Spider-Who?

by brooklynvtc

Set after Spider-Man:Homecoming; While out on patrol, Peter gets into an accident that leaves him helpless in an alleyway. What happens when a certain red-head finds him, and quickly realizes that The Amazing Spider-Man doesn't even remember who he is? *Amnesia* *Slow-burn romance*

39. Chapter 39

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A/N: Sorry to everyone for the delay. I posted my reason in a comment from my last chapter on AO3 but obviously not everyone saw it. About a month ago, my aunt was put on end-of-life care and she was on that for a week before she passed away. I am very glad to have been able to spend time with her before she passed and that she is no longer in any pain.

But I also needed time to process.

I also got a surgery done just recently and have been recovering from that.

Just… a lot of things happened all at once and I had to live in reality for a while.

Now, writing will be a good distraction for me. Especially writing such a light-hearted story (even though a more serious tone will be introduced to the story soon). But with that being said, I probably won't be updating everyday anymore. I'm going to try and aim for at least once a week.

I would appreciate it if you left some fun reviews of your thoughts on this chapter. It took a lot for me to get into the right headspace in order to write it.

Thanks so much for your patience and thanks for reading. 3

Now, to make up for your patience, here is an extremely long chapter! Enjoy!

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Chapter Thirty-Nine

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Misery plagued Peter for the remainder of the week as Mary Jane's impending departure drew nearer with each passing moment. It always hit him at the weirdest moments too - where he would think he was fine one moment, but then he would catch sight of something red and think of her hair… or he would spot an object that reminded him of one of their inside jokes and he would internally crumble at the thought of missing her.

When he saw an advertisement for 'Tiger Mountain' at the Bronx Zoo on a passing billboard, he could only sigh longingly as he thought of what Mary Jane would think to say about it to him. There was also one day, while he was out swinging as Spider-Man, where he caught sight of 'Sugar Girl Cookies' - the shop where Mary Jane had thoughtfully bought him a dozen personalized sugar cookies to thank him for the photo shoot. The reminder of which only caused him to perch himself on top of the Empire State Building for over an hour, scrolling through Mary Jane's Instagram photos on his phone… again. He really had no clue how many times he's seen these pictures, but it was most definitely racking up there in the numbers.

Though he had reluctantly admitted to himself that the picture of her in that green bikini was one of his favorites, he always caught himself lingering on the picture that she posted of the two of them together from their walk in the park. She had said about the photo after taking it that they both looked 'cute'. He hadn't really thought much about the words at the time but now he wondered what she really meant behind the comment - did she mean that they looked cute together?

It was on his swing home, as he passed the Lincoln Building in Manhattan - the organization that was sending Mary Jane to Europe - where his mood plummeted once again. His emotions were like a wave in the ocean these days, mostly crashing down.

He couldn't even put in any of his usual wise-cracks against the petty criminals he's been going after and catching lately. His heart just wasn't in it.

All that he really wanted to do was simply go through the motions as his mind contemplated things… like agonizing over whether Mary Jane would've said yes to him or not if her European tour was off the table. It was a thought that plagued him ever since he had found out about her trip. But whenever he was feeling positive, he would have thoughts on if he should ask her out on a date for when she returned.

He couldn't quite put his finger on why, but for some reason, her going away had a bit of a note of finality to it. Like, if he didn't act now, then nothing would ever happen between them. It was a ridiculous notion, of course. Mary Jane would be coming back after her two weeks away, and Peter could plan to ask her out then. Plus, it would give him the time to come up with a plan on asking her.

That's not even to mention what he should suggest that they do on the date. He's never been on an actual date before, but he knew that there was generally an activity of sorts that they would do together. Should he ask her to the movies? As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he immediately vetoed that idea. He didn't want to spend a first date not talking to one another. The way that he and Mary Jane bantered at times was something that Peter always looked forward to repeating. Plus, he wanted it to be memorable. Significant. And going to the movies was so cliché… which also crossed a simple dinner date off of his list. At least for the first date. Besides, they already ate at Delmar's Deli together so many times that Mary Jane may appreciate the thought of him wanting to mix it up a little.

His thoughts shifted toward a more active activity they could do together. One where they would be able to talk but also one where Peter could distract her if his tongue got tied up a bit due to nerves. Laser tag? There were merits to it. Because if Mary Jane's laser tag skills were as terrible as her video gaming skills, then she may need his help with the game, and he could wrap his arms around her again to help to shoot the other players. But he wasn't sure if it would be something that she would actually like. He wanted her to actually enjoy herself while on a date with him… enough that she would at least want to do it again. Plus, there was always the chance where they could run into someone that he knew at the arcade. He shuddered at the thought of Flash potentially interrupting their date. He was selfish enough to the point where he wanted all of Mary Jane's undivided attention and he wasn't even sorry for it.

However, he did like the idea of something they could participate in actively together, because Peter knew himself enough that he tended to get a bit antsy whenever he sat still for too long - a product of the ever-present adrenaline coursing through his body since he got bit from that spider. So his mind went down a list of other things that they could do.

Bowling? Peter grimaced in distaste. It was kinda lame. And not at all romantic. Also, the rental shoes could be disgusting at times.

Ice skating? No. It was too early in the season for that. Though, the idea had merit for him to suggest for a winter date when the time came around. Especially around Christmas with all of the twinkling lights.

But… his whole demeanor perked up a bit as a thought struck him. Autumn would be in full-swing once she returned. Maybe he could look into an apple orchard somewhere upstate? They could make a Saturday of it. Visit the apple orchard and load up on treats like apple bread, apple doughnuts, and apple cider. He was also pretty sure that they could buy pumpkins there as well. Maybe he could convince her to carve one together for Halloween? He was certain that she would enjoy that. It sounded like a lot of fun - something that they could do to let loose and just spend time doing together. He could only imagine what sort of design she would come up with to carve into the pumpkin.

Plus, his fantasies were going wild about him kissing her for the first time amongst the rows of apple trees. That was romantic enough, right? Or would it be better to wait until the date was almost over? He sighed. He'd be better off just going with the moment - if it felt right to kiss her, he should just go for it.

That is… if she agreed to a date with him in the first place. He still doubted whether Harry's words about Mary Jane liking him rang true or not.

Which was why he was more than a little testy toward his friend during lunch on Thursday when he demanded that Peter come over after school to his apartment.

"But why?" He asked, thinking of the already limited amount of time he had before Mary Jane left the country. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with her before she was gone for two miserable weeks. He sorta thought that Harry understood that.

"Because we're going to the dance, right?" Harry asked, with a nonchalant shrug as he shoved a french fry into his mouth. "I've got an extra suit that you can wear. You probably won't have time to rent one now."

"We're going to the dance?" Peter asked, both of his brows rising. This was news to him. He thought that the whole idea would've been shot once he had let Harry and Ned know that Mary Jane couldn't actually go. None of them had dates. Peter and Ned being dateless was self-explanatory. And Harry was still on his crutches, so the idea of him suddenly wanting to go to the dance - where he couldn't actually partake in the activity - was more than a little bizarre. But Peter didn't doubt that Harry could still get a date regardless of his broken leg. He was popular enough that any girl would say yes to him in a heartbeat if he only just asked. So why did he want to spend it with Peter and Ned again?

Harry nodded definitively, his eyes sparked with something that looked suspiciously like determination. "Yeah. I've decided we're going to make it a guys night - where we all go stag."

Peter could only stare at him with a dubious expression on his face. He wanted to have a guys night… at a high school dance?

"I think it sounds like fun," Ned said as his input before he took a large bite of his pizza. Harry shot a look of distaste at Ned's cafeteria food of choice - he had really become such a pizza-snob and it seemed that the school's pizza didn't meet his standard criteria. "That way we can dance with a bunch of different girls who are going dateless too."

That thought had zero merit in Peter's mind. Despite himself, he had somehow wound up setting his heart on dancing the night away with Mary Jane… not a bunch of random girls from his school. It was strange that he would've jumped at the chance of dancing with any girl from his school just last spring, but ever since Mary Jane had entered the picture…

"But then can't we just go out for laser tag or something if you want a guys night?" Peter asked. His voice had a lilt of complaint to it. He really didn't want to go to the dance. The idea of it sounded like such a chore now that taking Mary Jane was no longer an option. "Or we could play video games like we usually do?"

A night of wallowing in virtual reality actually sounded like the perfect medicine to help Peter forget that Mary Jane would be on a plane to Italy tomorrow night. But Harry seemed to disagree as he reached forward across the table and shoved lightly at Peter's shoulder. Peter had to let himself be pushed back slightly from the impact. "You've gotta learn to branch out a bit, Pete. Otherwise you'll get stuck in a rut."

"I just don't see the point in-"

"Pete," Harry interrupted, his voice suddenly hard and his eyes narrowed into slits with firm lines around the edges, "Sometimes it's not always about you. Okay?"

Peter blinked, taken aback. And it took a moment of staring at his friend for his words to catch up with him. Was he really being self-centered? Harry seemed to really want to go to the dance and he wanted Peter and Ned to go with him. The only thing stopping this plan from becoming a reality was Peter himself… His mind flitted through all of the things that Harry has done for him throughout their short friendship. And Peter came to realize that he really hadn't done much to return the favor. And though the thought of going to the dance was something that caused Peter physical and mental strain, if Harry wanted to go then Peter could go for him. "Okay… sheesh. I'll go."

A contradicting grin radiated on Harry's face. "Good. So, that means you'll come over after school then? We've got to fit you in the suit."

Peter agreed with a reluctant grumble. So much for spending the afternoon with Mary Jane… He sighed and took out his phone to text her about the new development…

Peter: Hey, Red. I'm not going to make it to Delmar's after school today. Harry's demanding my presence.

He bit his bottom lip, hesitated for a moment before he pressed send. He didn't even have to wait a minute for her response.

Mary Jane: That's crazy! I was just about to text you that I couldn't make it either. I've got some errands to run.

Peter blinked down at his phone. This was the second time this week she wouldn't be able to meet him. He was glad that it was at the same time he canceled on her, so that at the very least, they could still hang out tomorrow after school before she left… but if she liked him in the way that Harry thought, she kinda had a funny way of showing it.

She wasn't trying to avoid him, was she?

He sighed to himself as he put away his phone. Okay… that was unfair. Mary Jane was independent and free-spirited. He couldn't expect to monopolize all of her free time… that wouldn't even be the case if they just so happened to be dating.

"I'm hearing a lot of sighing from that side of the table," Harry said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes as his hand hovered over in Peter's general direction, "And it's not coming from Ned."

Peter shot Harry a look. "Of course not. Ned is always so laid back and happy."

Ned nodded in agreement toward Harry. "I am a very happy person."

"You only just prove my point, Pete," Harry said with another roll of his eyes, "What's got you all huffy?"

"Harry's onto something, man," Ned said quietly with a twinge of concern as he gave Peter the side-eye, "You've been in a bit of a mood lately."

After only a moment's hesitation, Peter slumped in his seat. He hated that they noticed how irritable he's felt lately. Especially since it made him feel so selfish. He should be overjoyed that Mary Jane got this opportunity for her modeling career but instead, all he felt was a deep melancholy with a side dish of teenage angst. Even he could see it within himself - how his mood appeared to those from the outside looking in, but he just couldn't stop it nor could it be helped. "Sorry, guys… It's just this whole 'Mary Jane' thing has gotten to me, is all."

Ned gave Peter a strange look before he clapped Peter on the back. "Cheer up, man. It's not like she'll be going away forever. She'll be back."

He said it like it was so simple. Perhaps it was and Peter was just looking at things too deeply - as per usual… but why did everything about this still feel off in his mind?

"And you can ask her out when she does come back," Harry supplied as his input as he popped another french fry in his mouth, "Plus, there's always Prom."

Peter almost scoffed. Now that was an idea, wasn't it? But Prom was too far away in his mind - more than he would be able to stand. Because Tony was right about one thing… the suspense of it all was killing him. It would be better if he knew regardless whether Mary Jane shared his feelings or not. If he waited until Spring in order to ask her out to Prom, he knew that he would surely go insane.

….

"Harry, I can't accept this!" Peter said, his voice rising in increasing levels to the point that it cracked. "This suit is Armani!"

He had only just noticed the brand name when he stepped out of the walk-in closet and into Harry's bedroom to check how it fit in the mirror. It was when he took off the black jacket to see how the black dress shirt looked without it on when he had spotted the label name on the tag. He very nearly choked. It probably cost more than a month's rent that his Aunt May paid for their apartment and it was currently on his body. It almost made his skin crawl to wear something so expensive.

Harry shrugged and put both hands on Peter's shoulders and turned his body to face him, brushing at some invisible lint on his shirt that probably wasn't even there. "So what? You look good in it."

That was hardly the point and Harry knew it. He was only pretending not to get Peter's meaning. Poor people like Peter didn't wear a designer suit to a high school dance. It was almost unnatural. Like seeing a dog walk around everywhere on its hind legs.

Seeing Peter's look, Harry sighed. "Can you please just accept it? It's not a big deal. I've got ten different suits just like it in my closet alone. That's not including the ones lost in the fire."

Peter's expression turned uncertain and Harry huffed. "If it helps, just- I don't know! Just think of it as a loan. You can give it back to me after the dance."

A bit of tension within Peter released at that. A loan he could accept. He released a small breath and gave his friend a small smile as well as a nod. "...Thanks, Harr."

Some strain released within Harry as he flashed Peter a relieved smile. "Anytime, Pete!" He grinned at him for a moment before he broke the silence by stating, "Now put on the jacket again, we need to see where it needs to be fitted."

Giving him a mocking salute, Peter did as he was told and began to don the jacket once more. It was as he was doing up the buttons, when Norman Osborn walked unceremoniously through the open door. "Harry, I-" He stopped as soon as he noticed that Harry wasn't alone. "Peter! What a nice surprise. Whatever brings you here?"

A genuine smile graced Norman's face and it was odd that it made his face appear a decade younger than how he was usually depicted with the standard scowl that the man typically wore.

"He's just trying on one of my suits," Harry supplied as an answer, as he turned to stack up the different colored suits that Peter had picked through and denied. Somehow, he didn't think that he could pull off a maroon suit and instead chose the classic black. If only he knew that his choice had been an expensive one… then again, all of what Harry owned was probably expensive.

Norman nodded at this as though it was a typical thing that all teenage boys did when they hung out together. He didn't even ask why Peter would need a suit. Instead, he looked at Peter and changed the subject altogether. "I heard that your boss has officially returned to the country."

There was a specific lilt to Norman's tone that told Peter that this wasn't a simple curiosity. No… Norman was fishing for information. Peter's lips pressed together in a thin line. He would be hard pressed to find anything out from Peter. He's gotten more careful with keeping his secrets over the years ever since May found out that he was Spider-Man by walking in on him in his Spider-suit. Since then, he vowed that no one else would ever find out unless he told them himself. And Peter had been Fort Knox when it came to his own secrets, let alone Tony's secrets. "I didn't realize that Mr. Stark's status abroad was public knowledge," He said dryly as he casually worked over the suit buttons with his fingers.

Norman gave a slight chuckle, unapologetic. "I always make it a point of knowing what my business rivals are doing."

Peter's fingers paused as he looked up at Norman with a raised brow. "Even if it's Avengers business?"

"All business is my business," Norman explained with a mirrored raised brow of his own. "Especially when Oscorp has a contract with General Ross and the military. But I'm surprised that Stark's intern knew of the details of the mission?"

Peter flushed at getting caught and quickly looked down at the cuffs on his jacket, fiddling with them. "Mr. Stark happened to be talking about it with Colonel Rhodes when I was standing in on a meeting."

"Colonel Rhodes, huh? You know a lot of people in high places, Peter." It sounded like praise. Then his eyes surveyed the suit that Peter was wearing and he tsked in distaste. "I'll send my tailor up to get that suit fitted for you. If you want to be taken seriously, then you've got to dress seriously."

Harry rolled his eyes at his father as he shifted on his crutches while maintaining the pile of suits on their respective hangers. "I already sent for the tailor, dad."

Norman blinked at Harry as his eyes scrutinized him with a level gaze. "I'm surprised that you thought of it, son. Good on you."

That was a backhanded compliment if Peter ever heard one. There was a tense moment of silence after that. Peter just stood there, extremely uncomfortable by the unspoken stand-off between father and son.

It was Harry that finally broke the silence with a noise that sounded like a cross between a huff and a small sigh. "You came here to tell me something, dad?"

Norman straightened his shoulders as his hands smoothed over the fabric of his suit's sleeves. "Yes. I came in here to tell you that I will be working on a business deal over the next few nights. So don't expect me for any dinners."

Harry didn't seem at all surprised by this and simply waved his father off. It seemed like this was a standard practice in the Osborn family. "Fine. Whatever. Good luck."

At this, Norman actually shot Harry a hard look. There was a certain gleam in the man's eyes that sent a chill down Peter's spine. "How many times do I have to tell you that 'luck' has nothing-"

"-Nothing to do with the Osborn name. I know, dad," Harry shot back, annoyed with a slight edge to his voice, "It's just an expression."

Norman's countenance hardened as he frowned at his son. The budding anger behind the man's gaze was almost daunting, if not downright frightening. "We're going to have another discussion about respect when I return in a few days."

To his credit, Harry didn't cow under the pressure of his father's stare and merely rolled his eyes at him as he picked up the stack of suits before making his way with them awkwardly on his crutches toward his enormous closet. Peter was almost tempted to help him but he was certain that Harry wanted a moment alone in order to compose himself. Norman's eyes watched his son's retreat with what Peter could only describe as both victory and disappointment in his steely gaze. When Harry disappeared into the other room, Norman turned his level gaze back to Peter, where his expression morphed and a soft smile graced his lips. "I hope to see you again soon, son. I find you fascinating to talk to."

For some reason, a shiver went down Peter's spine, though he tried not to show it. But still, he managed a steady nod. "Good-" He cut himself off. He had just been about to say 'good luck'- which was obviously a frowned upon phrase in the Osborn household. "Eh, I mean… have a good business deal, Sir."

At this, Norman chuckled, obviously catching Peter's almost-error. "Always do."

And with that, he was gone, closing the door behind him as well as leaving behind a tension in the air that was so thick, Peter was sure it could be cut with a knife.

As soon as his father disappeared, Harry returned, his face a bit red as his gaze remained focused on the floor. He looked humiliated. "Sorry about him, Pete."

Every time Peter caught a glimpse of what Harry's home life was like, he couldn't help but feel all the more sorry for him. And yet again, he marveled at how normal Harry had turned out despite everything.

"It's alright," Peter said, he tried to make his voice as reassuring as possible. He really couldn't help his heart going out to him. Harry may be a rich kid, but he seemed to lack all of the things in life that actually mattered in the world. It was actually depressing the more that Peter thought on it. Peter could only thank God that he had ended up with a loving family like Uncle Ben and Aunt May rather than going to an orphanage or the foster care system after his parents died. "You can't choose your family, right?"

These seemed to be the magic words to bring Harry out of his funk, as he finally met Peter's eyes with his own and gave a small chuckle. "No… No, we can't," He paused then and seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, before he continued on and said, "If we could choose our families, I'd probably have siblings. I always hated being an only child. Always wanted a brother."

Peter could relate, being an only child himself. He didn't even have any cousins that he could claim. Aunt May and Uncle Ben never had any children of their own.

There was a slight hesitation on Harry's part before he said, "If I could choose a brother, I'd probably choose you, Pete."

The words rang in his mind before Peter froze, blinked, then faced Harry head-on. Harry's expression was completely serious. "Harry, that's- wow."

He really didn't know what to say. But there was a certain tightening in his chest that signified a great deal. He wasn't all that used to being appreciated. It took a long time and many screw-ups to get to a point where he earned some level of respect from Tony. But here was Harry, giving it out freely… and not even because he was Spider-Man - Peter knew exactly how Harry felt about his alter-ego.

No. Harry Osborn liked Peter Parker for Peter Parker. And in Peter's eyes, that probably made him one of the most genuine people he's ever met.

"Sorry if that's weird," Harry said, and he wavered slightly, shrugging self-consciously to himself, "But it's true. You're exactly what I always pictured a brother would be like."

Peter took a moment to compose himself as he swallowed thickly.

"Honestly? Same," Peter said, and it was the truth. Harry looked out for Peter like a brother more times than he could count. He stood up for him against Flash multiple times. He threw a party just for him, which ended with terrible results for Harry. And he even backed off on his crush on Mary Jane when he found out that Peter liked her. Those weren't things that just a standard friend did. "And if that makes us weird, then I guess we're both just a bunch of weirdos."

That had the desired results of getting Harry to laugh. Peter joined in and that was how the tailor found them when he entered the room.

…..

Harry had asked Peter and Ned on Friday to come over after school again to hang out for a bit before getting ready for the dance together. But Peter declined. There was nothing that could keep him from meeting Mary Jane at Delmar's on her last day in the country. He wouldn't even entertain any ideas to the contrary. The only person that could dissuade him would be Mary Jane herself.

So, as soon as the bell rang for their last class, Peter very nearly sprinted down the hall, neglecting his locker completely since he planned ahead and already had his backpack slung over his shoulder. And with his enhanced senses, he was able to bypass the hindrance of running into any of his classmates on his way to the front doors. Heaven help Flash if he chose this moment to interfere with Peter's quick stride.

When he had arrived at Delmar's, he wasn't even out of breath. Just impatiently fidgeting as he waited on Mary Jane's arrival. He could see Mr. Delmar eyeing him through the shop's windows out of the corner of his eye and flushed at the knowing glint. He really hoped that Mary Jane would join him soon… it would be mortifying if something came up and she had to unexpectedly cancel on him again. Not to mention severely disappointing that he wouldn't be able to see her this last time before she left.

But he found that his worries were unnecessary, because it was only a moment later when he spotted her vibrant, red hair coming toward him from down the street. He couldn't hold back the beaming smile as soon as he caught sight of her, anticipation heavy in his gut. She was stunning in her simplicity today. Her hair was tied back into a low, messy bun at the base of her neck. And she wore black, skinny jeans underneath an olive, green fall jacket paired with a burgundy, red scarf. She fit into the ambiance of the cooler weather quite nicely.

As soon as she spotted him, her eyes lit up, which caused his heart rate to start beating double-time in his chest. "Peter!"

Then she ran the last few feet toward him before she threw her arms around his neck. Peter couldn't stop the exuberant laugh that bubbled out of him, loving her reaction to seeing him as well as the feeling of her wrapped around him. Whenever he was around her, he was just so - happy. "That's quite the greeting, MJ."

She released him as she beamed up at him. The expression on her face was so beautiful right then that Peter wanted to desperately find a way to keep it there always. "I'm sorry. I'm just- ah! I'm so excited. Life has been treating me well lately after what happened last month. I can't wait to see Italy and Paris for the first time."

Peter smiled at her babbling enthusiasm but his heart tightened at the mention of her trip. It was really selfish of him to not want her to go but he would be lying if he weren't tempted to ask her. He mentally sighed and forced his mind to refocus. It was only two weeks. He could survive. Especially while she was pursuing her dreams. Plus, they could always talk over social media now without the roaming charges. He wouldn't have to go completely cold turkey for his next Mary Jane fix, not now that they were better friends than her last trip to Denver. Peter was sure that he would have no qualms just simply sending her a message in order to update her about his day. He may even request that she send him pictures of all of the Italian dishes that she will be served - all of which will undoubtedly be delicious.

Feeling a bit bold from his thoughts, Peter reached forward and wrapped his own arms around her, basking in the warmth that she was able to provide from the sudden chill of the wind. "You deserve this and so much more, Mary Jane," He said softly. He was really trying his best to be as supportive as possible to her. Not only to be a good friend but to perhaps show her that he could be good boyfriend material for her.

He was almost disappointed when she pulled away from the hug but her smile up at him more than made up for it. "Thanks Peter. That's sweet."

He took a moment to just stand there and stare down at her. Her smile was so radiant and mesmerizing, he had a difficult time forcing himself to look away.

Finally, he was successful as he cleared his throat. His hand automatically went to the back of his head to knot in his hair while the other gestured for the door to the sandwich shop. "Are you all ready for your trip?" He asked, trying to make his voice sound smooth and calm.

"Just about," Mary Jane said as she took his hint and made her way toward the door. Peter followed close behind. "I can't stay too long today. I've got to do some last minute packing."

"Oh." Peter would be lying if he didn't say that he was disappointed. He had been planning to forego going out as Spider-Man today just to spend this extra time with her before he had to get ready for the dance. But it seemed as though his planning was unnecessary. "Y-Yeah, I understand..." He said as he held the door open for her.

She paused in the open doorway and peaked back at him over her shoulder. There was a certain glint in her eyes that he didn't quite understand. She stared at him for a moment before she said in a light tone, "But of course I couldn't leave without sharing one last sandwich with you."

How was it that she always knew what to say in order to make what was burdening him feel lighter? He managed a smile at her words. "Why does it feel like this is death row and we are discussing your last meal?"

Mary Jane laughed as she pushed at his shoulder playfully before she walked the rest of the way through the doorway and into the shop. "I thought that I was supposed to be the dramatic one, Tiger? Now don't go stealing my bit or I may sue for copyright infringement."

And at this simple and light-hearted statement, Peter laughed. And it felt really good to laugh…

…

Saying goodbye was bittersweet. On one hand, he got to pull her close again in order to send her off properly. But on the other hand, she was leaving…

It hurt to watch her walk away with the foreknowledge that he wouldn't see her for half a month.

He swung as Spider-Man around the city for a bit of time, trying to get his mind off of things until it was time to go over to Harry's apartment to get ready for the dance. In no time at all, Peter begrudgingly made his way over there after admitting to himself that crime was slow in the late afternoon. He made his way over to Harry's before changing out of his spider-suit in the alleyway and checking into the front lobby to get clearance upstairs. The closer going to the dance loomed, the more that Peter was honestly dreading it.

Would it be too late to feign illness and bow out for the night? Harry would manage by himself at the dance, he was sure. There were plenty of girls at their school that gave Harry some lingering glances, he would hardly miss Peter's absence, right? And Ned was so easy-going that he would be content just attending that he may not even notice that Peter wasn't there. Maybe…

Peter sighed as the elevator finally made it up to the top floor, opening right into the suite. It was too late to back out now. If he did, then he wouldn't be a good friend to Harry - who he already gave his word to about attending the dance. And if nothing else, the expectant grins on both of his friend's faces at his arrival more than made up his mind for him.

"Peter!" Ned cried, with even more energy than usual. Peter actually staggered back a step in wide-eyed surprise by the unexpected welcome. "You came!"

Tilting his head, Peter gave Ned a perplexed look. "Uh, yeah? I told you I was…"

Harry gave a slight chuckle as he patted Ned on the shoulder. "There was a part of us that thought you'd bail on us tonight."

A flush crept up Peter's neck as he thought that they weren't too far off the mark for that assumption. But he wouldn't have bailed without at least letting them know first.

"Well, I'm here now," Peter reassured, "Are we going to play some video games before getting ready?" This was the part of the night that Peter was looking forward to the most.

Harry nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I ordered the pizza already. I swear, the things that I can get away with while my dad is gone…" He said with a gleeful smirk. Peter's stomach growled despite having devoured a whole deli sandwich not that long ago. His metabolism knew no bounds ever since he was bitten by that spider - with all of the energy he had to burn, Peter was always up for eating another meal. Especially after having been out swinging as Spider-Man, a workout that always served to burn a ton of his daily calories and nearly left him starving for any food he could come across.

"So… how long ago did you order the pizza?"

…..

They walked into the gym slowly, meandering alongside Harry on his crutches. Harry and Ned were beaming at the crowd that was already gathered on the dance floor while Peter could only muster a sigh. He had a feeling that the highlight of his evening would be the slices of meat-lovers pizza he had eaten at Harry's place. But he still walked beside them as they made their way toward the edge of the dance floor, taking a moment to just soak it all in.

"I've never been to a dance like this before," Harry suddenly yelled over the music at them, a self-satisfied expression on his face as he took in the atmosphere. "This is fantastic! Better than how they portray it in the movies."

The guilt that Peter felt at hearing this hit him worse than the building that Toomes dropped on him as understanding struck him. It was no wonder why Harry wanted to come so badly tonight. It was yet another new, normal teenage experience that his dad had never let him have before and Harry was only trying to make up for lost time. Taking a deep breath, Peter centered himself and thought of Harry. He could do this for him at the very least. And besides, it shouldn't be so bad when he had his friends by his side. So what if Mary Jane wasn't here on his arm? At least… he could lie and tell himself that. Besides, Harry was right that there was always Prom - even though Peter was desperately hoping that they would have more than a few dates under his belt before spring came along. With that thought in mind, Peter forced himself to relax and plastered a smile on his face. He turned to Harry to respond with something witty but was interrupted.

"No. Way…" Ned exclaimed as he hit Peter on the chest with the back of his hand. Harry paused beside them and flashed Ned a cursory look.

"What?" They both asked simultaneously just as Ned pointed across the opposite side of the dance floor, an indignant look on his face.

"Look!"

Their gazes followed his pointed finger, where they saw that it landed on Flash - who was wearing a male cheerleader's jumpsuit rather than the stereotypical female skirt and pompoms like they agreed upon for the bet.

"No fucking way," Harry seethed as he started to try his best to angrily stride over while still maneuvering his crutches. It only made him look like a wounded bird that was attempting to flap its wings to get off the ground unsuccessfully. Peter followed behind, wide-eyed - still unsure as to whether he should be stopping Harry or encouraging him with his anticipated tirade.

When they finally got close enough to Flash, he noticed them with a very notable smirk on his lips. "Hey, Penis Parker, what do you think of my outfit?"

And to rub it in even further, Flash turned in a circle for him, showing off his deliberate attempt at getting out of his end of the deal. As if echoing this sentiment, Harry seethed, "What the hell, Flash? This wasn't the deal."

Scoffing, Flash rolled his eyes before he nodded his head toward Peter. "The way I see it, all bets were off as soon as Parker here told his date about the bet. I actually thought that I was being gracious by wearing a variation of a cheer outfit at all."

Peter opened his mouth in order to defend his choice in telling Mary Jane about the bet, but a voice from behind Flash cut off the rebuttal he had been about to say.

"I'd have thought you'd have more integrity than that, Flash…" A feminine voice spoke up loudly over the music and Flash turned his whole body on his heel so quickly, Peter thought he might have whiplash.

"Sha Shan!" Flash nearly squeaked, his entire body jolted like it was hit with a live-wire as he stood frigid before her. His eyes surveyed her entire face before they roamed downward to take in the pale pink dress that she wore modestly over some of the bandaged wounds she still had littered over her frail body. "You're here. When did you get out of the hospital?"

Peter had heard rumors that Flash had gone to visit Sha Shan at the hospital a few times. It made sense, given that Flash was the one who carried her out of the burning house at Harry's party. But Peter would be lying if he said that he wasn't surprised when he first heard the gossip by how much Flash seemed to care.

Sha Shan ignored Flash's question and gave him an unimpressed look as she deliberately crossed her arms over her chest. Peter nearly shivered at the onslaught of it and he wasn't even the one on the receiving end. For such a tiny girl, she had quite a bit of a powerful glare. "I heard all about the bet before the party," She said pointedly and without any preamble, "Nearly every girl did because you yourself were spreading it around the school along with a bunch of nasty rumors. You didn't really give Peter much of a choice but to tell his date about the bet, did you?"

Flash could only stare at her with his mouth opening and closing multiple times. He seemed to be at a loss for words as he tried to find an excuse to defend himself. Peter knew that he wasn't going to step in for Flash's benefit. Finally, Sha Shan sighed and shook her head at him as her eyes surveyed his outfit of choice for the evening. "And you couldn't even hold up to your end of the bargain?" She sighed again before she met Flash's gaze with a wounded expression. "I'm disappointed in you."

With that, she turned and walked away - her posture stiff due to her lingering injuries - while Flash watched her go, stunned. Until finally something snapped within him when she made it all the way to the other side of the dance floor and he finally cried out as he scrambled to chase after her, "Sha Shan, wait!"

The three of them watched him go in a desperate attempt to catch up to the girl. Peter was speechless. It was so out of character for his high school bully. He never usually cared what a single person thought - he usually only cared about the opinion of the masses.

"Wow…" Ned finally said, his own eyes were wide as he turned to face Peter. "I can't believe that just happened."

If anyone understood Flash's torment of Peter over the years, it would be Ned. He was there for nearly every encounter that Peter has ever had with Flash ever since they were in Middle School. It was an odd sight to see anyone standing up to Flash, as people rarely ever did, let alone a tiny, sophomore girl. Peter knew that he never could over the years… he remembered the first time Flash had humiliated him in front of the entire class and he had run home with his eyes red-rimmed with tears that he had been trying to hide from his aunt and uncle.

But Uncle Ben had noticed… as he always did, and told Peter that strength didn't always come from the amount of muscle or how loud a person's words were - but rather from a person's character in the face of adversity. Sometimes Peter forgot that lesson from Uncle Ben… that there were more words of wisdom that came from him than just 'With great power, there must also come great responsibility'. And it was in moments like this, where it really hit him how much he missed his Uncle Ben.

"But she's right, though, Pete!" Harry complained as he shifted his body to face them, "Flash didn't hold up his end of the bargain. It's not right-"

"Let's just forget about it," Peter interrupted suddenly, his thoughts still on his uncle and on what he would say to Peter about this situation if he were still here. His Uncle Ben was always big on forgiveness - which was something that Peter tended to struggle with. "I don't really care anymore. He's not worth it."

He really wasn't. And he honestly didn't deserve to occupy any more of Peter's time and energy. As far as he was concerned, Peter had grown past Flash Thompson. He was becoming a man with responsibilities that far outweighed anything that Flash could even fathom. Tony had basically named him an honorary Avenger without saying the actual words aloud. He had his standard duties as Spider-Man that kept the streets safe for his Aunt May to walk at night without fear. And on top of all of that, he was planning on asking out the girl of his dreams for the first time.

Flash Thompson could hardly compare on the scale of importance when weighed against all of that.

"But you know for a fact that if it was you who had lost the bet, you would have had to show up in a skirt and-"

"But nothing," Peter interrupted Ned before he really got himself going, "That's not how it ended up, so no reason to worry about it. Let's just have some fun, okay?"

It took a moment of staring at him before Harry and Ned reluctantly agreed. Peter grinned in relief before he pointed out a freshman on the dance floor that was gyrating and looked as though he had been electrocuted. This served to loosen his friends up as they all shook with laughter at the sight of the spastic dance moves. They stood there for a bit of time, talking amongst themselves until Ned excused himself to go to the bathroom, leaving Peter and Harry to themselves.

They were discussing a heavily anticipated video game that was due to come out in a few months when- "Harry!" A senior girl called out over the music as she approached with a group of her friends.

Harry's head snapped toward the sound of his name as he flashed the group of girls a disarming smile. He shifted his stance on his crutches when they finally stopped in front of him in a semicircle. "Hey ladies."

They all giggled. And the leader who originally took the initiative in approaching them nervously tucked her brown hair behind her ear before she held up a permanent marker in front of her. "We never got the chance to sign your cast."

Harry perked up at the suggestion in her voice as he shifted his leg forward towards them. "Funny you should mention that, I saved a couple spots for you."

Damn. How was it that Harry could be so smooth with girls? There were still times when Peter found himself stuttering around Mary Jane and she was now one of his closest friends. He knew that he would be an utter disaster if it were him in Harry's current situation. Especially around senior girls.

A sudden and loud clearing of a throat behind him served to capture his attention from his thoughts. Harry was still distracted by the group of girls as Peter's head snapped over toward Michele standing behind him, a single brow was raised in his direction as her slender arms crossed over the lavender dress that she was wearing. He couldn't help but notice that it looked nice on her.

"Oh. Hey, Michele," He greeted. As he looked at her, he realized that he couldn't quite muster up the justification of calling her MJ in his thoughts anymore. To him, MJ was Mary Jane and no longer Michele... He wondered when the shift in his mind happened.

If anything, his greeting served for her single brow the raise even higher.

"So you showed up without a date this time?" She commented without any preamble, her voice was dry and almost derisive. The question left him more than a little stunned but the more that he thought on it, he wondered why he was even surprised. This was nothing new coming from Michele. She always asked him invasive and personal questions like this on top of sketching him looking either stressed out or depressed.

"Uh. Yeah…?" He said, a bit awkwardly as he shifted his hand so that it rubbed against the back of his neck. Then, he paused and jutted out his chin toward her. It wasn't as though he wanted to show up dateless, let alone have it pointed out to him. "What? Does that make me a loser?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "A bit, yeah." She admitted in a noncommittal voice but her eyes sparked with a bit of laughter to them. She was making fun of him.

He rolled his eyes at her, feeling over it all. When had high school all of a sudden become childish? Had it always been and he was only just starting to notice? Had it happened when he suited up and went to Berlin with Tony? No, he still had some growing up to do past that point. Or it could have been when he had to crash a plane onto the beaches of Coney Island? There was a lot for him to reflect on that day, for sure… but if he were being honest with himself, it was probably when he got caught from that exploding building and lost all of his memories - the night he first met Mary Jane. He couldn't quite put his finger on why, but something had changed him that night. Almost as though, despite having recovered all of his memories now, he still lost something of his adolescence that day that he could never quite recover again. But he also noted that it wasn't a bad thing. Just a part of life - growing up.

However, as a result, he found that he had less patience for childish, high school games. He was growing tired of the constant jibes and teasing. So, he let out a sigh, suddenly exhausted, as he replied, "Well, I'm glad that I am able to provide some entertainment for you to laugh at tonight."

He expected Michele to snicker at this, as she always did while in the midst of an observation of him, but was surprised to see her eyes soften the tiniest bit. "Peter, I-"

"And where's your date, huh?" Harry interjected, obviously having overheard the conversation. Peter turned his head to see that the group of senior girls was gone, leaving Harry behind with a seriously perturbed look on his face as he stared down at Michele. "I don't see anyone on your arm tonight."

Michele fidgeted, gave a single glance at Peter, before she squared her shoulders and stared right back up at Harry, "I prefer to just observe."

Her voice was not as confident as her stance, Peter couldn't help but notice. It was out of character for her. He was unused to seeing any emotion conveyed from the girl standing before him. It left a hollow, unsettling feeling in his chest just from being a witness to it.

"Right," Harry replied in a clipped tone that was flooded with incredulity.

"Lay off, man," Peter muttered as he gently elbowed Harry in the ribs, feeling a bit of discomfort being stuck in the middle of their standoff. When did this high school dance turn into some sort of old Western? "It's not worth it."

Harry eyed Michele for a beat of a moment before he replied. "You're right, Pete. It's not worth it."

Michele flinched. But before Peter could react, Harry grabbed Peter's upper arm awkwardly while juggling his crutches and dragged him away toward the bleachers, leaving Michele standing behind them, alone.

"That was a little rude, man," Peter said as softly as he could over the beat of the music when they had finally reached their destination. He felt bad… there was something in Michele's eyes that told him that she had been hurt by Harry's words.

Harry scoffed in response. "Rude is all she's ever been toward you, Pete. You don't deserve to be talked to like that. You're far from a loser, for fucks sake! And I'm sick of hearing it."

Peter staggered back a step from the ferocity behind Harry's words before he tilted his head slightly to the side as he thought on them.

"She's not wrong though," Peter pointed out as he rubbed his hand along the back of his neck, "I don't have a date. That doesn't really make her rude for making an observation."

The music shifted from a heavy rap song to a much slower-paced number. When Harry didn't respond, Peter looked up at him for confirmation that perhaps his argument was right, but Harry wasn't looking at him. In fact, he was looking past Peter over his shoulder. A small smile was tickling at the corners of his lips, completely contradicting his earlier mood from not even a minute before. "I wouldn't be so sure about that…" Harry finally said.

Peter's brows puckered. "What do you mean?"

A full-blown grin had now overtaken his face as Harry nodded his head pointedly behind Peter, toward the doors. "It looks like your date has finally arrived. Fashionably late, as always."

Peter looked at Harry as though he had two heads before curiosity got the better of him and he turned… a gasp escaped from deep within his chest without his consent.

Every thought in his mind narrowed down into thin, wispy lines and all he could do was stare as Mary Jane Watson stood in the doorway of his school's gymnasium - wearing a beautiful, black strapless lace dress and soft curls that framed her gorgeous face.

She seemed to be actively looking for something, her expression expectant. And he continued to stare as she craned her neck and got on her toes in her search to find it. It didn't take long before her eyes locked with his across the room and her entire expression lit up like a Christmas tree. Peter lost his breath as the air vacated his lungs.

She was looking… for him?

He hadn't yet found the answer to his unspoken question as she started walking across the floor towards him… her eyes never once straying away from his. He could feel his heartbeat drumming loudly in his ears, seeming to match in beat to each of her footsteps.

When she was standing right in front of him, Peter finally found enough sense to be able to close his gaping jaw. But he was still unable to untie his tongue in order to form any words to her. Why was it that she only felt like some sort of foggy dream? Was any of this even real life?

"Come on," She finally said with a coaxing lilt and a soft smile. She held out her hand to his in offering across the small amount of distance that separated them, "They're playing our song, Peter."

He blindly grasped her hand in his immediately, the feeling of her fingers threaded within his felt heavenly. Then he let himself be tugged along to wherever it was that she wanted them to go, feeling as though he were walking on a cloud all the while. He would follow her out of the country if that's where she wanted to go.

But she settled for the middle of the dance floor. They stopped amongst the other swaying students and she turned toward him with an expectant look in her dazzling eyes. He managed to become aware enough in order to take the hint. He stepped closer to her and settled his hands on her hips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They started to sway to the slow beat that resounded around them. Peter's feet didn't move an inch from where they were planted on the ground, a distant fear in the back of his mind told him that he was too unstable on his feet at the moment and he would surely stumble. The nerves in his hands were tingling from where they touched her. Her close proximity was causing his enhanced senses to go haywire. He was sure that if there was danger in that moment, he would have difficulty pinpointing it right away - he was so hyper-focused on all things Mary Jane.

It took him a while to acclimate and for the situation at hand to catch up with him. But when it did, he was finally able to find his voice once again.

"I can't believe you came," Peter finally said, his voice full of wonder as his gaze tried to memorize her every feature, soaking her in completely. He wanted to remember this moment in its perfect detail. Her green eyes sparkled from the twinkling lights above.

"You better believe it, Tiger," He shivered as her fingernails ran lightly along the back of his neck near the base of his hairline. "Besides, you know how much I love to crash a good party."

This caused him to laugh, and for a bit of his shock at her sudden appearance to dissipate. She was here. He couldn't believe it. "You really are something else, Red."

He really couldn't help but be in awe of her. She was everything that he had ever wanted from a girl with some added aspects on top of that he hadn't even thought to consider. She may not be perfect, but she was perfect for him. And he hoped that he could somehow convince her of that herself.

"A good 'something else'?" She asked, a bit of hesitation in her voice. It surprised him. He was unused to seeing such vulnerability from her.

"Always," He replied as he took the bold step of tugging her a bit closer, so that her head now rested on his shoulder and his cheek was on top of her red hair. Her scent wafted up to him and he got a mixture of her strawberry shampoo and her freesia perfume. He closed his eyes, content. All felt right in the world with Mary Jane Watson in his arms.

They swayed in silence, just enjoying the moment. When the song shifted to something a little too upbeat for their current position, Peter reluctantly felt her pull away from his arms and looked up at him with a raised brow. "You've got to remind me of your moves, Tiger. I got a bit distracted the last time we danced together."

Peter didn't say anything at the indirect mentioning of the fire at Harry's house or how he got her father arrested… but he smiled nonetheless at her. He wanted to push any and all bad memories out of her mind and replace them with good ones.

"Only if you show me yours."

Mary Jane grinned in a way that told him that she took that as a challenge. They both easily settled into the beat of the song. Mary Jane threaded her fingers through his as they moved, and Peter got a bit fancy and gave her a little twirl. He knew that they were being a bit silly, not at all dancing in a way that was considered popular - but as he watched Mary Jane's delighted laughter as he spun her out and reeled her back into his arms - looking so beautiful as she did so - he couldn't find it within himself to care.

In between busting their ridiculous moves, they talked - making nonsensical comments back and forth as they observed the room at large. Some of the dancing style choices from his classmates caused more than a snicker or two from the pair of them, not that they had much room to talk. Mary Jane even managed to point out a sophomore boy who had a melting chocolate bar that he would take out of his shirt pocket to take a little nibble out of periodically in-between some ill-timed hip thrusts. This had them roaring with laughter and caused for Mary Jane to have to lean on him for support, which was an action that caused Peter's heart to nearly seize - all of his attention focused on every place where they actually touched.

When they settled for a break in dancing, the questions that were previously blocked from Peter's mind suddenly rushed forward. "I don't understand- are you not going to Europe?" He asked, hoping that his question would be confirmed as true as they made their way to a small table full of water bottles that were being sold for a dollar a piece. Peter rushed forward to hand the teacher two dollars before he handed Mary Jane a bottle. She thanked him with a sweet smile as she took it.

"Oh. I'm still going," She confirmed, much to his disappointment, "But it turns out that my flight doesn't leave until almost midnight. Which means…" She took out her phone from a secret pocket in her dress to check the time. "You've got me for another hour before I have to leave."

She opened her bottle and took a much-needed drink.

"How did you even know about the dance?" He asked, opening his own water bottle in order to hide his chagrin at her answer.

She laughed as she screwed the cap back on and leaned over to deliberately bump his shoulder with her own. He wondered what was so funny about his question but he liked having made her laugh all the same. "You've gotta thank my fairy godfather, Harry Osborn, for that."

Peter burst out laughing, now seeing Harry's actions all week in a whole new light. The jerk planned all of it. Peter knew that he had a lot of groveling and thanking to do in his near future, that's for sure. Especially after his moping attitude that Harry had to endure from him all week long. "You know, Harry's kinda my fairy godfather too. He made me come tonight and forced this suit on me."

"Looks like we're both Cinderella tonight," Mary Jane commented before her gaze did a quick sweep down his body. "You make the suit look good, Tiger."

A significant flush stemmed up from his neck that had nothing to do with the heat of the crowded room. Ok. Now he had to thank Harry for the suit again.

"You look beautiful as well," He admitted to her aloud, his voice still a bit more timid than he wanted it to be. But still, he managed to find the courage to say it. "That dress is stunning."

Her expression lit up at the compliment which served to melt his anxiety into a puddle of goo. They continued to stare at one another, until they both seemed to realize simultaneously that they were looking for too long. He watched as a significant flush made its way to Mary Jane's cheeks before she cleared her throat and broke eye contact by looking down at her hands.

"So, uh… You win homecoming king?" She asked suddenly as she took another sip of water.

Blinking in rapid succession, Peter snorted before he sputtered out an incredulous laugh. "What makes you think that I would win Homecoming King? Have you met me?"

But despite the ridiculousness of the idea that she proposed, Mary Jane didn't laugh like he expected her to. Was she not joking when she mentioned this topic choice in the first place? Instead, she merely shrugged. "I'd vote for you, Tiger. All these people here are just too blind to see you for what you truly are."

Peter paused and tilted his head at her, studying.

"And you do?"

Her cheeks became a bit more pink as she looked down at her hands again as they fiddled with her water bottle. "I didn't used to. But now, I've got a better idea," She admitted, then she peaked back up at him, "See, the trick with you, Peter, is that one has to take extra care when peering closer. I used to pride myself in being able to peg down a person's character instantly."

"Used to?"

"You've caused me to doubt myself," Mary Jane shrugged with a small smile. "Made me think that perhaps, I should be giving people a second chance as far as first impressions go." Her eyes suddenly widened. "Not that you made a terrible first impression, Tiger! Just that-"

"You thought I was weak and unassuming," Peter laughed good-naturedly, "I remember."

She had explained it all when he had asked her why she had granted him with the nickname 'Tiger'. But then he paused and gave her a curious glance. "I wonder though… what was it about me that caused you to change your mind about that?"

Mary Jane pursed her lips. "See… Now that's a secret. But trust me. It was quite the discovery."

Peter shot her a weird look. She seemed highly amused by her own statement and Peter just couldn't understand it.

"You're leaving me in suspense, Red," Peter said, "Can't you just tell me?"

At this, Mary Jane burst out laughing as Peter's brows furrowed. "You're kidding right? I'm the one leaving you in suspense?" She shook her head and fanned herself with her hand a bit as she calmed herself down. "And you say that I'm something else when you're quite the character yourself."

Squinting his eyes in confusion, Peter said, "I don't get it. What are we talking about here?"

But Mary Jane just smiled and shook her head, leaving him bereft of an answer. Then the music shifted and the Cha Cha Slide started blasting from the speakers. Mary Jane's eyes lit up as she threw her empty water bottle in the recycling can before grabbing his from his hands and doing the same. Then she eagerly reached forward to grasp his arm. "Oh! Break's over. We can't miss the Cha Cha Slide. That's, like, a staple for every high school dance."

"And weddings," Peter agreed as he let himself get dragged to the dance floor to participate in the choreographed dance steps.

They made it out to the dance floor and somehow found a spot next to Ned. He beamed at the two of them together. "So you finally made it, MJ?" He asked as they settled into the steps together.

Peter's attention snapped between the two of them. "You knew that she was coming, too?" His voice almost came out as accusatory.

Ned laughed at the expression on Peter's face. "Of course. Harry needed my help to convince you to actually come tonight, man. You can be really stubborn sometimes."

Mary Jane nodded as they did the two hops. "That's true, Tiger."

Peter wanted to argue but what could he say? They weren't wrong that he had wanted to bow out of the dance tonight.

"Hands on your knees! Hands on your knees!"

The crowd all simultaneously bent over to touch their knees as Peter bit his lip in contemplation. Then, he tried to slyly look over at Mary Jane and flushed when he caught her eye. "I'll work on being more open-minded to other ideas."

Mary Jane grinned at him as they straightened from their bent over positions to do the Cha Cha. He liked the way that Mary Jane moved her hips… "Good. I'd hate to think that I got all dressed up tonight only to find out that you decided not to come."

Peter's head shot up from her curves to look at her face, which was pointed straight ahead and away from him. What was she implying? Did she come here deliberately for him? He had assumed that she was merely party crashing because that was just what Mary Jane did. Was that not the case? He was hesitant to say because he's always had a bad habit of dissecting things too deeply and looking at situations completely wrong.

This idea plagued him for quite some time as he found himself surreptitiously watching Mary Jane for any tell-tale signs of… well, what exactly? That she was here to spend time with him? That she liked him as well? He didn't know how he would be able to tell that just from her expressions but he still found his eyes lingering regardless. Not that watching her was any sort of chore - quite the opposite actually. Mary Jane looked to be in her element on the middle of the dance floor.

As the songs shifted, Ned left them to go and take a break. While Peter and Mary Jane found themselves in the midst of a mosh pit with students surrounding them as everyone went crazy over a popular pop song, some bouncing up and down in their excitement. Peter and Mary Jane were among them, jumping and screaming the lyrics at each other in-between fits of laughter.

He was having a blast.

It was in the midst of all of this where Peter perked up with an idea as he tapped Mary Jane on the shoulder, causing her to pause in her movements as she turned to look at him with a questioning gaze. Then he took out his phone and stepped close to her side, holding it out in front of them so that he could take a selfie. Understanding lit Mary Jane's expression before she flashed a wide smile up at the camera, Peter followed suit as he took multiple pictures. As he lowered his arm once again, he knew that he didn't even have to look at the pictures to know that he had been positively beaming up at the camera lens.

He was glad that he thought to take a picture of the night. He wanted this memory immortalized. As well as proof that all of this actually happened.

When the song changed again to another rap song, some students and their partners started a bit of grinding while Peter took the more traditional route and started doing the twist as Mary Jane did her best attempt at the mashed potato. It wasn't bad once she got into the groove of it. A sudden thought struck him and Peter wondered what she would say if he asked her to go swing dancing with him sometime when she gets back. He had a feeling that she would enjoy the activity, but the only question was, would she want to go with him?

Sudden laughter right beside his ear caused Peter to jolt back from the close proximity of it and turn his head to see Flash standing right there laughing at him. "You look like you're dancing with a sister, Parker!" Flash yelled over the beat of the music as a random sophomore girl was awkwardly rubbing up against him in what Peter surmised was supposed to be a dance. "Another pity date?"

The urge to roll his eyes was strong. Did it look like Peter cared what Flash thought? Mary Jane was dancing with him. He was on freaking cloud nine. He was about to tell Flash to shove it but Mary Jane paused in her movement and shot a look at Flash, then turned to stare into Peter's eyes. There was a spark of defiant mischief in her gaze. And before Peter could muster a single word - either in apology for Flash's words or to ask what the look was about - Mary Jane turned so that her back faced him and dropped low to the ground. Peter could only stand there and gape as she then rolled her body upward so that her ass rubbed against Peter's front.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

Once Mary Jane was upright, her body moved in such a way against him that he really had no choice but to subconsciously follow her movements. She grabbed his hands and planted them right on her hips as they shifted to the beat.

"You have a strange idea of what dancing with a sister looks like, Flash," She said dryly as she rubbed against Peter's front once again. Peter had to squeeze his eyes shut in order to concentrate on not getting hard. It was probably one of the most difficult things for him since his enhanced senses were causing his nerves to jolt with white-hot pleasure every time her body touched his. This hyper-sensitivity of his was going to be the death of him, he swore on it. The feeling was quickly becoming addicting.

It was not a moment later where he heard her giggle of triumph and his eyes snapped open to see that Flash was gone. "Did you see his face?" She cried merrily over the music. "Priceless."

He thought that now that Flash was gone, she would stop grinding against him and return to her attempt at doing the mashed potato. But much to his surprise, she didn't. She must want to really make it clear to everyone that she thought that Peter wasn't a loser. Gratitude flashed through him but at the same time, he wished that she was grinding against him because she actually wanted to… not because she had something to prove on his behalf.

But still, he wasn't about to tell her to stop. Not when it was just about the hottest thing he's ever seen.

This was something that he thought would only live in his fantasies. It was almost unsettling to see it happen in reality.

Even as the song morphed into another, they didn't move away from that position. And slowly, Peter found himself getting steadily more into it, falling into the intoxicating sensations of having her so close could provide.

Which was why it was more than a little jarring to be interrupted.

"Hey Parker!" Peter's head whipped over to find Kenny Kong - a senior and one of the football team's linebackers. Mary Jane paid them no mind as she continued to sway her hips against him. Kenny was surveying Mary Jane with a look that left little to the imagination of what he was actually thinking. The creep actually licked his lips. Peter was glad to see that Mary Jane didn't notice as she was still invested in the song. Kenny advanced a step and nodded his head toward Mary Jane. "You've got enough of that to go around?"

He felt more than saw Mary Jane stiffen slightly at the words. Peter frowned, disgusted, as he purposefully ignored the question and shifted his stance so that his body was now between Kenny's and Mary Jane's. What a jackass… who talked about girls like that? Especially while right in front of them? He could only hope that Mary Jane would ignore the comment and would continue having a good time. But despite the obvious rebuttal, he saw Kenny's large hand reach out and try to make a grab at Mary Jane regardless, and from the trajectory he was aiming, it seemed that he was going for her ass.

Something within Peter's senses snapped, and before he even knew what he was doing, his hand whipped out like a cobra latching onto its prey and clutched at his wrist tightly.

"What do you think you're doing?" He seethed, a hard edge to his voice. It didn't even sound like his own.

"Ah-Owwww! Fuck, Parker! Let go!"

But Peter didn't. He held his stance as well as his steely glare at the older boy. Who the fuck did this guy think he was? Red lined his vision as his senses honed his focus on where his enhanced grip was currently squeezing painfully on the wrist in his grasp. One move and he could easily break it and-

"Peter, let go," Mary Jane said suddenly. Something snapped inside of his brain and Peter immediately released his grip as he took a stumbling step back. The reality of the situation came rushing back to him as he slowly looked down at his hand like it didn't even belong to him. What compelled him to do that? Was he really that jealous and possessively protective of Mary Jane that his spider-senses took over his body's actions for him? None of that had been active decisions that he had made. It had all been pure instinct.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Mary Jane looking up at him, concern very evident in her gaze. If his brain was less frazzled at the moment, he would have scoffed in perplexed disbelief. Why was she worried about him when she was the one that was almost groped without her consent?

"That's my passing arm, you jackass!" Kenny lamented loudly as his other hand held his forearm gingerly. One cursory glance down at the boy's wrist and Peter could see the beginning tell-tale signs of bruising and swelling from where Peter's hand had been.

Turning on a dime, Mary Jane shot the other boy a glare who actually staggered back a step at the onslaught of it. "Then maybe you'll think twice before using it to make a pass on a girl that's obviously not interested!"

With that, Mary Jane grabbed Peter's wrist and gently dragged him away toward another spot on the other side of the dance floor. Peter allowed himself to be tugged along, in a bit of a daze as he thought over and analyzed his actions over the past few minutes. There was a potential concern, to be sure. Was this a one-off event or would his spider-sense ever take over his body like that again? He thought back to his theory of how he got out of the burning building at Harry's party and he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Just the thought of not being in control of his own actions…

"Mary Jane…" Peter swallowed heavily as he stared down at his feet, unable to meet her eyes. What did she think of him? That he was some sort of violent person? That he had anger issues? Fuck, did he just ruin everything? "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I-"

"Thank you," Mary Jane interrupted him as they stopped along the edge of the dance floor. Peter's head shot up as he blinked slowly at her. Did he just hear her correctly? Mary Jane noticed the perplexion on his face as she gave him a soft smile. "I'm used to boys and men grabbing at me. What I'm not used to is having one stick up for me. So… thank you."

This caused his heart to hurt as it clenched significantly in his chest.

"You don't have to thank me for something that any decent human being should do," He said, his voice soft, but there was still a slight edge of indignation to it. They were having such a good time too and some horny bastard had to come in and ruin it all.

Mary Jane shrugged, and he wondered at how she could be so nonchalant about this. Did this sort of thing really occur that often that she saw it as a part of the norm? If the answer was yes, then… Peter didn't know exactly what he was going to do. But he wanted to do something. "Well, if that's the case, then you're one of the first decent ones that I've come across."

Resolve settled in his chest. This couldn't go on. It just wasn't right. Someone as passionate and wonderful as Mary Jane shouldn't ever be mistreated like this. He would no longer allow it. "So long as I'm around, Mary Jane, you won't have to worry about anyone grabbing at you again." Peter vowed, his voice solemn.

It was Mary Jane's turn to blink up at him apparently, as she did so with evident surprise. Then, her gaze dropped as she suddenly turned bashful. It would have been adorable if he wasn't so concerned for her well-being at the moment. The urge to just scoop her up in his arms and protect her from the outside world was alluring.

"Well…" She finally said as her fingers twisted together in front of her. "I'm okay with it sometimes. Within reason. And from the right person."

At that, Mary Jane peaked her gaze up from underneath her lashes and captured his. The air rushed out of his lungs as his eyes then caught on the movement of her teeth biting her bottom lip… He wanted to bite that lip, run his teeth into that pillowy softness, kiss her until they were both breathless…

The song changed from a fast rap number to the first beats of the Cupid Shuffle. This served to capture her attention as her entire face lit up at the sound of it. "Enough serious talk, Tiger, let's dance!"

She grabbed his wrist and Peter let himself be dragged off once again as they fell in line with the other students already partaking in the coordinated dance moves. It seemed to be an unspoken agreement for them to just forget that the incident ever happened - though Peter never wanted to forget the look in her eyes as she told him that she didn't mind being touched by the 'right person'… could he dare to hope at what she was implying? He was terrified to cross that bridge because he had been wrong about this sort of thing so many times before in the past. But he would eventually have to take the plunge at some point and ask her out. He just needed a bit more time to work up the nerve… the two weeks that she would be away would have to be enough time for him to work on that. He was sure that there would be a lot of variations of rehearsed speeches he would be saying to his mirror. It was moments like this where he almost wished that he still had Karen in his suit to talk to. She could give him unbiased advice, at least.

As the song came to a close, the next number was another slow one. Peter shyly turned toward Mary Jane with a questioning look in his gaze. Did she want to dance another slow one with him? He realized that he was monopolizing all of her time tonight… what if she had planned on spending some time with Harry before she had to leave?

But, as usual, his fears seemed to be for naught as she smiled softly up at him before she took the deliberate steps closer to him until her arms were wrapped securely around his neck. It was an automatic response of his to wrap his arms around her and rest his palms on the small of her back. They started to sway. His cheek found its way forward so that it rested against her temple. Her closeness was so acute to his every awareness that he could feel her steady breaths puff out against his neck.

"I'm glad that you get to follow your dreams," Peter said quietly, feeling the need to tell her just one more time. And he really was glad for her, but he couldn't keep the lingering sadness out of the tone of his voice.

"But?"

He sighed. She knew him so well. It was honestly a miracle he's managed to hide the fact that he is Spider-Man from her for this long. She is so observant of his moods and ticks that it seemed nearly impossible to hide his secrets from her. Especially when he really had no desire to hide anything from her in the first place. If he wasn't so afraid of her reaction, he probably would have revealed his secret identity to her a long time ago. She has more than proven that she is trustworthy. "But I'd be lying if I said that I wanted you to go. I want the exact opposite, actually." He admitted, his voice weak and shy. It was difficult to bare all with his feelings on this matter to her, but the desire for her to know outweighed his fear. "I want you to stay right here. And I know… that makes me so selfish. All because I'll miss you too much."

Mary Jane hummed. "Not selfish, no. Just human." She paused as they swayed before she pulled back slightly from him. He watched her as she looked down. There was a touch of vulnerability in her expression as she finally peaked up at him from underneath her lashes. "And for the record? I'll miss you too. But I will be coming back."

It was Peter's turn to hum. "Yeah…"

It was the truth, so then why did Peter's arms tighten around her waist subconsciously as though it was the only way to keep her?

When the song ended, Mary Jane sighed and lowered her arms from around his neck. Peter mourned the loss of her warmth and touch immediately, it was almost jarring to have her pull away after being so vulnerable to her and revealing more of his feelings than he ever dared to before. She reached into the pocket in her dress for her phone to check the time.

"I've got to leave…" Mary Jane said with another sigh before she looked up at him with such a longingly forlorn expression.

"Already?" Peter asked, disappointment swelling in his chest. His heart gave a twisting sensation. That couldn't be all that there was to it, right? The night surely had more to offer than him just watching her walk away from him yet again. Not when he felt that they were finally on the cusp of something.

She gave him a wane smile. "Midnight has to strike for Cinderella at some point, Tiger," Then she hesitated, looked down briefly and bit her lip before she looked back up at him again. There was a look of nervous anticipation heavy in her gaze as she shifted on her feet. "I hate to ask this, because I'm sure that you don't want to leave the dance early - but will you come with me to see me off at the airport?"

"Yes." Peter said immediately. There was no reason for him to hesitate. Any excuse to spend as much time with her as possible before she left. It really wasn't even a question.

All apprehension melted from her as Mary Jane beamed at his answer. It made her green eyes sparkle so beautifully that Peter found himself mesorized and struck dumb. "Great. Then, let's get out of here." She said, her voice was almost breathless as their eyes remained locked.

For a moment they didn't even move. Just stood there staring into each other's eyes. Then, Mary Jane seemed to have found her bearings as she slowly reached forward and took his hand in hers, before she gave a light tug, leading the way toward the doors. In a moment of reflection, Peter could recognize that it was now one of his favorite things to be dragged along by her. He didn't care what they were doing or where it was that she was taking him. Just so long as they were together. It was that simple for Peter to be happy these days, apparently.

They saw both Ned and Harry along the way and waved to them as they passed. Peter also caught sight of Michele, who was sitting alone on the bleachers with her sketch book in hand. It was gratifying to know that if she was sketching him this time, she would have to draw him with Mary Jane, rather than him being sad and alone.

They walked out of the gym and down the hall toward the front doors of the school. Outside, there was a small group of students gathered, lingering out in the cool air in order to escape the stuffy atmosphere of the crowded gymnasium. His attention was captured by the sleek, black car parked in front of the curb that had Happy stepping out of it as soon as he spotted them leaving the school.

"Happy?" Peter asked as he and Mary Jane approached. He reached forward, dumbstruck, as he clapped hands with Happy in a casual handshake. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked him to drive me here," Mary Jane answered for the man as she squeezed Peter's hands in hers. It almost felt natural that their fingers were still intertwined, despite the many opportunities for the both of them to have let go by this point. "And also to drive me to the airport."

Brows raised, Peter turned to Happy with a speculative look. "And you agreed?" He thought that Happy hated Mary Jane?

Shifting his stance where he stood, Happy shrugged at the pair of them, trying to seem casual but he came across as uncomfortable by the incredulous line of questioning. "Yeah, well… she sorta grows on you, ya know?"

A bark of a laugh escaped Peter's chest at this while Happy shot him an annoyed look. Mary Jane shared an amused glance with him as Peter replied, "Yeah. She does, doesn't she?"

Giggling, Mary Jane leaned in closer to his side as she squeezed his hand again. His heart started to beat faster in his chest as she practically purred in his ear, "No one can resist my charms for too long, Tiger."

The little hairs on his neck stood on end as he resisted the urge to shiver. Swallowing thickly, Peter could only give her a shaky smile in response as he started to perspire. Man, was he in for a world of trouble with her. With one phrase, she subverted him to a serious infliction of shaky knees and a weighted tongue. He could only imagine what else was up her sleeve. With the sort of power that she held over him, one could even say that it was her superpower. It was a good thing Mary Jane wasn't evil… because she would be one hell of a supervillain that would undoubtedly bring him to his knees at her feet - however, he couldn't help but think that he would be quite content being there… in that position.

"Ready to go?" Happy asked, causing Peter to jump from his distracting thoughts as Happy reached forward to open the door for them. He was really pulling out all of the stops in shocking Peter today. It had taken Peter a while to win over Happy. For months, the man had dodged his texts and calls when all Peter wanted was to be accepted by Tony and the Avengers. But now, he was opening doors for him? It seemed that once respect was earned, it was returned in heaps and bounds from the man before him.

"Yes," Mary Jane answered for them as she tugged Peter closer to the car door. He let go of her hand in order for her to comfortably slide in first before he followed in beside her. The car door was shut behind him, cutting them off from the noise outside. They were silent as they sat there, waiting for Happy to make his way to the driver's door. The air was incredibly thick between them, and also with it came a budding tension that was building so high, Peter was afraid that he wouldn't be able to overcome it. There was no way he had the nerve to reach out across the distance that separated them to grab her hand once again. He could almost kick himself for letting go in the first place.

Happy entered the car, started the engine and pulled off onto the street. The car was entirely silent. Happy didn't even bother to speak to fill the void. Hell, the least he could do was turn on the radio but by this point, it almost seemed rude to ask. It felt like an eternity until they were finally on highway 678 toward the JFK Airport.

Peter kept sneaking glances Mary Jane's way, and he caught her doing the same to him more than a few times herself. Each time they accidentally locked eyes, they both immediately looked away. Why were they suddenly so shy? What changed from their time at the dance, where she had been grinding against him, to now? He honestly couldn't say but he felt that there was something significant in the air that he couldn't even begin to explain.

His peripheral vision caught some movement from her side of the car and he noticed that she was wringing her hands together on her lap, where an envelope sat unopened. When had she gotten that? Had it been sitting in the car? He was curious as to what it was and what was contained inside, which served to occupy his thoughts for the remainder of the car ride. He had finally come to the conclusion that they must be holding her plane tickets when they finally pulled up to the curb at the airport.

Mary Jane didn't immediately vacate the car. She sat there for a moment and took in a deep, steadying breath. Peter was openly watching her now, concerned. Was she alright? Her skin almost looked devoid of color.

Then, Mary Jane suddenly turned and met his gaze. She gave him a shaky smile. "Will you help me with my luggage?"

Blinking rapidly in succession in order to organize his thoughts, Peter replied, "Of course."

He opened the door on his side while Mary Jane vacated on her own. Happy popped open the trunk for them and Peter reached in and extracted the heavy suitcase with ease and carried it over to the sidewalk, placing it down on its wheels.

Then, he turned to face her and was surprised to see her standing right in front of him. His senses had somehow missed her movements and he hadn't noticed her presence until he had confirmed it with his eyes. Shifting from foot to foot, Mary Jane shakily tucked her hair behind her ear and seemed to force herself to meet his perplexed gaze. The way that her expression was twisted made her look almost sick with what Peter could only describe as nerves. Was she afraid of flying? He knew that it was only her third time on an airplane but this would be her first time flying over the ocean, so it would almost be an entirely new experience for her. He wanted desperately to reassure her and was about to step forward to do just that by pulling her into an embrace but was interrupted when Mary Jane spoke.

"I guess this is it…" Her voice lingered in the open air, almost as though she hadn't actually been finished speaking but her sentence trailed off into an ending regardless.

Peter swallowed, his heart clenched tight at the thought of her leaving. "Yeah. I guess it is."

Mary Jane nodded, almost to herself, then a sudden resolve settled over her features and she looked up at him with nothing but determination. The envelope that was still in her hands was suddenly thrust forward toward him in offering. Peter blinked down at it, staring at the paper with notable perplexion. The envelope was meant for him?

"What's this?" Peter asked as he took it gingerly from her hand. Anything that she gave him, he would handle with care. This would include her heart, if she deemed him worthy enough to take it.

Instead of answering his question, Mary Jane replied, "Wait until you're back in the car to read it. I…" She paused for a moment as he heard a deep inhale of shaky breath coming from her, "I don't want to put too much pressure on you."

Peter looked up from the envelope that was encased in his hands with a level of curiosity, if not intrigue. What exactly was in the envelope? And why did she not want him to open it in front of her? "What do you mean?"

Her expression was almost hard in her conviction as she met his gaze directly. It was the sort of blazing look that caused a man's intelligence to desert him. The sort of compelling expression that was both fierce and seductive at the same time. "You're about to find out." She said in a husky tone as she took a deliberate step forward, slung her arms around his neck and latched her lips to his. And Peter's entire understanding of the world shattered.

Peter was frozen underneath her pliant lips. His eyes remained open, wide, as she softly moved her mouth against his. They stood there, interlocked with passion from Mary Jane's end and awkwardness from Peter's for one heartbeat, two, three… then Mary Jane pulled back. Her eyes took a second to flutter open, both delicate and dazed. The kiss was over almost as soon as it started. But the implication of it was clear. Still, all his thoughts could seem to come up with in that moment was how warm and soft her lips had been. His entire body tingled with goose bumps as he stared wide-eyed at Mary Jane as she pulled back from him completely, her arms dropping from his shoulders to her sides. Somehow, his mouth fell open without his permission, as the words that he desperately wanted to say froze in his throat. As a result, he stood there gaping at her like a total moron.

Despite all of this, Mary Jane did not seem the least perturbed by his reaction. In fact, she seemed quite satisfied with herself as her eyes danced and twinkled under the bright airport lights, a twitch of a smirk was on her lips as she said, "I'm sorry that I shocked you."

These words triggered a memory within him. She had said the same thing to him as Spider-Man after admitting that she had feelings for him on the balcony.

Peter was still rooted to the spot as Mary Jane turned and reached for the handle of her suitcase in hand. As she faced him once again, she flashed him a saucy grin and nodded her head toward the envelope still grasped tight in his hand. He had honestly forgotten that he was still holding it. "You may find that it's an interesting read…"

Then she stepped forward with purpose, paused when she was right beside him and got on her toes to peck him on the cheek. A significant heat swarmed the skin that she had touched. "See you around, Tiger."

She strode away, suitcase rolling behind her, with a confidence that could only stem from Mary Jane Watson. Peter had just enough bearings in mind for him to shift on his heel just so that he could watch her walk away. He stood there, staring in utter disbelief and appreciation, until he could no longer see her lovely form as she disappeared inside of the airport building.

In a daze, Peter's legs somehow returned him to the car, all the while, he was staring out into nothingness. Every single one of his movements were robotic as he slid into his seat and shut the door behind him.

"You alright, Kid?" Happy asked him from the front.

Peter nodded, though his higher consciousness didn't really comprehend the question. His mind was whirring with a thousand thoughts a minute as Happy seemed content enough with his response for him to start the car and pull off onto the road.

Awareness started to slowly come back to him once they were on the highway toward Queens. Peter looked down at the unopened envelope in his hands. Mary Jane had given him this… she had wanted him to read it.

Without another thought, he tore it open and greedily took out its contents.

Three sheets of paper were now in his hand. The top sheet was a note written in feminine writing that was clearly addressed to him. His eyes soaked in every word as he started to read.

'Peter,

For all my talk of confidence, I find myself too much of a coward to say this to you in person. I'm a hypocrite, I know. But there is just something about you that disarms me completely.

The truth is, I have feelings for you. I like you so much that I've been trying to get you to notice me in that way for some time now. I know that you said that you only wanted to be friends but I was hoping that maybe you changed your mind.

I managed to snag another ticket for when I travel to Paris next week for the runway. If you feel the same way, meet me there. If not, then let's just say that I understand. No pressure. In the meantime, I'll be thinking of you.

-Mary Jane'

Setting the letter aside, Peter studied the other two sheets of thick paper. Sure enough, they were round-trip tickets to Paris, France. A slow grin started to grow on his face.

"Happy, stop the car!" He cried out so abruptly that it had Happy slamming on the breaks as he swerved to the side of the road. Car horns blared and they got a couple of saluted middle fingers as a result.

"What?" Happy stressed as he roughly put the car into park as he turned in his seat in order to look at Peter, his eyes then darted around the car, as if looking for any potential danger. "What is it?!"

Peter was beaming from ear to ear as he harshly pulled at the knot on his tie in order to undo it. He managed to pull it free before he worked on his suit's jacket then moved onto the buttons on his black dress shirt.

Happy looked at him as though he were nuts as he stripped off all of his clothing, revealing his skin-tight Spider-Man suit underneath. He was glad that he had thought to wear it tonight, after all. "Kid, what the hell is-"

"I'm going to swing home, Happy," Peter interrupted as he pulled his mask over his head, effectively covering up the wide grin that seemed to be permanently glued to his face. He set it into place before he turned toward the car door and opened it with one last wave at the man. "Thanks for the ride!"

"Kid-!" Happy's complaint was immediately drowned out by the noise of traffic and the wind as Peter launched himself into the air.

"WHOOOOOHOOOOO!" He cried as he used a web to propel himself off of a building and high into the night sky, where he let himself free-fall for a lingering moment, loving the feeling of complete weightlessness.

Mary Jane had feelings for him. Mary Jane had kissed him. Peter Parker. Not Spider-Man or Harry or any other boy in her life… but Peter Parker.

He was exuberant. Over the moon with complete and utter giddiness. The all-encompassasing energy within his body so desperately wanted to burst out that he hadn't been able to stand sitting in that car for a moment longer. He needed movement. He needed exercise in order to get it all out of his system. The best form of that was for him to get in some much-desired web-swinging.

As he swung, his thoughts shifted over Mary Jane's every expression, her every glance, and her every touch throughout the night. He over-analyzed her every action as well as every word that she spoke.

Of course, this led to thoughts of the kiss that she had given him.

It had been his first kiss. And though he only stood there like a complete idiot - not even thinking to partake by moving his own lips - it had still felt amazing. Better than he had always visualized. He could still recall the tickling softness of her mouth against his as well as the heat he felt emanating from the touch. He could only imagine how good it would feel to kiss Mary Jane the next time he saw her, where he would be an active and willing participant.

A jolt shot through him as he thought on how he would be seeing her sooner than he originally thought. Rather than two weeks, he was going to see her in seven days. She had left him a ticket to Paris, after all. It was no question that Peter intended to go. He was sure that May wouldn't mind and in fact, may even be encouraging of the idea. Especially after he explained that showing up in Paris meant confirmation to Mary Jane that he felt the same way for her.

With these thoughts in mind, Peter changed his course mid-air and started to make his way toward home. It didn't take him long as he had already been swinging in Queens. When he arrived at his apartment building and opened his window with his sticky fingers, he tore off his mask and made a beeline toward the closet. There, he reached for the top shelf and extracted his suitcase that had his Uncle Ben's initials etched onto them.

Laying the empty luggage open on his bed, Peter started to go through his clothes and packed, folding and filling as he went.

Then, in the middle of his packing, he paused with significant consideration for a moment as a thought struck him. He could only imagine what sort of anxiety Mary Jane may be feeling right now. Sure, the look that she had given him was confident and self-satisfied after she had kissed him, but Peter knew from experience what could happen to a person's mindset when left for too long in your thoughts.

With that, he took out his phone, turned, and pointed the camera toward his bed where he snapped a picture of his half-full suitcase.

He grinned as he went to the messages on Instagram. He wanted to ensure that she would be able to see the picture that he was about to send as well as the message in any country she happened to be in once she had the chance to open it…

Peter: I'm packing now. See you in a week, Red.

He didn't want to leave her in suspense, after all.

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A/N: Oh boy, that was a lot. But they FINALLY kissed! Or rather… Mary Jane kissed Peter. Poor Peter was too stunned to respond.

What do you think will happen next? Please leave a review/comment to let me know what you thought of the chapter.

Thanks for reading. 3

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