Hiding in the Shadows

Chapter 27 - Peter's Thoughts

"Shadow?!" MJ exclaimed, clearly taken aback by what I had told her. "So do you have powers?"

"Yeah, no idea why I have them, but they've come in handy. Also I've had training from Black Widow so I can hold my ground without magic, if I want to."

"But I don't understand, what's this got to do with you and Peter?" She asked curiously. Then her eyes widened and she asked, "it's because Peter is Spider-Man, isn't it?"

"You know?! I cannot believe he told you and not me!"

"He didn't tell me, but he's not very good at hiding it. I'm surprised more people haven't discovered his secret, not even Liz was able to connect the dots and she dated the guy."

"Who's Liz?" I questioned, finding jealousy rise up within me. I tried to bury those feelings, reminding myself that I was mad with Peter at the moment, I didn't need feelings like that making me forgive him without a fight.

"She's his ex, it's not important, she was two years older anyway and moved so you don't have to worry about her. Now tell me what happened with you and Peter," she explained quickly, not quenching my curiosity in the slightest.

"Well, I chose to ally myself with Spider-Man while I was Shadow and one day he reported that to my father. Tony, being the type of person who needs to know everything, was hellbent on finding out the identity of Shadow, as I hid it from him because he would in no way let me continue being her if he knew. He asked Peter to find out Shadow's identity and he failed miserably at it, until last night. He somehow found out where I was living and told my father, who knew immediately that it was me. Peter knew neither that I was a Stark nor that I was Shadow and was pissed that I didn't tell him."

"And you're upset with him for taking it personally?" MJ guessed, taking the information I was confessing much better than I had expected her to.

"He couldn't see that I couldn't tell anyone, no matter if they were Spider-Man or just another random kid. Also, he was upset that I knew his identity, but he didn't know mine. But in my defense, I hacked my father for that information, so it wasn't like Tony just told me."

"Have you tried to explain this to him?"

I nodded, "of course I did, but he wouldn't listen. I'm hoping that it was just shock that prevented him from hearing my side and he'll eventually forgive me. But there's no way in hell I'm going to go beg for his forgiveness when I have done nothing wrong, I had no choice but to lie to him."

"I'll talk to Ned, see how he's making out with Peter and hopefully we can get you back together," MJ decided, unlocking the bathroom stall.

"Why do you want us together so badly?" I inquired as we walked out of the stall. "I mean, I appreciate the help, but I don't understand why you're doing this."

She shrugged, "you guys are really cute together and both deserve someone who can make you happy."

-

(Peter's POV):
"Why are we not meeting up with (Y/N)?" Ned asked me as I avoided going to my locker at the beginning of the day.

"If that's even her real name," I muttered angrily, still pissed at her from lying to me.

"What are you talking about, Peter? Did you guys get into a fight or something?"

"No it's more than that, we're over. She's been lying to us the entire time, I don't even know if her feelings for me were real."

"Would you care to explain or are you just going to keep me standing here in agony?"

"She's a Stark, Ned. Tony Stark has a daughter that's he's been hiding from the world and now she's at this school going by the name (Y/N) (L/N). I can't believe she didn't tell me, we were dating for God's sake!" I blurted out, wanting no more than to punch a locker or something.

"Peter, maybe we should go some place a bit more private. This doesn't seem like the type of conversation we want overheard by anyone," Ned commented, pulling me away from the large crowd and we made our way into the library instead. Once there he whispered, "ok, please explain what you just said to me in hall. What do you mean (Y/N)'s a Stark?"

"Mr. Stark had me trying to figure out the identity of Shadow for him because I have worked with her a lot. So yesterday when I saw Shadow, I had the drone on my suit follow her, tracking her the Avengers compound. When I told Mr. Stark what I had discovered, he confessed that he had a daughter. She was (Y/N), Ned. I can't get the image of her walking into that office out of my mind. I felt like my whole world was collapsing in on itself. Not only was she Mr. Stark's daughter, but she was also Shadow this whole time. We fought alongside each other countless times, put our lives in each other's hands and then she would show up to school the next day and act as though nothing had happened. She knew who I was, yet she wanted to keep her identity hidden from me."

"She knew you were Spider-Man this whole time?"

I nodded, "and yet she still felt that she couldn't tell me who she was. Even when we began dating, she didn't feel that it was necessary to tell at least one of her secrets. Especially since she knew I worked with her father, she could have least told me that she was his daughter!"

"Maybe she was protecting you or something, people typically have good reasons for keeping secrets," Ned suggested, but I glared at him.

"Yeah, she had a good reason, she was only trying to protect herself. I cannot believe how utterly selfish she is! And worse, I can't believe that I fell for her," I replied angrily as I stormed off, needing to get away from Ned and his questioning to cool down.

-

(A/N): So I just sat in rehearsal for three hours doing nothing because I got put on vocal rest so that's fun!!! Also I didn't have my book with me that I have to read for school and my laptop was dying so I did nothing productive! But at least I got some writing done and hope that you all enjoy this chapter!