Ding

Peter grabbed his phone and saw a text from MJ.

-Hey Pete, we still on for today?

-Of course! I'll see you at 6!

-Don't forget the tickets!

-I won't! They're in my pocket!

Peter threw his phone to the side and ran for the shower, brushing his teeth extra hard and making sure he scrubbed every nook and cranny. Once he had finished, he jumped out and threw on the best pieces of clothing he had; khaki pants, a white T-shirt, and a gray button-up and ran downstairs. "Bye, May! MJ and I are going to the carnival!"

"Have fun!" Aunt May yelled from the kitchen. "Remember to use protect—"

"I got it, May!" he said, cutting her off before she could finish that sentence.

He quickly shut the door behind him and walked towards MJ's house. He had promised her no Spider-Man today, not while they were on a date and if he was being frank, he wanted to be Peter Parker for a while, even if it was only for a night.

Peter pulled out his phone.

-On my way! Can't wait to see you!

-Can't wait to see you too 3

He smiled. His relationship with MJ seemed to be going well. He was afraid the whole superhero thing would affect it but apparently not. He just hoped he could keep it that way. In the four months they've been dating, he and MJ have had their fights, but they weren't enough to break them up for good. Peter just prayed he knew he was doing. He didn't have anyone to teach him except May, and she wasn't the best to talk to about this sort of stuff, especially since she has a tendency to go too much into detail.

When he got to MJ's house, he quickly smelled his breathe and fixed his shirt. Once he felt like he was ready, he rang the doorbell. When it opened, he saw MJ come out in the same dress she wore when they were in Prague; the white flower dress.

"You—you look beautiful," he stuttered as if they were on their first date.

She smiled, "Thanks," and closed the door behind her. "Ready?"

"Yep!" Peter said.

MJ put her arm around Peter's and said, "Let's go."

They walked towards the edge of queens, as that was where the carnival was but not before grabbing a quick bite at Queens Pizza. They smiled, fed each other, and mocked each other the whole time they ate. Peter tried to do a trick with a spoon but failed miserably to which MJ reacted by laughing and criticizing him then showing him how to do it herself.

"I'm so excited, Pete! It feels like we haven't spent some quality time together in ages."

"Yeah, it does. It's just that being Spider-Man takes up a lot of my time and that whole thing with Mysterio caused quite a ruckus for me."

"I'm so glad Doctor Strange was able to wipe everybody's mind of that. It would've been bad if everyone knew you were Spider-Man."

Peter laughed, "I could've been a celebrity. You know, go on talk shows and all that jazz."

"You'd have a panic attack as soon as the cameras started rolling," she mocked. "You're terrible in front of a crowd."

He snorted, "That's with the mask off. With the mask on, I feel like a totally different person."

She forced a smile, hugging her boyfriend, "Let's just be happy nothing bad has happened to you," she said in a low voice. Peter turned his head to her. "I'm so worried about you. I'm worried I'll wake up one day and see the news and it'll say you're dead." Her voice began to tremble. "I'm so scared, Pete."

"Hey," Peter said, grabbing MJ by the hand. "Nothing is going to happen. You don't need to worry." MJ didn't reply. "MJ?" she looked up at him. "I promise I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be here for you."

She smiled, her eyes watery, "Thank you, Pete. I really needed to hear that." They grabbed each other's hands, "C'mon. Let's get to the carnival."

They walked up the street, following the signs that pointed in the direction of the carnival. As they got closer, they could see the lights of the carnival. They glared into the night sky, making it glow red, white, and blue. It looks beautiful, he thought. He looked over and saw MJ awing at them too. He couldn't help but smile at how beautiful she looked. He still couldn't believe she would even date him.

MJ looked over to Peter, who was staring directly at her with no obvious cause apparent to her, "What?" she asked.

Peter replies, still smiling, "Nothing. It's just…you look beautiful."

She smiled back, "You too."

They both laughed and continued their walk to the carnival, which they hoped would gift them with good memories.

"Hey, Pete?"

"Yea?"

"What if something bad happens tonight and you're needed? You can't just let people get hurt."

"Don't worry," he said. "I told Happy, and he told the Avengers, I won't be able to cover the city tonight, so they're taking care of it. Plus, if anything really bad does happen and they need my help, Happy will call me."

"So, tonight's just us then?" she asked, hoping he would say yes.

"Yes," he smiled. She grabbed him by the arm and bolted to the carnival, running straight through the line. Peter quickly handed the clerk their tickets and went in, trying his best to keep up with MJ, who was running as fast as a lion.

"Look, Pete. It's a minigame!" They ran up to it and saw it was one of those games where you throw a ball at a bunch of milk bottles to try to knock them down and win a prize.

"Would you two lovely couple like to take a stab at the milk bottles?"

"Sure," Peter said. "I'll take a crack at it."

"Five dollars for one shot and ten for five."

Peter reached into his pocket and handed the man a five. "One ball, please."

The clerk took out a ball and handed it to Peter. "Good luck!" he said.

Peter took a step back and readied his arm. Easy, he thought. After all, he was Spider-Man. He's fought aliens and rhinos. If he can't knock down a couple of bottles, then he doesn't deserve to be Spider-Man.

He pulled his arm back, giving MJ a quick wink, and threw the ball at the bottles.

"Bullseye!" yelled the clerk. "What prize would you like?"

Peter turned to MJ, who pointed at the giant teddy bear with a red scarf around its neck and lifeless black eyes. "That one," she said. "It reminds me of you. Cute and cuddly." Peter laughed. The clerk behind the counter grabbed the giant teddy bear and handed it to Peter, who then gave it to MJ. "Have a good day now, you two!"

Peter and MJ waved as they took their newfound friend with them. "It reminds me of Ned," said Peter.

MJ gasped and laughed, "Is it cause he's big?"

"No, its cause he's cute and cuddly."

MJ stopped, "You did that on purpose," she smiled. She held Peter as hard as she could while also carrying the giant teddy bear and said, "I miss days like this. When its peaceful and we spend time together."

"Me, too," replied Peter.

"You know Pete, you're the only person I've ever opened up to. The only person I can feel relaxed around. I'm glad we kissed on that bridge."

"Me too," Peter said again. "C'mon," he said. "We have a lot more to see!" He grabbed her hand and they went to explore the carnival. MJ would shout things like, "Look, Peter! The Ferris wheel" or "Bumper cars!" or "Let's try the bull!" It was the best night of Peter's life and not because of the rides, but because of how happy he saw MJ. It made him feel good; like all the bad in the universe was somehow erased by her beautiful smile.

Once things started to slow down and the night became late, Peter and MJ stopped the rides and went to buy some cotton candy to fill their hungry stomachs. Peter handed the man selling the candy a ten and went back to MJ who was waited patiently by a bench. He handed MJ the candy. "Peter, I had such a wonderful time!"

"Me, too," said Peter. "We need to do this more often."

"If you took more time off from being Spider-Man, we could." Peter stopped, looking at MJ who immediately released the gravity of what she just said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I know you need to save people because of the great responsibility you have—"

"You're right."

MJ looked up, speechless and surprised, "What?"

"You're right. I need to make more time for you and I promise from this point on, I will." MJ smiled as did Peter. They stared into each other's eyes. The world around them started to blur as they focused on each other, nothing else mattered. It was only them and that was how they liked it. They slowly leaned forward, stopping for a quick second to glance at each other to make sure it was okay, then planted a kiss on each other's lip. They tasted the other's soft lips until finally, they both pulled away, Peter's face completely red. MJ smiled once more, taking a bite out of the cotton candy Peter had given her. She slowly swallowed it, enjoying every second of it.

Peter looked up at the sky, amazed at how beautiful the stars were tonight. He could almost get lost in their beauty.

"Peter?" MJ said, distressed.

Peter looked over and saw MJ bleeding at the mouth. "MJ?! What's wrong?!" She stood up, dropping the candy to the floor, blood peering through her top and devouring the once beautiful white flowered dress. "Pete," she said with tears in her eyes. He tried to reach for her, "MJ!" She fell to the floor. Peter ran up to her and shouted for help. A crowd gathered around them. They didn't say a thing other than watch Peter hold the now dead MJ.

"Someone help! We need help!"

Peter.

"Call an ambulance, please!"

Peter!

"Please," Peter said through tears. "Someone help us!"

PETER!

Peter woke up to Aunt May screaming his name. "May," he said groggy and his eyes blurry.

"Peter, wake up."

Peter's vision slowly started to come back and he saw an older and a much more scarred Aunt May. Her face was covered in burns and she was missing an eye. He slowly pulled himself up, breathing heavily in the abandoned subway tunnel they resided in.

"Where's MJ?" he asked delirious.

"What?"

"MJ? MJ…" he kept repeating as if he were in a haze.

"Peter… MJ's dead. Scorpion killed her when the world found out you were Spider-Man."

"Wha—"

She grabbed Peter by the arm and pulled him up. "We need to go, Pete. The villains are almost here."