[Peter's POV]
"May, Ben, Peter, nice to see you."
"Hi, Anna."
"Good evening, Mrs. Watson."
"Come in."
The Watson family's house didn't differ much from ours. The only difference was the décor.
Apparently, all the little houses in Queens are somewhat alike.
"Peter, MJ is in her room, could you go get her?
"S-sure."
"Peter hasn't been embarrassed in a long time."
Aunt May's comment was the last thing I heard before heading upstairs.
I turned red, and I hope they didn't notice me.
"Knock, Knock, Knock"
"Come in."
A soft voice invited.
Opening the door, I just froze. In front of me stood a real goddess and the sweet face of a true model.
She's red-headed, slightly tanned skin with cute freckles and beautiful, bright green eyes.
"Actually, I thought we'd meet a little differently, but it looks like you hit the jackpot, Tiger."
A pearl-white smile completed her lively remark.
"Looks like it."
I couldn't help but smile in return.
"Mary Jane, I hope you remember. We played together a lot when we were kids. My friends call me MJ."
"Peter Parker. I remember. I don't understand how anyone could forget such a beautiful girl."
I tried to smile gently.
"That's very sweet."
She let out a pleasant giggle.
"The adults are probably waiting for us, let's not give them time for any wrong thoughts. Let's go, little tiger."
Grabbing my hand, the redhead led us out of the room.
I suddenly realized I would kill for that smile.
"Ben, May, meet my niece, Mary Jane."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Parker."
MJ said sincerely and clearly.
"Wow, you've grown into such a beautiful young lady, dear. I haven't seen you since you were six."
Aunt May walked up to her and gave her a big hug.
"You're all grown up so much. Just six months ago, I would have confidently said that Peter still had a long way to go."
"I'd be offended in another life, but today, I'm in too good a mood.'
At our little joke exchange, everyone just laughed.
"We've already set the table, let's sit down."
Anna Watson was at the head, Ben and May were at the far end, and Mary and I were closer to the living room exit.
The meal began quite casually.
"So, Mary Jane, why did you decide to transfer to New York?"
Uncle Ben asked.
"Ben, Mary..."
"Actually, I'm still not sure what I want to become, but in a big city, there are better options for different clubs and activities, so moving here was a pretty logical choice."
MJ replied cheerfully to Uncle Ben's question.
The fact that she interrupted Anna and briefly became a little sad made me think.
I'm not sure if Aunt May and Uncle Ben noticed, but I did. After that, the usual dinner conversation continued quite smoothly as if there hadn't been any awkward pause.
"So, you're going to attend Midtown High?"
"Yes. The problem is that they won't enroll me until the end of October because of delays with the paperwork. I'll fall behind in classes."
"If you need anything, I'd be happy to help. I'm more into the exact sciences, but if you need someone to hold a fruit bowl for your art history project, I'm ready."
"Very sweet, Pete, I'll keep that in mind."
Mary Jane winked at me, laughing slightly.
"You were talking about clubs?"
"I've been doing dance and singing since I was ten. Actually, I want to try acting."
"Then you're in luck. Our school has the best drama club in all of New York."
"Really? That's awesome."
After finishing my portion, I kept the conversation going while just looking at the redhead.
I hope this doesn't look too weird.
"It was delicious, Aunt Anna. Can Pete and I go for a little walk?"
"Of course, just make sure to come back before dessert."
"I promise."
Mary grabbed me by the arm and led us away from the table.
There, five minutes after the couple exited through the door:
"What do you think?"
"It seems everything is going great. Anna, you have no idea how happy I am that our nephews are getting along so well."
"Peter clearly shows an interest in Mary."
"Ladies, ladies, let's not get ahead of ourselves. The kids have just started talking. Hold back your cunning plans."
Ben Parker commented.
"Well, I don't know, Ben. Maybe you don't see it, but I feel that something beautiful is blossoming before our eyes."
...
The Watson house porch.
Once outside, Mary let go of my hand and, leaning on the railing, began to watch the beginning of the sunset.
I, on the other hand, didn't want to disturb the fragile silence and, standing to the side, watched her with wide eyes, observing how the setting sun played in her crimson hair.
"Do I have something on my face?"
Mary broke the silence with a cheerful tone.
"Only your beauty."
I gave a cliché compliment.
"Ha. I've been here for a while, but I never would've believed that the shy, quiet Peter Parker could flirt with girls so smoothly. I'm surprised, Tiger."
"Everything changes, Miss Watson. So, since we've escaped for a walk, may I accompany you to the nearest park?"
I extend my hand in a gentlemanly gesture.
"I'd be happy to, Mr. Parker."
Mary accepted my hand, "That tuxedo suits you so well."
"And that beautiful dress suits you too."
I continue playing along.
We walked through the Queens streets at night on our way to the park, joking around and just chatting.
"I didn't think there was a park in the Queens area. When I was a kid, we had to ride bikes for several kilometers to get to a place like this."
"The former mayor introduced a greening program for the city, "A Tree Oasis in Every Corner of New York," that was the slogan."
I gesture dramatically, telling the story.
"Yeah, it wasn't like that in my city."
She spoke in a sad voice.
"Is everything okay?"
I place my other hand on hers in a gesture of support. I could feel that recalling her home had suddenly darkened Mary's mood.
"Everything's fine, Tiger, don't worry."
Mary answered as if nothing had happened.
We entered the park and sat on a bench.
"By the way, why "Tiger"?"
I asked with confusion.
"That?"
She laughed, "don't you remember?"
"Honestly? Not at all."
"When we were about five, we were playing, and a block away from our neighborhood, you suddenly stopped. I came over to see what was wrong, and you silently pointed at a tree. There was a cat sitting on a branch, meowing sadly but very quietly."
"And what happened next?"
"You decided to climb the tree to get it. I told you it might be better to call someone for help, but you climbed up like you were hypnotized."
"Funny, I remembered that I was really afraid of heights as a kid."
'Looks like your heroic side wasn't thinking about that at the moment."
MJ lightly punched me on the shoulder and laughed, "Anyway, you made it up and tried to rescue the cat."
"I feel like the ending is approaching."
"Your intuition doesn't fail you, Mr. Parker. The cat suddenly went crazy and jumped off the tree. You didn't expect it and slipped, falling off the branch."
Mary's cheerfulness stopped.
"I was really scared back then."
"So, I've been failing at heroics since childhood?"
I continued in a light tone, but it was a bit hurtful that such a story happened and that she remembered it.
"Not at all."
Suddenly, Mary looked at me with a completely different gaze, "At that moment, you were moving forward with such determination, not listening to anyone, with only one thought in mind: to help the frightened, innocent animal."
Suddenly, she took my hand.
"It was exactly for the courage reflected in your eyes that I decided to call you Tiger."
MJ said with a smile.
I blushed.
"That's really sweet."
She was so close that the sharp citrus scent hit my nose.
"They've probably been waiting for us."
I awkwardly broke the cozy moment.
"Yes. Would you like some ice cream, Mr. Parker?"
Mary Jane said as if waking up from a trance.
"Suddenly, I'm hungry."
I replied with a dry throat.
"Then let's go."
I'm a coward and an idiot!
Well, what's the harm? Should I kiss her just a couple of hours after meeting?
Of course, we knew each other before today, but we hadn't seen each other for, what, ten years?
"Peter! Pete!"
"Mary, sorry, I got lost in thought,"
I awkwardly note, realizing I had pretty much ignored her the whole way.
"I understand, we've arrived."
She walked to the door.
"Em-Jay!"
She turned around, raising an eyebrow in a questioning gesture.
"Um… I wanted to… well, I mean… if you ever need help with your studies, maybe you could give me your phone number or email or something."
To my surprise, Mary just smiled widely.
"Here's my email, and here's my phone number, text me whenever you want."
She winked.
"Are you busy tomorrow?"
"I'm free all day."
"I know a good café. Maybe I could pick you up around five, and we could go for a walk?"
"I'd love to, Tiger."
Unexpectedly, my courage was back in town!
I definitely like this more.
With what was probably a silly grin on my face, I walked into the house.
"Kids, just in time for dessert."
– How was the walk, Peter?"
"Uh…"
"Um…"
Aunt May and Uncle Ben exchange puzzled glances.
"We went to the park and had a great time."
Mary saved the situation.
"Then I'm sure you worked up an appetite and will happily enjoy some ice cream."
After saying goodbye to the Watson family, we headed home.
"Looks like you had fun with Mary?"
Uncle Ben smirked.
"Very much so. I even invited her to hang out tomorrow, you know... show her around the city, all that stuff."
I nervously rub the back of my head.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, no need to explain yourself, champ. I'm glad to see you taking the initiative."
"I'm so happy for you, dear."
Aunt May practically crushed me in a bear hug from the wave of emotions.
"Air, Aunt, I can't breathe..."
"Don't pretend, and let your old aunt be happy for you!"
"Ladies, don't ever say "old" in front of me again. You and Uncle are in your prime!"
"Alright, let's go already."
To be continued...