Hiding in the Shadows

Chapter 19 - Nat Would Be Proud

(Peter's POV):
In the weeks since my meeting with Mr. Stark, I had been prepared to do whatever it took to discover Shadow's identity. However, she was never anywhere to be found. Stories of her popped up across the boroughs and it was as though she was randomly selecting which one she went to every night.

To be honest, I missed having her around. Not only was she extremely skilled, but she always brought a smile to my face, whether she intended to or not. I was even beginning to miss her calling me Spider-Boy, which used to drive me insane.

However in her absence, I was able to turn my attention back to (Y/N). My crush on her had persisted, but now that I liked two people I was unsure which I had a better shot with. On the one hand, I knew who (Y/N) was and she wasn't some badass superhero who teamed up with me to save the world, she seemed more likely to agree to date me. But she also didn't know who I was, with Shadow I no longer had to hide my identity. Without that secrecy, I felt I may have a better chance with Shadow.

But with Shadow suddenly disappearing, the wheels turned back in (Y/N)'s favor. Not that I was actually able to gain the courage to do anything. So instead I just acted like I always had, staring at her whenever she wasn't looking, trying to speak to her with confidence, but always getting flustered instead, and silently admiring how perfect she was.

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(Your POV):
I sat down with MJ at the lunch table, causing Ned and Peter to abruptly stop talking. I glanced at MJ, wondering if she was as intrigued by what they were talking about as I was, but she had her nose in a book, ignoring us entirely.

"You do realize that you didn't need to stop your conversation for us? What we're you guys discussing?" I questioned, even if I was the only person curious to know.

Both Peter and Ned seemed to get extremely uncomfortable with my question, incoherently stumbling over phrases and making absolutely no since at all, Peter turning a bright shade of red. Finally Ned saved the day and managed to get out, "we, uh, we were discussing Halloween next week."

"Yes, Halloween because we, um, we were wondering if we should do like a, um, a group costume," Peter stuttered, glancing at Ned in relief.

"Wait, are you inviting me to join you for Halloween?" I asked, knowing full well that that was not what they were talking about, but I figured it was about Spider-Man, so I didn't dig further.

"Yeah, of course," Peter replied, speaking as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Ned and I have gone trick or treating together for years and MJ joined the tradition last year, so now it's your turn. If you want to, that is, you might have other plans and that's cool too."

I flashed a large smile, "I would absolutely love to join you, I've never actually gone trick or treating before."

"Wait, you've never gone trick or treating before? What kind of depressing life have you lived?" Ned interjected. Shit. Why did I have to blurt that out? My carelessness was surely going to blow my cover.

"Well, to be fair, I don't really think you know much about my past. I never really had any friends back in Boston. I mean, yes, I had people I talked to, but there was no one who I was really friends with. And my father, though I love him, he's always been too busy with work to spend time with me. So with no friends to spend Halloween with me and a father that, understandably, didn't want me going out in the city alone, I've never actually gone trick or treating," I created a story without any hesitation. Damn, Nat would be proud of me if she saw this.

"(Y/N), that's awful. I'm so sorry," Peter commented, making me feel a little guilty with the sympathy filling his eyes.

I put on a small smile, "it's not your fault, Peter. Besides, you're giving me the opportunity to have my very first real Halloween. You mentioned doing group costumes? What did you guys have in mind?"

"Well, if it's your first time, you don't have to- I mean we don't need to do a group costume. You should get to choose what you want to be," Peter replied, glancing at Ned for assistance.

I placed my hand on Peter's, "just because I never went trick or treating doesn't mean that I've never dressed up. Besides, going as a group sounds like fun! What were you guys thinking?"

"Well, we were just talking about maybe doing Star Wars costumes," Ned answered.

"There's no way I'm going to be seen walking around in a Star Wars costume with you losers," MJ interjected, although she didn't seem quite as against the idea as her words suggested.

"Well then you don't have to be seen. You could cover yourself in paint and be Aayla Secura or Ashoka Tano, or just wear a helmet and be a stormtrooper or something," I suggested, nudging her playfully. "You're not getting out of this, MJ, we're all going as Star Wars characters it's already decided."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes, pulling out her phone to type something.

"So, (Y/N), what we normally do is meet up at my place at five. We eat dinner, typically pizza, then hit the streets. When we get back, we usually watch a Halloween movie unless it's really late," Peter explained, ignoring MJ's reluctance as both Ned and MJ half focused on the conversation, half focused on their phones.

As we left the cafeteria, MJ pulled me aside, "so who are you going to go as?"

"Oh, well I haven't really thought much about it. I was considering a more obscure character because that will show off how much I care about Star Wars, but then no one will know who I am, so I might just go with a basic character," I started rambling, running through all of my options.

"You should be Leia," she suggested, surprising me with how much she actually seemed to care about it. "I think you would really look good dressing as her for the night."

"And who are you going to be?" I inquired, figuring that Leia would be a good choice, I mean I had a couple of options of which outfit to use and she's a badass so I was down.

She shrugged, "I guess you'll find out next Tuesday."

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(A/N): My dog decided that we're gonna watch Civil War, so that's what I'm up to at the moment! I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter!