With a "bang", the clinic's door was flung open. A figure stumbled in, shouting all the while.
"Doctor, doctor, let me hide! Gwen's dad is chasing me! Find me a spot to hide, please!"
As Shiller was coming down from the second floor, he glanced at Peter who had come running in. He pointed to the kitchen. Peter darted across and hid behind the island platform. Shiller looked outside and saw Chief George and a team of police officers rushing past the door.
Only when Chief George disappeared around the street corner, did Peter emerge from behind the island platform. He took a deep breath and flopped onto the sofa.
Shiller went over and poured him a glass of water. Once the glass was in front of him, Shiller asked, "What happened? Why was Chief George chasing you?"
Peter drank up all the water in the glass, wiped his mouth, and heaved a sigh. "I finally had some free time today, so I patrolled for extra credit in the Spider Man suit. Towards the end of my shift, I was about to find a spot to change when I noticed someone chasing a thief."
"Without giving it much thought, I made a mad dash and caught the thief. What I did not expect was that the victim had already called the police. From afar, I saw Chief George running in this direction so I started running."
"He must've thought I was the thief, so he chased after me. I was scared he'd find out who I was, so I ran as fast as I could, keeping a certain distance. And here I am."
Shiller sat across from him, looked into his eyes and asked, "Why did you run when you saw Chief George coming?"
"Because I was scared he'd find out..." It was a distressed look that crossed Peter's face. "I feel like I wouldn't be able to explain to him how I could run so fast or how I could pin down a thief who was much stronger than me."
"You know, all these can be easily explained," Shiller simply stated as he took a sip of water. "You were doing good and he won't suspect much."
"I just feel like he's already suspicious, which is why I can't face him." Peter ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and collapsed onto the sofa. "He sees me as some poor, quiet nerd. He thinks that's what Peter Parker is like, and that makes him feel safe. But Spider Man is a whole other extreme."
"George absolutely despises Spider Man. He thinks Spider Man's parents should be arrested for letting a kid who should've been studying run loose."
"You know him. He's one of those old fashioned parents who think kids should act their age. Young people should follow the rules, learn from their elders, not strut around New York sky in colorful tights."
"Have you talked to Gwen about this?" Shiller asked.
"Of course Gwen would never talk bad about her dad.. She isn't that type of person. I can understand Chief George, so I just have to avoid him. If he knew who I really was, the consequences would be severe because I lied to him."
Peter buried his face in his hands, saying, "I've never lied this big in my life, I'm going crazy!"
The signs of stress were evident on Peter. His biceps were taut, his arms always around his body, and he was speaking faster than usual. Clearly his anxiety was getting to him.
"Do you think you should come clean to Chief George?"
"One day I will."
"Then does Gwen think the two of you should come clean to Chief George?"
Peter tilted his head to one side. "I don't know. I can't just bluntly ask her that. It would be putting undue pressure on her. If we came clean and her father lashed out at me, Gwen would feel responsible."
"And if worse comes to worst, if we become enemies one day, or one of us hurts the other, Gwen would bear the burden of the pain."
"In my worst-case scenario, if Chief George finds out about my Spider Man identity, he definitely won't treat me nicely. Even more so if he found out that Gwen and I had been hiding it from him. He'd be heartbroken that his daughter helped an outsider and he would hate me even more."
"Gwen would be the filling in the sandwich." Peter gestured with his hands. "If I don't leave her, George would be hurt. If I leave her, I would be hurt. And she doesn't want either of us to be hurt."
Shiller pondered for a moment before asking, "So, do you regret hiding this from George with Gwen?"
Peter seemed taken aback, as if he hadn't expected Shiller to ask this. He thought for a moment before replying, "Honestly, I never found the right moment to bring this up. I feel like whenever he finds out, the outcome would be the same."
"If he found out at the very beginning that his daughter was dating Spider Man, his anger would not be any lesser compared to now. He might even have added worries, fearing every day that his daughter would be in danger because of Spider Man."
"If that's the case, the lies you and Gwen told can be considered white lies. You don't need to blame yourself too much."