Posted: 6/29/08.

Suspicion.

Spidey sat in a chair in front of what he assumed was his computer. Sitting alone in the bedroom, he looked somewhat out of place while clad in his red and black costume, minus the mask. But it's not like there was anybody to see him. It was night. The only light in the room came from the computer screen and streetlights from outside the window.

He had no idea why he couldn't remember his life. And he feared even if he learned something about himself, he would just forget it again. But that was no reason to not even try. After all, what would MJ think if he did nothing to solve this problem?

That's why when he woke up that evening, he decided to explore his bedroom and try to find out more about himself. He started with the bookshelf. Spidey was hoping to find some type of personal diary, but no such luck. All he saw were textbooks. It was a diverse selection, but the majority were science books. The techno-babble inside made little sense to him. He was probably storing them for someone else.

His next target was the computer. Spidey sat down in his swivel chair and booted up his terminal. But as soon as he did the words "User login: Password?" appeared on the screen.

Pretty annoying problem for an amnesiac.

Spidey slouched in his chair and glared at the screen, as if daring it to provoke him further. Finally, he turned the computer off and put his mask on.

He was irked. He needed to let off some steam. And if there was one thing Spidey knew about himself, the best way to let off steam was to get some air in the city. Of course, catching some would-be criminals helped too. Spidey opened his window and crawled out.

He'd try again to learn about himself tomorrow night.

"A lot of people ditched school today," Flash observed, for the sake of conversation.

It was Friday. The school was officially closed down on Thursday, but classes resumed as normal afterward. Except for Mr. Believe's; a substitute wouldn't be available until after the weekend.

Flash was eating lunch in the school cafeteria. On either side of him were his girlfriend Debra, and his best friend Kong. Flash was tall, well built, and had reddish-blonde hair. Debra was much shorter than Flash. She wore glasses and had pale blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. Kong was the tallest and the stoutest. He had no hair.

Debra was busy doing her homework while she ate. She kept her eyes on her papers when she answered Flash. "It doesn't surprise me. After what happened on Wednesday, who can blame them? I half-expected you to take advantage of it and skip classes as well, Flash."

"Parents wouldn't let me," Flash explained. "If the school's not closed, and I'm not half-dead with sickness, I have to come."

"Ditto," Kong said. "Did your parents force you here too, Debbie?"

"Don't call me that," Debra requested as she readjusted her glasses. "And I actually enjoy school."

"Flash has the weirdest taste in girlfriends. Not that I'd ever say that to his face."

"You're thinking aloud again," Flash said while narrowing his eyes.

Kong chose to put some food in his mouth instead of replying.

Flash Thompson and Debra Whitman contrasted in several ways. While the former was a typical jock, the latter was a typical nerd. Flash was a natural athlete, captain of the football team, and in danger of failing two classes. Flash was arguably the school's most popular person, despite being a part-time bully. Debra was an intellectual, who had no interest in popularity or sports. Many people considered her the smartest person in the school. In the past, Flash teased her for being a 'nerdy bookworm.'

How the two of them got together is anyone's guess. Not even Flash and Debra completely remember why they started dating.

Debra looked up from her notes and put the end of her pencil on her lips, the way she did when she was deep in thought.

Flash leaned over to her. "Something on your mind?"

"I can't stop wondering about everything that happened yesterday. Why was Mr. Believe the one killed? It couldn't have been random. Not if the shooter snuck into his office."

Kong spoke up, excited. "Here's my theory. That guy in the white mask didn't seem like some random thug. He seemed like a professional criminal, like a crime boss or something. Maybe Believe was actually a secret agent posing as a teacher while trying to stop him. That's why he had a gun too."

"Maybe Believe was the crime boss and the white mask was the secret agent," Flash said, half-jokingly.

"Good guys don't wear masks."

Flash stared at his bald friend in confusion. "Good guys can have guns, but not masks? Besides, what about Spider-man? Don't tell me he isn't a good guy."

Good point. Kong had nothing to respond to that with. He took another bite out of his food.

"Spider-man is also something I'm curious about," Debra muttered. "The entire school has been talking about him since he was spotted fighting that white mask. There are rumors flying everywhere about why he was here."

"I got a theory about that too," Kong said. "I think Spider-man was tracking that guy for days, and finally found him here in the school."

"How would Spider-man know that guy was here if he was only here to kill Mr. Believe?" Flash asked.

"Maybe the white mask was hiding in the school for a long time. He might even be another teacher."

"The police said that everyone on the staff had an alibi at the time Mr. Believe was shot," Debra reminded him. She smiled. "Here's my theory for Spider-man's appearance; I think he's a student at this school."

"Why a student?"

"Because I just said the teachers had an alibi right before he appeared."

"Come to think of it," Kong mumbled, "wasn't Spider-man first sighted the night after we had that field trip at Oscorp? Maybe he got his powers from a classified experiment there or something."

"That's a bit of an assumption," Debra replied. "But the timing does suggest a connection."

Flash held up a hand. "Wait. Even if Spider-man is a student here in the school, so what?"

The trio looked at each other. Kong grinned form ear to ear. "We can find out who Spider-man is!"

Debra grinned as well. "For the first time since I've known him, I agree with Kong."

"Don't you wanna know, Flash?" Kong asked. "He's been practically your hero since you heard about him Tuesday."

"I wouldn't say hero…" He paused. He smiled. "But it would be pretty cool being the first people to learn his secret identity."

"And it might lead to more information about Mr. Believe and the man in the white mask," Debra said.

"That settles it," Kong declared. He threw his fist into the air. "We're going to find out who Spider-man is!"

Flash pulled Kong's fist down. "Quiet! Spider-man could be here today, remember?" Fortunately, the cafeteria was as noisy as it always was. Nobody seemed to notice Kong's announcement. "If we're really going to do this, we need to take it seriously. I think we should make a list of suspects."

Debra took a fresh page out of her notebook and touched it with her pencil. Then she paused. "Where should we start? Kong and I were there when he appeared, but his costume hid any defining features. We couldn't even tell how tall he was. He could be anyone."

Kong, eager to keep the ball rolling, said, "Then we'll just focus on other things. Spider-man is always jumping off rooftops and fighting muggers, right? So we'll look for someone really athletic."

Flash nodded. "I already know everyone on the football team, but we'll need to look up the members of the other clubs. Maybe a basketball play—" Flash stopped himself when he noticed Debra's serious expression. The end of her pencil was on her lips again. "What is it?" He followed her gaze.

He saw Peter Parker sleeping facedown in his food.

Flash and Kong burst out laughing. "Remember that time when we shoved his face into his tray?" Kong asked between chuckles. "He saved us the trouble this time." They continued laughing.

It wasn't until Flash noticed that Debra still had her serious expression that he stopped. "Debra, what is it?"

"Peter has been falling asleep in his classes lately as well," she stated. "He never used to do that before this Monday."

"So?"

"Maybe he's staying up late at night."

"So?"

"Spider-man is usually seen late at night."

"You think Parker is trying to find Spider-man too?"

"No. I think Peter should be our first suspect."

Flash and Kong took a moment to absorb Debra's words. They looked at each other. Then they started laughing even louder than before.

"Stop that! I'm serious!"

Flash forced down his giggles. "You think that Parker—Puny Peter Parker—could be Spider-man?"

"Well, maybe."

"Debra, that's impossible. Spider-man beats up like five muggers a night. I could knock down Puny Parker just by breathing on him."

"Have you knocked him down since Monday?"

No response. Flash hated admitting when Debra had a point, which was unfortunately very often.

"I don't know how Spider-man got his abilities," Debra said, "but what makes Peter less likely to get them than someone else?"

Flash and Kong looked at the boy who had just regained consciousness and was wiping food off his face. He looked pathetic.

"You really think that's Spider-man?"

"I think he's our only suspect at the moment. Unless you've noticed anyone else falling asleep in class."

Flash and Kong sighed in unison. It was a dejected sigh. "Fine. Put him down as suspect number one."

A triumphant Debra wrote Peter Parker's name on the list of suspects.

"So much for your hero," Kong thought aloud.

Flash shoved Kong's face into his tray.

Late Friday afternoon, Peter was leaning against the wall outside of a movie theater, sleeping again. Gwen walked up to him and gently shook his shoulder. Peter's eyes fluttered open.

Gwen smirked. "I'm not that late."

Peter widened his eyes. He was wide awake now. "Gwen! Uh- I'm sorry! You're not late. I mean…" He calmed down and shrugged sheepishly, not sure what else to say. Gwen just giggled and shook her head.

The two walked into the building together. They quietly got their tickets and made their way into the auditorium. The movie wouldn't start for several minutes, and yet the place was quickly filling up with people. Despite that, Peter and Gwen easily found two seats next to each other.

"You fell asleep in class today, too," Gwen said after they sat down. "Are you getting enough sleep at night?"

"I think so. I mean, I'm going to sleep the same time I always do." He rubbed the back of his head. "I have been having some nightmares lately. That might have something to do with it."

"Nightmares? Is it about what happened on Wednesday?"

Peter shook his head. "They're not about that. Actually, I don't really remember them after waking up. They're really vague." The lights dimmed as the trailers started. Peter ignored them. "Are you okay after that thing that on Wednesday?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was on the first floor when it happened. You were the one I was worried about. Did you see the man in the mask?"

"Which one? The shooter or Spider-man?"

"Either."

Peter diverted his eyes. "N-Not exactly."

"Not exactly?"

"I mean no. I wasn't even there. No! I was there. I meant I didn't see them. I was…" He considered his next words.

"Peter, is there something you're not telling me?"

"Not telling you?" he repeated. He waved his hands while giving a weak smile. "N-No, no. I told you everything. I-I mean, what could possibly make you think there was something—"

Gwen crossed her arms and gave Peter 'The Look.' He instantly stopped smiling. Poor soul had never experienced Gwen's 'Look' before.

I totally suck at this lying thing, Peter thought. He sighed and rubbed his head, in the same place the bump used to be. "The truth is, I came out of the classroom after I heard the shot. And then someone hit my head and knocked me out. I think it might have been the shooter."

"WHAT?" Gwen yelled. Everyone else in the theater turned their heads and looked at the couple. Peter nervously motioned for Gwen to keep quiet. Gwen ignored him and felt the back of his head. "You were attacked by that hitman?! Why didn't you say something?"

Peter stuttered. "W-well, when I woke up everything was over. I-I didn't want to get anyone worried."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "It didn't work, Peter. Don't do stuff like this to me."

"Stuff like what?"

"Don't try to protect me from the truth. I really don't like that."

Peter hung his head. His first date with the girl he liked and all he did was make her mad. "I'm sorry. I just felt saying it would do more harm than good."

Gwen lifted Peter's chin and looked into his eyes. "Don't keep secrets from me, okay?"

He blinked and nodded softly. "Okay."

Gwen smiled and fell back into her seat. She placed her hand on top of Peter's. Apparently, she wasn't as mad as Peter thought.

Peter blushed. "Uh… the movie's starting," he observed as the trailers ended. He stared straight ahead at the movie screen.

Gwen heard a brief giggle coming from behind her. A familiar brief giggle. She turned her head to look behind her. She gaped.

Mary Jane was sitting a few rows behind Gwen. As soon as Gwen looked at her, Mary Jane smiled and started waving, but the man at her right quickly grabbed her wrist and forced it down. The man was wearing a hat and trying to hide his face behind the book he was reading, but Gwen recognized him. It was Gwen's father. And Gwen's mother was sitting next to him, hiding her own face behind a book.

Sitting on Mary Jane's left were two people in their early fifties. They slowly pulled their hats over their faces. Gwen assumed they were Peter's aunt and uncle. They were trying to look inconspicuous. They failed.

And as if that wasn't enough, sitting behind all of them were Debra, Flash, and Kong. Gwen had no idea why they were interested in their date, but there they were. They weren't even bothering to hide.

Those eight people did not pay attention to the trailers.

Gwen looked forward again, slightly dazed. Her expression was a mix of amazement and 'why me.'

"Are you okay?" Peter asked her. He slowly started to turn his head.

"Don't turn around," Gwen warned.

Peter obediently looked back at the movie screen. He didn't mind being protected from the truth.

Author's notes: I know it's cliché (which I usually hate), but it just wouldn't be the main characters' first date if EVERYONE weren't spying on them.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own "Spider-Man" or anything connected with it (or anything else that influences this fanfiction).