Behind the Mask

"Please be Barbies, please be Barbies..." Tara squinted her eyes shut in prayer as she sliced open her last box of toys. So far, she'd gotten stuck stocking shelves in the boys' department, with Legos and Transformers merchandise.

"Don't be so picky." I teased her. My previous boxes had been filled with candy and electronics, a happy medium between the two genders. 

"Fine, if I get another damn race car collection, we're switching boxes." Tara peeked under the flap and groaned. "What do you have?"

I checked my box. "Princess costumes."

Tara jumped across the floor and stole my box, wheeling it away from me. "Mine." She decided.

I rolled my eyes and discovered the contents of her box. I had to do a double take when it was loaded with Spiderman action figures. Tara gave me a strange look when I started giggling to myself.

She started walking away. "Wait," I told her, hurrying to her side with one of the toys. "Look, he has a mask." I touched the fabric over the action figure's face.

Tara pinched the fabric and lifted it up. "So handsome." She muttered sarcastically. The face was just a generic man, nothing like Peter.

"This doesn't even look like him." I said, as if it was despicable for the face to be unimportant.

"How would you know?" She questioned, making me bite my tongue. "Maybe the toy company has seen him."

"Maybe." I agreed quickly. "Go hang up your princess costumes."

Tara grinned, as if she'd forgotten about her pleasant surprise. She skipped away, which left me to stock some shelves in the boys' department.

I completed a row of action figures when I could hear the store manager's voice approaching from a few aisles down. Daniel was in his mid thirties, but acted like a ten-year-old boy. It explained why he found work in Toys 'R Us.

"...in case he needs to make a quick getaway, you know? Olivia!" Daniel exclaimed. My name frightened me.

I didn't look over, afraid I did something wrong. "Yes?"

"Guess who this is?" He talked to me like I was a customer he was trying to impress. 

I force my eyes to the end of the aisle. "Peter Parker." I said simply, with a shake of my head and a smirk that didn't seem to go away.

Peter looked amused as well. "She's a good friend." He said politely.

"You know him?" Daniel was completely astonished. "This is the man that directly interacts with Spiderman on a daily basis!"

"Oh, really?" I pretended to be surprised. "You never told me that." I was still a bit thrown off by the 'good friend' line. He considered me his good friend after knowing me for less than a week?

Daniel didn't give Peter a chance to respond. "He's here to relay some important information about the 24th to Spidey."

"What's on the 24th?" 

"The annual toy collection for the homeless shelters around the city!" Daniel said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Spiderman is making a special appearance, and participating in a Q&A."

"Q&A?" I asked again.

"Jeez, Olivia, you're supposed to be on top of this." Daniel whispers to me. "You volunteered for it three weeks ago."

It all came back to me then. I signed up about a week before Greg died. lt hadn't been on my mind recently. "Oh, right. I remember." I lied.

Another employee jumped into the picture. "Dan, the T-Rex won't power on."

Daniel huffed. "Excuse me one second. What do you mean it won't power on? It's a customer favorite!" He marched away in a fit.

That left Peter and I alone again.

"Do you stalk my life?" I asked.

"Maybe you're stalking mine."

"What are you doing? How does he know you 'interact with Spiderman on a daily basis'?" I continued stocking the shelves, but my rows became messier.

Peter slowly started scooting his way towards me. "Who is the only one that takes the pictures of Spiderman and sells them to the paper?"

I didn't answer the hypothetical question. "So what, everybody thinks you're your own personal assistant?"

"Yeah, but they don't know I'm me." He started to correct my sloppy stacking.

"So that's why you're here?" 

"Yeah, but why are you here?"

"I work here." I said firmly. "I told you that."

"I thought you were kidding." He chuckled. I rolled my eyes. "When's your shift over?"

My stomach did some excited twists and turns. "When the doors open."

"Would you mind meeting me at the park when you're done? I need some help finding something to shoot for that assignment." We had to take several photos before our next photography class of something 'uncommonly beautiful'.

"On the bridge?" I asked with a shaky voice.

"Where else?" His smile was making me melt, but I froze up again when I remembered Chase.

"Okay." I agreed, curling my ankle around the other. I hadn't done that since the first time I kissed a boy, back in eighth grade.

Daniel reappeared and directed Peter to another location in the store. When the aisle was clear, I collapsed against the shelves and whipped my phone out of my pocket.

"Hey, babe." Chase greeted on the other end.

"Hi, we're gonna have to reschedule lunch." My heart was beating so fast. Was it right to ditch him?

"Why, what happened?"

"N-nothing, I just have to take some pictures in the park for an assignment. It's supposed to rain the next few days." I hoped he would buy it.

"Alright, I'll see you for dinner." He bought it. But why did I feel so guilty?

. . . . . . . .

"How about that one?" Peter jerked his chin towards an approaching woman with electric blue lipstick.

"No, that's not it." I smiled at the uncommon part, but I didn't see the beauty.

"What does uncommonly beautiful even mean?" Peter pondered the thought outloud. "Unseen beauty, or ignored beauty?"

"Maybe it doesn't mean beauty at all." I suggested. "Maybe it's something completely different."

I chewed my lip in thought, tinkering with the lense of my camera. I almost lost myself in my own little world. When I looked up at Peter again, a flash coated my face.

"Like a candid?" Peter asked. "I'd say that's uncommonly beautiful." He showed me the photo he'd taken. My eyes were wide with the flash, and I looked like I was biting my lip off, not to mention the way the wind was blowing ny hair. It was terrifying.

"Delete it." I felt my cheeks go red.

"Why? I like it."

"Peter, delete it."

He shook his head, teasing me now.

I reached across him to grab the camera. "Delete the damn picture!"

"Why are you so insulted? It's a candid photo, it's supposed to be like that." He held it high in the air, away from my reach.

"I'm not kidding!" I was so preoccupied with getting his camera that I forgot about mine. It tumbled from my lap and onto the concrete sidewalk. 

We both heard the smash and froze. I felt the emptiness in my lap and knew it was the camera. "Oh, no."  

"I'm so sorry!" Peter apologized immediately.

"It's not your fault." I sighed, picking up the two pieces that should be one. The entire lense snapped off, connected loosely by random wires. It was busted for good.

"Can I see?" Peter held out his hands for the corpse that was once my pride and joy. He fiddled with it, and started nodding. "I can fix it."

"You don't have to --"

"No, it's easy. I can do it tonight." He seemed so sure.

I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. "Okay."

"Don't worry." He saw the doubt mixed with tears in my eyes. "It'll be good as new."

Back at home, I waited a while before Chase showed up with a box of pizza. He kicked off his shoes and set the box on the counter. "Dinner is served."

I rose from my comfy seat on the couch to join him. "How was work?"

"Eh. We found a pattern in a few incidents that relate to the bank hold up last night." He folded his slice and inhaled almost the entire thing.

"A pattern?" I asked, trying not to sound so interested. "Like what?"

"The guys are all weirdos. They wear Spiderman masks or shirts. Some even wear full outfits. They want Spidey dead, and they're trying to lure him in."

"Well, why don't you do something to stop them?" I felt angry that they were just sitting back and watching.

Chase snorted. "The Spider can take care of himself."

"Sure, but it's harming the city. You have to do something." I picked at my pizza crust.

"If I do anything, I'll escort Spiderman out of the city myself." He said mockingly.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Just because you don't like him, doesn't mean you shouldn't help. Your job is to protect the people of New York, Spiderman included."

Chase just shrugged his shoulders, too concerned with his pizza to care much for my opinion. I slapped my pizza down and headed for the door.

"Where the hell are you --"

"Out." I said vaguely, slamming the door behind me. I was starting to get used to doing that.

Peter opened his door just a crack before I had a chance to knock. "I didn't get around to fixing it yet." He said quietly. "Sorry, tomorrow it'll be done."

I didn't let the suspicious behavior pass. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He insisted, after a short coughing fit. I caught a peek at his hands around the door and noticed the blackish gray smudges over his fingers and nails.

It was then that I smelled the stench of burned hair, and maybe clothing. It smelled like a fresh fire. "Are you sure?" I questioned, pushing his door open further.

His Spidey suit was soiled with black splotches of soot and rubble, as well as his face and hair. He held his mask in his hands, torn and beaten.

I didn't know what to say. "Peter..."

He choked again on oxygen-deprived lungs. "It was just a fire, I'm fine."

"A fire?" I squeaked on the word. It wasn't his first fire rescue ; Spidey did plenty of those. But he always came out unharmed.

"A man in the street told me there was still someone trapped inside, so I went in --" He coughed violently this time. I helped him sit in a chair. "I went in, and I looked for a long time, but there wasn't anyone left."

I pieced it together. "You mean he lied?"

Peter didn't answer. He stood up shakily and made his way over to the sink. He splashed water on his face and tried to gain his breathing back.

I waited until he finished. "What did the man look like?"

"I don't remember." He mumbled. "A leather jacket, and a shirt with the spider symbol on it."

It almost overwhelmed me. "It was a trick."

Peter rubbed his eyes and looked at me funny. "What?"

"The man, he was one of the criminals out to get you." I started to feel adrenaline pumping through me. "He lied because he knew you would stay in the fire until everyone was safe."

He stared at the ground, probably lost in thought. This was becoming serious for him, and he couldn't ignore it anymore.

"Peter," I waited for his eyes to match mine. "He wanted the fire to kill you."