Tower of Secrets

Peter Parker

Things were getting awkward and fast! I had to break the ice that seemed to be materializing between me and Michelle! But, what could I do? It wasn't like I had many real social skills to fall back on. Maybe I could...?

I glanced over at her, taking a deep breath as she finished putting on her right rollerblade. "So, did you know that insane people on rollerblades are a threat?"

She gave me a weird look, screwing up her face. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, they're on an unstable platform."

She snorted and shook her head with a soft smile. "There it is."

I blanched. "What?"

"That good ol' Parker charm." She carefully stood. "You ready?"

My rollerblades had already been firmly secured to my feet for a few moments, so I didn't even hesitate to stand. "Born ready." My heart hammered in my chest. What was okay when we were only pretending to be settled into a couple dynamic? What were the boundaries? Should I...? I swallowed any nerves I may have had and grabbed her hand. "I didn't know I had any charm," I smirked as I began to lead the way to the rink from our seats.

It took her a brief moment to respond. Apparently she was just as shocked as I was that I had the guts to, y'know, initiate physical contact. (Ha, that sounds so stupid in hindsight). "Of course you do... in your own weird way."

"Please elaborate so I know what I'm doing right," I laughed. I made brief eye contact with Mr. Jones and offered him a nervous smile and a wave with my free hand.

"Oh, y'know."

"I really don't."

"It's like, ugh, how do I put this?"

"Is the great Michelle Jones flustered?"

"No!" She blew a strand of hair from her face, which had grown increasingly pink once I started pressing. "It's like, your jokes are corny, but they keep things light. Like, you have more reasons than anybody I know to just kinda be depressed, but you're the happiest person I've ever met. But, it's more than that. You're just something else."

"Now I'm the flustered one."

"Don't forget that you're still a loser, Loser."

"How could I? You won't let me."

She groaned. "I can't believe we just talked about my feelings." She shivered. "I hate talking about feelings."

"If it's any consolation, I think you're pretty amazing, too."

"Ew, more feelings." I didn't miss the way she avoided eye contact, nor the redness creeping up her ears. Who knew someone so mentally fortified could be so easy to embarrass.

"Now I'm even more convinced you're the personification of Copper and Tellurium," I flirted shamelessly. Hey, she was the one who asked me to pretend we'd been together for a while already. I had months of jokes to make up for!

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not cute."

"That's a lie."

The evening continued on in a similar fashion. MJ and I kept up friendly banter and made conversation. Connie occasionally piped up some remark, which I shut down quickly thanks to years of Spider-Man quips.

Soon, it was cake time. Connie had pulled out all the stops on her cake. I mean, it was basically diabetes in a cylinder. She apparently went with a Nutty Buddy theme, using peanut butter between the layers of her chocolate cake and crunching up the treat to sprinkle on top. Hungry from the skating, Michelle and I both grabbed two pieces.

Mr. and Mrs. Jones sat across from us. "Hi," I greeted as they sat. "How are you?"

"We're doing just fine," Mrs. Jones smiled. "You?"

"I mean, it's been a blast."

"So, you're the boy my daughter has been seeing?" Mr. Jones questioned, raising a burly brow.

"Yes, sir. She's an amazing person. I'm pretty lucky."

"That you are."

From then on I was grilled for all those nitty-gritty details I was forced to learn just a few hours prior. I'll never forget the "I told you so" look MJ shot me once that conversation got started. You know what they say: the woman's always right!

Eventually, it was time to head home ("Happy birthday, Short Stack."). I was driven back to MJ's house where I would wait for a ride.

"That was fun," I beamed as we waited outside. MJ wanted to chill in private, and there was no way her parents would let us hang out in her room for an extended period of time. "Thanks for inviting me."

"Thanks for coming," she sighed with a smile. "Connie usually makes things miserable, so - and this will be the corniest thing I've ever said in my entire life, and I will be throwing hands if you ever tell anyone I said this - but you were kinda like my knight in squeaky rollerblades tonight."

I blushed, but it was dark enough that I was confident she couldn't see, which I was thankful for. I only hoped my casual flirting (which came from years of making jokes as Spider-Man) instilled the same effect on her. What could I say? I was whipped for Michelle, and I wanted her to want me just as much as I wanted her. "I'm always with snarky comebacks instead of those hard to carry swords," I shot back in turn.

"Quips and webs," she added.

I did a double-take. She knew? How'd she figure it out? I didn't leave any hints too obvious, and I definitely didn't have to lie about Spider-Man-related activity that evening. What tipped her off? "Wait, you-?"

"I realized you had to be hiding something today," she explained, glancing away and refusing to meet me in the eyes. I searched the profile of her face for answers. Knowing I was hiding something and knowing what it was were two very different things. "I thought about it, and it was pretty obvious. I've caught you messing with a web-like substance before in Chem, but you tried to claim it was for some extra credit assignment, despite your amazing grades. Plus, your bruises from Flash have been healing at an inhuman rate, and you're always gone when Spider-Man's active."

I was shocked. She got it so quickly. I knew I could have been better with my identity, but was I really that transparent? "Wow, Michelle. I'm impressed." She finally made eye contact. Perhaps she was waiting to know that I was fine with her knowing about my abnormal extracurriculars?

"Thanks. Plus, no one goes to the bathroom for that long," she deadpanned. "Get a better excuse, Dork."