Peter's eyes remained unblinking as he stared at the phone in his hand. There, displayed in small text across the cracked screen, were the words, 'I'm sorry.' His fingers started typing frantically over the keyboard as he vomited out a desperate apology to the person on the other end.

Something happened last night and I didn't want it to.

No, that made him sound guiltier than he really was. Shaking his head, Peter deleted the text and began typing out a new sentence.

Can I see you during lunch? I need to tell you something.

There. That sounded better. It was vague, but still clear enough that what he had to say was important. It would probably keep MJ guessing the entire morning, gnawing at her mind as the minutes ticked on towards noon.

Just as his shame had been gnawing at him since last night.

Peter couldn't understand why he felt this way. It wasn't like he had done anything wrong. Black Cat had kissed him, not the other way around. And it wasn't like he had enjoyed it either, especially not after all the woman had put him through.

Then why? Why did he still feel this guilt weighing on him? He knew he hadn't betrayed MJ or their relationship.

Relationship. That was the keyword here. What Peter and MJ had could hardly be considered a relationship. They hadn't talked for days, much less seen each other. It hadn't been like this in high school where they saw each other every day for practically every class.

The truth was MJ didn't even feel like his girlfriend anymore.

Peter couldn't blame her for that though. He knew she was busy with college just like he was. Heck, he had expected it would be like this once they graduated.

But that didn't mean it didn't hurt any less, watching as your girlfriend and best friend grew further and further away.

So while Ned was doing who knows what and MJ was focused on her art, someone else had stepped in to fill the void in Peter's life.

Swallowing a frustrated sigh, he realized he couldn't deny it any longer. It was true. Peter enjoyed the attention Black Cat gave him in spite of everything. It was nice to know someone still cared about him. That someone actively sought him out and wanted to be around him.

"Well... Spider-Man at least," he muttered, glancing back at his phone.
His thumb hovered over the send button as he contemplated whether he should press it or not. With a deep intake of air, Peter shut his eyes and hit the tiny paper airplane. His finger had just touched the screen when the phone suddenly fell from his hand and onto the subway tracks below.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Peter groaned. Not bothering to check to the side, he hopped off the platform and stomped over the tracks towards his phone. He had just snatched it off the gravel when the hair on his arms stood up.

Peter snapped his head up, his eyes widening at the bright headlights shining through the dark tunnel. "Oh, fu–"

"Oh my God!" Someone screamed from the platform as the horn blared in the distance.

In a flash, Peter started towards the gathering crowd atop the platform, kicking back gravel from under his heels as he ran. The crowd waved to him with their outstretched arms and yelled for him to hurry. He could sense the train quickly approaching. It would be here in a matter of seconds.

Although he knew he could survive a hit head-on, that did not stop Peter from bounding onto the platform and grabbing onto the many extended hands. He had just scrambled up to his feet when the train rushed past him, sending a gush of wind over him. His shirt lifted slightly, and his brown curls blew to the side.

"That was way too close," someone said.

"Are you okay?" Another person asked.

All Peter could do was give a small nod as he smoothed his tousled hair, trying not to think about how the subway had missed him by mere inches.

**

After the scare that had happened earlier, the rest of the morning had been suspiciously normal. And thank goodness for that because it gave Peter a chance to prepare for his meeting with MJ. So while his professors droned on, Peter tuned them out, only focusing on what he planned to say and how to say it. It was like solving a math equation. Or at least he treated it as such by the way he wrote down his confession in his journal, scratching out words and filling in new ones until he got it right.

After scanning the paragraph for the hundredth time, Peter nodded his head, finally satisfied. "You got this," he reassured himself under his breath.

But by the time lunch rolled around, the poor boy was sweating buckets. Did he really have to tell her? What was there to tell anyways? It wasn't like he did anything wrong.

"No, Peter. Don't get cold feet now," he told himself as he walked towards their meeting spot, practically dragging his feet. "It'll be much worse if the truth comes out, and you weren't the one to tell her."

Seeing MJ nowhere in sight, Peter gave a sigh of relief and sat down at an empty table. Was it too much to hope she wouldn't show up?

"Hey, what's up?" A familiar voice said from behind.

Peter squealed, nearly grabbing his things and running off in the opposite direction. "Uh, he–hey, MJ."

MJ narrowed her eyes at him. "You good?"

"Ye–Yeah. Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" Peter cracked a nervous smile.

"Okay..." MJ took a seat across from him. "So what did you need to tell me?"

Peter could feel his upper lip twitching violently. "Um..." Too focused on trying to find the right words, he didn't notice his hand move to his chest on its own and start to rub the irritated scratch.

MJ's eyes flickered to his shirt, watching as his fingers dug into the fabric. "Is that scratch still there?"

He nodded his head fervently. "Yeah, looking just as raw as ever. And it turns out, the scratch is what cursed me."

"So how can you break it?"

"I have to guess her identity in..." He glanced at his phone. "Like 24 hours. If not, I'm stuck with bad luck forever." Peter grimaced, remembering her words. "I'm not even close. I'm practically back at square one," he sighed, suddenly catching sight of Felicia walking across the lawn.

MJ followed his gaze, turning around to see the woman with her black sunglasses and designer purse in hand. "Who's that?"

"That's my history TA," he answered, turning his attention back to the girl in front of him.

"Could be her." MJ shrugged.

"What?" Peter shot her an incredulous look. "Nah, no way."

MJ crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back. "Well, who do you think it is?"

"I–I don't know." He averted his eyes to the side, unable to look at MJ as a series of flashbacks came over him. But Peter could not hide so easily from someone like MJ. She could read him like a book.

"You're acting weird." She scrunched her face together, studying him closely. "Or at least, weirder than usual."

All moisture in Peter's mouth had vanished, leaving it dry and sticky. There also seemed to be a bitter taste on his tongue. "There's something else I need to tell you..."

She cocked her eyebrow. "What?"

"The Black Cat... she's into me. Like really into me. But of course, I'm not into her," he said, nearly slurring his words together.

MJ blinked. "Uh, why are you telling me this?"

Now it was Peter's turn to blink. "Uh, I thought you'd want to know?"

"But what's the point? Some thief having a crush on Spider-Man isn't exactly newsworthy."

"Okay, I get that. But would you rather I hide it from you?"

MJ shook her head. "I just don't understand why you need to bring this up. It isn't like anything happened between you two."

Peter scratched the back of his neck, shifting his gaze away. "Well... not exactly."

"Either it did or didn't." MJ frowned. "So what's really going on, Peter?"

"She kissed me!" he shouted, drawing the attention of all the nearby students and what felt like all of New York City.

"That's what they all say!" A girl yelled back from another table.

"Oof, you done screwed up!" A guy snickered from under a tree.

"It's the truth, MJ. And I feel so guilty and ashamed even though I didn't kiss her back." Peter's eyes softened as he watched his girlfriend process everything.

At first, her face widened with shock before finally contorting with anger. "Why would you feel guilty though? You said you did nothing wrong. There shouldn't be any reason to feel any guilt or shame then."

"MJ..." Peter pleaded, reaching his hand out towards her.

She drew her hand back off the table. "Answer my question. Did you enjoy it? Is that why you feel bad?"

"Because–Because!" He couldn't say it. He couldn't say Black Cat was giving him the attention you and Ned had failed to give. The truth would only make this already tense situation worse. So instead, he said something he immediately regretted. "Why are you so upset? You've hardly been acting like my girlfriend anyways."

MJ's jaw dropped, something Peter had never seen happen before. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"No, that came out wrong! MJ, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say that–"

"But you did." Her eyes had narrowed into slits. "Go ask the Black Cat to be your girlfriend then. She's already acting like it."

With that, MJ grabbed her things and stormed off, leaving Peter there wanting to punch himself.