Of Friendship, Of Fate
This is my Spiderman story. It comes after Spiderman 2, which I must say is GODLY! Hmm. Here's my story then. As usual, an OC. This time, it's not a very large character. Used often, but not pivotal. After all, who's going to help evil thrive? If they can do it in the movies, I can do it in my story. We miss you, Doc Oc! Moment of silence for the awesome baddie.
::taps:: ::hands out boxes of Kleenex:: ::sniffle::
Ok here we go then!
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He could remember the night before very vividly, and a smile came to his face. A honeymoon at last.
Mary Jane crawled up to him in bed and pressed her lips against his. "Hi." Her smile was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.
"Hi," he said, smiling back, "Mrs. Mary Jane Parker."
"A good stage name, don't you think?" she asked, still trapped in the happiness of slumber.
"Yeah... It fits." He took his glasses from the bedside table. He wanted to get a better look at his bride. "Hey MJ?"
"Yeah Pete?"
There was a sound like a jet cutting through the air outside. A glider shot through the window, raining glass shards onto the bed. Something, someone in a green glider suit clawed Mary Jane, lifting her into the air.
"Peter!" he heard her scream.
His eyes were flung open. Oh... a dream. Just a dream...
Peter tangled himself in the sheets and tried to shut his eyes. It was still so early in the morning. So early...
He had to get up for work soon. Another day, another job. One hour was all he had. One hour until the alarm clock rang and he had to leave Mary Jane. He didn't want to leave her. He hadn't gotten enough time to spend with her since Doctor Octavius was... Peter could still see it clearly, the night man and machine were separated.
How would he face his best friend again? The look on Harry's face was stuck in his mind. Harry was so disgusted with him that night. And why shouldn't he be? As far as Harry knew, Peter had killed his kind, innocent father. Not the Green Goblin. Or did he know? No, how could he?
"Peter," Mary Jane whispered, pressing her lips against his. She was already dressed and ready for her first day of rehearsals. "Morning. I shut off your alarm clock. That thing's too loud. But it's time for work. I'll make breakfast for you and Aunt May."
"Thanks. I love you. Have a fun day at work," he said through a yawn. Peter scooted to the edge of the bed to where he'd left his pants on the floor. He put his left leg into his jeans. One, two. Pull up, zip. Tie your shoes so you don't trip. He remembered that from kindergarten. Funny how much you forget how to do when you first wake up in the morning. Even with his senses he couldn't figure out where he had put his shirt. There it was, on the wooden chair by his desk. Photos were strewn on the desk, along with his camera and a few extra rolls of film. But today wasn't meant for walking in the park snapping pictures. Today was meant for real work. The kind that made you regret getting up in the morning.
This house... It was so comforting to still be in this house. It's the house he grew up in. God bless MJ. She could afford to buy it back with the success of The Importance of Being Earnest. He was so proud of her. And finally they could live in the same house. In separate rooms, though. Aunt May had strict moral codes; you were only allowed to sleep in the same bed when you were married. It was a rule she lived by, and he didn't want to upset her. Soon they'd have a bed to share. Soon they'd be engaged, then married. He couldn't wait till she took his name.
Peter jogged down the stairs and kissed his aunt on the cheek. "Morning Aunt May."
"Morning Peter," Aunt May smiled at him. "My you seem to be feeling well this morning. Going to work so early?"
"Yeah. Sorry MJ, I'm gonna have to skip breakfast." He gave her a quick kiss and ran out of the door. "I'll pick you up after work!" he yelled from the sidewalk. Today would be stress. Lots...and lots... of stress.
"Right on time, Parker," his new boss said. Mr. Gardner was the type that liked young kids that could run around. They got the job done faster, after all. Even if Peter was late once in a while, he didn't seem to mind. Peter was always the first one done with his route. And he always had the most sales.
"Okay, heavy traffic today. Think you can handle it?"
"I can try," said Peter, taking his name tag from the desk. This would be easier than he thought... if the customers were still in their homes. By the looks of things, they were all in their cars, bumper-to-bumper from here to Philadelphia.
"Thanks Pete," said Mr. Gardner, walking back into his office with a jury duty notice in his hand. Peter could already hear the groans of annoyance floating from the other room.
"Maureen," Mr. Gardner said to his secretary, "can't I cancel this damn thing?"
"I'm afraid you can't, Mr. Gardner," Maureen answered, continuing to type through their conversation. "You've already canceled the past five summonses."
By the time Peter had gotten into the street, he'd wasted five minutes. "Damn," he muttered to no one, walking into an alleyway. He placed a hand on the wall, trying to get a grip. Soon he was climbing to the rooftop. Peter unfolded a picture he'd taken before from this same rooftop. On the photograph his customers' houses were labeled clearly. Last name, comma, first. Archer, Samantha. Married. All right. This ought to be simple.
Knock, knock, knock. A woman in her late forties appeared in the doorway. "Yes?" she said. She was very unenthusiastic, but maybe he could make a sale if he played the compliment game.
"Good morning, Ma'am."
She let out a fake laugh. "Ha, Ma'am. That's a good one. Know you're getting old when someone calls you Ma'am."
Strike one. Already this wasn't going well. "Mrs. Archer, I'm here to install your cable."
"Oh that's right," she said. "Weren't you supposed to be here a coupl'a days ago?"
Strike two. Why hadn't Mr. Gardner told him that it was supposed to be installed before? "I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I wasn't aware that I–"
"Yeah, yeah," she said with a flat stare. "Come on in..." She lead him through the old house, all the way out of the back door. Mrs. Archer stopped at a ladder. "That goes to the roof." The woman honestly sounded like she'd been given a sedative. "Don't stay up there too long so you can get an hour's pay. I can sue ya know."
"Don't worry M–"
"Save it," she said. "Your paid half-hour starts...now." The woman had a stopwatch for god's sakes! He might as well get to work then.
Peter waited until she went back through the door then began to climb the ladder. If only he could scale the aluminum siding. Ladders felt so needless. He wondered how much it would scare the woman to see someone climbing a telephone pole with his fingertips and the pads of his feet. Once he had reached the peak of the roof, he attached the wire, letting the excess cable fall. What he didn't notice was that the telephone wire from her house had just snapped. Perfect timing. He noted it once he was off the roof.
"Shit." The telephone pole itself wasn't very far away from the house, and if he could just climb it, split the wire and install a connector... There were no footholds on the pole. He'd have to use his other means of climbing. Would she see him? Hopefully not... Peter climbed the telephone pole quickly. Ah... the sky. He hadn't had a chance to really look at it with this new job. Speaking of which...
His foot slipped. "Ah!"
One web shot out and held him to the pole.
He heard slippers on the landing. The back door creaked open. "Are you gonna be much lon–" Mrs. Archer screamed. "HOOOLY SHIT! I'm callin' the cops on you, freak!" Strike three. In the time it took her to call the police, Peter had repaired the wire, installed her cable, and posted a note to the back of her door. "It's installed. I took my pay. Enjoy your cable. -Your friendly neighborhood Spiderman."
Oh yes. Peter could tell this would be a typical day of work.
A/N: I know, it's a short chapter. And it starts out a bit slow, just picking up where we left off. The next chapter teaser: Harry finds his new business partner shares the same... goals?