The Tangled Web | Peter Parker

Chapter 40

A few days later, I was sitting in the Parker's kitchen drinking my morning coffee with May. Knowing I could trust her with information about Dr. Connors, I poured my heart out while she continued to pour the coffee. She did her best to remain neutral about the subject, although it was obvious she felt strongly about me publishing the interview, especially after learning Dr. Connors was removed from the room.

"I understand it's part of your internship experience," May sighed while staring blankly into her coffee mug, "but does it have to be your name attached to the article?"

I looked up to meet her sad stare and tried my best to not sound offended in my response. "May," I cautioned, shaking my head. "I'm the one who interviewed him. I'm the one who's writing the article. To put someone else's name on my work-"

"I know, I know," she mumbled, swatting the air with her hand. She lifted her mug to her lips. "I just wish there was a way around it."

"Around what?" Peter yawned as he strolled into the kitchen, eyeing my plate of food.

"Don't sneak up on your poor aunt like that," May gasped, startled by Peter's abrupt entrance.

"I didn't sneak," Peter rasped while rubbing his eye with the back of his hand. "Oh, bacon!" he exclaimed as he swiped the meat off my plate.

"Hey," I groaned, turning around in my chair to glare at him. "Get your own. There's plenty on the counter."

Peter playfully smirked as he aggressively bit off a piece of bacon. "Now why would I do that when you always do such a good job at picking out the best pieces," he taunted, tilting his head as he continued to chew on his stolen food.

I narrowed my eyes as I stared at his disheveled appearance. With nothing in range to throw at him, I would have to resort to throwing words in his direction. "You really got that whole 'I'm a teenager and I don't care about my appearance' thing going for you this morning," I sneered with a smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

"Huh?" Peter questioned, furrowing his eyebrows as he turned his attention to me.

"The bedhead really pulls the whole look together," I teased, nodding to his brown nest of tangled hair. "No doubt you'll win best-dressed this year."

"Peter, dear," May tisked, shaking her head. "Would it kill you to run a comb through your hair every now and then?"

"I brushed it like three times this morning," Peter mumbled as he attempted to smooth down his hair. He quickly pushed himself off of the kitchen counter and made his way to the hall bathroom, trying his best to hide his embarrassment.

"You two better hurry if you're walking today," May called as she cleaned up breakfast. "If you wait about twenty minutes, I could drop you off on my way to work."

I opened my mouth to graciously accept May's offer but was quickly cut off by Peter's response.

"No thanks, we'll walk," he yelled from the bathroom.

I rolled my eyes as I dumped my lukewarm coffee down the sink. "So glad we operate in a democracy," I mumbled sarcastically while loading my mug into the dishwasher.

"I think he just wants to spend some time with you," May chuckled, shaking her head as a smile spread across her face. "He was complaining last night that he hadn't seen you in the past twenty-four hours."

"He was?" I asked, my eyebrows raising as I turned to face May. I tried my best to hide my excited curiosity by crossing my arms and shrugging when I saw her smile widen. "I mean, we've gone longer without talking," I added quickly rolling my eyes, hoping she didn't notice how much I cared.