Chapter 14

*Cash Register Beep*

"Thank you very much,"

"Thanks," Harry nodded off-handedly as he took back his card from the cashier.

"Man, I wish I could have bacon & egg for every meal," Harry moaned jokingly as they exited the restaurant. "That was just, godly,"

Peter lets out a big yawn as he nodded in agreement with Harry. "That's extremely unhealthy, but it'll taste awesome," he said off-handedly.

Harry turned & frowned towards Peter, as he noted the tired look on Peter's face. "How in the world do you look so tired all the time?"

"Late night cramming," Peter offered weakly, as they walked side-by-side, heading back towards Harry's penthouse. "You sure you don't wanna split that, Harry?"

"Can it Pete," Harry frowned. "I told you it's my treat, so it's my treat,"

"Okay, okay, fine," Peter raised his hand up in defeat. "Thanks for the meal then,"

"Sure, sure," Harry brushed it off. "Did you hear back from Gwen yet?" he continued, a tone of seriousness in his voice.

Peter lets out a soft sigh, a worried look flashed across his face. "No, nothing yet," Peter conceded. "Although, MJ said she's going to go over & visit her this morning,"

"Oh, cool cool," Harry nodded slowly. "Hey man, I'm sure it's fine," he continued, putting a reassuring arm across Peter.

Peter shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I'll drop by as well later in the evening, see how that goes," Peter said calmly. "Let's just focus on the video first for now,"

"Yeah sure, we've got the whole place to ourselves today," Harry beamed. "Well, except Bernard of course, but he's cool,"

Peter smiled back at Harry. Just as they entered the apartment lobby, Peter felt his phone vibrate.

"Oh, MJ said she's dropping over later this afternoon," Peter remarked, as he read the text he just received. "I'll just send her our location & address later,"

Harry nodded silently as they waited for the elevator. "Do we not have a say in this?" Harry remarked jokingly.

Peter smiled ruefully as he pocketed his phone. "No, not with MJ,"

Harry sighed softly as the elevator arrives and they got onto it. "I thought you said she was going over to Gwen's?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders. "She did say that Gwen's okay now. I guess we'll just have to ask her when she gets here,"

"I think we should add in 'Dancing with Sea Monsters' as part of the video,"

Peter scratched his chin as he considered Harry's suggestion. "Well, I think they're already pretty good," Peter mulled. "Putting in someone else might take some of the focus away from them,"

"Well, we could just put them in near the back," Harry said as he leaned back in his chair. "Come on man, that's good promo isn't it," Harry continued, twirling his pen in between his fingers.

*knock knock knock*

"Yes?" Harry yelled towards the door from his seat.

"Refreshment's sir, for you & your friend," the butler answered back from behind the door.

"Ooh nice, come on in Bernard," Harry exclaimed excitedly.

Bernard entered with a tray of tall glasses filled with fruit cocktails, which he set down on one of Harry's desks.

"Thanks Bernard," Peter nodded sheepishly, as he took a sip from of the water, feeling slightly awkward at having a butler serve them.

Bernard nodded silently as he stood up straight and headed out of their room. As he was leaving, he calmly turned towards Harry. "By the way sir, there's been a young lady who's been ringing our intercom for the past 10 minutes. Friend of yours?"

Peter choked on his drink as Bernard continued. He quickly shared a look with Harry, and they both scrambled for their phones.

"Shit," the both said in unison as they see the missed calls from Mary Jane in their call logs.

Bernard raised his eyebrow silently as he observed the boys' antics. "I'll open the door then?" he mused.

"No no, we'll get it ourselves," Harry said quickly as he & Peter quickly went down the stairs & headed towards the door.

As they reached the door, through the monitor, they see an annoyed looking redhead, standing, arms crossed, in front of the camera.

The boys shared a look of panic between themselves, before immediately deciding what to do.

"You get it," Peter pushed to Harry.

"What? No way! I don't even know her that well yet!" Harry whispered urgently. "You do it Parker, you're the one she's here for after all,"

"What?! It's literally your house!" Peter retorted back.

Harry immediately took a few steps back, and shoved Peter towards the intercom.

Peter glared at Harry defiantly, before letting out a sigh of defeat as he faced the intercom. "Uhh, h-hey MJ,"

They saw MJ perk up through the monitor. "Peter? Finally," MJ's voice can be heard, groaning from outside the door. "I was starting to think I got the wrong house," she grumbled.

"No, no, it's the right house," Peter grinned sheepishly. "We, uh, just… didn't notice that you arrived," Peter said, physically wincing as he said the last few words.

A moment of silence passed between them, as they saw MJ's frown deepening, from the monitor. She then lets out a soft sigh as she turned back towards the intercom. "Well?"

"Well?" Peter blinked in confusion.

Harry smacked his forehead in frustration, before shoving Peter to the side and talking through the intercom. "Right. Uhh, come on in MJ," Harry said quickly before unlocking the front gate.

"Ohh," Peter mouthed softly as he finally understood what was happening.

A few moments later, they opened the door for MJ, a scent of strawberry & lavender wafting through the air as she entered.

To Peter's surprise, MJ went straight towards him and hugged him.

"MJ?"

"Thank goodness you're okay Peter," MJ said, a look of relief flooding her face.

Peter felt the blood rushing to his face & ears, noticing the smirk on Harry's face as he feels his face turn beet red.

"S-so, you're not mad about us leaving you at the door?" Peter offered jokingly (which earned him a look of disbelief from Harry)

MJ stayed silent for a moment, before giving him an answer. "I am, but we can talk about that later," MJ answered, face still buried past his shoulders.

After a few moments of standing still, Peter cleared his throat to cut the awkward silence. "Uhm, are you gonna let me go? Or…?"

"Shut it Peter, this is awkward for me too," MJ hesitated, still holding him in a hug. "It, kind of just happened," she pleaded.

Peter blinked in surprise as he looked towards Harry for help. Harry blinked right back at him as he shrugged his shoulder in defeat, not knowing what to do himself.

"So, uh, can we just push each other back or something?" MJ offered softly.

"Ohh-uhh, yeah, sure," Peter said immediately. "So uhm, now?"

"Now," MJ said slowly before they both let go of each other and looked at each other awkwardly.

"So, uhh, hey MJ," Peter offered.

MJ blushed slightly, as she brushed her hair back in place behind her ears. She then glared at both of the boys, before turning towards both of them. "You tell this to anyone at school, and I will literally kill you, understand?" she threatened, face slightly red.

"You mean figurative-Oww!" Peter exclaimed in pain as Harry elbowed him in his ribs.

MJ looked at the pair, unamused. "No, I mean literally," she said, staring cold daggers at the boys to make them know who's in charge. "Clear?"

"Yes Ma'am!" Harry whimpered.

"Crystal sir! M-Ma'am! I mean ma'am…," Peter answered in unison with Harry.

MJ lets out a deep sigh, pinching her nose in frustration at losing her composure from before. "Let's just work on that video…,"

"Wow, this turned out really well," MJ whistled, impressed at the resulting video that they've worked on together for the past few hours.

Peter swiveled around in his chair as he leaned back in triumph after finalizing the video. "Finally, glad that that's over," Peter said as he lets out a big yawn.

MJ shot him a questioning glare, as she raised her eyebrow towards him.

"N-not that I didn't like it! That was fun! I'd totally do it again," Peter stammered once he noticed the glare coming from MJ.

MJ flashed him a satisfied smile. "Great, I'll be counting on you for the next video as well then," MJ said smugly. "But let's wait until our next gig,"

Harry stretched in his seat, before getting up. "Don't know about you two, but all this working has made me hungry," he quipped. "You guys want some snacks?"

Peter's stomach started to grumble at the mention of food. "Oof, now that you mention it, that'd be pretty nice,"

"Have you got some fruits?" MJ asked, which earned her a curious look from both of the boys. "Look, I'm not into all those diet bullshit, I just feel like eating a fruit, okay?" MJ rolled her eyes, blushing slightly.

"Uhm, yeah sure," Harry nodded, after sharing a grin with Peter. "I'll have Bernard scrounge something up,"

As they went down the stairs and into the kitchen, Harry went ahead to go and find his butler, while MJ & Peter took a seat on the dining table.

"So, any ideas when's the next gig?" Peter remarked casually.

MJ eyed him with the corner of her eyes. "Why? You wanna pull one of your disappearing tricks again?" MJ scoffed playfully.

Peter can't help but wince at the barbs fired at him. "Sorry. I'll definitely make it to the next one. Promise,"

MJ rolled her eyes skeptically, before smiling back towards Peter. "Well, Brant said we should talk about it later, once Gwen's back and all," MJ said, as she leaned back lazily in her seat. "Team decision and all that,"

Harry eventually got back from finding Bernard, and took a seat right next to the pair. "Right, food is on the way,"

"Nice," Peter offered a fist at his best friend, which he bumped immediately. "We're just talking about the next show, and about Gwen a bit,"

"I see," Harry nodded along. "How was she anyway?"

"Hmm? You mean Gwen? She's fine I guess," MJ mulled to herself. "She seemed a bit freaked out, but that's about it,"

Peter raised an eyebrow out of curiosity after hearing MJ's statement. "What do you mean?" he questioned.

"What do you mean 'what do you mean?'?" MJ asked back blankly.

"Freaked out, like, how?" Peter added.

MJ shrugged her shoulders. "You know, freaked out. Like, she's jumpy, and scared. Freaked out," MJ explained. "And, I guess she kinda looked like she was hiding something, which was really weird. But I don't know, that could've just been me," MJ mulled to herself.

*Tingle*

Peter's senses suddenly blared out, as time itself seemingly slowed down from his perspective.

Peter turned his gaze towards the source of his unease, and found himself turning towards the front door, or more specifically, the voice coming out from across the front gate.

As he deafened himself to the conversation between Harry & MJ, Peter found his senses honing on the words said by the man outside the house, his hearing greatly enhanced by his spider-abilities.

"I fail to see how that's my problem," the voice spoke out, seemingly into a phone.

"Agreement? The agreement was for a 'performance enhancing serum', the agreement was for a 'super soldier serum'. Your, missteps, and your idiocy was never part of the deal!"

Peter couldn't listen to the other side of the conversation, but for some reason, his sense of unease kept growing as he zoned in on the conversation.

"Are you threatening me?" the voice continued, his voice turning into a slight snarl.

"Fine, I suppose the results have been…, satisfactory," the voice paused for a moment. "Fine. I'll send Smythe to meet up with you at the 'Riverside Park'. The keys will be with him,"

"Hmm, yes, fine. But I expect some tangible results within the next few weeks professor, otherwise, I may be more inclined to invest in…, other researches," the voice said slowly, a hint of glee detected in his voice. "Oh, and also, I want those specimens handed over to Smythe. Hmm? Well, let's think of it as…, insurance. I trust you have no objection to that, professor? Good. Now I…,"

"Peter?"

Peter was suddenly pulled back to his surroundings, Harry's hand of concern resting on his shoulders.

"You okay Pete? You kinda zoned out for a bit there," Harry frowned.

Peter blinked in surprise as he regained his composure. "Uh, yeah, sure," Peter shook his head. "Hey, Harry, I think there's someon-,"

Suddenly they hear the front door being opened, and the footsteps of a person coming in. After a few moments, a middle aged, well dressed man, stepped into view, business suit & tie looking as sharp as his glare.

"D-dad? What are you doing here?" Harry stammered in surprise. "I thought you said you were working today?"

"Last I checked, this was still my house," the man smirked playfully at his son. "The meeting ended early, but I'm just dropping by for a while. I have another meeting in a few hours," he explained off-handedly, before he turned his attention towards the remaining pair. "Peter! How nice to see you again!"

"Evening Mr. Osborn," Peter smiled back at Norman, as he offered Peter a hug.

Norman then held Peter by the arms as he looked over him warmly. "Terrible business, what happened at your school," Norman commented, his face full of remorse. "Truly regretful,"

"You don't need to apologize Mr. Osborn sir, it's not your fault," Peter smiled awkwardly.

"Yes, well, even so, I'm glad that you're not hurt Peter," Norman smiled warmly at him. He then turned towards MJ, as she stood there awkwardly, offering him a smile.

"Uhm, I'm Mary Jane Watson sir. Harry's friend from school," MJ offered out her hand for a handshake.

Norman turned towards Harry and flashed him a playful smile. "She's gorgeous. Look like there's still hope for you after all, eh?" he teased.

MJ blushed slightly, as Harry winced at his father's awkward jokes.

"I'm joking," Norman laughed out as he turned his attention back towards MJ. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Watson," he continued as he shook MJ's outstretched hand. "So, are you Harry's girlfriend?"

"Dad!" Harry exclaimed in embarrassment.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Norman grinned playfully at his son, noting the slight tint of red coloring MJ's cheeks. "So, Peter's girlfriend then?"

"Dad!" Harry immediately rushed over to the pair and separated the pair.

Norman eyes lit up as he noticed the deepening red on MJ's cheeks. "Aha! I knew it," he exclaimed playfully. "This one's a keeper Peter, Trust me,"

"Dad, please, stop," Harry immediately dragged his father away from the dining table and pushed him up the stairs.

"Please ignore him, I'll get this sorted out," Harry smiled forcefully, as he pushed his father away from his friends.

"What? I was joking!" Norman exclaimed defiantly from up the stairs.

"Come on dad," Harry voice can be heard from above.

Peter stood there awkwardly with MJ, standing in silence for a few moments. "Uhm, that was awkward, haha,"

MJ smiled awkwardly back at him. "You can say that again,"

"Again, I'm really sorry about before,"

"It's fine Harry, parents do that, we get it," MJ reassured him, slipping into her shoes as she & Peter got ready to leave.

"I'll see you at school then," Peter waved his friend goodbye, as they went out the door.

"Yeah sure," Harry beamed at Peter. "Careful on your way back then guys. Call me if you need anything,"

They said their goodbyes and Peter & MJ made their way together down the street, out of Harry's apartment complex.

"Oh? You're not driving?" Peter asked MJ after realizing MJ was walking together with him down the cold, night, street.

MJ raised an eyebrow at Peter's question. "Uhh, I don't have a car? 17 remember? We're kind of the same age?"

"I thought you drove your car during the concert?"

"That's my dad's car, and I only get to drive it for band purposes," MJ shrugged her shoulders. "How did you know about that? You weren't even there," MJ asked suspiciously.

Peter blinked in surprise, slightly caught out by his own slip. "Uhh, Ned & Harry talked about this, to me, earlier, yesterday, about the car," Peter offered immediately.

MJ rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "Figures," she groaned.

They continued to walk together for a few moments in silence, hands in their pockets to keep warm.

"Where are you heading after this?" MJ asked Peter.

"Hmm? Probably gonna head home, don't want my aunt to worry about me," Peter mulled.

MJ nodded silently as they continued their walk. "Your house is the one next to Gwen's, yeah?"

"Uh, yeah, right next to hers," Peter nodded along. "What about you? Are you heading home?"

"Hmm? Yeah," MJ nodded. "I gotta take care of my dad, you know?"

"Oh yeah," Peter nodded as he remembered seeing MJ's dad during one of their study sessions. "How is he nowadays?"

"Well, the medicine helps," MJ shrugged her shoulders. "I just wish I don't have to force it down his throat every time, you know?" MJ groaned jokingly; her smile plastered across her face as she talked.

Peter couldn't help but chuckle at MJ's joke. As they continued their walk, Peter noticed a nearby convenience store on their path.

"You wanna grab something hot to drink? My treat," he offered.

"You're asking me out on a coffee date already?" MJ teased playfully. "That's bold, Parker,"

Peter blushed slightly as he laughed off the joke and played along. "I don't think 7-Eleven counts as a date location though,"

"Eh, I'm not picky," MJ shrugged. "It's the thought that counts. That, and free food," she joked.

"So, basically a talking wallet?" Peter quipped.

MJ playfully considered Peter's words, comically stroking her chin in thought. "Well, if he's a 'gentlemanly' talking wallet, then sure," she smiled playfully.

Peter shook his head, as he smiled at MJ's playful antics. They both entered the convenience store and had a look around, before grabbing their respective drinks and paying them over at the counter.

"Thanks," MJ gestured towards her drink as he thanked Peter.

"No problem," Peter beamed back at her.

MJ looked over to a nearby bench as she rubbed her hands together to keep herself warm. "Let's sit down over there," she pointed out to the seat before dragging Peter along with her.

As they both sat down on the bench, their hot drinks in hand to keep them warm, Peter couldn't help but see the various couples walking hand-in-hand around the street, heading towards their respective destination.

Peter smiled ruefully to himself, as recollections of the times that he saw his uncle & aunt, walking hand in hand, flashes through his mind.

After a while, Peter snapped back to reality. As he was drinking his drink, he noticed that MJ was already turning quite red by his side.

"You okay MJ?" Peter asked, concerned.

"Hmm? Yeah sure, I'm fine," MJ brushed off the question.

Peter then took off his jacket & offered it to MJ. "Here, this might help a bit," he offered genuinely.

"W-what?"

"Your nose & cheeks are already turning red because of the cold MJ. Take it. I don't mind,"

MJ blinked in surprise for a few moments, momentarily stunned by Peter's gesture. "I'm no-This isn't because of-Hahaha," MJ suddenly laughed out loud by herself, clearly amused by Peter's actions.

Peter hesitated for a few moments, unsure of why MJ was laughing at him. "What did I do?"

"Nothing Peter, you didn't do anything," MJ wiped off a tear of laughter from her eyes, before smiling warmly towards Peter. "You're a really nice guy, you know that, Pete?"

Peter felt his blood rushing to his cheeks, burning up at the sudden compliment. "Well, that came out of nowhere," he joked.

MJ shook her head in disagreement. "Really? I think that was the right thing to say at the time," MJ smirked confidently, taking another sip out of her drink. "It's funny. I feel like I should know everything about you, and yet I feel like I know nothing about you," MJ mused out loud. "Isn't that weird?"

Peter rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly at MJ's assertions. "Well, I'm just plain old Peter, you know. Nothing interesting about me,"

"Plain old Peter that also won the Science award, 3 years in a row. Plain old Peter that also won a prize from Tony Stark science expo," MJ teased playfully. "Don't know about you, but plain old Peter sounds pretty amazing,"

"Well, I just got lucky mostly," Peter shrugged his shoulders. "And I didn't win the science award last year, I shared it with Gwen remember,"

"God, you nerds are so hard to please," MJ rolled her eyes in playful annoyance. "I wish I was half as smart as either of you,"

Peter smiled awkwardly as he turned towards MJ. "Well, you've got your band, no? I don't have even a smidge of musical talent in me, so you've got me firmly beat there," he offered.

MJ chuckled as she mulled over Peter's words. "Well, music's my one ticket out of here, you know," MJ mused softly. "The band's all I have. I wish one day we'd make it big, as the four of us, you know?"

"Like 'Dancing with Sea Monsters'?" Peter offered.

"I was thinking more like 'Paramore'," MJ smirked.

"Isn't Paramore like, a 2000s thing?" Peter chuckled.

"Yeah, and we're bringing retro back," MJ said half joking.

Peter took another sip from his drink as he considered MJ's words. "I think you'll make it big,"

"Yeah? That's rich, coming from someone who's never heard us play,"

"Well, that's technically not true. I did just watch you guys for over 100 times just now," Peter joked.

"Oh yeah, I guess you did," MJ chuckled to herself. "Well, it's a childish dream anyway," MJ smiled ruefully as she stared into her drinks. "There's a billion other indie bands out there, what are the chances we're the ones who'll make the big break eh?"

Peter nodded in silence for a few moments. "I think you can," he offered.

MJ looked over at him skeptically. "You trying to win some brownie points with me Parker? Coz it's working alright," she joked.

Peter smiled warmly at her. "No, seriously, I think you guys can make it,"

MJ rolled his eyes skeptically, as she turned towards Peter. She took a long look towards Peter's face, and slowly her smirk faded from her face.

"Oh wow, you actually believe that huh?" MJ blinked in surprise.

"Yeah sure, of course I do,"

MJ turned back towards her glass, taking a look at her reflection from within the glass. "Thanks Pete, this really means a lot to me," she whispered softly.

Peter beamed excitedly at her. "Just don't forget your 'fan No.1' when you make it big later," he joked.

MJ lets out a soft chuckle at Peter's words. After a few more moments of silence between them, MJ eventually got up & threw away her drink.

"My bus stop's over at 5th Street, so I guess this is it then," MJ smiled awkwardly at Peter.

"Oh, uhh yeah sure," Peter nodded. "I'll see you at school then,"

MJ then waved her goodbyes and made her way away from Peter.

Peter stayed seated on the bench as he watched MJ walk away, feeling thankful for the friends he has around him.

*Tingle*

Suddenly Peter's senses blared out again as he noticed a couple of men, walking behind MJ.

Peter's senses screamed at him that the thugs were up to no good, so he immediately dropped into a nearby alley and put on his suit.

"Hey, hey, she's a feisty one isn't she,"

"Come on, we just want to talk," another of the thugs grinned menacingly at MJ.

MJ made a quick scan of her options. She saw the alleyway as the only option for her to run away from the thugs.

"Fuck off," she flipped them off as she glared defiantly at her would-be attackers.

One of the thugs, annoyed at her defiant attitude, went up & tried to grab her by her hair, but MJ quickly dashed into him, and kneed him hard in his groin.

As the attacker yelled out in pain & curled over, MJ immediately rushed over into the alley to try & escape.

Unfortunately, the bent over thug grabbed her by her legs and MJ tripped onto the pavement.

"Look, lass, we're reasonable people here," the first thug chuckled menacingly. "We just want a bit of your money, you show us a good time, and we let you off on your merry way, eh?"

As soon as one of them got close to her, MJ spat at their faces and kicked the thug holding her leg to free herself. Unfortunately, the last remaining thug already blocked off her path towards the alleyway, and they immediately pinned her to the wall.

One of the thugs then rummaged through her purse as another one of them took a big sniff of her hair, and grinning menacingly at her.

*thwip*

Suddenly the thug pinning her down was dragged straight back off of her, skidding on the pavement as he winced in pain.

Before they realized what just happened, a blur of movement passed over the remaining two thugs and they suddenly found themselves bruised & webbed onto a nearby wall.

As the first thug was getting up & saw his friends getting beaten up, he immediately panicked and tried to make a run for it. However, before he could get very far, a pair of web strands were fired onto his legs, as his legs was suddenly pulled out from under him and he fell face flat on the floor, breaking his nose in the process.

The whole sequence happened within a blur; MJ didn't even have time to register what was happening in front of her. Suddenly the thugs were sprawled in front of her, groaning in pain.

However, even though she didn't see what just happened, the signature webbing meant that she knew exactly who had saved her.

"Spider-Man?!" she called out to the darkness. After a few moments of silence, she continued once more. "Spider-Man?! Are you there?"

Slowly, Peter lowered himself from one of his webbing and showed himself to MJ. "You called?"

"Woah!" MJ yelped in surprise, startled by his sudden appearance. "Hey there," MJ grinned excitedly.

"Hey there miss," Peter said through his costume. "You seem to have a knack of getting into trouble,"

MJ chuckled softly at Peter's assertion. "Well, you seem to have a knack of saving me," she nodded respectfully towards him. "Thanks Spidey,"

"Eh, I was in the neighborhood," Peter shrugged.

MJ stood there awkwardly in silence for a few moments. "Uhm, thanks about this anyway,"

"No problem," Peter brushed her off. "Just make sure you get home safe, and avoid these alleyways next time, thugs are everywhere these days,"

MJ nodded politely as she bowed slightly to thank her savior. "I will, thanks again Spidey, I'll get going then,"

"Yeah sure,"

Peter stuck around to look over MJ for a while to make sure that she made it onto the bus in one piece. As soon as he was sure she was safe, Peter lets out a sigh of relief.

*Tingle*

Before he could relax however, his senses blared again as his instincts kicks in and led him to a nearby alley.

As he was swinging high up in the air, he could see a man being mugged in one of the alleyways.

As quickly as he could, Peter zipped his way towards one of the thugs.

However, before he could reach the pair, a blur of black & white suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and Peter suddenly found himself staring at a pair of downed robbers, groaning in pain on the pavement.

"Finally! I found you. Spidey, we need to talk,"

Peter looked up at the voice & saw a slender female dressed in a white hoodie, black garments and a white mask, with pink tinted goggles.