The Tangled Web | Peter Parker

Chapter 13

The next day, Peter was still doing everything in his power not to interact with me. He had utterly dismissed May's attempts at breakfast to talk to him, grabbing a piece of toast and running out the front door, leaving me to walk to school on my own. I saw him in the hallway a few times throughout the day and tried to talk to him. Each time he quickly turned around and walked in the opposite direction. It wasn't until after school that he finally acknowledged my existence.

I was sitting outside at a table, laughing at something Flash had said to Gwen about their class earlier. Peter slowly approached the table, avoiding everyone's eye contact as he slid onto the seat next to Gwen. He had his hood pulled up, trying to cover his face. He crossed his arms, slouching forward onto the table.

"Jesus, Parker," Flash exclaimed, his eyes growing wide. "What the hell happened to you?

Gwen instinctively turned to examine him, pulling back his hood to reveal the bruises coloring his face. "Peter," she whispered, lightly tracing the marks.

"It's fine," he shrugged, shaking his head as he lifted his hood back up. He wrapped his jacket tightly around his body.

I couldn't help but notice the bruises were now a brown-green color, looking like they were a few days old rather than only a few hours. Shouldn't they still be purple?

"Do we need to go after someone?" Flash asked, leaning across the table toward Peter, and glancing back at me for approval. "Just give me a name, Parker."

"Flash," I sighed, placing my hand on his arm. I shook my head.

"What?" Peter exclaimed, pulling his eyebrows together. "No," he exhaled, shaking his head. "No, I just- I, uh, fell."

"You fell?" Gwen questioned skeptically, her voice growing louder.

"Y-yeah," Peter shrugged, chewing on his lower lip. "I, uh, fell off my skateboard."

"Skateboarding accident, huh?" Gwen scoffed, shaking her head.

"Yep," Peter nodded, pressing his lips together. He clapped his hands, raising his eyebrows as he turned to look at me. "Hey, Em. Nice article. I read it today. Is that what you were working on last night?"

Marvelous attempt at deflecting. I glared at Peter, trying my best to calm myself before speaking to him. "I didn't know you were aware I was even there when you got home," I stated, rolling my eyes as I crossed my arms.

Peter closed his eyes, tilting his head to the side. "Yeah, you were, uh, you were typing at the kitchen table when I, uh..." he trailed off, tapping a few times on the table. "Anyway, yeah it was great," he nodded, sighing. "H-how did you get the information for the story?"

"I went to Harlem and got quotes from some eyewitnesses on the scene," I stated blankly, continuing to glare at him.

"Did anyone from your office go with you?" he questioned, furrowing his eyebrows.

"No," I said slowly, tilting my head.

"My girlfriend's a real reporter," Flash beamed, wrapping his arm around my shoulder, and shaking me excitedly.

The sudden interruption broke my glare at Peter, causing me to smile at the compliment. I looked up at Flash, shaking my head at his passion.

"It really was great," Gwen smiled, nodding her head. She bit her lip, rising her eyebrow. "Although my dad wasn't too happy about it," she giggled, closing her eyes. "But that's beside the point."

"Thanks, Gwen," I laughed, shaking my head at the comment about her dad.

"You went to Harlem alone last night?" Peter asked, leaning forward slightly.