The sun was now buried beneath the horizon, with some light still in the sky as darkness slowly blanketed the city. Other than the restaurant fiasco, the night had gone quite smoothly. To be honest, residents of the greater New York City area thought little about things like that, compared everything else that has happened to the city. The recent memories of September 11th, the Battle of New York with the Avengers, and Hurricane Sandy had left massive impacts on its residents, and anything else like a car robbery seemed like a normal thing. It was just the way the city just adapted to the rapid change of events.

In a different part of town, we come to the front doors of a large Community Center. It was closing time and large groups of people filed out in different groups. There was a senior book club that was assisted by aides as they descended the small flight of stairs and a Girl and Boy Scout troop came running out with their parents soon after with their new badges and sale rewards. The last group to leave was a particularly large group of young males that appeared tired, but satisfied from a long day of playing pick-up basketball. Once most of the people had cleared the front, a tall man wearing a royal blue polo t-shirt and khakis opened the door. He pulled his lanyard out of his polo revealing a ring of keys. He fumbled through the unnecessary keys before finding the right key and preparing to close the door to lock the door behind him. Before he could close the door, he looked inside the building once more, and blurted "Let's go" before waving his hand as if he was summoning someone.

Soon after, a young girl walked out from the dark doorway of the closed center. She was slightly shorter than the man and kept her hair in a ponytail with some strands falling over the right side of her face. She wore a cream long-sleeve button-up that seemed vintage with a black skirt that went just past her knees and dark strap-on boots. As she walked into the dimly lit air, she dropped a book from her face and her eyes dazzled in the growing moonlight. Reaching for her backpack, she opened the largest pocket with haste, and stuffed her book inside. "Got everything" the man said behind her with a proud voice. She turned around toward him, nodding in a passive way. "Alright, I think we're done for the day" he replied, locking the door behind him and stuffing the keys on his lanyard back into his shirt.

As they came down the small set of stairs, the last couple of boys stopped their conversations to say goodbye the respected center director. They exchanged goodbyes, and, as boys will do, their eyes quickly shifted toward the direction of his daughter. Feeling the unwanted attention, she glanced back at them in an ominous way. While effective for some of them, the others did not feel threatened. They just kept staring and she thought of the things they could be thinking of. She was disgusted by these disrespectful pigs that rummaged through the world for anything they could get their hands on. One boy, was staring at her very cunning and sinister-like. His eyes looked her up and down, frequently pausing at her legs, chest, and rear-end. As the girl and her father started walking down the block, she could have sworn she had heard him or one of the others whistle in their direction. She rolled her eyes at the sound of it, and her father turned halfway round to give them a stern look, as if to give them a warning. The boys quickly picked-up their conversation again, words turning into a mumble as the pair continued down the walkway.

"Don't mind them Michelle", the father finally said, "they're just trying to get your attention." Michelle looked down to her feet as she walked, a small frown growing upon her face. "Well, it worked", she said full of guilt. She never really liked to show any emotion toward others, but her dad was something different. Obviously, being her father comes with a lifetime of bonding and emotion, but she felt like she could open up to him in certain situations. "Those boys are just troubled, and they feel they need attention to survive", her father consoled, almost sounding like a college lecturer. Michelle was quick to pick-up on this and couldn't help but chuckle at the idea. "Yeah well, some people don't require that kind of attention" she replied with her voice seemingly changing tone. That comment made her father curious. Looking at her from the corner of his eyes, he thought about whether she was referring to the gym junkies they had just passed or herself. He thought about it for a moment, and then decided to ask her, "Do you think you require that kind of attention?"

The comment brought her eyes off the sidewalk and up toward her questioning father, giving him an annoyed face that made him feel like he had crossed a line that he never should have come upon. She stayed silent briefly, pondering over little questions clouding her brain.

Why would he ask that? Does he think I like those shit-bags? If mom has suggested anything to him, I'm going to kill them both.

She then answered with great annoyance, "Not from those ass-hats, obviously. They're not worth my time." She hoped that what she said would steer the conversation somewhere else. However, this only cleared up one aspect of her father's thoughts. He then decided to continue down this path and asked, "But someone must be worthy, right?" Her face went blank, she couldn't believe that this conversation was happening. "Ugh, I don't know dad", she exasperated, letting him know how annoyed she was.

But as the thought passed, she wandered through her mind thinking of anybody that would be worthy. She came to the thought of two boys, both of which she attends school with. She thought of them both individually, comprehending the type of relationship she had with them already and considering what type of relationship she would like to have with each of them. She thought one of them was annoying, but cool at the same time. His constant blabbing was one of the most consistent of anyone she knew, but his naïve confidence shined just as bright. She thought that he would be a good friend to have if they ever got close. The other boy was a bit trickier to think about. He was a shy, bright kid that seemed unsure of himself at times. He constantly ran way at a moment's notice to who knows where from normal things like a phone call or a dance with a girl who he was clearly crushing on. In her mind, she was curious about this boy, but it caught her attention in a way that no one else could have. She wasn't sure if she was interested in the thing that keeps the boy running, or the boy himself.

She again pulled herself out of her thought, and re-engaged with her father after a long silence. So long in fact, they were almost a block from their apartment. She pondered at the thought of saying what she was thinking, but she decided to keep it discrete, simply saying in a somber voice "maybe." Her father turned his head to the comment, and a small smile beamed across his face. He thought about how she should be happy and not shutting everyone out. "Well", he replied, "whoever they are, just know that I want you to be happy, and safe."

"I know dad, but," she hesitated on the thought of revealing too much, she didn't want all her secrets released at one time. "But I'm happy with just you and mom" she said, detouring the subject.

Her father gave a little chuckle and playfully bumped into her as they approached the steps of their apartment. Michelle stumbled to the side from the bump and laughed with a small smile. As soon as she regained balance, she noticed her father reaching into his pockets for his separate set of keys. Once in hand, he walked up to the set mailboxes to retrieve their mail. Michelle stood a couple of steps behind him, observing each action in front of her when she heard an unusual sound in the distance.

She looked in both directions of the sidewalk she stood on and saw nothing. She looked across the street for the source of the sound, again nothing. She then looked up and down their street, and noticed a sleek figure moving along the sides of the apartment buildings lined up along the street. She squinted trying to better focus her vision and identify the strange figure approaching. She could soon see that the figure was mostly red and blue, and was approaching in a swinging motion in their direction. She now had a confirmation of what the strange sound was, and who was making it. It was the sound of the web-shooters of the friendly neighborhood hero, Spider-Man.

He swung right past the observing teen from left to right, not even noticing her. As he approached the peak of his upward swing, he let go of his web and used his agility to send him flying toward the ledge of a corner building across the street, landing in his signature pose. He shifted his position to where he was sitting on the ledge with his lower legs and feet hanging over the edge. He then reached into one of his back pockets for his phone and proceeded to dial a number.

All the while, Michelle was watching every second of what the superhero did. She never felt star-struck around people like him. She didn't even freak out at the sight of him in front of her during the disaster at the Washington Monument at the beginning of the school year. Once he landed and shifted to a sitting position, her inquisitive nature started to take over. She questioned who would be on the other end of the phone call he was having. She thought about her encounter with him in Washington D.C., and how convenient his timing was at that time. She then started to think about one of the boys that she had been thinking about earlier, and how some of his disappearances were somehow followed up by disaster or criminal activity. And more conveniently, the hero before her was involved in them in one way or another. She soon started making connections and theorizing, and at one moment came to a blunt conclusion. However, she felt doubtful about her conclusion, thinking that it was too radical, and she shook her head in denial.

"No book in your hand, and you're still zoning out" her father called out from behind her holding the mail in one hand and the open door with the other. She snapped her head toward his direction, almost giving him a death stare. She followed him up the stairs into the building. Before she let the door shut behind her, Michelle took one last glance at the web-slinging hero for a couple moments. She thought if her suspicions were true, then he would either stare back at her or quickly turn away if he noticed her watching.

She impatiently hoped he would turn his head and notice her standing in the doorway of her apartment building. She took half a step forward to make herself more visible. At that moment, he shifted his sitting position to turn ninety degrees to his right. He was now facing her apartment building and still speaking into his phone. If he turned his head slightly to the right at all, he could have a good chance of noticing her. Michelle's anticipation and excitement started to surge through her body, and she really couldn't explain why. Then her father called her up one last time, completely ruining her chance to make a conclusion. She sighed out of frustration and walked into the building.

If she only knew what happened when the door had closed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N- Chapter 3, here it is and Michelle has now entered the story. Hope you guys are enjoying everything. I'm over-joyed that it's been getting more attention over the past week. I certainly hope it continues as I keep updating. 

Next chapter should be up in a week again. Please comment and vote if you like what I'm writing.

On a side-note, what do you guys think of the title for the Homecoming Sequel coming next summer, "Spider-Man: Far From Home"? I think that's its a goofy title, and if it centers around Spidey going around the world, then it's not going to have much time dealing with his high school pals: Ned, Michelle, etc. But, I trust in Kevin Feige to deliver anther hit, and for Jon Watts to do an excellent job with the film. And Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio sounds interesting. 

Anyway, until next time guys, BYE!