Spider-Man: Close To Home

Chapter 7: Motivation

"Hey, Pete. How was school today?" Aunt May asked as Peter came in. He stretched his arms out a bit and set his bag down on the table in the kitchen area.

"Eh, it was alright. You know, boring. I got a lot of homework to work on." He answered, starting to make his way towards his room.

"Hey, Pete?" Aunt May interjected suddenly, holding her finger up. Peter stopped and turned around to face her again.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Have a seat for just a second. I wanna talk to you about something before you go and lock yourself in your room again." She said, motioning for him to come over. Peter silently made his way over and sat at the table across from her.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Well, I was kinda hoping you could tell me… Uh, I'll be honest with you, Pete, these last few days you've seemed a little… I don't know, you look like you just got something on your mind. Is there something you'd like to talk about? Tell me maybe?" Aunt May explained.

Peter swallowed inwards for a moment. He worried that Aunt May would catch on to something going on, and while he wanted to tell her everything that'd been going on lately, something kept telling him inwardly that he couldn't reveal his powers to her.

"Uh, I mean… It's just…school stress, you know? There's a lot of last-minute homework being…piled on with it being the end of the year and all," Peter explained with a breathy chuckle. "I've just been tryna get some air, you know? Keep my head clear." He continued.

"Right, yeah, I get that. Keep your head on straight. That's good," May nodded, smiling gently. "Just hang in there, alright? You'll get to catch a break soon with summer rolling around in a couple weeks." She encouraged him.

"Yeah, I know. I'm doing my best to keep things straight." Peter repeated, nodding and smiling back at her.

"Alright. Well, I'll let you work. I'll see you tonight, dear." May said, getting up, making her away around to him, bending down and hugging him. She planted a kiss on the top of his head before grabbing her things and making her way out the front door.

"Love you, Aunt May." Peter called back to her.

"Love you too, Pete!" Aunt May replied before closing the door behind her.

Peter got up from his chair with a sigh, grabbing his bag and carrying it into his room. He set his bag down on his bed and opened up the zipper. He pulled out a pair of red felt boots that he had taken from somewhere in the back of the drama storage area.

"What am I thinking…? I shouldn't be doing this." Peter said to himself with a sigh, shaking his head. He set down at his desk and ran his hands back through his hair. He cleared his throat and turned on his computer.

He reached down and pulled out his phone, and called up Ned. He put the phone on speaker as he began to walk around the room. After the phone rang a couple times, the phone clicked and Ned's voice came on.

"Hey, Pete. What's up, man?" Ned asked.

"Hey! Uh, hey, Ned. I, uh… I'm working on a… I'm working on an end-of-year English project and I was wondering if you could help me brainstorm a little bit." Peter began.

"Yeah! Sure man, I got a second. What you got?" Ned asked.

"I'm, uh, thinking about doing…a narrative from the perspective of Iron Man, you know, back before he announced he was Iron Man." Peter started.

"Oh, cool, dude! You should do like a whole action sequence with lots of explosions and guns going off! Pew pew!" Ned said with a laugh.

"Yeah, heheh, I wish… I'm actually thinking of doing something more about… Like an inner monologue of when he was deciding to be Iron Man. Like a 'should I/shouldn't I' situation, you know what I mean?" Peter explained.

"Oh, that sounds pretty deep. I like that!" Ned said approvingly.

"Thanks man. I don't know how to go about it though. I mean obviously the answer he gets at the end is he should, but what should I have for he shouldn't. Something's gotta be holding him back to overcome, right?" Peter proposed.

"Totally! Hmm… Oh, maybe you should have him worry about what will happen to the people close to him? Or maybe you could have it where he isn't sure he can do it! I mean, obviously it's Tony Stark, he can do anything, but that would definitely get you through a page or two. How long does it have to be?" Ned asked.

"That's good, Ned, that's good," Peter said, ignoring Ned's question. "But then how does he get past that? Not knowing whether he's up for it; being a superhero?" Peter asked.

"Um… Well, I mean, superheroes always do what they do to help people, right? Maybe that can be what gives him his answer." Ned suggested.

"Right… If he has the power to stop bad things, but he doesn't, then that would make him at least somewhat responsible for the things that are happening." Peter said to himself slowly.

"Yeah! That's perfect! Definitely go with tha-" Ned was cut off by Peter hanging up the phone.

Peter made his way to his closet and opened up the doors. He crouched down and began to rummage through a box on the ground. He pulled out the black mask that he had worn when practicing his climbing. He looked down at it.

"If I have the power to stop bad things from happening, and I don't…then they're my fault." Peter said to himself. It now began to weigh on him the responsibility that was now bestowed upon him.

Peter stood up straight and began to nod to himself, assuring himself that he was doing the right thing. He had to be. After all, what was he going to do with his powers other than this? No, this is what he was supposed to do.

"I'm gonna need a costume...and a name." He decided…