Chapter 7

It was Monday morning, and even after the refreshing and calming Sunday afternoon with Mj, she wasn't prepared for the chaos that awaited her in the school she's been to.

She had received stares, but it's not the type a freak would get. They were stared of admiration.

She looked up at the tv screen for the announcements were playing.

"And now, we will have an interview with our school hero, Elena," Lucy, our reporter said.

Elena raised an eyebrow and turned to see Ryan with a camera next to Tyler who had a microphone. Elena continued to walk to her locker and they followed.

"What were you doing when you were on the street Friday afternoon?" Tyler asked and Elena opened her locker.

"I was getting a story, on Spider-Man, I was going to try and interview him," Elena responded and gave a small smile.

"What was going through your head when you were saving the baby?" Tyler asked and she looked down.

"If I didn't get to it soon, it's was going to burn alive, and I can't have that on my conscience," she said and unloaded her bag and switched out her books.

"Marry me," she heard Tyler whisper and she widened her eyes, looking at the camera that zoomed onto her face.

"Thanks, Tyler and Elena," Lucy said from the tv screens and Tyler walked away with Ryan.

Elena shut her locker and turned, walking right into Peter, causing her to stumble back. He instantly grabbed her hand, her books falling out of her bag and her head an inch from the floor. He pulled her up and grabbed her books, putting them back into her bag, he handed her the laptop she carried and she wore a weak smile.

"Sorry," they said in unison, but for different reasons.

Elena nodded looking down, Peter scratched the back of his neck, looking away as his neck and ears burned.

The bell rang and she looked at Peter.

"When will you tell me what's going on with you?" she asked and he only shook his head, walking away.

She watched his back disappear into the crowd of kids getting to class.

She sighed and zipped up her bag and went to class.

———

Elena walked into her apartment building, unlocking her mailbox. She shut it and looked through and saw something from the Daily Bugle.

She tilted her head and got in the elevator.

"Hey, hold it!" Someone yelled and she stuck her hand in the door.

She went to open the letter as the person boarded. She didn't hear a button being clicked and she looked up. She almost dropped her mail as she saw Peter so close to her.

"Parker, what the fuck," she backed up and he pushed his button as if he was knocked out of a daze.

She looked back down and saw that she had gotten a paycheck.

"Holy shit," she said as she looked at the amount of money.

She looked up at Peter with wide eyes.

"Everyth-" she cut him off when she tackled him in a hug.

Elena didn't fully know why she did what she did, but in the moment, it felt right. She began to feel awkward and she pushed the check back in the envelope, she coughed awkwardly and smoothed her shirt out.

The door opened and she walked out to her apartment. Peter watched her as she unlocked the door and walked in, the elevator doors shut and he went up.

Elena sat down at her dining table and set her moms mail aside.

She looked through her homework and finished everything.

Today was homecoming, and Elena had no date. So now, she was going to binge watch Star Wars. She mentally cursed Peter for getting her addicted and she sighed.

She changed into pajama pants and a simple tee shirt that she thought she lost but was actually hidden in Peters room. The problem with the movies was that they were so long that she could only fit two or three in.

Elena was into the second movie when something knocked on her bedroom window. She looked over and saw a figure in the window and she grabbed a bat that she had leaning against her bed.

She walked over and opened it up.

It was the old Spider-Man suit.

"Spider-Man?" she asked as he fell in.

She dropped her bat and caught him, leaving them both on the ground.

He coughed, trying to get up.

"Sorry," he muttered and Elena pushed him up and got up, pulling him up with all her strength.

"What happened," she asked and he looked up at her.

"Vulture, don't worry, the police have him," he said and looked at the screen and he nodded.

"Good choice," he said and she chuckled, pulling him to the bathroom.

"You can thank my friend, Peter for that, he's got me obsessed," Elena admitted.

"Good friend," he said and she shrugged.

"Things haven't been going too well but whatever," Elena said and put the toilet lid down and had him sat. She looked at the zipper and looked up at him.

"There's a lot of blood, will you let me?" she asked and he nodded.

Elena unzipped the hoodie and saw blood spots and holes all through the shirt underneath.

She grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the shirt.

"Hey!" He said and she shook her head.

"Pulling it off could have risked me unmasking you and I respect your privacy, okay?" She said and he nodded.

"Besides, I have a shirt that'll fit you anyways," she said and went under the counter, pulling out hydrogen peroxide.

She poured some on some folded over toilet paper and started cleaning his wounds. She went through her first aid kit and found bandages and cotton. She put the cloth and bandage on there and sighed.

"I need you to hold that," she said and he nodded.

She wrapped him, putting cotton on any other wounds on his torso.

"Jesus Christ, he fucked you up," Elena said and Spider-Man sighed.

She looked down at him and shook her head.

"I bet your face is just as bad," she said and he shook his head.

"I'm not ready," he said.

Elena nodded and gave him a light hug.

"I told you to stop doing stupid stuff," she joked and he chuckled then coughed.

"I'll get you a water and Advil," Elena said softly and walked out.

She came back with a bottle of water and a bottle of Advil, not sure how much he needed.

She opened both bottles and handed them to him. He gently took them and lifted his mask over his mouth, swallowing a couple and drank the whole bottle of water.

She shut the Advil bottle and he threw away the other bottle.

"Do you want to stay here for a bit, regain some strength? My mom is working the night shift tonight, and she won't be here until ten am," she said and he shrugged.

"That's fine," he said and she nodded.

She helped him get up and they walked into her room. She helped him onto the bed and went over and grabbed an old grey t-shirt and tossed it to him. She pushed her drawer back and grabbed her bat, putting it back in its previous spot. Elena laid down next to him. She looked over at him.

"While you're here can I interview you?" she asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, why not?" he responded and she smiled, pulling out her recorder and her notepad with an assorted amount of questions. She sat opposite of him as he sat up and she smiled wide.

"How did you get your powers?" she asked.

"I was bite by a radioactive spider at a field trip to a laboratory," he said and she nodded.

"Do you ever had thoughts of going to a life of crime?" She asked.

"Yes, but not in the way you're thinking, I had someone close to me get killed, and I wanted to avenge them, but in our last conversation, they told me something that made me think of my actions," he said and she nodded.

"What did they tell you?" She asked and he chuckled and looked up at her roof, where glowing stars were stuck.

"With great power, comes great responsibility," he said and she nodded.

"They sound like a wise person, I'm sorry for your loss," she said.

"How did you make your suit," she asked and he chuckled.

"Well this suit is just some sweatpants, a hoodie and gloves, including these glasses that make everything hard to see to the normal human eye," he said, "When I got bit, everything was dialed up to eleven, there's a lot of input, so they just help me see better."

"With the physics, that go into you swinging around, all that velocity should send your blood to your toes, how are you talking to me today?" she asked and he tilted his head.

"I never really thought into that, um, I'll get back to you on that one," he said and she nodded.

"I'm getting tired so this will be the last of the questions, thank you so much for this interview, Spidey, any words?" she offered the recorder to him and he leaned forward.

"Sounds cheesy, but never doubt your abilities, do what scares you, unless its jumping off a building, don't jump off a building, god, I messed this up," he stuttered out and she giggled and stopped the recording.

Elena smiled as she put the stuff away.

She went back to her bed as the movie came to an ending. Elena waited for the credits to roll for her to get up and put in the next one. She walked back over and they watched the movie.

"I should go, I'll see you," he said and slowly stood up on his own.

"I gotta return this shirt someday," he joked and she smiled.

They got up and she walked with him to the window. She rushed to get the hoodie and she walked back.

He was already on the wall.

"Wait," she called out and he popped his head down to see her.

"You forgot this," she said and held it up.

"Keep it," he said softly and she nodded.

She slowly lifted her fingers up, pulling down his mask from his lips, his jaw was bruised and his lip was clotted.

She leaned forward, shutting her eyes and kissed him.

She was kissing her idol.

But Peter was kissing the girl he realized that he loved.