"Beep! Beep! Be-!" John Jameson slapped the snooze button on his alarm clock. He couldn't sleep the other night. He groggily sat up and saw the answering machine blinking. 'Wonder who that could be from.' He leaned over and pressed the small button.
"One new message," said the mechanical voice. John heard several cars in the distance zoom by, and after several seconds, a gruff voice could be heard on the other line, "Hi, son. I just wanted to wish you luck on your mission tomorrow. I'm sorry I can't be there for you, but I've got a paper to run."
"End of message," said the mechanical voice, and the light stopped blinking. 'Maybe I should give Dad a call,' thought John. He got up from his bed and walked toward the phone. He stared at his alarm clock. 'Nine o'clock-he's probably at work right now.' He dialed the phone number of the Daily Bugle.
"Hello, Daily Bugle. Who is this?" asked a female voice.
"Hi, Betty. Can I speak to my father?"
"Sure," said Betty, "Hold on." John waited as he imagined what was happening in his father's office. 'He's probably yelling at some reporter right now. Maybe he's-'
"Son, how are you?" asked a gruff voice on the other line.
"Hey dad. I'm fine," lied John. 'I still can't believe I'm thinking about her.'

"Son, what's wrong? You can't fool me."
John sighed. "It's just..."
"Mary Jane, isn't it? Listen, son, I know you really loved her, but just get over it, she's not good enough for you if she left you standing at the altar."
"Dad, Mary Jane's a great person. I guess, I just wasn't good enough for her." To his surprise, he heard a loud slam on the other end.
"Don't you dare say that!" screamed his father, "No, SHE wasn't good enough for YOU. Who in their right mind would leave someone as great as you at the altar?!?! She's crazy, and she's a damn asshole. Just forget her!"
"Dad-"
"Just forget IT!" John knew it would be useless to argue with his father, so he dropped the subject. After long pause, John heard his father sigh.
"Son, I'm sorry for the outburst."
"It's all right."
"No, it's not all right. I'm just frustrated at the moment."
"Why?"
"Parker-"
"You mean the only guy who's able to get Spidey pics?"
"Yeah-him." John couldn't help but notice the slight bitter tone of his father's voice, "He was kidnapped by the Doc and the Green Gobby, and the police don't have any clues as to where he is. Because of that, I can't run any more new pics of Spiderman. I just have stupid drawings and Parker's old pics." Suddenly, John remembered that Mary Jane was a close friend of Peter's.
"Is Mary Jane all right?" asked John worriedly.
"She was, but apparently, she disappeared the night before. The only clue was this huge puddle of water in the room and a security officer who was lying unconscious on the floor. They think these two people from this mutant group known as the X-Men took her away." John's heart stopped. He clenched his fists angrily. 'Who would do something like that to her?!'
"Do they know where she is?" asked John angrily.
"No, but they think that if they find Peter, they'll be able to find her."
John wrinkled his head in confusion. 'Why would-?' Then it hit him. 'She's dating that photographer guy.' John almost dropped the phone when a worried voice snapped him back to reality: "Son, are you all right? Son?" John gripped the phone firmly, and in a clipped voice replied, "Yeah. Look, dad, I really have to go."
"I understand. You've got a big day ahead of you. I wish I could-"
"No, it's OK. I know you're really busy. Bye."
"Bye son, and good luck."
John quickly hung up the phone. He quickly walked to the bathroom trembling in anger and fury. He turned on the cold water and scrubbed his face hard-as if he was trying to wash away what he had just realized. He looked up and saw his reflection in the mirror. He tried to breathe calmly, but instead, he angrily punched the mirror-which shattered into three large pieces. His fist was bloody, but he didn't care. He quickly walked out of the room with hatred-hatred for the man who had stolen his wife-to-be.