Spider-Man: Year One- A Spider-Man Fanfiction
Summary: Lonely sophomore Peter Parker was the most gifted student at Midtown High, until one day when a bite from a genetically modified spider turned him into something else. Now, he's just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Follow his journey. Rated Teen.
Disclaimer: I do not own Spider-Man.
Chapter Nine
Peter opened the door to his house and stepped inside, ushering Liz forward with a wave of his hand.
"Are you sure this is okay? I mean... won't your aunt care that you have a girl over?" Liz asked, standing by the door.
She had to admit, this was not the way she expected to end the night. She had thought she would be with Flash and her friends, maybe slightly tipsy and plotting for her crown next year. Instead, she found herself stepping into Peter Parker's house just before midnight. Even a month ago, this development would have been laughable. But, Liz had to admit to herself, she enjoyed Peter's company. And, if she was honest, she didn't mind this turn of events.
"Nah... Aunt May won't even be home tonight. She's with Anna Watson," Peter shrugged.
"And what about your date? Won't she mind that you're ending the night with me?"
Peter chuckled. "I told you already. Mary Jane sees herself as a solo act. There is nothing between us."
Liz paused for a minute. Why did it feel like a weight had been lifted of her chest? She had a boyfriend, she shouldn't care if Peter was seeing that girl. Flash was the perfect boyfriend for her current position and was going to be the most popular boy in school come next year. She was in a position to be the most popular girl as well. It was natural for the two of them to be together.
But, lately, it seemed that every time Peter smiled her heart would skip a beat. She had written it off as merely being friends before, but none of her other friends had that effect on her. She didn't feel like swooning when talking to Rand or Kenny or even Eddie Brock.
Was there something more between her and Peter?
"Liz, you okay? " asked Peter, smiling as he broke the girl from her revery. "You spaced there for a minute. I thought that was my move."
"It's been a long night already," Liz sighed. "My brain's gone kinda funny."
"I know what you mean. It's been kind of a whirlwind."
"So, what did you have planned when you invited me over? You aren't going to take advantage of me in my weakened state, are you Mr. Parker?" Liz asked with a smile.
Peter rolled his eyes. "You saw through my diabolical plan."
"Well?"
"I don't know. I've got cards and board games. Or, we can just talk," Peter stated.
"You really didn't have anything planned?"
"Look. I just thought you might want to get away from everything. I wasn't thinking much farther than that."
"Thanks Petey, I appreciate it."
"It's no problem. You may not think so, but I do consider us friends Liz."
Friends. The word struck like hot iron through Liz's chest and she bit back a scowl. But, again, why did she care? She never wanted anything more than friendship from Peter. Hell, in the beginning, she didn't even want that. Peter was a loser. It was a simple fact. An arrogant science geek who hung around Harry Osborn, the single most socially awkward kid Liz had ever known. That fact that Eddie Brock liked Peter gave him some credit, but not enough for Liz to even consider being his friend under normal circumstances. If this were any other loser, she would have some biting retort to offer and send him fleeing. With a few simple words she could make sure that he never spoke another word in her presence, let alone to her. But she didn't want to do that Peter. When did it change?
Her first instinct was to blame it on the dance. Maybe she was just surprised he could land such a stunning date. But she didn't quite believe that to be her reasoning. Sure, Mary Jane was beautiful, but that wasn't why Liz hated seeing them together. Well, it wasn't the only reason Liz hated seeing them together. In the back of her mind, Liz knew that she would hate any girl Peter ended up at the dance with. Because... she wanted to go to the dance with Peter. Not Flash, Peter.
"Liz... Earth to Liz. You spaced out on me again," Peter smiled gently in her direction. "Are you sure you're okay?"
She nodded, smiling herself. "I guess I must be more tired than I thought. Is it alright if I just crash for the night?"
She wasn't very well going to tell Peter she wanted to be at the dance with him. She had much too much to figure out before she was ready to make any definitive statement on her feelings. She still didn't know if she was just infatuated with Peter or if she genuinely liked him. And she wasn't about to blow her relationship with the next king of the school to go out with Peter unless she knew her feelings were real. The point being, she had a slot to think about tonight and she needed to be alone to do so. Besides, it could all be for nothing. She had no idea how he felt about her. It would kill her rep, not to mention crush her heart, if it turned out he thought of her as only a friend.
"Yeah, give me one minute to clean my room up and then you can have the bed," Peter responded.
"I don't want to kick you out of your bed Petey, I can just head home."
"It's late Liz, I wouldn't let you go home at this hour. Besides, the couch down here pulls out and is actually pretty comfortable when you learn how to avoid the bar in the middle of it."
Peter smiled again and headed up stairs, leaving Liz to her thoughts.
…
"Okay Parker," Peter said to himself. "Liz is spending the night at your house. What have you gotten yourself in to this time?"
He had cleaned his room a bit, changed, and found something for Liz to sleep in. Now, he paced the floor of his bedroom in a panic as the reality of the situation set in.
There were days when Peter couldn't believe his luck. Granted, it was usually bad luck, but this was a nice change of pace. He had expected to end the night by dropping off Mary Jane next door and going home to sit in front of his computer until he felt tired. Instead, he prepared his bed for Liz Allan while he was going to sleep on his couch. Not the way he wanted the first time a girl stayed over to go, but he'd take it. Just the thought of Liz sleeping in his bed, even without him in it, made his heart beat faster.
Since the two of them had begun spending time together, Peter's attraction to Liz only began to grow. And it wasn't just some fleeting notion like before. Peter would admit to himself, and Eddie if pushed hard enough, that he found Liz hot. Hell, there wasn't a straight guy at the school who didn't. But it seemed different now. He felt compelled by her personality, the strength if her character and the passion she held for the topics that interested her. Liz was interesting and Peter was intrigued.
Even though his date was arguably prettier, Peter just didn't feel that spark of connection to Mary Jane as he did to Liz. And if he was being honest with himself, he would have preferred to have spent the first part of the night with Liz instead. But she had a boyfriend already. It wasn't like Peter was scared of Flash, not anymore at least, being Spider-Man took care of that. But Peter felt that it wasn't very honorable to try and steal another guy's girl, no matter how much of a jackass the other guy was. That was one of the biggest things Uncle Ben had taught him. You never want to be a home wrecker. So, Peter wouldn't try anything. If they broke up, and he waited a few weeks so he wouldn't be the dreaded rebound guy, then he would make a move. Until then, he just had to be patient and try and feel out if Liz felt the same way. If she didn't, then all the posterizing on the notion wouldn't matter very much at all.
And though he wasn't entirely sure, he had a strong suspicion he would hear about this from Aunt May tomorrow morning. She would certainly be against Peter spending the night with a girl, especially one that he didn't start the night with. Peter had to chuckle to himself. What would she be more upset with him about, that he spent the night with a girl, or that the girl wasn't Mary Jane?
He hoped he could get up and get Liz back to her place before his aunt got home. No harm, no foul, right?
He grabbed the clothes he gathered for Liz and headed down the stairs, only to find the girl staring blankly ahead at the television, which to his immense confusion was not on.
"You know, that thing works better if you turn it on and find something to watch," he joked.
The girl snapped her head up in Peter's direction and smiled sheepishly. "I really am just tired Petey. I'm gonna go to bed."
Peter nodded, crossing the room to her and handing her the clothes he brought for her to sleep in. "Here's something to change into so you don't have to sleep in your dress. My room is the first door on the right, bathroom is across the hall on the left. Good night Liz."
Liz began climbing the stairs before turning around. "Good night Petey."
…
Though the sun was blinding, it wasn't the cause of Peter waking up the next morning. Instead, he opened his eyes to find his aunt shaking him slightly.
Groggy at first, Peter panicked when he remembered the night before. He shot up, wide eyed, and breathing heavily. "Aunt May, I... uh,"
She smiled at him. "Relax Peter, your friend explained everything. I've made breakfast, come and eat."
Peter got up and followed his aunt into the kitchen to find Liz, back in her dress from the night before, gingerly eating a large stack of pancakes. She flashed Peter a small smile when he entered and sat down next to her at the kitchen table.
"Is something wrong with the pancakes?" Aunt May asked. "I can make you something else."
"No!" Liz practically shouted. "They're wonderful, really. I just..."
"There is no need to stand on ceremony in this house, young lady. Eat up, you must be hungry."
Peter watched as Liz smiled widely and began to chow down on the stack in front of her. Peter followed suit when his aunt placed a similar sized stack down before him.
"I swear, the only time Peter stops talking is when he's eating," Aunt May chuckled, sharing a sly look with Liz.
"He stops talking? That's news to me," Liz smiled, Aunt May chuckling along.
"Not really. It usually takes food or a really pretty girl. With you here Liz, I'm surprised he's not mute."
Peter glowered. "As much fun as this is, we need to hurry so I can get get Liz back home. After that I need to head to the Bugle and drop off some pictures."
He finished up the last of his pancakes, turning to make sure Liz was done as well, before throwing off a mock solute to his aunt. "I'll see you later Aunt May?"
She nodded. "I don't have to work today. We'll talk later Peter."
Peter groaned. "Great."
…
Peter rolled into the Daily Bugle around and hour later after dropping Liz off at her father's hotel. He had to admit, he wouldn't mind getting to live in a suite every day, but she assured him she would rather have family around. Maybe the cheerleader's life wasn't as blessed as he and Harry had been led to believe.
Still, as he stood there at her door and said a very awkward goodbye, there was a tension between the two of them that hadn't existed before. Well, it may have existed from his end, but it seemed mutual now. Peter was willing to admit that he wasn't the most perceptive person. He had plenty of talents, but detective work would probably never be one of them. So, he could be reading the situation wrong. But it felt like there may have been something more with Liz this morning than there had been in the past.
The normal bustle of the Daily Bugle was amplified on the weekend as Peter had recently come to find out. The Sunday edition of the paper was, as expected, the most popular and really the only edition that constantly sold out. To Peter, whose pictures had been primarily featured on the website's new "Spider Sightings" page, it was interesting to see how the paper worked when there was an actual printed copy to hold.
"Peter, Jameson's been looking for you all day. You better get in there before he blows his top," Robbie called out, approaching Peter from his desk.
Peter rolled his eyes. "What else is new? I told him I'd be in with pictures this afternoon, by my count I'm still early."
"You know J.J."
"Considering I'm still freelance, he should consider himself lucky I'm even giving him these pictures. Do you know what other papers would be willing to do for me if I went to them instead?"
"Not considering jumping ship, are you Peter?"
Peter sighed. "Not really. I could just use a bit more respect, you know? It gets tiring feeling like I'm Jameson's lapdog."
"Welcome to the Bugle, kid," Robbie responded with a smirk. "Now get in there."
Entering Jameson's office, Peter wasn't surprised to see his semi-boss hunched over his desk with a multitude of different layouts for the next day's paper.
Jameson looked up only when Peter closed the door behind him and motioned him forward. "You better have some pictures for me Parker, or I'll have your job."
Peter just stared at Jameson for a moment. "I'm freelance, Mr. Jameson, I technically don't have a job here."
"Whatever kid, just give me the pictures."
Peter placed a stack of photos on the desk that Jameson shuffled through quickly before selecting one and hastily scribbling a cheque for Peter to cash. "Get out."
After cashing his cheque and saying his goodbyes to Betty and Robbie, Peter made for the exit of the building before being stopped by a nervous Ned Leeds. Wringing his hands, Ned motioned for Peter to follow him to a back corner of the office.
"Is everything okay Ned?" Peter asked. "You need me to take some pictures for your next article?"
"No, I just have something I wanted to tell you and I don't think you want it spread around."
"Go ahead."
"See the other day, I went searching for a better angle to watch Spider-Man face Mysterio. So, I climbed onto a nearby roof."
"And?"
Ned stared at Peter for a moment. " But random chance, I found your camera Pete."
Peter raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
"The other day, I found your camera on a roof. Covered in webs."
Peter's eyes widened, but he managed to keep the panic from his voice. "I'm not following Ned. Why would my camera be on a roof or covered in webs?"
"That was the question I was just going to ask."
"This isn't good. If Ned has figured out my identity, I'm cooked. He's an investigative journalist. At best, he'll sell out my identity to Jameson. I'm looking at juvie, or worse, jail. Just play it cool Parker, you may be able to talk your way out of this one."
"Really, Ned, none of this is clicking with me."
"I know how smart you are Peter, but don't take me for a fool. I may not have all the evidence I need to claim what we both know to be true, but it's only a matter of time if I wanted to pursue. I really don't like the idea of some kid out there fighting the worst that this city has to offer. It's stupid and dangerous. Lucky for you, I like you. I know what would happen if I turned over your identity to the right people. You'd be lucky if it was just the cops, and not the government, that decided to lock you up. Because of that, I have no interest in pursuing this story, despite the significant praise it would bring me. Not to mention the literal bags of gold that Jameson would throw at me for figuring this out."
"Then why wouldn't you?"
Ned stared long and hard at Peter. "I'm not Jameson, I think Spider-Man is a good thing for this city. All those other heroes, none of them stop the street stuff. I've lived in New York long enough to know how screwed up this city can be. And that was before the Avengers or aliens or super villains. It's shitty, but maybe we have to rely on some kid to save us until the city stands up and saves itself. But, I also don't want to see you get in trouble, Pete. What you're doing could get a lot of people hurt. Not to mention yourself. Make no mistake, this is not me giving you my blessing. Consider it a warning, that if you go too far someone is around who can take you out, powers or not. "
"I'm more durable than I look."
Ned chuckled. "I bet. Listen, just keep yourself out of trouble and help out the little guy and we'll have no problems."
"You're really not going to say anything?"
"My own personal gains are not worth the trouble that outing you would cause. I don't want that on my conscience."
"Then, are we done?"
Ned nodded. "For now. Have a good day Pete."
Peter watched Ned walk back to his desk and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. In the future, he would have to be more careful about how he set up his camera. This thing with Ned may have been a fluke, but it could happen again. And Peter wasn't sure the next person to make the connection would be as generous as Ned Leeds.
Ned Leeds. Liz Allan. Mysterio. Peter was suddenly faced with more problems than he had ever encountered in his life. When he began as Spider-Man, he hadn't expected so much change in such a quick amount of time.
End of Chapter Nine
Mary Jane Watson
Age: 15-16
Hair Color: Red
Eye Color: Green
I.Q.: 115
Mary Jane is a girl who likes to be the center of attention. Because of this, she often experiments with different styles and looks. Currently, she has settled on what she calls an "Alt Rock Feel" style. In turn, she has cut her out and branched out her tastes to include bands and artists she wouldn't have considered even a month ago.
Mary Jane feels a connection to Peter, though she would never tie herself down to one guy. That being said, she wouldn't mind getting to know Tiger better if she wasn't worried about being attacked by Liz Allan.
Mary Jane is very good at feigning interest in others and perceiving their wants and desires. Couple this with a nature ability to emote and she believes she may have the talent to become a famous actress one day.
A/N: Sorry for the late update everyone. Hope this chapter is well received. Until next time, peace.