I’m Not Becoming Spider-Man - Chapter 39: The Little Redheaded Tiger Hisses (Patreon)

“All right, Miss Beck. Everything is settled on our end. How about yours?”

“Uh, yes! No problem at all. When can I move in?” Quentina could barely believe her luck. Had she really been accepted?

Then she remembered something. “Wait, do you want rent in advance? And what about a deposit?”

“Easy, Miss Beck. There are four rooms on each floor. Pick whichever one you'd like first.”

“Then... the first room on the third floor, please.”

“That's fine. Just contact me when you're ready to move. You'll need to pay one month's rent in advance, along with the rent for the current month.”

“Yes! Of course!” Quentina was almost ready to jump for joy. The conditions were far more generous than she'd expected.

She sprang up and threw her arms around Peter, catching him completely off guard.

For a moment his head seemed to vanish into a mass of soft cotton, like a pillow made for the sweetest dreams.

Nearly every girl in the room turned toward them.

“Um... Miss Beck, would you mind letting go?” Peter asked, forcing himself to remain calm. Up close, he could smell her sweater, a faintly sour note like apple cider, and something slightly scorched. It wasn't perfume, but it wasn't particularly unpleasant, either.

“Ah, sorry. I got carried away. Please forgive me...”

“Anyway, you can move in whenever you're ready. Just contact me beforehand,” Peter said, as though nothing had happened.

To be fair, the hug had been rather comfortable.

There was no point in lying to himself about that.

But he could feel Mary Jane and Gwen staring daggers into his back. The sensation was chilling.

“I'll be quick! I'll bring my things over right away. And I can pay you first!” Quentina exclaimed.

“There's no hurry. Get settled before worrying about that.”

“Yes, yes! Right away!” She hurried out, practically glowing with happiness. Peter finally breathed easier.

“You certainly are popular, Peter,” Mary Jane said softly behind him.

“Uh... am I about to die, Mary Jane?”

“Drink this.” She handed him a glass of soda. In her other hand were two Mentos candies.

“And if I say no?”

“Then I'll...” She leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Peter's face fell.

“Okay, fine. I'll drink it.”

Mary Jane dropped the Mentos into the soda. Peter tried to gulp it down, but the sudden fizz made him choke and spray the drink everywhere.

Everyone laughed. Mary Jane was still upset, but she hadn't erupted in front of the others. She had given Peter a way to save face while also publicly asserting how close the two of them were.

“Right. I'll get a mop. You sit there and behave, okay?”

“As if any of that was my fault.” Peter slumped onto the couch.

Gwen, busy twisting a Rubik's Cube, looked up. “What kind of dirt does she have on you?”

“More than you'd think. She's at my house practically every day. She knows all sorts of things.”

“Like that secret stash of allowance money you're saving?”

“Oh, come on, Gwen. Not you, too. I thought you were different.”

“What's the problem? If you lose something one day, maybe I'll be able to find it for you. We're under the same roof now.”

“I'm not going to lose anything.”

“Or are you worried I'll discover the comics you've got hidden away?”

Peter answered by raising his middle finger. They had become close enough friends to joke that way.

Cindy, meanwhile, was blushing furiously. She came from a Korean immigrant family, and her strict upbringing made even this mild teasing feel terribly embarrassing.

She usually spent her days studying. She'd never attended a party like this. Who would have guessed her first would be so intense?

There was a more serious reason for her discomfort, too. As one of the few students of Korean descent at the school, she was vulnerable to discrimination. With no other Korean students around, she stood even lower in the school's pecking order than Peter, the so-called weirdo, and could easily become a target for bullies.

Luckily, everyone had only recently started the school year, and the bullies preferred more obvious targets, especially Peter, who'd taken first place in the entrance exam. Cindy had ranked third, which meant hardly anyone noticed her. Mary Jane had also been spending more time with her lately, seemingly drawing her into her own group of friends.

For now, Cindy mostly kept her head down and ate. Even then, because she watched her figure, she took tiny bites like a little hamster.

Hardy, by contrast, watched Peter with a look of delighted curiosity, as if she'd discovered a fascinating new toy.

“Anyway, I don't think it was such a big deal,” Gwen said. “You didn't do anything on purpose.”

“Jealousy doesn't care whether something was intentional,” Peter replied.

By now, practically everyone seemed to assume Mary Jane was his girlfriend.

“Hey, Mary Jane, why don't you give Peter a hug like that, too?” someone suggested.

“Heh. What do you think?” Mary Jane moved closer, pressing her arm against his.

Peter showed no reaction.

Mary Jane was undeniably attractive, but she had teased him with her looks so often that he'd become rather used to it. And beside Quentina's striking figure, the difference was hard not to notice.

“Hmph.” Mary Jane had nearly smothered her irritation, but his indifference rekindled it. Why was he ignoring her? Was she really so lacking?

She moved around to Peter's other side, sat beside him, and drew him against herself.

The others whistled and cheered.

Peter didn't even blush. It was hardly the first time. “Come on, Mary Jane. Quit fooling around.”

“Hmph! If I'm not good enough, then let Gwen do it!”

“W-wait... me?” Gwen instinctively glanced down at herself. She was even less developed than Mary Jane. Surely Peter wouldn't react to her, either?

“Yes, Peter. Go over there.” Mary Jane's words sounded like an order.

“Don't do this, Mary Jane. I don't hate you, I don't think there's anything wrong with you, and I'm certainly not rejecting you...”

“I said go to Gwen!” Mary Jane glared at him.

The mood changed. Everyone could tell she was truly angry now, her commanding tone edged with reckless, self-defeating frustration.

“Uh... I'll get some soda.” Trapped between them, Gwen wanted nothing more than to escape.

This was terrifying. No wonder Peter never introduced Mary Jane as his girlfriend.

“...”

Normally, Mary Jane's words and tone would have been a clear signal that she wanted Peter to coax her out of her sulk.

But Peter was irritated, too. He'd already said what needed saying, and she was still behaving this way.

So he reached for Gwen.

“Gwen.”

“Huh?”

Peter moved straight into her arms, hugged her, and buried his face against her.

Gwen froze for a moment before reflexively embracing him. His hair tickled her skin, slightly prickly, and the strange sensation of being pressed together made her acutely aware of the contact.

Without saying a word, Mary Jane stood up and returned to her room, her expression dark as a storm cloud.

The silence left behind was painfully awkward.

Peter pulled away from Gwen, rubbed his face, and took another swig of soda. “All right. Time to start dinner. Flash, come give me a hand.”

“Sure. I mean, uh, no problem,” Thompson replied.

So Mary Jane could be that frightening? Good thing he'd stopped pursuing her...

Harley looked down at her feet.

She was wearing a pair of fluffy pink slippers today.