"Where the hell is he?! Where'd he go?!?"

"Don't stop! Just keep running!"

"Christ, how'd he find us?!"

"It doesn't matter! Quick! Here!"

Three men rushed in to an alleyway, all wearing ski masks. They sat behind a dumpster, panting and gasping for air. They looked around, clearly seeing if they were followed. While they looked down the alley, a masked man in a blue and red suit silently slid down next to them, hanging on a web upside down. He pretended to look around with them. "Phew... I think we lost him, fellas!" Spider-Man said pretending to pant. They all jumped and turned.

"Oh shit!" Said one of them, swinging a fist at him. Spider-Man easily dodged the fist, and spun off the web. He flicked his wrist and a web shot out of the web shooter, and on to a man's face. As he struggled spidey shot a string at the two others, then pulled on the string. Both of them crashed in to each other hard. "Ooohhh... No one wins in a head butt..." Spidey said with a sense of fake sympathy. He went over to the guy who was left, standing in front of him as if it were a western shoot off. "You feelin' lucky, punk?" He asked him in a rough voice, then laughing "sorry, sorry! Couldn't resist!" He pointed his hands like it was a gun, and pretended to shoot. As he did shots of web hit him , sticking him to the wall.

He tied everyone up, left the money hanging from a string as the police pulled up on the scene.
Just another morning for peter Parker... His Saturday morning consisted of doing a quick sweep of the city... Looking at his watch, he groaned a bit. He remembered aunt may telling him that he had lunch plans with the Rogers today!! Peter sighed. He knew he would be late....

Spider-man swung through the city, doing flips and twists as he let go to follow the momentum, trying to quickly make it home.

"And yet again, Spider-Man makes his mark on New York City; showing the world that no evil will triumph so long as good stands tall." The news woman on the morning television said with a twinkling in her eye. It was mid-morning and Lexi Rogers sat curled up on the couch, her small right hand cupping a bowl of Cheerios's as her right hand brought a spoon to her mouth. She watched the television in intensity. This Spider-Man person had become the center of attention of New York City for the past couple of months and became every girl's dream man, even Lexi who couldn't help but be fascinated by him. His daring actions, courageous bravery and willingness to do what's right was more than anyone has ever done.

"Lexi." Her mother called from down the hall. "Lexi, remember, we're taking you and Peter out for breakfast. Are you going to pick him up and meet us at the restaurant?"

Her blue eyes expanded in shock as she realized that today was the day they were going to do that! Her parents looked at her best friend much like a son and loved to hear about how well he was doing in school, so breakfast dates and dinner dates were common between her family and him; and it wasn't uncommon for her to get invited to family dinners with Peter and Aunt May. She flew out of the living room, her bowl shaking against the coffee table as her mom shouted some directions to the restaurant out to her daughter as she raced up the stairs.

Poor Lexi, she was smart but sometimes she didn't have concept of time. Tooth brush in her mouth, she bounced around her room in a sad attempted to get her jeans on while brushing her teeth and tumbled over in failure, Sticking her long toned tan legs into the air she wiggled herself into her pants before jumping to her feet. Wiggling herself into a black tank top she threw over a small purple jacket and finished her teeth before running a brush through her hair and putting on shoes. Slapping on her normal make up she was out the door in ten minutes, cutting her time close as she jumped in her small red car and started towards Peter's house. Oh man he was going to ride her if she was late.

Thank goodness they didn't live that far away from each other. Her father was a lawyer and her mother was his secretary. Together they made a power couple, defending the innocent and attempting to right the wrongs from the government standpoint; though her parent's roles were important, she found Spider-Man's to be a lot more interesting. Taking in a deep breath as she pulled her car in front of Peter's house she checked her reflection in the mirror. Since they had hit their puberty stages, she began to find Peter's quirky charm and intelligence more and more attractive and while she could admit she had a crush on him (not to him of course), she didn't feel it was right to have such a crush on this masked super hero but try to have a normal relationship without her wandering eyes going to a vigilante. "Why can't they be the same person...." She grumbled to herself as she shut the visor mirror and unbuckled herself.

Skipping up the steps she knocked politely on the door and began to rock back and forth on her heels as she awaited to see what footsteps would greet her.

Peter Parker swung in to the open window of his room. rolling on his shoulder, then hitting the wall rather hard. He grunted in pain, sitting up as he heard a knock on his door. "Peter? Peter, is everything alright?" She called out, turning the nob but to no avail. He had a lock on the door to open only when he wanted it to. He quickly closed his window, and started ripping off his suit. "Yeah, I'm alright Aunt May!" Peter called out, hopping on one foot as he tried to take the shoe off. "Just... I'm... I'm only in my underwear right now. Slept in a little late." He said, hoping that was a good enough excuse. Peter loved his Aunt, but his secret was his own. He hasn't told anyone. Not Aunt May, or his best friend, Lexi.

"Okay... Well hurry up! and wear something nice! The Rogers are going to be here any minute!" She called out. Peter was halfway done fixing his hair and tossing his suit in his backpack when he heard the door knock.

---

Aunt May opened the door to reveal the beautiful Lexi Rogers. "Lexi! My, so good to see you!" She said with a smile, the old woman giving her a small hug and kiss on the cheek. "Peter is running a bit late... slept in. That boy sleeps more than a hibernating bear!" She said with a laugh, standing aside so Lexi can walk in. "Peter, are you almost ready?" She called from the foot of the stairs.

---

Peter pulled on his plaid collared shirt, some comfortable jeans, and some converse, as well as a jacket. "yeah, just finishing up my makeup! got mascara in my eye!" He called out jokingly, grabbing his backpack and opening his door. He walked down the stairs to see his Aunt making small talk with his best friend, Lexi Rogers. Every day he sees her his heart skips a beat. She definitely had it all. The looks, the personality, the smarts...and her ability to stand Peter and his fascination with science and photography. "Hey, Lex. You look great!" He said in his friendly way, trying hard not to stare.

"You have the address, dear?" Aunt May asked. "I'm afraid i can't drive... Ben usually did the driving..." She said with a hint of sadness. Peter's heart sank a bit at the sound of his late Uncle's name... He couldn't help but blame himself for his fate. Peter ran a hand through his messy hair. "Shall we... get going?" Asked Peter shyly, giving a weak smile.

There was nothing more exciting then being greeted by Aunt May. Wrapping her arms around the old woman, she embraced her in a hug in return, happy to see some joy in her life even though her husband had passed away. There was nothing more painful than losing someone you loved and she couldn't imagine what the woman was going through but strong willed and big-hearted the woman seemed to push through it all and still was able to put on a smiling face, whether it was real or for show; that was something Lexi didn't know but it was nice to see.

"Hello Aunt May." She said softly as she returned the kiss on the cheek to the old woman and stepped inside the house. The house was small, but cozy in a way she couldn't explain, it seemed as though it was filled with love, happiness and charm; something she felt her family's home lacked a bit. That's probably why she always insisted on coming over to Peter's place for homework instead of at her house, that and Aunt May's cooking. How could someone resist the temptation of an old woman's cooking? "I've noticed that. Maybe he's the missing link between bears and humans." Lexi said with a small chuckle as she slipped her hands onto her pockets and ventured over to the pictures on the wall. No matter how much she looked at them, or how long she stared, she always found them fascinating. Her parents did a good job at being parents and while they went on big trips due to their amount of income; they never seemed as happy as the small family of her friend seemed to be. People with money overlooked the simple things in life and that was one of the many things she admired about her best friend and his family; they loved the simple things and treasured them. An ample quality she was coming to understand, appreciate and learn from her many years with Peter.

Hearing the footsteps from upstairs she looked up, a bright smile moving across her full soft pink lips showing her straight white teeth. This smile was one of joy and happiness, a rare one that she seemed to naturally give in the presence of Peter. Again, another thing she couldn't explain, he just made her happy. "The bear's out of bed, and in clean pants I'm impressed." She said jokingly as she pulled him into a hug, "You look good. Come on, mom and dad are expecting us." With that she took Aunt May by the arm and let Peter lock the door behind them. Arriving at the car, it was custom for Peter to sit in the back, even though he scrunched up like a newspaper ball but it was out of respect for Aunt May, something they both shared and found equally important. "We aren't going far." She said reassuringly as she climbed inside... though... her eyes wondered a bit before she bit her lower lip. Oh yeah, he was good looking and when you've had a crush on someone for so long.... how can you not look?

---

As Lexi had promised, the drive was no more then ten minutes before they pulled up to the little cafe', parking next to her parents sleek black mustang the three got out and walked in to find her parents beaming at a table and waving the three down.

"May how lovely for you to join us." Her mother Angela said with a bean, her shapely body an older version of what her daughter was to become but really, she looked a lot like her dad Mark.

"It's a pleasure." Mark said sweetly as he pulled out the chair for Aunt May to seat. The adults always got along, Aunt May always invited to join for any occasion Peter was invited to so it was only natural that they had come.

"How did your photography of the forest go yesterday? Did you get any good shots?" Lexi asked as she took a seat next to her mother and awaited Peter to sit down next to her.

"Don't worry, the shirt hasn't been washed in a while." he said with a smile, hugging her back. He opened the door for both Lexi and Aunt May, and locked it. Then climbed in to the very small back seat. "Peter, are you sure you don't--"

"I'll be fine, Aunt May." He gave her a reassuring smile, then glancing at Lexi. He then climbed in to the car, and as she promised, the ride wasn't bad at all. he climbed out, and politely greeted Lexi's parents with a smile, sitting down next to Lexi.

"Did i get any good shots!" He scoffed in a sarcastic manner, grinning as he took out his camera from his backpack. "Take a look. Even got a few pictures of that Spider-Man guy too... Gonna sell those to the Bugle hopefully." Peter said, reverting his attention to a kid walking around in a Spider-Man mask. Peter gave a small smirk as he watched him, then looked back over to Lexi skimming through his photos. He had pictures of the city, or objects at interesting angles, even some of Lexi that he couldn't help but keep on the camera. She was always willing to be a model. As well as those pictures, there were also images of Spider-Man swinging from a web, hanging on a wall, or in the act of saving a child crossing a busy street, or stopping crooks.

Something had gotten into Peter compared to the way he used to be. He seemed to have a larger sense of humor, more joking sarcasm and a sense of being that he had never had before. Maybe it had to do with him turning 18. She was only a week away from joining him in the 18 year old marker. Her thoughts turned at what she would be like when she turned 18. Would she change for the better like Peter had, growing as an individual like he had?

Taking the camera from him gently, ever careful with his prize possession she began to slim through the pictures. When she found the few he had snapped of Spider-Man she stopped on each one, giving them more attention than she had to the other ones. A small sigh left her full lips as she flicked through the couple of photos he had caught of him in the forest. "You always see to be in the right place at the right time to catch Spider-Man." She said with a small laugh, doing her best to cover up the jealousy she was feeling. "Maybe you should try to get an interview with him if he has time between saving people. In addition to a photo of him an interview would look great in the school paper. I could get that in easily and it would likely take th front page." As much as she'd rather do the interview with him but since Peter seemed to be in the right place at the right time.

Handing the camera gently back to him, she picked up the menu and began to scan the breakfast food. "Do you think... I could get a copy of one of those photos before you sell them? The original from the master photographer will be worth a lot one day." She said glancing over to him from the menu and gave him a cheeky grin, "You should sign the back of it. You're bound to get famous and popular one of these days." She let out a dramatic joking sigh. "And forget all about your friends down at the lower end of the spectrum."

Peter shrugged and took back his camera. "It isn't hard to miss him, he's always swinging around. you just got to follow trouble and he's there." He said, trying to act casual. He then shook his head at the idea of interviewing him. "Nah, he wouldn't want to talk to me... I'm just the picture guy, not the reporter... Maybe if you're lucky you could stumble upon him." Peter said with a laugh, putting his camera away. Peter raised his eyebrows at her request of getting an original. "Yeah, i mean if you want!" He said with a smile, but shook his head and laughed. "'Peter Parker' and 'popular' don't go in a sentence in a positive way... and I don't think its possible for me to forget about you..." He said with a smile, then looking back at the menu.

A table next to them was talking about the notorious Spider-Man as well. "Well, i think he's a huge improvement on the city!" A woman said. "Yeah? Well he's going to be the reason criminals step up there game! There's going to be a new Lizard running around here--" "And He will be there to stop him! He's an icon for us! a symbol of hope!" "He's a cocky man in pajamas who leaves web everywhere! and one of these days he's not going to be around to stop everything..."

Peter clenched his fist around his fork when their food arrived, listening in on them. He knew that comments like that shouldn't affect him, but they still got under his skin... He was here for good, going to protect this city even if it kills him. He owes this place that much. Releasing his fork he saw that he bent it very much. He quickly tried to bend it back to its original shape, and somewhat got it there.

“You’re an amazing guy, anyone; even Spider-Man would be lucky enough to get to talk to you.” Lexi said softly under her breath as she looked at the menu, not really wanting to draw attention to her flattering comment. Come on Lex get yourself together geeze!! She mentally lectured herself, hating the feeling of leading Peter into thinking any feelings other than friendship could be one hundred percent dedicated to him. Because in her heart of hearts she knew that wasn’t true.

Pushing him lightly with her elbow she laughed along with him about ‘Peter Parker’ and ‘Popular’, he had a point; it was never something the two of them saw in the near future, him being popular in one form or another. But that didn’t stop her from being his friend and it didn’t stop him from being hers. They had a friendship, a bond that couldn’t be broken and out of all the secrets she had kept from him, the only one that she has chosen to have remain a secret was her feelings for Spider-Man. It just seemed like something he wouldn’t want to hear, especially how much he ran across the guy. He had given lectures to her past boyfriends about threating her right and the last thing she needed was for him to go toe to toe with a superhero.

The table nearby echoed with the talk of Spider-Man as well and Lexi’s head turned slightly from the menu to get a listen. Though… she probably shouldn’t have; the raven haired girl turned in her seat, facing the man and woman chatting away and insulting the superhero. Her mom, bless her heart, saw the move and reached over to grab Lexi’s attention before it was too late… “Lexi…” She said cautiously but it was too late, the girl was off.

“You seem to think that when or even if he dies, that everything will go crazy; that everything that Spider-Man had worked to stop will be gone in a flash but you’re wrong.” She said sharply to the man, “If he dies, he has left us with a true representation of what justice is; now it would be our turn as the people of this city to uphold the law when he’s gone. Stopping the wrongs before they can happen, help prevent the rise of terror, fight together to stop even petty things like robberies and muggings. He is not some cocky man in pajamas; he’s a leader and a representative of how we all should be. Honorable and on the look out to protect others; if that’s the definition of a cocky man in pajamas, well sir you need to take a page out of his book.”

With a small huff she turned back around in her seat and picked up her knife and fork, just in time to notice that her whole table was staring at her. Aunt May’s mouth was dropped open, her dad was rubbing his forehead and her mom was shaking her head; when her eyes got to Peter she found herself looking at his fork instead. “Did you get a defective fork?” She asked joking, doing her best to change the subject, since she just seemed to throw the entire table for a loop. Hopefully breakfast didn’t last too long….

Peter was at a loss of words when Lexi went off like that to the man. The woman with him seemed to be gleaming at her response, and the man was awestruck. Everything she said made Peter beam... That's what made it worth it to be Spider-Man... He had this gift for a reason, and even though there was some hate from some people, it was the people who stuck up for the smaller guys because they were inspired, the kids dressing up at Spider-Man for Halloween, that spark of hope that he gave the city, where they don't have to worry about being mugged in the streets...

Peter snapped back to reality, "Huh? oh, oh yeah... must have accidentally gone through the disposal or something... "He said, knowing she wanted to change the subject... They ate in almost silence for the rest of the time. Aunt May tried her best to talk about how she planned on remodeling the room that used to be Uncle Ben's study. Once everyone was full and happy, they started to get up.

"Hey, I'm going to go head over to the hardware store to get those supplies... Can you take Aunt May back home please?" he asked, giving his best smile. Before she could answer he gave her a hug and then walked over to Aunt May to give her a hug and kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back soon, and i'll get that photo for ya, Lex!" He called out, making his way down the sidewalk. The last few minutes of the get together, Peter's phone was vibrating like crazy. He wired his phone to connect with the police database, and whenever a large crime took place, it was sent straight to his phone.

Peter made a quick dash in to an alley way, and minutes later Spider-Man zipped out of the alley, Peter's backpack hidden in a dumpster.

"We have a burning building, civilians still inside." A female voice said through his phone.

"Roger that, we are on our way."

Spider-Man zipped through the skyscrapers, following the police and fire trucks to their destination.

"Yeah I'll take her home." Lexi said in agreement as the party left the lunch; giving Peter a quick hug she started to the car before her dad stopped her.

"Lexi could you drop this by Mister Archer's office, it's part of the documents he needs and I have to go to Anderson's office."

"Sure dad." Lexi said sweetly taking the small binder from him placing it in the back of the car and getting in. The conversation with Aunt May was always nice, though she was determined by any and all means to get Lexi and Peter together, little comments like how cute they look together and that they always take good photos would leave her whenever the two were alone. And all Lexi could do was give the woman an awkward laugh and wonder if Peter had to put up with the same thing after she left and was alone with Aunt May.

"Good bye!" She called from the car as she watched Aunt May get safely inside the house. A sigh left her as she took the car out of park and drove into downtown. Sometimes coming from a rich family had it's benefits, whenever she went to a client or coworker of her father's, their valet service would treat her little banged up vehicle as if they were handling her father's mustang. A small laugh left her as she dropped the keys in the valet's hand and wondered inside. The building wasn't very big only three stories but it was a beautiful older building, something most people don't get to see in New York but her dad's coworker owned it. At the top of the building in the middle was the man's office and it wasn't long before the two were talking like they always did. Though the man was nice, he was always trying to hook her up with his son which she had to uncomfortably decline. Things were going okay until the fire alarm went off and the building reacted in a causal manor... that is until the third floor occupants found themselves stuck on the third floor, flame crawling up the stairwells.

"Oh no!" Soon the group of 20 people were crammed in Mister Archer's office. Lexi jumped in, "LISTEN EVERYONE." She called out, getting the attention of the hysterical people. "The fire department will be here soon, they'll set up one of those inflatable bouncing pads and we'll have to jump. The sooner we can get out of here the better."

"We can just break the window." One man said.

"NO!" Lexi instantly jumped in not wanting to allow anyone to run with that idea. "The more oxygen let into the room, the more the flames with expand and soon arrive to us, we must wait until the last minute to break the glass so we can hold off making the flames bigger."

While people didn't seem to be a fan of listening to a 17 year old girl they did with their bosses agreement to her plan. Within minutes the fire department was there and set up the bouncing pad. Mister Archer took it upon himself to break the glass and one by one she and Mister Archer help each person through the window until there was the two of them left. "Jump Lexi!"

"No you jump, I'll go last."

"What are you thinking?!"

"I'm putting someone else before myself. GO!" She said give him a small push and he jumped, much to his disagreement. His landed deflated the bouncing pad and the fire department held up a hand telling her to wait. "Oh no..." She said softly, her blue gaze moving to look behind her, the flame had started overtaking the door and now it was a race between the fire department re-inflating the bouncing pad and the the flames crawling into the room, her head was sweating and her vision was becoming blurry as her body started to overheat. Oh this.... this wasn't good.

Spider-Man made his way to the building, the fire seemed to only get the top story for now... he saw that they were jumping on to the inflatable... but the flames were engulfing the top floor, and it seemed that there was one last person... and to his horror, it was Lexi Rogers. A crowd started to form others were crying in fear. Spider-Man zipped towards the building and to the window. He clung on to the wall next to the window, looking at Lexi.

"Someone order a super hero?" He asked, holding out his other arm for her to grab on to him. Once she did, Spidey wrapped one arm around her. "Hold on tight!" He said to her, and leapt off the building, free falling for a second but then shooting out a string of web to stop their momentum. They landed on the ground softly, and right next to the police. The crowd cheered as Spider-Man let go of her... even covered in ash she still looked perfect. He gave her a nod. "You alright?" He asked her, trying to change his voice a bit so she doesn't recognize it.

"Spider-Man! My boy! My Boy is still stuck in there! I brought him in just sw we could get something from my office, and he's blocked in!" A woman cried, tears streaming from her face.

"Which floor?" He asked her, looking at the unstable building. "Second! Second floor! Office 204! please!" She said. And with that, Spider-Man leapt up, and swung in to the second story window. The floor was covered in hot flames and thick smoke. Spidey kept close to the floor, coughing a bit as he tried to listen. "Hey! Is anyone in here?" Spider-Man called out. A small cry responded, Spidey followed it. There was a large burning wooden beam blocking its way in to an office. Through a gap he saw a young boy crying and coughing.

"hey, hey! It's alright, I'm here to help you!" Spidey called out. The boy seemed to be wearing a spiderman shirt. "What's your name?" Peter called out.

"J-J-James..." the boy whimpered. "I want my-my m-mom!" he called out. Spider-Man ripped off his mask, revealing Peter's soft brown eyes. "You're going to see her again, but i need you to stay brave, alright? Here, put on the mask, it'll make you strong! I'll need your help, okay James? I need you to help me push this beam towards me, alright?" He said in a strong voice, handing his mask to him and he put it on.

"Wow! you look stronger already!" Peter said with a smile. He could tell that James was too behind the mask that was too big for him. And together they pushed the beam away from the door (peter did most of the work, but he praised James' strength. "Okay, hold on tight to me." He said to him, James handing Peter his mask again. He picked up James, and Peter made his way back towards the window, coughing more and more.

Spider-Man leapt out of the window, and yet again, the crowd roared with applause. Letting go of James, he ran over to his mother who he embraced, both crying. Spider-Man sat on the sidewalk, breathing heavily, the mask not helping but he needed to keep it on. Paramedics rushed over with an oxygen tank. He thanked them. "You think i can get a ride in the ambulance later, guys?" Spider-Man asked to lift the spirits. They laughed. "You can take a ride in it any time, Web Head." they said with another laugh. Spider-Man lifted up the bottom of his mask and inhaled some oxygen, looking around at the people who survived. No casualties from what he knew. and then he focused on Lexi Rogers, still getting taken care of... she showed a lot of bravery....

They say that when you are going to die, your life flashes before your eyes. Well, Lexi wouldn’t know about death because she didn’t have that feeling but she did feel light headed and heart pounding. The poor girl was experiencing a lot of feelings at one moment; fear for her life, happiness that she helped others and lastly, acceptance. If she was going to die, if this was truly her time, she was ready to go. Her only regret is not telling Peter how she felt about him. But everyone dies with some regret right?

It wasn’t until she heard a voice that pulled her out of her daze. Her clothes and face covered in ash, her vision focused in to see that the one and only Spider-Man had shown up on the scene! His comment made her smile, a smile like she gave Peter whenever she saw him, which probably looked odd from her ash covered face with her bright white teeth. Her hand reached out taking a hold of his arm, “You have rather excellent delivery timing.” She said giving him a cheeky grin. With his arm around her she felt safe and secure and the freefalling was an insane feeling as they dropped, tumbling downward towards the ground. For some unexplainable reason, she had complete faith that he would catch them and he did, lowering them gently to the ground. As the crowd erupted around them, her face turned a shade of pink she wasn’t used to. It wasn’t common that Lexi Rogers got embarrassed and blushed but this was one of those rare moments when Spider-Man asked if she was alright. She nodded, her mouth opened to respond before she coughed as nasty cough, her light headed dizziness caught up with her as she started to lose her balance in time to get caught by one of the paramedics who happened to be rushing over. Before she could regain herself to say anything to him he was off again to save another life.

She had hoped to meet him but didn’t quite expect it to come about this way. As the paramedics handed her water to help rehydrate her system due to the over-exposure to heat and gave her an oxygen mask, they praised her for her bravery. It didn’t take much time before the camera crew was in her face, asking her questions about her experience inside and her encounter with Spider-Man. She told them who she was, knowing her parents, Aunt May and Peter were going to kill her and explained that everyone needed to put others’ lives before their own to help the city become a better place and that’s what she did. As she finished explaining she coughed some more, smoking leaving her lungs as she did so and the paramedics pushed the press away from her, the cops soon realizing that the press were bombarding people asking questions and began to shoo them back in time for Spider-Man to return with the young boy.

Upon his return, Lexi was back on her feet, she had felt better and was able to stand but thanks to the chilly breeze she was covered in a blanket. Taking a couple breathes from the oxygen mask, she watched the young hero sit down and take a mask for himself. Nerves filled her, what other chance would she have to talk to him? It was almost like she could hear Peter’s words echo in her mind, Maybe if you're lucky you could stumble upon him. He would kick her for missing the chance to talk to him, especially when it was something she wanted to do. She took a deep breath from the oxygen tank, wrapped the blanket around her, got a pen and a piece of paper from one of the reporters and wrote down something before folding the paper and returning the pen; she then left the tank behind and walked over to him.

“Hi.” She said softly when she arrived. Her mind was racing and her heart was pounding. She felt like it was her speech in front of the class, nerves and excitement at the same time; butterflies in her stomach and her heart attempting to escape her chest. “Thank you… for saving me, and that little boy.” Oh how original to start off, if Peter was here he’d kick her and tell her to spit it out. “I know you’re busy flying around and saving the city from all sorts of things but if you ever have some time…” Yes because he has free time that he plays golf! You’re being stupid!! Her inner voice lectured her but she kept going anyway, “I write for my school’s newspaper and would just like to ask you a few questions. Just three, I promise, I don’t want to take up a lot of your time and I just want to help inspire the people of my school like you inspire me. If… if you find some time and, of course, want to… here’s my address…” She said softly extending out the piece of paper to him. As if out of her control, she bit the lower right corner of her full lips, something she did purely out of nerves and it was something not only few people knew of or saw but it hadn’t happen in many many years.

Spider-Man was still taking a deep breath of oxygen as Lexi walked over. He looked at her, pulling down the mask fully, not wanting her to be given the chance to even guess it was Peter. As she talked he couldn't help but smile, seeing how nervous she was... she never was nervous... He found it rather cute, and his heart nearly melted as she bit her bottom lip. She handed him the paper, and he put it inside a pocket where one of his web cartridges would have been. "An interview?" he asked, sounding surprised but he saw this question coming. He knew that Peter told her to ask him when she had a chance, and this was a perfect moment. "Well, I'd be honored!" he said, hopping up and giving a slight bow. "Never been asked to a questioning... unless you count the cops when i first started out. They didn't really like me hopping around in this getup..." Spider-Man pointed to his skin tight suit, and shrugged. "I don't know when my schedule will be available... but when i can, I'll swing by." He said, trying not to sound like he was too desperate... it was a change of pace. It was usually news reporters or the Daily Bugle trying to get dirt on him...

As they talked he heard another siren way off in to the city. He glanced at Lexi. "Welp. I'd hate to be that guy... but i got a lot of thugs' days to ruin." He gave a small salute as he walked over to James real quick to make sure he was okay, then shot a web in to the air, and zipped off.

---

Peter Parker came back a bit too late, holding buckets of paint and a bag of brushes. "Aunt May, I'm home!" He called out, closing the door with his foot.

"Peter! Where have you been, you've been gone for hours!" She said, full of concern.

"I'm sorry, but I saw that fire today, and helped the paramedics out with helping hand out oxygen masks... can you really be that mad at me?" he asked, lifting the paint buckets up more. She shook her head. "You are so much like your Uncle... always trying to help... dinner is almost ready. Get washed up." She said, walking back in to the kitchen.

Peter smiled a bit to himself, going upstairs to drop his backpack off, and take off his jacket. He was sure he was going to get a call from Lexi talking about how Spider-Man agreed to talk to her... he was nervous beyond belief now. How would he be able to keep himself from being discovered during the interview? He barely made it out today!

Her heart was fluttering, her chest was pounding and she was using every ounce of her strength not shake like a leaf, this had to be one of the most nervous points of her whole life and she was experiencing it tenfold. When he took the paper from her, her heart stopped in anticipation; something that is really the ultimate weapon against a girl. He questioned her wording and she held her breath, preparing herself for rejection or a lecture for asking him for such a thing. But when he said he would be honored, her heart sped up quickly and when he gave her a slight bow, she returned the gesture with a small curtsey.

By the time she had let go her lip she bit it again when he said the last questioning he had was about him jumping around in the suite and he proceeded to give her unspoken permission to look at him in the suite. Not only was this real life but this was up close and personal. The man under the suite was tall and toned, muscles defined by the suite gave them notice and shape. It was very attractive and one of the signs that Lexi found someone attractive was when she bit her lip, and instead of nerves filling her eyes, it was attraction and flirtation. “Okay then.” She said as he said he didn’t want to be that guy but he had to go. “I’ll see you around then.” She said brightly giving him a small wave. And yes, she did check him out as he walked away then swung away. In fact she was in such a daze that she didn’t realize her parents were running towards her until her mother’s arms flung around her body. She was too… distracted.

---

If there was one thing that Lexi could sense it was when Aunt May was close to finishing dinner. It was almost like a six sense with food. Her parents had gotten her home and she showered and changed before they gave her a digging of questions as the raven haired girl sat at their kitchen table in one of Peter’s shirts that hung loosely on her frame from one of the nights she crashed at their place and she didn’t bring any night stuff and a pair of dark blue jeans with bright red converse on. It didn’t take long before Mister Archer was over and of course, he brought his son.

His son was a nice guy, but he lacked a lot of qualities she looked for in a relationship. He was a stern young man, hard headed and not very bright, but he had a good heart and, what a lot of girls at school saw, a lot of money to his name. “Lexi are you okay?”

“I’m fine Rick.” The young man took the seat next to her, in his traditional letterman’s jacket from his countless years of football all throughout their high school. If there were two people to be voted prom king and queen it would be these two but she, really wanted nothing to do with him. “At least we go everyone out of the building.” The adults began to talk about what could have cause it and praised Mister Archer for keeping all the files digitally and was able to save the file the Lexi had brought to him, Rick, whoever, tried to engage her in conversation that she wasn’t really a fan of; football. Poor guy didn’t know much else but that didn’t make him a bad person, just a… hard person to talk to.

“So… Mom can I borrow your car? I need to go talk to Peter.” Her mom gave her a look of ‘Rick’s here’ and she returned it with a look of ‘I don’t care’. With that her mom gestured towards her keys that were hanging on the wall. “I’m glad you’re okay Mister Archer and it was nice to see you Rick but I have to talk to Peter, it’s really important.” With that she excused herself, grabbing her purse and her mom’s keys to the wrangler and left.

Careful not to speed, Lexi pulled into the driveway and hurried up to the door. Knocking was hard because she had to force herself not to bang until Aunt May opened the door. “Lexi hello! Are you here for dinner?”

“Oh dinner!” Lexi said brightly. “That sounds lovely but I do have to talk to Peter right away, is he in his room.”

“Yes go on up, and wash up, dinner will be ready soon.” The woman always made amazing food and without fail, made enough for a third person.

Lexi ran frantically up the stairs and entered the open door to his room. “Peter!” She said in an overly excited manor. “I took your advice and I have an interview with Spider-Man sometime…” She stopped, her face scrunched together in thought. “Sometime when he’s free.” Her face relaxed and she waved her hand. “I can’t stay for too long, just for dinner. But I need your help.” With that she flopped down on his bed, kicking her shoes off she tucked her feet under her and pulled out a pad of paper with a pen. Avoiding the detailed about how she met him, knowing full well she’d get a lecture from Peter AND Aunt May about why she didn’t tell them in the first place and be bombarded with questions on if she was okay; and most likely being told she was crazy for being the last person to jump. She had a task she needed to finish!!

“I told him I’d ask him three questions. And I want to keep it brief, so I don’t take up too much of his time, and I don’t want to ask anything that could compromise who he is. I don’t want to be that person that rats out the superhero.” She shook her head as she scribbled it down on the paper. “I know what my first question is; ‘What inspired you to become a superhero?’ I thought that was a good one. Maybe what inspired him could help inspire others to do good.” She then began to tap the back of the pen against her full bottom lip, a trait she did when she was in deep thought. Her blue gaze moved up to Peter. “What would you want to ask him?”

Peter was at his desktop, downloading the pictures onto his laptop, listening to music, and waiting for dinner. He skimmed through the pictures. Then he almost jumped out of his seat when his door burst open. He forgot to lock it. Lexi immediately rambled on about Spider-Man, he gave a face of amazement, but deep down was quite jealous of how much she was talking about the guy... even though it was himself. As she sat there in his old shirt, playing with her lip, he had to look back at his laptop to control himself. His heart was pounding. One little hint could give him away... it wasn't that he didn't trust her with his identity, or thought she would laugh in his face... it was the fact that he didn't want anyone he loved and cared for to get hurt if a villain found out his true identity...

His heart was pounding. He was thinking... all those times he wanted people to ask him these sort of questions... now was his chance. "I would ask him if there were times where he thought that this city doesn't deserve him... if he's seen the propaganda against him, and what his thoughts were?" he said, looking at her and running a hand through his hair. "And... if he's ever had any regret for his actions...." Peter said the last part softly, but then gave a smile. "You know, show the human side of the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man..." he said, shrugging.

Her head jerked back in surprise. Here she was expecting to have happy-go-lucky questions from her best friend and yet, he was suggesting for her to ask him deep personal questions. “You really think that he would answer something like that?” Her head tilted to one side, her black hair falling like a gentle curtain off of her shoulder and dangling in the air as she watched his expression. “That’s one of those hard core-deep philosophical questions that they ask on 60 minutes.” Her face scrunched together in thought as she looked back down at her paper; the pen tapping against her full now glossy pink lips. “Hmmm… Maybe I can leave it up to him.”

She scribbled down the question before reading it allowed, “If you could change something; like a past event that you were involved in or the way people view you in the past or maybe just the state of the city, what would you change and why?” Her gaze flicked up to Peter as she raised an eyebrow. “Do you think he’d consider that two questions?” Her small hands tightened on the pad of paper. “This could be my only chance and I really don’t want to mess this up. God I’ve never been so nervous.” With that she threw herself onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling her notepad to her chest and a long sigh leaving her. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. I don’t want to back him into a corner but I’d love to know more about him. He has so many people relying on him…” A small sigh left her as she kept looking up at the ceiling. “Do you think he has people that he can rely on Peter? Everyone deserves to have someone they can trust without hesitation and consistently. I have you and I’m very blessed for that; I hope he has someone too…” Her voice sounded sad, as if she felt bad for him. But she didn’t know who he was outside of the costume but sometimes having a true friend can make all the difference in the world.

"Well i mean... I just thought 'what's your favorite type of food' and 'what's your favorite tv show' weren't the best choices to ask a super hero." Peter said bringing humor back in to his voice. Great.He let himself go way too far in to his thoughts. When she started doubting herself, Peter shook his head. "Come on, Lex, its you you're talking about! He'll probably sign up for five more interviews after this one. He won't be able to resist having a conversation with you."

And when her question left her lips he stayed quiet. "I think he's got people who help him out a lot..." although they have no idea he said in his mind. "Look, I know he's a super hero, and every girl's dream" He said the last part with a sarcastic dreamy tone. "But if you keep that smart head of yours, I think you'll get the questions and answers you need... and if you want to put in a good word for me about his pictures, and if he's seen them.... you know." Giving a grin. Aunt may called them down for dinner, and Peter stood up. "Hope you're hungry. Aunt May isn't going to be happy unless everyone gets at least a third helping."

A heartfelt laugh left her full lips as he made the comment about being unable to resist talking to her. She pulled herself up from the bed and tilted her head at him. "If I can get you talk to me on your most mopy of days than I guess I can get him to talk to me." She stuck out her tongue playfully to him and nodded, she knew if she ever doubted herself that Peter would be the one to lighten her spirits and soon they were down stairs having dinner with Aunt May. The conversation was nice until Aunt May asked Peter about the fire and Lexi inquired about him being there as well. And suddenly the topic changed to why she was there and she was put in the dog house for not mentioning anything sooner. Thought Peter was nice enough to applaud her bravery, Aunt May was none-to-pleased to hear of her choice but did realize that she'd have to shrug it off sooner or later. At the end of the dinner Lexi helped with the plates drying while Aunt May washed and Peter put them away, and upon leaving she gave Aunt May and hug than Peter, in his ear she whispered, "Thanks for helping me." And with that she gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. The first one she ever did. With that she climbed into her mom's white jeep wrangler and drove home.

Night time rolled around and her parents were always early people to bed. Lexi had spent most of the evening freshening herself up and making sure she looked okay. Though she pushed through every piece of clothing she had, she stuck with Peter's T-shirt, finding both comfort and confidence in having something of his close by. She could make it through tonight, if tonight was the night he showed up. Oh well it was Saturday, she could sleep in tomorrow. A smile moved across her freshly glossed lips as she took one more look at herself in the mirror. Okay, I'm ready! She gave herself a small mental pep-talk before going to her window. Though she did this all the time, since the roof was hardly at a slant at all, she climbed out the window from her second story room and lifted her toned light weight body with ease up onto the rooftop. Walking over her room she sat down on the cool top and leaned back on her palms. Crossing one long jean covered leg over the other, she looked up at the stars. Her third question was still a mystery to her, but it was bound to arrive at one point or another. Peter had given her the confidence boost she needed to do this and she wasn't going to let him down. But if Spider-Man didn't show up in the next two hours, she was going to go inside and climb into bed. She didn't want to seem that desperate for this... right?

Should it be tonight? Or did it look like Spider-Man would be too desperate to answer her call? Or would it show that he took her words in and didn't want to let her down?

Peter's mind was so focused on Lexi and the kiss and her interview that it was making it very tiring walking to his backpack, backing out and walking back to his bed, and then back to his backpack... It was the least he could do... answer these questions for not only the people, but for her... to say things he wanted to say to her since he got bitten by that spider... He sighed, and got up, and finally taking the suit out of the backpack.

---

"If i were a cop, you would be getting a strict lecture on being out past curfew." Said Spider-Man landing on the roof of Lexi Rogers. "But as your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, i would ask 'are you ready for my interview?" Spidey said, looking at the woman who was still wearing Peter's shirt, grasping her notes. He crouched near the edge of the roof, not wanting to be too close to Lexi, but not too far. "How are you feeling? You know, after the whole fire thing..." he asked her, his masked face looking at her's. He couldn't help that her lips were shining in the light...

The more Lexi thought about it, the more she wasn't sure why she kissed Peter on the cheek. Maybe it was to see if he would have some sort of positive reaction? To check and see if he was even remotely interested in her? Or maybe it was just one of those things that she did that was, well out of her control. That happens from time to time when one just follows their bodies actions instead of giving it more thought. If he called her later on tonight or tomorrow and asked what it was all about, could she really use that excuse? Would he buy something like 'It was a simple thank you', or would he see straight through her?

She was lost so deep in thought that the arrival of Spider-Man actually surprised her, her small body jumped slightly as she looked forward realizing that he was there and the fact that he caught her off guard so much made her blush slightly. "I'm well, a quick shower made a big difference though. Are you okay?" She said with a nod before wagging a finger at him, "For the record, if you were going to play cop I'm technically on my home. So I'm not out and about causing mayhem." A small laugh left her as she sat upright and tucked her legs legs under her, getting more comfortable as she clicked open her pen. The soft scent of her vanilla perfume filled the crescent mooned light air, it was one of those rare nights in New York where you could count every star in the sky and made quite a scene for an... interview. This is just an interview! She had to keep reminding herself. Pressing her lips together and looked down at her notes. Letting her lips pressed out in a relaxed fashion she turned her blue gaze up to him. "Thank you again for coming. Like I said, I'll make this brief..." The word brief didn't sound to pleasant, like Peter said in a sarcastic tone, he was every girl's dream. "First question. What inspired you to become a Superhero?"