Chapter 7: The First Date

"Parker! In my office!"

Unsurprised, Peter sighed as he walked into Jameson's office, where his boss's face was turning red.

"So I hear there was an attack at your school! Let me ask you something. Why don't I have any pictures?!" Jameson roared.

Taken aback, Peter scoffed, "Maybe because I was running out of there, trying to make sure I wouldn't get blown into a thousand pieces?"

"What did you say, Parker?"

"Nothing. My point is, it was too dangerous for me to get any photos at that point. Plus, I didn't even have my camera on me!"

"Well, that's why your camera's your best friend. Keep it around wherever you go. You never know when it'll be useful," Jameson advised.

"Jameson, with all due respect, I'm only freelance-"

"We've had this discussion before, Parker! Your status doesn't excuse-"

"Jameson!" Betty interrupted, walking in. "Your wife's on the phone. She says it's time to take your pills!"

"You tell my wife that those pills can wait! That stuff isn't important when our paper-"

"Jameson! She's really starting to worry about your health, so give Pete a break, and take your damn pills!" Betty demanded.

Somehow not finding the courage to yell at his young secretary, Jameson calmly stated, "Fine."

Peter walked out of the office with Betty.

"Thanks, Betty," Peter thanked with every piece of genuity in his body.

Betty pat Peter's arm. "Anytime, bud."

"The dude's just insane sometimes. It doesn't seem like he even gives a shit about us," Peter pointed out.

"Join the club," Ned agreed from his desk. "He threatened to take away my pay for two weeks if I skipped work for my cousin's funeral."

"That's just cruel," Peter commented.

"I mean, I only started off working here to make money for college, and somehow I'm still here," Betty chuckled.

"Who knows how much longer I'll last here," Peter sighed.

"I don't know, Pete. There was that episode you had," Ned reminisced.

"Well, yeah, but that was justified."

"True, but you still made history that day," Betty said.

Peter shrugged. "Guess I should be proud."


In his room, Peter couldn't think of the perfect outfit. After trying on different kinds, he was still frustrated.

"Damn it. May!" Peter yelled.

Aunt May came into the room. "Yeah, Peter?"

"Still have no idea on what to wear. You're a girl. Help me out!"

"Alrighty. Let's see," May said, looking through Peter's closet. "Now, you don't want anything way too fancy on the first date. Go for something a bit more casual-"

"I probably screwed up. It's been, like, 30 years since you've been on a date," Peter groaned.

"Being 55 doesn't stop me from giving you the best girl advice you'll need," May laughed. "And FYI, your uncle and I started dating in high school, got married in '87. He was the only guy I ever went on dates with."

"Heard this a million times," Peter reminded May.

Ignoring what her nephew said, May brought out an outfit for Peter to wear. "Try this on."

Peter put the outfit on, and the look on May's face approved.

"You're all set, kiddo!" May declared.

Peter was wearing a light blue Henley shirt, black jeans, and white Converse.

"Damn, I'm looking hot," Peter commented, looking at himself in the mirror.

"Oh, I've got one more thing for you," May announced, leaving the room.

Coming back in around thirty seconds later, May presented a silver watch to Peter. It was a watch that Peter definitely recognized.

"Your uncle would want you to have this," May insisted, handing the watch to Peter.

Putting the watch on his wrist, Peter closed his eyes, bringing his mind back to that fateful day when his uncle was found dying. He had been wearing that exact same watch, which is what caused Peter to recognize him in the first place.

"Ben…"

Aunt May's eyes widened. "Crap, I did not think this through. Peter, are you gonna be okay wearing it, or should I just put it back?"

Sighing heavily, Peter responded, "No, I'll be okay."

May smiled. "Okay, Pete. I'm glad to hear that."

Aunt May sat on Peter's bed, though the teen could notice his aunt's eyes slightly watering.

"May, you alright?"

"I'm fine," Aunt May replied, wiping her eyes. "It's just that you're really growing up, Pete. Here you are, on your first date-"

"Well, technically it was Homecoming," Peter corrected.

"Yeah, but we all know how that went," May remembered. "This is just-"

"It's gonna be all right, May," Peter assured.

"Okay," May sniffled. "But just remember, if I find out that you got the NYPD captain's daughter pregnant-"

"May!"

"I'm kidding, hon. Just make sure you have a good time."


Sitting in the back of Aunt May's car, there were butterflies everywhere in Peter's stomach. Eventually, the car pulled up to Gwen's house, which was relatively big.

"Alright, go and get her," May encouraged.

Getting out of the car, Peter slowly walked up to Gwen's house. His trembling finger pushed the doorbell, and he calmly waited, trying to keep his composure. The door opened, and Peter saw Captain George Stacy there.

"Hey, son. You must be Peter," George assumed.

"Y-Yes, sir."

"I'm Gwen's dad. Put her there," George greeted, sticking his hand out.

Peter did his best to casually shake George's hand, and luckily, it seemed to work. Although Peter knew ahead of time who Gwen's father was, he couldn't stop the tingling sensation in his stomach, especially since it was well-known how George felt about Spider-Man.

"Dad?"

Peter and George looked to see Gwen walking towards the door. She was wearing a green blouse, ripped blue jeans, black-and-white Converse, and her usual wavy hair was straightened.

"Holy-"

Peter quickly shut up, remembering that Gwen's dad was there.

"You-You look…"

"Oh, it's fine, Pete," George assured. "She does look beautiful."

"Well, you look great, Gwen," Peter complimented.

"Thanks, Pete. You don't look too bad yourself."

"Alright, kids, you go and have fun. Remember, Pete, you better have her home before 11, or I'm gonna shoot you," George threatened.

"Dad!" Gwen interfered.

Peter didn't know how to respond.

"Just kidding," George laughed.

The three of them shared a laugh as Peter jokingly pretended to be wounded.


Peter and Gwen were at Joe's Pizza, which was commonly agreed upon as one of the best pizza places in New York. So far, Peter and Gwen somewhat had the same taste in pizza.

"Here you kids go. One large thick crust pepperoni and olive," the waiter repeated, placing the pizza on the table.

The waiter then walked away, leaving Peter and Gwen at their booth with the pizza.

"S-So, this is fun," Peter nervously stated, taking a slice of pizza.

Gwen took a slice as well. "Don't be so nervous, Pete. We're having fun right now."

"Good to know you're so open and comfortable with me," Peter joked. "I'm not very good at that."

"Hey, what can I say? I'm an open book."

"Oh, you are, huh?"

"Yep. So, besides being a huge nerd, what do you like doing in your free time?"

Chuckling, Peter answered, "Well, I like to build stuff, read, listen to '80s music."

"'80s music? Really?" Gwen asked, surprised.

"Call me old-fashioned, but it's better than most of the music out there now."

"I couldn't agree with you more, actually," Gwen said with a smile.

"How 'bout you, though? You got any other hobbies besides being smart and cute?"

Laughing, Gwen answered, "I watch a lot of old movies, go out with friends. I used to do theater when I was younger."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, as a kid, it was pretty much normal for me to sing and act on the stage. 2009 came along, and I magically lost all interest in it and picked up a textbook instead," Gwen explained.

"What changed about it? There had to have been something that made you lose interest."

"I'm not really sure. I think I probably just grew out of it and found a new passion."

"You ever wonder what life would've been like had you not quit?"

"Of course I do. Who knows? I could've been one of those big theater kids at school like Mary Jane Watson or Lilly Reynolds."

"I still always ask myself how different life could've been if my parents hadn't died when I was a kid," Peter admitted.

"I'm really sorry to hear that, Peter. I can't imagine how hard that must be," Gwen sympathized.

"It's fine. All I can imagine is I might've gone to a different high school, made different friends, been bullied by different douches."

"Oh, yeah, I heard you beat up Flash last year," Gwen unsurprisingly stated.

"In my defense, he was just being a dick, and he did swing first," Peter revealed.

"I mean, it doesn't matter anymore, I did hear you guys are friends now."

"Yeah, he's been really cool to me."

Gwen took another slice. "To be honest, I'm not really sure if most of my close friends really understand me that much."

Pretending not to know what she meant, Peter asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you know the crowd I hang with most of the time. They're spending most of their time at parties, getting drunk, smoking weed, hooking up. That's never really been my thing."

"I agree. That stuff's just dumb," Peter said.

"They're just people trying to have fun, but it doesn't really do you much good in the end. I've always tried to get Liz and the others to stop, but they don't listen to a word I say."

"Why do you still hang out with those kinds of people, then, if you don't agree with their lifestyle choices?" Peter asked.

"Because they're still my friends. They're not different people for the most part."

"Well, I'm glad you view it that way," Peter admired.

"Thanks, Pete. Plus, when you have a cop for a father, he can always drug test you when he gets suspicious."

The two laughed over the irony. Almost done with the pizza, Peter decided he was full.

"You want the rest?" Peter offered.

"Sure."

Gwen took a slice. For the rest of their date, Peter just couldn't stop smiling and laughing.


Peter and Gwen were walking outside an ice cream shop, talking the night away, and if Peter was being honest with himself, he was really starting to like Gwen.

"I guess it's safe to say this night went well," Peter admitted, looking at his mint-chocolate chip cone.

Gwen took a bite of her cookie dough cone. "Agreed."

"It's crazy what's happened since we've met. We studied together, went to Homecoming, and now we're on a date."

Gwen nodded. "Life's just been crazy lately."

Finishing up their ice cream cones, Gwen asked, "Hey, it's only 8. You wanna come over and hang out for a bit?"

"Okay," Peter answered.


Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Reviews are greatly appreciated.