Spider-Man: Marvel Knight

Chapter 4-Friends Again

   Peter looked at himself in the mirror, trying to put on his tie. There was something that he would never live down. Just like Uncle Ben, Peter couldn't tie a tie if the world counted on it. Finally, he became too frustrated and just tore it from his neck and threw it down. "This is bullshit!" he exclaimed. Harry heard his friend yell and came into his room. Of course, he was already ready for the dinner... And of course he looked flawless. Liz chose well when it came to a life partner.
   Harry chuckled and picked up the tie. "Some things never change," he said moving over to Peter. "You never could tie a tie." He began to tie it himself.
   Peter scoffed. "Sometimes I think that it's surprising that I have an IQ of 140," he said. "I can chemically engineer the strongest nanomesh biocable in the world but I can't tie a freaking tie."
   Harry handed him the pre-tied tie and chuckled again. "Oh, it's okay. Every person has their flaws."
   Peter laughed and put it around his neck. "That'll be Spider-Man's weakness from now on," Peter said.
   "What? Tying ties?" Harry said beginning to laugh uncontrollably.
   Peter tightened it and put it under his collar. "Yeah...just freaking next time I face Electro or some crap, he's just gonna pull one out and say 'Tie this friggin thing!' And I'm gonna be like 'Oh, no, my only weakness! Being a complete dumbass!'" Harry and Peter had a great laugh. It had been a while since they shared one. They really hadn't been in a lot of joy since Kurt turned himself into a giant Lizard and nearly destroyed all of NYC's sewers and Oscorp.
   Harry grabbed Peter's shoulder and turned serious. "Hey, Peter..." he started, "...listen, I should be the one apologizing about today. Not you."
   Peter shook his head. "Harry, come on, you don't..."
   "Don't interrupt me, Pete, I'm trying to apologize here."
   Peter did the zipper motion over his mouth. "Sorry. Please continue."
   "Pete, it was wrong of me to snap at you after seeing dad today. You know how it's like, though. In our line of work, I just can't stand him sitting there laughing at me, after everything we worked to accomplish."
   Peter did a little nod. "Yeah..." He scratched his head. "We just have to live life and make the most of it."
   Harry nodded. "Yeah..." He looked at his watch. "Oh, shit, it's 7:50. The girls are gonna kill us if we're late." He ran out of Peter's room and down the stairs to the front door. "Get your coat and come on!" he yelled to Peter from downstairs. Peter grabbed his suit coat and hurdled the stairs, as a true Spider-Man would, and landed perfectly. Harry raised his eyebrow and smiled. "Nice. We can show off at the restaurant. Come on!"

   Gwen, MJ, and Liz sat at their table in LeAngelo's waiting on the boys. MJ wore a golden, silk dress with a tight skirt. It's bright color reflected great with her red hair. Liz wore a green, shiny dress with a long skirt. Gwen wore the black dress that she bought that day. Black was Gwen's favorite color, and her dark lipstick complimented her look well.
   Liz looked down at her watch. "Of course they're late," she said, pushing her brown hair out of her eyes. "When are they not late."
   MJ smiled. "They're men, Liz," she said. "They never get anywhere on time."
   Gwen giggled. "I don't think it has to do with them being men," she said. "Do you remember them in high school? Or at least Harry."
   "Harry was always the late one," MJ said with a giggle. "Do you remember when Peter was so OCD all of the time?"
   Gwen put her face in her hands and laughed some more. "What happened to the old Peter?"
   "I think Harry rubbed off on him too much," Liz said with giggles. "God help those two."
   Gwen was having a great time. She always loved hanging out with just MJ and Liz. Sometimes it was nice just to have girl moments. For her last year in Queens High School, Gwen hung out with just the boys. Liz was at another school at the time, and Gwen had to make sure that Peter and Harry didn't get their asses kicked all the time.
   Finally, Harry and Peter walked into the restaurant. Of course they were ten minutes late. Liz stared Harry down and raised her eyebrow. He smiled. "Hey, babe," he said timidly. "We're late."
   Liz nodded. "I can see that." He gave her a kiss and sat down next to her. Peter went and sat down next to MJ. It was nice to have to whole gang together again in one place. They ordered their food and traded stories. Sure, most of them had been heard before millions of times, but who cared, honestly? Two of them were getting married to each other. Everyone felt happy for them, too.
   Gwen had to admit to herself that it was a little awkward for her, being the only single person at the table. Did she care at the moment? No. She was in her own little heaven with her friends. Her best friends in the entire world.
   Peter kept looking over at Gwen during the dinner. Luckily, she never caught him. For the past couple months, he had acted so hostile toward her because of her waiting so long to tell him about what he had done to her. He also felt like crap from the way he treated her earlier today. He wasn't being the best friend, and he wanted to change that.
   After dinner and the planning, they walked outside and took a breath of fresh air. "Oh, boy, that was delicious," Harry said. "I think that I could use a nap."
   Liz grabbed his arm and hugged him. "With me?" MJ, Gwen, and Peter gave silent chuckles.
   Harry raised an eyebrow and laughed. "I'll think about it," he said. "Let me call a cab first."
   A cab finally pulled up. Harry and Liz got in. "Actually, guys," Gwen said, "I'm gonna walk home."
   MJ looked over at her. "Are you sure?" she asked her.
   Gwen nodded. "Yeah. I think I need exercise after a meal that big."
   MJ chuckled and got in the cab. Gwen began to walk away. Peter looked at her with concern. "You coming, tiger?" MJ asked.
   "Actually," he said, "I think that I'll walk her home."
   MJ smiled. "I think that that's a great idea. You guys have a lot to talk about. Love you."
   "Love you, too." Peter shut the door to the cab and watched it drive off. He looked at Gwen walking away and jogged over to her. "Hey," he called. She turned to look at him walking next to her. "You want some company?"
   She smiled. "I wouldn't mind some," she replied. "You?"
   "Company's nice." They walked for a little bit. He felt a sense of nostalgia walking with her. Their dating days were long gone but it was nice to have her along side him as a friend. "You know, you look pretty tonight."
   Gwen smiled and raised her eyebrow. "That feels strange coming from you."
   He raised his as well. "What do you mean?"
   "You have a girlfriend and you're calling me pretty."
   He went into a sarcastic defensive mode. "Um, I'm sorry for calling my friend pretty." She giggled. "It's the truth, though," he said. "You do look really pretty tonight."
   Gwen smiled. "Thanks. You look pretty, too."
   Pete chuckled. "Thanks. That makes me feel so much better about myself."
   She giggled. "You're welcome."
   They walked some more and Peter spoke up. "Hey, listen, I'm sorry about what happened this morning during your training. In fact, these past couple months I've been acting like a douchebag."
   She raised her eyebrow and pushed her hair behind her ear. "What do you mean?"
   Peter scratched the back of his head. "I've been treating you less and less like a friend and more like a student. I'm sorry if I hurt you in any way... I mean I am truly sorry."
   Gwen shook her head. "Peter, if anyone is apologizing, it should be me," she said. "I kept my powers from you for a year. I should've told you earlier. I didn't mean to put such a heavy burden on you." Peter chuckled. "Why are you laughing?" she asked.
   "Just some serious deja vu," he responded. "There's no burden on me, Gwen. This is one of the greatest moments in my life. It feels good that I'm not alone in my superheroing spider powers. If anything I should be thanking you."
   Gwen smiled. "You're welcome, then, I guess?"
   Peter smiled. "You know what?" he began. "Tomorrow night, meet me in our practice alley. I think I can show you how to control your powers."
   She had a great big smile on her face. Those words made her feel good. "That sounds...great."
   Then, Peter did something that Gwen never thought he would do. He gave her a hugm She truly felt it and it warmed her heart. Winking at her, he made sure the coast was clear, climbed up one of the walls, and began swinging home. Gwen felt good and confused.
   "What does that mean?" she asked herself.