Broken
Broken
New York City was a blur as Mary Jane rushed through the streets. To where? She had no idea. Mary Jane just had one thought; move. Move and don’t stop until you are sure you are safe. Of course, that didn’t stop the tears from flowing, or the sobs from escaping her gut.
Mary Jane entered the Subway. Peter rarely came down into the Subway. He couldn’t swing down here, and as such, he only came down when the situation dictated for it. And he was broke.
The Subway doors opened and Mary Jane rushed for the seat closest to the exit. She hugged herself tightly as she sat down. The pedestrians inside the Subway all cast her looks that varied from pitying to disgust. She knew how she must look; a crying woman with disheveled hair and running mascara. That wasn’t who Mary Jane Watson was dammit! She had gotten over this years ago when her mother died, and Aunt Anna had won custody of her from her father. Mary Jane reached into her purse and pulled out some wipes to clean her face and then ran her fingers through her hair to smooth it down.
The doors closed and Mary Jane looked out the window to watch the underground station roll by. She closed her eyes and felt her consciousness drift away beneath the hum of the tracks. It was like a lullaby to her, and Mary Jane wanted to drift away. She wanted to fall asleep and wake up back home. She wanted this all to be some dream, more than anything she wished that she was living in a dream right now.
“Shut up, Mary Jane!”
Those words rattled around her head to the beat of the Subway on the tracks. Peter’s wild and gaunt face danced across her blurred vision. But, the voice that spoke those words…it wasn’t just Peter’s voice. No, Peter’s voice was drowned out by an older one. A voice that she hadn’t heard in years. Her heart beat faster.
“Those girls ain’t worth the damn trouble!” a drunken voice shouted. “Gayle costs more than she’s worth, and Mary Jane won’t quit it with the damn music! I can’t focus on writing, I can’t focus on—shut up Mary Jane!”
The doors squeaked open as the Subway rolled into a new station, and Mary Jane flinched. She hugged herself tighter as more people filed into the train. Her heart pounded in her ears. It was getting uncomfortably crowded, and the exit was getting blocked.
“You’ll never get anywhere with your voice, so shut up!” her father bellowed. “Shut up and let those who need the silence work so they can provide for the family that was forced onto them!”
Mary Jane bolted to her feet. The train was still moving, but she pushed her way through the crowd to stand by the Subway Car doors. She needed to be close to the exit, to be able to make a quick escape. But it didn’t matter as the Subway was still moving. Her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.
The Subway Car was unbearably suffocating. Mary Jane couldn’t see through the crowd of pedestrians. She tried to take a breath, but couldn't. It was as if someone was standing on her chest, and pressing down with all their might. A few eyes on her as she tried to steady her breathing, but they gave her no second glance and angled their bodies away from her. It was as if she was a crazy person.
The doors opened and Mary Jane ran out into the Queens station.
Come on, Mary Jane! You’ve dealt with this before, now kick it into gear! He doesn’t control you! You are in control of your life, and no one else!
She ran right to a bench on the station and focused on the feel of the bench beneath her, the smell of tobacco emanating from the trash can nearby, and the sound of the Subway rolling away.
Deep breath in…deep breath out. Deep breath in—smell the acrid scent of tobacco—deep breath out—grip the wooden planks of the bench tightly.
Her heart stopped thundering. However that only served to prove one thing; this wasn’t a dream, it was a nightmare.
The door to Anna Watson’s house opened swiftly.
“Mary Jane! I wasn’t expecting to see you…what happened!?”
She knew, her Aunt Anna always knew. Mary Jane rushed past her aunt and up the stairs to her room. With every step she took up the stairs, her carefully constructed walls crumbled and it was as if she was a child running from her father’s drunken temper again.
Mary Jane threw open the door to her room, rushed to the window sill, opened the window, and sat below it. She had to be sure of an escape route…in her Aunt Anna’s house…
“Oh my God…” Mary Jane said, her voice hollow. She whipped around, snapped the window shut, then curled into a ball.
She took deep breaths. Being in a place where Mary Jane knew she was safe calmed her heart. Enough to allow her brain to start thinking.
The image of Peter played in her mind’s eye; the gaunt and gray pallor of his skin, and his wild hair and eyes that seemed ready to defend himself from any challenge. In her spiral of worry, Mary Jane had completely forgotten that he had spent two whole days fighting for his life against who knows what horrors.
And she yelled at him.
No wonder he shouted back. God, why did she do that? Peter said he kept his Spider-Man life separate from his Peter Parker life for her, but…that wasn’t healthy. She would know, she’d done it for most of her life, and look where that landed her now! Scared, alone, and with the man she loved pulling himself apart at the seams because he thought her life was stainless.
You don’t get to be like me if you had a good childhood, Mary Jane thought darkly.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
“Come in.” Her voice was so small she was surprised Aunt Anna even heard it. She listened to her aunt’s footsteps grow louder and heard the springs of her mattress compress as Aunt Anna sat down across from her.
“Where did you run into him?” Aunt Anna’s voice was soft and understanding.
“I didn’t run into Dad,” Mary Jane said. She still didn’t look up. The truth of her condition made her sick, but she knew that it wasn’t Peter’s fault. She knew he didn’t know; she never told him. But as much as she wanted to preserve her aunt’s image of Peter, Mary Jane knew that she had to talk to someone. Holding it all in is what allowed her father to get away with his treatment of her and her sister for the majority of her life. “I-it was…Peter.”
A pin could drop in her room and it would sound like a nuclear bomb going off. Mary Jane dared to lift her head. Anna Watson was frozen still in shock, and Mary Jane couldn’t blame her. She wouldn’t have run out of the apartment if she hadn’t believed for even a second that Peter was capable of making her feel the way her father made her feel.
“Peter did this?” Aunt Anna’s words were slow, disbelieving, and quivering with anger.
“It’s not his fault, Aunt Anna,” Mary Jane said instantly. Well, that was half true. She had never told him about her father. Peter had no idea that him losing his temper like this would set off her flight response so heavily.
Aunt Anna narrowed her eyes. “You know who you sound like, don’t you?”
“I’m not my mother!” Mary Jane snapped. “I’m not excusing Peter! He just…I know he wouldn’t have…he had just gone through who knows what and I couldn’t hold it…”
“What’s going on with Peter?” Aunt Anna asked. Though Mary Jane could tell she was still apprehensive, she could still hear the disbelief in her aunt’s voice. As if she were trying to find some explanation for Peter’s behavior. There was one, but it was an explanation that Mary Jane just couldn’t give. It wasn’t her secret to tell.
“Peter’s…” Mary Jane stared at the floor for a second. How could she explain this without giving up Peter’s secret and without ruining her aunt’s view of him? “He keeps it in, all of it, and it…it makes it hard to be with him when I can’t help him. I-I feel like I’m holding him back.”
Aunt Anna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Mary Jane,” her voice was slow, “nothing about this is healthy. For you or for Peter.”
“Well no shit it isn’t!” Mary Jane shouted. Her eyes watered. “Pete’s going to ask questions now! And I…I just can’t answer those, I can’t Aunt Anna! Once he knows he…he…”
And that was it. The crumbling walls holding back all of her emotions shattered into a million pieces. She didn’t even cry, she just sat. Motionless and quiet as she realized what she needed to do. But Mary Jane didn’t know if she was strong enough to let Peter go.
Mary Jane wanted to say that she spoke to Peter and let him down the easy way right after she got a good night’s sleep. But that would be a lie. For as much as she wanted to be in the spotlight, Mary Jane was terrified of this one. So, she avoided Peter.
For a whole week, she avoided Peter. The first day, he came to the house, and she panicked upon seeing him walk up the steps to her Aunt Anna’s house. Despite her aunt’s insistence that she face Peter, Mary Jane managed to convince Aunt Anna to send Peter away. She just didn’t know what to say yet.
“Mrs. Watson, please, I just want to talk to her!”
“Peter, I have told you once and I will tell you again; she is not here!”
Mary Jane slid down the wall she hid behind. The desperation in Peter’s voice…she had only ever heard that once before; at the Oscorp Gala. The night where she realized just how much Peter meant to her.
How would Parker feel if he knew you got hurt trying to find him?
Even back then, she was a burden to him.
The door slammed shut, and Mary Jane flinched. Aunt Anna strode into the kitchen to find her curled into a ball. Aunt Anna said nothing. She just lowered herself to the ground next to Mary Jane and grasped her hand tightly.
Mary Jane shut her eyes tightly. She wouldn’t cry, she promised herself that she wouldn’t cry. She knew it would be painful, but she just couldn’t face Peter. She didn’t know if she ever could.
Throughout the next couple days, Mary Jane had ducked and dodged her way around Peter. He called her at least three times a day, but she put them to voicemail every time. Hoping that he would get her message.
When classes started again, he tried catching her at the end of them. She got lucky the first time and managed to evade him en route to her next class. After that, Mary Jane decided to put her knowledge of his schedule to good use and managed to leave her classes early to avoid Peter.
When Mary Jane walked to her shift at the diner, she felt a shiver go down her spine. She didn’t pause on the sidewalk, but she looked around. She felt as though there was a ghost hanging over her shoulder.
Mary Jane shook off the feeling and walked through the doors of Pearl Diner. She changed in the back and was about to step out to check the tables when she saw Peter sitting at the counter. She froze and stared at him through the door window.
He sat hunched over the counter, with his usual air of tiredness about him from a long day of swinging as Spider-Man. But, the gaunt and wild look on his face from the night before was gone. In fact, the regular cream color of his skin had returned, and his eyes had regained their old spark of joy that she loved. Peter looked good. Better than she remembered seeing him for a long time.
She couldn’t do this.
“Mary Jane, can you go clean up the—Mary Jane?”
Mary Jane was jogged from her trance and backed away from the door. “Yes, sir?”
Her boss, Mr. Ghallager, peered out the door window, then back to Mary Jane. “Trouble in paradise?”
Mary Jane’s eyes whipped to Mr. Ghallager’s. His gaze was piercing and wary as if he sensed her distress, but she didn’t think he knew the truth of it.
“Is he bothering you?” Mr. Ghallager asked, casting another wary glance in Peter’s direction.
No, but I can’t be near him right now! she thought as her words failed her. Mary Jane did nothing.
Mr. Ghallager frowned at her, then walked out of the back room and into the diner. Mary Jane rushed to the door window to see Mr. Ghallager escort Peter out of the diner. For a second, Mary Jane saw a spark of defiance in Peter’s eyes, but it quickly disappeared.
God, this was getting worse…
The rest of the week had been almost the same song and dance routine until one day, Peter just stopped. He stopped calling and texting, and he stopped waiting for her at her classes and job. Even the feeling that she had that a ghost was watching over her had disappeared.
Did it work? Would she not have to face him now? Were they officially over?
Coward!
“You’re not wrong,” Mary Jane said to herself, as she lifted her glass of whiskey to her mouth. Aunt Anna had left to go to Mrs. Parker’s a half hour and three glasses ago. She downed the liquid and gasped as it burned her throat.
The world swirled around her in a blurry haze. She just wanted to forget about everything going on for a second. She wanted to live in her head for just a moment. To live in a world where she and Peter were together, she wasn’t a burden on his life, and they were happy. But for that, she still needed a little help.
Mary Jane poured herself another glass of whiskey—
DING DONG!
Mary Jane scowled, but rose from the couch in the living room and opened the door.
“Hey MJ.” Gwen Stacy stood on her Aunt Anna’s front porch. She glanced at the glass of whiskey in Mary Jane’s hand, and the worry on her face grew. “How’re things?”
“Just say whatever speech Peter prepared for you and go, Gwen,” Mary Jane said. Woah, that came out harsh! Gwen reeled back as if she had been struck. Mary Jane’s eyes widened and she stared at the glass in her hand.
As fast as she could, she threw the contents of the glass out into the potted plant on the porch and ran back inside to put the bottle of whiskey away.
When she returned from the kitchen, Mary Jane saw Gwen gently closing the door. They locked eyes for a moment. Mary Jane opened her mouth—
Gwen rushed across the room to envelop Mary Jane in a fight hug.
A lump formed in Mary Jane’s throat; she had completely forgotten about Gwen! How could she do that to her best friend?
“You wanna talk about what’s been going on the last two weeks?
Mary Jane pulled away from the hug and wrapped her arms around herself. She didn’t want to burden Gwen with her problems as well. I don’t ask about your mom, why are you asking about my dad!?
“What does your dad have to do with anything?
Mary Jane froze; did she say that out loud?
Gwen took a cautious step forward. “MJ, what’s going on? Why have you been avoiding Peter?”
Mary Jane rubbed her arm and averted her gaze. Should she tell Gwen? Could she trust her? Was she okay with Gwen knowing about the biggest shame of her life? Ben trusted Gwen with everything! So much so that he told her about the truth of his existence the day after he found out.
“You can’t tell anyone,” Mary Jane said quietly. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone.”
Gwen’s confusion grew. “What is going on Mary Jane?”
“You promise me, now!” Mary Jane didn’t drop her defensive stance as she watched Gwen’s caring blue eyes scan her body. Damn police captain training!
Finally, Gwen strode over to the couch in the living room and took a seat on the far end. She didn’t say anything. She just waited for Mary Jane.
Mary Jane took a deep breath and walked over to the living room. She didn’t sit in the chair facing Gwen. Mary Jane didn’t want to see the look on Gwen’s face when the truth came out. So she sat down on the opposite end of the couch and stared at the fireplace.
“What’s been going on with you?” Gwen asked. “Why did you just run out when Peter got back?”
Mary Jane’s heart started thumping in her ears. “He…he reminded me of my dad.” The words tumbled out of her mouth in a hushed whisper.
“Because of what he said.” It wasn’t a question.
Mary Jane nodded. She watched the fire dance in the fireplace, and she couldn’t help but see herself in it. Sure, the flames danced freely across the logs, but they were still trapped. Trapped in a small space that would eventually snuff out her soul.
“I don’t know what your father was like, MJ,” Gwen said, scooting closer to Mary Jane on the couch. Mary Jane turned her body away from Gwen again. “But I know Peter is nothing like him.”
“I know Peter isn’t my dad,” Mary Jane said. “He…I just never thought Peter could ever sound like him.”
“If it helps, Peter feels horrible about this,” Gwen said. Thankfully, she didn’t try to get any closer. “He knows he messed up, but he doesn’t know why. Maybe if you just told him—“
“NO!” Mary Jane shouted, bolting to her feet. Her heart pounded in her ears as she whipped around to face Gwen. “I-I can’t do that to him!”
“Do what?”
“I can’t be a burden to him anymore! He deserves someone who can hold their own weight! Not someone who will slow him down, or force him to split his life in half!” Mary Jane wrapped her arms around herself again. “He has all those superheroes now, he doesn’t need me!”
Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, and Mary Jane willed them to stay down. It was a painful truth that she had been too stubborn to accept. He had Felicia, he had the Fantastic Four, he had Daredevil and Moon Knight, and now he had the Avengers to fully share in his superhero problems. Peter didn’t need a broken girl from a broken family.
She didn’t know when it happened, but Mary Jane felt herself melt into Gwen’s embrace. She didn’t know how long they stayed there together, but with every stroke of Gwen’s hand on her back, Mary Jane felt her pounding heart subside and her emotions simmer down.
The front door opened. Mary Jane looked over to see Aunt Anna walk in.
“Oh, hello Gwendolyn,” Aunt Anna said. She strode into the kitchen and began pulling out different ingredients from the cupboards.
“Hi Mrs. Watson,” Gwen said, walking into the kitchen with Mary Jane. She grabbed a glass from a cupboard, filled it with water, and handed it to Mary Jane. “What’s all this for?”
“This is for the cast party for Mary Jane’s musical,” Aunt Anna said, moving about the kitchen like a woman on a mission. She glanced at both Gwen and Mary Jane every few seconds, and it didn’t escape either girl’s notice.
“I told Gwen,” Mary Jane said, drinking deeply from the glass. The world slowly stopped swirling and started to regain focus.
Aunt Anna stopped what she was doing. “About your father?”
Mary Jane nodded and sat down at the kitchen table. Gwen sat next to her.
“I ran into Peter at May’s,” Aunt Anna said, dropping all pretense and looking at her warily.
Mary Jane knew she would probably be better off not knowing, but she couldn’t help herself. “How is he?” she asked, not daring to look at her Aunt.
“He seems to be doing well.” Mary Jane felt a little lighter at her aunt’s answer. “Though, I can’t be sure. I didn’t stay long enough to find out.”
“Oh…” Mary Jane said. She looked at her hands.
Aunt Anna walked right up to Mary Jane, took her hands in hers, and sat down in front of her. “I told you once before and I mean it just as much now as I did then; this is not healthy for either of you,” Aunt Anna said. Her old weathered eyes bore straight into Mary Jane’s. “I know you love Peter, Mary Jane, but love can be just as much of a poison for someone as it can be a nectar. It can leave us blind to the choices we need to make in order for us to grow.”
Mary Jane took a deep breath. She knew this was coming, but it didn’t make it any less terrifying. She didn’t want to lose Peter, but she couldn’t continue their current course. She loved him too much to allow him to be torn apart for her sake.
She pulled her phone out and dialed. It had barely trilled once when she heard his voice. “Yeah?”
She hesitated for a moment. Hearing his voice without the sadness and sorrow that had filled it for the past two weeks…it nearly made her hand up. Mary Jane took a deep breath. “Peter?”
The response was instant. “Mary Jane! H-hi! What are you—“
Mary Jane couldn’t handle it, the surprise and relief in his voice. She had to put a stop to it. “Can you meet me at Central Park later?” she asked, finding it hard to keep her voice steady. “I-Is six okay?”
“Yes!” he replied instantly.
“Okay,” Mary Jane breathed out. She felt a massive weight roll off her shoulders. “I’ll see you then.”
She hung up and drained the rest of her glass of water. “I’m not ready for this.”
Gwen placed a hand on her‘s, and Aunt Anna wrapped her arms around Mary Jane’s shoulders.
“No one ever is,” Aunt Anna said.
Despite dreading what she was about to do, Mary Jane had felt oddly calm about meeting Peter in Central Park. It was as if the closer she got to the storm, the more she felt like she was doing the right thing. She walked out along the outskirts of the park and then fell into her and Peter’s usual path.
Mary Jane felt the nostalgia well up inside her, and she remembered those early days of their relationship. When they were just ‘enjoying each other’s company.’ Those were the days. When they barely had to worry about her past or his present.
But, would we have lasted this long? she wondered. Things had already started to get stressed between them before she left for California, and that was before she knew. Even after she discovered his secret and they had continued their relationship, it was like they were on borrowed time. Every time they reached a bump in the road, it was like they put up a warning sign rather than smoothing it out.
She checked her watch; it was 6:25. Mary Jane sighed. So much for ripping it off like a band-aid. If she knew Peter, she knew that she had at least ten to twenty more minutes before he got there.
“Hey, MJ.”
Mary Jane’s eyes widened, and she whirled around to find Peter standing in front of her in his traditional long sleeve shirt and long pants to hide the Spider Suit she knew was underneath. His hair stood on end, clueing her into the fact that he had swung here. But Peter was never on time for anything. Spider-Man was always on time, but Peter? Dread pooled in her stomach.
“Hi,” she said.
Neither moved a muscle. The two just stared at each other, and it was like there was no one else in the world but them. And that didn’t make this easier. Like a band-aid, dammit!
“We need to talk,” they said at the same time, in the same saddened tone.
Oh? Peter wanted to talk too. Mary Jane tilted her head to the side.
“C-can I go first?”
As much as she wanted to get this over with, she couldn’t deny him a chance to speak. So, she nodded.
Peter took a deep breath. “I am so, so sorry for how I acted. I should never have shouted at you, and I never meant to scare you. I just…I want you to know that I would never, ever hurt you again! And I would never let anything or anyone hurt you”
Oh god, he thinks it’s his fault I ran out! “I know Peter. And you didn’t scare me, not really,” she said, choosing her words carefully.
Instead of seeing confusion wash over his face, it seemed like he had accepted this answer from her. Almost as if he had been expecting it.
“The life I live,” Peter said, averting his gaze from Mary Jane, “it’s not safe, and it’s not fair of me to drag you into it.”
Is he…are we both? But, he never dragged me into anything! It’s my fault that he feels that way! I stayed with him!
“I-I don’t think we should be together anymore,” Peter said.
Just like that, Mary Jane was given an out. She could run away and take herself off of Peter’s shoulders! “I-I think you’re right,” she said.
Silence fell between them and they locked eyes again. They had agreed. Both of them knew the best thing for them was to leave each other, but words were just words. They were nothing without the actions taken to enforce them. One of them had to be the one to let the other go, and Mary Jane would be damned if she let him try to shoulder that responsibility. He didn’t need any more of it!
Mary Jane stepped forward and planted a kiss on Peter’s cheek. She let her lips linger on his cheek so she could breathe in his sandalwood scent one last time. “I’ll see you around, Tiger.”
She turned around and walked away from the man she loved as a siren went off in the distance
Spider-Man sat on the edge of the Chrysler Building with a cup of coffee in hand as he looked out over the City that Never Sleeps. The constant hum of the city was like a lullaby to him, trying desperately to lull him to sleep. Spider-Man almost wanted it to. He didn’t like going back to his apartment and finding his couch empty. Gwen was there, sure, but every time they crossed paths in the apartment she would give him the same look of pity that he hated.
Sympathy, he could understand. But pity? Spider-Man would rather be alone with his thoughts.
“Is that Irish Coffee?”
Spidey jumped a little and turned around. “God, I wish.”
Felicia Hardy crawled up next to Spider-Man and took out a flask from her belt. She opened it, took a swig, then offered it to him. “Wish granted.
Spider-Man snorted and accepted the flask. Was it irresponsible of him to drink while on the job? If his metabolism didn’t work as it did, he would agree. However, it had been a long and painful day, and he wanted to have some joy. “When did you get back in town?” he asked after taking a drink.
“I was in L.A. when I saw the Avengers on the news,” she said. “I thought I’d come congratulate you on making it to the big leagues.”
“Big leagues? I started the league!” Spider-Man said, indignant. “I was the first one to suit up and start fighting crime! I am the big league!”
“Actually, didn’t Captain America start the league back in World War 2?” Felicia asked.
Spider-Man waved her question away and Felicia laughed. Spider-Man chuckled along with her for a moment, but when his laughter died out he stared out into the city, quiet and unmoving. He had been trying to recover his sense of humor all day, but he found that he didn’t really have the heart for it. His lack of jokes did make criminals surrender rather quickly. Something he would take note of for later.
“You okay, Spider?”
“O-of course, Cat,” Spider-Man said, lowering his mask. “Never better.”
“Really?” Felicia drawled, narrowing her eyes at Spider-Man. “Cause from what I’ve heard, you’ve been scaring more crooks than Moon Knight tonight.”
Only the sounds of the city could be heard as Spider-Man and Felicia became a staring contest, until—“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Felicia shrugged. “I didn’t ask you to.”
Silence fell between the two again.
“We broke up,” Spider-Man said.
“You and Red?”
Spider-Man nodded.
“That’s…rough. I’m sorry,” she said. Spider-Man cast her a side-eye. “Really, I am. I liked her. She had spirit.”
“Well, she’s gone now,” Spider-Man snapped. “She doesn’t have me to hold her back anymore.” Felicia smacked Spider-Man upside the back of the head. He stared at her for a second as he rubbed his skull. “What the hell?”
“God, you're more messed up than I thought,” she said. “Get your head in order before I call in the rest of your exclusive club to knock some sense into you!”
“I didn’t ask for your help, Cat!” Spider-Man growled, standing up. He made to jump off the building when a hand latched onto his like a vice!
“You don’t have to, Spider!” Felicia said fiercely. She lifted his mask up to look at his face.
Peter didn’t make eye contact. In fact, he looked at the flask in his hand. It grew more and more appealing every second they stayed on this topic. Felicia’s hand forced Peter’s face to look at her. “Don’t take this crap out on yourself, and don’t take it out on whatever idiot is dumb enough to rob a convenience store in this town. Share the load. You aren’t as alone as you think you are.”
Felicia stared into Peter’s eyes. He knew her words had merit, but who could he really let share his load? The Fantastic Four were always busy going from one dimension to the next, Daredevil had his hands tied with Hell’s Kitchen, and Moon Knight…well Moon Knight was in a world of his own. He didn’t know Jessica, Luke, or Iron Fist well enough to feel comfortable sharing any of this with them. He couldn’t go to Gwen or Aunt May. Gwen had her hands full with Ben and her father. She didn’t need the added weight of his problems on her back, and Aunt May didn’t need to know at all. He didn’t think he could handle doing that to her.
But, maybe he could share some of his weight with Felicia. Every time he had gotten into a jam, she had always been there to help him out. To knock some sense into him when he needed it most.
Something…primal stirred inside of Peter. A wounded animal that desperately wanted a fix to the pain. To have someone whose life wouldn’t be ruined through associated with his. Felicia already lived this life, the mask was her life. There was nothing for him to ruin. So, he wrapped his arms around Felicia’s waist, pulled her close to him, and kissed her. He didn’t know exactly what he wanted from this, but he knew what he needed. He needed someone. Her surprise melted away in an instant, and she ran her hands through his hair, pulling his face harder against his.
BRING! BRING!
Peter and Felicia break apart, breathing heavily. Felicia casts Peter a smirk as he reaches into his suit to answer his phone. “Yeah?”
“Pete! Have you seen the news!” It was Gwen, and she was frantic.
“No, why? what happened?”
“It’s Professor Warren,” she said. “He was found dead in the lab!”
“Holy–do you know why?” Peter asked, lowering his mask over his face. He wrapped his arm around Felicia’s waist and leaped off the Chrysler Building.
“Dad hasn’t told me anything!” Gwen responded. “But he’s placing us under police protection. They don’t know if we are targets either!”
“We’ll be at ESU soon, just stay with the cops!”
“We?”
Spider-Man hangs up, and he and the Black Cat swing out into the city.