(AG)Spiderman x Reader | Whole Again

Chapter 13:Fired again...again

"You got fired again?!" Peter exclaimed, louder than necessary. The abrupt yelling drew the attention of some other pompous coffee drinkers. "Yeah, no, thanks for yelling that out for me, I was afraid I'd have to do it myself," you mumbled glaring at him. He lowered his voice and apologised. "What happened?" he asked concerned. "I don't know it was weird," you started.

"It kinda came out of nowhere. I went in to show him the photos I took for my last assignment, but before he even looked at them, he said they were terrible, and that I can't keep working at the Bugle," you explained, then looked up at Peter. You tried figuring out what he was thinking but he was difficult to read.

A sigh was expelled from your nose before you continued. "The insulting I get, I mean that's classic Jameson, but he didn't even look at them like beforehand. Something about it felt weird. It felt kinda...rehearsed? I don't know maybe I'm just trying to make excuses for myself," you mumbled, leaning your head lazily on your hand. "Ah, don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll have lots of fun working here," said Peter, a grin gracing his lips, contagiously creating one on you as well.

"Yeah that is if they even hire me, Mr. You got fired again?!" you replied, mocking him. "Right, sorry about that by the way. It's just surprising I mean that's the 10th job now right?" he asked you. You furrowed your eyebrows. "Uh, yeah it is. How did you know that?" Peter's heart skipped a beat. "Oh, I think Spidey mentioned it to me," he lied. Come on, Peter focus. Why do I keep slipping up...

"What, you guys talk about me?" you replied, a smug smile on your face. "Well...yeah? All good things of course." You couldn't say that was the answer you expected. Surprised, you asked, "Oh, actually? ...What do you guys talk about?" while avoiding all eye contact. "Uh, well," Peter stuttered, unsure how to start. "I mean we talk about, uh...how cool we think you are," he mumbled. "Cool? You think I'm cool?" you said, a low chuckle vibrating from your chest.

"Yeah! Super cool, I mean, your fearless. The stories he's told about you to me, I mean I wouldn't be surprised if you were a superhero yourself," he complimented, a goofy grin showing off his pearly whites. "A superhero huh. He sure is a sweet talker. What else did he say?" you wondered, propping your head up on your hands and resting your elbows in front of you on the table.

"Uhmm... well he told me about the situation with, let just say unamed bad guy" he whispered before continuing. "And I'd like to say I think he was totally in the wrong. Super uncool for what he did. But he still would very much like your forgiveness. He can't do what he needs to do without you." You looked at him sadly. "Did he give you that speech or did you make it up yourself," you said trying to lighten up the mood.

"Uh, you could say it was a bit of both," he laughed. You let out a quiet giggle in turn and then said you'd talk to him later. There seemed to be a wave of relief that washed over him. "Thanks, really. This is a little sad but you're pretty much our first friend in the last 4 years. Give or take. I mean there was this other girl-" before he could continue you cut in. "Gwen Stacy? Right?"

Peter nodded his head sadly, his happy mood noticeably dwindling at the mention of her name. "Spidey told me about her. She seemed like an awesome partner. And apparently a genius? With the way Spidey talked about her I'd be lucky to be half as smart as she was," you said. "She was remarkably brilliant. It always confused me why she ever went to my school and not some private school for geniuses. ...Maybe if she did she'd still would be alive," he mumbled looking away.

"Hey, cheer up. I'm sure she doesn't hold anything against you or Spider-Man, and she's waiting for both of you in heaven," you replied, holding his hand. "You believe in an afterlife?" he said skeptically. You looked at him sadly, "No not really, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be insensitive I just, don't know how to make you feel better. But you know what, even if we could ask her right now somehow, I'm sure she'd say she doesn't regret a single thing."

Peter looked up from your hands and towards you. A quaint smile appeared on his face. "She wouldn't. She'd probably be like, "I don't regret anything, except not telling you to change your hair cause that style was hideous," or something like that," he said, laughing to himself. You smiled, realising he was feeling better. Reminiscing instead of regretting.

"A genius, a badass, and she would put you in your place? I think Gwen is my new role model," you replied sitting back in your chair.

"She was definitely mine. And Spidey's."

"You and Spidey are real close huh?"

"Yeah. I mean. We've...been through thick and thin," the words fell out of his mouth awkwardly as he tried finding the right words. "It's really cool that you guys can depend on each other. I don't think I've ever had someone I can do that with or for," you mumbled, twiddling with your thumbs. "Well, you got me now," Peter replied. You looked up to see his eyes staring down at his hands that had somehow landed on yours.

"Hey guys!" Elise cheered, startling you. Peter seemed cool as a cucumber, despite Elise coming out of nowhere. "Oh, sorry," she giggled. "I have a tendency to do that. Anyways I just wanted to say that you were offered a job interview with the manager. It's at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Is that okay?"

You nodded your head saying it was fine, and profusely thanked her while simultaneously apologising for all the trouble. "Really, it's fine, no worries. I'm happy to help you. And I'm sure working together will be fun," she grinned, then turned around to return to her work station.

Peter looked over at you and said, "OK you can breathe now." You let out the air you didn't realise you were keeping trapped in your lungs. "How are you gonna work entire shifts with her when you can barely hold a conversation for 30 seconds?" Peter sighed.

"You know what Parker? Shut the hell up," you sulked before loudly slurping the remainder of your milkshake. You noticed Peter reaching for his pocket to get what you assumed was his wallet. "Oh, hey man don't worry about it, it's on me," you said, looking for your own wallet.

"Really? I don't mind paying," he replied. You insisted that you would get it. This was unlike you, and when considering the circumstances you were in, it was even more unlike you, but Peter was a good friend. One of the first you've had in a while, so you had to, right?

You left the money on the table and quickly left the cafe with Peter. You dare not come into contact with Elise again just to horribly embarrass yourself for a fourth time. When you walked outside the sun was beginning to set. How long were you in there?

"It's gonna be dark soon, why don't I walk you home?" he asked you. "Sure, thanks. Gives us a chance to talk more about how I'm gonna survive working with Elise." Peter giggled, saying you'd be fine. You sighed while smiling with him, the pleasant vibrato of his voice echoing in your head.

You approached the street leading to your house. As you did, there was a rush of people running in the opposite direction as you. Whole families, frantically running away from something. Suddenly the air filled up with an unusual and smoky aroma. "Wait... do you smell..." Peter started drifting off. The two of you looked at each other, the emotion of dread painted your faces. "Fire," you said in unison before running down the street.

You turned the corner and your eyes widened in shock. There in front of you, the house you spent every cent to your name on, was caught in a blinding and hostile flame. "MY HOUSE!!" you yelled, flooded with a flurry of emotions. All your clothes, all your furniture, all your plushes and posters, up in flames. "How could this happen? How did this happen?!" You cried, running your hands through your hair.

You lived in a terrace, and it seemed your house caught on fire first, then the fire spread to the other houses. But how? Did you leave the stove on or something? But you couldn't have, you never cook. Something you've been trying to fix but the fact is that the last time you used a stove or oven was Home Ec class about 2 years ago.

"Y/n I'm really sorry, it's not safe here, breathing in all this gas. Come over to my house, we can talk about it then," Peter mumbled trying to reassure you. The two of you left the scene and trekked to Peter's house.