Chapter Two: A Day in the Life

The burglars didn't put up much of a fight, but what really mattered was that they had tried their best. Truly. It was inspiring to watch them keep trying to hit Spider-Man, knowing very well that he was too fast for all of them. Peter had to give them a few pity shots just to make them feel a little better about the loss. He could imagine them now, cooped up in their cell, insisting that they had landed a punch to Spider-Man's jaw. It gave them a false sense of hope that was likely unhealthy, but still made them feel as if they hadn't been completely floored in the fight. Which they had been. Pretty badly.

Upon retiring into his civilian clothes; which consisted of a hole-ridden shirt and a pair of his Uncle Ben's old sweatpants, Peter was plagued by one small question. Did spiders really sleep? What had started out as a simple distracting thought had turned into a curiosity that consumed his mind. Peter was halfway through googling the answer when he remembered that he still hadn't replied to MJ's text...actually, he hadn't even looked at it yet.

Peter swiftly closed the internet tab and opened his messages. The text from Mary Jane was short and simple, but sent dread through Peter's core; 'Where are you?' Damn it. He had promised to meet her at the cafe/burger place on Houston street, aptly called 'Burgatori'. It had been her idea, but that name alone was enough to make Peter want to eat there.

With a hitch lodging itself in his throat, Peter quickly texted back and rushed to their meeting place. He wasn't proud of the amount of laws he broke in his rush to get there; including jaywalking and ignoring the red crossing lights. He had almost gotten hit by a grand total of four cars before he finally made it to the small cafe, immediately spotting Mary Jane through the window. The red hair was a dead giveaway...and the fact that she was drop dead gorgeous. That probably helped as well.

Peter stumbled into the building, almost tripping over his own two feet as he dashed towards her table. "Sorry, were you waiting long?"

MJ's lips quirked upward and she feigned looking at her watch. "Just one hour and thirty minutes. Not too bad considering how late you usually are."

"I'm really sorry..." The man's voice was sincere, but it always was. There was never a moment in his life that he wasn't sorry, but he continued to do those things regardless. That was probably part of the reason they broke up. Peter slid into the chair opposite to his ex-girlfriend, trying not to look at her for too long; as if she were the sun, and any direct glance might temporarily blind him. "I had-"

"You had things to take care of." Mary Jane finished for him, leaning back in her seat and shrugging. "I know, tiger. You always do."

Peter pouted, staring at the mahogany table and analysing the cracks in its surface. She was always very understanding of his situation, but his role as Spider-Man had also been the very thing that tore them apart. All he could offer her was a mask, and Mary Jane deserved much better than that.

This didn't stop him from loving her though. Even as she moved on he felt like he was being left in the distance, doomed to admire her from afar. The pain got a little easier to live with every day, but it would take a little longer for him to detach his heart from hers. "How's Eddie doing?"

"He's good. Working hard, but always manages to find time for me." Mary Jane smiled gratefully at his inquiry. She had been dating Eddie Brock for about six months now. Peter wasn't a fan of him, personally, but it seemed to be going well for her. "And what about that girl you told me about? The one in your class?"

Peter's fingers tapped against the table anxiously. He did have a small soft spot for Annabelle, but he had only mentioned her because MJ kept hounding him about getting 'back on the horse'. Peter had never understood that expression. What did a horse have to do with dating? He hated horses. They smelt funny and bucked him off whenever he tried getting close. "She's alright, I think."

"You think?" Mary Jane raised a perfectly trimmed eyebrow, and Peter was entranced by how graceful she could be with just that small shift in expression. "Do you, like, talk to her at all?"

"Y-Yeah, I do. It's just that..." Peter trailed off with a sigh. "You know how I am... How I get when I'm around someone that I like. I immediately lose fifty brain cells or something."

Peter could vividly recall the first time he tried to talk to MJ. Ironically, there was no talking at all on his end. Just a bunch of weird sounds that replaced any words he might have wanted to say. Also, he had dropped a bowl of steaming hot soup on her favourite dress. It wasn't a proud memory.

"You just overthink things." Mary Jane said with a sympathetic smile. "Be yourself. That's all you have to do."

"Thats easy for you to say." Peter huffed. She was a model. Everyone liked her before she even opened her mouth to speak. Not everyone had that luxury, or that amount of self-confidence. Outside of his suit, Peter still felt like that loser kid that no one would sit next to on the bus.

"Are you ready to order?" A man asked, breaking the conversation with the promise of food. Peter glanced up, and as he waited for MJ to order, he found himself transfixed on the waiter's moustache. It was a solid, grey millipede firmly obscuring the man's upper lip; a Village People moustache, a cowboy moustache, the miniature head of a broom that meant business. He couldn't tear his eyes from it.

"And for you, sir?" He said once Mary Jane had placed her order, but Peter's focus wasn't deterred. Perhaps this was a direct result of his lack of sleep, but either way, his mind was full of nothing but the facial hair he could never seem to grow for himself. No matter how hard he tried, his face simply wouldn't grow anything close to a full beard.

"Sir?" The waiter tried again, but to no avail.

The only other person that Peter had ever seen with a moustache like that was Mr Rollen, his maths teacher, and he collected digestive crumbs in his – Peter used to count them during algebra because he'd often finish his work before anyone else.

"Hey, you alright?" MJ's voice finally tore him out of his exhaustion-induced trance.

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I'll just uh...have some water." Peter said in apparent disappointment as he remembered how utterly broke he was.

Mary Jane shook her head. "He'll have a plate of nachos and a coke. Thanks."

"W-Wait no, just water." Peter then stared daggers into MJ's face. "No...! What are you doing...?" He hissed.

Mary Jane, fluttering her eyelashes, peered at the waiter. "Nachos and coke, honey." She repeated.

The waiter nodded, then left. Peter was filled with the same guilt that he felt every time he ate out with Mary Jane. She always paid for him, but he could never repay the favour. "MJ, what the heck was that?"

"Your stomach's been rumbling ever since you got here." Mary Jane countered. She crossed her arms. Beautifully. Like a swan. Though he supposed if a swan ever crossed their wings it would look a little strange. This didn't though. So maybe not like a swan, but still very prettily. "Don't worry about it. My modelling gig pays well, if you hadn't already guessed. I can spare a few dollars."

"...But...b-but...ugh." He groaned.

The redhead smiled softly at him.

"Thanks, MJ. Really." It was all he could say. Peter wished he could give her something more substantial...something special like a shooting star or a copy of Albert Einstein's actual notes when he was figuring out the theory of relativity. Maybe that sounded a lot more romantic to Peter than it would to her though.

The cafe slowly filled, and their conversation jumped from one topic to the next. She asked about Aunt May, he told her that she was doing well, but in reality she was buried in debt. She was too old to get a job and she couldn't keep up with the payments. Still, he pretended as if she were living a comfortable life. The one that Peter wished he could give her.

Then, their drinks came. Apparently this cafe was one of the only places to bring them out with the food, and not a full hour beforehand. Peter hated when they did that. He'd smash through several drinks before ever touching his meal. There were two waiters this time. One with the beverages, who turned to serve the other customers after placing them on the table, and another with the food.

"Nachos?" A familiar voice spoke and Peter froze. With a regrettably audible gulp, he let his gaze wander upward. There he saw her, Annabelle, with her weird hair and ridiculous stockings that sported images of ladybugs on them. She was always the most colourful person in the room, with a clothing style that somehow sat between a small child's and a sixty year-old's.

He leaned his elbow against the table. Was that lame? It was cool in those eighties movies Peter frequented, but had 'cool' changed with the times? Did he look like a loser? Peter quickly removed his elbow.

"Th-That would be me." He managed to say, watching the girl's face light up in realisation.

"Pete? Fancy meeting you here." She chimed, placing each dish on the table in front of them. Her attention turned to Mary Jane, and her grin only brightened. "You must be Peter's girlfriend."

Peter, who had taken a large gulp of coke to ease his dry throat, almost spat it all back out again. Thankfully, Mary Jane was much better at social interaction than he had ever been. "Easy, we're just two friends catching up. How do you know Peter?"

She already knew, because Peter had already told her, but the sly glint in her eye made him believe that this was no coincidence. Somehow, MJ had known that Belle worked here.

"We're in the same literary studies class." Belle answered cheerfully.

Peter continued sculling his drink, as if it might hide him from the conversation. He imagined that it was a super powerful serum that might turn him completely invisible, so that the embarrassed flush starting to rise on his cheeks would remain unnoticed.

"Literary studies?" MJ turned to Peter, and that was when he realised that he had, in fact, not turned invisible. "Aren't you studying Chemical Engineering?"

"...I needed an elective and it was the only thing on offer that fit my schedule." Peter said lowly.

Noticing Peter's growing unease, Mary Jane drew her attention once more to Belle. For the first time, she finally noticed Annabelle's choice of fashion. As a model, and a passionate follower of clothing brands, it was surprising that it took her this long to actually look. Belle wore a fuzzy jumper that gave her the appearance of an emu, or a baby sloth. Her hair was woven with clips that any little girl would be envious of, and her shoes were covered in glitter.

"Those are nice." MJ said, pointing to the footwear. It wasn't clear whether she was being serious or not. "Where'd you get them?"

"I don't know. Thrift shop, probably." Belle said with an obvious lack of interest in such things, turning to show the heels that held a large insect within them. "It has spider's in the back. I thought they were real so I got them."

Mary Jane smirked. "Nice. Peter hates spider's, don't you?"

Peter narrowed his eyes at the redhead. Did she enjoy watching him get stressed out?

"That's a shame. I don't think they're too bad." She replied, despite the fact that she was literally wearing them in the heel of her shoes. Dead ones. Always stepping on them . "I need to get back to work, but it was good to meet you."

Annabelle left, the same skip in her step that she always possessed. God, she looked like a crazy woman; a meatball haired, fuzzy jacketted, ladybug stocking wearing lune. He loved it.

"Well, she's-"

"Weird?" Peter finished her sentence with a raised eyebrow.

"Quirky." MJ corrected. "I was going to say quirky."

Well, she wasn't wrong. That was probably the kinder way to say it.

One would assume that, in any normal situation, Peter would have sat there and cleaned his plate. Talking to MJ about life until they both agreed to leave. Unfortunately, Peter's life was anything but normal. He had only managed to eat half of his nachos when the sound of screaming filled the air. Outside the window people were running away from something, and MJ sighed at the sight. "Go gettem, tiger."

She had only blinked, but when she looked back to where Peter once was, he was gone. Mary Jane wasn't surprised. She was used to it.