Hey. One shot for Spider-man 2. If you haven't seen the movie, it's got spoilers!! Taken from a view of a teenager from across Peter's dismal apartment. I didn't know the actual dates, so I guessed, don't yell if they're not right, please! I don't own Spider-man, Marvel and Stan Lee do. Cheers.

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April 24, 2004 11:42 pm

There's a man, a boy you might say, that lives across the alley from me. He's no older than me and I'm seventeen. He comes home late every night to an apartment about the size of a shoebox. I can see through his window each night, not that I'm peeping or anything. I grew up knowing it was impolite to look through our neighbor's windows. But it's not like I can help it. He's right across from me, and leaves his lights on most of the time. This man is Spider-man.

I see him every night, when I'm supposed to be sleeping. He comes home and seems so tired. He'll get undressed, after he's hassled by his landlord for the month's rent, but he's not bare underneath his work shirts. You can see the flash of red and blue that conveys the infamous uniform that Spider-man wears. I don't know his name, but he's a hero for most of us. I didn't grow up with Spider-man in my life, but my little brother did. He loves Spider-man, and disregards what the papers print about the superhero. But my brother doesn't know our friendly neighborhood Spider-man actually lives in our neighborhood. I don't think the man across the alleyway would want me telling everyone where he lives.

I don't know why, but I feel safer when I see him come home everyday. I don't think he knows how much he's affected us all in New York. I keep the thought in my head that when he's not home he's out in New York helping all the little people of the city. But in the back of my mind, I always wonder if he'll come home one day. There are so many people in the city, in the world, that would want to get rid of Spider-man, yet he keeps helping people, risking his own neck for us. That's why he's a hero to all of us who don't believe those stupid articles the Daily Bugle prints about him. I don't think he realizes how much support he actually has in New York sometimes. I feel so much safer each night when I go to bed after I see that costume that stretches over his form. I know he's here to protect. More tomorrow.

April 30, 2004 12:01 am

The man across the way seems tired still. I haven't written anything in my journal for a week, I'm so worried about him. His light is on tonight, but he seems troubled by something. Something's not going right in his life. It's kind of scaring me. A lot of us depend on him to protect us. Not that our police and firefighters aren't doing all they can, mind you, but they sometimes need a little help. Uh-oh, Spider-man is leaving his apartment, he seems so sad. He stuffed his costume under his shirt. Now he's leaving his building and walking towards the apartment buildings across the street. His shoulders are slumped, as if he's taking a great weight and throwing it away where no one can find it. We'll see tomorrow.

May 1, 2004 9:23 pm

Spider-man came home today. He's early. It looks like that giant weight that he wanted to get rid of yesterday night is gone. He's standing up straighter and he's got a smile on his face. He looks more rested than I've ever seen him. He's undressing and getting ready for bed. I can't see the familiar burst of color in the bland apartment from his superhero costume. A chill scrambles up and down my spine. Something isn't right. He's not wearing his uniform. But for some reason he seems happy about it. I'm suddenly very scared. More later.

May 9, 2004 7:35 pm

Crime has risen 75% in the past eight days. I think we've lost Spider- man. He seems a bit worried about it. Front page of the Daily Bugle boasted Spider-man was gone. He left us to deal with our problems by ourselves. I want to yell across the alley at him. Tell him he's letting so many people down by quitting. I want to yell at him and scold him like the child he's being. He's got a responsibility for the people who can't defend themselves in this damn city. I want to shake him until his senses come back. Bitter and salty tears jump from my eyes. All I can see is a blurry outline of him in his window. I'm disgusted with him. I don't think I can hold up that honor that he had earned before. It's gone into the trash along with his stupid costume.

May 13, 2004 1:30 pm

The coward formerly known as our friendly neighborhood Spider-man is back. He's sad and seems tired again. I can tell even from the distance between our windows that his heart is broken. A knock is heard at his door. A red-haired woman is standing in his doorway in a snow white wedding dress. She's beautiful. I remember her from all those advertisements on the buses and on the streets. They're talking now. He's standing a bit taller through the conversation. He seems happier, and her face is beginning to light up. They lean into each other and connect not only by lips but by spirit. Their love radiates and hits me across the alleyway. I can hear sirens in the background, and apparently they've heard them too. She looks up at him with great love in her eyes and nods approval to do his job. To my surprise, he's already gotten his Spider-man costume on and is in the window. I can see her smiling behind him. I look to him and we make eye contact. I can tell his smile is reaching both his ears, even with the mask on. I give him thumbs up and he shoots a string of web across the street and sails out the window, chasing the screaming sirens, whooping in joy the entire way. I emit with hope and pride. He's back. He's taken his responsibility and become our hero again. I don't know what got into him, whether it was that kiss or what, but I know I'll be sleeping safer from now on. He's our hero. He's our role model. He's our infamous legend. He's our friendly neighborhood Spider-man.

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Fin. R & R –Pendragon4