The Tangled Web | Peter Parker

Chapter 38

The screeching of the subway wheels grinding against the rail cut off Peter's sentence, causing him to groan in annoyance as he pouted after me. The breeze from the train pulling into the station brought a waft of smells reeking of hot burning metal onto the platform.

I glanced up at the timetable, making sure we were boarding the right train, before pushing my way onto the crowded subway car. I sighed, shaking my head slightly when I realized there weren't any open seats. There goes my plan of reading on the way to Manhattan.

"Em," Peter huffed as he bumped into my arm while trying to squeeze his way in front of me. "When I said you should get a lawyer to look over those papers, I was kidding. I didn't think you'd actually do it."

"You don't have to come with me, Peter," I grumbled, trying my best to hide the eyeroll that was threatening to be sent in his direction.

"And leave you on your own to meet up with some sketchy lawyers?" he scoffed, pulling his eyebrows together. "I don't think so."

"For the thousandth time," I exhaled, not stopping my eyes from rolling into the back of my head, "Foggy is not sketchy. He's almost a barred lawyer. And he's nice."

"He isn't even a real lawyer?" Peter exclaimed, his eyes growing wide.

I gripped the handrail next to the door, shifting slightly as the train pulled out of the station. My eyes averted Peter's baffled stare as I shrugged and stared at the ground.

"Wow, okay, okay," Peter mumbled, nodding his head a few times. "Well, what about his friend? Is he at least legit?"

I tried my best to hide my wince as I looked up to meet Peter's scornful glare.

"Seriously, Em?" Peter scolded, exhaling an amused breath from his mouth.

"What do you want me to say?" I defended, my voice growing whinier with each word.

"You could at least lie," Peter groaned, rolling his eyes as he leaned closer to where I was standing.

"Well, unlike you," I stated, punching his arm, "I don't lie to my best friend."

"Ouch. Hey, what was that for?" he complained while rubbing his bicep. "Since when do I lie to you?" He looked down at me, his brown eyes growing wide as he waited for my response.

"You lie all the time," I mumbled, shaking my head as I leaned against the wall of the car. I picked at the remains of a sticker that was stuck to the handrail.

"Name one time that I've lied," Peter demanded, placing his hands on his hips as he shifted into a defensive stance.

Every time you pretend I don't know who you really are. I lifted an eyebrow as I glanced up at him. "What about the other night when you said you were working on a science project?" I questioned, tilting my head.

Peter scoffed, shaking his head. "I was working on a project," he insisted, avoiding making eye contact.

"For eight hours?" I exclaimed, scrunching my face.

"Maybe," Peter groaned. The train abruptly slowed, causing him to lose his balance. His body flung forward, crashing into mine. His weight pressed against me caused my head to bump into the window, resulting in a large knot and followed by a frantic, apologetic Peter. "Shit, shit, shit, sorry. You okay?"

"I thought your coordination improved," I mumbled under my breath as I lifted my hand to rub the back of my head. "I'll be fine."

"Let me see," Peter insisted as he tried to get me to turn around so he could examine my head.