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It was late at night, still about a mile from his home. Spider-Man, a.k.a. Peter Parker, leaped from a rooftop to a lamppost.
“Sure, I may have used all my webs taking those jokers down, but I still have my acrobatics and agility, Thank you spider powers.” Peter said to himself. As he launched from the lamppost intending to land in a perfect roll, he felt it—the cut around the tendon in his leg from Vulture's wing. The pain and weakened muscle caused him to lose his balance and fall flat on his face. “Owww! And thank you, Parker luck. You always arrive in the nick of time to stop me from feeling too hopeful.”
Looking at himself in a puddle, he saw all the fresh cuts and bruises from the night's events. Geez, I’m a mess. Getting ambushed by one villain was never fun; six was torment. A night of answering phony police calls, each one set up by a member of the Sinister Six, made up of Electro, Vulture, Shocker, Doc Ock, Mysterio, and Rhino. All hoping to tire him out enough that one of them could finally kill him. Left him cut and bruised in a way he hadn’t been for a while.
“Well, at least how I look outside matches how I feel inside.” Peter moaned.
The past several months after Norman Osborne's death had been some of the worst of Peter’s life. His breakup with Liz left him an outcast among most students who wouldn't forgive him for breaking the heart of one of their favorite cheerleaders.
Meanwhile, he also felt totally isolated from his oldest friends. Eddie was locked up in Ravencroft for his crimes as Venom.
Harry projected his hatred of Spider-Man for causing his father's death onto Peter because, as far as Harry knew, Peter was Spider-Man's personal photographer. Peter’s last interaction with Harry had been similar to all the others since Norman’s death. Harry cornered him when he was either alone or sometimes specifically when he was near a crowd of people and then needled him or humiliated him. This time Harry waited till Pete’s personal guard dog, as Harry called her, was nowhere in sight. Then, in front of all the cheerleaders, most notably Liz.
“Hey Pete, I know that you RSVP'd for my family’s Christmas party, but my mom still thought you and Liz were together when she made the seating chart. I know it would be awkward, but would you be okay with sitting next to Liz? ” Harry asked, grinning smugly. Then he dug the knife in deeper. “I wish I caught the mistake earlier, but I’ve been so preoccupied with Gwen. She really is the greatest. I don't know what I would do without her.” Harry’s voice dripped with malice, grinning smugly.
Peter wanted nothing more than to hit him at that moment. Instead, he simply said nothing.
“I mean? We could ask Liz if she is okay? Hey, Liz—” Peter cut him off
“It’s fine, Harry. I just won’t go. I don’t wanna impose.” Pete said, looking dejected.
“Aww man, really? Bummer, but hey! It gives you more time to take pictures of your favorite killer. Maybe you can save up enough to go with us all to my family’s resort this Spring. You only need a couple hundred bucks for the flight.” Harry said, knowing the famously broke Peter Parker would never have that kind of cash to blow on something so luxurious.
Peter didn’t respond; he just looked at Liz, who seemed equally as uncomfortable listening to Harry’s nasally laugh. Then Peter just walked away alone. MJ found him later sitting behind the school. She called Harry right there and canceled her RSVP on the spot, saying they would make their own Christmas plan instead.
Sha Shan told me MJ arrived at the lunch area looking for me. When she heard what went down, she gave Harry a look that made him flee like a rodent. Gosh, she really is the best friend I could ever ask for.
Then there was Gwen. Just thinking her name made Peter’s heart ache. Her and Peter’s relationship hadn’t instantly collapsed like his and Harry’s friendship; More like it had slowly disintegrated over the months. The first few weeks after the funeral, Gwen and Peter still said hello and talked, trying to get past the awkwardness of loving each other but not being able to be together. Within a few months, it had turned into just the occasional hello in the halls.
The only bright spot left in Peter's life (Besides Aunt May) was the girl she introduced him to. Mary Jane Watson: niece of May's friend Anna Watson, a free spirit, drop-dead gorgeous, and an all-around amazing person. Pete didn't know if a perfect person existed, but he was beginning to think Mary Jane was it. She did everything gracefully. She was beautiful, caring, fierce, headstrong, and most of all kind.
MJ, as she liked to be called, marched to the beat of her own drum and never cared much what other people thought, so the social turmoil from the breakup and the fallout from Norman's death had no bearing on her relationship with Peter. If anything, it has improved it.
They ate lunch together, studied after school, and even when Peter wasn't busy being Spider-Man or working, they spent their free time together on weekends.
At first, Peter felt awful about how heavily he'd leaned on her over the past few months. In his torrent of misery and self-hatred, Peter told himself it was just out of pity that MJ spent all this time with him. He knew all the popular kids would welcome her back with open arms as soon as Pete got back on his feet. Then he heard from Flash about the so-called ‘Incident’ at the lockers.
“Wassup Parker!” Flash said, slapping him on his back.
“Look, Flash, not today, please,” Peter said. He was worn out and just wished he could disappear. Harry’s most recent torment was showing pictures of him and Gwen at the beach to everyone, including pictures of Gwen lounging in a swimsuit. All while Gwen nervously asked Harry to stop. Which, for more reasons than Peter could list, pissed him off, embarrassed him, and left him feeling low.
“What’s got you sounding so down, nerd? I thought you would be celebrating. How's it feel to finally get a taste of how I’ve lived for years? With the ladies fighting over you?” Flash said boisterously, even though he knew even Peter knew it was a lie.
“What?” Peter said, confused.
“C’mon, you didn’t hear? MJ and the she geek got into an epic fight over you. I left when they started screaming at me. N—not cause I was scared; I just had to help Sha carry her books! Anyway, my buddy on the team stayed till the end, and he said they really got into it. They were ripping apart each other's clothes and pulling each other's hair out! The works, and it was all over you, bro!” Flash sounded almost proud. “If I weren’t a happily taken man, I’d be totally jealous. My little puny Parker has finally grown into my finest student.” Flash wiped away a non—existent tear.
Peter didn’t know the details and didn’t dare ask either woman, but a fairly public blowout between MJ and Gwen had occurred in the halls. Leaving the whole school buzzing with rumors. All Peter knew was that for the rest of the week, whenever Gwen saw him in the halls, she couldn’t even make eye contact. Guilt and shame were written all over her face. In less than a year, their decade-long friendship was seemingly over. When Harry tried to approach Peter with his fake smile and not-so-subtle mockery, MJ showed up like a rabid wolf and drove him off. It felt like having his own personal bouncer.
“Gah, why am I even thinking about this!? When isn’t my personal life a mess? Maybe I am just better off a loner. Then I have no one to disappoint. No guilt from having my best friend unknowingly blame me for his Father’s death, and then get to take it out on me because I’m my own personal photographer! Not having to watch the girl you thought loved you hanging off the arm of said friend even as he publicly humiliated you whenever he got the chance, and I’d have healthier cash flow from being the full-time Spidey photographer!” Peter shouted as he slowly limped down the dark street.
A year ago I considered giving up Spider-Man. Maybe now I should consider giving up Peter Parker, but where would that leave May? She would flip out if I dropped out of school! Or MJ, for that matter? She's been torching her reputation just to spend time with me. The supposedly epic story of her confrontation with Gwen was just the latest, loudest example of MJ making a scene to defend Peter. Randy, Sally, Liz, Kenny, and even her friend Glory received an earful when they would question her about spending all her time with Peter or worse, try to pressure her into abandoning Peter.
‘Hurting my rep!? You actually thought that would be all it took to get me to abandon him? God is my image that bad?’ MJ shouted.
‘Relax, MJ, don’t shoot the messenger. I didn’t mean to make you sound shallow; I am just saying sometimes that stuff matters.’ Glory said with Randy and Sally by her side.
Guess they didn’t realize Peter was around the corner, sulking after listening to Harry brag about spending his summer in California with Gwen.
‘Look, you know I try to stay out of this stuff, but even I notice how people talk. Peter is a nice guy, but he is radioactive right now.’ That managed to make Peter smirk. Glory probably didn’t know how close to accurate that statement was.
‘I mean, what did he think would happen when he dumped the only likable cheerleader and refused to stop glorifying Spider-Man after what happened to Harry’s dad?’ Glory said
‘HEY!’ Sally shouted in her famously shrill voice, but they all ignored her.
‘Is it really worth throwing away all your other friendships just to spend time with one guy?’ Glory said, shrugging.
‘You know what? If this is the kind of people my ‘Friends’ are, then yes! You should all be ashamed. Liz is one thing, but I see how you all try to ignore Harry tormenting him every day. Maybe Peter isn’t the one I should be avoiding?’ MJ threw her hands up. ‘Gosh, Sha must truly be a miracle worker if she managed to make Flash a more decent person than all of you. At least he still defends Peter when that creep disses him.’ MJ said.
Glory grabbed MJ’s shoulder. ‘What has gotten into you, girl? What is so special about Peter that you are willing to go and blow up all your friendships?’ Glory asked, confused at how out of character this blow-up was for MJ.
‘Everything!’ MJ said before storming off. Glory tried to follow her, but Randy stopped her.
Everything! The words echoed in Peter’s head.
Gosh, she’s built a bonfire out of her social life just to help me. If I blew her off now, she would probably hate me forever, and I’d probably hate myself. Peter shook his head again. Why am I still thinking of this!?
The only other person who didn’t seem to resent him for still photographing Spider-Man or dumping Liz, even telling Peter, albeit privately, that he believes Spider-Man is innocent of everything Harry was saying, was Flash. Flash even went to bat for Peter a few times during Harry’s public mud-slinging.
“Great, my life is such a mess; even Flash is trying to protect me. I just wanna go home.”
Peter sighed with relief when he saw his house in the distance. He had gone from walking to limping as his leg felt worse with each step.
It was already nearly midnight, so there was no fear of someone catching me as I walked in.
Worst case, I just play like a confused, concussed hero. Not really pretending at this point, though, Parker.
Thankfully Aunt May isn’t home from her trip to Florida with Anna—no need to even try and sneak in. Peter thought as he opened the door. He stepped inside, shut the door, and his energy faded as he hit the floor. Little did he know he wasn’t alone.
About the same time, Peter face-planted off the light post.
MJ sat on Peter’s bed, looking at the spare key his Aunt May gave her for emergencies. Dressed in white PJ pants with small Spider-Man logos all over them and a light pink tank top. She had something she needed to tell Peter, only to come to his place and find him missing.
What am I even doing here? Am I just the worst for feeling this way? Am I really just treating his misfortune as my jackpot? Maybe Gwen was right? She thought, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her head on them.
What were, without a doubt, the lowest few months of Peter’s life had actually been some of MJ's best. No matter what she did or where she went, Peter was by her side. At first, Peter was understandably surprised when she started regularly coming around to eat lunch or work on her homework with him. MJ tried not to take offense at the fact that he expected her to be as rude and shallow as his other so-called friends.
Truth was, MJ started doing it mostly out of spite. She was furious that everyone had turned on Peter. Even his oldest friends, Harry and Gwen, who supposedly cared about him and loved him more than she did, having known Peter their whole lives while she only knew him for a year, dropped him like a sack of potatoes.
MJ knew her reputation at Midtown High. The free-spirited redhead knockout everyone wanted to be with. She wanted to throw it in their faces that she chose to spend time with Pete: the kindest, sweetest guy she ever met, and she didn’t care what they thought. She ate lunch with him, studied with him, walked home with him, and even hung out with him on weekends, often passing by the same kids at the mall. She enjoyed their looks of shock and jealousy as they saw her hanging off Peter’s arm, laughing as he rambled cluelessly. Just happy to see him smile after months of seeing him miserable. All the studying with famous Genius Peter paid off; her grades improved so much that she could even get into some AP classes with him this Semester.
At least ‘Just friends’ is how it started, but her feelings slowly changed—no. It’s more like they resurfaced. Just being around him made her happy. She felt like he made her a better person. It was never a burden despite what she knew Peter initially thought. He was smart, charming in a nerdy way, funny when he wanted to be, and better looking than he gave himself credit for.
What she thought was just a new crush, she was starting to realize, wasn't new at all. She had felt like this since she met Peter. He was so unique. She just ran from it like she always did.
“It's not like we're going steady, or something equally primitive,” she recalled telling Peter when she began spending time with guys like Flash and cringing at the memory of herself. Truth was, MJ feared being tied down by those feelings and ending up like her mother. In a loveless relationship, she was too weak to leave.
When she first realized how special Peter was, she told herself that was just how the guys from his school were. Yet as she interacted with more and more of them, she always found herself drawn back to Peter. The closest she got to someone besides him was Mark, but even he turned out to be kinda lousy, constantly gambling until he ruined his life. Only to be stopped by Spider-Man. After spending all this personal time with Peter, she realized how much he meant to her. She loved his dumb, clueless smile, his bad jokes only he could make funny, and the way he always showed concern for those around him. She started to wonder if this was how Gwen had always seen Peter.
Tch, Gwen. Just thinking her name makes my head ache. MJ had been doing her best to get Peter and Gwen together since she met them. It was obvious how much they liked each other. When she heard that Peter had broken things off with Liz, she thought all her hard work would finally pay off, but fate had other plans.
MJ turned her head to the side while resting it on her knees.
I get why she couldn’t just dump Harry, but the way she treated Peter after that was unacceptable. It was unacceptable from all of them, but especially her. When I look at him, I still remember how miserable and hopeless Pete looked the first few days after Norman’s death. Maybe that’s why I got so angry? Seeing him like that hurt so much. At the time, I didn’t understand why. MJ thought to herself. It wasn’t like her to lose her cool, especially over something as primitive as high-school drama. Still, that little hallway scene was one for the history books.
Earlier that week:
“Hey, MJ, wait up.” Gwen’s voice echoed through the hall. It made MJ tense just hearing it. Gwen was not someone in her good book. In fact, she was almost at the top of a uniquely named ‘list’ of MJ’s, but she tried to keep it civil.
“What’s up, Gwen?" MJ asked flatly.
“Are you heading home with Peter?” Gwen asked.
“No, I'm heading to my house, and Peter is heading to his. We are just walking toward them together. I know it’s been a while since you've spoken to him or given him any kind of thought, but you should still remember his address.” MJ knew she was being catty, but she couldn’t help herself.
Gwen looked visibly hurt by the not-so-subtle dig.
“I just wanted to know if he was okay…can you tell him I asked about him?” Gwen said meekly.
Something in MJ snapped hearing that. The last six months of resentment boiled over. In hindsight, she may have been blasting Gwen with the resentment she felt for Liz and the other students as well.
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!?” MJ shouted at full volume, drawing nearby onlookers' attention.
“Now you wanna know how he is doing? Where was this concern the past six months? It’s not like he's been busy; every day he sat out there eating lunch ALONE!! Where was the suddenly oh-so-concerned Gwen Stacy this whole time? Nowhere to be seen! You can’t even be bothered to stop your creepy boyfriend from trying to mock Peter or talk trash about him to anyone who would listen!” MJ was coming at Gwen with both barrels, and Gwen looked visibly shaken. No one thought the normally calm, mature MJ could get this angry. Maybe Gwen didn’t deserve it, but seeing all the times Gwen walked past Peter ignoring him while hanging off of Harry’s arm, and all while Peter just looked at her like a whipped dog, just set MJ off for some reason.
Gwen stepped back, looking like a wounded animal.
“You know it isn't that simple. Harry is really hurting.” Gwen said defensively.
Students desperately rushing home and even the football stars on their way to practice had all stopped dead in their tracks to watch the impending catfight.
“And Peter isn't!? You know how close he was with Mr. Osborne, and you know this isn’t the first time Peter lost someone!” MJ shouted back before calming herself. “Look, I know you had your reasons for why you stayed with Harry, and I don’t expect you just to leave him, but why did you have to abandon Peter like that? You think he didn’t need you, too? Did you really think it was easier to let him suffer alone than be there, even if it was just as a friend? If you are so concerned with Harry, why are you mysteriously absent when he comes by to try and torment Peter? Why am I the only one standing up to that creep? Do you think it's okay for Harry to use him as a punching bag as long as he feels better?” MJ felt her anger rising again. She kept picturing Peter’s face after Harry spoke to him, and it made her blood boil.
“Of course not! But you know how Harry feels about Peter still giving Spider-Man publicity after Mr.Osborne's death! He just doesn't understand why Peter is doing it! No one does.” Gwen’s voice grew meek at the end.
“Oh c'mon, Gwen. I have a lot of words to describe you right now, but stupid isn't one of them. We both know Spider-Man didn’t kill Mr. Osborne. Heck, you and I would be dead several times over if it wasn’t for Spider-Man! I’ll bet you never even once tried explaining that to Harry, did you? Cause you know it would rob you of your only excuse for how you treated Peter.” MJ fumed. “Is this because he dated Liz before? You think Pete deserves to pay for not noticing your feelings sooner? I know he can be thick-headed, and I know it hurt seeing him with Liz, but no one deserves this. You abandoned him. If you loved him as much as I—” MJ caught the words in her throat, but the damage was done.
Gwen’s face turned from regret to jealousy to anger.
“You have got to be kidding me? Is that what this is about? So what? You develop feelings for your precious ‘Tiger,’ now you want him all to yourself? You don’t even want to let me try to reconnect with him? Why? You think you will lose your little pet if you aren’t the only one around him? That's rich! You wanna lecture me on blowing off Peter!? Remind me who it was that hopped from his arms at the dance straight into stringing along the same jerks that picked on him. Where was this deep love for him then?” Gwen spat back, finally managing to hurt MJ back.
“Geez, are you two babes really going at it this hard over Puny Parker?” Flash said in his usual neanderthal tone.
Both girls turned and screamed in his face.
“F&%@ off, Flash!” It actually calmed them down, as Flash ran with his tail between his legs. Though their anger hadn't disappeared; it just felt like the tension had snapped.
“You know what, Gwen, you can play the doting girlfriend to your sleazy boyfriend all you want, but where in this manual on dealing with grief does it say you also abandon your friend who is hurting as well? We both know you don't love Harry. It's all just a show with him: ‘Perfect Mrs. Gwen Stacy stands by her grieving addict boyfriend. Isn't she so thoughtful and brave?’” MJ said in a mocking tone “And as for Pete. Your concern now is as fake as your contacts. The truth is you aren’t looking to ‘reconnect ’; you feel guilty that you abandoned Peter not just as someone he loved, but as his oldest friend. Now you wanna hear that he is doing fine so you don't have to feel guilty for abandoning him the way you did.” MJ spat.
Gwen wasn’t taking that lying down. She immediately retorted.
“Just like you act all high and mighty as if you are Peter’s protector and friend, nobly sacrificing your popularity but you only want Peter to yourself cause now that he is alone, you can make yourself the biggest thing in his life. Guess all the attention from one boy beats some attention from all of them? You act like some mature, free-spirited adult who is above it all, lecturing all of us about how we are treating Peter, but the truth is you are just an insecure little girl desperate for attention!” Gwen fired back, managing to really hurt MJ with that harsh truth. “You aren’t some self-sacrificing hero tarnishing your rep for Pete’s sake. You and I both know the minute you want to, you could be back in the popular crowd with a single word. You are just playing with Peter because you want the attention. You act like a friend but you are treating him more like a pet. Now you are afraid that if he talks to his friends again, he will abandon you. ”
They sat there in an angry silence for a moment before both women exhaled, calming somewhat.
“Gwen,You—you are right about how I treated Peter back then. I was flaky, not just with Peter but with everyone.
I know I hurt Peter’s feelings and I’ll probably regret it for the rest of my life. I ran from how I felt back then. I was afraid and insecure. The difference is I could see Peter still had other friends, people who cared about him like you, and I still tried to be there when he needed me! You can try to paint me as the same as you for what I did after formal, and yeah, it wasn’t my best moment. Still, you know it isn’t the same.
Unlike you, I didn’t wait till he needed me most and abandoned him.” MJ said sternly, then her shoulders dropped, and she let out a long sigh. “Gwen, I am sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen, and I didn’t want you to find out about my feelings for Peter this way. I have been rooting for you and Peter since I met you two. It isn’t my fault you two couldn’t make it work. Don’t get me wrong: I was, and still am, incredibly angry with you for how you have been treating Pete, but I still consider you a friend.
So I want you to know. I’m not lying when I say I didn’t plan for this. Everything just kinda happened. I swear this wasn’t some plot to swoop on the guy you liked, but if you really loved Peter, you would have done something months ago. I'm sorry you haven't figured out your feelings, but I have, and for once I'm not gonna hide from them. The rest is Pete's decision, not ours.” MJ said, turning and walking away. “I’ll tell him you said hello… goodbye, Gwen,” MJ said without turning around.
Gwen sat there hanging her head while the crowd, even containing some teachers and the janitor, looked disappointed that there wasn't going to be a fight.
“Man, they didn’t even pull each other's hair! What a letdown,” one of the football players said, sounding disappointed as he walked away.
After that, MJ got admittedly petty, pulling Peter close whenever they passed by Gwen or Liz in the hall. Outright refusing to let Harry get near Peter by never leaving his side at school, knowing he was so desperate to maintain his image as the victim that he wouldn't mock Peter in front of someone who could tell what he was doing.
Realizing how ridiculous the whole thing was getting, MJ decided to just confess to Peter and be done with it. That brought her to tonight.
Maybe she is right? Am I just using Peter to get attention? I wanna help him, but it feels like I’m just distracting him instead of actually easing the pain. Maybe he will never see me the way he sees Gwen. She was staring at the photo of Peter and his late uncle Ben as she thought this.
Then she heard the front door open, followed by a loud thud downstairs.
“That you, Tiger?” MJ said, leaving his room.
Then she saw it. Spider-Man passed out face up on the floor of Peter’s house.
“Oh my god!” She ran straight over and noticed the pool of blood spilling out around him. “I gotta call 911!” she shouted, but then his hand shot up and grabbed hers.
His voice came out weakly.
“MJ…no.”
Right, stupid, he is still wanted by the cops. Wait a minute? MJ thought.
“How do you know my name?” She asked, but got no response. She exhaled sharply as she noticed the cut on the back of his head. “Sorry, Mr. Spider-Man. I promise I won’t tell anyone, but if I’m gonna help you, I need to take off that mask and that shirt.
Her aunt Anna was a nurse and had given her a crash course in emergency medicine. So stitching him up shouldn’t be that hard as long as he didn’t have any internal bleeding. MJ wouldn’t deny she was kind of excited. Superhero nurse is a cool thing to add to her resume.
MJ started to lift his mask slowly till she reached his nose and noticed a familiar mole.
“No way!” She said, ripping the mask off. “PETER!?” She shouted, but he was still out cold. “That's impossible. How can Peter be Spider-Man?” I guess it makes sense? He always disappears; he doesn’t wear glasses as he did in all the old pictures May showed her, and he was ripped for being a science nerd. MJ shook her head. Focus girl Treatment now, questions later. She told herself as she ran back to her house to get her aunt’s first aid kit.
Peter was in a haze; he didn’t remember anything after collapsing on the floor. He just saw what looked like the silhouette of a woman standing over him.
“Mom?” Peter said weakly.
“I cer— ot —ger.” The woman’s voice faded in and out. It was familiar, but he still couldn’t tell.
He came too much later.
“Where am I? What time is it?” He said, his eyes still half closed.
“At home. In your bed, Tiger. And it is 9 AM on Sunday,” the voice said.
Sunday? Was I out for a whole day? Did she call me Tiger? Oh crap!
Peter’s eyes shot open as his hand went up to his face, feeling for his mask. My mask is off! His mind raced. Peter tried to sit up, and his reward was pain shooting through his body. He collapsed back down, surrendering to the pain.
Peter stared at the ceiling for a bit, then turned his head toward MJ. Too tired, too weak, and too hurt to even try to make an excuse. She sat in his desk chair, her face puffy like she'd been crying, clutching his mask.
Peter locked eyes with her, his eyes sad, hers full of concern and fear.
“Are you angry?” He said softly.
“That’s just one of the things I’m feeling!” She said back, trying to keep her voice soft. “You’re Spider-Man? Peter! You are Spider-Man!” She sounded angry but also excited.
“Yeah, I’m aware, MJ,” Peter said, rubbing his head.
“How? Why? How long? Why wouldn’t you tell anyone? Does your aunt know? Does Gwen know? Does anyone know?” She couldn’t stop herself; she had a million questions.
Last one first; it’s the easiest. Peter thought.
“No, MJ, no one knows except you,” Peter said. Then he thought, Well, except Eddie, but I’ll open that can of worms later. “And no one but you can know! You have seen what these guys I deal with are willing to do. If they knew I had people I loved, then you and May, Harry, Gwen, and the others would be in danger for the rest of your lives. I can’t let that happen. I’ll answer any questions you have, but first promise me. Promise me you won’t tell a soul for the rest of your life! No one can die because of me ever again.” Peter looked at her with a serious look she had never seen before.
“Ok I won’t tell Tiger, I promise,” MJ said, trying to smile through her tear-streaked face.
“Okay, ask away,” Peter said, lying back down.
“I know the answer, but I have to ask…” MJ trailed off.
“No… I didn’t kill Norman, MJ. I swore I would never kill. No matter what. No matter how dangerous a situation, I will never kill someone.” Peter turned his head and looked straight into MJ's eyes. The way he spoke made her heart race.
“How?”
“Radioactive spider-bite on a field trip sophomore year.”
MJ smirked, remembering what Glory said to her about him being radioactive
“You’ve been doing this since last year?”
“Something like that.”
“Do you get paid?”
“Sort of.” Peter cracked a small smile.
“Oh my god, you sell photos of yourself! Peter!”
“What, I gotta make a living too, and besides, they use them to trash me, so call it recompense.”
“Why?”
Peter fell silent.
“Peter?”
Still no response, she saw him clench his fist and a tear run down his cheek.
“MJ, please ask me something else. I will tell you later, but I can’t…”
“So when you wore the spidey costume to Halloween?”
“Yeah, you just caught me in the middle of changing.”
“When you left during the formal the night we met?”
“The Green Goblin was defenestrating me at a different gala.”
“So when you got incredibly rude and started wearing all black the same time Spider-Man wore black?”
“I mistakenly thought allowing an alien parasite to bond to my suit would make me a better Spider-Man. Then I learned it was trying to take over my body and turn me evil. Not my smartest move.”
MJ looked completely shocked.
“Alien!?”
“Yeah. Trust me, you get used to it. Pretty soon it doesn’t seem very shocking.”
“Really?”
“No.” Peter laughed.
“Do you shoot webs?”
“Not really. I made these.” He showed her his webshooters, rolling up his sleeve as he explained how he made the web fluid. “It’s based on an old idea my dad had for durable but flexible adhesive that solidifies when exposed to the air to keep buildings from falling apart. I just modified it a bit to keep its solid form for a limited time. About an hour or two, then it dissolves into a non-adhesive liquid.” Peter said proudly. Then MJ’s eyes went wide.
“Wait, so when those rumors about water randomly falling from buildings after Spidey was seen swinging past them started, it was this stuff?” MJ said, holding up one of his web cartridges. “Ewww, Peter! You got that in my hair on my way to a modeling gig once!” MJ and he started laughing.
“You’re a model?” Peter said excitedly.
“Amateur at the moment, but I’m trying to make it as one. Maybe even an actress.” She said.
They talked a bit more about various situations he found himself in and the excuses that went with them.
“Peter, why wouldn’t you tell us? Did you think we would spill your secret?”
“It’s not that. I just thought it easier to keep it a secret from everyone. Less risk.” Peter looked at her sadly. “Are you still angry?”
“I really should be angry, but I’m not. At least I’m trying not to be. Peter, you saved my life a hundred times over. I would be dead if it weren’t for you. Gwen, Flash, Gloria, Harry all of us would be dead if it wasn’t for you. Heck, the school no, most of New York would be a pile of rubble by now without Spider-Man. How could I possibly be angry?”
“Cause I’m supposed to be your friend, and I kept this from you.” MJ didn’t respond. “MJ, I wanted to tell you. Especially you! More than anyone. I hated lying to you. Mary Jane, you are my best friend. You—you are my only friend.” Peter trailed off, sadly laughing at the realization.
MJ didn’t respond; she just ran her hand over the large scar the scorpion left on his chest.
“You did all this, and just kept it all to yourself. It must have been so lonely.
Peter, I watched you bleed to protect all of us multiple times. I couldn’t ever bring myself to hate you before; what makes you think I would start now?” MJ had moved forward and took Peter’s hand.
“You are seriously the greatest guy on the planet, Peter Parker.” She exhaled as she caressed his face.
Tears welled in Peter’s eyes as he looked away
“If I am so great then why do all my friends hate me?” Peter said dejectedly.
MJ pulled his face back to hers.
“Cause they are idiots! Even if you didn’t risk your life as Spider-Man, anyone who can’t see what a great guy you are is blind. I don’t hate you, tiger. I never will.”
Peter shut his eyes and looked away again.
“Not yet…” He said, squeezing her hand as he stood up.
“Easy, Tiger! You need to stay in bed; you shouldn’t even be able to sit up, let alone stand.”
“Don’t worry. My body heals faster than normal. I’m not invincible, though. So thank you for patching me up, MJ.” He smiled, but it soon faded as he took both of MJ’s hands.
“You asked why I do this. Why I risk my life. MJ…” Peter’s voice was cracking. “I killed my uncle…”
MJ gasped, her mind racing. No. NO, absolutely not; there has to be more to it. Peter Parker was the sweetest, gentelest man on the planet; he wouldn’t.
“Peter, you can’t expect me to think.” MJ blurted out. Peter raised his hand, quieting her.
“I was working as a pro wrestler of all things, using my powers to make some extra cash. A burglar robbed the manager after he stiffed me. I could have stopped the robber, but I was angry, so… Instead, I let him run right past me. I was too selfish, too arrogant to bother helping someone in need.” Peter was shaking, barely holding back tears. “My uncle was out looking for me. We had this huge fight. I said something awful, but he still tried to find me. The robber got to him first and tried to steal his car. That's when… I didn’t pull the trigger, but I may as well have.” Peter was sobbing now. “I found Uncle Ben laying in a pool of his own blood… I hunted the burglar through the streets, and when I finally cornered him, I almost… I wanted him dead. I wanted to hurt him the way he hurt me times a thousand.” Peter was sobbing.
Even a year later, the pain hadn’t gotten easier. MJ squeezed his hand tighter. Tears now running down her face.
“But when I saw his face, I realized it was all my fault. I knew that killing him wouldn’t change a thing. It wouldn’t make it better. It wouldn’t make me feel better, and it wouldn't be what Ben wanted.”
“Peter, stop…” MJ said softly, but he didn’t.
“I know I can never take it back; I can never fix it. I’ll always be the man who killed—” MJ lunged forward, kissing him. The taste of her lips mixed with the salt from his tears.
As she broke the intense kiss, a string of saliva still connected their lips. Peter looked like his whole world had been rewritten.
“Peter Benjamin Parker, just stop! You made a mistake. One you have worked to make up for in an extraordinary way. I won’t let you call yourself a murderer. Your Uncle would tell you the same thing I am. You are not to blame for someone else's actions.” MJ's hand caressed his cheek; this time, he leaned his head into it. “But I—” MJ put her finger to his lips.
“The man I love could never be a murderer; He is a kind, sweet, caring, and selfless man. Unlike anyone I have ever met. I wouldn’t have fallen in love with him if he wasn't. I love you, Peter Parker.”
“MJ…” Peter looked shocked but very happy.
MJ inhaled and recomposed herself. Then exhaled sharply
“Time for my secret tiger.” She said nervously. “Peter, I've been in love with you since we met. You are unlike any guy I have ever known. You are selfless, smart, funny, handsome, caring, and someone I know I can always rely on. I know how I acted after the formal. How I started flirting with all those other guys and the things I said to you. It’s just that I hadn’t felt that way before, and I could already see how you felt about Gwen. So I panicked like I always do. Then I ran like I always do, trying to justify it to myself. Then these past few months, I just couldn’t stop thinking about you and how great you are and how sorry I was about how I treated you. Then I had that huge fight with Gwen, and I got worried about us, so then I—” MJ was starting to ramble until this time Peter was the one to silence her with a kiss.
“I’ve wanted to do that for months,” Peter said after breaking their kiss. Then he brushed several locks of her ruby-red hair from her face.
“I get it, MJ. These past months with you made me realize how much I need you by my side. Everything I do is easier with you around, and it becomes so much harder without you. I love you, Mary Jane Watson.” Peter was looking straight into her eyes. MJ blushed, realizing how firmly he held her against his chest.
“So, anything else you wanna know?” Peter said, smiling.
“Everything!” MJ said before kissing him. “But we have our whole lives for that. For now, I just have one request.” MJ stood on her toes and whispered in Peter’s ear.
“Yes, ma’am!” Peter answered excitedly.
Peter threw on his newly stitched-up mask and shirt, grabbed MJ by the waist, and launched a web out of his large window, swinging through the streets as MJ shouted with joy.
The End.