August 14th, 2004
12:37 P.M.

"Now, why do I have to go there again?" asked Sidney in an immensely annoyed tone, glancing over at her older sister from the passenger seat.

"Because, although I trust you, you're still not old enough to stay at my apartment by yourself," Christina simply answered as she drove the Volkswagen down the last street she wanted to be on.

"Chris, come on, I'm almost twelve," Sidney pleaded with the brunette, sighing heavily.

"My point exactly," the older sibling mumbled with a slight roll of her eyes. "And look, I hate that I have to bring you here... they're the last people I want watching you but I have no other choice. Besides, you're kind of obligated to be here on weekends."

"I know... but the only reason I want to be there is because I'll get to spend time with Aidan," Sidney emphasized with a small glare in her sister's direction.

"I'm aware of that," the brunette said with a ragged sigh. "And I want to see him as well."

The two sisters were making their way to Sidney's home so that she could spend time with her family – her mother and brother more than her father, as she wasn't on speaking terms with Michael at the moment (she stopped talking to him four months ago). While the young girl wasn't looking forward to going over there as everything would be incredibly awkward the moment she walked into that house, she understood why she couldn't be at Christina's apartment alone despite protesting.

The older sibling had to get ready to attend Mary Jane's play later that night and she was also having to prepare herself for seeing Peter there. Christina often denied that it was a date they were going on, but Sidney knew better. The young girl had been very observant of her sister's body language and facial expressions every time she brought up the topic.

And, while the lovey-dovey shit kind of grossed her out (Sounds too straight to me, Sidney thought), she still hoped that things would work out between Christina and Peter and that they would just make out already. It was honestly getting rather frustrating to witness them about to make a move and then chickening out at the last moment; it was understandable when her sister was the one that got scared, but Sidney was starting to grow suspicious as to why Peter didn't want to just ask the woman out.

Is he really that afraid? she thought to herself. Was Peter really that anxious that Christina would turn him down, despite the brunette making it really fucking obvious that she was head over heels for him (although she said it was 'just a crush')?

Nevertheless, Sidney was hoping that Christina would have a good time seeing the play... and that nothing would happen to her, as she was often paranoid for her safety. She never admitted it, though.

After a few minutes of somewhat painful silence, the vehicle they were in finally pulled into the driveway of a two-story house that was a little larger than Christina's old home. The adult woman felt a slight bit of envy looking up at the structure, suddenly wishing that she had a home like that. But she knew that she was also perfectly fine with the apartment she currently resided in... even if it always brought traumatic memories to her subconscious.

The brunette stepped out of the car and then walked to the passenger side door to assist Sidney out, despite the younger girl insisting she was fine. It was Christina's protectiveness over her little sister that made this come up from time to time.

The two stepped up the walkway and onto the front porch, where Christina knocked on the sleek wooden door with a shaky fist. She then stuffed her hands into her jean pockets, shivering lightly from the gust of wind that blew through her surroundings despite how warm it was outside. Nevertheless, she was grateful that her long-sleeved blue t-shirt protected her from any colder air that could possibly be outside.

A few seconds later, the front door opened and a now forty-seven-year-old Allyson Johnson greeted the two girls with a warm smile. "Hey, you two," she said happily.

"Hey, Mom..." Sidney replied in a sheepish voice before stepping through the doorway.

"Hi," Christina said in a monotone and tense tone, refusing to look in the other woman's direction.

Allyson noticed the way her stepdaughter's hands clenched into fists and frowned a little, but she didn't dare advance towards her out of fear of her lashing out. "Christina..." she mumbled carefully. "Would you like to come inside and see Aidan?"

Christina couldn't deny that Allyson was a kind and good-natured woman, but that still didn't mean she was going to be on her side for anything... at least, not anytime soon. She still wouldn't forgive her for what had happened over nine years ago now, even if she was aware that it wasn't directly the woman's fault. Allyson had been involved in Michael's motivation to abandon the brunette and her mother, so she wasn't willing to actually acknowledge that she existed.

But the idea of visiting her baby brother broke through her mind and caused her to crack ever so slightly.

"Sure," she replied, and stepped into the house without another word towards Allyson.

Setting her purse down on the coffee table in the living room, Christina brushed a small strand of her brown hair out of her face as a strained sigh left her lungs. She knew that she would rather be back at her apartment getting ready for the play and she did not want to be here whatsoever. In fact, the only thing keeping her here was the presence of her siblings, as they made visiting this place somewhat bearable.

The moment she saw Sidney entering the living room and that the pre-teen was holding a one-year-old boy in her arms, Christina couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. She held out her arms as her younger sister handed the small toddler to her.

"Hi, Aidan!" she greeted cheerfully, placing her little brother on her right leg and grabbing his tiny hands so he wouldn't fall.

"Chris!" the toddler replied with a giggle as he smiled up at his older sister.

Christina's heart couldn't help but melt seeing the little boy so happy to see her and she even carefully hugged him. For a little bit afterwards, she played a few games with him and Sidney, and then laughed at a few more terrible jokes the younger girl would spout from the pun book she had read from in the car the night before. She was able to forget about the struggles she was currently going through, even grateful that she had taken all of the prescriptions she was required to that morning.

In your face, depression, she thought to herself.

All of the tranquility was broken, however, once he walked into the room. Christina almost instantly stood up while Sidney continued to tell her jokes to Aidan despite him not getting a single one of them.

"Christina..." Michael politely greeted her.

"Michael," she returned with a frozen expression of blankness that attempted to hide how much irritation she felt upon seeing him.

"How are you?" he asked in an attempt to be kind.

"None of your business," the brunette snapped back in less than a millisecond. "Don't bother asking."

"Alright, I won't," Michael said.

Christina then took a deep breath. "I should get going..." she muttered in an annoyed tone. She then bent down and placed a kiss on top of Aidan's head, before walking to Sidney and giving her a tight hug. "I'll come back to get you tomorrow night, I promise."

"Okay," Sidney said with an awkward smile on her face. "Say bye to her, Aidan."

"Bye-bye, Chris!" the small boy shouted with a grin as he waved with a wobbly arm.

"Christina, wait..." Michael murmured as he watched his oldest daughter quickly making her way to the front door.

"I have nothing to say to you, Michael," Christina replied bitterly, unable to bring her gaze to meet his. "I don't understand why you still try to fucking talk to me. I only come here for them. Not for you and your whore."

"Christina..."

"I don't want to hear it!" the young woman cried out as she finally spun back around to face him. "I'm not gonna let you ruin my day, alright? I only came here to drop Sid off and see Aidan and that's it. Nothing else. I'll come back tonight to pick her up and I don't want to hear a word out of you, got it?"

Michael was tempted to protest as, although she denied it over and over again, Christina was still his daughter. But, wanting to show more respect than he once had, he reluctantly nodded and backed away to give the woman some space. "You got it," he answered with a curt nod. "I'm sorry."

"Right..." Christina whispered sarcastically before opening the front door and storming out of the house, keeping her head up with a steeled expression still in her eyes.

Allyson came out of the kitchen with an annoyed look on her face as she lumbered over to Michael, glaring up at him. "Why don't you just leave the kid alone?" she gently asked. "Hasn't she been through enough?"

"I just want to know that she's doing okay," Michael protested, staring down at his estranged wife.

"It's up to her to know if she's okay, not you," the shorter woman retorted angrily, refusing to look away from her husband that she had grown a grudge for. "You'll just make everything worse, Michael. You already did when you chose to waltz back into her life when her mother died despite how many times I told you not to."

"I'm her father, Ally," Michael said with a saddened look in his eyes.

"To her, you're not," Allyson simply responded. "And, considering how much you hurt those two, I don't think you're a good enough father for our kids either."

And then Allyson walked away and back into the kitchen to prepare lunch for her children, all while Michael just stood there with a dumbfounded look etched into his face.

_____

Seven Hours Later
7:02 P.M.
Christina's POV

Christina was currently on one of the many local trains that helped citizens travel throughout downtown Manhattan. She adjusted her faded yellow button-up cardigan that was worn on her torso above her summer dress with a mixture of green and golden floral patterns with an olive-colored belt keeping the skirt up to her waist. Pair that with white slip-on shoes, and she was completely dressed up for attending the play, as well as having a bit heavier but still subtle makeup adorning her features.

The play was starting in just less than an hour and the brunette's hands were lightly trembling but it wasn't from paranoia this time around. Now, it was out of anticipation of attending this performance with Peter; she was really nervous but excited to see him again, especially due the question that had been forming inside her head for the past few hours:

Was this a date?

She figured it most likely was, but what if it wasn't?

What if this was just something two friends were attending together... just as friends?

A few seconds after thinking this, however, she silently scolded herself for allowing the idea to come to her. If there was anything the night before had shown her, it was that Peter one hundred percent had feelings for her and she needed to stop pretending that he didn't. She also had to stop denying that she had a crush on him as well, as she had made it so incredibly obvious that she would have been surprised if he didn't notice.

Christina did have a huge hope in her heart: that she and Peter could take a step forward in whatever the hell they had. She knew it wasn't a relationship, as they hadn't made a single move in going that direction. They didn't kiss on May's front porch last night and that was more so her fault, but that was due to her fear of opening up to him.

Regardless of this, she was willing to get even better than she already was because she knew that he and everyone else around her wanted that for her well-being. She had proven this by admitting to the consideration of beginning therapy, and she knew that it would actually help her – well, she hoped. Even if it didn't work, she still wanted to try and be happy for those she cared about.

After ten minutes, the bus pulled up to the sidewalk in front of the large theater that had a poster of Mary Jane's character in The Importance of Being Earnest, who was dressed in a very 1800's manner and that made Christina smile as she stepped off of the bus. She instantly noticed the elegance of the inside of the building and it made her eyes widen with absolute wonder. She was now completely sure that this play would be nothing but incredible.

She slowly stepped up to the doorway of the lobby and handed the usher in front of her the ticket she held, which he took and she was allowed inside. Walking inside, Christina was entranced by the beauty of the decorations that were hung on the walls and ceiling; from the paintings of the characters to descriptions of artifacts from hundreds of years back, she was absolutely interested in the backstory of the play and she had to remember to thank Peter for inviting her.

_____

Ten Minutes Later
Peter's POV

The young man slipped his suit jacket on and checked to see if he looked decent in the mirror, frantically grabbing his ticket for the play before glancing at the clock at that on his nightstand. Seeing that the play began in close to forty-five minutes, Peter picked up his red helmet and keys for the motorbike and made sure to sneak out the door as quietly as possible. As he opened it, he prayed that no noise would be made by it swinging inward towards the rest of his room.

Unfortunately, however, the slightest creaking sound resonated in his ears; and, although it wasn't too loud, Peter instantly made a mad dash for the staircase before he could get himself in trouble.

"RENT?!" came a booming voice from up above, which only made him sprint down to the first floor faster in order to avoid his landlord, Mr. Ditkovitch.

"WHERE'S MY MONEY?!"

Luckily for Peter, he made it out of the lobby of the apartment before he could be chased down due to still not paying his rent. Just to be safe, though, he quickly got on his bike and sped away from the building just in case; the wind felt nice against his face and it was something he needed to help soothe him, especially since he had so many nerve coursing through him as he was incredibly excited to attend the play with Christina.

He couldn't wait to see her and be able to glimpse her heartwarming smile that she had every time he was around. It was something he always strived to look at since it told him that she – at least – seemed joyful or actually was so. The sight of her being content in regards to anything that led her to being in that state of mind never failed to make Peter want to take that dangerous step forward into being with her... but he chickened out at the last moment every single time.

He knew his reasoning for this was somewhat ridiculous but that didn't change how he felt about it; he just wanted Christina safe at all times and he didn't want to be the reason she got hurt by a potential enemy. Sure, he was glad that the Green Goblin was long gone and that the person behind the mask could no longer hurt anyone, but he hadn't been able to prevent how much his best friend's heart had crumbled over the course of one night.

He never stopped feeling guilty as he always thought that it was indirectly his fault that Margaret Johnson had been killed; this was just what went through his mind when he had lost Uncle Ben over two years ago now. Christina's mother had been a kind woman that he liked to talk to every time he visited them, and he often told himself that she had raised her daughter almost perfectly.

It was her parenting that had a clear influence on Christina and had led her to becoming the sweet and angelic young woman Peter loved so much. He would forever thank Margaret for bringing such a good soul into the world and for indirectly leading that person into his life.

After a little bit of riding through the streets on his bike, Peter spotted a florist shop and pulled up to it. With a bright smile on his face, he pulled some of the only cash he had left in his wallet and held it as he made his purchase: a bouquet of red lilies. He was anticipating the expression on the brunette's face whenever he presented the flowers to her and he hoped she would like them.

He handed the kind lady the dollar bills he had as he took the bouquet before thanking her; but, before he could turn away to go back to his bike, the woman tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around with a puzzled look on his face, especially when the employee took the bouquet from him and minimized the amount of flowers down to just three. That was when Peter realized that the amount of money he had given her wasn't enough to pay for all of them.

Disappointment hit him for a brief moment but he soon grew hopeful when the awareness of the fact that Christina wouldn't care too much about how many flowers he gave her came to him. Knowing her, three flowers would be more than enough. So he just nodded and smiled at the employee before going back to his bike.

After adjusting everything, Peter continued making his way towards the theater, which wasn't too far away now. So far, his day had not gone too badly – For once, he thought – and he was looking forward to the rest of his night, especially now that he would get more time with Christina. His goal was to make sure she had fun watching the play and to also make sure she safely got on the bus back to her apartment. He wanted it to be a simple night for the both of them, and he also felt the need to see her smile the whole time.

Unfortunately for him, however, a loud sound came from behind him out of absolute nowhere.

Peter's smile froze as he quickly glanced behind him, his eyes widening.

A speeding black car was headed right for him and he finally processed the sirens of the NYPD vehicles that were chasing the criminals driving in front of them.

At the last possible second, Peter quickly backflipped off of his motorbike, caring less that it was run over by the car mere moments later. He then landed on the ground in a crouched position with a mildly surprised expression written all over his face, staring ahead at the pandemonium that disappeared down the street.

"How'd you do that?!"

The voice that called out to him from Peter's right caused him to look up as he finally stood to his feet, glancing towards two young boys that were staring at what had happened in shock. They both seemed to be between the ages of ten and twelve and were either siblings or good friends, but it wasn't any of his business.

He had to come up with a good enough lie as fast as he could, not wanting the fact that he was Spider-Man to be a dead giveaway. And, after a few seconds, he came up with one.

"Uh... I work out," he said in a paranoid tone, but he tried to play it off as the relief he was feeling from not being flattened to the ground by the car seconds ago. "Get plenty of rest... you know, eat your green vegetables!"

Please buy the lie, he thought nervously. Please, for the love of God, buy it.

And, as if by godsend, the two boys smiled at this answer as their eyes widened with wonder and curiosity.

"That's what my Mom's always saying!" the taller of the two said. "I just never actually believed her!"

Peter grinned with relief as he nodded, and then stared off down the street, a gnawing feeling in his gut. Having no other choice but to chase down the robbers and put an end to their chaos, he took off towards a nearby alley where nobody would see him and swiftly changed into his suit.

He really hoped Christina would forgive him for this....

_____

One Hour Later
8:29 P.M.
Christina's POV

Christina sat in the audience of the auditorium, a wary expression in her eyes as subtly looked all around her and barely paid any attention to the story of the play unfolding in front of her. She was utterly puzzled as to where the hell Peter was, as he had promised to meet her in the lobby almost an hour ago now. But, once 7:30 arrived, he had not shown up whatsoever.

Maybe he got held up somewhere and he got here later than I expected, she thought optimistically.

Her right leg bounced up and down with pure anxiety as she tried to focus on Mary Jane's performance – which was phenomenal, she had to admit – but it was nearly impossible to. She glanced at her watch and realized that the play had been going on for half an hour already. This made her sigh quietly to herself out of worry, and she began to grow concerned as to what could have possibly happened.

The brunette even began biting her fingernails nervously, her heartbeat picking up speed despite trying to prevent that. She thought of the most likely scenarios that could have come up; either Peter got held up in annoying ass traffic, he could have been stuck somewhere else and wasn't able to make it, or he actually did make it right before the play began and just couldn't find her in the crowd.

Or maybe he doesn't care.

No, he does, she thought frantically, frowning a bit to herself.

"I am more than content with what Mr. Moncrieff said," Mary Jane's character spoke up in a British accent, which made Christina snap her attention back to the scene that was currently taking place.

Her face brightened just a tiny bit while watching the moment between the two actresses on stage happen.

"His voice alone inspires one with absolute credulity," Mary Jane's character said in a really cheerful tone.

"Then you think we should forgive them?" the other actress asked in a curious kind of voice.

Christina was just barely able to glimpse Mary Jane glancing over towards where she was sitting, which made the brunette peer over at the empty seat right next to her. Her heart twisted ever so slightly seeing that void near her and she strived to get away from it; however, there was nowhere else to go, so she had to stay put. She then looked back at the redhead with a slightly saddened expression in her eyes.

Mary Jane, unbeknownst to Christina, had to fight a boil of anger that was in her chest when she saw that Peter wasn't in the audience with her best friend. She had been told that he would be attending the play with her tonight and she was looking forward to seeing the both of them together, as she had been trying desperately to set them up with one another for so long.

So it really infuriated her when she noticed Peter not sitting next to the brunette woman; it made her feel like all of the time she had spent trying to get them together was a complete waste of time.

Remembering that she had a line to say in return to her co-star's dialogue, she instantly perked up as quickly as she could. "Yes," she said brightly... and then she remembered that was the wrong word. "I mean no..."

What they didn't know was that Peter arrived right at that moment... but the rude albeit somewhat reasonable usher wouldn't let him into the auditorium....

After just over two hours and right before 10:40, the play finally finished and Christina stood to her feet; she gently pushed through the crowd in a manic attempt to search for Peter. She looked around for a full five minutes and, after not spotting him, her heart slowly began to sink with pure disappointment. She frowned deeply as her shoulders sagged from slight heartbreak despite the logical scenarios and thoughts that had formed in her mind.

Lifting her head up, she decided to make her way towards the backstage area of the theater, lumbering through the curtains and around the crew members. Luckily, the director of the play knew who she was and politely guided her to the dressing rooms where her best friend was at. After thanking him, she gently knocked on the door. "Can I come in?" she murmured. "It's Chris."

"The door's open!" Mary Jane shouted to assure her.

Christina carefully twisted the door handle and swung the heavy object open, smiling at the redhead who greeted her. She noticed that Mary Jane's dressing room was decorated with paintings and bulletin boards dedicated to her character, which made her think that she went all out for this role. To be completely honest, she was proud of her for being so dedicated to her passion.

"Hey, you were awesome up there," she told the redhead with a small grin, although it didn't reach her eyes.

Mary Jane's face flushed a little from slight embarrassment but she nodded regardless. "Thanks," she said kindly, stepping forward to hug Christina.

The brunette hugged back for just a moment before the inevitable question popped up again. "Hey... did you see Peter in the audience by any chance...? Like, anywhere not next to me?" she asked cautiously, already dreading the answer.

Mary Jane pulled back from the hug and raised her left eyebrow out of confusion. "No..." she mumbled. "I thought he was supposed to sit next to you..."

Christina crossed her arms tightly as a knot started to slowly twist itself in her stomach, and her heart completely plummeted. Her face morphed into an expression that almost nobody could identify, since it was nearly blank in a way. She now knew what had really happened to cause Peter not to show up:

Either he really had been held up somewhere... or he had stood her up.

While Mary Jane couldn't directly read her facial cues, she was able to tell by her friend's tensed up stature that she was either really upset or really pissed.

"Okay..." Christina whispered, tugging her purse onto her right shoulder more tightly. "I'm just gonna go home. You were great tonight."

She then spun around and stomped out of the dressing room, making a beeline for the back exit as tears of utter chagrin pricked the corners of her eyes.

"Chris, wait!" the redhead called out to her but Christina didn't seem to hear her.

She shoved the exit door open and stepped out into the slightly chilly air, hugging her arms to her chest to shield herself as a single tear fell down her left cheek. She swiftly wiped it away so the passing audience members wouldn't see her distressed state. The brunette stared down at her shoes on the sidewalk as she sighed with a form of misery that not even she could understand.

For a single moment, she felt all alone... not just outside, but in the whole world.

"Christina!" came Mary Jane's voice as she followed her outside, placing a hand on her arm for comfort.

"I'm fine," Christina muttered, glancing up at the redhead who was a little taller than her. She then realized that she had spoken a little too harshly and she softened her tone. "Sorry... I'm fine, really. Maybe something happened to him."

"That better be the case," the redhead said in a sympathetic tone. "If not, he had no excuse for showing up late."

The slightly older woman shook her head and raised up a hand to stop her friend from taking it too far. "It doesn't matter," she said. "I'll be fine, I promise. If something did happen, I'll try to find out in the morning."

"Are you sure?" Mary Jane asked to confirm that her best friend was really alright.

"I'm sure," Christina said, smiling a little bit now. "You don't need to worry about me."

Mary Jane nodded.

"Alright," she mumbled. "Well, John and I are planning to go out for late night dinner. You're welcome to join us if you want."

John Jameson was not only the son of Christina's boss but he was also Mary Jane's boyfriend of seven months. When she had first heard about him, the brunette had initially been skeptical based off of the previous guys her friend had dated in the past.

But, once she actually met the guy, she discovered that John was a pretty good person and was decent enough for Mary Jane. From what Christina had seen, he treated his girlfriend with the utmost respect and his personality was the complete opposite of his fathers, which made her grow a liking for him straight away. Over time, the two had also bonded and even formed a friendship of some sorts, even if they weren't the closest. He was good to talk to if she ever visited him and Jonah whenever she felt down in the dumps.

In fact, the Jamesons were becoming like the family she really needed at the moment (with the exception of Sidney and Aidan, since she actually claimed them as family).

They had always assured her to come to them if she ever needed help and she always felt welcome in their home, especially by Jonah's wife.

"I don't wanna intrude..." Christina murmured timidly, interlocking her fingers together as she felt slightly insecure.

"Oh, come on," Mary Jane said with a pleading smile. "We don't mind having you as company. Besides, we don't want you to feel alone. And I called John a few minutes ago; he said he doesn't care if you tag along."

Christina eventually smiled a little bit and nodded. "Okay," she said, finally giving in.

Mary Jane grinned now as she pulled her jacket further onto her torso. "Great!" she said. "Come on, he'll come pick us up."

Christina's head bobbed up and down, and she was about to follow the redhead, but she caught a glimpse of someone standing across the street from where she was.

The brunette's heart severely wrenched against her ribcage as her eyes met Peter's from about thirty feet away. Her facial expression became one of absolute despair as she stared at him, disappointment filling her soul way faster than any other emotion could. She felt a little betrayed from being stood up – or so she thought – and all she wanted to do was walk over to him and yell at him for hurting her. But, for some reason, she just couldn't bring herself to.

"Chris, you coming?"

Christina snapped out of her somber daze as she looked at Mary Jane, who was sending her a confused look as to why she hadn't walked with her.

"Yeah, sorry," she mumbled quietly, jogging to catch up with her. She then risked another glance over her right shoulder, only for her eyebrows to scrunch with puzzlement.

Peter had vanished from view.

_____

Peter's POV

He slowly made his way towards an alley close to where he had been waiting for a straight hour for her to exit the theater, an immensely guilty expression in his eyes. Once he made sure nobody could see him, Peter turned his walk into a full-on sprint as he ran down the pavement and attempted to clear his mind of the pain he had felt from the look on Christina's face when he saw her.

When he had first spotted her walking out of the back exit, he had stood up from the staircase he was sitting on and got a closer look at her. Right away, he noticed how absolutely gorgeous she looked with her floral dress and yellow cardigan along with the way she had her brown hair curled. It was as if she had dressed up for him and that warmed his heart like no other since she was so adorable when she did that.

Then he became curious as to what the conversation between Christina and Mary Jane was about, so he focused a little more and caught snippets of it. Apparently, the brunette was upset over something and he almost instantly knew why: it was because he hadn't shown up on time. Guilt began to seep through him and he was tempted to go over to her and start apologizing profusely.

But, when Christina finally looked in his direction, the appearance of her face made him halt all movement as he stared at her. Peter examined every inch of her features and his heart began shredding to pieces once he saw just how disappointed and betrayed she seemed; he frowned as tears filled his eyes since the last thing he wanted was to see her hurting, especially if it was his fault. So, instead of walking to her in order to comfort her, he had simply walked away whilst feeling incredibly ashamed of himself.

As he ran down the alleyway, he tore his formal suit off and yanked his mask over his head before swinging away in full costume. As he shot out a web to be pulled to the sky, he let out a groan of frustration towards himself.

For quite a while, he simply swung around downtown Manhattan and followed the dozen police cars chasing even more criminals. All the while, a depressed look remained in his facial features and he had to restrain himself from crying and giving up this task completely. Peter began to consider taking a break from Spider-Man altogether, as it was getting to be way too much for him to balance along with his feelings for Christina, his job for Jameson, and his college classes.

He remembered something one of his idols, Otto Octavius, had told him when he met him earlier that day: "Parker, now I remember you. You're Connors's student. He tells me you're brilliant. He also tells me you're lazy."

A part of Peter agreed this but a part of him also didn't. This was due to it being more so stress as the problem that caused all of this, and he utterly despised it. All he wanted at that moment was to be able to maintain a decent job, to pass all of his courses, and to make time to spend it with the woman he loved.

God, was that too much to ask for nowadays?!

As he swung even higher, he flicked his left wrist forward, but not a single web came out.

In complete shock, Peter tried to shoot out a web again but nothing happened.

His eyes widened as he then quickly descended around a hundred and fifty feet towards the roof of a building, all the while screaming with surprise and fear of what was to come.

With an excruciating CRASH, his body painfully landed on a few steam pipes and the force of his landing caused said pipes to bend. A mist rose from the metal as Peter struggled to come back to reality, groaning from the agony the fall had caused.

"What was that...?" he mumbled weakly as he slowly stood up, feeling slightly dizzy. In order to answer his own question, he carefully pulled off his mask and then slightly moved the top of his right sleeve in order to check that the webbing was still on his wrist.

They were still the way they had been seconds ago, which made Peter tilt his head out of utter confusion.

"Okay?" he muttered before leaping over to the edge of the roof.

He tried shooting two more webs but nothing came out; he stared at his hand in bewilderment. What the fuck is going on? he thought.

The sounds of car horns honking and police sirens were much louder than ever as he looked down, only to see ten stories of distance between him and the ground. Peter swiftly regained his balance as a wave of vertigo hit him, his face twisting into an expression of anxiety. He was definitely not going to risk jumping down from there.

He was now a lost and puzzled mess and he didn't know why....

A/N: here's a sad photo edit! lovely...😐😔

ANYWAYS, thoughts on this chapter? let me know!

also, i feel like this chapter in particular has shitty writing because most of the scenes are really short.

do you feel bad for christina and peter? i sure do! i just want to hug the both of them. 🙁

do you like the character development for allyson? let me know, as it could be controversial!

predictions for the next chapter?

ALSO, when do you think christina and peter will get together, as they definitely have feelings now? let me know!

be looking forward to the next chapter!

-denbroughswife