As Luck Would Have It

2) Being Thankful

           

After some time, the leader had taken the tray of ice cream to a basketball court in a nearby park. She set the tray down on the bleachers beside the court to stretch her arms and shake the growing tension within them. She started pacing around the bleachers, anxiously waiting for her companions to meet at their rendezvous point. She swung her arms around with her hands in the pockets of her cardigan, the glare of the setting sun bouncing off her flowing blonde hair. I wonder if they all made it out, she thought, just as a small group entered the corner of her eye. They were all out of breath, but still giggling and chattering at the amusement they had just gotten a kick out of. Other small groups started to gather from other directions, assembling at the bleachers where their prize awaited them. Their eyes growing wider as they came within inches of the sweet treats. One by one, their leader distributed a serving to each one of her coconspirators. "Treats on me guys" she proclaimed excitedly, grasping her bowl and lifting it into the air in a toasting manner. A collection of thankful replies and cheers roared from the group of small children. "Thanks a bunch, Felicia" one boy called out. You're the best" a small girl cried, looking up at her with admiration. Felicia looked around her, feeling glorified by the appreciation she had built in her fellow street kids. "No big deal", she blushed, "I'm gonna split, enjoy yourselves." The children gave her a grateful farewell as her slim body shrunk into the distance.

Only moment later, the children were still delving into their stolen desserts when two pudgy figures appeared, and walked up to the children. The two boys seemed to be in their later years in middle school or early high school. They shoved their way through the wall of young children to grab a piece of the prize. Shocked, and now feeling defensive, some decided to pull on their shirts to prevent them from getting any further. The little girl that had thanked Felicia now taking a stand against them telling them to beat it. One of the scavengers then gripped the side of her head, smirking at the small act of nobility. He then aggressively tossed the girl to the side, knocking a couple children off balance as she fell back. Before the boys could reach the ice cream, something had caught their hands.

Webbing had restrained their hands from going any further, and from above, a voice cracked the air, "Hey, didn't you're parents ever tell you not to eat dessert before dinner?" Everyone snapped their heads up to see the costumed crime-fighter Spider-Man crouching down and looking at them on a light post. "Spider-Man!" they all cried with amazed expressions on their faces.

"You guessed correct" he chuckled, "I guess I should reward you for that." With both hands, he shot two thin web-lines toward a couple of full bowls of ice cream. "I don't have a gold star" he continued, "but this should do." With a quick pull of his arms, he launched the bowls in the direction of the boys' faces. The boys flung their heads back as ice cream, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream splattered over their faces. The children couldn't help but laugh, as the bullies had gone from aggressively rude to complete fools. Once the bullies had reached the ground from falling back, Spider-Man flipped down to the ground, landing in the same crouching position he held on the light post. The boys tried to regain their position, wiping their eyes to rid themselves of the dessert that covered their faces. Meeting the bullies' faces at ground level, Spider-Man playfully said "BOO" to spook the bullies off balance. In reaction, the boys dumbfoundedly picked themselves up and ran as quick as they could away from the scene.

After the children's laughter started to settle, Spider-Man turned around. His eyes quickly squinting, which caught the children off-guard. "Hold up", Spider-Man said, breaking the momentary silence, "I think we still need to talk about what happened at the restaurant, don't you?" Their heads slowly drowned in guilt, some of their hands reaching into their pockets to contain the uncomfortable feeling of being caught. "You guys can't just go running around wherever you want, imagine what your parents would say" he scolded. Under the mask, Peter was feeling quite proud of himself for standing up to the bullies, but he felt unsure if he was approaching the restaurant situation right with these kids. How should he talk to these kids? Will they get the points he was making? Are his words just reinforcing the fact that these kids are disruptive individuals that need to be worked on? Feeling that he had been serious enough, and decided to loosen the reigns.

"But because you guys are the first group of kids I've caught doing this sorta thing, I'll let you go this one time" he said in a lighter tone. The children reacted with many smiles and sighs of relief that seemed like large weights had been lifted off their shoulders. "But", he continued, lifting one finger, "you've got to let me have one bite." Some of the kids chuckled at his comical comment, and a young girl reluctantly picked up her bowl, spooning out a good portion. Peter inched his way over to the young girl, lifting the lower part of his mask to reveal his mouth. The girl pulled the full spoon out, and shoved it into his mouth. Peter moaned at the delicious taste of the soft treat. "Mmm, vanilla my favorite", he mumbled with his mouth full.

He swallowed his token of appreciation, and quickly stood up to leave. Pulling his mask back down, he told the kids to stay out of trouble, and they waved him off. Running toward the surrounding fence, he leaped high into the air, flipping over. Now on the other side, he spun a web to swing his way out of the neighborhood, and made his way home.

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A/N- Chapter 2, here it is! Kinda just picking up where we left off, letting Spidey having a moment with some kids. Just trying to give him something else to work with, and give our 3rd star some of the spotlight. For all you Spideychelle or Pichelle shippers out there, don't worry. She will be making her first appearance in the next chapter, so you gotta wait another week for that.

I noticed that I'm ranked in the 40's for "Black Cat." That is certainly awesome! I wanted Sony to do the character for so long, and I put her in this story to settle my angst about it.

Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you stick around for more. Please comment what you think, I'm open to your thoughts. Until next time, BYE!