this was a series that i started this past week on tumblr. i will be moving it here today and MIGHT have a part three out tonight :-)

//

"Hey, Happy. It's, uh, been a while since I called. I figured I might have annoyed you enough before everything happened, ya know?" He let out an awkward laugh. "Well, anyway... I stopped a couple of robberies today. Do you have any idea as to why so many criminals prefer to rob in the evening? Like, it's still light outside! Anyway... I'm finished for the night and I... I was just wondering how you're doing. It's, uh, like I said... been a while. So... call me back if you can. If you want, I guess. I- oh. My spidey senses are tingling so I gotta go! Bye, Happy!"

Peter hung up his phone and perched up on the metal railing. With one hand, Peter pulled the rest of his mask down his face.

"So what is going on..." he muttered, feeling his brain tingle with nervous energy.

Suddenly, a scream ripped through the air. He turned his head and shot a web upward. His feet left the railing and he swung through the air, heading towards an alley.

"Help! Someone help!" A girl was pushed up against a wall as a man tore through her backpack. She was holding her face, like she'd just gotten punched.

"I just said shut up!" a male warned, and Peter saw the gleam of a knife in the setting sun.

He landed on the ground. "Didn't anybody ever teach you any manners?" Peter asked. He shot a web at the guy's face, yanked him forward, and let him meet his fist. The man dropped to the ground. "Oops - that was kinda hard. You okay? Oh, he's unconscious. He's fine."

He looked to the girl.

"Are you okay?"

"I, uh-" Her jaw dropped and eyes went wide.

At the same time, Peter's spidey senses went off again. "Yikes!" he muttered, turning around and seeing a group of three men holding small (but loaded) hand guns. One of them fired a bullet, the girl yelped, and Peter wasted no time to shoot a web, wrap an arm around her, and leave the ground.

"Hang, on, hang on!" he shouted, turning so that if one of them happened to have good aim, they would hit him with a bullet instead of her. He dropped her on top of a roof and then let go of her. "Sorry, sorry - I didn't want to grab you like that, but... you okay?"

She looked sick as she stumbled on her feet, then slowly lowered herself to the ground. She pulled her knees up to her face and wrapped her shaking arms around her legs.

Peter squatted. "Should I call an ambulance for you?"

"N-No," she muttered, lifting her head, which she started shaking. "No. I'm... I'm okay." She looked at him. "You saved my life, Spider-Man."

"That's what Spider-Man does."

"Yeah, but, like... if they had shot at me, that bullet would have hit you. And you would be fine with that?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"I assure you, a bullet hitting me would be far less of a mess than if a bullet hit you." He laughed a little, then tilted his head. "So you're okay?"

"I think I am... considering."

"Good. Can you tell me why an entire gang was after you?" he asked.

"I don't know. One of them ran after me to take my bag. And I was going to let them have it, but they said they would kill me anyway. They said the louder I was, the more pain I would feel and I just... I had to scream for help, because it was my only chance."

He nodded. "I'm glad you did."

"Me, too," she smiled. "I can't thank you enough for what you did for me today."

"It's my job." He shrugged.

"Thank you," she whispered. She quickly wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Thank you, Spider-Man."

He gently lowered her from the roof to the sidewalk. He waited for her to wave down a taxi, then watched it go. She didn't ask him to, but he could tell that it made her feel safer. Not that he could blame her - what she went through was terrifying.

When she left, he webbed himself back up the building. He was ready to get home for dinner. May was making homemade veggie pizza.

The next day, Spider-Man was making rounds again. Well, he was going around block after block, waiting for something to happen. Nothing was happening, though, and he wasn't sure why. It was an unusually still night. Not even a mugger stealing from an old lady.

"I know this is supposed to be a good thing," Peter complained to Karen as he rode on top of the train. "But isn't the saying crime never sleeps? It's certainly sleeping right now."

"Maybe this is a good time to catch up on your late assignments," Karen suggested. "Your Chemistry grade has dropped to a B, and you promised May you'd try harder."

"I know, I know," he sighed. "I'm just... I don't know. I was hoping something would happen today."

"Like what?" she asked.

"Like..." He trailed off, because he wasn't sure what he was hoping for.

"Spider-Man!" he heard. He looked around. The shout wasn't scared, or upset, it was just someone saying his name. "Spidey! Down here!"

He hopped off the train and saw her on the street. It was the girl he saved the day before. "Uh, hey."

"Hi. Sorry, if you were busy," she apologized.

"Oh no, I.... I wasn't. What's up? Everything good?" he asked.

"Yeah, everything's great." She looked down at a Tupperware in her hands. She held it out to him. "These are for you."

"For me?" he asked, taking them.

"I told my mom what happened, and she was ready to move me to Ohio or something. But then I told her about how you saved me, and she relaxed some. She made a batch of double chocolate chip cookies. You don't have any nut allergies, do you?"

"No, I don't," he said.

"Good, because there are a few with walnuts, too."

He took the container of cookies and unfolded the foil covering the top. "Wow, these look great."

"They taste great, too," she said.

He rolled up the bottom of his mask and plucked a cookie off the top. He took a bite and chewed. He noticed how she was staring at his mouth - at the shape of his jaw, the color of his skin. This was the most he'd every shown anybody, so he quickly swallowed and pulled his mask back down.

"Yeah, you're right. These are amazing."

"I'm glad you like them." She smiled shyly.

"Thank you," he said.

"Thank you. For saving my life."

He scoffed. "It wasn't a big deal. It's kinda my job. I'm not used to getting thanked like this, though."

"You should." She nodded. "Uh, my name is ___. I don't... really know why I'm telling you that, I just... want to, I guess."

He grinned under the mask. "It's nice to meet you. You can call me Spidey, if you want. You already did, didn't you?"

"I did." She grinned.

"I like it," he said. "So, uh... you busy? Or can I get you a sandwich from Delmar's?"

"You like Delmar's?"

"You kidding? I love Delmar's," he said.

"Awesome. I do, too."

"So you're free to go?" he asked.

"Totally."

Over the rest of that week, Peter met up with the same girl. He took her to Delmar's every day, and then at the end of the week, he was swinging her home to her window. By the seventh day he knew her, he was positive that she was the single most interesting, funniest, prettiest, and amazing girl he had ever met. She made him feel things that he had only ever felt with Mary Jane.

"I really don't want to go home," she said as Peter slowly swung towards her house.

"Why?" he asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," she said. "I just... I've been having a lot of fun with you." She looked up at him and smiled softly.

"Yeah? Me, too." He smiled back down at her, but she couldn't see, because he was still wearing a mask.

She hadn't seen him without it, and she didn't even know his name. It wasn't like he didn't trust her already, because he did. She was a great friend - literally a life saver, because things had been weird with Ned for a while.

He dropped her off at her window. He helped her inside, then perched on the sill. She turned around to say goodbye, but he stopped her by saying:

"Can I come inside? For just a minute?" he asked.

"Oh. Sure." She stepped backwards, and he came inside. "What's up?"

"I wanted to tell you that... I think you're great. Really. And I wanted to show you who I am, because... because I think that you just deserve to know."

She raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"I want you to know." He pulled the curtains shut and then turned to her. He unrolled the mask and pulled it off his head. He was aware of the mess that was the top of his head - his frizzy hair - and grew slightly embarrassed. He pushed it down and smiled awkwardly. "Uh, so, my name is Peter Parker. I'm a senior at Midtown, and I- yeah. I don't know."

She laughed softly, then walked up to him. "I like the name Peter."

"Yeah?" He scratched the top of his head.

"Yeah. And I want to tell you something, too." Her teeth pulled her lip back into her mouth and she laughed nervously, then let her eyes flutter before looking back at him. "I really like you, Peter."

"Cool," he breathed. "I like you, too." He hesitantly reached for her hand and took it.

She reached up and hooked her other arm around his neck and kissed him softly, gently, and shyly. When she pulled away, he cupped the bottom of her chin and pulled her right back.

Peter couldn't imagine his life being any better than this.