The Amazing Spider-Man 3

Chapter 19

"So, what do you think?" Mary Jane asked. Her best friend didn't answer at first; her eyes were wide, and it was almost like M.J. could see the wheels turning in her head.

"M.J," Liz began, "I... I don't know how we're going to pull this off so fast. We're going to need to get the publicity machine running as fast as we can; we'll need to get ads in the papers and do social media blasts on every platform that we have."

"I'll take care of all that," M.J. assured her. "I've already been thinking about different ideas for graphics and stuff, and it shouldn't be too hard to come up with the words."

"Still, there'll be a lot of stuff on the logistics side in general to handle," Liz added.

"If I need to take on some of that too, I'm more than willing if it's too much for you," M.J. said.

"No, that's okay," Liz replied. "I can handle it. No offense, but I'm the one between the two of us with a business degree, remember?"

M.J. smirked.

"Yeah, I remember," she answered, "Ms. Summa Cum Laude and all that."

Liz offered only a brief smile in response, but M.J. quickly saw something else in her friend's eyes.

"Liz, what is it?" she asked.

Liz let out a sigh, as if preparing herself to say something hard.

"M.J, I know why you're doing this, and I think it's great," she began, "I just... I know I'm not usually this pessimistic, but I also want you to be prepared that this idea isn't going to yield the kind of results you're hoping for."

"We have to try," M.J. responded firmly. "I already gave him something just from me, but I have to believe that I, that we, can do more. I know it's not ideal in terms of how quickly it has to come together, but Peter's aunt doesn't have a lot of time left. We need to move on this now."

Liz let out another sigh, but this time a big, wide smile formed on her lips as she looked at Mary Jane.

"Alright then," she said. "Let's get to work. I see you already brought your computer anyway, so I can tell you weren't going to take no for an answer."

"I just recognize how persuasive I am," M.J. replied, drawing a light snort from her best friend.

"Go ahead and get yourself set up," Liz said, standing up from her seat. "I'll go put on some coffee. We have a long night ahead of us."

As her best friend started to move to the kitchen, M.J. spoke up again.

"Liz?"

She turned around, looking expectantly at Mary Jane.

"Thank you."

"What are best friends for?" Liz replied, shrugging as she smiled.

----

M.J. groaned, slowly rubbing her eyes as the sound of her phone's alarm filled her ears. She reached over and grabbed it, turning it off as fast as she could.

"Okay," she said quietly, forcing herself up from the couch. She knew if she didn't make herself get up and get going now, she'd likely just fall back asleep again. She slowly moved towards the kitchen, grabbing what was left of the pot of coffee from that night and pouring it into her cup she'd been using earlier. By now it was likely to be quite cool, something Mary Jane didn't normally care for. However, after her and Liz's late night, she couldn't even be bothered with it. She just needed caffeine, and she needed it now.

The two women had ended up working almost all through the night, with M.J. currently forcing herself to get up after only a couple hours of sleep. She still had a long day planned too, starting with going to the papers in the city to get the word out about the "May Parker Monday" campaign at the store. It was why she had made a point of getting up so early: she intended to get to as many media outlets as early as possible. She also still needed to put out the social media blasts, and then there was just the regular workday to consider.