The air was rather cold the following night as we stood in line for the cinemas, despite the winter months coming to a close. Mary Jane had dragged us along to a screening of some new romantic comedy, but had not informed us she had invited half her theatre friends, including faces from school that we didn't usually hang out with. Ned Leeds, a boy with a quick eye for anything mechanical was standing closely behind us, chatting poor Liz Allan's ear off. I sent her a little smile over my shoulder, watching as she nodded along with his conversation. Gwen was in front of us with Flash, the two of them hand-in-hand. It seemed a number of kids from our classes thought tonight was a terrific night for a movie.
"It's like half the school is here," Harry was suddenly beside us, giving Ned a quick glance as he cut in the line. He slapped Peter fondly on the shoulder, sending me a smirk. "Who knew Mary Jane was this popular?"
The question was fitting coming from him. He hadn't been around for all that long, he didn't know just how kind Mary Jane was to everyone, meaning she was quite liked among the student body. "Kindness goes a long way, maybe you should buy some." I teased him but he wasn't taking the bait tonight. With a hand pushing back his hair, growing longer with the passing months, he casted his eyesight away from both of us.
I spotted Mary Jane standing by the entrance, chatting quietly with Cindy Moon and two faces that I didn't know by name, but they looked strangely familiar in a way. Miles Morales pushed pass us, a younger boy with his gang of friends following behind him. "Hey, Pete!" he called out, his voice singsongy.
"Uh, hey." Peter shrugged, giving the younger boy a quick wave as I stared across at him, my eyebrows rising up with question. The group of boys rushed away, heading right for the candy bar inside, the smell of buttery popcorn drifting through the cold air.
Harry wasn't paying any attention, his mind elsewhere as I shoved my hands into my pockets, letting my shoulder brush Peter's playfully. "Who knew you were so popular?"
"Oh, right. Miles." Peter nodded, offering me a smile. "I've been sort of tutoring him every other week, nothing special but it pays a little and helps Aunt May out." I knew the Parker family were struggling a little with money, but I didn't want to offer help, just in case he saw it as a handout. With my parents' work, we always glided through life with ease, hence a nice house in Tribeca.
I let my hand drop into his, giving him a little comfort. A stray piece of hair fell across his forehead and I brushed it away. His hair was getting a little longer too, something that I found rather cute. My attention snapped as a laugh sounded from our left, my eyes zoning in on Mary Jane again. Cindy was gone, but the two new people still stood by her side. I hadn't seen them before but they looked around our age. The boy was dark skinned, his shoulders wide with muscle but he didn't look like the jock type. The girl was smaller, her blonde hair dancing in the light wind. Her head tilted to the side and I got a glimpse of her fair features, something lighting a spark in my mind.
"Who's Mary Jane speaking with?" I asked Peter quietly, pointing them out.
"I don't know," he shrugged his shoulders, watching the new pair with mild interest. "Maybe some transfer students, she's always offering a helping hand."
It was Harry that leaned over, muttering softly in our ears. "That's Tandy Bowen, just another rich kid with big dreams in the city. I went to school with her briefly upstate, us rich kids stick together." I knew Harry had bounced from private schools all his life, never liking a place enough to stay. His last school had practically begged him to leave and daddy's money couldn't pay for everything it seemed. "Last I heard she moved back home to Cleveland, though. Mother dearest must have paid for her move to New York, she's a model you know?"
"Who, Tandy or her mother?" I questioned quickly.
Harry gave a smirk, "Her mother. Although, Tandy is a pretty good dancer." My gaze drifted back over to the two new faces, now moving away from Mary Jane, heads bent together. "No idea who the other kid is, maybe a nobody."
Mary Jane was bouncing over to us, a smile lighting up her face. I watched as she tapped Gwen on the shoulder in greeting and giving Flash a sweet smile. Then she was falling in beside us. "I'm glad you guys made it." Harry slung his arm around her shoulders, giving her a slick grin.
"Wouldn't miss it." Harry replied quietly, something shinning in his eyes. For the last few months he had been dealing with his father's death and I knew he wanted answers, something nobody had been able to give him yet. He hadn't brought up Spider-Man being involved in a while but that didn't mean he hadn't dropped it completely. Sometimes, I worried about him but when he was around Mary Jane, he was happier and every doubt faded from my mind.
Before we could even make it inside and far away from the cold night, I felt Peter freeze up beside me. My eyes were snapping to his face, feeling his body grow ridged. I didn't know the capabilities of his powers, it was something I never thought to ask but I knew he could sense things before they happened, he called it his spidey sense. "Hey, everything alright?" I whispered quietly, the laughter coming from Flash in front of us drowning out my question.
Peter gave a blunt nod and with his hand firmly in my own, he was drawing me out the line quickly. Mary Jane was already questioning where we were going but I gave her a look, meaning nothing was wrong. Peter pulled me away from the group and I could briefly hear sirens echoing through the loud city. "I have to go."
I glanced back at our friends and half the student body. "Okay. Duty calls."
He placed his hands on my shoulders, his eyes a little jumpy. "I don't want to leave--" he started softly and deep down, I knew there was maybe nowhere else he wanted to be right now. But the boy standing in front of me wasn't just plain old Peter Parker, he was Spider-Man and when the sound of sirens blared, that side of him stepped out of the shadows.
"Don't worry," I nodded, tilting my chin up a fraction to look at his face.
His hands slipped down from my shoulders, twisting and moving in front of him. It was a classic Peter move, something I don't even think he knew he did when he was trying to explain his thoughts. "We made plans and...I hate leaving like this."
My hands slipped around his own, stopping them from moving. Under the dull lights of the movie theatre, I stood there holding his hands near my chest. "I'm a big girl, I can see a movie without you." A smile sprung to my lips, the sirens drawing closer. "I'll cover for you, don't worry." I added in after a quick second.
Peter didn't move though, just watching my face. Maybe he was trying to see if I was hiding some underlining fact that I didn't want him running off in a middle of a group date but I knew who he was and that was a burden I carried with grace. "Run, boy." I whispered softly, "You don't want to be late to save the day."
He leaned forward, dropping a quick kiss to my lips before hiking up his backpack and stepping into the shadows of the night. I watched as he crossed the street before slipping down a side alleyway and becoming someone else. When I turned back to my friends, I found the girl and boy Mary Jane had been chatting to watching me. I squared my shoulders, a strange feeling washing over me before heading back to the group.
"Where did Peter go?" Harry asked when I slipped back by his side. Mary Jane was already giving me a worried look but I brushed it off with a smile, flicking some hair away from my face. Flash and Gwen were looking back at me too, waiting for my answer.
With the best smile on my lips, I lied to my friends. "Aunt May called, something came up. Don't worry, he won't miss much. What's just another romantic comedy?"
My friends brought the lie without question and suddenly, I realised something. They didn't think any different, didn't question why he would suddenly brush off a date, because why would they? Peter was just Pete to them, a kid they had grown up with and saw as a friend, a brother. They didn't carry the burden of seeing Peter differently, only I did and maybe that was curse.