Not A Chance

Chapter 6 - Betty Brant

He was late, so very very very late. Of course Electro had to show up at the very last moment the same day he'd finally managed to get a date with the beautiful Betty Brant.

The first time he asked her out was during his first week working at the Bugle. He was fifteen at the time and Betty had declined given that he was still a kid. He asked again on Valentine's day the year after but he was still 'too young'. He tried again a couple more times but every time she'd use the same excuse, 'I'm older than you, Pete.'

But today was finally the day. He had a date with Betty Brant.

He was finally old enough- or at least not 'too young' for her. Truth is Peter never understood why it was such a problem for her, she was only a couple years older than him. It wasn't that big of a difference.

But of course Spider-Man had to get in the way. In fact, he seemed to be the only real problem regarding his relationships.

"And Parker luck strikes again." Peter said as he landed on a fire escape and climbed down. He sprinted out of the dark alley he ended up in, getting a few weird looks as he did. He would've bought flowers hadn't it been so late but he barely had any time to go home and change out of the Spidey suit, lord knows Spandex isn't the ideal thing to wear to a first date.

Peter was glad to see Betty was still there when he arrived, most times girls would leave and he'd have to go back home, heartbroken and mad at his alter ego.

He walked in and headed straight for the table. "Hey." He smiled as he took a seat and Betty looked up at him, he was so nervous he felt like a teenager again. "I'm sorry I'm so late, traffic was a nightmare."

"I thought you didn't have a car." Brant raised an eyebrow, smiling mockingly at Peter.

"And I-I don't! I um..." He bit his lower lip, he hated lying but at this point it almost came naturally to him. What was he supposed to say anyway? 'I swung all the way to here from my apartment! Oh, by the way, I'm Spider-Man!' Yeah, right. "I took the bus."

"I didn't know there were any bus stops nearby."

"And there are not, I ran." Peter smiled.

"All the way to here?" Betty asked surprised.

He shrugged. "What can I say? Stamina."

The woman narrowed her beautiful brown eyes. Peter assumed she decided to let it go cause she soon relaxed and let out a huge sigh. "Well Pete." She smiled. "At least you're here."

He smiled back and took a deep breath, relieved. Spider-Man had probably almost ruined their date but Peter sure had saved the day.

———

After a night of awkward stares, laughter, bad jokes and even worse food, Betty and Peter walked side to side down the dark streets of New York on their way to her place. Peter insisted he'd pay for a taxi but the gorgeous woman declined, instead she asked him to walk her home, which in all honesty was a better idea. They sure had some chemistry and Peter knew about the subject so he could tell.

"Why do you still work at the Bugle- I-I mean, I love having you around but..." Betty sighed, they'd been talking about their life, family and now work, the one they both shared. It was not Peter's favorite topic of conversation. "Pete you have so much potential, besides the way he treats you is horrible and let's not talk about the salary-"