Surprise

I shake Harry awake once our stop approaches. Luckily it doesn’t take as much effort as earlier, he shoots right up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. I stand up before him, and grab his hand to help guide him out. He usually has a personal driver, so he’s shit at navigating the subway system. He sticks close to me as we emerge into the busy street, and we continue to hold hands.

“I'm going to pass out if we don't eat,” he whines.

“You chose where we went for dinner yesterday, so I'll pick breakfast,” I said to him, beginning to walk faster, dragging him behind me.

“This is the best breakfast place, I swear,” I beam to him.

“This is a hot dog stand,” he said, heavy with cynicism.

“Can we get two dogs with lots and lots of ketchup?” I ask the vendor, he nods, and begins assembling our food. He finishes quickly, and holds up four fingers. I fish a five dollar bill out of my pocket and hand it to the man. He hands me both of the hot dogs which have been wrapped in aluminum foil.

“Thanks a bunch,” I smile at the man, and hand him his food. We quickly unwrap the hot dogs as we walk away and shove huge bites into our mouths.

“I've got meaningful relationships with older men too. He gives me life advice all the time. He was just acting shy,” I say in the middle of my chewing.

Harry shoves me away a little while laughing. “You mean the guy from the diner? You think I talk to him for life advice? We aren't that friendly; he's just talkative,” he laughed back.

“I'm gonna go back to that diner alone sometime and ask him what you said about me,” I joked.

“I would kill you,” he said, his face completely serious, which sent us into fits of laughter. I missed being with Harry. Why was I pushing him away for his protection, or out of fear for my feelings? Probably a mix of both. The walk to my house only took 15 minutes, and we agreed to spend the day just hanging out. I'd like to keep us out of the public eye.

Once we get into an empty house a note from aunt may was taped onto my door. “Peter. Text me when you get home so I know you're alive.”

“Shit, I never let her know I was sleeping over yesterday,” I said as I pulled my phone out.

“Say peace,” I said, holding my phone up for a selfie. Harry just glares into the camera. “ Har...Peace” I said again while holding my two fingers up.

“Peace,” he said, slightly annoyed, and held his hand up as well. I snapped the pic and sent it to my poor aunt. Shockingly, she didn't call the police to issue an amber alert.

“Does May know your secret?” Harry asked quietly.

“No, and she would kill me if she found out,” I laughed back. I can't imagine her reaction if I told her. I assume it would be a mix of betrayal, anxiety, and anger.

We both enter the room and throw our bags onto the floor. Harry gracefully sits on the desk chair, while I throw myself onto the bed. The sleepiness of the morning is starting to catch up with me.

“I know you said you were Spider-Man, but you didn't give me any proof,” Harry said in a joking manner. “I don't know if I believe you.”

“You need proof?” I said while furrowing my eyebrows.

“Yeah,” he said nonchalantly. I shrugged and stood up, making my way to the middle of the room, and did a backflip with ease. I then laid back on the bed and made myself comfortable.

“That's terrible proof,” he laughed. “Anyone can do a backflip.”

“Then you do one,” I said, keeping my face serious, though I was dying to laugh.

“Fine,” he said, and stood up. He stood in place for a good minute, occasionally bending his knees, or swinging his arms. “Ok, I can't do one.”

“You didn't even try,” I laughed.

“I still want better proof,” he smiled. I reached my arm out, and shot a web out at him. The web collided with his t-shirt. I twisted the string around my arm once and pulled, causing Harry to fling forward, falling on top of me. He fell a little harder than I expected, but he didn't seem hurt at all. He was closer to me than I realized, he was staring at mine in shock.

“You wanted proof like that?” I joked.

“I believe you.  You’re Spider-Man,” he replied. 

“You guessed?” I smiled.

“It gave me a bit of an adrenaline rush,” he laughed, not answering my question.

“I'll take you swinging soon. That's a real adrenaline rush,” I said.

“I'd probably throw up,” he laughed. We stayed unmoving, our faces close together. Our legs dangled slightly off my twin mattress, but I feared if I tried to make us more comfortable, he wouldn't lay like this anymore. Almost as if he read my mind, he moved off of me and sat with his knees to his chest. He crossed his arms over his legs and rested his head on his knees, not breaking our eye contact once.

“Did I look cool?” I said, feeling disappointed. I follow Harry, and sit up as well, keeping a small distance between us. I made him uncomfortable. Why would I do that? My face burns from embarrassment.

“Yes,” he said. He moves towards me, closing the small gap we had.

Oh. He must not have been uncomfortable.

He looks so pretty right now. My stomach flutters. His lips look so soft. I want to kiss him so bad. What if he hates it though? What if he hates it so much that he leaves? I need him to stay here so he is safe. I dial up the pros and cons in my head. The number of cons outweigh the pros severely, yet I still reach my hand up and cup his cheek, and slowly pull him closer to me. He closed his eyes softly.

“Can I kiss you,” I whisper with a shaky breath.

“Please,” he says.

I turn my head slightly and brush my lips against his, kissing him softly. One hand finds its way to the back of his head, looping my fingers through his curls, and the other settles on the base of his neck. I keep my touch gentle, and soft. I don't know what to do. This isn't my first kiss... If you count middle school. What do you do with your tongue? Anxiousness and pleasure battle inside my mind. Gah, I'm so nervous... and happy. I'm so happy. The brazenness  that Harry displayed in his sleep was hidden, a shyness replacing it. I open my eyes, just a little, so I can catch a glimpse of him. His face is so red. He's so cute, and his eyelashes are so long. I pull myself away, dropping my hands by my side, but keep my face close to his.

“I really like you,” my heart is pounding in my ears. What if he rejects me? Well, he just made out with me, rejection seems like an unlikely choice... But not impossible.

“Really?” he says, his eyes lighting up, while a big smile spreads on his face “I like you.” His voice had a tinge of shyness to it, and his cheeks glowed a soft pink.

“Honestly, I've liked you for a while,” he began, breaking our eye contact. “I didn't think you liked guys”

“I didn't know what I liked,” I laugh a little awkwardly. “I was really confused.”

“But you do like me....right?” he said, his voice small.

I reach out and grab his hands, entwining our fingers.

“Yes,” I almost yelled out “I like you.” I move closer and cover his face in kisses.

“Do you want to date?” I ask, my ears burning. This is all a little embarrassing. I've just never done it before. Is it a smart decision to date Harry?

“Yeah,” he says faintly, his face bright red. He's embarrassed too. This is both our first time, and neither of us knows what to do. It's comforting.

“Can we keep it a secret for now?” his voice rang out with dread.

“Why?” I try and keep my tone light.

“My dad won't take it well,” he said quietly. “At least not right now.”

“We can keep it a secret as long as you need,” I say as assuringly as possible. I would prefer Norman not to know as well. I don't even know what our fate will bring in two days. What will happen during this fight? I don't know what he planning, or his strength. What if I get injured badly? Or die?

No, I can't think about this now, he’ll see the worry painted on my face. I'll figure this out later. I've got time to prepare. Time they weren't counting on me to have.

“Besides, we probably won't get to sleep in the same room once they know we are dating,” I try and say jokingly.

“Gross,” Harry says as he pushes me away with a chuckle.

“Do you wanna watch a movie?” I smile. I can't control what's going to happen in the future, but I can control and appreciate the now. I'm going to soak up every moment of this weekend.

“I vote for horror,” he stands from the bed and pulls his shoes on. “Let's go get snacks.”

“Yes, honey,” I smile.

“I'm down for pet names, but honey is out,” he sneers from the doorway, waiting patiently for me to get ready.

“Babe?” I question, while lacing up my converse.

“No,” he shoots back.

“Stud muffin?” I walk to to him and entwine my fingers tightly between his.

“Shut up,” he laughs, pushing himself away and running down the stairs.

“Gummy bear,” I yell, while chasing him down the steps. “Wait for me!”

I catch him before he can open the door, and place a small kiss on his lips.

“Let's go, hunk.” I open the door, the icy wind hitting us.

“You are insufferable,” he smiles. The sun shines sweetly on him, giving his hair a golden hue.

We walk close together on our brisk walk, keeping our hands from touching. My mind could race for days thinking of all that could go wrong, but I force it down. We pick our snacks out, and return to my house, settling in for a lazy movie day.

The day moves by quickly. We binge watch movies, and shows that we needed to catch up on. We play video games, and nap, holding each other tightly while we slept. I wish I could have savored it more. It feels nice to be normal. 

Laying with Harry, his head snuggling into my chest is when I curse the spider the most. I never asked for this. I never asked to constantly put my life in danger. I never asked all my friends and family to think I’m an unreliable jerk. At least I could plead my case to Harry, hopefully, he doesn't see me as scum anymore. What would my life have been if I had not gotten bitten? How many people would have survived if I was never spiderman? But how many people would have died if I was only Peter?

“Peter,” Harry's sweet voice cut through my spiraling, saving me from the nauseating anxiety.

“Yeah,” I say softly.

“How long have you liked me?” he meekly asks.

“Honestly, I'm not sure,” I begin, slightly apprehensive. “I was so confused for so long, and I never realized what the feeling I felt was when I was around you. I played it off as friendship, but recently I've realized that I want more than friendship with you.”

The air is still around us while he takes in what I said. He's laying softly on my chest, his arms wrapped around my torso tightly, and his curly hair tickles my face ever so slightly.

“I didn't think you liked guys,” he says quietly, “I thought you and Mary were gonna date.”

“Me and Mary Jane?” I scoffed “I can't see it, she's too much of a party girl.”

I really do like Mary Jane. She's kind, pretty, and always knows what to say. Maybe in another universe, we end up together. In this universe, all I want is Harry.

“Wait, I thought you wanted me to ask Gwen to the dance?” I questioned, making sure to keep a joking air to the conversation. I don't want to make him upset. I really am just curious.

“I don't want you to take her to the dance,” he sighed. “She wants you to take her to the dance... And besides, I was trying to figure out if there was a chance you like me when I asked that.”

“Deep down, I've always liked you, it just took me a while to figure it out,” I said, bringing a serious tone to our conversation.

“I've liked you for a long time,” he admits.

“How long?” I ask jokingly.

“You don’t need to know,” he laughs.

“I didn't realize you liked me, you didn't drop any hints,” I take deep breaths, appreciative Harry's weight on my chest. It's so comforting.

“No,” he laughed. “I dropped a lot of hints. You're just stupid.”

Amid our laughter, we heard the front door open.

“Peter?” May yelled from downstairs. I jumped up from the warmth of our cuddling and stood and the top of the stairs.

“I'm here, May,” I shouted. “Harry’s with me. He's gonna sleep over.”

“Let's just order pizza then,” she yelled  back. “I'm glad to see you're coming over again Harry, you hadn't been around in a while. I was getting worried.”

Harry jumped up at the mention of his name and ran down the stairs to talk to Aunt May. I'm glad they are comfortable around each other. I mean, Harry spent most of his weekends in middle school at our house, so it only makes sense. 

I walk back into the room, and lay down on the bed. My heart feels warm, and my hands feel tingly. I feel like I can't stop smiling. I'm so happy. All my worries are easy to ignore. I'm just so happy.