I’m Not Becoming Spider-Man - Chapter 11: An Invitation from X? (Patreon)

"Oh, man, Harley, you'll never guess what I just did!" Peter said excitedly. "Did you see that? I caught the paper ball Gwen threw without even looking away from you!"

"Whoa, that's so cool!"

What on earth were those two doing?

Gwen had been sneaking glances at them. Instead of opening the note, they were busy chatting about something. Then Peter casually tossed the crumpled paper right back to her.

What?!

"Watch this, Harley. Gwen's bound to throw it again. I bet I can catch it a second time."

Gwen rose from her seat, drawing the attention of the entire class. "I'm going to the bathroom."

Without waiting for the teacher to answer, she marched out with a stormy expression. But before leaving, she poked her head back through the doorway and hurled the paper ball at Peter's head with all her might.

"Ow!"

Unfortunately, it struck Harley instead, hitting her square in the face and catching her eye.

"Hey, are you all right? Good grief, what's gotten into Gwen?" Peter asked.

"Oh, I'm fine... really, I'm fine," Harley said, covering her eye.

"I'll make sure she apologizes to you later."

"You really don't have to! I'm fine!" Harley protested quickly. Gwen was one of the few friends she had. The last thing she wanted was for this to cause trouble between them.

"Losing her temper out of nowhere. That's strange. Gwen isn't usually like that."

"Maybe we should see whether she wrote something on the paper. That might explain it." Harley rubbed her eye. Fortunately, it had only been a ball of paper, so the damage was hardly serious.

"Oh, so she wasn't asking me to play catch with it? Let's see what it says."

Peter unfolded the note, and Harley leaned in to read it with him.

[I'm too impatient to wait until tomorrow. How about I come over to your place tonight to see the rest? Harley could come too!]

They looked at each other.

"Huh... that's all?" Peter asked. As far as he could tell, there was nothing in the message worth getting angry about.

"I don't think the message is the problem. I think she's upset because you ignored her," Harley said. "That's how girls can be, Peter. When things don't go the way they expect, they get embarrassed and angry."

"All right, then what sort of reaction should I have given her?" Peter asked helplessly.

"Let me think... You should've looked pleasantly surprised."

"Why? I'm not exactly going to be surprised if Gwen comes to my house to read my comic." Peter scratched his head.

"Oh, Peter, come on! Think about it. Gwen's gorgeous. You're pretty cool yourself, but you look like an ordinary guy. Now imagine a beautiful, popular girl with a personality like hers asking to visit your house tonight. Shouldn't that be exciting?"

"Should it?"

After all, another pretty redhead, Mary Jane, had only ended their year-long truce yesterday and resumed making his life difficult. Peter already had more than enough trouble. Frankly, he found Harley a lot easier to deal with.

"Fine. I'll try to look surprised when I see her," Peter conceded. Gwen was his friend, and he didn't want to hurt her feelings.

Besides, she was the future Spider-Woman. What if she swung past his house one morning and snatched his breakfast sandwich away with a web?

Peter could absolutely imagine her doing it.

"You really are a weirdo, Peter." Harley felt as though his thoughts existed on an entirely different wavelength from everyone else's.

"No, no, I think I've figured it out," Peter said, slipping into analysis mode. "I forgot that Gwen's still a teenager. People that age can be vain, and even someone as smart and sensible as Gwen must take a little pride in having a pretty face. Maybe I was inconsiderate. Perhaps she wants a compliment from me once in a while."

"Oh, my God." Harley covered her face.

"What?"

"You sound like you're trying to work out how to humor a little kid. Stop analyzing everything, Peter. Just do what feels right. Don't you think Gwen's wonderful?"

"Of course I do."

She was the future Spider-Woman, for goodness' sake. How could she not be wonderful?

"Then what do you think you should do?"

"Hmm... tell her she can't come to my house?"

"What?!"

Harley's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Why?!"

"Think about it, Harley. She can visit, sure, but how would I explain it to my family? Or to hers? More importantly, people are already spreading rumors about the two of us. If they find out Gwen came to my house, it could turn into a huge headache."

And if Mary Jane found out he'd brought Gwen home, she might eat him alive.

"Oh, for heaven's sake..." Harley finally understood why everyone called Peter a freak. She and Peter simply did not think alike.

"Of course, you're different, buddy. Gwen's a problem, but you can come over." Peter gave her shoulder a friendly pat.

"M-me?" Harley pointed at herself.

"Sure. You're no problem at all," Peter said, leaning back in his chair.

Bringing Gwen home might set off an unfortunate chain reaction. Harley, on the other hand, was his pal, his best buddy, and a proper rich kid to boot. She'd only just transferred to the school. Nobody even knew who she was yet.

And most importantly...

She was a "boy"!

"Oh... I..." Harley was at a loss for words. Did Peter mean she was somehow special to him?

Was that what he was trying to say?

No, no! Surely not. They'd only just met!

But he'd turned Gwen down and welcomed her instead. Didn't that mean he preferred her to Gwen, at least in some way?

The truth was that her family circumstances had left Harley painfully sensitive. She envied Gwen's ability, confidence, grace, and independent spirit.

Harley thought she possessed none of those qualities. She was average at everything, and the only remarkable thing about her was being Norma Osborn's daughter. She desperately wanted to prove herself without relying on that name, but it was hard. Her feelings of inadequacy rarely showed on the surface.

And now Peter was saying she was the more suitable person to invite...

Heh. Hehehe...

"Harley? Harley?"

"Huh? Wh-what is it, Peter?"

"You've been sitting there grinning to yourself. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Harley answered hastily. "Um, just to be sure, I really can come over to your house?"

"Absolutely. I'd be happy to have you. Stay for dinner if you like. You can even spend the night at my place. I don't mind."

"And... Gwen can't?"

"Of course she can't. How could I let her stay the night?" Peter shook his head.

"Mm." Harley nodded, delighted to have confirmed her special place in his eyes.

Wait. Huh?

What had Peter just said?!

She... could spend the night... at his house?!