parker has a girl at his place? Harry looked up the stairs, his eyes widening. He could have sworn that was... "Was that...MJ?" He asked, swallowing nervously.
"Uh...yeah, it sure was," Peter replied. "She was...uh, visiting," he started, trying to cover up the obvious.
Then, Mary Jane walked down the steps dressed in her bathrobe carrying a glass of water. "Hey, Peter..." then she noticed Harry. "Oooh, uh...hi Harry."
Harry's face went blank. Peter and Mary Jane? Together? "Hey," he managed to say nervously. It was then that he finally noticed little odds and ends that obviously belonged to a woman. It was obvious that Mary Jane had been living with Peter for longer than a day or two.
Then, Harry thought of something. Spider-man smelling like Mary Jane's perfume, him just finding out that Mary Jane was sleeping with Peter. Was this more than a simple coincidence? Then he remembered when his father had left so abruptly last Thanksgiving without any real, believable excuse. Had that been why he left?
That's it! Harry thought, trying to surpress the smile on his face. His father must have found out who Spider-man *really* was and then Peter set out to find him and kill him.
"How are you?" MJ asked, walking up to greet Harry.
"Look...uh, I have to go," Harry said, his face loosing its happiness and becoming worry-filled. "I forgot that I have this class I have to take tomorrow morning, and I should really get some sleep."
"Harry?" MJ questioned. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah...yeah I'm fine, I just...I just shouldn't have stopped by so late." He looked at Peter and then back at MJ. He watched as Peter approached MJ in a protective manner. "I really have to go!" He turned on his heels and headed out the door, slamming it behind him.
"This is not good," Peter muttered, walking back over and sitting on the couch.
"What?" Mary Jane asked, following him and sitting down beside him. "Peter, what's wrong? Is it that Harry knows about us? Who cares."
"No, it's not that..." Peter started. "Okay, this morning I was hoping that I could just leave this part out and not have to tell you, but..."
"But what?" She asked, her tone becoming demanding and needing to know what was going on. "Peter..." she began in a warning voice.
"It was Harry," he said. "The guy that you said...ran my face into a tree, was Harry."
"Harry?" she asked, her voice filled with disbelief. "But that's...it's *Harry*!"
"Believe me, I know."
"Peter, c'mon...the guy doesn't know the difference between a right-hook and a...a chemistry equation," MJ argued, remembering how little Harry knew about chemistry. "How could be even touch you?"
"I don't know, all I know is that he did," Peter replied.
"So, this brings me to my next question, which is...why?"
Peter shook his head, debating whether or not he should tell her something as important as this. MJ didn't need to fill herself with worry about what was going on in his world as Spider-man. Finally, he muttered, "Harry's father was the Green Goblin."
MJ stared at him for a second as if his words had entered one ear and blew straight out the other. "What?"
"The reason that Harry is after me...Spider-man, is because I killed the Green Goblin...Norman Osborn," Peter said, lowering his eyes. The feelings of guilt overwhelmed him for an instant when he remembered the expression on Norman's face as he said, "Don't tell Harry" that night.
"But how?" MJ asked.
"I don't know that either. He was just insane. It was like he was still Norman Osborn but had the Green Goblin battling inside of him," Peter explained. "I...I didn't want to kill him when I found out who he was, but he left me with no choice."
MJ nodded, trying to be an understanding person in this situation. "So what are you going to do now? Do you think that he knows about you?" Peter slowly nodded. The expression on Harry's face mirrored that of his father's when he left the table last Thanksgiving. "Then he'll probably be coming back here some time, right?"
"You can count on that," Peter replied.
"Then what do we do?" MJ asked, worry evident in her eyes. She still thought of Harry as a friend, to both her and Peter, and couldn't imagine him so filled with evil that he'd go so far as to kill someone because of vengeance.
"I guess we just get ready for anything," Peter said. "There's not much else we can do except that." He moved closer to MJ on the couch and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her cheek. "Don't worry, I *promise* that I won't let anything happen to you," he swore.
***
At 6:00 AM, the alarm clock started buzzing. Mary Jane had to get on the lot of the TV show she was appearing on to film a scene that was suppose to take place at a little after sunrise. Mary Jane slowly woke up and quickly shut the alarm off so she wouldn't wake up Peter. Wiping the sleep out of her eyes, she began crawling out of bed. Immediately, Peter's grasp around her tightened as he, too, began to wake.
"Morning MJ." Peter said softly into her ear.
"Good morning Tiger," Mary Jane replied with a smile on her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up so early."
Peter slowly sat up and kissed her forehead. It was as if all thoughts of Harry and the Green Goblin had been momentarily purged from his mind. For this morning at least, Peter wanted to temporarily forget about all of that and concentrate on the woman he loved. "It's okay," he said in a soothing tone. Even throughout the possible problem with Harry, Peter had never been happier. This: having Mary Jane be the last thing he saw when he went to sleep and the first thing he saw when he woke up. He'd never have second thoughts about his decision ever again.
"What are you looking at?" Mary Jane asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"Nothing. Just thinking about how lucky I am to have you in my life." Peter replied. "And it's okay that you woke me up. I have a few things to do today."
"Really? What?" Mary Jane asked curiously.
"I have to get some photos developed for Jameson on that scene that Spider- man was at the other day," Peter explained. "Anyway, don't you have to get to the TV set?"
"Well…yeah, I do. But I have plenty of time, don't worry." Mary Jane leaned over and kissed Peter on the cheek. She climbed out of bed and grabbed her clothes she had set out the night before. "I'm going to get a shower." She announced.
Peter also climbed out of bed and walked over to his desk. Already, Mary Jane's perfume aroma of citrus and flowers was beginning to fill his room, something that seemed to calm him to the depths of his being. He heard the water turn on from his bathroom as Mary Jane stuck her head out of the doorway with a smile on her face. "Pe-ter!" She sang. "Aren't you going to join me?"
Peter turned around and stared at his girlfriend dressed only in a towel. How can I refuse that offer? He thought. "Well…just as long as you have time and aren't late," He said.
Mary Jane walked up to him and pulled him closer to her. "Trust me. We have plenty of time." She shrieked and laughed aloud when Peter picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. Over the pounding of water on the tiles, laughter could be overheard from the two lovers.
Needless to say, Mary Jane was only ten minutes late to the set.
***
Peter and Mary Jane had just settled down for bed that night when he remembered that he had forgotten to pick something up today. Damn, he thought when he realized what that was. He had picked up the photos but had never dropped them off at Jameson's office.
Peter groaned, inwardly debating whether or not he should just wait until tomorrow and drop them off in the morning -- but then he'd have to deal with Jameson's complaints, sarcastic remarks, and complaints about just how bad his photography was. He took a second to look down at Mary Jane who was lying on her side with her face buried against his chest. Maybe I should just stay here, he thought to himself. I should stay with her. But he wanted to go ahead and get it out of the way. Peter turned over onto his side and sat up, shifting the weight of the bed towards him.
"Pete?" MJ mumbled, her hands reaching out for him. When she didn't touch his skin, she opened her eyes. MJ frowned when she watched him dress. "Where are you going?" she asked.
"Just out," Peter explained as he put on his jacket. "I have drop off those photos for Jameson."
"But..." she started. "Just do it tomorrow."
"I'll just take a second or so," Peter assured her. "I won't be gone long. I just want to get them so I can take them over there tomorrow morning. He likes to get the photos early."
"Don't take too long," Mary Jane said. "I'm getting cold without you here." She gave him a slight frown and Peter broke out into a grin.
"I'll be back here before you wake up, promise." He said, leaning down and kissing her on the mouth.
"I love you," she whispered when the two broke apart.
"I love you more," Peter replied, smiling down at her.
"Really, you think so?" Mary Jane asked. "We'll see about that when you get back."
"All right, I'm looking forward to it." he replied, turning to head out of the room.
***
Mary Jane lay in bed, wondering how long it would take Peter to get back from where ever he had run off to. She loved how adamant he was about his job, which included being Spider-man, but sometimes she just wished that he could be a normal guy. It was jealous of her, sure, but sometimes she wanted Peter just to herself. She stared at the ceiling a few seconds longer before turning over to her side, trying to get to sleep without him holding her.
From downstairs, she heard something knocking on the front door. She raised her head, wondering who that would be at this time of night. It wasn't exactly late, but it was too late for visitors. If it was Peter, he could just swing into the room up here, she thought for a second. However, the knocking continued, this time even more frantically.
"Peter?" she asked, climbing out of bed. "Is that you?" She grabbed the robe from the end of the bed and slipped it on before walking downstairs. "Did you forget your keys or something?" She unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door.
"Mary Jane," the voice said in a greeting tone.
"Harry," MJ replied with a hint of surprise and worry in her tone. Worry because she didn't know what he was doing here, and surprise from the fact that he came back at all. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you," Harry replied, smiling at her.
MJ stared at him, not able to read his expression. Was he angry? Insane? Or maybe he was just trying to be a friend again. But I trust Peter, she thought. "Well, it is some what late for you to be visiting. Maybe you should get home...if you have any classes tomorrow that you have to be there for, then-"
"Shut up," Harry said, pulling out a gun and holding it up level to Mary Jane's face.
"Harry! What the hell are you doing?" MJ cried out. She turned and started running through the apartment, not really knowing where she could go to escape him. Harry grabbed onto her right arm and spun her around to face him. He pressed the gun into her side as he spoke.
"You chose Peter over *me*." Harry said, tightening his grip around her arm. Millions of insane thoughts raced throughout Harry's mind. A part of him knew that this was wrong -- hurting Mary Jane was the wrong thing to do, but the other part of him craved her fear, loved the pain, and needed the insanity.
"Ow!" MJ cried out. "Harry, you're hurting me!" She struggled against Harry's grip. When he let go and she took a step back, Harry's right fist shot out and slammed into Mary Jane's cheek. She stumbled back onto the floor as Harry continued to speak.
"At first I just thought it was...well, I don't know actually," Harry began thoughtfully. "I mean...look at me, I have all the money in the world right at my fingertips! And what does Peter have? He has...a brain for chemistry and anything else in the nerd category."
"He has more than that," MJ said, massaging her cheek. "And more than you could ever dream of having. Peter has a heart, a conscience. He cares for me...not for the way I look, or the way I laugh...or the clothes that I wear. He loves me for *me* and nothing you can do would change that."
"We'll see about that," Harry said. "Right after I kill you. Oh, I have plans to get to him eventually, but...since you're here, MJ, I think you've just moved to the top of the list."
Mary Jane saw what he was doing and gasped. C'mon, feet...move! she commanded her body, but she was frozen in fear. Harry closed one eye to get a better aim, and made sure that there was no way that he could miss. He carefully aimed the gun at Mary Jane and released the trigger...
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Haha, that's where I'm ending it for now!
TBC...please drop me a line on what you thought of this chapter! I'll get the continuation out ASAP.
Thanks!
Disclaimers all are in part 1.
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When Peter awoke, bright lights flashed before his eyes. Everything around him was a gigantic, bright blur. He blinked a few times allowing his eyes to adjust to the light. The right side of his face felt numb after his encounter with Harry, and his whole body ached.
That's when Peter realized -- it was morning now. Dawn had long come and gone, and he wasn't back at his apartment yet. Mary Jane, he thought to himself. She's going to be worried about me. Groaning, Peter climbed to his feet, holding his throbbing head in his hands as to not rattle his brain around so much.
Extending his hand, Peter let a strand fly up into the sky, knowing that he should get back to Mary Jane as soon as possible because she had probably worried herself sick about him. He was closer to his apartment than he had originally thought last night, and was home within seconds.
"Mary Jane?" he called out as he stepped into his room. Peter pulled off his mask and sighed, dropping the piece of fabric to the floor. He took a few steps into the room before turning around and shutting the window behind him. The bed was made up and everything looked normal, as if she hadn't even been in his room. Peter changed out of his suit, careful to not aggravate his injuries, and changed into some sweats.
"MJ?" he called out, headed towards the stairs that would lead him down into the kitchen and living room area.
"I'm down here," she said, her voice traveling from downstairs.
When Peter looked over the railing of the stairs, Mary Jane was sitting at the dinner table, a full mug of coffee in her hands. "Hey," he greeted softly, walking down the rest of the stairs. Peter walked up to her and gently placed a kiss on her forehead as he ran his fingertips through her hair.
"Where were you?" MJ asked, worry in her tone. "You were out for more than twelve hours."
"I...I got beat up pretty bad," Peter admitted. "But it's okay now."
"I got worried. I stayed up until...well, late, last night. You didn't come back home, so I went to bed thinking that you'd come back sometime in the middle of the night. But you weren't here when I woke up, like you promised you would be," MJ said, looking up at him. Peter pulled out a chair and sat down next to her. "I just thought that something bad had happened to you."
"I'm sorry, MJ," Peter apologized. "I...ran into some guy who has some vengeance plan for me."
"Well, at least you're okay now," MJ said, grabbing his arm and squeezing it tightly. "I guess that it's like having a police officer for a husband...well, boyfriend, when he leaves in the middle of the night and then the girlfriend has to wait up for him to return."
"What time did you get up?" Peter asked her. Apparently, MJ had been more worried than Peter thought when she woke up this morning when she saw that he hadn't returned from his patrol around the city.
"Around 7:30," MJ replied. "I just...I couldn't sleep without you here."
Peter moved the chair closer to MJ's and took her into his arms. She lay her head against his shoulder as he hugged her. Only in his embrace could she ever feel safe and protected from everything around her. Peter wrapped his arms around her tighter and pulled her into his lap. He gently kissed her forehead, whispering words of sweet nothings in order to soothe her. "I'm sorry," He apologized. "But I'm okay."
"Then who ran your face into a tree?" MJ asked, pulling back and looking at him with a smirk on her face. "You look pretty beat up. What, was it like the attack of Goblin Junior?"
Peter thought back to the image of Harry beating the living daylights out of Peter. "Something like that," he managed to say, unable to tell her that the man she had fought was Harry Osborn.
"Well, let me get you something for that," Mary Jane said, standing up and walking over to the fridge. She pulled out a blue ice pack and wrapped it inside of a towel that lay on the counter. "Here," she said, walking back over to him and placing it against the side of his face.
"So, are we okay then?" Peter asked.
"You know we are, Tiger," MJ said, leaning forward and gently brushing her lips against his. "I'm going to go upstairs and change." She leaned down and gave him one last kiss before moving towards the stairs. "I'm glad that you're okay," she said, smiling at him.
"You and me, both," Peter replied before placing the ice pack on his right eye.
***
It was late that night when Harry decided to drop by Peter's apartment. He assumed that Peter didn't know what was going on. If Mary Jane were in really serious danger, then Peter deserved to know about it. Although he wasn't too fond of Peter anymore, he knew that he could trust him. Maybe he could help keep her safe from Spider-man when Harry wasn't around.
Harry knocked on the other side of Peter's apartment. A second later, Peter opened the door. His face brightened when he saw who was stopping by to visit. "Harry!" He said, surprised to see him here. He extended his hand, which Harry shook, as he worked on hiding his concern for why he was here. Does he know? Peter thought with worry.
"Peter, hey...how are you?" Harry said.
"I'm...I'm fine," Peter replied. "Come on in."
Harry stepped inside and smiled at him. "How are things here? I see that you've keep the place looking pretty clean."
"Things are good," Peter replied. "How...how are you? I haven't seen you in months."
"I'm...well, I'm as good as can be expected." Harry replied. "I guess that I still have some problems getting over...well, you know..."
"That's understandable," Peter said. "I know what you went through, so trust me...I understand."
"Hey Tiger!" A voice called down from upstairs. "Are you coming up to bed yet?"
Parker has a girl at his place? Harry looked up the stairs, his eyes widening. He could have sworn that was... "Was that...MJ?" He asked, swallowing nervously.
"Uh...yeah, it sure was," Peter replied. "She was...uh, visiting," he started, trying to cover up the obvious.
Then, Mary Jane walked down the steps dressed in her bathrobe carrying a glass of water. "Hey, Peter..." then she noticed Harry. "Oooh, uh...hi Harry."
Harry's face went blank. Peter and Mary Jane? Together? "Hey," he managed to say nervously. It was then that he finally noticed little odds and ends that obviously belonged to a woman. It was obvious that Mary Jane had been living with Peter for longer than a day or two.
Then, Harry thought of something. Spider-man smelling like Mary Jane's perfume, him just finding out that Mary Jane was sleeping with Peter. Was this more than a simple coincidence? Then he remembered when his father had left so abruptly last Thanksgiving without any real, believable excuse. Had that been why he left?
That's it! Harry thought, trying to surpress the smile on his face. His father must have found out who Spider-man *really* was and then Peter set out to find him and kill him.
"How are you?" MJ asked, walking up to greet Harry.
"Look...uh, I have to go," Harry said, his face loosing its happiness and becoming worry-filled. "I forgot that I have this class I have to take tomorrow morning, and I should really get some sleep."
"Harry?" MJ questioned. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah...yeah I'm fine, I just...I just shouldn't have stopped by so late." He looked at Peter and then back at MJ. He watched as Peter approached MJ in a protective manner. "I really have to go!" He turned on his heels and headed out the door, slamming it behind him.
"This is not good," Peter muttered, walking back over and sitting on the couch.
"What?" Mary Jane asked, following him and sitting down beside him. "Peter, what's wrong? Is it that Harry knows about us? Who cares."
"No, it's not that..." Peter started. "Okay, this morning I was hoping that I could just leave this part out and not have to tell you, but..."
"But what?" She asked, her tone becoming demanding and needing to know what was going on. "Peter..." she began in a warning voice.
"It was Harry," he said. "The guy that you said...ran my face into a tree, was Harry."
"Harry?" she asked, her voice filled with disbelief. "But that's...it's *Harry*!"
"Believe me, I know."
"Peter, c'mon...the guy doesn't know the difference between a right-hook and a...a chemistry equation," MJ argued, remembering how little Harry knew about chemistry. "How could be even touch you?"
"I don't know, all I know is that he did," Peter replied.
"So, this brings me to my next question, which is...why?"
Peter shook his head, debating whether or not he should tell her something as important as this. MJ didn't need to fill herself with worry about what was going on in his world as Spider-man. Finally, he muttered, "Harry's father was the Green Goblin."
MJ stared at him for a second as if his words had entered one ear and blew straight out the other. "What?"
"The reason that Harry is after me...Spider-man, is because I killed the Green Goblin...Norman Osborn," Peter said, lowering his eyes. The feelings of guilt overwhelmed him for an instant when he remembered the expression on Norman's face as he said, "Don't tell Harry" that night.
"But how?" MJ asked.
"I don't know that either. He was just insane. It was like he was still Norman Osborn but had the Green Goblin battling inside of him," Peter explained. "I...I didn't want to kill him when I found out who he was, but he left me with no choice."
MJ nodded, trying to be an understanding person in this situation. "So what are you going to do now? Do you think that he knows about you?" Peter slowly nodded. The expression on Harry's face mirrored that of his father's when he left the table last Thanksgiving. "Then he'll probably be coming back here some time, right?"
"You can count on that," Peter replied.
"Then what do we do?" MJ asked, worry evident in her eyes. She still thought of Harry as a friend, to both her and Peter, and couldn't imagine him so filled with evil that he'd go so far as to kill someone because of vengeance.
"I guess we just get ready for anything," Peter said. "There's not much else we can do except that." He moved closer to MJ on the couch and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her cheek. "Don't worry, I *promise* that I won't let anything happen to you," he swore.
***
At 6:00 AM, the alarm clock started buzzing. Mary Jane had to get on the lot of the TV show she was appearing on to film a scene that was suppose to take place at a little after sunrise. Mary Jane slowly woke up and quickly shut the alarm off so she wouldn't wake up Peter. Wiping the sleep out of her eyes, she began crawling out of bed. Immediately, Peter's grasp around her tightened as he, too, began to wake.
"Morning MJ." Peter said softly into her ear.
"Good morning Tiger," Mary Jane replied with a smile on her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up so early."
Peter slowly sat up and kissed her forehead. It was as if all thoughts of Harry and the Green Goblin had been momentarily purged from his mind. For this morning at least, Peter wanted to temporarily forget about all of that and concentrate on the woman he loved. "It's okay," he said in a soothing tone. Even throughout the possible problem with Harry, Peter had never been happier. This: having Mary Jane be the last thing he saw when he went to sleep and the first thing he saw when he woke up. He'd never have second thoughts about his decision ever again.
"What are you looking at?" Mary Jane asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"Nothing. Just thinking about how lucky I am to have you in my life." Peter replied. "And it's okay that you woke me up. I have a few things to do today."
"Really? What?" Mary Jane asked curiously.
"I have to get some photos developed for Jameson on that scene that Spider- man was at the other day," Peter explained. "Anyway, don't you have to get to the TV set?"
"Well…yeah, I do. But I have plenty of time, don't worry." Mary Jane leaned over and kissed Peter on the cheek. She climbed out of bed and grabbed her clothes she had set out the night before. "I'm going to get a shower." She announced.
Peter also climbed out of bed and walked over to his desk. Already, Mary Jane's perfume aroma of citrus and flowers was beginning to fill his room, something that seemed to calm him to the depths of his being. He heard the water turn on from his bathroom as Mary Jane stuck her head out of the doorway with a smile on her face. "Pe-ter!" She sang. "Aren't you going to join me?"
Peter turned around and stared at his girlfriend dressed only in a towel. How can I refuse that offer? He thought. "Well…just as long as you have time and aren't late," He said.
Mary Jane walked up to him and pulled him closer to her. "Trust me. We have plenty of time." She shrieked and laughed aloud when Peter picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. Over the pounding of water on the tiles, laughter could be overheard from the two lovers.
Needless to say, Mary Jane was only ten minutes late to the set.
***
Peter and Mary Jane had just settled down for bed that night when he remembered that he had forgotten to pick something up today. Damn, he thought when he realized what that was. He had picked up the photos but had never dropped them off at Jameson's office.
Peter groaned, inwardly debating whether or not he should just wait until tomorrow and drop them off in the morning -- but then he'd have to deal with Jameson's complaints, sarcastic remarks, and complaints about just how bad his photography was. He took a second to look down at Mary Jane who was lying on her side with her face buried against his chest. Maybe I should just stay here, he thought to himself. I should stay with her. But he wanted to go ahead and get it out of the way. Peter turned over onto his side and sat up, shifting the weight of the bed towards him.
"Pete?" MJ mumbled, her hands reaching out for him. When she didn't touch his skin, she opened her eyes. MJ frowned when she watched him dress. "Where are you going?" she asked.
"Just out," Peter explained as he put on his jacket. "I have drop off those photos for Jameson."
"But..." she started. "Just do it tomorrow."
"I'll just take a second or so," Peter assured her. "I won't be gone long. I just want to get them so I can take them over there tomorrow morning. He likes to get the photos early."
"Don't take too long," Mary Jane said. "I'm getting cold without you here." She gave him a slight frown and Peter broke out into a grin.
"I'll be back here before you wake up, promise." He said, leaning down and kissing her on the mouth.
"I love you," she whispered when the two broke apart.
"I love you more," Peter replied, smiling down at her.
"Really, you think so?" Mary Jane asked. "We'll see about that when you get back."
"All right, I'm looking forward to it." he replied, turning to head out of the room.
***
Mary Jane lay in bed, wondering how long it would take Peter to get back from where ever he had run off to. She loved how adamant he was about his job, which included being Spider-man, but sometimes she just wished that he could be a normal guy. It was jealous of her, sure, but sometimes she wanted Peter just to herself. She stared at the ceiling a few seconds longer before turning over to her side, trying to get to sleep without him holding her.
From downstairs, she heard something knocking on the front door. She raised her head, wondering who that would be at this time of night. It wasn't exactly late, but it was too late for visitors. If it was Peter, he could just swing into the room up here, she thought for a second. However, the knocking continued, this time even more frantically.
"Peter?" she asked, climbing out of bed. "Is that you?" She grabbed the robe from the end of the bed and slipped it on before walking downstairs. "Did you forget your keys or something?" She unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door.
"Mary Jane," the voice said in a greeting tone.
"Harry," MJ replied with a hint of surprise and worry in her tone. Worry because she didn't know what he was doing here, and surprise from the fact that he came back at all. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you," Harry replied, smiling at her.
MJ stared at him, not able to read his expression. Was he angry? Insane? Or maybe he was just trying to be a friend again. But I trust Peter, she thought. "Well, it is some what late for you to be visiting. Maybe you should get home...if you have any classes tomorrow that you have to be there for, then-"
"Shut up," Harry said, pulling out a gun and holding it up level to Mary Jane's face.
"Harry! What the hell are you doing?" MJ cried out. She turned and started running through the apartment, not really knowing where she could go to escape him. Harry grabbed onto her right arm and spun her around to face him. He pressed the gun into her side as he spoke.
"You chose Peter over *me*." Harry said, tightening his grip around her arm. Millions of insane thoughts raced throughout Harry's mind. A part of him knew that this was wrong -- hurting Mary Jane was the wrong thing to do, but the other part of him craved her fear, loved the pain, and needed the insanity.
"Ow!" MJ cried out. "Harry, you're hurting me!" She struggled against Harry's grip. When he let go and she took a step back, Harry's right fist shot out and slammed into Mary Jane's cheek. She stumbled back onto the floor as Harry continued to speak.
"At first I just thought it was...well, I don't know actually," Harry began thoughtfully. "I mean...look at me, I have all the money in the world right at my fingertips! And what does Peter have? He has...a brain for chemistry and anything else in the nerd category."
"He has more than that," MJ said, massaging her cheek. "And more than you could ever dream of having. Peter has a heart, a conscience. He cares for me...not for the way I look, or the way I laugh...or the clothes that I wear. He loves me for *me* and nothing you can do would change that."
"We'll see about that," Harry said. "Right after I kill you. Oh, I have plans to get to him eventually, but...since you're here, MJ, I think you've just moved to the top of the list."
Mary Jane saw what he was doing and gasped. C'mon, feet...move! she commanded her body, but she was frozen in fear. Harry closed one eye to get a better aim, and made sure that there was no way that he could miss. He carefully aimed the gun at Mary Jane and released the trigger...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Haha, that's where I'm ending it for now!
TBC...please drop me a line on what you thought of this chapter! I'll get the continuation out ASAP.
