A few hours have gone by since the craziness at the community center, and the cloudy morning has now turned into a dark late-afternoon. The clouds were dense, not allowing any sunlight to breach through. Peter had spent most of the day swinging around on patrol, and to clear his head from everything else racing through his mind. It had been a while since he swung around just to do it, and not because he was in a hurry to get somewhere or was looking for people to help. It was rather peaceful, until a call from an unknown number interrupted him.

He landed on a flag pole and answered, learning that it was the doctor from the hospital. He was informed that May's operation had been completed and that he was free to come in to visit. Peter thanked the doctor for letting him know and said that he would be in as soon as he could. Ending the call politely, he leapt from the flagpole into the streets as he returned to web-slinging. His head clearing would have to wait another day, he thinks to himself.

Back in normal clothes, he walked through the third-floor hallway to May's room. He was excited to see May again, but also a little nervous to know what the operation had done to her, for better or worse. Even as he walked down the hall, he would glance at some of the medical staff standing behind desks and conversing amongst themselves in the hope that they would notice him and inform him of what her conditions were. Sadly, that didn't happen, and Peter carried on.

He reached May's room and walked in quietly in case she was sleeping. She wasn't however, and a huge smile appeared on both their faces at the sight of each other.

"Hi!" May beamed, her face practically glowing as Peter walked over for a hug.

"Hey, May" he muffled in her shoulder, "how are you feeling?"

They parted from the hug as May responded, "Good, really good, actually. I feel like I could flip out of the bed."

"Okay, wow!?!" Peter chuckled slightly, knowing that he missed this side of her. The side that always greeted him at the door after school for the past ten years. He was certainly glad to see it again, especially after worrying so much for her. May was also happy to see him smile again. She had been getting a bit concerned that he was taking to much responsibility for everything that had taken place in the past few days.

"So" she said, recovering from laughter, "how are you? Everything go well with the whole Lonnie thing?"

"Eh..." he sighed doubtfully, "more or less." May's eyebrows furrowed at the news, wondering what he meant. "I mean, he's in custody" Peter sputtered, "but he turned out to be a lot more complicated than I thought."

"Oh..." May replied, "well, I'm sure its for the best, no matter what it took."

"Yea..." Peter said, not knowing what else to say about the topic. He couldn't really describe why, but he felt like he could have done better with Lonnie, had he gotten to understand him before the they ever crossed paths.

"So, what now?" May said out of nowhere, almost startling Peter.

"I guess I stay with you until you're able to go home."

"Is that all you want to do?" May countered. "As busy as you've been trying to get a job, chasing down neighborhood hoodlums, and taking care of me, don't you want to do what to give yourself a break?"

Peter puzzled what she could mean by this. At this point, he thought it was almost impossible to escape the responsibilities and needs of everyone around him. So to hear May talking about his needs was a bit surprising to say the least. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well" she began, "if I were in you're shoes, I'd want to spend time with people that are fun and make me happy."

"Who says you don't make me happy?" Peter reacted, still a bit confused about what she was saying.

"I know I do Peter" she continued, with a bit of a sting in her words, "but I can't fulfill all of your needs of happiness."

"Well who else than?"

"I think you know already, Peter." His eyes glared at her at this, as if something about him was being exposed, which it was. The mere thought of this person made him scared and nervous to talk to them, yet it made his stomach fuzzy and smile so purely that he could possibly burst from an overload of happiness.

"I don't know, May" he answered, making May sink into a well of sadness. "MJ's not really the type for relationships."

"Isn't that up to her?"

"Yeah, but..." he paused, sighing heavily to focus his thoughts. "She once told me she doesn't need a boyfriend to be happy."

"Was she completely against the idea?"

"Well..." he stalled, "no, but..."

"Than maybe that's enough Peter" she exclaimed, stopping Peter from doubting himself any further. "Look, I don't know all the details of what has gone on between you two, but from what I can see, she's got eyes for you."

Peter somewhat knew this was true, as he had been holding her hand a lot in the past two days and had almost kissed her. But it was all so strange to actually think that Michelle, the girl that had been so sarcastically mean and put up a wall to not let others embarrass her, actually liked him. Like, really liked him. And if he was being honest, he really didn't know why. He had never done anything for her to make her like him, that he knew of, nor did they ever have an initial spark upon their first meeting.

"I know what you're saying Aunt May, but even if that's true, I don't know if I can handle opening my heart to her. My life would then be hers and I don't want her to get hurt. Whether that be by my enemies, or by my own doing. It's too much of a risk."

"Yes, it will be" May said, "but knowing how much of Ben you carry with you when you put on that mask, I know you two will be alright, and you won't let people like her get hurt." Her words were strong and confident, almost as if she understood the underlying meaning of being Spider-Man. "Because that's what keeps you going, isn't it? The fact that you have something to lose if you stop being Spider-Man. And that could be anything, Peter. Or anybody. That could me, Ned, or especially Michelle, because she gives you a sense of happiness that I have never seen from you. She likes you Peter, and you like her. There's nothing complicated about that, unless you make yourself think that it's complicated."

Peter, being a slow thinker when it came to things like this, took a while to decode her words. In fact, they hadn't completely sunk in until he had left the hospital. He never really thought about his role as a superhero in that way. He always thought it was a way to make sure that everyday people would be safe from others that would cause harm to them or endanger the community. And while that is an honorable response to what happened to his uncle, it probably evolved into a new purpose.

As he swung back home with the rain pouring moderately onto his suit, he thought about how many people knew his secret, and what that could mean for the future. And something clicked inside him as he stopped to perch on the side of building. He realized that as much as he was going to worry for the safety of those that he cared about the most, those that knew his secret were going to be just as concerned for his own safety. And it's not like he would ask them to be, obviously, but it was something they were going to do unconditionally. All because they see someone like him, Peter Parker or Spider-Man, as someone that needs to be appreciated in his lowest moments, to help him make the hardest decisions, to keep him fighting the good fight. To keep him grounded where things matter most.

ARE YOU ALRIGHT, PETER? Karen asked out of nowhere, YOU'VE BEEN RATHER QUIET. Peter chuckled at himself in thought, realizing that even a disembodied voice like Karen would be concerned about him.

"Yeah, Karen. I'm okay. Just thinking is all."

ABOUT MICHELLE? BECAUSE I'VE GOT A FEW MISSED TEXT MESSAGES FROM HER

"What!?" Peter gasped as Karen displayed a screen with all her messages, "how did I miss them?"

MAYBE YOU WERE THINKING TOO MUCH AND NOT REALLY TAKING THE TIME TO NOTICE

Now, Peter knew that Karen was just a voice that he could talk to whenever he needed his suit to do something when he was occupied with something else. However, there were moments where he really had to question her intelligence. I mean, she had just suggested that he's thinking too much, instead of taking the time to actually reach out to Michelle and see how she feels about the two of them. Maybe that's not what Karen truly meant, but Peter certainly read it like that.

He read the texts, which had been a few updates about the fight at the center. Frank was feeling better and didn't require hospital work to be patched up. A few other texts asked if he was still coming to the Movie in the Park event the following night. It took a second for Peter to remember that Michelle had invited him to join her to play games with the kids before they played the movie, and that he agreed to do it.

He quickly told Karen to reply back: Yea, I'm still coming tomorrow. As the message was sent, a roll of thunder sounded out from the northwest, hailing a storm that would last the night. Peter asked Karen to close the messaging screen and he resumed swinging back to his apartment.

Halfway there, Karen told him that a new message from Michelle had been received. Peter refused to see the message and focused on getting back to the safety of his bedroom before he read it. When he did get back, he didn't worry about landing on the roof to check if the coast was clear. He wanted to get out of the rain as soon as possible. Sliding through the open window, he quickly slipped his soaked suit off before he could catch a chill and kicked it into the corner. He pulled his mask off, revealing a very moist set of hair on his head from the rain seeping through the fabric of his suit.

Now standing in just his underwear, he rushed over to his dresser to find some dry clothes, which turned out to be a pair of navy-blue sweatpants and his maroon mathletes sweater. Next, he picked up his drenched costume and carried it down the hall to the laundry closet for it to dry. He thought about initiating the heater inside the suit but didn't really have the energy to go through that process tonight. Now back in his room, his reached for his phone and read the new message from Michelle.

Okay, thanks for letting me know. Really appreciate it.

Of course, happy to help out.

Are you gonna stay after??

You mean for the movie??

Yea..

Oh boy... he thought, bringing everything he had talked about with May back around as he was just getting comfortable. Yeah, sure

Cool

Peter was contemplating what he should say next, as he didn't want to stop talking to her. And that's when another thing clicked inside his head. He had been going around this entire summer staying committed to his responsibilities with no one to really vent about it to, except Michelle. She created this little pocket of escapism for him, one that allowed them to be themselves and grow as friends, learn about each other, and yes, test their feelings for each other.

Maybe that's it, he thought, looking up from his phone. Maybe that's what it really comes down to. She's the person that I can escape in when I just want to get away. And I guess in a strange way, she makes me whole by just being a part of my life. She completes me.

Another buzz from his phone, snapping him out of his happy thought. Michelle had beat him to the punch for the next text: Maybe we could grab a bite in-between. Peter smiled at this and was more than happy to spend more time with her.

Love to.

Oops, that might have said a little too much, he said, realizing that she could take his reply in a different way, or at least in a way he wasn't ready to express.

Great! Talk to you tomorrow.

Wait, I just realized I never asked what the movie is? So spill!!!

LOL We Bought a Zoo. Peter's eyes shot wide open, excited that it was a movie that he knew. He remembered the time he, Ben and May all went out to see it when he was about 10 years old.

NO WAY!!

So you're a fan?

A casual one, but a fan nonetheless

You're such a nerd LOL

A nerd that you chose to be friends with

No regrets

Peter smiled, glad to know that she had no regrets being friends with him, or quite further, knowing his most important secret. Really??

Really

Even the whole spidey-thing??

Yeah, absolutely.

Okay

It's funny how goodbyes and good-nights can turn into a whole other conversation. Because in this instance, neither one of our two crushing teens could find a reason to stop texting each other. No one could explain why it lasted as long as it did, but by the time it truly ended, both had fallen asleep in their respective bedrooms. Michelle in the bean bag she liked to read in, and Peter on his bed with his legs hanging over the side. And while they're not a couple yet, or even in the same bed, one hopeful romantic could say that this was the first time they fell asleep together. Which at the end of the day, is a very sweet thought.  

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

A/N- It's the BIG 40!!! I can't believe it, 40 Chapters. Never in my life would I have believed that I would go on to write a story that was 40 chapters long, yet here we are. I'm grateful to all of you that have stuck with me this long, and I'm glad and hopeful that you'll stick around as I prepare to put the final touch on this story. Regardless, I'm thankful.

Another filler chapter, and I feel like I could have just skipped something like this. But I don't believe in ending the story after such an action packed chapter like the last one. There needs to be room to breath. So, maybe that's a good enough reason to write these moments. If you loved it, great. If you didn't like it, that's fine too. Let me know.

Hope you all liked the chapter. Leave a vote if you did, and don't forget to express your thoughts in the comments.

LAST CHAPTER NEXT WEEK, and maybe a Q&A a few days after to get some proper feedback. BTW, if you want to know what the next chapter is going to be like, I think you would all benefit if you did some research. The hint is within the Text Conversation above. Until next time, BYE!!!