Passion for Parker

Chapter 8

The next morning you have hardly stepped onto the sidewalk by your cab when you sense something is different. Everyone is rowdier than usual and as you make your way up the school steps, you cannot locate MJ, Peter, or Ned. Reluctantly, you seek out Flash to fill you in on what is going on. 

"Flash," you call to him and he turns around.

"What do you want, y/n?" Flash yawns, and you roll your eyes.

"Why is everyone acting so weird?" 

Flash's eyes widen and he leans in, "Someone got pictures of Spiderman without his mask on. He looks like he's in high school or college, but it was dark so no one can I.D. him. Rumors are going around of who it could be!"

You shake your head, unsure how to respond to that one, but you know that your crew will have a few things to say about this. They seem even more obsessed with Spiderman than anyone. You break away from Flash to find them. 

Pushing through crowds of people, you search for your friends, but none of them are there. You duck into your first-period class and text MJ Where are you guys?

Within moments she replies Ditching. Meet us at the cafe down the street across from the closed-off deli. We have some stuff to tell you.

You manage to slip out of the classroom before the first bell rings and make your way down the hallway and out the front doors. You have ditched school plenty of times, whether it was to get away from your old "friends" or to get some fresh air, but this time feels different. It is more exciting. You have a friend who might be able to share information about a superhero that no one else knows about.

You jog down the sidewalk, weaving between people and bicyclists, and reach the cafe in no time. You see Ned, Peter, and MJ sitting inside.

"Hey guys," you say, out of breath, "what's going on?" The looks on their faces are not excited like you thought they would be. They look nervous, almost scared, and Peter looks like he has not slept in days.

"Sit down," MJ says, pulling out a chair next to her and across from Peter, "we have some stuff to fill you in on."

"What?" You ask, their behavior scaring you.

Peter leans forward and you can see his hands shaking. "So, there's something that we haven't told you, and I didn't want to tell you until I thought you could be trusted."

"I'm sorry, what?" You exclaim, but Ned shushes you.

"Wait," Ned pleads, "you'll see what he means."

Peter nods and corrects himself, "Not that I didn't trust you as a friend, but I wanted to make sure that we were going to stay friends." He looks at you, waiting for you to confirm that this was true.

"Yes, you guys are my friends." You blurt, "Now, what happened? Did you kill someone?"

You can see a small smile tugging at Peter's lips, but he shakes his head, "No, but I need you to promise me that you can keep a secret. That you won't tell anyone. Ever. That this stays between you, me, and Ned, and MJ." 

You nod, swallowing hard, "Yeah, whatever you say Pete. Now tell me!" Peter crosses his arms over the table and takes a deep breath, looking to Ned for support,

"Go on, man." Ned encourages. 

Peter looks up at you with his caramel brown eyes and whispers, like he's scared of your reaction, "I'm Spiderman."

"And we have a problem," MJ adds.

"There are pictures to prove it." You finish, filling in the blanks.