You're My Family Now: A Spider-Man Story

Chapter Two

After AJ and Peter left Ms. O's, they headed to where Peter was staying. They picked up some moving boxes on the way over. The goal for this afternoon was to at least pack his room. They would save sorting through the rest on another day. 

When they arrived, Peter looked up at the building. This had been his home for the longest time. And it was slowly going to be a place of the past. 

AJ placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. He looked over at her. He gave her a small smile. 

"It will be okay. I promise," she reassured him. 

He nodded then got out. She followed him then grabbed the moving boxes. He took some from her. She locked the vehicle before they headed towards the door. 

Inside his apartment, he looked around before moving to his room. She looked at some of the pictures that were on a table in the living room. She smiled a little, looking at Peter as a little kid. 

After a bit, she walked to his room. 

"Do you have a Bluetooth speaker?" She asked. 

He raised an eyebrow at her but moved to find out. He handed it to her. She smiled as she programmed her cell phone to connect with the device. 

Once it was connected, she scrolled through her Spotify app. She settled on Take On Me by A-Ha. She set the Bluetooth speaker down then started to dance a little. 

Peter stared at her in confusion. She smiled as she held her hands out to him. He shook his head as he smiled. 

"Come on! When you're stressed, have a problem, or are feeling sad, you dance it out!" She said with a laugh. 

He finally gave in and took her hands. She began to swing his arms from side to side as she lip-synced to the song. His smile got bigger as he let himself get lost in the song. She let go of his hands and threw hers in the air. 

After a while, they managed to get all of his stuff packed up and loaded into her vehicle. He locked up his apartment then joined her outside. 

In the vehicle, she connected her phone to her Nav-System. She handed the phone to Peter and let him pick the music. He scrolled through her playlists as she made her way to her house. 

It didn't take him to realize that her taste in music had a variety to it. Everything from the 1940s to today. From swing to pop to rock to r and b to k-pop. 

He picked Numb/Encore by Jay-Z and Linkin Park. He put her phone in the cup holder. She smiled at his first choice. She started bobbing her head along to the song. He joined her. 

It was one of her favorite songs. She eventually found herself singing along. He was enjoying her singing along. He occasionally danced a little in his seat. 

It dawned on him that this was the most that he had smiled in one day since Aunt May had died. It felt nice to be happy and smiling. He loved that AJ made it easy to be around her. She gave off the laid-back and down-to-earth vibe. 

*******

The ride to her house was about twenty minutes from his apartment. She pulled into the driveway then placed the vehicle in park. She shut the engine off then looked over at him.

"Welcome home, love," she said with a smile. 

He returned the smile then got out. She got out too and started grabbing boxes. She led the way over to her backdoor and unlocked it. She left the door open so it was easier to go in and out to get the boxes.