No Matter What- Peter Parker

Chapter 19

*Peter's POV*

The bus pulled into the school. I got up and dashed off as fast as possible; I had to find Ned. The engine, I knew I had seen it before. It was the same engine I had found after the Green Goblin attacked in Central Park. With that discovery, I also figured out the person that developed the very unique technology that wasn't distributed anywhere else.

Norman Osborne was the Green Goblin.

I needed to find Ned so he could help me figure out my next move and how I was going to catch Norman and expose him to the public. "Peter!" I heard y/n call my name. Crap, I can't get her involved. I stopped in my tracks; do I keep going and blow her off, or give her another lame excuse? I know she's starting to catch onto them.

Before I could decide, she caught up and stood right in front of me. I glanced down at her and saw fury and annoyance behind her eyes. Wow, even when she's angry she has the most gorgeous eyes. "Peter, what the hell is going on with you?!" she said. I sputtered as I tried to come up with an excuse, but my mind was blank. I hated lying to her knowing how truthful she's been with me. She scowled as she continued, "I know you figured out something about that device, what was it? And why were you acting so weird around Mr. Osborne?"

I sighed; how easy would it be if I could just tell her. But I can't, it's too dangerous, and I'm not risking anything when it comes to y/n's safety. "I've just....seen it before. Listen, y/n, I really have to go. I have my internship and I'm gonna be late..." I started but she cut me off. "Peter, it's Friday. You usually never have the internship right after school unless they call you, and I haven't seen you get a call once today. So, where is it you're trying to run off to?" She stepped closer to me; I could almost feel the anger rolling off her body.

I stepped around her to try and avoid her gaze, but she caught my wrist. She dragged me behind the school where it was quieter. It was the same place I took her when I made her confess what she was hiding from me, oh the irony. She let go of my wrist and whipped around to face me. I looked down at my feet and stuffed my hands in my pockets. She stepped closer and said with a softer tone, "Peter, what are you hiding from me?" That almost broke me and made me want to tell her everything. She was right, but I had to hide this from her to keep her safe, if only she knew that.

I took a deep breath and mustered the courage to look up at her. She stared at me with pure sincerity, practically begging me to come clean. But I couldn't do it. "Y/n....I.....I can't tell you." That was probably the worst thing I could say, but she wouldn't have believed anything else I would have said. The look of hurt on her face broke my heart. I never want to hurt her, and here I am breaking that promise. She stepped back from me as I stepped forward, keeping the same distance between us. Shit, I'm losing her.

She stared at her feet, "Do you....not trust me?" she said so quietly I could barely hear her, if it wasn't for my advanced hearing. I vigorously shook my head and said, "No no no y/n, it's not like that." I tried grabbing her hand, but she ripped it from my grasp, wiping away tears that threatened to fall. She finally looked at me, "Then what is it, huh? I'm not stupid, Peter, despite how gullible you must think I am." Gullible? I could never think that of her. She was the most brilliant and driven person I ever met. "What? Y/n I could never think that of you! You're the smartest..." I started, but she cut me off.

"Clearly you do, Peter!" she shouted, "Ever since I met you, you're always running off to your secret errands or your internship. Which, by the way, I still have no idea what you actually do there since you always avoid it whenever I bring it up! You bail on plans we make and give me the lamest excuses, but I never doubted you because I always thought you would be truthful to me unless you had a reason not to. But when the lies and excuses keep piling up and getting more and more vague and ridiculous, I can only ignore it for so long. You preached to me about being honest with what's going on, so why are you not doing the same? I thought that's what best friends do!" Tears were falling down her face, it physically hurt me how upset she was. And it was all because of me.

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. She was right, about everything, and all I can do is lie to her more. This is too dangerous for her to find out. If she got hurt because of me, I don't think I could ever forgive myself. Finally, I said the only truthful statement I could give her, "I can't tell you because I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want to lose you."

She shook her head and looked away, wiping the tears that were streaming down her face. "You're a hypocrite, Peter," she said, and stormed off, leaving me dumbfounded. Shit, I'm trying to protect her, and I possibly just lost her. I lost her before I could even tell her how I really feel. I shook my head, as much as I want to fix things with y/n right now, I had to deal with Norman first. I had to make sure he was put behind bars in order to keep y/n and the people of New York out of harm's way. Unfortunately, she will just have to understand.

I began running towards an empty alleyway as I dialed Ned. Luckily, he picked up on the third ring, "Peter, hey! How was the field trip?" I pulled my suit out of my backpack as I put the phone on speaker. "Ned! Listen, I know who the Green Goblin is...."

"Oh! Uh...from that video game we're playing right?" he said, sounding nervous. What? What was he talking about? "No, Ned. Remember that engine I found in the park after I fought him? Well, I found the same thing at Oscorp today and...." I started to say, but he cut me off again. "PETER NO!"

"You fought the Green Goblin? When??" My heart sunk as I heard a second voice, MJ. I sputtered out nonsense as I tried to think of an excuse, "Well, uh, I tried to fight him but then Spiderman came so I stopped and..." "No, I heard you. You said when you fought him. Peter are you Spiderman??" she said excitedly. I stopped changing into my suit and let out a long groan. I took the phone off speaker and held it to my ear, "Meet me at my place, both of you. I need your help." I hung up the phone and finished changing into my suit. I shot a web at a nearby light post and started swinging to my apartment.

MJ knows. Y/n hates me. Could this day get any worse?

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I just finished changing out of my suit when Ned and MJ burst into my room. "I'm sorry, Peter. She was standing next to me, and I had the phone on speaker. I didn't think you were going to be talking about Spiderman and...." Ned started to say but I cut him off. "It's fine, Ned," I said and looked to MJ.

"Oh, I already had my suspicions. This just confirmed it. Who knew you were so cool, Parker," she said with a smirk. I gave her a serious look, "You can't tell anyone, seriously. The only people that know are us and Aunt May. It's too dangerous for anyone else to find out."

She returned my serious look and nodded. Thank god she wasn't going to tell anyone. She hesitated before saying, "Wait, y/n doesn't know?" I looked away from her, the image of how hurt she was replaying in my head. I muttered, "Like I said, it's too dangerous for anyone else to know." She looked at me with a somber look, but I couldn't look back at her. I know I should tell y/n, and if she found out that she was the only one who didn't know, she would think I didn't trust her. But I do trust her, more than anyone. She's my best friend and it kills me not to tell her. But I have to keep this secret. Keeping her out of it is the only way I can think of to protect her.

Changing the subject, I said, "Ok, listen. Norman Osborne is the Green Goblin." I pulled the engine piece I found out of my closet and began explaining to them how I saw the same equipment on a restricted floor at Oscorp Industries. I proceeded to tell them of the weird encounter I had with Norman, and how it led me to connect the dots and figure everything out.

"We don't have much time," I ended, "I think Norman was starting to figure me out too." Ned and MJ exchanged a worried glance before looking back to me. "Well Peter, what should we do?" Ned said. I gave them a blank stare, nerves racking my body.

"I have no idea."