Chapter 3

One constant thing that remained in the Parker house was tea. Every morning before school, Aunt May was at the kitchen table, waiting for him to clomp down the stairs on his way out the door. She always had a fresh cup of tea for him, which he always declined and opted for OJ or a swig of milk to wash down a mouthful of cereal. And this morning, after everything that happened the day before with Gwen, he could use some familiarity. He hated himself for what he was putting her through. He couldn't seem to get the way her face looked out of his mind. She was all he saw when he closed his eyes.

Peter walked down the stairs and walked into the kitchen. Aunt May was at the stove, flipping pancakes . A warm mug of tea smiled up at him from the table, and Peter took it, resting his hands around the cup, letting the warmth and the steam wash away his troubles.

"Happy Friday," Aunt May said.

Peter gave a nod to her, and Aunt May set down a fresh stack of pancakes before him. "You're still taking pictures for the school newspaper, right?"

"Yeah," He said.

"Well, I heard from Agnes down the street that the Daily Bugle is hiring. Maybe that's something you could look into this summer, after graduation."

Graduation. He had all but forgotten that he was graduating in a few short weeks. He had been accepted at Empire State, and the Daily Bugle wasn't that far from the off campus housing he had been provided. It wouldn't hurt to make a little money.

"You alright, Peter?"

"Just didn't sleep that well, Aunt May."

"Girl trouble?"

Peter nearly choked on his tea. How could she know? How could she possibly know what had happened?

"Oh, come on, I may be old, but I'm not blind." Aunt May said, sitting down beside Peter with a stack of pancakes herself. "Is it that girl that was at the door?"

Peter decided that this was going to be a long and difficult conversation for both of them, so he busied himself with lathering butter on his hot cakes. He did not want to be having this conversation with her because she'd see the good in him, and she'd build up his confidence and tell him to go out and win the girl.

But he couldn't have the girl when he was Spiderman, no matter how much he wanted her and how much she wanted him. He had been given these abilities, these gifts for a reason. And he had to help in any way that he could. He had to find a purpose. "Yeah, that was Gwen." He said finally.

"Did I ever tell you the way your Uncle Ben asked me out the first time?" She said, a smile spreading across her face.

Peter sighed internally. He couldn't just get up and walk away now, claiming he was late for school. This was one of those stories that he'd have to sit through if he had a hole in his head. And he did want to hear her story, they hardly ever talked about Uncle Ben anymore. It was just still too real and too painful. So, he settled in to listen and hoped he could make it through. Just not today. Not when he wanted Gwen so badly it hurt. "No," he said, plastering a smile to his face, "you never did."

"Well," Aunt May said, "we were about your age, I suppose." She smiled, "It was at Coney Island. I had noticed your uncle in school. But I was there with a group of my girlfriends, and he was there with a group of his friends, and we were standing in the same line for hot dogs. He was in front of me, and kept turning around to smile now and then." She paused, "When it came time for me to pay, I found out that not only my hot dog, but all of my friend's had been paid for as well." She grinned, remembering, "And then our hands met over a bottle of ketchup."

Peter let out a laugh and Aunt May swatted at him, "Oh, say what you want, it was romantic."

He laughed louder. This felt good. Here he was expecting some long speech about how he had to look deep inside his soul and realize he was a good kid. Instead he got a story about hot dogs and ketchup. He could deal with those.

"You should have stories like that." Aunt May said.

"About ketchup?" Peter asked, his mouth full of pancake.

"No, about how you asked the prettiest girl at school out. How you danced with her all night. You're a good looking boy, Peter. You should go on dates."

And there it was. Peter let his fork drop to his plate with a clang. He pushed himself away from the table and stood up. "I'm late for school." He said. He walked out the door before she had a chance to call him back. There was no dates. There was no dancing. Not for Spider-man.

She moved in the darkness, her hands rhythmically turning the lock until she heard that sweet click. Banks in the Big Apple were so stupid. They spent millions of dollars on high tech surveillance technology, but as for their vaults, seemed like Uncle Sam wasn't signing those checks. She pulled the vault open, and was greeted with a wall of safe deposit boxes and stainless steel traps holding the larger bills. All child's play for her, after all, she, Felicia, was following in the footsteps of her father, Walter Hardy, the world's greatest cat burglar.

"I believe you've reached the bank after business hours."

Felicia turned, and found Spider-man hanging upside down behind her. She felt a thrill go up her spine. There was something about him that turned her on. His power, his body, his abilities. She felt herself flush. "Spider-man." She purred.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked. "I remember you from the other night."

"Just a good girl gone bad."

He shook his head. "This isn't a game."

"Isn't it?" She asked, smiling. "I do bad, you catch me, I hide, you find me, it's all a game in the end." She smiled widely, and Peter was once again taken aback. The short mask on her face did nothing to hide her beauty. This was a gorgeous woman. There was no denying that. She walked to him then, smiling, and he felt for a moment like he was the one doing wrong here. He let her walk to him, her smell intoxicating, the heat from her body welcoming. Was this how lonely he was? That he missed Gwen so badly, he'd take any affection he could get, even from this stranger?

"Stay back," He muttered, reflexively aiming his wrist at her just before her long fingernails touched his arm.

Felicia held up her hands. She watched him for a second, and when he did not shoot her with the webbing, she tentatively placed her hand on his arm and felt the grainy texture of his suit. She smiled. "You're so amazing." She whispered.

Peter felt his heart racing in his chest. What was he doing? What was he doing? He let her hand run up and down his arm, and then it started to explore different parts of his body, his chest, his torso, and he lingered on her touch, until it began to drift toward his midsection. "Stop." He said, grabbing her arm.

"Why?" She asked, that radiant smile still on her face.

"Because we're in a bank you're robbing." He said stupidly.

"Fair enough," She said, walking away from him and back over to the pretty aluminum safe deposit boxes.

He missed her touch. It was considerably colder without her hand roaming his body. Get it together, Parker. He gave his head a small shake. She was busy filling her chest with stacks of money. While he just hang here like a puppy after a pork chop. He gritted his teeth and shot webbing at the box, yanking it from her hands. She looked up in surprise.

"Remove all the money. NOW." He said.

She turned her body to him, placing her hands on her hips. "Why don't you come and do it for me?"

What was it with this woman? Granted, this was the first female robber he had encountered, and he wasn't quite sure how to deal with her.

To his luck, there was a commotion outside, and he heard officers rushing the building. He smirked underneath his mask. Her eyes darted around for an exit.

"I can't let you leave." He said.

For this first time since they had met, she seemed incredibly pissed off. "I'm not a bad person." She said to him, "you just don't understand."

He waited until the officers ran in, and then escaped to the shadows, her words lingering in his mind.

…..

Don't worry, Gwen will be back in the upcoming chapters! Peter seems conflicted... again, thanks for all the likes and faves and reviews! Reviews make the author very happy. I love to hear what you think!