Nova made it home, but it was far past her curfew already. At this point, she knew she was in deep trouble. But the problem is, what story could she come up with?

Did Peter already made one up for her? The original lie was that they were at the library to study. She can't say she was still at the library, it closed at 6 and right now it was close to nine. So what did she do between those hours?

"Hey, sorry I'm late. I saw a deli being rubbed of its salami and chased down a baseball cap man into an alleyway, unprotected and unsupervised like an idiot. But don't worry, turns out there was a massive beast chasing us and I ended up in a forchen teller shop and had my palm read," Nova thought up as she stood on the front porch thinking of a story to tell that won't give Aunt May a heart attack. So far, it sounds good and it was not exactly a lie either. Plus, it was not too far from there and would more likely be on the news. Who in the right mind robs that deli anyway?

Once Nova embraced herself to enter, she was quickly greeted the moment she opened the door.

"Peter is that you?" Aunt May called out from the living before coming out to see it was only Nova.

"No," Nova responded back, "It's your other child. Thanks for asking," she said in a whimsical way.

Aunt May's shoulder slump and disappointment form on her face before she turns away to find Uncle Ben was already behind her. "Oh Benjamin, did we push him too hard?" She whimpered before embracing her husband.

Nova just awkwardly stood at the doorway, confused and baffled at Aunt May's behavior. Honestly, Nova expected to be yelled at and scolded for coming in so late but this is not what she was expecting.

"What about Peter?" Nova finally was able to ask, "Did he not come home before me?"

"He did," Uncle Ben responded, uneasily, "but, we interrogated him a bit too harshly when he came home about his grades and well… he ran away."

Suddenly Aunt May started to whale in tears. "It is all my fault! If only I didn't diagnose him with S.A.D, this would have never happened!"

Uncle Ben try to comfort aunt May's anxieties with encouraging words. "Don't say that," he said gently, "It was my fault. I push the young lad too hard about his grades. It was only English, anyway."

So far, that did not seem to help aunt May's concern and only made her cry even harder. This was getting a bit awkward for Nova to handle but also a bit concerned for her cousin's behavior. Where did he go?

An idea formed into the young teen's mind before rushing outside once again. She could hear uncle Ben calling her back inside but Nova had to check if her assumption was correct. He has to be there, she thought as she reached the front porch of the house across the street and bangs her fist on the door in three knocks. She might have done it a few times more in an impatient manner. Of course, eventually, someone did answer the door.

"What is it?" Growled a scruffed voice behind the door in an irritated tone before opening, "Who in their goddamn mind has the audacity to knock at the door at this-oh…. It's you!" Said the man towering over the open door. He was scruffy and unkempt. His white tank top was stained with a foul odor that made Nova wince with disgust and now a bit of uneasiness at the man's presence.

"Hey Mr. Watson, sir," Nova forced a sweet smile on her face at the scold man that looked at her as if she was a minister handing out bible scriptures at doorsteps for the church. "Is Peter here?" She asked innocently.

Mr. Watson's eyes squinted, "A Parker in my house?!" He blared out before turning and yelling, "Mary! Mary, come here this instant!"

Not a moment too soon, Nova could hear tapping feet coming to the front door.

"Yes dad?" Spoke up MJ as she approached her father before noticing the open door behind him to see Nova.

"Is that Parker boy in my house?!" Mr. Watson growled at his daughter.

MJ blanked for a moment, "No dad, he is not here."

"Are you sure?" He questioned her further, "I swear," he continued, "If I find out that boy was in this house! I'll-"

"Dad, chill! Peter is not here! I swear!" MJ protested and sternly looked at her father into his eyes.

Mr. Watson scuffed before turning his attention back at Nova, "Peter is not here."

"I think I got the message," Nova said, so defeated. Where would he be?

Before Mr. Watson turned to shut the door, MJ shuffled between them yelling, "Wait!" and onto the porch. But her father grabbed a hold of her arm and tried to drag her back inside.

"Where do you think you are going?" Mr. Watson growled.

MJ yanks her arm free from her father and turns her attention to Nova, "What's going on?" She asked, "Did something happen to Peter?"

Nova shrugged her shoulders, "Not sure," she said, "But it seems he ran off before I came home. All I knew was about his grades and aunt May is worried sick."

"I knew that Parker boy was no good," Mr. Watson mumbled out loud.

"Dad!" MJ scolds him, "Should you be watching your game or something right about now?"

"What about you?" He fired back, "Should you be in bed already, yourself?"

"Dad, this is an emergency!" She said seriously.

"No matter what," he continued, "It's a school night!"

There was a brief pause. "Dad, it's Friday…"

"It's past your bedtime!"

"I'm fifteen!"

"And you're my daughter!"

"DAD!"

Nova just stood there more awkward than ever. Maybe she should go back to see if aunt May calmed down.

"Either way!" Mr. Watson said, "I am not allowing my only child to run wild around the streets to find a boy! And that is final!"

"Well…. I'll be with her," Nova pipe up finally, before getting a nasty glare from Mr. Watson. "I don't have my phone and seem to have lost it. So I need someone to reach out to our circle to see if anyone around knows where Peter is."

MJ's green eyes lit up. "Great idea, Nova!" She said as she dug up her phone from her sweat pants pocket and was already tapping away on her phone screen.

Mr. Watson rolled his eyes. "Right, sure. That will work," he sarcastically said, "As if anyone would know where he-"

"Found him!" MJ chimed as she held up the smart phone between them. Flashing its illuminated screen of a picture on her phone. "He is at—Kong's house?" She was baffled at the end. So was Nova herself as she took the phone away from MJ to look at the photo. And sure enough, it was true. There was Peter in a playful headlock by the large, bald headed jerk.

How is this possible? Nova thought, a month ago, he tried to kick Peter over!

"I'll go change!" MJ claimed as she pushed her way back into the house with a hurry.

"Oh no you're not!" Yelled Mr. Watson as he slammed the door behind him to chase after his daughter.

Nova still stood at the front porch, numbing ignoring the yelling and screaming coming from inside the Watson's home as she stared at the glowing screen image.

That can't be Peter… her thoughts denied the idea this was him in the photo. But it was, no doubt, him. Of all places, why there?

Nova sighs as she places the phone down on the railing and sits down on one of the step porch. So much has changed since that bite from the lab. Everything changed. Especially Peter from a sweet kid to a complete jerk ward.

"It's all that spider fault," Nova murmured as she slick her fingers through her bangs away from her face. "If that thing didn't…. Didn't…" she stummer through her thoughts before realizing, "He would still be a boy behind an open book…"

Nova gazed up at the smog lite sky. The only thing that twinkle in the sky was light beakers from airplanes gliding by. Never once, Nova never saw a star lite sky but only from pages of Peter's astronomy books he would constantly recommend her. Nova could not recall why he showed her, but then again, when he learned something new and fantastic, Peter had to share it with her right away. That was the best quirks Nova liked about him. Peter never hides anything with her and she can do the same with him. They always felt connected somehow, like actual siblings. But now their path is splitting. Is this part of growing up? Nova asked herself before she felt someone rush pass her.

"Nova, what are you doing?" Piped MJ as she snagged her phone off the rail of the porch, "We should get going! Right now!" MJ continued and even pulled Nova up onto her feet hastily.

"You come back here this instant!" Yelled Mr. Watson, not too far behind inside the house. He was marching right at them and looked far beyond angry.

"Uh-oh!" The girls yelped and made a book for it down the street.

As they made a run for it. Nova could hear a flopping sound. She glanced down to notice MJ's footwear. They look like high stilt flip flops with a single black band across them with no liner between the toes or behind the heel.

"How the hell are you running in those shoes?" Nova baffled at her friend's footwear of choice.

"At least I am wearing something then running barefoot," she chuckled a bit before glancing over her shoulder.

Nova did the same and could see what she meant. Mr. Watson was far behind them at his state and seems he has already given up on the chance the moment it started. It seems he was yelling about something, but the girls were way too far to even understand what the man was bloberling while kneeling over.

"Your dad seems to be out of shape already," Nova said as she slowed down her run for a bit.

MJ did the same, "Yeah, that's what smoking would do to you," she huffed and even straightened her small top a bit. "And luckily he can't drive right now or he is at the risk of getting his license revoked."

"So…. Now where do we go?" Nova asked, so unaware to go from here.

"To Kong's place, of course!"

"But we don't know where Kong lives."

"Oh, did I not tell you?" MJ blank, "Liz sent me an invite to the party, which was at Kong's place way before you arrived. I was not aware Peter was there at that moment. If I knew, I would already be there," she chimed.

Nova slightly nodded, "ah-uh, good thing you didn't or I would have been lost without you."

MJ beamed at the comment.

As the casual strode forward, they could feel a car's headlight beam on them from behind. They looked over and could tell this car was not driving fast but possibly following them.

"Are you sure your dad get behind the wheel?" Nova asked uneasily.

"He wouldn't…" said MJ, but she looked like was was ready to run as the car came up closer.

It was hard to make out the car from the dark and how bright the light was shining on them. Maybe it was nothing? Until the car started to honk at them.

"Nova! Mary Jane!" Called the voice.

Both the girls recognized it. "Ben?"

"You two were not thinking about walking the streets of New York by yourselves, especially at this hour of the night?" Ben scolded them.

The girls looked at each other.

"I think we can take care of ourselves," said Nova with confidence.

Ben nodded, "Is that so? Do you have pepper spray or anything that you two can define yourself?"

Nova started to open her mouth again before backing down. Of course she could defend herself. She has spider strength. But MJ…. She glanced over at her friend, who was tapping through her pockets as if she was looking for something.

"He is right," MJ said with a sigh before looking back at Ben, "Are you taking us back home?"

"Depends," said Ben, "Do you both know where Peter is?"