Spider-Man swung down towards a man escaping on foot. How he thought he'd outrun a car, Peter had no idea. Spider-Man swung down in front of the man and frowned. It was an old guy.
"Scuse me sir, but I'll have to ask you to return that uh, bag of yours." Peter said. He suspected the man had jewels or money in there. The man smiled, and proceeded to hand him the bag when he suddenly turned on his heel and started running.
"Ugh, why can' t they just give up? No one can ever outrun me anyway. Sigh." Peter ran after the man but not before a shower of bullets headed his way.
"Woah!" He twirled in midair to avoid an assault of about twenty bullets all headed straight for him.
"Um, hello?! I just caught the thief?! I'm trying... to... help!" He managed to spit out. The cops weren't listening. He couldn't keep dodging these for long.
"Freeze Spider-Man! Put your hands up!" The cops stopped firing. Shoot ask questions later, great notion, NYPD.
"Sorry, I've got a thief to catch, later," He put his hands up as ordered, but shot a webline up and dissapeared over the rooftops. By then, the thief was long gone. He couldn't believe it. An old man managed to escape because the cops decided to kill the one guy whose saved their butts constantly for the last four months. He looked down at the newspaper stands and spotted the front headline.
"Spider-Man: Menace!" It shouted to all of New York City.
"Well no wonder. I'm going to have a talk with this guy." He jumped down, pulled out some coins and took a newspaper, returning to his perch on the rooftop. He opened the paper. It went on and on about how he was a menace whose sole intent was to destroy New York and it's citizens.
"What?! Who came up with this crap?!" He looked at the publishers name.
"J. Jonah Jameson?" He went on to read about how ''freaks'' like him can't be allowed to just run around Manhattan all day doing whatever. The only picture of him was a tiny black dot in the distance.
"What? That isn't even me." He stared at it, raising an eyebrow and laughed. Great photography job, guys. It's a bird. I've never even seen that building. Peter laughed and noticed an ad on the bottom.
Reward! Pictures of Spider-Man!
"Hmm... now this could work...."
..--..--..--..--..
MJ had resigned to laying on her bed with the television remote. She glanced at the clock to her right. 7:20. He was almost an hour late. He had been there! She had seen him right there under her window. She couldn't help but feel infuriated that he'd stood her up like that. Chickened out at the last minute. What, was she some kind of monster that he was afraid would eat him? Was that it? Cooties, maybe? What else would drive him away!?
Not a second later, she heard a knocking on the door. She sighed and stood up, looking through the peephole. She saw the back of Peters head, he was probably looking for some kind of escape route. She opened the door reluctantly and stared at him, her arms crossed, looking expectant.
"MJ... I am so sorry I'm late... you see, I forgot that I had to pick up some things for... Aunt May... Listen, I'm really sorry..." He looked hopefully up at her.
Her expression changed to one of hurt. "Peter, you said you would be here at 6:30!" She said softly.
"I'm really really sorry MJ..." He pleaded with her, hoping she would forgive him.
"Peter, you are really sweet. I'm sorry, I'm sure you had something else to do anyway."
"No, MJ that's not it, I just had to quickly do something. I still want to go out with you." He realized one second to late that it sounded like he was asking her out instead of going to dinner as friends.
"Really? Well... okay Pete." She said, obviously either missing or failing to respond to the last few words he'd said. She wondered if Peter really had to run an errand, or if he was lieing because he was some where else. No.... he wouldn't lie... Peter wouldn't.
---
Peter passed by the cafe he worked at while looking for a place to eat with MJ. It seemed that he was going to be going out for food a lot, seeing as how he wasn't a great cook and he wouldn't know where to start with making food anyway. All he really knew how to make was eggs. Just put them outside in the middle of July.
"Peter, who's that?" MJ asked from his side. She was pointing to his left, and he looked over his shoulder and saw Gwen waving at him from inside the cafe. She was obviously working the night shift as well. She seemed to be closing up, and was smiling at him and mouthing "hey". He waved back and continued on.
"Um... that was just a girl I work with."
"Oh." MJ replied. There was an awkward silence between them. He didn't want MJ to think that he liked this girl, considering the fact that he secretly loved Mary Jane with all his heart. The only real problem was that he was a secretive guy, he didn't always let people know how much he cared. Harry obviously knew him well enough to figure out his infatuation with MJ long before he even thought about telling Harry.
"Peter, what about here?" She pointed to a chinese restaurant. It didn't look too expensive, Peter was worried about spending too much and not being able to pay his rent. But if it was for MJ, he'd do anything.
---
"Peter, I haven't really talked to you in a while." She said suddenly. It was a little random and unexpected, and Peter didn't quite know how to react.
"Oh... well, I've been a little busy, I've been trying to find a job..."
"I see... I um, wanted to tell you... I auditioned... for a small part in something. I wanted to let you know. You've really helped me out Pete, I never thought I'd really make it as an actress." She said as they sat down in a booth.
"That's awesome MJ! I know you'll do really well, you always have." He said, genuinely happy. He wanted MJ to have all of her dreams come true.
"Yeah... you're different from everyone else, Peter. Thankyou." She said, smiling.
"Well... you're welcome MJ. Hey, I think I've found a job as well." He said, remembering the ad in the paper.
"Yeah?"
"Well, I saw an ad for a photographer for the daily bugle. I think I'm gonna go for it." He said.
"Really? Peter, that's great. A photographer for the biggest paper in New York City! What are you going to take?"
"Huh?" He asked.
"What are you going to take pictures of," She repeated. Peter wasn't very comftoratable discussing his alter-ego with MJ, in case it aroused suspicion. What?! What am I thinking? Everyones talking about Spidey. I'm just another guy. Who uh, happens to be him.
"Oh. Um, Spider-Man."
She laughed. He expected as much, not that it was a bad thing.
"Peter, are you sure he's not just a hoax to sell papers? I've never seen any masked super being running around New York." She said, with a hint of laughter in her voice.
"Oh, well I uh, actually saw him the other day, he's real, that's for sure."
"Seriously, Peter? I didn't want to believe it. It's just too amazingly unbelievable." She said.
"Yeah, it is, but it's real. I took a few pictures of him, I'm going to try sending them in to the newspaper and see what they think."
"Wow Pete, you could hit it big with this." She said.
"I'm hoping that's what'll happen, otherwise I'll be screwed when my electric bill rolls around."
...--....--....--..
Mary Jane left Peter at about 8:45. She told him she needed to get home early so she could get up early for her shift at the diner. She hadn't told him where she worked, of course, she didn't want Peter to think she was giving up on her dream. He'd be so dissapointed. She wasn't giving up, she'd never give up. She just needed this job for a while to get her started.
Being with Peter made her forget all her problems. It was weird, she was usually found drifting to the troubles in her life during conversations, but Peter made her forget all of that and she was focused only on him. She felt a growing attraction to him, and she welcomed it with open arms. She didn't quite know how she felt about him right now, It was a little too confusing.
"I'll think about it later..." She sighed. She dug in her pockets and pulled out six crumpled dollar bills. Enough to get her partially to her apartment. She ran up to the curb and tried to hail a cab.
"Taxi," She said, calling out to one. It sped right past her. Maybe it's too dark, she thought.
"It's alright, we'll help you home." She heard a gruff voice speaking from behind her.
"Thanks, but I can find my own way." She said, turning back to the road.
"No, we wouldn't want a lady like you walking around New York City at night, it's dangerous." Another couple of guys came up beside her, closing her in.
"Excuse me, I need to-"
"Quiet!" One of the guys grabbed her and clamped a hand over her mouth. She struggled and kicked at them, but to no avail. They dragged her into a darkened alleyway and she screamed as loud as she could. One of them pulled out a gun and shoved it into her side.
"Get out your money, lady,"
"Please, I don't have much," She cried. It was hopeless. One of them was going for her jacket when all of the sudden they went flying backwards. She shut her eyes as tight as she could to brace for the impact of a gunshot or a punch, until she noticed there was none. She opened her eyes and saw the thugs struggling on the ground, they looked tied up. She marveled at the miraculous event that'd just taken place. She was saved by some strange force! She wasted no time, and dashed out of the alleyway. She ran in front of a cab to force it to stop, jumped in, and got the guy to drive as fast as he could to her place.
---
Spider-Man was crouched on top of a fire escape above the alley that MJ was just dragged into. He had reacted like lightning, easily webbing up the criminals and knocking them out cold with balls of webbing. She was suprised to see that no one was there, but she left as soon as she was snatched off of the pavement and was safely driven home in a cab. This was one thing he didn't regret about being Spider-Man: if he wasn't, people like MJ would be hurt. He had no money after the dinner with her, although she had insisted on paying, he refused and payed for the both of them. He didn't regret it one bit, if it was for MJ. He could always swing home, while she had little money for a cab.
---
Mary Jane was home later that night, brushing her hair and reminiscing on the evenings events. She wondered how in the world she'd survived that encounter with that gang. She figured that they probably fell back because there were people passing by, or something to that effect. She tied her red hair up into a bun and turned out her light, tucking into bed. She dreamed of Peter saving her from a man holding her at gunpoint...
---
Peter, as Spider-Man, sat against a wall he was sticking to across the road from MJ's apartment. He'd watched her come into her room and turn out her light. He wanted to see how she was doing, and also, he felt at ease when he saw her. He wanted to make sure she got home safely, so he followed her. Watching her sleep was like watching an angel on a cloud. He loved her so much, it took all of his strength to not just swing into her apartment and declare his love for her right there. He sighed. He pulled up his sleeve and checked his watch: 10:43. He'd better get home if he was planning on turning in pictures for this J.J. Jameson fellow.
----
a/n - tell me what you think so far! r/r! :) thanks!
"Scuse me sir, but I'll have to ask you to return that uh, bag of yours." Peter said. He suspected the man had jewels or money in there. The man smiled, and proceeded to hand him the bag when he suddenly turned on his heel and started running.
"Ugh, why can' t they just give up? No one can ever outrun me anyway. Sigh." Peter ran after the man but not before a shower of bullets headed his way.
"Woah!" He twirled in midair to avoid an assault of about twenty bullets all headed straight for him.
"Um, hello?! I just caught the thief?! I'm trying... to... help!" He managed to spit out. The cops weren't listening. He couldn't keep dodging these for long.
"Freeze Spider-Man! Put your hands up!" The cops stopped firing. Shoot ask questions later, great notion, NYPD.
"Sorry, I've got a thief to catch, later," He put his hands up as ordered, but shot a webline up and dissapeared over the rooftops. By then, the thief was long gone. He couldn't believe it. An old man managed to escape because the cops decided to kill the one guy whose saved their butts constantly for the last four months. He looked down at the newspaper stands and spotted the front headline.
"Spider-Man: Menace!" It shouted to all of New York City.
"Well no wonder. I'm going to have a talk with this guy." He jumped down, pulled out some coins and took a newspaper, returning to his perch on the rooftop. He opened the paper. It went on and on about how he was a menace whose sole intent was to destroy New York and it's citizens.
"What?! Who came up with this crap?!" He looked at the publishers name.
"J. Jonah Jameson?" He went on to read about how ''freaks'' like him can't be allowed to just run around Manhattan all day doing whatever. The only picture of him was a tiny black dot in the distance.
"What? That isn't even me." He stared at it, raising an eyebrow and laughed. Great photography job, guys. It's a bird. I've never even seen that building. Peter laughed and noticed an ad on the bottom.
Reward! Pictures of Spider-Man!
"Hmm... now this could work...."
..--..--..--..--..
MJ had resigned to laying on her bed with the television remote. She glanced at the clock to her right. 7:20. He was almost an hour late. He had been there! She had seen him right there under her window. She couldn't help but feel infuriated that he'd stood her up like that. Chickened out at the last minute. What, was she some kind of monster that he was afraid would eat him? Was that it? Cooties, maybe? What else would drive him away!?
Not a second later, she heard a knocking on the door. She sighed and stood up, looking through the peephole. She saw the back of Peters head, he was probably looking for some kind of escape route. She opened the door reluctantly and stared at him, her arms crossed, looking expectant.
"MJ... I am so sorry I'm late... you see, I forgot that I had to pick up some things for... Aunt May... Listen, I'm really sorry..." He looked hopefully up at her.
Her expression changed to one of hurt. "Peter, you said you would be here at 6:30!" She said softly.
"I'm really really sorry MJ..." He pleaded with her, hoping she would forgive him.
"Peter, you are really sweet. I'm sorry, I'm sure you had something else to do anyway."
"No, MJ that's not it, I just had to quickly do something. I still want to go out with you." He realized one second to late that it sounded like he was asking her out instead of going to dinner as friends.
"Really? Well... okay Pete." She said, obviously either missing or failing to respond to the last few words he'd said. She wondered if Peter really had to run an errand, or if he was lieing because he was some where else. No.... he wouldn't lie... Peter wouldn't.
---
Peter passed by the cafe he worked at while looking for a place to eat with MJ. It seemed that he was going to be going out for food a lot, seeing as how he wasn't a great cook and he wouldn't know where to start with making food anyway. All he really knew how to make was eggs. Just put them outside in the middle of July.
"Peter, who's that?" MJ asked from his side. She was pointing to his left, and he looked over his shoulder and saw Gwen waving at him from inside the cafe. She was obviously working the night shift as well. She seemed to be closing up, and was smiling at him and mouthing "hey". He waved back and continued on.
"Um... that was just a girl I work with."
"Oh." MJ replied. There was an awkward silence between them. He didn't want MJ to think that he liked this girl, considering the fact that he secretly loved Mary Jane with all his heart. The only real problem was that he was a secretive guy, he didn't always let people know how much he cared. Harry obviously knew him well enough to figure out his infatuation with MJ long before he even thought about telling Harry.
"Peter, what about here?" She pointed to a chinese restaurant. It didn't look too expensive, Peter was worried about spending too much and not being able to pay his rent. But if it was for MJ, he'd do anything.
---
"Peter, I haven't really talked to you in a while." She said suddenly. It was a little random and unexpected, and Peter didn't quite know how to react.
"Oh... well, I've been a little busy, I've been trying to find a job..."
"I see... I um, wanted to tell you... I auditioned... for a small part in something. I wanted to let you know. You've really helped me out Pete, I never thought I'd really make it as an actress." She said as they sat down in a booth.
"That's awesome MJ! I know you'll do really well, you always have." He said, genuinely happy. He wanted MJ to have all of her dreams come true.
"Yeah... you're different from everyone else, Peter. Thankyou." She said, smiling.
"Well... you're welcome MJ. Hey, I think I've found a job as well." He said, remembering the ad in the paper.
"Yeah?"
"Well, I saw an ad for a photographer for the daily bugle. I think I'm gonna go for it." He said.
"Really? Peter, that's great. A photographer for the biggest paper in New York City! What are you going to take?"
"Huh?" He asked.
"What are you going to take pictures of," She repeated. Peter wasn't very comftoratable discussing his alter-ego with MJ, in case it aroused suspicion. What?! What am I thinking? Everyones talking about Spidey. I'm just another guy. Who uh, happens to be him.
"Oh. Um, Spider-Man."
She laughed. He expected as much, not that it was a bad thing.
"Peter, are you sure he's not just a hoax to sell papers? I've never seen any masked super being running around New York." She said, with a hint of laughter in her voice.
"Oh, well I uh, actually saw him the other day, he's real, that's for sure."
"Seriously, Peter? I didn't want to believe it. It's just too amazingly unbelievable." She said.
"Yeah, it is, but it's real. I took a few pictures of him, I'm going to try sending them in to the newspaper and see what they think."
"Wow Pete, you could hit it big with this." She said.
"I'm hoping that's what'll happen, otherwise I'll be screwed when my electric bill rolls around."
...--....--....--..
Mary Jane left Peter at about 8:45. She told him she needed to get home early so she could get up early for her shift at the diner. She hadn't told him where she worked, of course, she didn't want Peter to think she was giving up on her dream. He'd be so dissapointed. She wasn't giving up, she'd never give up. She just needed this job for a while to get her started.
Being with Peter made her forget all her problems. It was weird, she was usually found drifting to the troubles in her life during conversations, but Peter made her forget all of that and she was focused only on him. She felt a growing attraction to him, and she welcomed it with open arms. She didn't quite know how she felt about him right now, It was a little too confusing.
"I'll think about it later..." She sighed. She dug in her pockets and pulled out six crumpled dollar bills. Enough to get her partially to her apartment. She ran up to the curb and tried to hail a cab.
"Taxi," She said, calling out to one. It sped right past her. Maybe it's too dark, she thought.
"It's alright, we'll help you home." She heard a gruff voice speaking from behind her.
"Thanks, but I can find my own way." She said, turning back to the road.
"No, we wouldn't want a lady like you walking around New York City at night, it's dangerous." Another couple of guys came up beside her, closing her in.
"Excuse me, I need to-"
"Quiet!" One of the guys grabbed her and clamped a hand over her mouth. She struggled and kicked at them, but to no avail. They dragged her into a darkened alleyway and she screamed as loud as she could. One of them pulled out a gun and shoved it into her side.
"Get out your money, lady,"
"Please, I don't have much," She cried. It was hopeless. One of them was going for her jacket when all of the sudden they went flying backwards. She shut her eyes as tight as she could to brace for the impact of a gunshot or a punch, until she noticed there was none. She opened her eyes and saw the thugs struggling on the ground, they looked tied up. She marveled at the miraculous event that'd just taken place. She was saved by some strange force! She wasted no time, and dashed out of the alleyway. She ran in front of a cab to force it to stop, jumped in, and got the guy to drive as fast as he could to her place.
---
Spider-Man was crouched on top of a fire escape above the alley that MJ was just dragged into. He had reacted like lightning, easily webbing up the criminals and knocking them out cold with balls of webbing. She was suprised to see that no one was there, but she left as soon as she was snatched off of the pavement and was safely driven home in a cab. This was one thing he didn't regret about being Spider-Man: if he wasn't, people like MJ would be hurt. He had no money after the dinner with her, although she had insisted on paying, he refused and payed for the both of them. He didn't regret it one bit, if it was for MJ. He could always swing home, while she had little money for a cab.
---
Mary Jane was home later that night, brushing her hair and reminiscing on the evenings events. She wondered how in the world she'd survived that encounter with that gang. She figured that they probably fell back because there were people passing by, or something to that effect. She tied her red hair up into a bun and turned out her light, tucking into bed. She dreamed of Peter saving her from a man holding her at gunpoint...
---
Peter, as Spider-Man, sat against a wall he was sticking to across the road from MJ's apartment. He'd watched her come into her room and turn out her light. He wanted to see how she was doing, and also, he felt at ease when he saw her. He wanted to make sure she got home safely, so he followed her. Watching her sleep was like watching an angel on a cloud. He loved her so much, it took all of his strength to not just swing into her apartment and declare his love for her right there. He sighed. He pulled up his sleeve and checked his watch: 10:43. He'd better get home if he was planning on turning in pictures for this J.J. Jameson fellow.
----
a/n - tell me what you think so far! r/r! :) thanks!