It's taken forever for me to post this next chapter. I hope you'll think it's good. Keep reviewing if you want me to continue the story.
Don't worry, it's not over. Oh, you'll know when it's finished….. I'll write the words the end!
And it's nice to see that a lot of you reading the story are girls. I thought I was the only teenage girl out there with a superhero obsession.
Conversations
Peter held Mary Jane's hand and escorted her to a nearby park. He had often seen the park from up above when he swung from building to building. It would be a good place to talk without being overheard.
"Peter, I know the truth. I heard your message, the one you left on my answering machine before I was kidnapped. I know that…" M.J. looked around to make sure no one was listening and she lowered her voice to utter the next phrase, "that you're Spider-man."
Peter's mind raced. He had to come up with some excuse. It wasn't time for M.J. to know the truth. It would only get her in trouble. Peter decided to force a smile, "I'm flattered that you think that I could be Spider-man. But me? I'm not really the superhero type." Peter gave a little laugh.
"You don't have to deny it, I know what I heard. I heard the Green Goblin ask you if 'Spider-man could come out to play'"
Peter had the mind of a scientist and a scientist has to be able to look at all angles of a problem and quickly come up with an approach to solve it. This is exactly what Peter did as he tried to come up with an excuse. Within a fraction of a second he decided on his lie and went with it all the way. "Well, I photograph Spider-man, you know and the Goblin knew this too. He thought that I could give him Spider-man, he thought that I knew where to find him. That's what he meant on the answering machine. Since I do know Spider-man a little, he calls me his personal press agent. Anyways, the Goblin thought that I could contact him. That's all he meant. I really do appreciate that you thought I was Spider-man. That's quite a compliment."
For an instant Mary Jane thought maybe he was telling the truth. He was a pretty good actor. He definitely had the sweet and innocent act down. Hell, he probably should be giving me acting lessons, M.J. thought. But he hadn't fooled her. She had expected Peter to deny it. Now she just had to prove it. That would be the hard part. She'd considered jumping out of a building in Peter's presence but that would be quite a risk if she did turn out to be wrong. Besides, she didn't want to do anything that could jeopardize his secret identity for the public. She'd have to keep thinking of a way to prove he was lying.
"So Peter, you're saying you aren't Spider-man?"
"Sorry to disappoint you. No, I'm just plain old Peter Parker."
"And you don't know who Spider-man really is, who's behind the mask?" M.J. asked.
"No. I just take his picture. Maybe one day, he'll trust me enough to tell me." Peter replied.
"And you don't know who the Green Goblin is either? I mean, he tried to kill me! I'm afraid he might try again, and… and…" M.J., time to put you're acting skills to work, she told herself as she forced tears. "Oh, Peter I'm so scared!"
Peter put his arms around Mary Jane. "There, there don't cry." At first it felt awkward and stiff as he tried to comfort her. But after a moment he felt at ease and hugged her tighter. He realized that he wanted to always be the arms that she cried into. "You don't have to worry. The Goblin won't hurt you anymore."
"How can you be so sure?" M.J. asked as she wiped away a tear.
He hesitated momentarily; thinking about the best way to answer that could comfort her yet not give away his secret. "I won't let anyone hurt you. I'll always be there for you."
"Thank you, Peter. You're such a good friend to me. It's nice to know you're such a good friend." A pang of regret stung through M.J.'s body. How she hoped they could be more than friends. "You must think I'm pretty foolish, I mean to think that you were Spider-man? I feel so stupid."
"I don't think you're foolish at all. I'm flattered." And worried that you're close to discovering the truth, Peter thought to himself.
"Yeah it was pretty stupid of me. You, Spider-man! It's really kind of funny when you think about it." M.J.'s perfected acting skills at work, she let out a laugh.
"Hey!" Peter smiled. "I don't know if it's that unbelievable." He glanced down at his watch and realized he was already fifteen minutes late for class. "Oh, I really got to run! I'm late for class. Stop by our apartment later." Peter jolted up off the park bench, and started to run, turning back every now and again to look at Mary Jane and smile. Doc Connors would kill him if he missed lab again.
M.J. leaned back against the park bench and muttered to herself, "Run, or did you mean swing."
She got up to catch a cab back to her apartment when it dawned on her, "Oh, my god, Harry!"
To be continued…