The Tangled Web | Peter Parker

Chapter 13

I nodded my head, pulling my eyebrows together as I looked at him.

"By yourself?" he questioned, his voice growing louder. "At night?"

"Yeah," I said slowly, nodding.

"Shit, Emerson," he snapped, shaking his head. "You shouldn't do that!"

"I made it there and back just fine," I stated, rolling my eyes. "I texted May the entire time. She knew where I was."

"Doesn't matter," Peter exclaimed, shaking his head as he lowered it to the table. "That's not safe. What if something happened to you?"

"Nothing happened, Peter," I scoffed. "But if you want to talk about being safe, we can gladly talk about where-"

"That's not the point, Em," he yelled, exhaling loudly.

"I'm with Parker on this one," Flash nodded, motioning with his head toward Peter. His eyes were wide with concern. "Why didn't you ask one of us to go with you?"

I shook my head, letting out a quick breath of air from my mouth. "Because I can take care of myself," I shrugged, "I've been doing it for years. And it was late."

"I don't care if it was late," Flash said, leaning in toward me. He grabbed my hand, rubbing circles on my skin. "I would have gone with you."

"It was a last-minute thing," I explained, shaking my head. "It's really not that serious. I've been navigating this city on my own since I was a kid."

"I know," Peter exhaled, resting his arm on the table. "It's just different when it's at night."

"Look," Gwen interjected, placing her hand on Peter's arm. She glanced between Peter and Flash, raising her eyebrows. "You're both concerned for her safety. I get that. But you don't need to yell at her because you're scared," she explained, shaking her head as she nudged Peter's shoulder.

"Thank you," I mouthed at Gwen, grinning.

She closed her eyes, nodding once. "And who knows," she added, shrugging her shoulders. "If something would have happened to her, maybe that guy in the suit would have stepped in and helped."

Flash considered her point, tilting his head as he raised his eyebrows. "What are we calling him now that he isn't just some dude running around in a mask?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Good question," I sighed, laughing to myself. "Jameson is insisting on calling him Spider-Menace." I raised my eyebrows, shaking my head. "He almost put that in today's headline."

"Why spider?" Gwen asked, laughing.

"He, uh," I stammered, thinking as I pointed to my chest, drawing an imaginary circle. "He has a spider emblem on his chest apparently."

"Cool," Flash exhaled, leaning back.

"I guess," I stated sarcastically, lowering my eyebrows. "I don't know, it's just weird. All of a sudden this guy is running around in spider tights? We aren't even sure if it's the same person."

"So, is that what you're calling him then?" Peter asked quietly, nodding toward me. "Spider-Menace?"

"I don't know," I laughed, shaking my head. "I'm sure we'll come up with something better than that. But for now, I guess, yeah. I can't exactly control what Jameson prints."

"Spider-Guy," Flash added, his voice sounding dramatic.

"Spiderling," Gwen laughed, shaking her head.

"The Flying Spider," I yelled, throwing my head back laughing.

Peter brought his hand up to his mouth, biting on his nail. He nodded several times and grimaced like he was in pain. "Those are terrible," he mumbled, which caused the three of us to laugh even harder.