As Peter quietly walked down the sidewalk on his way home, he made sure that he took care of all his responsibilities for the day. He'd already done his patrol, gone to Jameson to receive money for his pictures, get a talk with Morbius…
Technically, the only responsibility left was to finish his homework. And clean the dishes. The reason for the dishes was simple enough; Peter volunteered to be doing chores again, a thing he hasn't done since he was 10. Only difference was that Aunt May was without having to pay him in return. He already got money from the Bugle and May already struggles as much as it is with the money, why would he need it as a gift for his acts?
There was also the fact that he was used to getting nothing in return for helping, and if he ever did get anything, it was bad press.
Once reaching the small and modest home of his in Forest Hills, he looked up to the night sky to see how dark it was, something he didn't truly notice until now. All he did today was go on patrol and stop a few criminals, but nothing on the level of a giant metal bird terrorizing random pedestrians. The city did start to be quieter ever since the downfall of every major mob boss in New York, something Peter did enjoy despite knowing in his gut that it wouldn't last.
Did he make it to the curfew?
He took out his phone, the home screen reading: '8:45 PM'
He smiled wider than he ever has all day. He made it fifteen minutes before the curfew.
Fifteen!
Peter considered that a broken record!
He opened the door with no hesitation, saying "Hey Aunt May!" as loud as he could, quickly catching her off guard.
He smelled something….off when he got there. It wasn't bad, per say, but it was weird. Probably something Aunt May was cooking. The TV was also on, and judging by the noises it's making, May probably left the news on so she could hear it from the kitchen, where she was presumably at given the sudden smell of food.
Aunt May's head stuck out of the kitchen, her arm could be seen moving in a clockwise rotation. Peter's guess was that she was making a cake mold or something.
"Peter?" she said, the surprise in her voice meshing well with her perplexed expression, her left eyebrow being above the other as she looked at the entrance.
"Yup! It's me!" Peter closed the door, then walking to the kitchen to give his sweet aunt a hug. Letting go of the embrace, he looked behind her to see the kitchen.
"Uh, what you makin'?"
"Cake, my dear, what else?" She smiled as she went back into the kitchen, leaving Peter to stand in the doorway.
"Knew it." He said, snapping his fingers.
Aunt May chuckled as she tried to focus on continuing to make the cake. "Did you know it was Banana cake though?"
"Oh, yeah, of course." Peter said, still keeping the confident smile on his face.
"I'm glad you've come home this early, but what did bring you so early?"
Peter started to leave the middle of the doorway, grabbing its door to slowly close the entrance to the kitchen and leave May be. He was clearly distracting her.
"I don't know, guess I just got lucky." he said, smiling as he started pushing the door closed, "I'll be in the living room!"
As he closed the door, he sat down on the big red couch in the living room, taking the control remote right beside his position.
Before he switched channels, a set of convenient news hit.
The headline for this report read: 'The Osborn Fiasco'
Peter didn't dare to switch the channel.
"Just a few days ago, the citizens of New York were in shock at the news of Oscorp Founder and CEO, Norman Osborn's demise." The reporter said.
It all was coming back to Peter. His proud smile slowly faded away into one of silence.
"What many don't know is the even bigger shock we were just told about today," a photo showed near the reporter's face, the image zooming out wider to reveal a picture of the Green Goblin.
The next part blew Peter's mind.
"Norman Osborn was revealed to be the New York crime boss known as 'the Green Goblin'. Not only was his body reportedly found to be wearing the Goblin uniform, but thousands of leaks about Osborn's businesses and dealings with the mobs have just now surfaced."
Peter knew all this already – so that wasn't what shocked him. What shocked him was the reveal of this on live television. Everyone knows who the Green Goblin is now. Everyone knows who the bad guy was. For Peter, that was almost too much to take in.
"All his employees, family members, and even possible suspects of men who dealt with him refuse to comment, but the evidence has been proven to be factual. Now, all this does is make the people of New York wonder: Will the company continue to follow in his footsteps?"
That of a brown haired woman soon replaced the picture of the Green Goblin, one Peter would recognize as Harry's mom. He didn't see or talk to her that much, but he knew she existed.
"Emily Osborn has come out to say that she will not follow in the same footsteps of her late husband, instead going for making Oscorp what the City has demanded it to become – a beacon of hope for the people of New York. Whether or not she lives up to that promise is something the city will have to sit back and watch out for.
We will keep you updated as the news goes further."
"Time goes by so fast, doesn't it?"
The TV was at the same volume, on the same channel, with the same anchor continuing on to the rest of the topic, yet he could still clearly hear the voice of an elderly woman.
Peter turned back to the voice's origin, only to see Aunt May looking down, almost in some sort of despair. She probably came out of the kitchen once she heard the first words uttered by that report. She knew it had to be a huge deal for Peter.
"Sources also indicate that Spider-Man could have been involved in Osborn's death, seeing as how citizens reported the massive battle he had with the Green Goblin on the same ni-"
He wasn't going to continue watching this, or even leave it in the background. Not only did he not want to add more guilt to his situation, but May clearly had something to say. Without second thought, he turned it off.
May placed her thumb and index finger in between the top of her nose, shaking her head as she did so. "Such an honorable man…. I can't fathom to think about what made him be this way."
"Me neither…." Peter looked back over to the now shut off TV, bringing his eyes down as his voice lowered to a much more monotone level.
She saw the sadness and confusion in Peter pretty quickly. She read him easily like that. To this day, she still knows something is up whenever Peter came home on a late time.
Noticing his tone, she went over to him and sat next to him, rubbing his hand as he continued to look down at the floor
"Imagine what Harry must be going through, have you talked to him?"
"I can't."
She crouched down to reach Peter's head level, having a confused look on her face.
"You can't? What do you mean you can't?"
"Oh, I dunno, I tried taking his girl away on multiple occasions, not to mention I technically took part in killing his own father." Peter thought.
"It's complicated." He said, turning away from her concerned look.
"Complicated?!" Her voice tone changed from concerning to, from what Peter could tell, an irked one, "Peter, Harry has been a good friend of yours for years. Put whatever differences you have aside and support him, because he supported you!"
She was right. Harry was one of the people that were there for him when his Uncle passed away. Then again, so was Eddie. Then again superhero shenanigans didn't exist at the time to begin with, his life wasn't really at the state it is now.
His Uncle dying was huge, it was on his shoulders, and all that still doesn't compare to the massive weight of responsibilities he has now.
Peter opened his mouth to say something then stopped. He wanted to say it. He wanted to say everything. The temptation was always there ever since he started being Spider-Man, but it's stronger than it ever has been now. So many things going on, not even Peter can find a lousy enough excuse for it all.
He couldn't say it. As much as that always hurt him and his loved ones, he knew that revealing the truth would only hurt them more.
He shut his eyes, clutching the armrest of the couch with a force stronger than he's ever had as Peter Parker.
"….You….wouldn't understand." His voice was staggering, breaking apart. He never asked for any of this.
Aunt May, about to talk back to what he knew was a horrible excuse, listened to his own voice's crumbling tone. She knew something wasn't right with Peter.
She scooted over to him and wrapped her arm around him, "Oh I'm sorry Peter, I only meant to say Harry really needs your help…"
"Yeah, Gwen's already dealing with that." He cringed at his own thought.
"I get it….it's just…" He opened his eyes, looking down once again. He was at a loss for words.
"Go to sleep, alright? If Ben's killer was put to justice, so will Norman's. That's enough to make us all well again."
That was the last straw.
Yes, he was indirectly involved in Norman's death, but that doesn't change how he was the only one there besides Harry or how his actions lead to Norman's death. With Harry, someone who's made it very clear that he dislikes Spider-Man with a passion now, as a witness, he's bound to be the primary suspect.
He fought back his tears as he returned his Aunt's embrace, then breaking it to head upstairs into his own room.
He shut off the lights to his room and lay on his bed, clothes on and everything. He didn't care. With the day he had, it was best to just sleep it off and grab on to the small string of hope of what could be a better one the moment he woke up.
The one part of his day that could've been good was quickly pummeled down to the ground by a news segment related to his superhero life. It never had a chance.
He never asked for this.
The following week had gone just like it began. Peter arrives to school, usually at late times, he's sitting alone, Flash asked for homework help again...
Simply put, he didn't enjoy it. Today was Saturday though; teenagers often saw it as the day where things could change for the better.
Ring! Ring!
Peter looked over to his desk, the alarm clock on it bleeping loudly. As he opened his newly awoken eyes, he swung his arm forward to press its off button, putting remaining strength on his legs to move out the blanket and reach the floor. He got off his bed, spreading his arms out has he groaned loudly, then rubbing his nearly shut eyes. He didn't sleep well the night before, both because of patrol and overall stress that's been hitting him recently
Peter walked over to his closet, opening it to reveal his usual attire; blue shirt, cargo pants, a grey sweater, and his newly washed pouch next to it all.
Next to that attire was his classic red and blue arachnid-themed suit.
He shifted his eyes at both back and forth repeatedly, keeping the same tired face he had when he woke up.
After enough staring at both the suits, he took a deep breath, looked down, and let out a loud sigh.
After breakfast, Peter took a train to the city, now standing on the sidewalk belonging to the loud streets of New York.
Waiting for the traffic light to give him the go to walking to the other sidewalk, he looked at the big clock right next to the border. He had a deadline to arrive to the Daily Bugle just before 12 PM, and Peter didn't want to make it late. Luckily for him, it was just a bit before 11, so he had plenty of time to arrive.
That was, if there weren't any...interruptions with his arrival. He knew that whatever happened from the subway exit to the entrance of the Bugle, if something bad was going down, he had to take care of it no matter what. Hopefully criminals are sane enough to not cause trouble on a Saturday morning today, even with Peter's luck.
When the traffic lights on the other side signaled all citizens the permission to move forward, he and the many other people next to him walked towards the next block.
The calm walk each of these people were having was blurred out to Peter's mind as he got a specific buzz pattern in his senses – the Spider-Sense.
Almost as if time slowed down, Peter stared wide eyed at the delivery truck coming to his direction, then noticing a brown-haired girl wearing jeans, a blue jacket and grey undershirt about his size in front of him right in the center of its path. The other people walking to the other side of the street weren't at that exact position, they'd each have time to avoid the car, unlike how Peter and the girl currently were. They were both in a hurry, which Peter had a reason for, but he didn't know why that was the case for the girl.
Peter jumped towards the girl immediately, grabbing her in his arms as he rolled over to the other side of the road. He could feel the wind fly by; hear the truck's honking and the girl's sudden yelp all at once as he got to the other side at such blinding speed.
When he avoided the imminent death of the young woman, he looked over to the truck, seeing it make steep turn into an alleyway.
Why would this delivery truck be driving so recklessly, especially in a busy Manhattan morning? Peter had to check it out.
He looked down at the girl he just rescued, just now noticing her freckled face and her glasses, which surprisingly didn't fall off during the quick roll. She looked pretty young, almost like if she was his age.
He didn't plan for the roll to be so quick, he didn't even think straight at all. What else would he do when a truck is coming full speed at him and someone else? Hopefully it wasn't too revealing.
"How'd you do that?"
The voice startled him. It wasn't from the girl, obviously, it sounded like a little boy's high-pitched voice.
He lifted his head up to see two kids standing a few inches away.
"Uh…."
The taller kid had his mouth wide open, the other had a face of pure perplexity.
He noticed some adults behind them completely oblivious to what just happened, instead talking amongst themselves.
"…Work out! Get plenty of rest! Y'know, eat your green vegetables!" He smiled brightly to finish it off.
"That's what my mom's always sayin'!" The taller kid responded, "I just never actually believed her!"
After giving the kids a good reason to live a healthy life, he looked down to the girl he was above of, his face just a few inches away from hers.
"You okay?" He asked, looking directly at her blue eyes, which she just started to open up.
"Y-Y-Yeah!" She stuttered with signs of fright, surprise, and gratitude, "Nice save!"
He smiled as he stood up from her, grabbing her hand to help her up. He had to admit, she was kind of cute in a geeky-sort of way, which he obviously didn't mind.
He wanted to introduce himself, he was going to, but moments after he just slightly opened his mouth…
"Thanks but I gotta go, bye!" She said, running away almost as fast as that truck.
Peter would've been beating himself up over letting a girl who looked to fit right within his league run away, but he remembered that he had a job to do. Staring over to the alleyway the truck clearly made a drift to, as told by the black tire marks all over the road ending there, Peter ran to its direction to check it out.
A/N: Hello, all. It's me. Just wanted to say a few things.
Firstly, forgive me for taking almost a whole month to finish this :(
I get busy but I try to finish as much as a can, and I can promise big things to come for this fic.
The plot's really gonna start soon, so stay on the lookout for that. Thanks for reading.
Also, yes, there are a few references to Spider-Man 2 in this chapter. Couldn't resist, love the movie :P