"Hang on, MJ!"

"You know who I am."

"I was in the neighborhood."

"I can't tell you everything..."

MJ thought about these quotes as she often did, trying to determine when it was exactly that she'd started to suspect the truth about Peter. She never came to a definite conclusion; it had been in the back of her mind for so long, there was only one moment that she recall clearly enough to remember what she had thought.

The kiss. Or rather, two kisses. That night in the rain when she'd rolled up Spider-Man's mask and kissed him as he hung upside down. It had been so bizarre, so uncharacteristically daring of her, that she still got a thrill just thinking about it.

And then there was the kiss in the cemetery, when she'd confessed her love to Peter, not knowing that they had been the same person all along. She remembered standing in the cemetery after Peter had left, her hand over her mouth as she realized how familiar the kiss had been.

It had felt so much like that night in the rain, and for a moment, she had been almost sure... but then her rational mind had kicked in. Peter had been turned down for Little League, for goodness' sake. He had been nick-named 'Puny Parker' for a reason. It couldn't be him. And so for two years, she had lived in denial of what she knew in her heart: the truth.

"Hey, you're that girl from 'The Importance of Being Earnest', aren't you," asked the blond-haired girl sitting across from her.

MJ was in a waiting room, about to have an appointment with one of New York's biggest modeling agencies. As much as she disliked seeing her face all over Manhattan, her acting career was on hold until she could get another part in something. But her audition two days before had been unsuccessful, and bills still needed to be paid.

"Yeah," MJ replied.

A few minutes passed in silence until the other girl was called into the office, and MJ was alone again. She looked up as the waiting room door opened, and a black-haired, blue-eyed girl wearing dark blue jeans and a black tank top entered. It was Alexia.

"Hi," MJ said, recalling the last time she had seen her.

"Hi," Alexia responded," I didn't know you're a model, too."

"I'm not, really. But I'm still waiting for calls from directors, and I have to do something in the meantime," MJ replied.

Alexia nodded.

"Have you seen Peter around? I was expecting him to call," MJ asked.

She hadn't heard from him since he'd promised to go see Harry. She really wanted to know what had happened. Was Peter just being his usual late self, or had something bad happened that made him unable to talk to her?

"I saw him yesterday," Alexia said. Did MJ know about Peter? She had gotten the impression that she did, but couldn't be sure.

'I'm probably just being paranoid', MJ thought, 'But why hasn't he called?'. She needed to talk to someone about this. And the only person available at the moment was Alexia.

"I'm worried about Peter. He was supposed to do something important last night, and I thought he would have called by now. I know he has responsibilities, but crimes don't last for 16 hours," MJ said.

'Yep, she knows', Alexia thought.

"Do you know who Harry Osborn is," MJ asked impulsively.

Alexia thought a moment. 'He was also the father of my best friend', Peter had said when talking about Norman Osborn. This was probably the friend.

"Norman's son," Alexia answered.

"He's Peter's friend... or was until a few months ago. I don't know. Did Peter tell you what happened after the train crash?"

"No. What happened?"

"I don't really know if I should tell you this... it's Peter story to tell, but he trusts you, so I guess I should too. After Doc Ock took him from the train, he took him to Harry. Harry... he'd become obsessed with his father's death. Harry's father... he was..."

"The Green Goblin. I know."

MJ nodded. Peter had told her more than she had known.

"Well, Harry had blamed Spider-Man. At some point, Ock had gone to Harry for more of that stuff to finish his experiment. Harry made him a deal: Spider-Man for the stuff. So Ock brought him to Harry. Harry took off Peter's mask just as Peter woke up. Harry sort of went in shock. Peter managed to get him to tell him where Ock had gone, but wasn't able to talk to Harry about what had happened. That's what Peter told me."

MJ looked away, thinking.

"Two days ago, I convinced Peter to go talk to Harry, to try to explain what had happened. Harry hadn't been to work in over a month. I was worried about him, and thought that if he and Peter talked, they might be able to resolve some things. Peter was supposed to have talked to him last night. I was sure that he would have called about how Harry had reacted. I wonder why he didn't. Did Peter forget? Did something happen to one of them? I wish I knew."

"I'm sure Peter's fine," Alexia said.

"But is Harry," MJ said, starting to cry.

"I'm sorry. I'm probably just being paranoid," she apologized, tears starting to drip down her face.

Alexia took some tissues out of her purse and handed them to her.

"No apology necessary. But you don't want to mess up your make-up just before an audition", she replied with a sympathetic smile. MJ took the tissues andcarefully dabbed her eyes with them.

"Thanks," MJ said, smiling back.

The waiting room door opened suddenly, and they both looked up. Peter stood in the doorway. He looked tired and stressed, walking over to them.

"I'm sorry I didn't call. I spent the night at the hospital," he said. MJ motioned to the seat beside her, and Peter sat down.

Although she wanted to hear what Peter was going to say, this seemed a little personal, and Alexia started to get up.

"I'm probably intruding. I'll wait outside," she said.

"No, no. Stay. I'd like you to hear this," Peter said. Alexia sat back down.

"Do you remember what I said about Norman's son," he asked.

Alexia nodded.

"I filled her in on what happened with Harry, Peter," MJ said.

Peter nodded.

"I went to see Harry last night. He was a little mad at first. He'd just gotten my message a few minutes before I got there. I didn't want to tell him what had happened to his father; Norman had asked me not to. He didn't want Harry to find out about his secret life. But Harry already knew. He told me that his father had kept a secret workshop hidden behind a mirror in the study. He discovered it that night after I had left. He told me that his father's voice had guided him to it.

"So I told him what had happened. It seemed like Harry had accepted what I had said, but then he started screaming. He said that the voice was back, that it wouldn't leave him alone. Then he ran off. I decided I should go, and left out a window. By the time I got back to my moped out front, police and ambulances were everywhere. Harry's butler was talking to the police. After the cops left, I asked him about what had happened. He recognized me from when I'd been there in the past, so he answered me. He told me that Harry had run into him downstairs, yelling that his father was alive and telling him to kill people, then collapsed on the floor.

"I followed the ambulance to the hospital. No one would let me see him, but I overheard two doctors saying that he might be going into a coma. I left for a bit, and when I came back, Harry had woken up. I heard him and the doctors yelling. One of the doctors ordered him to be put into the psyche ward. Then I left. It was about four in the morning. When I woke up, I remembered that you had an audition today, and got over here as soon as I could."

MJ looked shocked. She'd seen Harry depressed and angry, often telling her about how Spider-Man had ruined his life, but she couldn't picture what Peter had described. 'Oh, god, what's happened to him?', she thought. The door to the office opened, and the blond girl stepped out. A receptionist came up behind her, and the girl left.

"Mary Jane Watson," the receptionist inquired.

MJ and Peter stood up. Peter gave MJ a kiss on the cheek and said,"Good luck." MJ smiled, her tears dry, and went into the office.

"So what are you doing here," Peter asked.

"I'm auditioning," Alexia replied.

"I didn't know you were a model."

"Well, I was until a few days ago. I got fired."

"Why?"

"No reason, really."

Alexia looked away.

"Why did you want me to know all of these things about Harry," she asked.

"I don't really know. I guess it's because I've never had many friends, but I consider you one of them. And I just lost one," Peter replied.

Alexia nodded. They sat lost in their own thoughts for a few minutes, until the door opened and MJ came out.

"Well," Peter inquired.

"They said they'd call me within a week," MJ answered.

"Alexia Dark," the receptionist called. Alexia stood up.

"I guess I'll see you guys later," she said.

"'Bye," said Peter and MJ.

Alexia went into the office and closed the door.

MJ sighed.

"What's happened to Harry, Peter," she asked.

"I don't know. I wish I did," Peter said. He took MJ's hand, and she reached out and hugged him.

"I hope he'll be alright."

"Me too," Peter said, "Me too."