Chapter 14

The shock of finding out that Peter was Spiderman did not go away as quickly as you wanted it to. After you ran out of his car, you ended up walking to Ruby's work, the whole 40 minute journey, numbly approaching her office and just blurting out what you just found out. Luckily, she'd had the good sense to shut the door just beforehand, while you were still standing in the middle of the room with a shocked expression on your face, because she could tell something was wrong.

If Ruby was surprised at the news, she was a lot more composed than you were. She immediately went into a ramble about it, questioning you exactly what had been said, asking you about any times that you thought were weird that couldn't be explained before now.

See, working in the attorney's office, they had a lot of dealings with the consequences of Spiderman, and the other Avengers. Damages, compensation, criminals just appearing at the doorstep of the police station, and having to figure out the evidence after. The DA wasn't exactly an enemy of the Avengers, but they weren't exactly fans either.

Ruby was your friend first though. She wouldn't spill Peter's identity. She just wanted to work out which of her cases were linked to him, and her quick mind was already thinking about whether any of them would be tied back to him. He'd gotten away with everything for a decade already, but that didn't mean he no longer had to be careful.

Once Ruby also pointed out that you running off also meant that you had no idea what Adam was doing after he left, your shock was overtaken by frustration.

"You're gonna have to ask Peter what's happening." She said.

"No, please no." You groaned, putting your head in your hands as you sat on the opposite side of her desk. "I just...I need to not talk to him for a while." You exhaled as you dropped your hands. "He's Spiderman!"

"Yeah, you mentioned." Ruby smirked as she tapped her pencil on her desk.

"Spiderman, Rubes! Like," You stood and started pacing. "How could I not know that? We've been friends for almost a year!"

"Well," She shrugged. "Not all of them are like Stark, or Captain America. Some of them keep it hushed up. It's probably more dangerous to know he's Spiderman than to be blissfully aware."

"But it's me, how could he not tell me?"

Ruby looked at you in sympathy. The truth is, she figured that he hadn't told you because of how he felt. Trying to keep you safe by keeping it a secret, because he liked you. Which of course, you also didn't know about yet. Well, at least one of his secrets was out.

"You'll have to speak to him at some point." She said.

"I know. I'll text him tomorrow about Adam-"

"And also to talk about this." She raised an eyebrow, and you sighed.

"Yeah. I will." She looked at you pointedly. "I will!"

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk.

"I would say come to mine but I've got a deposition in the morning which I am so not prepared for. So, for now, go home, have a shower and just go to sleep. You're working tomorrow aren't you?" She asked and you nodded. "So go to work, then text Peter, and ask to talk. I should get out of things here like, 7ish? If you need me after then, give me a call." She offered, although she had a feeling that once you spoke to Peter, you wouldn't need her.

"Yeah. Okay. Thanks."

"Did you drive?"

"No."

"Good, you're a shit driver when you're stressed. I'll call you an Uber."

"Hey I'm not-" You started to protest, but Ruby held a finger up to you as she put the phone to her ear.

Once you had been chauffeured home, you followed Ruby's advice, and showered and went to bed. The next day though, you didn't get round to texting Peter.

Mostly because you didn't want to.

And also because Adam had actually taken you out to dinner, like he promised last week, and your brain was trying to concentrate on maintaining the conversation and facade of being a perfect girlfriend. The entire time though, you were simmering with different waves of emotion. Still thinking about Peter, still thinking about him being Spiderman, still wondering why Adam had been lying for months. You cycled through anger, frustration, sadness and heartbreak in minute long intervals, all the while desperate for just one part of it to make sense.

You had ordered a large glass of wine, and it was gone before your main courses arrived. You feared that if you had anymore, then you would start blurting out everything on your mind, and you absolutely could not do that. You switched to soda after that, although you almost asked for another glass of wine when you checked your phone and saw that you had a text from Peter.

You put your phone back in your bag, trying to refocus on the room, and on your...

Why did it feel weird to think of him as your boyfriend?

While he was babbling on about something that happened at the gym with Mason, you felt a rush of alcohol confidence and interrupted him.

"Hey Adam, can I ask you something?" You said, as you cut a piece of steak.

"Of course, what's wrong?" He asked, and you looked up to see him looking at you with concern. You couldn't determine whether it was genuine.

"Well, the other day I popped by your work," You said, your words dripping in innocence. He froze, his fork halfway to his mouth. "I felt so bad at how much you'd been working, so I came by to drop you some takeout."

"Oh, that's nice babe." He replied, but his voice wasn't as confident as it had been a second ago.

"But the receptionist lady said that you weren't working late." You continued, frowning at him as you ate your food.

"What day was this?"

"Umm," You pretended to think. You didn't want to give him any ammo. "I can't really remember. Maybe a day or two ago?"

He cleared his throat. Then he nodded, and put his food in his mouth.

"That's the new receptionist." He said with a full mouth. "Yeah, she's still learning who's who. She keeps getting me mixed up with Alan, you know Alan?"

"Yeah, I know Alan." You nodded, although you narrowed your eyes at him when he looked back down at his food.

"Yeah, Alan doesn't work late so she was probably thinking of him when she said that to you. You should have called me, I would have sorted it all out." He smiled at you, and you gave a small smile back.

"Yeah. I'll do that next time." You said, and he continued with his food. You, on the other hand, had lost most of your appetite.

The receptionist wasn't new. She was the same receptionist that had worked there when you met Adam after work for your third date last year. You remembered, because you spoke to her about the new Versace bag she'd bought while you waited. You were jealous of that bag for weeks.

After dinner, you stayed over at Adam's. While he was in the kitchen, getting you a glass of water for bed, you quickly checked Peter's message.

Peter: Hope you're okay. Nothing to report from yesterday.

For Peter, it was an oddly worded text. Professional. Blunt. Awkward.

You didn't really know how to address it, so you just locked your phone when Adam came into the bedroom and took your water. You laid down to sleep with the same mixed feelings that you had at dinner.

Two days later, you finally texted Peter, asking if he had any further updates. Yes, it was presumptuous to assume that he had followed Adam yesterday, but when you planned the initial stakeout, it was kind of hinted that following Adam was the next part of your plans.

Your assumption was correct, because Peter text back almost instantly that he had nothing.

For the last three hours of your shift, you kept thinking over the whole thing. And you found yourself getting angry. Yes, Adam lied about working late. To your face. But it had now been over three weeks since Peter first planted the seed in your head that your boyfriend was cheating on you, and not a single one of your little gang had found any other proof. You asked Adam straight, and he had an excuse. Whether it was believable or not, it still wasn't evidence of him being unfaithful. It was putting distance between you and Adam. Your closeness with Peter was getting into your head.

You needed to stop it.