Sorry for how late this is! End of summer/moving back into college made my life hectic. Should be on time with future chapters.
Web of Spider-Man
#7: Showboat Part 4
"Friendly Neighborhood"
…
The first thing Peter did when he woke up the following morning was check his video's view count on his phone, and needless to say it did not disappoint. Just overnight, his opening Spider-Man video had received over 10,000 views and a couple hundred comments. In turn, his newly created FriendlyNeighborhoodWebHead channel had upped its subscriber count from Harry's singular Hosborn12 to nearly 700 in total. Peter had effectively gone viral.
"YES!" Peter cheered from his prone position in bed, now wide awake.
KNOCK KNOCK.
May peaked her head in and said, "Somebody's chipper this morning."
Peter tried to play it off, "Oh, uh—yeah, Tony Stark just showed off a new Iron Man armor, and it's—it's pretty sweet."
"I can't wait to hear all about it later, but right now, superhero, you need to get up and grab some breakfast," May gently said.
Peter nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
Throughout the morning, and the entire day, for that matter, Peter couldn't stop smiling. Who cared about being grounded when he was quickly becoming an Internet celebrity? He had better things to do than spend his time gallivanting around with Harry and Al. Peter was on a one way trip to stardom.
…
By the following Saturday, Peter had uploaded half a dozen vlogs in which he replied to commenters and experimented with his powers. He was building a fan base at an exponential rate with more than 6000 subscribers and a total view count of nearly 120,000. So it's perhaps not unsurprising that Peter was up late Friday night finishing a video, and in turn spent most of Saturday shooting and editing the next one.
Bent over his laptop, headphones on, he watched the final cut.
"—yeah, yeah, I'm hearing you guys. The suit looks like a teenager's idea of an edgy superhero costume. I'm working on it," Peter, in full Spider-Man garb, had said into the camera, hanging off the side of the fire escape. "As for webs, take it easy, o ye of little faith. I've got a few ideas. Been putting my big ol' noggin to work and I'll get back to you in a week or two."
"Peter!" May called from outside his room.
Peter threw off his headphones and shut his laptop as the video finished, "Anyway, gotta run. Till next time, this is your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man signing off—"
"Come in," Peter said.
May entered and said, "Dinner's ready. You need to set the table." Upon taking in Peter's exuberant expression, she playfully added, "What's got you holed up in your room 24/7 grinning ear to ear?"
"I've gotten into photography," Peter offered, popping out of his seat. "Anyway, it's not a crime to be happy, is it?"
"On the contrary, Steve McCurry, it's nice to see you so lively," May motioned her nephew out of the room.
"Steve McCurry?" Peter wondered.
"Wait. I need to cherish this moment. I know something that Peter Parker, boy genius, does not," May teased.
"Ha ha," Peter dryly retorted, amused.
"To answer your question," May continued, "Steve McCurry is one of the greatest photographers alive today. He took the 'Afghan Girl' photo from National Geographic. The man even has a way with words," she drawled, "'If you wait, people will forget your camera and the soul will drift up into view.'"
"Ooh, am I gonna have to tell Ben about your crush?" Peter joked, entering the kitchen.
"Only if he'll finally admit to his crush on Cate Blanchett," May said, laughing.
"Speak of the devil, where is he?" Peter wondered. He hadn't heard from his uncle since breakfast, and he wasn't seated at the table, waiting for them.
As Peter set the table, May explained, "Believe it or not, he's out with a friend."
"No. Ben Parker? A social life? What has the world come to?" Peter quipped.
"You're just going to have to make do with my exceptional company tonight," May replied.
"Hmm. I guess I can manage for one night," Peter chuckled, sitting down across from his aunt.
"To the better Parkers," Peter toasted his plastic cup filled with—gasp—water.
May raised her glass. "To the better Parkers."
…
"…really makes you wonder just what type of person is beneath the mask. He sounds pretty young, doesn't he?" asked the anchorman, the newscast gently reverberating through the grubby bar.
"I don't know, Mike. He reminds me a little of you."
"Hahaha, touché." The piss-poor chemistry between the newscasters was grating. Thankfully, only a fair few in the bar listened in to their hum drum banter. "In other masked news, world-renowned genius and local superhero, Tony Stark, unveiled the latest Arc Reactor in Manhattan earlier this morning. Early reports claim that, after its cleared for public use, the reactor will provide clean energy for the entire city…"
"My nephew's a big fan," Ben Parker blurted, eyes on the TV.
"Of Ron Burgandy and co.?" Max Dillon quipped, returning to his friend's side with two beers, one for each of them.
"Of Tony Stark," Ben replied, taking his beer with a nod in thanks.
"Who isn't?" Max slipped his beanie further down over his ears. Fall had already kicked into gear, and the weather at night was brisk to say the least. "Stark lives every teenage boy's dream. He's a handsome, genius, billionaire playboy free of his parents, beloved by the world, and oh, did I forget to mention he's a superhero?"
"Doesn't sound half bad to me," Ben quipped.
Max grinned, raising his beer. "Here's to Iron Man."
"To Iron Man."
The two clinked bottles and took a swig. As Ben lowered his bottle, he noticed something odd beneath the flap of Max's beanie. Without giving his friend the opportunity to come up with an excuse, Ben reached up and removed his hat.
"What—"
"Max…" Ben's expression fell further into solemnity. Max had an enormous bruise across the left side of his forehead.
His friend swiped back his beanie and made sure to cover any hint of his injury with it this time. "I just tripped, man. Right down the stairs. It's nasty, I know, but—"
"Don't lie to me. I get enough of that at home," Ben shot back, silencing him. With naught but concern in his eyes, he continued, "You need to swallow your pride and reach out to the police."
"It ain't pride. I—" Max hung his head gloomily. "You don't get it. You fell in love with a nice girl. I wasn't that lucky."
Ben had no clue how best to approach this conversation. Threatening to alert the proper authorities would get him nowhere. He couldn't make the argument that Max didn't love Tanya. That wasn't his place, and it would only make the discussion go south that much faster. He resisted the urge to sigh. And he thought dealing with Peter's teenage angst was tough…
"Can I…meet her, at least?" Ben asked, desperately searching for any way to help.
Max shook his head. "I can't have you preaching to her—"
"I won't," Ben said. "Cross my heart."
Max locked eyes with him. The moment seemed to last half an hour. Finally, Max relented with a sigh, "Fine. We can throw back a few beers at my place. But you can't mention the bruises under any circumstances."
"Deal," Ben agreed, shaking Max's hand.
…
"I don't know what you're accustomed to, but my place ain't no Stark Mansion," Max noted, unlocking the door to his apartment in Queens.
"We both work the same job. My wife's a cashier at a CVS, and we've got a teenage son," Ben dryly replied. "How exactly do you think I live?"
Under normal circumstances Max would have laughed at Ben's retort and offered one of his own. However, he was so nervous about the upcoming encounter with his girlfriend, Tanya, that he had to focus on breathing steadily to keep from shaking, let alone offer a witty response.
At first glance, Ben was pleasantly surprised to discover the apartment was spotless. Considering Max's off-and-on attendance at work, he'd always assumed the place would be in a state of disarray. Just goes to show no man's easily defined, he noted.
"Sorry, the place is a mess," Max muttered.
"I don't know what you're talking about. It's better put together than my apartment," Ben said, as Max took his jacket and hung it up on the coat rack.
"Yo, Tanya! I've got a friend I'd like you to meet," Max called.
They heard scuffling in the next room over. Max frowned and walked over to the door, as Ben lingered near the entryway. The sight that awaited him on the other side took his breath away in the worst possible way.
A man—someone Max didn't even recognize—was scrambling to throw on clothes as he left through the fire escape. Tanya had only managed to put on her underwear before Max had opened the door. After a few tense seconds, she relaxed back into bed.
"What the fu—"
Tanya wouldn't even let Max finish, saying, "Baby, I love you. This doesn't change anything."
Ben finally caught wind of what was going on, and stepped up for his shell shocked friend. "Lady, you are a piece of work—"
"Get out," Max blurted.
Ben began to smile, as Tanya's face flushed with rage, both assuming the same thing. However, before either could speak, Max looked at Ben and repeated, "Get out, Ben. Now."
Their roles reversed, Tanya smirked as Ben met Max's gaze, utterly lost. "Max—"
"GET THE HELL OUT!" Max roared, pointing to the door.
Ben didn't speak so much as a word as he left, taking his coat with him. When the door had shut after his friend, Max sunk against the doorframe and began to cry. Tanya ushered her boy toy out, and crouched down beside Max.
Putting her arm around him, she covered him in kisses, saying on repeat, "It's alright; I love you. I love you."
Eventually, he returned her kisses, and allowed her to remove his shirt. The rest followed soon after…
…
Ben returned to a silent home. Peter had collapsed from exhaustion shortly before his arrival, and May had situated herself on the couch, writing.
"Hey, honey," she greeted, only to notice his somber expression. Rushing to his side, she said, "Ben, what's wrong?"
"Sometimes I wonder: what's the point?" Ben began to cry for the first time in years. "You try to do the right thing, but—"
He couldn't finish, his words morphing into quiet sobs. He burrowed his head in May's shoulder, and she in turn gently ran her hand through his hair to comfort him. She nearly burst into tears herself. Seeing Ben like this…
"You're a good man, Ben Parker," May whispered into his ear. "That always has been and always will be enough."
Ben fought with all his might not to cry louder, not to alert Peter. He tightly embraced May, and drew strength from her. Slowly, she helped lower him to the ground, and the two held onto one another until Ben could find only exhaustion in his heart.
…
The following morning shortly after the break of dawn, a phone call awakened Peter. It was Harry.
"Dude, it's way too early for—"
"I'm running on zero hours of sleep and a shit ton of cold brew, so I don't want to hear it," Harry interrupted rather excitedly. "I've got good news and good news. Which do you want to hear first?"
Peter tiredly massaged his eyes, and replied, "Don't know that I have a lot of options…"
"Good news it is," Harry interjected. "I was up all night finishing a design for your new costume. It's pretty slick, if I do say so myself."
"Can I see it?" Peter asked, perking up.
"I want it to be surprise. Went ahead and placed the order already," Harry said.
"Then why the hell did you call me?"
"Thought you'd be happy to hear that your new suit's on the way," Harry said, then began to ramble, "You've been all obsessed with your Spider-Man thing and I thought you'd want to hear about the costume as soon as possible and anyway I'm not even sure what I was thinking or if I—"
"Slow down," Peter grumbled.
"Right. Also, the second reason I called you—"
"The good news," Peter pushed.
"Yeah. Jessica found you a date," Harry explained.
Peter shot up out of bed, suddenly wide awake. "What? Who is it?"
He could practically feel Harry's crooked grin through the line as his friend teased:
"You're not gonna believe it…"
Heart of the Demons: Thanks for the input and your review!
SpyderWeb: So glad to have another reviewer, and thanks for keeping me honest haha!
midjet156: Glad Peter's still connecting with you. I hope this title brings some catharsis to your life. :)
boysa boysa: Thanks for the input! I'll figure out the chapter length debacle in the next month or so after I get settled in.