WEB OF LIES [TRANS PETER PARKER]

nine

Chapter Nine

Peter's POV

"NED! Cover me!" A muffled scream followed from the other side of the room as MJ's character collapsed on the scream. "Ne-ed, you got me killed!"

I laughed, but was quickly shushed by MJ's sharp glare. "Parker, I wouldn't be laughing if I were you, pretty soon that'll be your ass up on the screen that I'll be beating!"

As it turned out, MJ had an incredibly competitive side to her, which also made it clear that Ned and I sucked at video games. I glanced at Ned, and we shared at look of determination to team up and defeat her.

"Seriously, guys, you don't know what you're getting into. I am the master of video games! You haven't even seen what I'm capable of yet," MJ boasted as she jokingly flexed her muscles. I laughed, leaning over her to get another piece of pizza from the box.

"Did you hear that, Peter? MJ's not like other girls," Ned proclaimed. I watched as MJ's smile faltered. "Whaaat it was just a joke, M," Ned said.

We both watched MJ cautiously, but she was just staring at the floor. I looked at Ned as if to say, what do we do now? But he only shrugged. I didn't even know what we had said wrong.

"Well, I mean," MJ spoke up finally, "I'm not a girl."

My eyes widened at the all-too-familiar statement and I gulped. "What exactly do you mean, that you're not a girl?" I tried to say patiently, not wanting to scare MJ as I knew how tough it was to come out.

"I mean, I'm not a girl, but I'm not a boy. I'm somewhere in between..."

I was at a loss for words, and my mind went reeling back to when I had come out to Aunt May just a few years earlier. Luckily, Ned came to the rescue. "That's cool, MJ, do you want us to use they/them pronouns for you now?"

MJ let out a huge grin. "Yes! Yes of course, that would be great!" I couldn't help but smile back.

I was sitting in between my two friends, and suddenly Ned tackled MJ into a hug, pulling me in as well. We all laughed, ending up in a very comfortable pig pile.

"Thank you for telling us, MJ. I feel like we're all a lot closer now," Ned said in a fake weepy tone.

"Yes, Ned, we're definitely closer now. In fact you're on top of us," I joked. Now that I had opened my mouth I felt like the spotlight was on me. "And of course MJ, we accept you."

"Aww thanks guys! I'm glad to have you both as friends!" Just as I was beginning to untangle myself from the pile, MJ squeezed us all into a hug once more.

We lay like that, in an silence that was about as comfortable as the pig pile, until Ned erupted with, "Also I'm gay!"

"Shut up, Ned, we all knew that already," I chuckled.

"Noo, MJ didn't know," he pouted.

To this MJ stifled a laugh. "Ned, of course I knew. You act like I don't have a gaydar of my own in here," they said, pointing to their temple.

"And I'm... bi!" I said hesitantly. I didn't know why it was so hard to just say I'm trans and get it over with, as I was nearly positive that MJ already knew. But then again, it was my business to share and I could talk about it when I was ready. Even with Ned, I didn't talk about it much at all. I liked to be able to forget sometimes.

We spent the rest of the night finishing off the pizza and flipping through old magazines trying to determine which people were gay, and it truly did feel like we were all closer.

But my mind kept wandering; What if MJ needed a binder but couldn't get one? What if they simply wanted to talk things out with someone else who wasn't cis? What if they needed something and I could help, but now I can't because I'm too afraid to tell them?

Ned's phone buzzed suddenly, and upon reading the message he said, "Shoot, I gotta go. I told my mom I would be home by now." With that, he gathered his things and rushed out the door, leaving MJ and I behind. Alone. We began cleaning up their room, as somehow the three of us managed to trash the place in just a couple of hours, with pizza boxes, soda cans, and video games everywhere.

This is your chance, Peter. Tell them that you're trans! I took a deep breath, obeying my subconscious for once in my life.

"MJ, I'm trans," I said quickly, not giving myself any time to think before I said the words. To my surprise, they were not surprised.

"I would pretend to be shocked, but I already knew that," they said smoothly. "I mean, not that it's obvious. It's not at all. I just mean, I figured out that we used to go to school together, and I sorta put together the pieces." To my surprise, they spoke quietly, hiding behind their bangs as though they thought I might get mad at them for knowing. In opposition, this was a huge relief.

"I kinda guessed that you would eventually, but I'm sorta glad you did," I admitted. We both sat in silence now, having halted our cleaning duties.

"What can I say, I'm observant," MJ laughed. "You better not have any other secrets hidden from me, or I'll figure those out too." I knew it was only a joke, but I froze at that. There was no way in hell I could let them, or anybody really, find out that I was Spider-Man. It was a bit of a safe haven, and at the same time it was so dangerous that I didn't want anyone trying to keep me from doing it.

"I should probably get going now, my aunt will wonder where I am," I said, scratching the back of my neck nervously.

"Alright, I'll see you at school tomorrow then," MJ said, and walked me to the front door. Catching me off guard, they pulled me into a hug. Not one of Ned's roughhousing forms of affection, but a gentler embrace. I hugged them back tightly, noting how good they smelled. "Thank you, Peter," they said as they pulled away. "Get home safe, okay?"

"Will do," I said confidently. The whole way home, I leapt from rooftop to rooftop, enjoying the aloneness of it all.

A/N:

thank you guys for over 500 reads!! good things are happening soon so i think you'll like that :))