New chapter!
Thanks for all the support!
x
“Peter?
You came.” Mary Jane’s eyes brightened as soon as she saw him.
“Are those for me?”
She slipped free of the uniformed man’s arm and walked to Peter.
That tiny movement made Evan smile.
Mary Jane still liked him.
From what Evan remembered, she had already confessed once, and Peter had turned her down because of Spider-Man.
He was afraid his enemies would hurt her.
Evan understood the fear.
He also thought it was a weak excuse.
By that logic, every superhero should stay single forever.
So he became the world’s least subtle wingman.
“Hi,” Evan said.
“I’m Evan.
Peter’s friend.
He came because he’s stupidly in love with you, and if you ask me, you two should stop orbiting each other and go make some memories loud enough to annoy the neighbors.”
Peter and Mary Jane both froze.
Embarrassed.
Also not exactly unhappy.
“Ev,” Peter hissed.
“Don’t.”
Evan smiled and very much did.
“Peter loves you.
He pushed you away because he thought he couldn’t protect you.
He’s an idiot, but a decent one.
You could do worse.”
Mary Jane’s eyes widened.
She caught Peter’s hand and looked straight at him.
“Peter.
Is that true?”
Peter had been shoved to the edge of the cliff.
There was nowhere left to retreat.
He took a breath, dropped every excuse, and said, “Yes.
I love you.
I just…
I wanted you safe.
But if you still want to try, I want to start over.”
Evan exhaled.
Good.
He had done his part.
In a cleaner story, Peter and Mary Jane would have walked out together, found a hotel or a quiet apartment, and spent the night making enough noise to embarrass the neighbors.
Reality had other ideas.
“Mary, what are you doing?” the uniformed man snapped.
“You’re my fiancee.”
He strode forward and grabbed her wrist.
He was tall, broad, and young for the rank on his shoulder.
Either he was talented, connected, or both.
“You’re my fiancee,” he said again, louder.
“Act like it.”
Then he looked Peter up and down.
“And you must be Peter Parker.
Stop bothering my future wife.
We’re getting married soon.”
He pulled Mary Jane against him like he was claiming property.
Evan picked up a chair.
The chair hit the man across the head before anyone realized he had moved.
The officer staggered, blood running down his face, then collapsed.
“Ev!” Peter blurted.
Mary Jane stared in shock.
The backstage area erupted into chaos.
Evan only smiled.
“There.
No more interruption.
Go be honest with each other.”
He grabbed Peter and Mary Jane by the arms and dragged them out of the theater.
Outside, he looked at them like a proud parent watching two children finally learn to walk.
“Life is short.
Stop wasting it.
Peter, Mary Jane, take care of each other.
Do something that makes you happy.
I’m hungry, so I’m going to find food.”
Peter was Spider-Man.
Evan did not need to worry about their safety.
If the officer tried anything after waking up, Peter could handle it.
He was strong.
What he lacked was the nerve to break out of the guilt cage he had built around himself.
Evan had given him a shove.
“Ev, thank you,” Peter called after him.
“And be careful.
Don’t get eaten by monsters.”
Evan lifted a hand without turning around.
A smile touched his mouth.
‘Eaten by monsters?’
He stepped into an empty alley.
‘I am the monster.’
After checking that no one was watching, Evan pinched the edge of the mask stuck near his ear and peeled it away.
A thin prosthetic face came off in his hand.
Under it was a handsome face made younger by the latest evolution.
He kicked off the shoe lifts, and his height dropped immediately.
Without the disguise, he looked at least two or three years younger.
Evan sighed.
“Great.
Evolution made me age backward.
If the next one does this too, I won’t be able to keep pretending.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.