The Amazing Spider-Man 4

Chapter 5

Peter knocked on the door, having arrived at Eddie's house per their plan to meet there before the game they were covering that night. When there was no response, he knocked again, but still no one came to the door. He then heard a car pull in the driveway, and he turned around to see Anne step out of the vehicle.

"Let me guess," she spoke up as she shut the door, "he's not hearing you again?"

"Yeah," Peter confirmed, "this seems to be a common thing." He still remembered the first time Eddie had invited him to the house over a year ago, when Anne had had to call him downstairs to let him know he'd arrived. Ever since then, it seemed that Peter had often shown up when Eddie was in the middle of something and either couldn't hear him or was otherwise delayed in getting to the door.

"Allow me," Anne said, taking out her keys as she came up beside him, unlocking the door and opening it. Peter followed Anne into the house and to the kitchen, where they found Eddie, who was stirring a pan that was steaming rather loudly. His wife walked up to him, and he greeted her with a quick kiss as she came up to him.

"Hey babe," Eddie said.

"Also, I brought someone along," Anne mentioned, gesturing to Peter. "Who knows how long he would've been waiting if I hadn't pulled in a moment ago."

Eddie then finally turned and saw Peter, wincing in embarrassment at the realization that he'd once again started off the evening as a poor houseguest.

"Oh wow, my bad man," Eddie apologized. "I was just trying to get dinner going for Anne before we left."

"No worries," Peter replied, "I'm pretty used to it by now."

"Hey man, when you and M.J. get married one day, you'll understand," Eddie countered, seemingly unwilling to just accept the taunt.

"At least it smells good," Peter conceded, changing the subject.

"Thanks," Eddie said, "it's a vegetable stir fry. I wish I could say it's my own original recipe, but you would know that's not true."

"Give yourself a little credit at least," Anne insisted. "When we first got married, you didn't know how to do anything in the kitchen except reheat frozen chicken."

"Excuse me," Eddie replied, "I could also a grill a mean burger or hot dog, thank you very much!"

"That's because your dad had you around a grill since you were two," Anne retorted playfully.

Eddie lifted his head up, letting out a hard sigh as he stared at the ceiling.

"I just can't win tonight, can I?" he said.

Anne then came over, giving her husband a quick kiss before grabbing the spatula from him.

"Thank you very much for starting the meal, babe," she said, her voice much more genuine in tone than before, "but you and Peter better get going if you're going to make it early enough to get your food and everything before the game."

"As you wish," Eddie said. He then walked out of the kitchen, revealing his full Mets jersey that he was wearing. He then picked up two hats and held out one for Peter.

"Oh, no thanks," Peter said almost apologetically, holding his hand out as he backed up ever so slightly. "I'm not really a hat person."

"Come on man, it's a baseball game," Eddie protested. "You have to wear some kind of gear."

"I am," Peter said, holding up his camera, "it's called a camera."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it," Eddie replied, setting the hat on Peter's head. Realizing that he wasn't going to get his way, Peter accepted his fate, straightening his new headwear. The way his hair tended to be wasn't exactly the most conducive to wearing something over it, but he would make it work for the night at least. He and Eddie then set out of the house, heading towards the nearest bus stop that would take them to a stop within a few blocks of Citi Field.