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Chapter Twenty

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Leaning her elbows against the ledge on the roof, Mary Jane felt the normal anticipation that she always had in knowing that she was going to see Spider-Man soon. It was now Sunday evening and she was sure that he would be due here any minute now. But there was also something niggling at the back of her mind, distracting her.

That 'something' just so happened to be Peter Parker…

He was shaping up to be quite the complication in her life - all while simultaneously being so wonderful.

First, there was the way he had helped her move out of her parents house - an embarrassing memory to her based on how it had exposed her home life to him. Not to mention how her father had acted. But Peter hadn't judged her. He took the time to make sure she was alright or not. He comforted her with his words. Told her that those in her life that actually mattered wouldn't judge her for things out of her control. It had passed her mind then, but it was blatantly obvious to her now that he had been trying to say to her that he wanted to be one of those people that mattered in her life. She was usually so observant, she couldn't understand how she had missed it. But then, she was coming to find out that when it came to Peter, she was virtually blind to all that he had to offer. Just when she thought that she finally had him all figured out, he would present a new side to her that left her metaphorically scratching her head.

Like with Peter's swift punch to her dad's jaw. It honestly felt as though it came out of nowhere, it happened so quickly. She never would've expected it from Peter. But the way that her dad had been squeezing her arm so tight, she hadn't been entirely sure that he would've just stopped at that and may have hit her again. He had already done it once before, so why would she question if any other time wouldn't end with the same result? 'He apparently has that potential,' she thought with a sour taste in her mouth.

She was glad that Peter had been there in the end. Not only had he protected her and helped her with her things - as well as her emotions - but she had seen a new side of him that day… Before they had walked into that house together, Mary Jane had thought that she knew exactly who Peter Parker was. That he was one dimensional and not at all complex. But in the matter of fifteen minutes, she had been forced to change her tune.

And then there was what he had done with Harry. When she had asked him to befriend Harry, he could have just shrugged her off and told her maybe but then never followed through. But he didn't. Peter went out of his way to be kind to a stranger just because she asked. And he did it so quickly, too. In less than a week, Harry Osborn was just another one of the guys in Peter's apartment. She had gotten a few texts from Harry, thanking her for having Peter reach out to him because according to Harry, "He's a total dufus and I love it."

The texts had made her smile but had also contributed to what she was referring to as her 'downward spiral'.

And then finally, Peter had been a vital component to helping her achieve her dreams… It was earlier today, while she had been out to breakfast with Aunt Anna, when she came back to her apartment with a manila envelope that had been shoved underneath their front door - with a note on the outside that said;

'You've got real talent, Red. Please take the compliment. - Peter'

Before she could stop herself, a part of her had swooned at the note as she bent down to pick up the envelope. Her and Aunt Anna had a good time looking through them as she put them together in the professional portfolio that she had bought. She hadn't been trying to flatter him when she complimented him on his skill with photography. She had been one hundred percent genuine. Even her Aunt Anna had pointed out how she loved the different angles and how the lighting hit her face 'quite nicely' in many of the photos.

And because of his speed in getting them to her, she was able to call Mr. Lincoln this afternoon and he gave her an address to send her portfolio. Everything in her life was all really starting to come together…

…but at the same time, it wasn't. Because Peter Parker was totally throwing her off her axis.

She sighed and drummed her hand against the concrete ledge she was leaning against. She needed time to figure this out. On her own. Without any distractions from boys - both normal and spider alike, unfortunately. Which was why she had that conversation with Aunt Anna last night after she had seen Peter in the hall with Harry and Ned. Seeing him had given her a slight panic attack. She really wasn't at all sure how to act, so she counted her blessings that Harry had directed most of the conversation. When she had finally been able to escape them, not without catching Peter's eye a few times, she had practically run into her apartment - much to the surprise of her aunt.

That was when the word vomit had begun. She rambled to her aunt about 'confusion' and 'boys' and 'needing to get away' in one incoherent stream of words. Her aunt had listened with puckered brows for one moment, and then the other, she was booting up her old computer and ready to book tickets to wherever it was that Mary Jane wanted to go - within reason, of course.

Gosh, she loved her Aunt Anna.

It was in that one moment, where she was contemplating everything in her head, then in the next - out of seemingly nowhere - Spider-Man landed in a perch next to her. The suddeness of his appearance had caused her to flinch a bit but she was otherwise proud that she hadn't overtly reacted. She was getting slightly used to his abrupt movements.

But because of this, she was still wearing her previous expression before he had showed up - which she knew had been a tad bit forlorn - and she had forgotten that he knew how to read her so well. Once settled, he had taken one look at her and tilted his head to the side in question.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Mary Jane sighed and shot him a glance out of the corner of her eye. "Have you ever been close to someone but have never really got to see them?"

Spider-Man was silent for a moment. "I thought that you said I should never take off my mask-"

Mary Jane was immediately shaking her head. "No. I wasn't talking about-" Then she let out a heavy sigh. "Never mind. Let's just forget it, yeah?"

"If you're sure?" He asked, concern still in his tone. How was it that he could be so sweet? Spider-Man then dropped from his perch and sat on the ledge, his feet dangling off the side. Mary Jane squared her shoulders and boldly reached over to thread her fingers through his gloved hand. This had been what she had been craving and she was tired of denying herself out of insecurity or fear. She was Mary Jane Watson, after all. He started at her touch, which was a bit hilarious considering he was the one with the sensory powers here, and his head whipped down to look at their interlocked fingers.

"I'm sure," She said with a soft smile as she squeezed his strong fingers in hers, "I'm just glad that you're here now."

The tension in him seemed to soften as his thumb ran softly in circles over her skin. "Me too."

The rough fabric brushing against her sent shivers down her spine. Spider-Man was the pure embodiment of warmth and comfort, plain and simple.

"How has your week been since I last saw you?" Spider-Man asked, still not pulling away his hand - much to her delight. "How are you, by the way? I've been worried about you. You did go through an ordeal at that party."

A large part of her melted at his concern. There were plenty of other people at that ball last week but she was pretty sure that Spider-Man didn't go around making house-calls to them to make sure they weren't traumatized.

"I'm fine. Barely even thought about the bomb, actually," She confessed, and it was the truth. It was easy to not be fearful of such things when she had such complete faith that Spider-Man had it handled as soon as she had seen him arrive.

Still, Spider-Man interrupted with a scoff and a muttering comment of, "You just like trouble, don't you?"

Mary Jane pointedly continued on as though she hadn't heard him. "And my week has been great. I would even go so far as to say that I'm glad that I was at that party. Because if I hadn't, then I wouldn't have gotten the chance for a contract with a modeling agency."

Spider-Man's mechanical eyes widened, though it was slightly delayed, and he jumped up so that he was standing high above her on the concrete wall - letting go of her hand in the process. "So, it's really happening? You're doing it? You're going to be a model?"

She grinned at his enthusiasm and nodded excessively. He let out a hollar of celebration and jumped down from the ledge then scooped her up in a tight embrace and twirled her. "Congratulations!"

Laughing giddily, she wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him back, really enjoying the sensation of being held by someone so strong. To be held by him.

For a moment, her thoughts flashed to Peter and the hug that he had given her, but that fled out of her mind as soon as Spider-Man released her and grabbed both of her hands with his. "We should celebrate!"

"How?" Mary Jane asked, laughing. She loved it whenever he was in these sort of moods. They were infectious.

He paused and seemed to think for a moment before his eye-pieces widened a bit. "Let me take you for a swing!"

This caused her to stagger back a bit. "Wait, what?"

Spider-Man was already nodding and dragged her back toward the ledge. "Yes! This is a great idea. You're going to love it!"

"Uhhh… I don't think that's-"

But her voice was cut off when he effortlessly picked her up in his arms and said in a rushed voice, "Wrap your legs around my waist." before he jumped over the ledge, the both of them plummeting toward the asphalt below.

Mary Jane screamed. Her heart dropped down to her stomach. The air whooshed out of her lungs.

Then, something broke their fall and they were gliding through the air.

Her eyes were stubbornly closed as she hid her face in the crook of his neck, then she remembered his words about her legs and immediately complied by wrapping them tight around his waist for extra security. "SPIDER-MAN! Oh my-"

Her words cut off when they made it at the end of their upswing and he released another web with a thwip.

"It's less terrifying if you actually look!" Spider-Man yelled over the wind in their ears. "Trust me!"

And she did trust him. With her life. So, she did as he said and opened her eyes and lifted her head so that her chin rested on his shoulder. And of course, he had been right. The world wasn't spinning as much as it was with her eyes closed. She was less disoriented now that she was aware of which way was up and which way was down. The ride itself - if she could even call it that - was less jilted and more smooth. She could tell that he was making an extra effort not to jostle her more than necessary and she appreciated it.

But there was one thing that she couldn't deny. Spider-Man was graceful - both on the ground and in the sky. And she was currently in his element.

She would love to go dancing with him one day.

He ended up taking her all the way to Manhattan, crossing Queensboro Bridge in order to get there. It was the perfect time of day for this. Dusk was upon them and the lights from the city were starting to shine through. Especially through Times Square, where she saw advertisements for Broadway and heard the cheering from tourists as they spotted Spider-Man in the sky. She couldn't fault them for their excitement. Not one bit.

He only started to slow down when he got to the Empire State Building, where he landed on the roof of another building close by. He set her down on shaky legs and said, "Get on my back. It will be easier for me to climb that way."

She nodded and obeyed, went around him and climbed onto his back. His body heat radiated its warmth and she found herself sighing in contentment. Then, he took off running and made a giant leap into the sky, headed straight for the windows of the Empire State Building. But no crash ever came. Instead, they latched onto the side by just his hands and feet alone - where he immediately started to climb.

It didn't take him long to get to the top, his strength and endurance just that raw to the point where he didn't even slow down until he had reached the top.

"Wow…" Mary Jane whispered as she looked out over the city lights in awe. They may not be able to see the stars in the sky but there were plenty of stars in her eyes as they both gazed out at the fantastic view. "It's so quiet up here. More than I thought it would be."

She hugged him tighter around his neck as she rested her chin on his shoulder. His hand came up to squeeze one of her hands wrapped around him. The gesture sent a feeling of warmth down her spine.

"That's why I like to come here sometimes," He said in a quiet voice, not even breathless from the excursion of their trip getting here, "With my sensory powers, sometimes everything can get so overwhelming. It's why my eye-pieces move. They help to manage it. Helps me to focus."

Mary Jane was nodding as she considered what he was telling her. "That must have been quite the adjustment when you first got your powers."

He let out a laugh. "You have no idea. You know that I used to wear glasses before I got bitten?"

She started at this newfound information that he was freely giving her. In her mind's eye, she pictured a faceless boy in glasses. It wasn't all that revealing of information, but it was another puzzle piece for her in the grand scheme of his character and she was grateful to him for sharing that with her. "Really?"

He nodded. "The morning after the bite, I seriously thought that something was wrong with me. My vision would go in and out of focus based on what I was staring at. I no longer needed my glasses and they actually gave me a sensory headache. And I got all of these muscles overnight - at only fourteen years old! And that was all before I found out about my other powers."

As he spoke about these things, Mary Jane couldn't help but feel pity for him. While other teenagers had to worry about puberty and acne and school crushes, Spider-Man had to relearn the basics of normal living. It almost reminded her of someone having to go through physical therapy after having been through an accident.

"Well, at least you had Mr. Stark to help you through things?" Mary Jane tried to console, but it came out more posed as a question.

Spider-Man shook his head. "No, he only found me six months after I first got my powers. I had to figure out most of it on my own. But you're right, Tony did help a bit after he tracked me down. This suit that he made me was a major upgrade," He paused with a laugh and turned his head to the side a bit so that he could look at the peripheral of her face, "You saw the first model already."

Her thoughts pictured the homemade suit he had been wearing against his fight with Sandman. "Hmm… I don't know… I kinda like that one. It has its own unique bit of charm."

With a shake of his head, he replied, "We're going to have to agree to disagree on that one."

She giggled and squeezed her arms tight around him again. "Come on! Don't sell your sewing skills short. You got the mad skills, Spider."

A large gust of wind suddenly broke through the air and Mary Jane let out a shiver. She was in a t-shirt and wasn't properly dressed for an excursion such as this, but to be fair, she hardly expected all of this to happen tonight.

Unfortunately, Spider-Man noticed. "You're cold… I'll take you back."

A part of her wanted to argue and spend all night up on this skyscraper with him, talking about weightier topics and nonsense alike. But the wind was starting to pick up so she found herself agreeing.

As Spider-Man swung her home, she spent the time trying to memorize all that she could about him. The way his muscles moved underneath his back. His scent - she detected traces of sandalwood. His confidence at gravity-defying heights and feats.

He was more than just amazing. He was exceptional.

In what seemed like no time at all, they were back on her rooftop, landing with a soft thud onto the concrete floor.

She didn't want to let go…

But she sighed and forced her limbs to unwrap around his fantastic body. As he turned to face her, he seemed to be hesitating as well.

"Thanks," Mary Jane said softly, "You were right. I did love that."

He nodded and took a step closer. But the way that he did it so deliberately caused her to panic - because at the same moment he took that step, the image of Peter's face shot in her mind.

"I'm going out of town for a couple of weeks," She managed to blurt out in a complete rush. Spider-Man paused his purposeful advance in her direction

A beat passed, then- "Wait, what?"

She nodded, and a soft smile actually graced her lips as she thought on her trip. "Yeah. I'm actually really excited. I've never traveled outside of the city before."

It had been another reason why Aunt Anna had been so insistent she take this chance before the school year and go.

"Well, uh. I'm happy for you!" His voice sounded a bit too strained for her to a hundred percent believe him. The thought that it displeased him that she was leaving - if only for a little while - sent butterflies battering around in her stomach. "Where are you headed?"

"To Denver, actually," Mary Jane beamed, "I wanted to see the mountains. And can you imagine how many trees there'll be?"

"So, um, when will you be back?"

Was that longing in his voice? Was he already anticipating her return? Mary Jane gazed at him in slight amazement on how their roles had somehow reversed. Here, she was now the one running and he was the one trying to discover when they would next meet.

Life was ironically strange, sometimes.

"I'll be back the day before school starts, so September 7th."

He nodded and his shoulders slumped. "Well, I-I'll… that is, I'm going to miss you."

She softened and this time, it was her advancing on him in order to wrap her arms tight around his torso. She felt his masked chin rest on top of her head.

"I'm going to miss you too, Spider."

She reminded herself how much she needed this, needed to get away. To figure things out and try to untangle the web her life was turning out to be.

If for nothing else, then for her own peace of mind.

But in this moment, while held close in Spider-Man's arms, she couldn't help second-guessing her decision to leave in the first place.

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A/N: Please leave me a review! Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I had a migraine. :(

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