Chapter 10

"Nice costume kid,"

"It's not a costume!" Peter said for the umpteenth time. "Okay, it technically is, but that's not the point," he continued, exasperated. "I know the band!"

"Yeah, and I know Tony Stark. Now piss off," the bouncer said, looking unimpressed.

"If you'd just let me in, I'd be out of your hair ASAP," Peter offered.

"Kid, this is a gig, not some Halloween party," the bouncer said monotonously. "No tickets, no entry,"

"Tickets? Oh right, I've got tickets!" Peter remembered.

The man looked at him skeptically, before reluctantly offering his hand. "Hand them over then," he sighed.

"Right-I-uh, it's in my pockets, should be," Peter replied while searching whatever pockets he has. "Err, back pockets? No? Wait, wait! I've got them," he continued whilst he searched for the tickets in a panic.

"MJ gave them to me, then I put em' in my pants," Peter mulled to himself, recalling the events of the day. "Which, I left in my… backpack…," Peter grimaced as the realization deflated him. "I, uh, left my backpack at home?" he offered weakly.

"No tickets, no entry," the bouncer grunted at Peter before brushing him off.

"Ahh man," Peter groaned. He could hear the band playing from inside the venue, even with all the raucous cheers in the lot.

Peter checked his phone and thought about calling Harry & Ned. He considered it for a few moments before ultimately stopping himself.

He quickly sneaked into a nearby alleyway and started climbing up the walls onto the roof. "Well, there's more than one way for spiders to get in," he mused to himself as he climbed up the walls. "It's technically not piracy if I already have the tickets," Peter grinned as he convinced himself of his own morality.

As he reached the roof of the 'Floorboard' he slowly pushed open one of the building's skylights, giving him a top view of the 'Mary Janes'.

*electric guitar riff*
Yeah! Yeah! YEAH!

*song ends*

Peter settled in top view seat as the 'Mary Janes' finished their song. "Eh?! That's it?!" Peter exclaimed in surprise. "Ahh man, I missed the best part," he groaned.

The lot whooped & cheered the Mary Janes for their performance. "How's that for a warm-up?!" the announcer screamed to his mike as he whipped up the crowd into a frenzy. "Give it up for the 'Mary Janes' everyone!"

The crowd cheered in unison one more time as the Mary Janes made their exit from the stage.

"Now that we've got you all fired up, are you ready for the main event?!" the announcer continued to rile the crowd. "It's time for… 'Married with Sea Monsters'!"

Another collective roar came out from the crowd as the band started playing their music. Peter smiled softly as he watched the show. It's not his type of band, but he knows its one of Gwen's favorites.

Peter eyed his two best friends whooping & cheering excitedly with everyone in the front row. After a while, the girls came out from one of the side doors & joined them in the crowd.

Peter smiled ruefully at the scene, taking a moment to savor the scene, before putting his mask back on. "Great job Peter, letting people down, as always," he sighed to himself before swinging down to MJ's van.

He looked around the van for a while before webbing MJ & Gwen's phone on the shotgun seat. He then borrowed a pen from the bouncer, and wrote down a note on a piece of paper he found nearby.

'Here's your phone back,
P.S. :- Awesome show, you guys were great,
Spider-Man'

"There, that should do it," Peter nodded in satisfaction before webbing the note next to the phones. He then zipped himself up onto a nearby building.

"Can't believe I left my backpack again," Peter grumbled to himself as he swinged away.

"You're early for once,"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah sure," Peter nodded slowly as he sat next to Gwen in the bus stop, rubbing the sleep off of his eyes. "Great show last night by the way," Peter said, as he let out a tired yawn.

Gwen paused for a few moments as the statement hung in the air. "Yeah, weren't as good as 'Married with Sea Monsters' though,"

"Hmm? I donno, I thought you were better," Peter offered.

"You weren't there though…," Gwen eyed him skeptically.

"Hmm? Wha-," Peter perked up instantly as he realized what he just said. "O-oh yeah! I just thought you'd be better than them," Peter laughed nervously.

Gwen turned away from Peter, her face covered by her shoulder length hair. "Thanks, but flattery won't get you anywhere Peter," Gwen replied, as she pulled up her hoodie up to further cover her face. "Especially since you didn't even make it last night,"

Peter winced at Gwen's last words. He started, trying to explain himself to Gwen, but Gwen has already put her earphones back on, which he took as a sign that the conversation was over.

As they sat down together in silence, the bus came over after a few moments.

"Mr. Parker! Long time no see!"

"Still?"

"Still mad at you Pete," Harry shook his head, refusing to look at Peter.

"For what it's worth, it turned out ok in the end," Ned assured Peter.

"What? Ned?! Which team are you on man?" Harry exclaimed.

Ned shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just saying. It turned out ok," Ned said defensively. "I'm on no one's side,"

"Well, you should be on my side!" Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance. "We're not letting him off that easily!"

Ned flashed Peter an apologetic smile as they sat down for lunch.

Just as they were sitting down, a tray of food was forcibly placed on the table facing Peter.

"MJ?!" Peter exclaimed in surprise as he saw MJ seated in front of him.

"Oh hey Parker, nice to finally see you for a change," MJ flashed him a venomous smile.

Peter visibly winced as she threw those words to him. "Yeah, umm, sorry about yesterday," Peter offered apologetically.

Betty & Glory was also now taking their respective seats around their table. "What's up 'tiny tutor'," Glory smiled at him chirpily.

MJ stared at Peter's apologetic face for a few moments, before letting out a small sigh in defeat. "It's fine, it kinda went pretty well anyway," she brushed the whole thing off.

"I mean, it's not okay," MJ added as she reverted back to her glare towards Peter. "But last night turned out so well, I'm gonna let you off the hook," MJ smiled towards Peter.

"O-oh. Thanks?" Peter said, slightly surprised at MJ's reaction.

"Figures, she's probably still hung up about Spider-Man," Betty quipped in as she took a few bites off her fries.

Ned stood up in surprise after hearing Betty's words. "Y-y-you guys met Spider-Man?!" Ned exclaimed, drawing concerned glances from across the cafeteria.

MJ quickly leaned over to Ned & pushed him back down onto his seat. "Dude, calm down!" MJ hissed. "Yes, I met Spider-Man yesterday, now sit down!"

As she was pushing Ned back, Gwen eventually arrived and joined them at their table. "You guys seem lively today," Gwen said off-handedly. "What's all the fuss about?"

"Spider-Man!" Ned said excitedly.

"Oh," Gwen's face turned into a slight frown, to Peter's slight dismay.

"So…, you guys met Spider-Man?" Peter said, trying his best to look disinterested.

"Yeah, he totally saved us from a robbery yesterday," MJ grinned, slightly excited to recount her story.

"What?! No way?!" Ned exclaimed in disbelief.

Harry elbowed Ned as he tried to calm his friend down. "Bro, chill," Harry insisted, before turning back towards MJ. "But, seriously? Spider-Man?" Harry asked, trying (and failing) to control his excitement.

MJ grinned while gesturing towards her & Gwen. "Spider-Man," she nodded, grinning smugly towards Harry.

Gwen brushed it off as best as she could. "There was a robbery down at 6th Avenue. We were there. I guess he just happened to be there as well,"

"That's sick!" Ned & Harry both exclaimed excitedly.

"So…, uhh, what do you guys think of him?" Peter asked nonchalantly.

"Love him," MJ & Ned said in unison, before MJ beamed at Ned and gave him a high-five.

"Well, I guess he's okay," Harry mulled. "The paper's calling him a menace though, but my dad seems to like him,"

"I like him," Betty chipped in. "He feels personal you know,"

"I get what you mean," Glory said in support. "This morning my mom's friend told her Spidey helped return a bike yesterday,"

"Eh, not exactly Avenger's level," Harry remarked.

"But bike thefts are important too you know," Ned answered defensively, before Peter could say anything.

"Our own, 'Friendly-Neighborhood Spider-Man'," Gwen remarked sarcastically as she chewed down on her fries.

Peter blinked in surprise for a few moments, before regaining his composure. "So…, you guys think he's great then?"

"Yes!" Ned & MJ both agreed excitedly.

Betty shrugged her shoulders. "Sure,"

"Yeah, sure," Harry nodded in agreement.

Gwen sat in silence at her seat, before realizing everyone's attention had turned to her, expecting her answer.

"I guess he's okay," Gwen rubbed the back of her head hesitantly. "He just…, feels, a little weird,"

"Pfft, you're just starstruck, Stacy," MJ interjected.

"That's rich, coming from you," Gwen retorted.

"I see, cool cool," Peter nodded as he listened to their replies, playing it cool.

"Is that, jealousy I sense from you Parker?" Glory looked at him incredulously, as she teased him for his nonchalant attitude.

"W-what? No,"

"Afraid Spidey's gonna swing over & steal MJ from you?" Glory continued teasing Peter.

"Knock it off," MJ elbowed Glory in her ribs as she grinned smugly at her.

Peter couldn't help but grin as he listened to them talk about his alter-ego.

"Anyway, Harry, you got the vid?" MJ changed the topic as they continued their lunch break.

Harry immediately took out his phone & showed them the recording he made the night before. "Got it,"

"Nice," MJ grinned as they watched the footage of their performance.

As they listened to themselves finishing the song in the recording, MJ clapped her hands together & turned towards Peter.

"So, Peter…," MJ flashed him a pitiful pout to try & coerce him. "Didn't you say you were good at video editing?"

"I wouldn't say I'm good at it," Peter mulled the thought over to himself. "But I'm ok with it sure. Why?"

"We need your help to make a promotional video for our band," MJ continued, still giving Peter her 'puppy stare'.

*School bell rings*

As Peter made his way down the hall in between classes, he noticed two familiar figures stood by the hallway, talking to each other.

One of the figures noticed him from afar and waved at him. Peter waved back, as the man gestured for Peter to come over to them.

"Peter! How are you, young man?! Haven't seen you in ages!"

Peter smiled sheepishly as he greeted the man. "I've… been around Mr. Stacy," Peter joked. "Just hanging around,"

George nodded, as he smiles warmly at Peter. "You doing okay? Your aunt?"

"We're, uhh, we're doing fine," Peter assured him.

George continued nodding for a few moments, flashing a warm assuring smile at Peter. "Right, I was just telling Gwen to be more careful around these parts," he gestured towards Gwen, facing him & Peter.

Gwen nodded, shrugging her shoulders as she stood there, making it as awkward as possible for her father.

George nodded in silence, also standing there awkwardly as he tries to find words to say to his daughter. "I was just around, you know," he explained to Peter. "And I thought I'd drop by. Tell you guys about it,"

Peter nodded along, standing there awkwardly, a third wheel in their conversation. "Don't worry Mr. Stacy, Midtown's pretty safe, I think. Would be weird for people to rob a school," Peter joked.

"Oh, no. No no no, it's not robbers," George corrected Peter. "We've been getting reports about, well, apparently monsters," he chuckled in disbelief. "Big, green, monsters," he lets out a small sigh of frustration.

"Investigating monsters. What's the world coming to," he grumbled under his breath.

Peter perked up at the mention of the final few words that George relayed to him. "Green monsters?" he asked, intrigued.

"Huh? O-Oh, yeah," George replied, slightly taken aback by Peter's sudden interest. "There's been several reports that people round here saw some kind of, big, green, silhouette, coming in & out of the forests," George explained. "Some of the reports claim they saw it near the labs as well,"

"There's multiple report of similar incidents, so I suppose we can't just chalk it down to an active imagination," George said, gesturing towards his police car, parked at the gates. "I'm gonna go & have a look later. Probably just some silly prank by some kid," he brushed it off.

Peter listened intently as he noted what George Stacy said, into his mind.

"Anyway, like I said, thought I'd drop by," he continued as he eyes Peter suspiciously. "Gwen, would you mind inviting you uncle over for dinner later tonight?" he turned his attention towards his daughter. "I'll try & be back early today, and I want to ask him if he knows anything about these claims,"

Gwen shrugged her shoulders in reply. "Sure dad,"

George continued to stand there awkwardly, staring at her daughter. "So, I guess that's it then," he nodded, as he turned to leave. "Oh, uhh, nice seeing you again Peter," he smiled weakly. "Look after Gwen for me, okay?" he joked, as he walked away.

Peter smiled awkwardly as he watched him walk away. He then turned towards Gwen. "So… uhh-Gwen-,"

"I've..., gotta go to class," Gwen offered awkwardly.

"O-oh ye-yeah, sure," Peter nodded intently. "See you later then,"

Gwen flashed him a weak smile before walking away.

Peter continued standing there as he watched her turn the corner. Once Gwen was out of sight, Peter lets out a small sigh in frustration.

"Come on Parker! Man up!" he groaned to himself. "You're a hero for god's sake," he shook his head in embarrassment as he readjusted his bag and headed to class.

He then turned his focus to the conversation he had with Captain Stacy. He reached into his pocket & took put the torn piece of fabric he picked up from the sewers yesterday, determined to investigate the connection later in the evening.