Spiders Crawl

Thirty-Two

I was halfway home when I remembered I was supposed to be having coffee with Harry. I went back home quickly and changed. I took Aunt May's car and drove to the cafe.

"There you are!" Harry smiled and pulled out my chair.

"You don't have to act so much like a gentleman. It's just coffee." I said and we started talking about random things. First the weather and it ended on hobbies when my stomach started growling. I ignored it and continued.

"Hey, Charlotte?" Harry's expression turned serious.

"Yeah?" I took a sip of coffee.

"Remember when....I said that I....loved you?" He struggled to say. I was caught of guard.

"Yeah...you handcuffed me, right?" I laughed trying to brighten up the mood.

"Well," He stared at his drink. "I still do." I glanced at him and could see his entire face red. He avoided my gaze.

I sighed. "That's a relief." His head shot up. Why did I say that out loud? "At least I know I can say it back." What? Why am I saying this?!

Harry stared at me, surprised. "What?" I was about to reply when my stomach churned. I winced and wrapped my arms around it. "Are you ok?"

"Y-yeah." It must be this pain. Or maybe I'm still mad at the team...?

"You don't look good." He stood up and checked for a fever. "You don't have a fever..."

"I gotta go!!" I bursted and pushed him away. "I'm sorry!" I ran out of the cafe and went inside a store around the corner. I went straight for the bathroom when a sudden thought crossed my mind.

Those damn burritos!

...

I was finally out of the bathroom and checked my phone for the time. 4:00. Oh no! I'm late for work!

I look around for Aunt May's car and realize that I left it back at the cafe. What if Harry is still there? I couldn't go anywhere without a car.... An idea struck me.

I climbed to nearest building and when I reached the roof, I checked to make sure no one looked up. Which was hard giving that everyone's faces weren't exactly visible. I've done this many times without my suit. I can do it again. But something held me back. Of course, that's when I had Fury on my side. One screw up and no one's gonna help me.

I was wasting work time debating too much and in the end finally decided to swing. I hid my face as much as possible and stayed high enough to avoid people. I managed to reach the Daily Bugle building and out of sheer luck landed on the window of my office. Not so luckily, I soon found out, was that my assistant, Clementine, was looking straight at me.

"C-Charlotte?" She dropped what she was holding and started running away.

"No! Clementine! Come back!" I had to get in and the only way was to smash the glass. I chased after her and blocked the door before she could grab the handle. "Hear me out!"

"I know what you're gonna say! I know you're Spidergirl and that you have spider powers. I just gotta tell everyone!" She smiled and tried to push me aside.

"God no! That's the last thing you should be doing!" I grabbed her by the arms and pushed her all the way back to the chair. "Clem, listen, I need you to not tell anyone." I tried to explain why but she just kept yapping about how surprised everyone was going to be and how she'll be promoted to a higher position.

"If only you told me sooner!" She started laughing and I was losing patience.

"How many times do I have to say this! You can't tell anybody!" I was starting to think this was all in vain and my identity was going to be exploit by my decision of not getting a car.

Suddenly, she stopped moving. She was silent and as I slowly let go she didn't leave. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry." She looked as if she were about to cry.

"What...?"

"I wasn't thinking straight. I'm sorry. Of course you want to keep it a secret." She hid her face in her hands and I just stared at her.

"Okay...are you sure you can keep quiet?" I asked.

"Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye." She said crossing her heart. "Oh! I almost forgot why I was here." She searched the floor for her folders and found a letter. "Mr. Osborne wanted to see you." She hands me the paper and I skim through it.

"Did you read this?"

"No, ma'am."

"Good..." I folded the paper and stuck it in my pocket. "Um, any meetings today?" I tried to make things feel normal again.

"No."

"Can you please clean this up, Clem?" The office was a disaster. "Call in Benny for the window." She nodded and dialed her phone. "And remember-"

"Not a being. I got it Charlotte." She reassured me. I smiled and remembered why I chose her as my assistant. She's family.

Heyheyhey.
This chapter is way overdue and I promise I'll be updating more frequently. I haven't been doing my work here lately and I think it's time I did.

Here's a long waited chapter and I hope you enjoy!