1"What was that all about?", MJ asked.
"When I called you earlier, I wasn't sure what I was going to do, " Peter replied, "I thought that I might need to move, now that Alexia's here. I don't think I will now. She said that she won't tell anyone who I am, and I believe her."
"Well, if you trust her…", MJ said with a shrug.
Did he trust Alexia? How could he trust anyone after knowing them for so short a time? Peter had to admit that her concern for him had drawn him to her, and it had been an enormous relief telling her about his past. Peter realized that he did trust Alexia, at least partially. Only time would tell if he had made the right decision.
"I think I do", Peter said. Then he smiled.
"I have some free time right now. Do you want to go to a movie?", he asked.
"I'd love to", MJ replied.
For whatever reason, he seemed to be more relaxed than usual, and MJ was happy to see it. He was always so tense, his mind occupied with past mistakes, with things that he couldn't control or change.
Peter took her hand, and the two of them headed towards the nearest movie theatre, both of them silently praying that nothing would interrupt even this small amount of time that they had together.
Deep into his alcohol-induced sleep, Harry woke up suddenly as the phone rang. Reaching over to his night stand with his eyes still closed, he picked up the receiver and put it to his ear.
"Hello?", he mumbled.
"Mr. Osborn, the board members are starting to get worried. You haven't attended any of the meetings in the past month. Are you coming back soon?"
It was Sarah, his secretary.
"I'm not sure. I haven't been feeling well lately", Harry replied.
"Well, the board members need a specific reason for your absence."
"Tell them I've had a ... family crisis."
The silence on the other end revealed Sarah's confusion.
"I don't know when I'll be back. Probably not for a while", Harry said. 'Or maybe not at all', he thought to himself.
"The next meeting is on Tuesday if-,"
Sarah broke off, and for a second, Harry thought she'd hung up.
"Sorry about that. There's someone on the other line. I have to go. Are you sure won't be in this week?", she asked.
"I'll think about it", Harry lied, and hung up.
"Sorry, sir. Harry was on the other line," said Sarah.
"What did he say?, the person on the other end inquired.
"He said he didn't know when he'd be back at work."
"Did he say why?"
"Yes. He said it had to do with a 'family crisis'", Sarah replied.
"Keep me informed."
Setting the phone back onto its stand, Norman Osborn smirked a bit at this latest news.
'Maybe Harry's finally developed a sense of humour', he thought.
It had been a little over two years since his last confrontation with Spider-Man. Norman still remembered that night in vivid detail. When he had been pinned to the wall by his own glider, he had been fortunate; it had narrowly missed his vital organs. In his near-death state, Spider-Man couldn't tell that he was still breathing.
His heart had momentarily stopped when he was at the coroner's office, just long enough to make them think that he was gone for good. Then he had been transported to the funeral home, and it had been a simple matter to replace the body that was supposed to be in his coffin with that of the funeral attendant.
Norman had then made his way to Paris, France, where he fully recovered form his injuries, and began to think about how he could exact his revenge upon the one who had put him in his current position.
Norman had made one mistake that had nearly cost him his life; arrogance. He would never make that mistake again.
The next time he faced Spider-Man, he would not lose.
