Sorry for the long leave of absence. Dodges rotten fruit and veggies EEP! Sure know how ta make a lady feel welcome, don'tcha? Seriously, this story just kinda shriveled up and died in a little corner of my head, and this is my pitiful attempt to give it CPR in hopes of reviving it.

ATTENTION: I re-wrote and re-posted chapter one. Check it out, because there are significant differences.

DISCLAIMER: Excuse me while I bawl my eyes out.

Chapter Ten: Do You Believe in Magic

Peter was stunned. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Harry had been dating MJ, and hadn't told him. Harry never left him out of the loop on anything.

And to add insult to injury, he had heard it from MJ's own mouth.

It appeared Harry and him weren't the only ones keeping secrets though. Mary Jane had just revealed that she lived a double life as a waitress at a run-down little diner. Ooo. Big secret, his inner smart-ass said, still feeling the pain of jealousy. None the less, he'd keep it a secret, just as she'd asked.

Don't tell Harry. Poor guy. He remained angry, however heartfelt that thought was;anger wasan easy method of hiding from himself a whirlwind of emotions he didn't want to pick apart and analyze just yet.


At Home

Something wasn't right. He felt it when he walked into the apartment building. His Spider-sense was going nuts. Peter went into the apartment he shared with Harry, and instantly found what had set it off.

Norman greeted him while having a conversation on the phone that was less than ten feet from the door.

On the other side of the room, looking rather miserable, Harry sat behind a desk. Peter crossed the room to his friend, who informed him somewhat bitterly, "Stormin' Norman's making his weekly inspection. He's spent half of it on the phone. I'm glad you're here. I need your help." He looked up from whatever he was concentrating on on the desk. "You alright? You look like you just got second place in the science fair," he teased.

"I uh, I was late for work and Dr. Connors fired me."

Harry grinned. "You were late again?" Peter nodded. "Who are you, and what have you done with Peter 'Punctual' Parker?"

Peter blushed. "I just, ya know, have other stuff that needs doing, Har."

Harry shook his head, still smiling. The mystery that now surrounded his best friend only made him that much more attractive.

"Peter Parker," Norman called, having hung up the phone. He strode toward the man in question as he spoke. "Maybe you'll tell me who she is."

"Who's that?" Peter asked.

"This mystery girl Harry's been dating." That brought back Peter's earlier conversation with MJ, and he felt angry and jealous all over again. Norman looked at Harry and asked, "When do I get to meet her?"

"Dad!" Harry exclaimed. This was getting on his nerves. The only reason he was dating a girl, much less Peter's crush, was because he had to at least put up a pretense of being straight. Otherwise the bruise on his shoulder hiding under his shirt would be a mere preview of the pain to come. His father had gotten bored during the portion of the visit he hadn't been on the phone, resulting in blows. Harry could deal with it, though. Since he and Peter had moved into the apartment it was rare for him to get a beating. Norman could only do it during the rare occasions that he visited while Peter was out and Harry was in.

Glaring at Harry, Peter said, "Sorry, Harry hasn't mentioned her."

Is it just me, or are they ganging up on me? Harry thought as both of the other men's gazes remained on him. He felt at a disadvantage with both of them standing and him still sitting. The least they could do is try me before they tell me to go to jail, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars. He changed the subject as soon as he thought of something else. "Hey Pete, you're probably looking for a job now, right? Dad, maybe you can help him out."

Norman looked at the man and smiled. Peter looked from Harry to Norman and turned to walk away as he said, "No, I appreciate it, but I'll be fine."

"It's no problem, I'll make a few calls," the older Osborn said.

"No, I couldn't accept that, sir. I like to earn what I get, I can find my own work," Peter said, not liking the idea of working for someone who always set off his Spider-sense, or being indebted to him.

"I respect that," Norman said with an admiring look and a smile. "You wanna make it on your own steam. That's great. What other skills do you have, Parker?"

Inwardly, Harry didn't know whether to groan or smile. Norman's attention was off him now, which was a relief, and Peter always seemed to knew what to say, but what if he gave the wrong answer this time?

In the kitchen, he noticed that day's edition of the Bugle sitting on the counter as he poured a glass of orange juice for himself. The headline read: REWARD! For photos of Spider-Man. Wide-eyed, he called back, "I was thinking of something in photography." Harry was glad he no longer lived with his father. Norman's face twisted in a nasty snarl and he stalked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him. "What was that about?"

Harry shrugged.


The Next Day

Peter took in several photos he'd taken the previous night of himself as Spidey, and was told they were all crap. Jameson, the editor of the paper offered him two hundred for all of the photos. Peter knew they were worth more than that. "I think that's a little low."

"You can take them somewhere else then," Jameson replied. He talked briefly to his secretary over the phone, then barked, "Sit down! Gimme that. I'll give ya three hundred, standard freelance fee." He turned to a guy behind Peter, handing him a photo, and said, "Tear up page one, run that photo instead."

"Headline?" the man asked.

"Spider-Man: Hero or Menace, exclusive Daily Bugle photos," Jameson answered.

Peter's eyes went wide. What the! I can't believe this! "Menace? He was protecting that armored car from-"

Jameson cut him off. "You take the photos, I'll make up the headlines. Is that alright with you, or do I have to kick you out of here?"

"Okay sir," came the relucatant reply. Peter couldn't afford for this not to work out. The apartment bills were already three weeks overdue.

"Goody." He filled out a check and instructed, "Give this to the girl up front, and she'll see you get paid."

"I'd like a job, sir."

"No job! Freelance! Best thing in the world for a kid your age," Jameson said. "You bring me some more shots of that newspaper-selling clown, maybe I'll take them off your hands." He got up slapped Peter on the back and with one hand on Peter's shoulder, led him out of the office. "But I never said you have a job! Fruitcake! A nice loaf of Christmas fruitcake, that's the best I can do for ya. Now get outta here, and bring me some more photos."

Peter collected his pay and left, lugging a heavy, rock-hard fruitcake with him.


Day of the World Unity Festival

Peter groaned. Stupid alarm clock.

A few quick thumps on the wall seperating his room from Harry's let him know that he was not alone in his misery. For a moment, images of that screwed up Izma chick from that goofy animated Disney movie The Emperor's New Groove flashed through the morning fog crowding Peter's brain. Izma smashing the box in the movie. Izma smashing his alarm clock. Him going back to sleep. Izma smashing his head.

Darn. That last image had woken him up. Note to self: lay off the Disney movies. Potentially bad for mental health.

He slowly dragged himself out from under the covers. When his bare feet touched the cold hardwood floor, Peter almost gave up and got back in bed, but decided against it. He did have to go patrol as Spider-man. It was bad enough he had gone to sleep earlier than usual. He couldn't miss the Unity Festival. The event practically begged for terrorists, thieves, and other unscrupulous characters. Plus he had to take photos for the Daily Bugle. But-I'm so tired...

Nonetheless, Peter sluggishly hauled himself over to his closet. His Spidey suit was still on from the previous night, most of which he had spent out on the streets fighting idiot criminals. So he tugged a random outfit on over that. Then he jammed his feet into his big dorky shoes, a clunky yellow pair his aunt had picked out for him. Figuring he was ready to go, he moved out to the kitchen for breakfast at a pace a turtle would have thought ridiculous.

Standing in the kitchen, Harry raised an eyebrow. Pete's dead on his feet. Maybe he should skip going to the Unity Fair, today.

Peter opened a cupboard, blindly groped around for a few seconds, then took down a box of... Crystal Light powder packets, in lemonade flavor. He grabbed a bowl, and the cardboard carton of orange juice. Then he proceeded to upturn the box of juice-powder packets into the bowl. Just as he was about to take the cap off the orange juice container, Harry decided to take pity on the other man.

He grabbed the orange juice, the bowl, and the now empty box. Then he grasped Peter's arm to prevent him from trying to do anything else and said softly, "You don't have work today, Peter. Go back to sleep."

Peter didn't go back to his room. He remained planted to his spot, swaying slightly. So Harry grabbed Peter's shoulders and herded him over to the couch and gently pushed him down onto it. Instantly, the sleepy man curled into a tight ball in the corner of the couch. Within seconds, he was snoring quietly.

Harry shook his head. He retrieved a blanket and covered Peter before scribbling a note and slipping out the door.


A few hours later

Peter awoke reluctantly to Nature's call. After he took care of business, he noticed how late it was. Then he remembered that he was supposed to be going to the Unity Festival today with Harry. If he hurried, he could still make it. He had caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror, though, and definitely needed to change his clothes. There was nothing on this Earth that could persuade him to wear that stupid Care Bears shirt when he was in his right mind.

He recalled that they had been supposed to meet with Norman Osborn, and they were both supposed to wear suits. Peter quickly changed into the suit he'd laid out the night before. Then he dashed out the door of their apartment and down the street.


At the World Unity Festival

Peter had wound up having to switch to using his Spidey suit and web-slinging, because traffic was so backed up. Thank God for backpacks, Peter thought as he webslung into an alley to put his suit back on. He made his way into the crowd of festival-goers and raised his camera to take pictures. With his camera, he spotted a couple people reading the day's edition of the Bugle, the headline this time reading: Big Apple Fears Spider-bite. He sighed. This stuff was getting old really fast. He wandered away from there and snapped a photo of some people on a balcony above. Then, with his camera he saw Harry and Mary Jane. They looked like they were one step away from an argument. Peter could feel the tension from where he stood, two stories away.

"MJ," Harry said with a smile, "why didn't you wear the black dress? Just, I wanted to impress my father, and he loves black."

"Well, maybe he'll be impressed no matter what," she replied, miffed at the imagined implication that she wasn't good-looking. "You think I'm pretty."

He raised an eyebrow. "I think you're beautiful." He moved in to kiss her, and felt kind of relieved when she turned her head away. He noticed Peter standing on the crowded street below them, looking up at them. "MJ, would you do me a favor, I left my drink inside."

Just when MJ turned around to leave the balcony, seemingly still a tad upset, Peter's Spider-sense went off. He looked around and noticed a figure flying through the sky, leaving a smoky trail behind him. He flew close to the balcony MJ, Harry and a bunch of other people were on and threw a ball at it that blew up on contact.

Peter inwardly groaned. Wouldn't you know it!

A couple was standing beneath a falling slab that had once been part of the now-decimated balcony, and Peter quickly shot out some webbing and yanked them out of its way. Then he ran off into an alley, pulling his shirt off as he went.

He yanked his mask back on, stuffed his suit back into his pack, and launched himself back among the skyscrapers. When he returned to the messed up balcony two people were hanging on for their lives. One was a girl, screaming at the top of her lungs. Apparently heights didn't agree with her.

He gasped in horror when he saw who the girl was. Mary Jane.Oh dear God, he thought. I can't lose her! Then Spider-man heard an insane little cackle behind him. The other person!

Quickly, Spidey turned to save the other victim. Then he saw who it was.

He froze.

Peter had never realized what a necessity Harry was in his life, until that moment. Dangling from the crumbling edge of the stone balcony, was Harry. The madman on his little floaty thing getting ready to throw another bomb at the area. He was trying to pull himself up onto what was left of the surface he'd been standing on earlier, but couldn't.

Move, or you'll lose him! Spider-man mentally yelled at himself.

He swung into action. The bomb hit part of the remains of the balcony, and causing it to go crashing down with the rest. The area below had long since cleared of people. Just then, Harry pulled himself up onto what little was left of the ledge. Just then a piece of falling debris fell and hit Harry on the head. The curly-haired young man went limp, and Peter hoped to God he wasn't dead. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Must act faster when people I care about are in danger. If Harry hadn't pulled himself up... He got an unpleasant image in his head, of Harry going splat on the pavement beneath the balcony.

Spider-Man swung over when the nut in green armor advanced on MJ, and kicked hard enough to knock him off the glider. The guy fell, but the glider went flying into a big balloon. A little boy was standing beneath it, staring up. He made no move to run from the popped balloon about to fall on him, so Spider-Man swung down, saved him, and returned the boy to the woman he assumed was his mother.

Then he got in a little fist-fight with the creep in green, and was sent flying. That bought the guy enough time to get back on his glider, and once he was, he chased after Spidey, with bullets shooting from it. A rocket came out of it, but Spidey managed to dodge everything, with help from his spider-sense. He webslung himself up onto a balloon, still chased by the psycho. A scream distracted him.

"Mary Jane!" he shouted.

"Help me, someone please help me!" she screamed as she clung to the slab she was on, which dangled from the broken balcony.

He jumped across on the balloons and leapt toward MJ, only to have his opponent crash into him from behind, slamming him into the large stained glass window in front of him. The creep grabbed his head and slammed it into what was left of that part of the window a few times before Spider-Man freed himself by elbowing the other in the head. They exchanged several more blows, then Spider-Man was knocked down out of the other's reach. He took the opportunity to yell, "Hold on," to MJ.

"Watch out!" she yelled back, pointing to someplace behind him. He turned in time to spray some webbing to cover his opponent's creepy yellow eyes, giving him time to yank some wires out of the underbelly of the glider the other was still on. Barely managing to stay on the thing then, the other flew off on the crazily twisting object as he yelled, "We'll meet again, Spider-Man!"

Just then the piece of the balcony MJ had been on gave, and he had to dive to catch her. Then he shot some webbing to keep them from hitting the unforgiving pavement below. He looked down and noticed, grimacing, that a big crowd had formed beneath them. No way was he landing down there with that mob. Nope. Instead he found a nice safe garden in which to deposit her, and when she asked him who he was hegrinned behind his mask as he replied, "You know who I am."

"I do?" That thought seemed to mystify her.

"Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!"

And with that, he swung off through the urban jungle, muttering, "Stupid stupid stupid! Harry could've died up there today! Stupid stupid stupid!"


Next Day

Peter glared at the headline of the morning edition of the Bugle. How could they say such things about Spider-Man? The paper accused him of being in cahoots with the green-clad idiot who had attacked at the the Unity Festival the previous day, saying both of them had terrorized the Festival-goers. That's a load of crap! Peter thought angrily.

"It won't burst into flames no matter how long you glare at it," Harry said from behind him, startling the other man.

Peter turned, and noticed Harry's amusement. For some reason his best friend got a real kick out of seeing him mad. Harry had once told him that it was because proof that Peter had a temper was rare. He disagreed, but couldn't convince the other.

"So why are you trying to set it on fire this time?"

The shorter man sighed and muttered, "I dunno, maybe 'cuz Jameson's villainizing the guy that's been keeping this city safe for the past several months."

Harry grinned as he took the seat opposite his friend. "Never knew you were so into 'justice for all.' You know, you've been acting weird today. This morning when I got up you almost hugged the life outta me, and muttering all day about being happy I'm alive. There something you wanna tell me?"

"You could've died yesterday. I'm just happy you're not," Peter replied. Then glared down at the newspaper again. "Too bad Jameson can't see the silver lining in stuff."


Ooooo... Looks like Spidey is starting to notice he has feelings for Harry, too. Will MJ put a stop to it?