The Amazing Spider-Man 3

Chapter 20

Peter strolled into the hospital, excited to tell May the news about the support he'd received so far. He knew that she'd been very uncertain of it throughout the whole process, despite the strong façade she fought to put on. He figured hearing that they were already most of the way there would help boost her spirits and perhaps give her the strength she needed to fight just a little bit harder.

He arrived in her room to find her watching TV. Her attention turned to him as he entered.

"Hey," he said quietly, trying to curb his enthusiasm a little so that he didn't overwhelm her. "How are you feeling today?"

"O-okay," May replied, putting on a smile afterwards.

"I have some good news," Peter said, "I've managed to raise about $110,000, so combined with what your friends here have been able to do, we're almost there already."

Her reaction was a bit slower than normal, but she finally managed to put on a shocked expression.

"H-how did you d-do that?" she asked curiously. Despite her stuttering, Peter was encouraged by the hope he could hear in her voice.

"I had some help," Peter admitted. "The Bugle got a collection together, and my friend M.J. put on a special sale at her store. Both of those things helped a lot."

May just kind of stared blankly at him. It looked like she was thinking, albeit a little slower than normal.

"We're going to do this, May," Peter said, gently grabbing her arms. "We're going to make you better."

"W-who's M.J?" May finally asked. "I-I've never heard you t-talk about her before."

Peter had to fight against rolling his eyes as his head dropped down; of course that would be what she would end up focusing on in all that.

"Well?" May asked.

"She's my new neighbor, and a friend," Peter finally replied, standing straight up again.

"J-just a friend?" May questioned.

"Look May, we don't need to talk about this right now, alright?" Peter said.

"S-so she's m-more than a f-friend?" May persisted.

Peter shook his head.

"I think we have more important things to worry about," he said.

"C-c'mon," May insisted. "T-tell me about her. It would be g-good for me to th-think about s-something else."

Peter let out a playfully exasperated sigh. When she put it that way, how was he supposed to resist without feeling like a terrible nephew?

"Alright," he said, looking off to the side as he tried to think about where to begin. "Well, like I said, she owns a casual fashion store downtown with a good friend of her's. She's not rich or anything, but she's doing pretty well for herself. The place has been featured in the Bugle's top new businesses to look out for section."

"S-so she's a h-hard worker," May said as if she was checking it off a list.

"Oh yes," Peter replied. "But she's definitely not a workaholic either. She likes to have a good time as well."

"Hm," May said, nodding lightly. "S-sounds like you c-could learn a thing or two from her."

Peter let out a chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess so," he agreed. "I don't know, she's... she's a lot of things. She's nice, she's fun, she's sweet, she's strong, she's..."

"Pretty?" May asked.