Spying on Spider-Man

Chapter 18

When my alarm went off the next morning, I barely dragged myself out of bed. I didn't want to go to school. I didn't want to go anywhere. I just wanted to curl up under my covers and cry all day.

After eating a banana for breakfast and putting minimal effort into getting dressed, I drove to school and went straight to my chem class. I was trying to avoid Peter for as long as possible; I thought I might break down if I saw him. And when he finally walked into the classroom, looking almost as depressed as me, I was proved right. He wouldn't look at me at all, even when our teacher told us to work with our partner on the worksheet she passed out. The whole class, it took everything in me to not break down sobbing then and there.

The rest of the day dragged on and on. During our last class, Peter and I got called into the principal's office and got detention until homecoming. "You guys are good kids, and smart kids," Principal Morita told us. "Just try to keep your heads straight, ok?"

As we left the office, both not looking at each other, I saw Ned and Lexi both waiting outside. "Are you guys expelled? Do you have to go to that high school on 46th where the principal has a crossbow?" Ned asked.

"Pretty sure that's a myth, and no, we're not expelled," Peter said.

"You guys are so lucky," Lexi said.

I wiped away a tear that had started rolling down my cheek and grabbed Lexi's arm. "I need to talk to you," I said, pulling her to the nearby girl's bathroom.

"Allie, are you ok?" Lexi asked once we were in the bathroom.

Once I was sure we were alone, I shook my head. "No Lex, I'm not ok. I have something to tell you, but if I tell you, you can't tell anybody."

"Of course, you know I can keep a secret."

"I mean it Lex. Not a single soul."

"Alright, alright. What's going on?"

"Peter is Spider-Man and I'm Brown Recluse."

Lexi nodded and smiled a little. "I know."

My head shot up and I looked at her. "What? How do you know?"

"Well, I had my suspicions after I heard about D.C., but Ned told me the other day."

I explained everything to Lexi, starting at me getting my powers and ending at Peter breaking up with me. "If I had known that these powers would've led to me losing Peter, I never would've gotten them."

"What happened had nothing to do with the powers. It had to do with the fact that Peter is trying to protect you. He knows how much trouble you could get in."

"Lex, I don't give a shit about any of that. All I want is him by my side."

"Maybe the universe is telling you to take a break first." I gave her a confused look. "Let me ask you this: have you given yourself the chance to grieve losing your mom?"

I just stared at the floor at a second, then shook my head. "Not properly, no."

"Then do that. Grieve your mom. Take your detention. Then go to homecoming with me. Or even if it's not with me, just go and have fun. Has anyone else asked you?"

"I'm not even sure if Tony will let me go."

"But if he will?"

I was silent for a second. "Flash asked me to go with him."

"Flash Thompson?"

"Yeah."

"Then, once you've at least done your best to grieve your mom and you're ready to get Peter back, go to homecoming with Flash. Make Peter jealous. He'll ask you to come back in no time."

"What if he ends up going to homecoming with Liz?"

"Honey, the only reason he would go with her would be to do the same thing you're doing with Flash: he's only gonna want to make you jealous. The second he sees you in your homecoming dress, he'll swoon and rip you from Flash's arms."

"I'll have to see what happens with Tony."

"Then as soon as you get out of detention, go home and talk to him. Find out what the plan is."

I nodded. "Thanks Lex. Speaking of detention, I should get going."

"Yeah, I know. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

"Sounds like a plan."

I gave Lexi a hug and went to detention. After I was out of detention, I went home and was somewhat glad when Tony's Audi was parked in the garage. I found him in the living room. "We need to talk," I said.

Tony turned off the TV. "What do we need to talk about? I'm not changing your punishment."

"I know, and I'm not expecting you to. I fucked up, and I'm paying for it in more ways than just getting my suit taken away and possibly getting grounded. I just... I wanted to tell you that even though I know it's not good enough, I really am sorry for everything. But I don't regret it. I'm learning from my mistakes, no matter what they are."

Tony nodded. "Why'd you do it?"

I was confused. "What?"

"Why'd you do what you did? Why'd you chase the guy after I specifically told you and Peter not to?"

"I didn't want to wait for someone to do something. I didn't want those weapons on the streets for that long." I looked down at the ground. "My best friend Lexi lives a few buildings away from Delmar's bodega, the one that got obliterated in the bank robbery Peter got involved in. Her little twin brothers were scared to death. Her big sister, who takes care of them, was sure their building was next. And it could have been. If I had the power to stop that and didn't, and then something happened to Lexi or her siblings, or any of my other friends for that matter, I would never forgive myself." Tony just stared at the wall for a while. "Please, say something."

"What do you think your mom is thinking right now?"

"I think she's proud and disappointed at the same time. I think she understands what I'm trying to do, but she wants me to know the right way to do it."

Tony nodded and stood up. "I agree. So here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna teach you the right way to do things. I'm gonna teach you how to fight without the fancy things your suit has. I'm gonna teach you when and when not to go vigilante. And if you can prove to me that, at the end of our training, you understand all that, you'll at least be very close to getting your suit back."

"What about Peter?"

Tony smiled. "You may be new to this whole superhero thing, but he isn't, which actually means that he has more important things to learn than you do. But if he goes off on his own, I want you to follow him."

"So you want me to spy on him?" I smiled.

"It was one of the first things I ever wanted you to do, wasn't it?"

I hugged him. "Thank you Tony. Thank you so much."

He hugged me back. "Of course kid. I know you won't believe me when I say this, but I'm gonna say it anyway: I loved your mom. And I love you, kid."

I smiled, tears in my eyes. "I know you loved her. And I love you too, Tony."