The afternoon after school ended, Peter submitted the ten photos that Spider-Drone took of Spiderman and Dr. Octopus to Jameson. The chief editor thought that the pictures were top notch and decided to pay seventy-five for all of them, which meant seven dollars and fifty cents for a single photo which seemed extremely low. Then Jameson decided to go four hundred and twenty for all ten photos. Peter happily accepted, and then he heard what the headline for tomorrow's paper was going to be.

Spiderman: Hero or Menace.

Mad Scientist Called Dr. Octopus.

Wanting to walk away with all his money, he decided not to correct Jameson and say that Spiderman is a hero. Instead, he just asked if he now had a job at the Daily Bugle. Jameson gave him the ultimatum: Bring more pictures of the web-slinging menace or he was never allowed to step foot again in the Bugle.

On his walk home from the Bugle, Peter crossed the street and ran into Gwen and she walked passed him. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned towards her, catching up and stopping her. "Hey Gwen," he called out. When she responded, he said what was on his mind. "I just wanted to let you know that I got that job at the Daily Bugle."

"Good job, Peter," Gwen cheered. "You got photos of Spiderman?"

Peter nodded. "Yep. I got photos of his fight with that mad scientist from last night. Took me a long taxi drive. So now, I'm Spiderman's official photographer. Now if you got any questions for him, then you ask me and I will ask him."

"Well, I do have one question for him: What is it like being Spiderman?"

Peter's heart warmed slightly over the answer. "Well….I asked him that question, already." He knew that his answer had to have him stuttering so it would not sound scripted. "He told me that….being Spiderman made him feel happy. He said that being Spiderman….he loves everything about it. He loves swinging on his webs, climbing the walls, leaping three stories….but the one thing he loves most of all, he told me….was saving people."

"Wow," Gwen awed. "I'm just in shock. I just can't believe that you are now Spiderman's friend."

"Thanks…." Peter said nervously. "He's a nice boy….I mean he's a nice man. A very nice man."

"Does he have a girlfriend?"

Peter just stared at her with wide eyes and open mouth. "What?"

"Does he have a girlfriend? Wife? Boyfriend if he's gay?"

"I think that's kind of his private life," Peter used as an excuse. "It's probably better if you don't ask that question."

"I guess you're right," Gwen said as she tilted her head down. "Do you want to go celebrate your new job, somewhere?"

"Celebrate my job as Spiderman's photographer?"

"Of course, Silly Petey."

Peter blushed slightly at her nickname for him. "Yeah, I could definitely celebrate. I mean, I just got paid four hundred dollars for just getting ten photos of Spidey. We could probably go out to eat somewhere. Are you game or something?"

"I'm game. Where do you want to go?"

"I was favoring anywhere cheap, but since I have enough money, I guess we could go somewhere fancy."

"It would be nice to eat somewhere fancy. I have my driver's license, so I could come to pick you up."

"That would be super," Peter chuckled. "I guess I'll look up some fancy restaurants for us to eat at."

"And call me when you find a place, Peter." She slips a blue flashcard out of her pocket and using Peter's shoulder to write on, gives him her number. "I'll see you later, Pete." He shakes his hand before walking away.

"You too, Gwen." Peter smiled widely and kept his eyes on her as he slipped the note into his front pocket. He could no longer contain his excitement and started cheering. "Yeah whoo!" He runs to the nearest person beside him and hugs him tightly. "Gwen just gave me her number!"

"That's good for you," the pedestrian strained as Peter hugged him tightly. "Can you let me go now?"

Peter released him and continued to cheer as loud as he could as he ran home, "I got a date!"

"Daddy," Gwen squealed as she raced into her home. She spotted her father in her police uniform listening to some kind of chatter on his police radio. He acknowledged her before Gwen spoke, "I got a date. Well, it is somewhat of date, but it is more of a celebration."

George turned to her but kept a neutral face on. "What's the occasion?"

"My friend has just become the personal photographer for Spiderman."

Now George took an interest. "Which friend?"

"Peter Parker. He got a job at the Daily Bugle taking pics for Spiderman and he got the photos. He received a large salary sum and we want to celebrate his new job so we are looking to go somewhere fancy." George said nothing for the longest time as her daughter's smile was slowly fading away from the silence. "We don't have a timeline date down, but I do know that it will be a good time."

George, slowly unwinds the silence, by saying, "You can use my personal car for your date."

"Well, I have a car. It doesn't really seem fair to you."

"Honey, you are going to a fancy restaurant. You are supposed to dress fancy at a fancy restaurant and your car is not exactly in ideal shape. Mine just came back from getting professionally cleaned so you can use it on your fancy night out."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. My only rule though is: Don't bond with Peter Parker."

Not this caught Gwen completely off guard and her smile vanished instantly. "Why not?"

"If a villain is trying to find out Spiderman's real identity and they go to his photographer, Peter Parker, then they could also use you because you are close to Parker. Trust me, never get emotionally attached to Spiderman or anyone connected to Spiderman directly or indirectly. Do you promise, my daughter?"

Now that her father was making her promise not to get emotionally attached to Peter was only making her want to get emotionally attached to him. She really did like Peter and going on this date to some fancy restaurant could let her know a little more about Peter. She was conflicted. She wanted to get to know Peter, but she didn't want to go against her father's wishes. But she made a decision and crossed her two fingers behind her back. "I promise."

Back home, Peter was in his room with Harry and Ned. Ned was left building a Lego set with one thousand pieces while Peter was looking up fancy restaurants to eat at, and Harry was on the phone with his father, whom he hasn't seen in a long time.

"Dad?" Harry started. "Dad? When are you coming home? I really miss you, Dad." On the other end of the phone, Norman was telling his son that he was almost done with some important business and he would be home before he knew it. Although Harry missed his father dearly, he knew that his father was an important man and he understood why he is unable to make a family schedule. But his father promised that he would make up for his period of absence. "Okay then, I guess I'll see you later. Love you. Goodbye." He ended the call and turned to Ned and Peter. "My Dad is a busy man, but he is almost done with some kind of business partners. Apparently, last night, one of his partners went AWOL and they had to find a substitute, so he should be back in like a week or so."

"That's good," Ned supported. "You know, if my father was a rich CEO, you think any girls would come after me?" Harry asked why. "Because, there is this one girl I like, but I don't know if she likes me. It's probably better if I don't disclose her name."

Harry knew instantly at the top of his head who Ned's crush was and looked at him like he was dumb. "It's Betty Brant, isn't it?"

Ned's eyes widened in nervousness and he almost dropped the building of Legos on his lap. "No…." The nervousness in his voice made him as transparent as a jellyfish, if not water. "How did you know?"

"I have psychic powers," Harry joked in hopes to lighten the mood. "Just kidding. I mean, I have sorta noticed the way you stare at Betty. Like she is some kind of exotic pet at the circus."

"I do not."

"Ned, you stared at her during lunch one time and spilled apple juice on your groin area, creating a very embarrassing stain."

"That did not happen." It did happen and he was desperate to change the subject. "Who do you have a crush on?"

"Liz Allan," Harry said without shame. "The most beautiful girl in tenth grade." He was hoping that Peter would be hopping in on this conversation, but he was still sitting at his computer, looking up fancy restaurants. He tried calling him several times, but only ended up failing.

"I found one fancy place for us to eat," Peter said offhandedly. "It's this restaurant in Manhattan called Keens Steakhouse. That place should be somewhere in my pay range. I have four hundred and twenty dollars, so I should be able to spend at least half or over half and still have enough left." He still only had one suit, and that was the suit he wore to Homecoming and Homecoming was the day his life changed for the rest of his life. "I guess we could go on Sunday sometime in the afternoon."

"You finally getting a date with Gwen Stacy?" Ned asked mockingly. "You think she's gonna kiss you by the end of the night?"

"We are just friends, Ned," Peter reassured more to himself than his friends. "We are just going as friends."

"Where did you get the money anyway? Are you going to wear a suit?"

Peter stopped typing on his computer and rotated towards his friend, Harry doing the same. "Of course I'm going to wear a suit; it's a fancy restaurant and it would be completely out of fashion to not wear a suit. And I got my money at my new job as a photographer for the Daily Bugle."

"Do you even have any suit?" Harry asked. "You could borrow one of my suits if you don't have any suits."

Peter smiled gratefully at Harry. "Thanks, Harry, but I got a suit. I haven't worn it since Homecoming; the night my uncle died." Peter's eyes blinked several times, biting the inside of his cheek just to not cry. "But then again, I wore that suit for Gwen and it would be rude not to wear the same suit." Just as he thought he was done talking, Peter asked, "How are your brother and sister, Gabriel and Sarah doing?" Harry nodded, indicating that they were doing fine.

"Can I be your wingman?" Ned asked, putting the Legos on the floor near his feet with his hand raised. "I think I could be a really good wingman."

Peter shook his head. "No, man. This is a date for just me and Gwen. And plus, I have no girlfriend and Gwen is only my friend so there is no real reason for me to have a wingman."

"Can you at least bring me back something cool?"

"Like what?"

"Like one of the menus. You know, one with pictures."

"You mean a kids' menu? This is a fancy place, not some three-star restaurant. You are not going with me, Ned, and you are not going with me, Harry."

"I didn't even ask if I could go, but I hear what you are saying. Since Sunday is only two days away, I guess we should get moving." Harry put his shoes on and started packing his phone and wallet. "Come on, Ned."

"But, what about these Legos?" He indicated them. "Do I just leave them here?"

"I'll watch it," Peter promised. "I don't mean to be mean, but goodbye."

Ned jumped off the bed and onto his feet, cautious to not crush the Legos. "Please," he begged. "Please, can I go with you? I'll sit in the back, eat my food quietly."

"Goodbye Ned, goodbye Harry and the next time you see your father, Sarah, and Gabriel, Harry, tell them I said hi."

"I will and let's go, Ned."

Once Harry and Ned left the room and closed the door, Peter webbed the door shut from his chair. He ran a nervous hand across his face and spasmed slightly upon feeling Redips crawl on his wrist. "I got a date, buddy," he spoke calmly to the spider. "Do you want to come with?" He mentally slapped himself. "It's probably a better idea if you didn't come with me. I mean, you could bite someone else and make them another Spiderman, so I think for everybody's sake, you should stay here. I got to get ready for my date on Sunday."

Peter loved the way he was dressed in a suit. He also loved the white dress that Gwen was dressed in (and ironically, the same dress she wore to Homecoming). Gwen parked her father's Corvette around the back of the restaurant and Peter opened the door for her after getting out like a gentleman. "Follow me, Miss Stacy."

"Why thank you, Mr. Parker."

Making it through the front door and into a glamorous looking room with bright chandeliers and waiters and waitresses dressed in neatly pressed outfits. Peter made way to the waitress at the front desk and told her his name. "Table for two, please."

"Name?" the waitress asked. When Peter told her, she scrolled through the computer for his name. "Pepper Parker? Your table is this way."

"'Pepper Parker,' my name is Peter Parker," he complained and the waitress corrected herself. She apologized and showed them a table near one of the big windows with a white cloth on top. "Wow, I can't believe how fancy this place is," Peter said in awe as his eyes circled the restaurant. "I am so happy that I could afford this place."

After feeling like he spoke too much, he decided to take his seat on one end of the table while Gwen sat on the opposite end.

The waitress handed them menus and let them be to decide.

Peter was browsing through the appetizer menu for some tasty food. When he was settled on what he was going to eat, he looked at the prices and calculated them. When Gwen decided on what she was going to eat and told him, he added her prices in his head. As of right now, he was going to spending two hundred and three dollars on food. They both realized that they had the same taste in food because they both ordered Baked Idaho, Prime T-Bone steak, Maryland Lump Crab Cakes, and Hand Cut French Fries. Since they were still teenagers, they could only drink sodas from wine glasses, so they just ordered Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew.

While Peter was waiting for the food, he began conversing with Gwen on his new job. "So Gwen, have you been looking for a job?"

"Well…." She leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. "I have always wanted to be a model. I've always wanted to be that girl on the billboard." She chuckled a little while looking down. "I know, I go to a science school, but only because my Dad wanted me to. I have always wanted to go to ESU to study fashion and modeling."

Peter nodded, understanding. "Is that what you want to do your whole life?"

Gwen shrugged. "For now. I mean, it's always been my dream to be a model, so I would probably stick to it for a while."

"I….have always wanted to be a photographer. But I never expected to be Spiderman's personal photographer." He offered a nervous smile before asking his next question very carefully. "About Spiderman?"

Gwen listened with eager and scooted forward. "I am listening?"

"What is it about Spiderman that interests you?"

It really didn't take too long for Gwen to answer. "I don't know. For some reason, he reminds me of you."

"What?" he panicked slightly, jumping out of his seat by an inch and a half before sitting back down. "How so?" he stuttered.

"Whenever I look at Spiderman, I feel safe. I mean, I have never seen him myself, but whenever I see him on TV, I feel like there is hope for New York City. The crime wave has been high for the last several months, but Spiderman cleaned the city up."

"And how does that remind me of you?"

"I have no idea, but he reminds me a lot of you. I guess it's just how you have to put up with a lot of abuse from Flash and others, but you brush it off and still manage to ace your classes. I thought I wasn't going to get a date for Homecoming, but you were there. I heard some of Spiderman's jokes on the news and his humor kinda matches your humor. But one thing that really reminds me, is the fact that you helped me."

Peter smiled warmly.

"When this big kid knocked my books down, you reached down to help me back up. Then you had to suffer verbal abuse from that bully, but you continued to help me. Spiderman must deal with criminals on a daily basis, but he still helps people."

Peter couldn't help but smile even more at Gwen. Now he wanted to reveal his alter-ego to Gwen and show her that he was the Spiderman. But then he remembered his conversation with Karen and started wondering what if she really was expecting someone like Tony Stark from those comics. Then again, Tony Stark is a fictional character and he is a real person. But then again, if he were to reveal his identity, that could put her in grave danger. Then again, she could prove to be a very valuable asset to him considering that she is the police chief's daughter and would have access to to the New York's crime database. Right now, he had no idea what to do, so he was going to go with what Karen told him to do. Karen said that if she was Gwen and he revealed his identity to her (despite already knowing it), then she wouldn't be disappointed at all.

Man, I wish I brought Karen on my date. She probably would've given me some wisdom. All in all, he decided that he was going to take a chance. He trusted her. As soon as they were done eating, he was going to show her the big reveal. Once the waiters and waitresses brought the food, neither teen said a word to each for the next fifteen minutes as they ate their food away and drank their sodas away.

When they were all done, Peter intended for there to be, which meant dessert. Affogato for Peter and New York Cheesecake for Gwen.

In the end, Peter spends a grand total of two hundred and twenty-two dollars just for his date with Gwen and he didn't regret it. Going on a date with your crush is definitely something worth spending over two hundred dollars over.

"Well, that was a good dinner," Gwen complimented. "And you're seriously paying two hundred dollars for this?"

Peter nodded. "If you have only one night to be fancy, then you take it." When the waitress came by with the check, Peter paid the waitress in cash along with giving her a tip of twenty percent on the dollar (which was forty-four dollars and eighty cents). Just as Gwen got up from her chair, Peter called out to her softly. "Before we go, there is something that I have to show you."

"What?" Gwen asked with pure curiosity.

Peter's smile gave her comfort that it was going to be a big surprise. "I can assure, it is something that you are going to love." He sat up and like a gentleman, held out his hand and gently wrapped it around Gwen's hand.

"It better be a good surprise," Gwen jokingly warned.

"I promise," Peter reassured. "It is something that you will definitely love. Just follow me outside."

Peter took Gwen outside and they went around the corner into an alleyway. Once they were out of range from people's sights, they climbed up a fire escape onto the neighboring building and all the way to the roof. "Follow me."

"Up the fire escape?"

"Trust me, Gwen."

Gwen laughed a little and followed him up the fire escape. She watched him climb up onto the roof before climbing on herself. But when he was on the roof, Peter was nowhere in sight. "Peter?" she called out, looking all around her. "Where did you go?" She looked over the nearest edge to see the ground five stories below her. "You didn't jump off, did you?" She tried calling out to him several more times before getting no response.

"Looking for me," a voice called out. Gwen snapped around and gazed into the white eyes of Spiderman crouching on one of the edge corners.

Gwen could not believe her eyes. The Amazing Spiderman right here in front of her, she made no effort to hide her smile. She felt like a girl talking to her crush, all tongue-tied. "Hi," she barely managed to squeak out. "Hi, Spiderman?"

"Hi there, Gwen," Spiderman spoke before he fronts flipped off the ledge and towards her. "This is the surprise I wanted to show you."

All of a sudden, she recognized the familiarity in the superhero's voice. It sounded a lot like, "Peter?"

Spiderman grabbed one end of his mask at his neck and lifts it above his head slowly to make sure that Gwen was registering everything perfectly. Peter blushed slightly as Gwen's jaw dropped. He had no idea whether she was shocked or disappointed. To compensate for his nervousness, he tries to lighten the mood by saying, "Your friendly neighborhood Spiderman" slowly.

For the longest thirty seconds of their lives, neither one has spoken a single word. Nobody dared to move a muscle. They were standing at their own corners of the roof, frozen like icebergs.

The first one to break the ice was Gwen when she took one step closer to Peter. The young boy reached a hand out towards Gwen as she got closer and closer to him. Peter's hand met her shoulder and she dove in to kiss Peter on the lips. Peter's eyes closed with a sigh and his left hand went to the back of her head, rubbing into her hair while he tasted the sweet taste of cherry lipstick. The kiss was passionate and deep, lasting for at least several seconds before both mutually pulled away. As they slowly pulled away, their eyes slowly met each other's, Peter's hand on her shoulder moving to rub her on the cheek.

"I always suspected it was you," Gwen whispered. "I was wondering what happened after that spider bit you."

"Well, now that you know who I am, you can ask me any question you want." Peter knew that his entire life was going to be better. Even if they couldn't be together, he felt happy that he told the girl that he loves who re really was and he can trust her to keep his secret.

"I do indeed have a question for Peter Parker," Gwen admitted.

Peter's eyebrows arched with interest. "Really, what would that be?"

"Do you love me?"

And just like that, the entire world stopped spinning. The only thing Peter could feel was the warmth in his heart and hear the beating of Gwen's own heart.

"Yes."

"I love you, too."

They dove again for another kiss. This kiss had more meaning behind it because it was a truly genuine kiss of love. Peter's first kiss, Gwen's first kiss, could not have gone better for either one of them. Peter was always going to remember this moment with Gwen, even when he was one hundred years old because to him, Gwen was his life. Gwen was everything he wanted to fight for as long as he was Spiderman.

Peter removed his hands from Gwen's shoulders. His right hand had his mask and he put his mask over his head as they very slowly broke away from the kiss. All but his mouth was covered by the time they pulled apart. With his mask on, he was now Spiderman and he had one last act of romance. His final act of romance for the night with her, he grabbed her by the waist, looked out to the city, shot a web out and swung across, giving Gwen a fantastic web ride of the city, her whole life changing forever with Spiderman holding her in his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder as they continued to swing across the city.