The Amazing Spider-Man 3

Chapter Four

The night was spent with MJ waking up constantly from the nightmares. More of what could have happened if Spider-Man didn't save her life.

She thanked herself for moving somewhere where a hero could save her. The last place she thought to live was Staten Island, where some kid in a wetsuit decided to become a hero, too. Though he wasn't as good as the guy in spandex.

MJ stared up at the ceiling, eyes flickering to look at the small bumps and grooves. She let out a quiet sigh, slowly sitting up with a groan.

Walking over to her fridge, MJ stared at the bland choice of food and drinks, shutting it quietly and going to her cabinet, where a small collection of different flavored ramen sat.

"I should have gotten salads." She muttered to herself, taking a packet of ramen from the near-empty cabinet.

MJ paused halfway when she heard a window open, frowning and turned around quickly. It didn't come from her apartment.

"Shit these walls are thin." She said, guessing that the noise had come from Peter's apartment.

Now deciding she wasn't in any real danger, MJ went back to cooking her ramen, once again humming that same quiet tune.

Peter

The streets were quiet, like they had usually been since Rhino attacked. Peter adjusted one of his gloved hands, sighing loudly and sat down on the edge of the building.

His mind wandered as it usually did when waiting, finding himself thinking of the girl across from him, her eyes brighter in his mind than they actually were.

With the thoughts of MJ came all of the negative scenarios that could happen if she got too close to him, and Peter shook his head, leaning down to look at the sky.

Peter found himself humming the tune MJ did, shaking his head again.

"Stop it." He muttered to himself and squinted his eyes shut, praying that someone would try and steal a car or rob a bank so he'd stop thinking of MJ.

And eventually it did happen. A gunshot rang through his ears, followed by a woman's scream.

"Somebody help!"

Peter shot up quickly at the faint screaming, looking around to try and figure out which direction it came, jumping off of the building and swinging towards that direction.

"Please!!"

Peter jumped down into the street, noticing a group of people had swarmed around somewhere, maybe something. He pushed his way through the crowd, eyes widening in shock and horror as he saw what everyone was freaking out over.

I woman laid in the ground surrounded by blood, her red hair splayed out in a frozen beauty, her eyes locked into the darkening sky.

"MJ..." Peter fell to the ground and looked at her, shaking his head. He hadn't known her a day, but this pain he felt, it was as bad as when she died.

MJ's eyes suddenly flickered to Peter's, fear striking up his body.

"Will you blame yourself if I die, too?" Her voice echoed in his ears and he fell back, everyone staring at him.

"Will you blame yourself?" The people asked, their voices frowned out by MJ's.

"Blame yourself. Blame. Yourself."

Peter's eyes shot open and he gasped, shooting up and looking around, realizing he was still in his spider-suit and on the top of the building.

"I fell asleep?" He asked himself, groaning quietly. Peter dropped down and landed on the fire exit, climbing into the open window of his apartment, ripping his mask off.

Music hummed through his apartment, assuming it was coming from MJ's and Peter continued to take off his spider-suit, letting it hang from his hips as he searched through his dark apartment for clothes that laid around the floor.

There was a short realization that Peter couldn't allow himself to grow closer to MJ. He hadn't played his "Peter Parker" role in a long time and had been Spider-Man more than his civilian self.

He hadn't allowed himself to find someone new to love, or maybe to just be a friend. He hadn't had a love since Gwen, or a friend since Harry.

Harry...

Peter reminded himself of where Harry was. Racencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane. There were days Peter wanted to visit Harry, just to ask why if all people he had to take Gwen. Why it had to be her to die.

But he knew the answered he'd get.

"Because you didn't help me."

And Harry would have been right. Peter didn't help his friend when he needed it most. With his father dead and that illness taking over, Peter couldn't do so much as give him a little bit of blood. But it could have killed him, or quickened the effects of the illness.

And look where that got the two. Mourning a loss, and suffering that illness in prison.

Peter sighed as he took off his spider suit and put on sweatpants, tossing the suit into his closet and walked back into the living room, slowly sitting down on his couch.

He looked at his coffee table, which currently held the negatives of his new photos, which had yet to be sent into the Daily Bugle. A short memory flashed into his mind, when he had just graduated.

When he and Harry reunited, and he just sent his first photos to the daily Bugle.

That was when he was supposed to start working there. But then everything came crashing down, and he had to stop everything to be Spider-Man.

He picked up one of the negatives, staring at the film.

MJ in the park. He didn't stalk her or anything, just happened to see her and snap a photo. It was a nice photo of her, to say the least, but now Peter felt guilty for taking it without her permission.

He tossed the film back onto the table and sighed, rubbing his eyes as he grew more tired with every second that passed.

He felt bad for sleeping on the job, maybe missing someone who needed help. But he was a light sleeper so it was doubtful.

And yet, it wasn't.

Because somewhere in that park, deeper into the forest of New York, something fell from that sky.

And that something was far from good news.