Little Spy | Peter Parker ✓

[32]

PIZZA WAS DISGUSTING.

It was greasy, it was messy, it was covered in more greasy, messy toppings that somehow glistened in the dim lighting - something I didn't think food could do - and it fell, limp, in my fingers, leaving me to question the palettes of the Americans. It didn't seem to be an appetizing dish to anyone; it was almost wet with oil and fat, and the 'meat' didn't even seem to be real. It was a dish I would only think of feeding the lowest levels of society, and a punishment I wouldn't force on many.

However, it didn't matter much what I thought once again, for Peter enjoyed it, and that's what counted. I had to resign myself to the fact that I had agreed to go with him and indulge in the dish and pretend like it was the greatest thing on earth. If that was what made him happy, then it was what needed to be done.

As he neared me, hands shoved deep into a worn sweatshirt's pockets, a now-familiar smile lit up pink cheeks, and he seemed almost ecstatic to be out doing this - for reasons I could not understand. He was too happy to stand with me and go; it was just pizza. Pizza seemed to be much more to him than me, I suppose, but again, it didn't matter what I thought of the strange event. He was happy, and that helped to quell the ball of guilt and anxiety that swallowed every thought inside my mind about him.

"Hi," he said. Somehow that one word started up a soft flame in my head, burning my cheeks and made me want to vomit all over my carefully shined shoes. "You, um, look nice."

I frowned, "I'm just wearing what I would normally wear. It's just clothes."

"Right, well, I know but - you still look nice."

Where I would normally smile, nothing came but bitter regret and fresh guilt, and I was forced to nod through the torment that erupted in my head. "Thank you. You do too, I guess."

Peter's cheeks grew back the pink that was beginning to fade, and he just shrugged towards the world around us. "Should we um go?"

"Yeah," I mumbled and held back my comment about saying 'um' in every sentence as if he was afraid to talk to me again. Instead, I forced Emily to return and built up the cheery smile that was the very epitome of the girl. "Where are we going for this, pizza expert? Do we need the bus? Or are we going to sit in this park and wait for it to appear?"

My words and suddenly peppy attitude must have startled him, as he shot a look of surprise at me, quickly masked by another shy smile. "No, actually, it's not here. It's just a bit away though, barely a walk. I hope you don't mind walking? I just didn't want you to get lost or - "

"It's okay, Peter, I can walk and I will walk with you to this magical pizza place." My eyes stared straight ahead once more, for fear of the unlikely situation that I would keel right over and turn to ash if I looked at the boy again. I needed to distract myself. I needed a new topic. "So, um, any new baddies this weekend that I should know about?"

"No, thankfully Spiderman hasn't had to go out really - I mean, there were a couple things, but it's been quiet. The only villain has been that physics homework assigned, honestly."

We continued through the park and the crowded streets with a small conversation kept between us. He was, like always, the epitome of sweet and polite and seemed to actually care about what I was saying. Even if it was just lies made up right there on the spot, I appreciated that about him. In return, I did my best to listen to what he said, even if it was just to help with piecing together the last of the puzzle that was Spiderman. While it wasn't exactly easy to discuss the masked hero in public, surrounded by the crazies of downtown Queens, he made it work and the conversation only died once we neared the pizza place and he began to tense up.