I woke up the next day groggily. I quite literally rolled out of bed and groaned in pain when I hit the floor.

"Come on (Y/n). Maximum effort." I groaned out as I pushed myself up to my feet.

I rubbed my eyes before walking towards the bathroom to freshen up. I brushed my teeth and washed my face. I didn't even know what time it was because I slept like a rock when I got home.

"(Y/n), breakfast is ready!" Aunt May called out to me.

"Be right there!" I said in response.

I dried my face off and walked downstairs to see that MJ was sitting at the dinner table with a cup of coffee in her hands.

"MJ, good morning."

"And a very good morning to you, tiger." She purred as she gazed longingly at me for some reason.

I followed her eyes and saw that I rolled out of bed shirtless. My toned body was on full display for her to see.

"Oh! Crap! MJ, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to roll out of bed like this!" I quickly exclaimed, trying to save face.

"Who said I had a problem? You've been holding out on me (Y/n)." She giggled a bit before drinking some coffee as she continued to stare at my abs. "I didn't think such a smart and sweet guy would have a body like that."

Her eyes continued to linger a bit longer on my body before trailing up to my own eyes.

"When were you going to tell me about this, huh? I'm a little hurt."

"I... uhh... well..." I tried to think of something to say before quickly dashing upstairs to put on a shirt.

"Aww." She said, pouting before drinking more coffee.

Aunt May set down a few plates and looked over at MJ.

"Where'd (Y/n) go?" She asked.

"He went to put on a shirt. He accidentally walked out without it." She told Aunt May with a giggle. "I never thought of (Y/n) being the athletic type."

"Oh dear." Aunt May said as she felt a bit of secondhand embarrassment. "Well, it's partly my fault for not letting him know we had a guest. And if you didn't know, (Y/n) said he's been taking up rock climbing."

"Rock climbing?" MJ was now curious.

"Oh yes. It was a spur of the moment thing he told me about a few years ago, but I was happy he was finding an outlet to relieve stress and learn something new." She told Mary Jane with a smile.

I came back downstairs with a loose-fitting blue shirt with a pocket over my left pec.

"Good morning, you two." I said to the both of them, trying to act like MJ didn't see my body.

"Sorry for not giving you a proper heads up, dear." Aunt May said apologetically.

"Don't apologize, Aunt May." Mary Jane said. "If anything, it was a wonderful thing to see first thing in the morning." She ended with a wink directed towards me.

"I'm so embarrassed." I groaned out before sitting down to eat with them.

Aunt May cooked up some eggs and breakfast sausages for us to eat.

"So Mary Jane, how was (Y/n)'s dance skills?" Aunt May asked her.

MJ took a bite of her eggs before swallowing to speak.

"He was a natural. You should've seen how many eyes were glued on him." She said teasingly. "But I was the one lucky gal to be in his arms that night."

I felt my face heat up as May couldn't help but giggle and pat my arm.

"That's surprising! I know he and I practiced, but who knew he'd learn so fast?"

"Well, I had the best teacher in the world, so it's no wonder, really." I said in response to May.

"Any plans for today (Y/n)?" MJ asked me.

"Yeah. I'm gonna run to the Bugle to see if Jonah's back." I stated.

"Back from where?" She asked.

"Police interrogation." I told them. "He was allegedly a part of the Scorpion's creation."

"Oh my!" Aunt May exclaimed in shock. "(Y/n), if that's the case, then I don't think you should be working under him. While I may not approve of Spider-Man himself, I approve of him saving citizens. If Mr. Jameson is willing to aid in creating a monster then that's a man you should avoid!" She spoke out in defiance.

"I have to agree, (Y/n)." MJ said.

I finished my food and pushed aside my plate.

"I appreciate the concern, but despite Jonah's flaws, he was the only one to give me a chance. I went to several other newspaper publishers, but they all turned me away. So I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and trust him."

They couldn't help but smile softly.

"If that's what you choose, tiger, then so be it." Mary Jane said reassuringly.

"Well, thank you for the breakfast, Aunt May. I'm gonna go ahead and freshen up before I leave."

We all finished up, and I helped Aunt May clean the dishes before heading upstairs to my room.

XXXXX

I was at the Daily Bugle and saw Jonah sitting in his office. Betty noticed me and instantly perked up.

"Hey (Y/n), how're you today?" She asked me sweetly.

I turned to her and smiled.

"I'm good. Enjoying life. I see that Triple J is back." I pointed out.

"Yeah. All charges and ties to him were dropped. But he doesn't want to talk about it." She said with a slight giggle.

"Figures. I also came here because I wanted to discuss later plans." I told her with a wink.

This caused her cheeks to flare up, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"I got us a reservation to this casual Italian place. They've got killer pasta and even better wine." She told me.

"Hopefully, you can describe the flavor of the latter. I'll stick with getting water on the rocks." I joked.

"Oh my gosh, that's right! I completely forgot you're 18. It's just that you act far more mature than any other guy your age." She said as her eyes scanned my figure.

"I'm glad you think so." I said appreciative of her words. "Just send me the address when you got the time, and I'll be there."

She nodded and blew me a kiss as I walked to the elevator when no one was looking.

XXXXX

Now what? I asked myself as I was leaning against the top of the Chrysler Building.

I was in my Spider-Man suit just gazing down below at the busy Saturday afternoon streets. I soon saw someone driving recklessly below and smirked under my mask.

"Now it's time for some action." I leaped off the building, and swan dived towards the ground before shooting a web last minute and swinging away.

I did a few flips in the air before continuing with my swinging. As I swung, something cut through my web, and I began to free fall unexpectedly. I acted quickly and shot a web towards a building. I looked over and saw what snipped my web. It was...

"The Human Torch?!"

It seemed as though he heard me as he stopped flying to face me.

"Yo! You're that new hero, Spider Guy, right?" He asked.

"It's Spider-Man, actually. And dude, watch where you're flying!" I exclaimed.

"Listen, man, I'm here to stop that car jacker. So I'm kinda in a hurry." He said as he crossed his arms.

"That's where I was headed, too. Look, no offense, but how are you going to stop them? Your whole body is one massive exposed flame. Not many normal civilians can handle that."

"I got my ways. Besides, I'm a professional hero! I'm part of the Fantastic Four!" He boasted.

"I'm well aware of who you're partnered with. But shouldn't someone on the Fantastic Four be dealing with major threats? Whatever happened to that dude with the metal mask and green cloak?"

"Oh, you mean Dr. Doom? He's back in his home of Latveria." He explained.

"You ever been there?"

"No, but I can only imagine what kind of-"

I suddenly swung away as he began to talk about Latveria.

Come on (Y/n), no more distractions. Seriously, what's a top dog like Human Torch doing here? I asked myself.

"Dude! Not cool! I was talking!" I heard him shout from behind.

He was flying after me as I was chasing the stolen car.

"If you wanna talk, then let's do it after I stop this car jacker." I tried to tell him.

"No way! I called dibs!" He proclaimed.

"Since when?!" I shouted back, annoyed.

"Since now!"

He dove straight for the car, which caused me to groan. I went after them, and web zipped to the roof of the car. The thud sound I made alerted the passenger as he peered out the window with a gun at the ready.

"Listen, it's either dealing with me or a flaming ball of pride. Your choice." I told the car jacker as I motioned between myself and Human Torch, who was flying above us.

"Oh shit..." I heard him say as all confidence seemingly vanished from his voice.

"Good boy." I pulled him out before tossing him to a nearby lamppost and webbing him up there.

My quick apprehension of the thug caused Human Torch to groan in annoyance as he picked up his speed.

"Take this!" He shouted as he threw a ball of flame in front of the car.

It caused a mini explosion, which freaked out the driver as he wildly spun the steering wheel. He slammed the brakes at the same time, which caused the car to flip over. I could hear the man screaming, so I acted quickly and rapidly shot webs ahead of us so that the car would land into a massive web.

I jumped away at the last second and watched the car get caught up in the web. Cops soon arrived as I sat on a streetlight. The Human Torch hovered in front of me with a scowl present on his face.

"What?" I asked, very annoyed.

"I had him." He declared.

"Pfft. Yeah, right! Your fire ball caused him to freak out and flip the damn car over!"

"It's hard to hit a moving target!" He told me, trying to make up an excuse.

"Oh wow, that's the reason why you almost endangered the criminal I was trying to capture plus any unsuspecting civilians." I rolled my eyes under my mask before jumping over and pulling out said criminal.

"Spider-Man, you're teaming up with the Human Torch?" Asked someone high up on the police food chain. It was Captain George Stacy.

A man in his 40s with faded blonde hair. He had a clean shaven face and was currently in a blue 3-piece suit.

"No way!" I exclaimed. "The guy just showed up out of nowhere, hoping his fire powers could stop two thugs in a highly flammable moving piece of metal."

I webbed up the thug and handed him over to the authorities. George Stacy groaned and shook his head.

"Listen, Johnny Storm, shouldn't you be busy elsewhere?"

Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, dropped down as he made his flames vanish. This left him in a tight blue and black outfit with the number 4 present on his chest.

A fellow blonde. He and I were about the same height, and he looked only slightly older than I was.

"Look, I had them right where I wanted them, but Webhead here ruined everything!" He protested.

He can't be serious, can he? I asked myself as I raised my brow under my mask at him.

"Mr. Storm, while we appreciate your help, some things require a more delicate approach. You're strong. But if you used that strength unchecked, then someone innocent may get hurt." The captain said as he reprimanded Johnny.

"I... I understand..." He said with a dissatisfied sigh.

"As for Spider-Man, as much as I hate to admit it, but he's helped us with much tougher criminals. For three years, he's been doing what he could to stop hijackers, thieves, and drug deals." He said while giving me a slight nod of approval. "Still, you're a vigilante, Spider-Man. Some of my colleagues aren't as fond of your acts as others."

"Meh. I expected as much. Still, I'll take your words of affirmation with open arms. See ya 'round, cap'n!" I gave him a two finger salute as he let out a tiny chuckle before I faced Johnny. "Later, Johnny."

I swung away as he stood there with a pout before taking off after me.

"Hey! Webhead!" I heard him shout.

I let out a groan of annoyance before landing on the top of a random building.

"What now?" I asked, wanting to be done with him.

"He said you've been in the hero game for three years, right?"

"Yeah."

He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, struggling to get some words out.

"Look, I only heard about you because of those dudes Scorpion and Vulture." He told me.

"That's what it took to get my name out?"

"Yeah. Plus, I think I saw your Twitter account while scrolling a couple of days ago."

"Oh yeah, I forgot I had one of those. I should definitely post more, don't you think?"

"For sure."

I smiled under my mask.

"You're not so bad, Johnny. What the captain said about was right. You're powerful. I'm more than willing to admit that. Plus, you're part of an awesome team! One of the first superhero teams, too! I'm happy knowing someone like you is there to help people in need."

He couldn't help but smile at my words.

"I appreciate it, dude. The real reason I'm out here is because I felt cooped up in the Baxter Building. My sister was busy with her kids, Reed is working on some invention, and Ben is a loner. Once I heard about some super villains on the prowl, I just knew I needed to step out and get in some action!" Johnny Storm admitted.

"You're an uncle?" I asked with genuine curiosity.

"Yeah! To the best kids in the world."

"Hell yeah." I said proud of him. "Well Johnny, if you ever find a villain to beat up, then have at it. If I find one myself, then I'll take care of him."

"Aw, what? No team-ups?" He asked, seemingly disappointed.

"Eh. It doesn't really fit my vibe. Plus, even when I'm done with one thug I move on to the next. Plus, can we really guarantee a team-up every time? You're a part of the Fantastic Four. Who knows when a worldwide threat is on the loose? That's your duty."

"What's yours?"

"Mine? It's looking out for the little guys. I'm their friendly neighborhood, Spider-Man." I proudly declared while having the biggest smile under my mask.

Johnny smiled as well.

"Not a bad slogan! One question!"

"Shoot." I told him.

"What's up with all those fuckin' articles from the Daily Bugle?" He asked me.

"Oh, those." I shook my head. "J. Jonah Jameson has a sort of "hate-boner" for me. I can't even tell you why. From my understanding, it has something to do with me wearing a mask." I told him as I pointed at my mask.

"Ohhh." Johnny nodded.

"Welp, it's been nice chatting with you, Johnny, but I gotta get back to work."

"Seriously?! I don't even know your name!" He whined.

"You sound like you're wanting more than a one night stand." I joked.

"Fuck you." He said with a laugh. "Seriously, man, who are you?"

"I can't tell you. That's what makes a secret identity, well, secret. I don't trust anyone with who I am. Who knows what would happen if I shared it? Even if it was with another hero." I said, looking at him. I looked at his eyes right through my lenses.

"Maybe someday we can swap secrets over some pizza and video games." I said jokingly.

"Hey, I'd be down." He said openly.

"Whenever we cross paths again, we can set up a play date for ourselves."

We shared a laugh as I got on the ledge before we heard an alarm in the distance.

"Well Johnny, you were wanting that team-up so badly."

"I might've jinxed us." He said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Pfft, I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle. Let's go!"

I dove off the building and hollered as Johnny followed suit.

"Flame on!" He shouted as he burst into flame.

"Up, up, and away web!" I shouted as I shot out a web line to a building.

"Seriously?" He asked me with a deadpan tone.

"Hey, you did it first! Plus, we have time to workshop it. What did you want me to say?"

"I dunno. Maybe "SHAZAM" could work."

"That's even more stupid than what I said." I responded.

"In what way?!" He asked as if I just offended him.

"What kind of lunatic shouts something like that? It's like if all you did when you activate your powers is shout, "Fly!" It'd be incredibly dumb."

"It's much better than the alternative I came up with." He clapped back.

"Lay it on me."

"I was thinking you could say, "Go web, go!" He relayed his alternative idea to me.

I looked at him briefly before turning my attention ahead.

"Let's just stop this robbery."

We reached a bank, and I saw none other than Flint Marko. The strange thing was, he was alone as he carried out two whole duffel bags worth of cash.

Johnny was about to charge right at him, but I held my hand up to stop him as we stationed ourselves at a nearby rooftop.

"Hold up, Johnny. Something doesn't seem right. I've busted this guy for years. I don't know who helps him escape or pays his bail, but anytime he goes back to doing crime, he never does it alone. I'll go talk to him. The minute things get out of hand, you can jump in."

"Roger that."

I jumped over and landed in front of Flint.

"Yo, Marko, how's it hanging?" I asked him cheerfully.

"Spider-Man, just the man I wanted to see." He said with an eerie smirk.

"Oh, Marko, I didn't think you were a fan of me!" I joked.

"Oh, I ain't. But hey, do you wanna see something cool?" He asked with a sinister tone.

"Sure, I'll bite." I responded before getting rocked by a giant fist of sand. I was launched to the other side of the street and crashed into a wall.

I groaned before righting myself and saw Flint laughing his ass off.

"Didja like that, Spider-Man?! I got myself some powers. Now there ain't anything you can do to stop me! He boasted.

This ain't good.

!!!

I did a front flip as Marko went for another sandy punch. I saw that his arm had somehow turned to sand grains that maintained a perfect form as he stretched his arm out.

"Well, Marko, you got yourself a gift! You'd be killer at sand castle competitions."

"I'm not Flint Marko anymore! I'm the Sandman!" He shouted towards me.

"Now, are we talking about the sleep guy, or are we talking about Punch-Out?" I leaped away as he tried to throw another massive punch.

But as I jumped away, Flint used his other hand to blast out sand and pin me against a wall.

"Okay, Johnny, tag in! Tag in!" I shouted before a blast of flame cut through the arm, pinning me against the wall.

Johnny Storm flew down, and Flint lost all color in his face before using his sand powers to escape.

"Thanks." I said.

"So, the Sandman... He a regular?" Johnny asked me.

"Yeah. Well, his former self, Flint Marko, was a thug I regularly took care of. These sand powers are new. Come on, let's hurry."

He nodded as we took off after him. We reached him as he was hanging around an empty construction site.

"Hey Marko, I think you left your gym bags back at the bank." I pointed out to him. He looked down at his hands and realized he had left behind the money he stole.

"Dammit! Spider-Man, this is your fault! And what's with the Human Torch being here?! Don't tell me you got scared?!" He mocked.

"Nah. It was just circumstance that we ran into each other, but hey! The more the merrier, right?"

I immediately swung in and kicked him in the face, but the area I kicked crumbled to sand before reconstructing.

"It doesn't matter to me! I'm untouchable!" He boasted and let out a laugh before flinching from a sudden blast from Johnny.

"Hey, don't forget about me!" Johnny called out. "Let's see how your sand stands up to my flames!"

He released another stream of fire at Sandman who groaned in pain before reducing himself to a pile before sliding away and reforming into a human.

"You're an idiot! Don't you know sand and dirt can put out flames?!" Flint Marko questioned Johnny as he made his lower half into a massive sand pile to reach Johnny.

Flint turned his right hand into a hammer and whacked Johnny with it straight down to the ground. He started to laugh before I looked around and saw a spool of wire behind me. I shot a web line towards it before launching it at Marko.

I watched it fly straight and true before it made contact with the lower right side of his torso. This did nothing as it just destroyed some sand before he reformed. This only caused him to laugh more as he knocked Johnny aside, who went for a flaming tackle.

"It's been fun, Spider-Man! But today is the day you day!" He exclaimed as he made his other hand into a giant fist and began to wildly attack me.

I easily avoided his massive and slow hits, but dust and debris were starting to kick up. I web zipped up to some steel beams being hoisted up by a crane. Johnny flew up and looked at me.

"Okay, this is just getting annoying! He's getting sand in places that sand shouldn't!" He whined.

"Yeah. All he does is recover from hits."

I put a finger on my chin and looked around as the Sandman laughed at our tactical retreat.

"Some heroes you are! The Human Torch and Spider-Man can't handle one bad guy? That's embarrassing!" He taunted.

My eyes caught sight of a cement mixer truck, and I smirked.

"Hey Johnny, can you throw a mean heater?" I asked him.

He looked at me and crossed his arms before smirking with pride.

"Damn right, I can!" He declared. "I hard carried my old little league teams. Plus, my time during middle school and high school."

"Just what I wanted to hear. I have a plan. Just wait on my signal." I ordered him before jumping off the steel beams.

As I spun through the air, I shot webs at the beams and yanked them. They snapped off the wire due to my strength.

"Look out below!"

I spun once more and slammed the beams against Marko, who was reduced to nothing but a pile of sand. I landed on the ground, right in front of the cement mixer, as I watched the pile of sand reshape back into Flint.

"Thanks for the heads up." He grinned.

"Hey, what kind of hero would I be if I didn't at least give my enemies a fair shot?"

"An effective one." He bluntly told me.

"Damn Sandy, that hurt. More than anything you could possibly dish out."

This clearly ticked him off.

"What the hell did you just say?" He began to question me and slowly took steps forward.

"Well, if I'm being honest, that Vulture dude put in more work than you. And he was just a bald guy with a grudge." I told him as I leaned against the truck. "Besides, I don't even know why I should act like you're tough. You're made of sand. They use sand for punching bags, you know? That's all you are to me; just another punching bag." I gloated as I cracked my knuckles.

"That's it! You're dead!" He roared with rage before lunging at me blindly.

I kept leaning against the truck and staring down Sandman before calling out to Johnny.

"Give 'em the heater!" I yelled.

Johnny smirked and readied a fire ball between his palms.

"Comin' right up!" He responded before throwing it with all his might.

I immediately jumped into the air before swinging away as Flint punched straight through the truck. Johnny's fire ball collided with the tank holding the cement and caused it to explode. The violent force caused a massive hole to be formed around the one Flint had made. Alongside the hole, the force caused all the cement to rush out and spill onto him.

"Aww, gross!" He yelped in disgust.

"Johnny, why don't you dry that man off. He could really use it." I cheekily said. Johnny laughed and began to blast Flint Marko with flames as the cement began to dry quickly. He yelled out in anguish before fully turning into a statue.

Johnny dispersed his flames and landed beside me.

"Haha! Dude, that worked!" He cheered. "Smart thinking."

I smiled under my mask and held out my fist.

"Appreciate it. I also appreciate you assisting me with this." I responded gratefully.

He bumped my fist and nodded his head.

"Don't sweat it! This was fun."

The cops soon arrived and we told them what happened before heading off.

We were chilling on some random rooftop as Johnny bought us some celebratory hot dogs to eat.

"So Spidey, what's next?" He asked me.

I swallowed my food before answering. "I'm gonna go on patrol for a couple more hours before heading home."

"Patrol?"

"Yeah. Scorpion, Vulture, and now the Sandman. These guys are full-on super villains. They're not like the normal petty thief I'm accustomed to. Still, it doesn't mean I can ignore those petty thieves." I told Johnny.

"Holy shit dude. I couldn't possibly imagine doing all that. Especially if I'd be doing it alone." He said, shocked at my routine.

"Eh. It's become second nature to me at this point. It doesn't get any easier, though." I ended with a dry chuckle. "But it's my responsibility."

Johnny smiled and patted my shoulder.

"Listen, man, if you ever need assistance, don't hesitate to hit me up." He said as he grabbed his phone out.

"You keep your phone on you?"

"Yeah. It's custom made so it can withstand my flames."

"Huh, that's convenient."

He opened up Twitter, and I saw his profile had over 500k followers.

"What's your tag?" He asked me. I told him it was spetacspidey. He sent me a follow that I would need to return when I get my backpack later.

"Oh, dude, let's take a quick pic to show off to the people what a badass duo we make!" He quickly got up and pulled me up before holding the phone up over our faces.

We took a selfie, and he tagged me before posting it with text saying: Just beat some bozo named the Sandman with my new homie, spectacspidey! I couldn't help but laugh at his antics.

He soon got a text and frowned.

"Well, Spidey, that's gonna be it from me today." He said with a disheartened sigh. "Thanks for letting me work with you."

"Thank you for showing me what it was like to fight alongside a friend."

He smiled happily after I called him a friend.

"Let's just avoid calling ourselves super friends."

"Oh yeah, definitely." He said in agreement.

"Before you go Johnny, are you gonna be at that Baxter Building tour?"

"For sure, man. I gotta show the press a good time. My sister is gonna be guiding the tour. I'll be providing color commentary."

"Sounds good."

"You gonna be there?" He asked, hopeful of my appearance.

"Not me, nah. But my self-proclaimed paparazzi is. His name is (Y/n) Parker. Show that kid a fun time."

"For sure. Take it easy, Spidey!"

We shared one last fist bump before he flew off. I waved him off before swinging away to go on with my patrol.

XXXXX

I arrived at the restaurant Betty mentioned and let out a deep breath. I was currently wearing an unbuttoned white button-up, a plain black tee, light blue jeans, and some brown leather shoes. I just paced around outside of the restaurant before hearing the sound of an engine.

I looked over to see a taxi cab pull over to the curb as Betty stepped out, looking beautiful. She wore a sleeveless black shirt, some tight-fitting black jeans, as well as some black flats. On her neck, she wore a pearl necklace.

"Good evening, Betty." I greeted her with a smile.

She smiled in response and sauntered over to me with a sway in her hips.

"And good evening to you, (Y/n). Are you ready?" She asked with a sultry tone.

"A little nervous, but I can manage." I admitted.

She laughed a bit before grabbing my left arm and pulling me inside. She told the clerk about the reservation under her name as the clerk led us to an open table near some windows. I pulled out the chair for Betty as she gracefully sat in it before I went to take my own seat. We soon ordered our drinks. Betty got herself some type of red wine as I got some ice water.

I took a sip of my water as I looked around the restaurant. It was rather cozy and inviting. Although what stood out to me was the fact that I was the youngest patron in the establishment. There were plenty of older couples at several different other tables. I couldn't help but feel out of place.

"So (Y/n), tell me what you like to do outside of work?" Betty asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Well..." I hummed for a minute trying to put some thoughts together. "One thing I do is rock climbing."

This caused her to look surprised.

"Rock climbing?"

"Yeah. Something I took up a few years back. It keeps me busy and takes my mind off of school and things like that."

Betty giggled as she glossed over the menu. I looked down at mine.

"Oh, I couldn't see myself doing something like that. I'd freak out if I got way too high off the ground." She admitted with a light giggle.

"Trust me, I was afraid at first, but I just had to bite that bullet and climb." I informed her with a proud smile on my face. "All it takes is that leap of faith."

She put down her menu and rested her head against her right hand. She was gazing directly into my eyes. Her rosy lips curled up into that beautiful smile she always has, and I could see those pearly white teeth of her. She took a sip of her wine before speaking.

"(Y/n) Parker, I didn't think you'd be motivational in such a way." She teased. "I love it." She said with a sultry smile before lightly licking her lips a bit.

I shuddered suddenly and laughed awkwardly.

"Well, a guy needs hobbies, right? So, what's good here?"

She started to list off some favorite dishes of hers. One of which had a strange name. It was called spaghetti alla puttanesca. I only hummed at the name before deciding to order that.

"Hey (Y/n), are you gonna invite me to your graduation?" Betty asked me out of the blue.

"Do you wanna come?" I asked with a raised brow.

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Of course! I wanna see you cross that stage. Speaking of which, where are you headed for college?"

"ESU." I told her. "There's this professor there that I really want to learn from. Are you familiar with Dr. Curt Connors?"

"Yeah, I've heard of him. The Bugle has done a few pieces on him. He's a great guy!"

I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah! That's why I want to know as much as I can from him. Plus, he's been delving into research involving animal genetics and the strange quirks of the animal kingdom."

Betty couldn't help but laugh.

"So science is your passion, huh? Maybe I should get you one of those chemistry kits as a graduation gift." She continued to laugh before sipping more wine.

I laughed a bit with her.

"Honestly, that wouldn't even be an awful gift. Even if it doesn't come with any incredible chemicals, I can still use it for home experiments."

"Seriously?" She asked.

"Yeah. Plus, it's something my aunt and uncle would frequently buy me when I was younger. If I got that as a gift again, I would feel an old sense of nostalgia." I looked down at my glass of water with a small smile as I thought of the very first time I got a chemistry set from Uncle Ben.

Betty noticed the solemn look on my face as she reached out to grab my free hand. I looked over at her kind, hazel eyes as she softly smiled at me.

"Hey," she whispered out, "I promise to get you a chemistry set then. But if there's ever something more that you want, then you just let me know." She ended her sentence with a wink while rubbing my knuckles.

Holy shit! Is she acting like my sugar momma?!

Our food came out surprisingly fast and at a very convenient time as well. We ate together and even shared our dishes with one another. It was a wonderful evening that soon came to a close.

We were waiting outside of the restaurant for Betty's ride.

"Thank you for such a fun time (Y/n)." She said gratefully. She linked her arm around mine and smiled.

"It's no problem at all. I had a blast myself." I told her.

"I'm glad to hear that." She let out a content sigh before leaning herself against me. "If I'm being honest, it's been so long since I've last been on a date."

"What? I refuse to believe that." I said, astonished.

"It's the truth. For whatever reason, I can't seem to land myself a date." She began to tell me.

"But you're so damn pretty. A total knockout." I complimented her.

She blushed and brushed aside some hair.

"I'm glad you think of me that way. Many other men don't seem to think so. Plus, I've heard they hate mature women." She sighed wearily.

"Older women are were it's at. They're gorgeous in every aspect and have such a refined air about them. Just like any fine wine."

It seemed my words seemed to cause her to purr as she leaned her face closer to mine.

"Ooh, Parker. You don't know what you're doing to a lonely woman." She started to breathe gently against my neck. "If older women are a fine wine in your eyes, how about a taste?" She teased before turning my chin to face her directly.

She inched closer towards my lips with her own. I wasn't sure of what I should be doing, but her beauty and the way she spoke softly to me was causing me to close the distance as well. However, we were only mere centimeters apart when a car honked to get her attention. She backed away with a flustered and frustrated look on her face.

"I guess we'll have to put a pin in that (Y/n). See you at the Bugle." She walked away and blew a kiss at me before stepping into the vehicle and rode off.

I put a hand on my chest and felt my heart pounding like it was a jackhammer.

"Just my luck. My actual first kiss was gonna be with a fine older woman until her ride ruined it for me." I let out a sigh before looking up at the night sky. "There's always next time."

Until next time, readers!