Make Way for the Spiders

"So, how was school?" Mom asked, when she got home later that night.

"Better than expected," I answered.

"Oh?" Mom looked surprised. "And why is that? You make a friend? Or did you meet a boy?"

"Mom!" I groaned, turning away to focus on the food on the stove. "Peter is just a friend."

"His name is Peter, huh?" I could hear her smirking, but I refused to turn to face her. "So, how'd you meet him?" Mom asked.

"We have a few classes together, and his locker is next to mine," I told her. "But we're only friends, so don't be getting any ideas."

She laughed, and I finally turned to face her. "Who said I was getting ideas?"

I just rolled my eyes at her, and started to stir the soup.

"Did you make any other friends?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I talked to a girl named Gwen. She lives in this building," I said. "But... I don't know. There's something about her."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we were talking in gym, and I guess she noticed that Peter and I were friends, so she 'warned' me about him."

Mom sat down at the kitchen table, suddenly intrigued. "Why would she warn you about him? Rayne Seibert, are you going after a bad boy?"

I laughed, shaking my head. "He's not a 'bad boy', Mom. He's quiet, and kind of nerdy, but in the cute sense." My eyes widened at what I said, and started talking before Mom could say anything. "But like I said, we're friends, and I'm not interested."

"Well, what did this Gwen tell you about him?" Mom asked.

"She said that he was secretive," I said, "which is understandable. Everyone has secrets." Especially me. "And she said that they used to go out, and then out of the blue, he just dumped her."

"Well, there's the problem," Mom said. "She's jealous."

I rolled my eyes. "I saw her hanging out with the most popular people in school. And she's blonde. There's no way she could be jealous of me."

"You could always dye your hair blonde." Mom winked at me, and I chuckled.

"I think I'll keep it red," I said.

We were silent for a bit, and after a while, Mom went to her room to change into more comfy clothes. When she came back, she was in pajama pants, and an old t shirt. Her brown hair fell in waves, and framed her face perfectly. "So what are you making for supper?" she asked.

"I'm using Grandma's recipe for taco soup," I told her.

"Mm, I always loved that recipe," she said, sitting back down at the table. "How much longer 'til we eat?"

I skewered my lips to the side, and looked at the clock. It was five. "Maybe.... fifteen minutes?"

Mom nodded, then pulled out her laptop, typing random things.

"Your first day, and you already have to bring work home?" I asked.

Mom shook her head. "No. You know how Frank was telling us about that Spiderman the other day?"

"Yeah...?" I looked at her confused, not sure where she was going.

"When I was on my way home earlier, I saw a store getting robbed. He showed up, and beat up the robbers. I didn't get a good look at him, though, so I thought I'd do some research," Mom said, not looking up from the screen. "Oh, look at this picture!"

I put the stove on low, then went over to her, looking over her shoulder. It was a perfect shot of Spiderman flying through the air, and you could easily pick out every detail - even the silvery webbing that he was holding onto. I looked at the photographers name, and raised my eyebrows.

"Peter Parker," I muttered.

"What?" Mom asked, looking at me.

"Peter took that picture," I said again.

"Your friend?"

I nodded.

"Well, it's a very good picture," she said. "I wonder how he got it? It looks like he was at the same level as Spiderman."

I shrugged. "Maybe he was on a roof, or something?"

"However he did it, I hope he gets paid for taking such good pictures," Mom laughed.

I smiled too, then started cooking again. I would have to ask Peter how he took that picture.

-_-_-_-_-

Later that night, when I was done with what little homework I had, I told my mom I was turning in early, again. She didn't say anything, as she was still looking up things on Spiderman.

I slipped on my hoodie, but left the hood down, and pulled on my favorite pair of fleece pajama pants. They were grey, with yellow, blue, pink, and purple skulls on them. I found my old watch, and slipped on my tennis shoes, and opened the window. I still had fifteen minutes or so, so I lay down on my bed, and opened my laptop to check my email. I felt a small, warm tingle on the back of my neck, and shivered. It was probably just from the open window.

I had twenty emails; most were spam, a few Facebook notifications, but I had five from my dad and Kim. I deleted them without even looking at the subject.

"That's a little harsh, don't you think?"

I jumped, and turned around to see Spiderman, who was casually sitting on my windowsill. "How long have you been sitting there?" I asked.

He shrugged. "A few minutes."

"Have you ever heard of knocking?" I asked.

He laughed. "I've heard of it, but it's no fun," he said. "What? No mask tonight?"

I blushed, but I don't know why. "Well, since you already know who I am, what's the point?"

"True. But what if we see someone?" he asked, and I heard teasing in his voice.

I glared playfully, then thought about it. I finally sighed, and got up to grab the mask out of my closet.

"Nice room," Spiderman said.

I chuckled, still rummaging through my closet. Where did I put that mask?

I finally found it, and turned to see Spiderman lying on my bed, looking through my iPod.

I blinked, staring at him. Last I checked, my iPod was still packed somewhere. "Where did you get that?" I asked him.

"In that box over there," he said, pointing at a box in the far corner, not looking up.

"Why are you...?" I trailed off, shaking my head. "What are you doing, anyway?"

"Looking at your music. You really like the 80's, don't you?" he informed me, still scrolling through.

"Can we just go?" I asked, not really wanting him to be looking through my stuff.

"And, there's some country.... and pop... and stuff from musicals... You like a lot of stuff," he observed.

"Okay, that's enough," I said, trying to take my iPod away from him.

He jumped up, and he stuck to the ceiling, holding onto my iPod still. "If you want it, you gotta catch it," he said, jumping out the window.

"Hey!" I whisper shouted, climbing out of the fire escape. I looked all around, but couldn't find him. "Spiderman!" I called, not sure what to do.

"Ooh, I'm gonna look at your pictures," Spiderman said, hanging upside from a web, right in front of me.

"Spiderman, give it back!" I groaned, trying to grab it.

"I told you, you have to catch me," he taunted, holding my iPod just out of reach.

I pouted, putting my mask on. "But I don't know how to swing from webs like you do."

"And what better way to learn?" he asked.

"What if I fall?" I asked, looking down.

"You aren't afraid of heights, are you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No. But I'm afraid of falling to my death."

He laughed, still hanging upside down.

"How are you doing that?" I asked him.

"Doing what?" He sounded confused.

"Hanging upside down like that. Isn't the blood rushing to your head?" I asked.

Spiderman laughed again, and I blushed. "It's a spider thing," he said, and I could hear a smirk in his voice.

I glared at him. "Just give me my iPod," I said, "please?"

He sighed, and handed it over. "Thank you," I said, and tossed it on my bed. "Now, what are we doing tonight?" I asked, spinning back around, but he wasn't there. "Spiderman?" I looked out my window, but didn't see him. "Spidey?"

"I have a nickname, huh?"

I gasped, and spun around, seeing Spiderman standing in the middle on my room. "What... How do you do that?" I asked him.

"Do what?" he asked, sounding sincere.

"You just.... appear. Out nowhere," I stated.

He chuckled, then put his fingers to his lips. "It's a secret," he told me.

I rolled my eyes at him, then jumped when his arms slid around my waist.

"Ready?" he asked, and I nodded, not trusting my voice.

I wasn't used to people touching me, especially boys. Even though I have been talking to Spiderman for a few days, he was still a stranger. And, I didn't even know who he was. He knew me, but I didn't know him. It was unfair, but earlier at school, he seemed really uncomfortable when I asked him about it. And his voice... it was so familiar, but I just couldn't place it.

Spiderman swung throughout the city, and I had no clue where we were going. The wind swept through my hair, slapping my face. "Where are we going?" I asked, shouting over the wind.

"I don't know," Spiderman shouted back.

"What do you mean you don't know?" I asked. "You're the one that jumped out the window!"

I felt his chest rumble as he laughed, still swinging throughout the city. We were silent for a bit, and Spiderman slowed down a bit. "Hey, Rayne," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"What if I dropped you?"

My eyes widened. "You better not, or so help me I'll-AHHH!"

I was falling through the air, flailing like a fish out of water. I had no clue what to do, and the ground was getting closer by the second. I tried to close my eyes, but couldn't, and right before I went splat, I was back in Spiderman's arms.

He was laughing, and had a firm grip on my waist. This time, I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, after beating his chest a few times. "You idiot! I could have died!" I shouted.

"But you didn't," he said, still chuckling.

"I am so going to kill you," I muttered.

"I don't think you will," Spidey taunted.

"Oh, and why is that?" I asked, still gripping his neck.

"I could easily drop you again," he said, loosening his grip.

I shrieked a little, even wrapping my legs around his torso. He just laughed harder, and landed on a rooftop.

"Rayne, I know I'm sexy, but can you please control yourself?" Spiderman was enjoying this.

I blushed, and quickly let go of him, taking a few steps back. "Maybe if you hadn't have dropped me," I muttered, glaring at him.

He chuckled. "I think I know what you need to work on," he said.

"And what is that?" I asked, running my fingers through my hair.

"I'm going to teach you how to swing," he said.

"But..." I trailed off, looking over the side of the building. I never was afraid of heights, but falling to my death? I'm terrified. "What if I fall?"

"I caught you just then, didn't I?" Spiderman said.

"Yea, but you dropped me on purpose," I countered. "So you were ready to catch me."

Spiderman shrugged. "I've caught plenty of people before. They're all perfectly safe."

"But... but..."

"Rayne, I promise, you'll be completely fine," he said, more softly this time.

We didn't say anything else for a while, until I finally sighed, and nodded. "Okay. But if I fall, you better catch me, or I'll come back to haunt you," I threatened.

He chuckled again, holding out his pinkie. "I promise."

I giggled, and hooked my pinkie with his. "You better not break it," I told him.

He chuckled, and let go of my pinkie. "Alright. All you have to do, is shoot the webbing at a building, and once it sticks, you swing. It's almost like monkey bars, you have to move your body."

Oh great. Monkey bars. I was never good at those. But I nodded, and tried to shoot a web, but it took a couple tries to get it right. When the webbing did finally stick, Spiderman instructed me to hold on with both hands.

"Don't let go," he said, "until you shoot another web at a different building."

"Just... be prepared to catch me, okay?" I said, looking unsure.

"You won't need it," he told me. "But I'll be right with you anyway. Now, just jump, and sling another web out. Try to aim for that building, right there." He pointed to a tall skyscraper, four buildings away.

I chewed my lip and nodded, gripping the web in my hands until my knuckles turned white. "What if I miss it?"

"Just keep your eye on it, and you can't miss it," he said.

I took a deep breath, and nodded, slowly letting the air out. "Alright," I said to myself, "keep your eye on the building. Don't let go. Swing. I got this."

Spiderman chuckled at me. "You'll be fine. Now go, or I'll push you."

I stuck my tongue out at him, annoyed. "Jerk," I muttered. Then, with a final breath, I jumped, one hand outstretched, reaching towards the next skyscraper. I moved my feet as if I were swinging on a swing. A web shot out of my hand, and latched itself onto a building - not the one I was aiming for, but it still worked. I realized that Spiderman never gave me instructions on what to do next, or how to stop, so my mind went blank.

But, before a second could even pass, Spiderman swooped in, grabbing me by the waist, and bringing me up to the top of another building. I was grinning, and my hood had fallen. "I did it!" I exclaimed. I hugged Spiderman around the waist, and he awkwardly hugged back, but I didn't care.

"I knew you could," he said, his arms still around me.

I grinned, adrenaline still pumping through my system. "Now you just have to teach me how to land like you just did," I said, smiling and pulling away.

Spiderman chuckled, crossing his arms. "I'm confident I can do that," he said, and I smiled. "Just let me know when you're ready to learn."

I looked at my watch, and saw that it was eleven. I smiled, and looked back at Spiderman. "I'm ready," I told him happily.

Who needs sleep?