My Amazing Spider-Man

Chapter Three

I find Peter casually striding down the hall of the main corridor, with his head covered by his hoodie. I close my locker and run after him.

"Hey." He says, taking his hoodie off, allowing his hair to jump up.

"Hi."

"How's it going?"

"Where you headed?"

"Uh, Monday B-track." He says, not sounding so sure. I wonder if he even knows what day it is.

"It's Thursday."

"It's Thursday?" He looks at me, surprised. There is a massive bruise on the left side of his head.

"What happened to your eye? You eye, it looks bruised."

"I know, I got a rash." He tries to hide it from me.

"It's pretty bad, did you go to the nurse?" Peter nods, I know he's lying. "Do you like branzino?" I ask him, changing the subject. He looks confused. "Finger fish?" I try to figure out if he even knows what I'm talking about.

"Mm hmm, I know."

"If you want..." I pull out my pen and a piece of paper and start writing down my address. "You can come to this address at 8 o'clock tonight." I hand him the paper. "My mum is making branzino. Its apartment 2016, I didn't write that part down, I don't know why I didn't." I start walking away as the school bell rings.

"I'll remember it."

"2016." I skip away to class. I actually feel really excited and nervous about him coming over tonight. I mean, it's not like no one's come over to my house before. When Flash came over for that tutoring lesson, I wasn't even the least bit excited. Maybe it's because I basically just asked Peter out on a date.

I had asked Dad last night if Peter could come over, his reaction was nothing more surprising.

"Peter Parker?" He had said when I asked him. "The kid who smashed the backboard?" He let out a loud sigh. I bit my lip, waiting for the answer. "Okay. But I don't want him breaking anything in this house." I jumped onto him, excitedly.

҉

I take a cab back to my place and rush up to my room. I try to get as much done on the Oscorp profiles as I can before Peter arrives. I have four hours but I know that isn't nearly enough time. I've already done the first five profiles and I have about fourteen left to go. I don't bother to get changed, I just redo my hair and put it up in a ponytail this time, instead of having it out.

Almost 8 o'clock and I've just finished one profile. Not much. Still got thirteen to go. There is a gentle knock outside my window which startles me. I look up and see Peter crouching outside my bedroom. I smile and run to the window. I lift it up so that he can come in.

"Hi." I say, amazed. He smiles sheepishly which makes me laugh. "How did you get out there?" I ask him. But seriously, how did he get out there?

"The fire escape. Your doorman is intimidating."

"It's twenty stories."

"Yeah. This is your room." He says, sliding in.

"Yes, this is my room."

"Books. Got your mum these..." Peter pulls out a bunch of wilted daisies from his bag.

"Lovely."

"Yeah, they're beautiful, right?" He says, sarcastically.

"They're beautiful." I agree. He smiles sheepishly, again.

"They were, they were nice." His head fall into the flowers, ashamed.