As You Wish

Chapter Five - The New Spider-Man

By the time the night of Betty's bachelorette party on Saturday, I hadn't even heard Peter's voice since the lunch days before. I had made good on my word and called him the night he brought me lunch to work, but since then I'd only received infrequent texts. I wasn't sure if he was just that busy with Spidey work or if he was hurt or angry or what. Thousands of possibilities raced through my head, none of them positive. I ran a nervous hand through my hair. In the back of my mind, his new suit kept popping up whenever these thoughts plagued my brain. I wasn't sure how or why his suit changed, but I was sure it wasn't normal or good. I didn't trust it.

The only thing I had to look forward to was a visit from my mom. She had a business trip in New York, so she was flying out Sunday and staying until Tuesday. I had planned a dinner for her to officially meet Peter for Monday night, but I was worried he would forget. When I texted him the details and asked if he was available, I only got a one word answer of "yes!" I wasn't sure if he really understood what he was agreeing to.

I grumbled while applying my eyeliner. Betty's party was two hours away and the lack of communication with Peter and my dislike for parties put me in a foul mood. I wasn't sure where we were going, but I had a pretty good suspicion.

In a last ditch effort to hear Peter's voice, I called him while waiting for the curling iron I had plugged in to get hot. A minute or so later of listening to the dial tone, I got his voicemail.

"Hey, you reached Peter! If you're Mr. Jameson, I promise I will send you the picture ASAP, if you're anyone else, I'll call you back when I can!"

I thought about leaving a message but decided against it. If he wasn't answering, it was unlikely he would listen to the voicemail. I ended the call and opened my messages. There was about ten texts from me to Peter and none back from him. I started typing.

'Hey, so you probably forgot but tonight is Betty's bachelorette party. Sooooo if you try to call I probably won't answer. But I might if I get a chance? Just call or text when you can. I miss you. Be careful.'

I hit send and sighed. I really cared about him, but this was getting ridiculous. He's never been this bad at communicating before. After a moment of pouting, I determinedly stood up straight and looked at myself in the mirror. The woman looking back at me was unfamiliar, sad, plastered with makeup and donned in a short blue dress.

"Okay, you just aren't going to think about him for the rest of the night," I told myself. "You are going to go out, have fun, and get super drunk." I nodded and grabbed the curling iron.

————

My suspicions were confirmed the moment I exited the taxi. Betty's bachelorette party was at a strip club. How stereotypical. I groaned but walked to the door to open it.

The inside was classier than I expected, but that wasn't saying a ton. Red curtains and beads covered the walls, and scattered around the room were lots of tables and chairs. To the right, there was a long bar with pulsating bright lights, and there was an enormous stage in the back with women and men dancing around poles. At least there were men too.

I weeded my way through the crowd searching for the bride. Finally, at a large table in front of the stage, I saw Betty. She was decked out in bride merchandise galore, a t-shirt with 'BRIDE' on it, a sash that said 'BRIDE-TO-BE,' and a tiara with veil atop her head. A large glass of mostly drunk alcohol completed her ensemble. Apparently she had wasted no time getting a drink. I approached the table.

"Betty, hey!" I exclaimed. "You look great!" Betty spun her head around and squealed.

"You came!" She stood up and grabbed hold of me. "I'm so happy you're here, let me introduce you to everyone!"