"Hey, May, I'm home!"
Peter carefully carried the cake box through the door, afraid that any jostling might deform the frosting. This time, he hadn't opted to swing back with his webs—after all, between ensuring the cake's integrity and enjoying a New York high-rise swing, as a novice Spider-Man, he wisely chose the former. Thankfully, the bakery wasn't far from home, so walking back wasn't much trouble.
Aunt May was busy in the dining room, the table already set with exquisite cutlery. She looked up and smiled at Peter: "How was your first day of high school?"
"It was great!" Peter placed the cake box on the table. "I met two new friends, the clubs are super interesting, the school has its own TV show, and... well, everything was great."
In truth, besides those two barely familiar classmates and the Detective Club, he had little truly profound impression of school life—after all, when you spend most of your energy being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, high school life tends to pale in comparison. But he obviously couldn't tell Aunt May that.
"Is today a special occasion?" Peter deliberately changed the subject, pointing at the cake. "You actually went to the trouble of ordering a cake?"
Aunt May took the cake and inspected it: "Oh, nothing special. It's just my old friend Anna's birthday today. She just moved back to New York; she had moved to Pittsburgh to take care of her niece, who lost her mother." Her gaze softened as she took the cake to the kitchen to prepare it. "Ben went to pick them up; they should be here soon."
Peter nodded. No wonder Aunt May was so invested—a friend caring for an orphaned girl who had lost a loved one, that experience was strikingly similar to the Parkers' own. He went into the kitchen to help, and Aunt May added as she arranged plates: "Oh, and that girl is a new student at Midtown High, just like you and Gwen. Maybe you've already met her."
"Uh, I don't really pay attention to girls," Peter scratched his head awkwardly. "Even if I did, I probably wouldn't remember, since no one exchanged names with me."
"You child," Aunt May shook her head helplessly. "You've never had many friends since you were little. You should be more outgoing."
"I think I am outgoing!" Peter immediately retorted. "I made two friends on the first day of school, and they've agreed to come over to build Lego together."
"Really?" Aunt May's eyes lit up, and she placed freshly baked muffins on the table. "You'll have to tell me in advance so I can prepare dinner for you all."
"They're going to love my aunt's muffins—"
Before he could finish, Uncle Ben's old car rumbled outside the window. Aunt May took the plate from Peter's hands: "Will you go greet our guests, Peter?"
"No problem!" Peter walked towards the door, his super-hearing already picking up light, quick footsteps approaching. He opened the door just as a knock sounded.
The red-haired girl standing outside clearly hadn't expected the door to open so suddenly. She wore a white T-shirt and light denim hot pants, her fiery red hair blazing like a sunset in the evening light. Her hand, raised halfway to knock, froze in mid-air, a brilliant smile still plastered on her face.
But the next second, she regained her composure, propped one hand on the doorframe, and winked at Peter:
"Face it, Tiger." She quirked a sly smile. "You just hit the jackpot!"
Gwen Stacy was hunched over her computer, searching for drum tutorials. Visiting the school's rock club today had exhilarated her—Midtown High had several high school bands performing in the gym, and unlike the ballet she'd practiced since childhood, the uninhibited feeling of rock music was utterly captivating.
"Dad's probably going to call it 'hippie idleness,' not understanding the free spirit of rock at all," she mumbled, closing the webpage. Just as she was contemplating whether to take dinner to her dad, who was working late at the police station, she heard the front door open downstairs. Gwen ran down, surprised to find her dad, George, had actually come home early, his uniform jacket already draped over the back of the sofa.
So, today was actually a peaceful day in New York? Chief George Stacy actually got off work on time?
"Thanks to Spider-Man, he stopped the bank robbery in time this morning, and then in the afternoon, he stopped a car full of high-tech armed robbers, and he also saved my daughter." George spread his arms, intending to give his daughter a hug, but Gwen froze there, unmoving.
"Seriously? A bear hug?"
Chief Stacy awkwardly added, "What, can't Dad get a hug? You came back from London last night and fell asleep. I didn't even get up this morning. We've been apart for an entire summer."
Gwen smiled helplessly and hugged her father. Mentioning Spider-Man, she suddenly recalled the morning's events: "Why does the Daily Bugle always smear him? He's clearly doing good, and he even saved us."
"Who knows? Jameson is certainly deferential to the Avengers," George said, taking a beer from the fridge. "Speaking of which, early on, when Spider-Man couldn't write with his webs yet, he used notes to communicate with the police. At the time, I thought his handwriting looked familiar, but later, after thinking about it, no one's handwriting matched."
The handwriting looked familiar?
Gwen thought of Spider-Man's and Peter's identical sneakers.
"Could it be Peter?"
"Peter? Peter Parker?" George paused for two seconds, then suddenly burst out laughing. "Impossible! Even though it's that childish handwriting like a middle schooler, it's definitely not him. I recognize Peter's handwriting."
"You could let me see it. Maybe I could recognize if it's one of your forgotten friends—"
"The evidence is already archived," George suddenly said, his tone serious. "By the way, I'm planning to visit the Parkers. Should I change my clothes?"
Gwen looked at her dad, frowning, and pointed to herself: "Should I ask you why?"
"We're going to express our gratitude, Gwen. This morning, you were in that kind of place... Oh my goodness, thankfully Ben was there, and you're perfectly fine, but we still need to say thank you to someone, right?"
"More accurately, it was Spider-Man who saved us."
"But I can't find Spider-Man to say thank you. I forgot this afternoon."
So Gwen could only helplessly console her father: "Alright, good thing I haven't had dinner yet. Maybe I can snag some of Aunt May's famous muffins. Don't dress too formally; we're just going for dinner."
George Stacy gave an exaggerated compliment.
"Oh, May's muffins, I love May's muffins to death."
The Stacy father and daughter said this as they got up and went to the Parker house door, George knocked, waiting for someone to open it. After a moment, Ben Parker opened the door. George was about to say something, but he seemed to hear lively laughter and conversation from behind Uncle Ben.
"George? Didn't expect you to get off work so early," Uncle Ben said warmly, patting the police chief's shoulder. "May was just saying we should invite Gwen! Plenty of muffins; come on in."
"Looks like you have guests now, Ben. Maybe I should—"
"No, no problem. No one ever thinks they should only entertain one friend instead of two."
Guests at the Parker house? Gwen followed her father curiously, ignoring her dad's expressions of gratitude and Uncle Ben's polite replies, craning her neck to see who the Parkers' guests were, only to spot an unexpected figure in the dining room—
"Mary Jane Watson?!"
This classmate she'd met today at the rock club was actually the Parkers' new guest?! Gwen's scalp prickled instantly—they'd chatted so much, and she hadn't mentioned her father's disapproval of her playing rock music! If Mary Jane let it slip, wouldn't she be doomed?
In contrast, Peter, who was being "interrogated" by the social butterfly Mary Jane and seemed quite flustered, appeared less miserable.
How do I subtly warn Mary Jane not to mention this?
"Hey! Gwen!" Mary Jane's cheerful cry made everyone turn. Peter took the opportunity to escape, moving aside and placing Gwen between himself and the red-haired girl.
Aunt May looked at them in surprise: "You two already know each other?"
"We're classmates," Mary Jane said with a radiant smile, and the awkwardness shifted from Peter to Gwen, who could only awkwardly reply, "Yes, we are." Then Aunt May began to complain about Peter not making more friends.
"It's truly a joy today, all our friends gathered together. And even more joyful that the children already know each other. George, this is my Anna, my good friend from middle school. Anna, this is George, our neighbor, an upright and friendly police chief."
Chief George also politely expressed his friendliness towards Aunt Anna.
"I'm very glad to meet you all, especially Gwen's friends. I'm so happy she can make good friends—"
Gwen felt as though a Sword of Damocles hung over her head, ready to fall at any moment. And of course, this wasn't something they could conveniently discuss via phone. In her exasperation, Gwen decided to preemptively start the conversation herself.
"We met today at the club recruitment fair—"
"At the dance club entrance!" Gwen quickly interrupted Mary Jane, while Peter opted to remain a quail, head down, cutting his muffin.
Mary Jane paused for only a brief moment, then quickly replied: "Yes, that's right, that's exactly it."
And the adults seemed largely unconcerned with the children's little secrets, continuing their pleasantries. Gwen leaned in close to Peter's ear, gloating: "See? I'm better at making friends than you are!"
"And then getting your new friends to lie for you?"
Gwen's white sneakers landed squarely on Peter's foot. Peter forced a smile, nodded, then let out a long sigh.
Mary Jane's line here is the same line she says when she first meets Peter in the comics.
I don't know why Marvel is giving Mary Jane such trashy storylines...