OK! Chapter 11! Yeah! I'm getting into the double digits, baby!!! YEAH!! Sorry, I had mashed potatoes (in large quantities) for dinner, and they tend to get me hyper. I would like to apologize in advance for any insanity I may cause. Also, I would like to apologize for the odd humor of this chapter, I know a lot of people don't appreciate the same type of humor that I do, but don't hold it against me. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it!
Still don't own them. Still working hard on changing that…
*******M.J.'s POV*********
"All I know is that I hurt, I'm cold, I love you, and that, just by the look on your face, I'm in trouble."
"All that, yes. And more. Oh, Peter, I'm so sorry I left you!" I gripped his body in a tight squeeze, but it wasn't the same. He was different. Almost like there was a new person in his body. "Peter…" He pulled away and surveyed our surroundings nonchalantly.
"Yeah, so, uh…where are we? What are we doing here?"
"What do you remember?"
He held his hands to his head, trying to recall the details of the ordeal. "Um, well…just basic stuff? Like, I live here. Yeah, and this is MY city. We're still in New York, right? I don't know. My head hurts, can I take a nap?"
"You don't remember what happened to you!?"
He stood puzzled at the ledge. "Huh? What happened? Did I – wait! WAIT! STOP. Hold up." I watched, mystified, as he held up his arms indicating his spoken "hold up" and concentrated. "What day is it?"
"It's…" Yesterday was Friday, M.J. That means… "It's Saturday. But why? What…"
"OH MY GOD! WE HAVE TO GO!"
"Peter! What!?" I watched him run to the edge of the building and look for an escape route.
"Do you know what tonight is?!"
"No, I…no! What's wrong? What do you remember!?"
"Channel 40. Nick-at-Nite. Two words: Brady Bunch Marathon! No, no, wait…that's…" He started counting on his fingers. "Yeah, that's three words. Sorry, my mistake. Let's go!"
"Peter, how can you…" This is not happening. "What the hell does that have to do with anything? Don't you understand? Peter, we need to go somewhere and talk. You can't take a nap, and you can't watch TV."
"But…what else do we have to do? Jeez, you're bossy."
"Well, I'm sorry, but this is important. Let's – wait. What time is it on?!"
"Channel 40, 8:30-9:30 central. We don't have much time!"
"How do you know that?"
He shrugged. "Uh, I don't know. I found it."
"What?"
"I found it. Up there. It was hiding." Peter held his index finger to his forehead and I realized that he reminded me of a child. "Can we go yet?"
"What else is up there?"
"Donkeys. They're blue and they have wings."
"O…K?…Go." I pointed to the back of the building, where it sloped off in a mess of wooden boards and dumpsters. There's definitely information in his brain…I'll just need to pry it out. Slowly.
"…story…of a lovely lady! Who had…three…something…something girls!…youngest one in curls…"
"Peter."
"Yah."
"Stop."
"But what about the lovely little girls? There were THREE!"
"Stop."
*********************************
Back at my apartment, I loaned Peter a sweatshirt and sweatpants and he took over the sofa. Not without arguing, of course.
"Oh, man, they're purple! Do they HAVE to be purple!? And where is the TV remote?"
"Peter, listen to me. You really need to focus. I don't think you understand the magnitude of your situation."
"Is it really my fault that I can't find the TV remote? I mean, jeez!" He threw his hands, shaking each above his shoulders, into the air. "It's your house! You should at least know where it is."
"PETER! Sit. Just sit, and listen!" Wow, I didn't know I could be that loud. Peter gave a meek "ok" and sat on the couch with proper posture, arms in his lap…I don't think I've ever seen him like that before… Sigh…where do I start?!
"Ahem." I turned from my thoughts and looked at Peter.
"Yes?"
"Huh?"
"What do you need?"
"Uh, nothing…?"
"Peter, you really shouldn't confuse me right now. Really. Oh, man, I don't know what I'm going to do…I mean, you're acting like a four year old on Ritalin and I can't fight the bad guys for you…I'd die…and…damnit, I've been talking out loud, haven't I?"
"What's this about bad guys?"
"Ok, look – I still can't believe you don't remember this – some guys took you. They stole you and did something bad to you. I don't know what, but they made you different. They took all your memories away, and I don't know what to do. This isn't supposed to happen to you…you're supposed to be the one to save everyone, only you can save everyone, and now that you can't, we're all screwed, and --" It hit me again. I realized once more how much pressure was put onto Peter's ever-weakening shoulders. So much dependability, responsibility…you'd think that after so much, they would just crack, that he would fall…sort of like he just recently had… "Oh my God, Peter, I'm so sorry…"
He just sort of looked at me, confused. "For what? It's ok, really. I know what to do."
A glimmer of hope radiated through my insides as though I were a streetlight. Maybe he's starting to remember! "You remember?"
"No, I just know what to do. I don't know how, I just do. I feel it."
"Oh…well, what is it? What do we do?"
"You need to tell me everything. Everything that happened. Then tell me anything else that matters." Ok, so he still isn't Peter, but hope exists.. We have a chance. He's still got the same brain, right? We can do this.
"Ok. Then what?"
"Then we go kick some bad-guy ass."
********Peter/Spider-Man's POV***********
"So, that building that we were at, that was where they drugged me?"
"Yeah. No one was there except the one guy that you must have knocked out and tied up."
I felt so stupid, asking all these questions. I mean, what kind of moron doesn't remember this stuff? This is drastic stuff. Reality-changing stuff. Life and death stuff. It shouldn't be stuff that I don't remember.
Yeah, I should definitely remember this kind of stuff.
I let out a sigh and rubbed my face. "Whhhooooo. Ok. Well, from what I can figure, I need to go back there and find out--" M.J.'s questioning-slash-worried glances interrupted me. "What's wrong?"
"You remember me, right?"
I smiled inside, though the question wasn't exactly funny. "Yeah. I couldn't forget you if I tried. I remember more now than I did earlier. I don't remember specifics, but I remember generalities."
"Why were you so…hyper…earlier?"
This time I smiled on the outside. Laughed, too. It felt great. "I don't know. I guess the drugs did it. You found me right after they drugged me, right?"
"Um, pretty soon I guess. Do you think they'll wear off?"
A grim 'I-don't-know' gesture was an ample reply, but not a very hopeful one. "Let's wish for that, but not count on it. You know… let's not get our hopes up too high, just incase."
"Yeah. Ok."
In the course of less than one week, my reality had been totally destroyed. My life was in flames, and I was out of water.
But I wasn't dead yet. It would take a lot more than a fire to kill me. "I'm Spider-Man."
"Yes. Yes you are." She smiled and I realized I'd said that out loud.
"Spider-Man always wins."
"So far, yeah."
Plans formulated in my head…ideas popped out of nowhere. It was really freaky. Things I didn't know about – at least I didn't remember them – were making their way into my consciousness, uninvited… Hopefully, though, unlike most uninvited guests, they would be a help to me.
**********M.J.'s POV*************
"So? I mean, why can't we do that? What, exactly, is the problem with that plan?"
"It's too…simple. I won't let you do it."
"M.J."
"No!"
"You know I have no choice."
"Yeah. Yeah, I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it, though."
"I love you."
"I love you, too. Just…just don't die, ok?"
"Who, me? Ha! You know that--"
"Peter, seriously. In your condition--"
"My 'condition'? What condition would that be?"
I rolled my eyes, showing my frustration with his attempted ignorance. "All I'm saying is don't do anything stupid. Don't get hurt."
"I don't do stupid things."
No. No, not yet, you haven't done stupid things. "Just go before I change my mind. I'll wait here, let me know what to do."
"What, you think you can stop me from doing this?"
"Go." I pointed to the window on the far side of the room. "And make sure you close it behind you."
He made his way to the window, lifted the pane, and disappeared over the edge. He didn't shut the window. "Peter! Peter, get back here!" A red-covered head popped back up.
"Now what?"
I put my hands on my hips. "Didn't I tell you to shut that window behind you?"
"What? I'm sorry, you're too far away, I can't hear you. Come closer!" He curled his index finger, indicating that I come closer. Which I did. Laughing.
"Peter, you are such a moron. I know you can hear me."
"Yeah, but I can't kiss you when you're so far away." He grabbed my arm and pulled my upper body out the window. Pulling his mask to his nose, he leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "I love you M.J. I'll call you in a little bit. And I wont do anything stupid. Trust me."
"I do, Peter. I trust you." I watched as he swung off into the distance, towards the place I wanted him to go least. To his prison. "I trust you, Peter." The wind, picking up my whispers, started to gust stronger through the window, so I dropped the pane and latched the lock. Now what? Why is it that I always get stuck waiting around, worrying? Why is it that Peter has to be Spider-Man? Why can't we just be a normal couple? It would be so nice. We could take walks in Central Park, not have to worry about being inconspicuous, and just…be. We could just be. We would exist as people instead of saviors. He wouldn't have such a burden on his back, and he would be able to live his own life. "But he does live his own life. This is what he wants to do. If Peter weren't Spider-Man, he wouldn't be Peter, either. Not the true Peter that's inside, at least. He wouldn't be anything without Spider-Man."
So, instead of saving only the people of New York, Spider-Man had also saved himself. He'd saved Peter Parker. Allowed him to be.
Or did Peter Parker save Spider-Man?
It was a paradox that I just didn't have the time to think about. I had to wait for Peter's signal.
His plan had to work. Because if it didn't…well, if it didn't, we probably wouldn't be around to notice.
Yeah, I know. It's a cliffhanger and I'm sorry, but I just like them. And just a little badly-wanted FYI for all you action fans out there that just don't like when I stall….Chapter 12 = action! Lots of it! So stay tuned! And yeah, I know I've been taking a while to update and such, but I'm working hard on scholarships, grants and essays for school this fall. This kind of stuff happens when you're a senior, and it's quite time consuming. But I WILL finish this story. Don't you worry. Just be patient. See ya in a while, devoted fans! Haha…I'm such a loser. Oh, don't forget to review!!
