347(A/N: I do not own Spiderman. That right belongs to Sony).
"Thank you all for attending. We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Maybelle Parker, a wife, an aunt, a friend. Her departure from this Earth leaves a void in all of our hearts but her heart, her laughter and her smile will always be with us" The priest had said in front of the casket that held Peter's aunt.
It had been about a week since Peter had met everyone at the Silver Spoon. Peter had finally found the strength to host his aunt's funeral. He didn't go crazy with it, he just paid enough for a modest funeral at a local church with about 100-200 seats in total. It was an open casket funeral so several people went up to say their goodbyes to May, who had been dressed up in a black dress with a pearl necklace. She had no glasses on as she had been laid down, eyes closed as if she were only in a deep sleep.
Almost everyone Peter knew was there: Felicia, Liz (Who were each sitting at his side). Also close by him was Gwen and George Stacy, Dr. Bromwell, Mary Jane, her aunt Anna Watson, Eddie and the Connors (Billy included). There was also Mark, Liz's parents, Flash, Rand, Sha Shan, Glory, Kenny there along with the entire staff of the Daily Bugle(Peter could even see Jameson's son John sitting next to his father. He guessed he was cured of his recent mental illness). Emily Osborn was also there but she was a distance away, no doubt after trying to fend off another battle with the press about her soon (Some of whom were at the funeral already).
To Peter's great surprise: Even Sally Avril was there. She was dressed in black several rows behind the 'in crowd' who were all seated close together with their parents. He didn't really know why she was here…but he did remember Flash one time said that 'even Sally feels bad for you' when his aunt first got a heart attack and he also remembered how emotional she was when she thought he was dead during that field trip that turned into a battle between him and the 'enforcers'. Honestly, he couldn't help but be touched by this. Maybe she was starting to turn around, he thought when he first saw her there.
"May Parker liked to attend Shakespearean plays on Broadway and also liked to cook. She is most known for writing the recent cookbook 'Home Recipes by May Parker' which has been a proven success in recent times. However, if you asked her, the one thing that she enjoyed most was spending time with her nephew: Peter Parker" The priest said, looking down towards Peter with a smile before continuing.
"In her own words, she has described spending time with her nephew as 'the best part of her life as he was the smartest, sweetest boy you could ever meet'...even if on occasion his definition of cleaning his bedroom was shoving everything under the bed" The priest said with a small grin.
Peter flushed as the crowd lightly laughed at his expense although he couldn't help but let out a small smile. However, hearing the priest's words, he couldn't help but tear up again that day, remembering that the very last time he would see his aunt was right now, just a few moments before closing the casket.
"As we lay this beautiful soul to rest after such a long, lasting life, let us remember that death is not the end. God has a plan for all of us after we pass and it is no different for that of May Parker. While we are gathered here today in sadness of her departure, let us rejoice that she is now bearing the fruits of her labors and is now reunited with her husband and family in the kingdom of heaven" The priest said in his sermon.
Peter blinked as he heard this while the priest continued on. While he couldn't say he was a believer, he was a bit touched by the sentiment. It was a nice thought, his Uncle Ben and his Aunt May reuniting. Hugging, kissing and spending the rest of eternity together. That was one thing he appreciated about religion. The comfort it gave people for what happens when they die, including the comfort it gave her aunt, especially after the deaths of his parents as well as his uncle. Even as he wiped his nose as well as a few tears from his eyes, he did something he rarely ever did: Said a prayer that if God did indeed exist and heaven was a genuine place, that May would forever be comforted and happy every day for the rest of eternity.
As he ended this prayer, it looked as if the service ended and the casket was then closed, shutting off his aunt's body for the rest of time. At that moment, he felt again as if his body had shut off (Similarly to how he felt when his aunt had passed right in front of his face) as at that moment he was unable to feel any other emotion then and there. That didn't stop him however from performing his duty as one of the pallbearers.
Both him and Eddie got up from their seats and began to move towards the casket. As they did, Peter could feel Eddie place his arm around him, giving him a slight side hug. Peter looked up towards Eddie who looked down at him with as sympathetic a look someone could give. Peter could still tell Eddie blamed himself for what happened. However, Peter just gave him a small yet grateful and reassuring smile, glad he had such a great big brother figure in his life.
They finally made their way to the casket and were easily able to pick it up, each at one side. One could see looks of shock from some of the members of the audience, surprised that only two young men (One of which was significantly smaller than the other) were able to pick up a whole casket. However, no one said anything as this was not appropriate to point out right now. Peter paid them no mind anyway even though he knew they were staring. This was the last moment he would be this near his aunt and he was going to savor every last moment of it. He did just that as he walked down the aisle of the church as he held the casket close to his person. It had been the most precious thing in the world to him at that time and he dared anyone to come between him and that as the both of them led the casket out to the hearse that was just outside, waiting to take it to the cemetery.
Harlem cemetery*
The ride to the cemetery wasn't anything special. Peter and Eddie were seated together in the back of a limo that drove them to the cemetery with other cars following behind them. The both of them didn't really say much to the other on the way there. There really wasn't much to say, they thought. It was probably better, they both thought, to just let them be with their thoughts.
The setup was nice, Peter thought, as he stood before the gravesite that May had selected before she passed. It was right beside Ben's, as she always had wanted. That way they would always be together even in death.
The priest who spoke at the funeral let out a few words before officially ending the service.
"We therefore commit her body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life" The priest said. "This officially concludes the service. Thank you all for your attendance in celebrating the life of this remarkable woman. May she now forever rest in everlasting peace. Amen"
With that, the funeral was over. Peter decided to not have a reception, feeling that it wasn't really right to throw a get-together for the occasion, especially with how his aunt had passed. However, he would spend the rest of the day with the people closest to him (Liz, Felicia, Eddie, Gwen, Mary-Jane and the Connors as well). George, Anna and Dr. Bromwell each gave their heartfelt condolences and even invited him to dinner at some time. George and Anna gave Gwen and Mary-Jane a hug goodbye, understanding they would be spending the rest of the day with Peter. However, they figured it was time for them to head hime.
As the proceedings ended, people started to come up and wish him well as the people he would be spending the rest of the day with stood on the side, speaking with each other.
The first to come up to Peter was Flash and the in crowd.
"We're really sorry, Peter. Your aunt was a wonderful lady" Sha Shan said to Peter with a sympathetic look.
"She really was, Parker. She was a real one" Flash said with a strange sense of sincerity in his voice. He actually almost looked like he was about to tear up himself if one could believe it. Peter supposed it was only natural with how much time Flash spent at his house growing up.
The rest of the in crowd that was there (Rand, Glory and Kenny) voiced their sympathies as well.
"Thank you, guys. I really appreciate it" Peter said, smiling, honestly touched by their words.
"Just know that we are still here for you, Pete. Whenever you need us. I know some of us haven't exactly treated you the best over the years" Glory said, giving a glare to Kenny who just lightly cringed as his girlfriend continued. "But we hope to be better friends to you now"
Rand nodded in agreement. "For real, Pete. Just give us a shout"
Peter again nodded. "I will. Thanks again"
After an exchange of goodbyes, the next group of people to come up to Peter were Liz's parents as well as Mark. Mary-Jane tried her best not to look at him. While she still cared for him, she wasn't really in love with the idea of trying out another shot of a relationship with him. Not yet, anyway.
"We can't express how sorry we are, Pedro. We never had the privilege of meeting your aunt but from what we heard from Liz, she was a wonderful lady" Liz's father said.
"Indeed. We can't imagine what you must be going through" Liz's mother added onto that, placing her hand on Peter's shoulder.
"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Allen. It is hard but I believe I'll be ok. I have some wonderful people in my life who'll help me through this" Peter said to the both of them as they nodded.
"Just know you're welcome to come by any time, Peter. I'm sure Liz will like it as well" Liz's mother said with an almost suggestive smile that caused Peter to flush ever so slightly.
Mark was quiet for the most part but as his parents said their goodbyes to Peter, it seemed he had something to say as well.
"Eh, listen, Pete. I just wanted to say sorry too. Not just for your aunt but for thinking you were a bad boyfriend to Liz as well. Ever since you and her got back together, she's been head over heels for you. She was never like that with Flash so…I appreciate that" Mark said, looking almost embarrassed to be saying this (He was also trying his hardest to not look at Mary-Jane, not really wanting to make this any more awkward than it already was).
Peter nodded. "I get it, Mark. Thank you. I wasn't so much a good boyfriend to Liz the first time around so I'm just trying to make it up to her"
"Well mission accomplished. I'll see you around. I'd better get home with my parents. My…curfew's ending soon" Mark said, looking down at his watch for the time.
Peter couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Mark as he went to say goodbye to his sister before leaving with his parents. He felt bad Mark still had to follow a curfew after all the progress he's made with his mutations. However, it was much better than the alternative (The alternative being prison).
Finally, the group of people who approached him were the members of the Daily Bugle (John seemed to have already went home). Betty couldn't help herself as she practically lunged herself at Peter, leaving little tear stains on his suit.
From a short distance away, this caught the attention of some women.
"That's Jameson's secretary, right? The woman who almost took Peter to the Fall Formal last year?" Liz asked with a tiny hint of jealousy in her eyes.
"It is, yeah" Gwen said, nodding in confirmation, remembering the full details of what happened from Mary-Jane. "Before May convinced her not to"
"Meh, she's cute. Seen better" Felicia said, shrugging. She didn't want to say it but she's seen better when she looked in the mirror (Not that she was tooting her own horn or anything).
Back with Peter, Betty finally moved away from Peter.
"Oh, Peter. The news was so devastating when we heard it" Betty said, blowing her nose in a handkerchief.
"It really was, Peter. She was a special lady, truly" Robbie said, his eyes looking a little droopy at that moment.
The others (Foswell and Ned) voiced their agreement while Jameson was mostly silent, trying his best to look away for the most part. However, he was quickly nudged (a bit hard from Peter's perspective) by Betty who gave him a rather stern look.
"Erm eh…listen, Park-er…Peter…I, uh…I wanted to give my condolences to you. Your aunt was a really decent woman" Jameson said, his face dropping, his usually angry face that was always ready to blurt out some rant about Spiderman or something being 2.7 seconds late.
Peter nodded, truly touched Jameson would actually say something like this, knowing he probably dreaded situations like this.
"Thanks, boss" Peter said, smiling up at his boss. For whatever reason, this didn't really ease his boss' mood right now. Actually from what it seemed, it actually made it worse for whatever reason.
"Yeah…listen, Peter, I've actually been wanting to speak to you about that" Jameson said, giving a sigh. "We've been speaking at the Bugle and given the circumstances…we felt that it maybe would be best if you…took a break from taking pictures of Spiderman"
Peter blinked, not really knowing what to think or say at that moment. He looked at the other members of the Bugle who either just looked at him guiltily or had taken a rather vested interest in the grass.
"I…uh….what?" Peter asked, not really knowing whether to feel offended or relived.
"Look, Peter, you do great work, the best we've seen but with recent circumstances, we feel that maybe the best place for you isn't tracking down a vigilante just so you can take pictures of him" Foswell said, interjecting himself in this awkward moment.
"You're a kid, Peter…you need time to be a kid" Ned said, feeling the need to get his word in (Which is ironic considering he spent a week or so trying to expose him as Spiderman).
Peter stayed quiet for a moment before just nodding with a blank expression on his face. "That's fine. I understand"
"Oh, don't be like that, Peter" Betty said, sighing, wiping her eyes as she tried to sound a bit more stern. "We care about you and feel you need time to really cope with your feelings before doing anything dangerous like go out in a practical battlefield just to take one or two pictures. Besides, it's not really like you need the money with the money you inherited just months ago"
"It's true, Parker…just enjoy your life as it is now for however long you can" Jameson said, talking as if he really needed a lot of convincing to do this, Peter could tell (And had a feeling the people here had been speaking with Jameson a long time about this).
Peter took the time to consider this and couldn't help but inwardly scoff. If only they knew. However, while this did seem like they were casting him out to the side, it was kind of touching. They did really care about his well-being to do this. Of course, it didn't really matter if he had this job or not but it was still touching nevertheless.
Peter sighed. "Yeah. I appreciate it. I'll…miss seeing you guys"
"You're still welcome to come by every now and then, Peter. We don't want you to feel like we're just throwing you out" Robbie said, trying to ease the damage inflicted.
"Yeah, feel free to stop by anytime. We'd be glad to see how things are going with school and whatnot" Foswell said, patting Peter on the back.
"And hey, you'll have more of a social life. You won't have to deal with human foghorn over here" Betty said, playfully gesturing at her boss who just gave her a little glare.
However, he eventually put his focus back on Peter. "Er…right. Just…focus on yourself and your well being, Peter. We'll get someone else to take pictures of that criminal"
Peter again let out a scoff, although he was more amused this time. He just gave a nod, putting on a more genuine smile.
"That's fine, really….thank you for your sympathies and your concerns. I really do appreciate it" Peter said, sincerely.
"We're here for you, Peter. We always will be" Betty said, caressing Peter's shoulder and lightly squeezing it (Which didn't escape the eye of some jealous bystanders)
After another exchange of goodbyes, the staff of the Bugle began to head out as well. Peter could see Rand wait up for his dad. He guessed they rode here together.
It seemed that everyone who was going to talk to Peter already had…until…
"Eh…Peter" A female voice with a heavy Brooklyn accent said. A voice Peter remembered far too well.
Liz from nearby seemed to remember the voice as well. As she should've, she had supposed. She had known the voice since Kindergarten. Even Rand stopped moving towards his dad's car to see who had been addressing Peter.
Before Peter was the one and only Sally Avril. She didn't look quite her best although she still did look beautiful as she always had from Peter's perspective (He did crush on her at one point after all). She wore a black dress with black shoes. Her hair was a little bit frizzier than usual, Peter noticed when he knew she usually liked to keep it straight and neat.
While she looked good on the outside, Peter thought, her face didn't really match her appearance. She looked pretty distressed and with good reason, Peter imagined. She had been a bit of an outcast since she pretty much up and called Peter a drunk in the school cafeteria. The in crowd shunned her and the school followed suit, thinking the interaction had been entirely uncalled for (There was also the fact that whatever the in crowd thought, the school wasn't too far behind in thinking as well).
The both of them just stared at each other for the longest time. Well, Peter stared. Sally kept moving her eyes back and forth from the ground to Peter. This went on until Sally actually said something.
"Uh…hi" Sally said, looking really embarrassed to do this. "I, uh….I wanted to say that I'm sorry about your aunt. She was always a nice lady even though I never really talked to her all that much"
Peter didn't really know what to say to this. He had never really received an apology from the Sally Avril before. The closest was the hug he got when she momentarily thought he was dead.
"Uh…thanks, Sally. I appreciate that" Peter said, not really knowing what else to say here.
Sally didn't really move and had then begun to twiddle her thumbs and her eyes fully faced the ground, not even trying to look at Peter anymore. From what Peter could see of her face, it really said it all that she really wasn't done but it was clear that what she had planned to say next was even harder than what she just a few moments ago.
"...Was that all?" Peter asked with a raised eyebrow. He kind of wanted to be enjoying this as this was a girl that thrived on publicly humiliating him whenever she had the chance and now it seemed the tables had turned in his favor now. However, despite that, he couldn't help but pity the girl if one could believe it. She clearly has had a rough couple of months.
"No…no, actually. I…I…I wanted to apologize for how I've been treating you the past couple of years" Sally said, trembling as she said this. "I…I was immature, selfish and stupid and I'm deeply sorry"
The blond cheerleader breathed deeply as she said this. It was clearly hard for her to say this. It must have been a bit of residue from her stereotypical high school cheerleader hating nerd attitude trying to make its way back up to the surface. However, she got it out and Peter found that impressive and honestly kind of touching in a way. There was one thing on his mind though that he wanted to know.
"So…what was it that made you-" Peter tried to ask but it seemed Sally had been prepared for this answer as she interrupted him.
"I…I've been doing something thinking for the past couple of weeks. I've been by myself for a while so it made me get some perspective. It made me wonder what exactly is gonna happen to me once I graduate high school. Was I really about to graduate and head off to college or whatever with no friends with nothing to my name but the fact that I was a cheerleader for my old school?" Sally asked, sighing, looking very depressed at the idea.
"You still have friends, Sally" Peter said, suddenly looking sympathetic (Even though he was aware he didn't really owe her the pleasure). "Liz talks about you all the time"
Sally scoffed. "Yeah, well…She was right, though, what she said to me that day at the Silver Spoon. Me having this bratty cheerleader attitude throughout life will get me nowhere. I mean look at you. You're going to be managing a big company once you get out of school while I'm at best looking at being a waitress at some restaurant, probably not even a good one"
Peter still looked sympathetically towards the girl. She obviously had been giving this a lot of thought for the past few months. Suddenly an idea popped into his head.
"I uh…I've been tutoring Flash, Rand and Kenny lately. Maybe you could stop by sometime. I could give you some help, get your grades up a little. You could go to college instead of just getting a job right out of high school. Could maybe help you mend your relationship with Rand a bit" Peter suggested to the young girl.
Of course, if he suggested this months ago, Sally would've laughed in his face before berating him in front of the entire school. Now, she was silent and rubbing her forearm, not really knowing how to answer his question. However, she eventually got out an answer.
"...That would be nice" She said ever so quietly, giving a slight nod at this. "Just…tell me when. Liz can probably give you my number…if it's still in her phone, that is"
Without another word, she just gave a slight wave before giving Liz a quick look, turning around and started walking away.
From afar, Rand couldn't help but overhear the conversation. He gave a small smile. It was the kind of smile he hadn't smiled in a long time, not since he started dating Sally at least. He honestly couldn't believe it. She was showing actual character growth. However, before he could focus more on that, his father called him over. It was time for them to head home. He kept this in the back of his head though. He would definitely revisit this later.
It seemed that had been everyone this time as Peter walked over to the his friends.
"Wow…I've never seen that sign of Sally before" Liz said, overhearing the whole thing.
"Yeah, it caught me by surprise as well" Peter said, looking back towards Sally who was exiting the cemetery and trying to call over a cab.
"I may have to call her soon, see how she's doing. She must have done a lot of self reflection the past few months" Liz said, smiling at the prospect of reconciling with her best friend.
"I guess so. Seems like she may be past her stereotypical cheerleader phase" Peter said, smiling at the thought of Liz and Sally making up. Liz had been sad about that for a while.
Gwen and Mary-Jane couldn't help but scoff. They would believe it when they saw it. Girls like Sally don't just change overnight, they didn't think.
"Well…I guess we're free to do whatever the rest of the day" Felicia said, noticing that it still the early afternoon.
"Maybe we could just spend the rest of the day at our house? We could call in for pizza or Chinese food" Martha suggested. "Seems like Billy's getting a bit tired anyway"
"Am not" Billy said even as he let out a rather large yawn, causing some chuckles to go his way.
"Sure" Peter said, thinking had been a rather nice idea. "That sounds like a good plan"
There seemed to be a mutual agreement amongst the group as they decided on Chinese at the Connors.
"Peter, Eddie, you can come with us. Gwen, do you mind calling over a cab that can bring the rest of you over? We'll repay you for the cab fare" Curt asked the blonde girl.
"That's alright, Dr. Connors, it's not necessary" Gwen said. She was more than capable of paying a cab fare herself.
"See you there, Petey" Liz said, giving Peter a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Same for me, Pete" Felicia said, giving Peter a hug but went in for a kiss full on the lips in contrast to Liz. She just rolled her eyes. She always had to one up her….
As Peter moved towards the Connors car, there seemed to be some natural instinct within Gwen to just shoot out and give Peter a hug of her own. She hugged him at his side, taking him completely by surprise, even as he saw it coming with his spider sense. However, he didn't do anything to stop it. He just stayed there as she just squeezed him tightly at his side.
As Gwen realized what she was doing, she moved away, blushing furiously.
"Eh, sorry about that. Just…something came over me" Gwen simply stated, twiddling her thumbs as she looked to the ground.
Eddie and Mary-Jane couldn't help but give a little smirk while Liz and Felicia simply looked annoyed. However, they weren't particularly angry. Just annoyed.
"Uh, it's fine…It was nice" Peter said, trying to choose his words carefully in front of his two lovers.
"Eh…yeah, I'll see you there" Gwen said as she went over to call over a cab.
"Yeah, see you all there" Peter said in response, putting on a mild blush of his own.
Without another word (As people found this particular scenario to awkward to say anything else), they began to make their way over to their respective rides.
As they walked side by side, Liz and Felicia gave each other a look, a knowing look. They would need to revisit this issue a little later. However, they were content with spending the rest of the day with their respective boyfriend for right now as that needed their attention more right now. However, they had a feeling this would need to be an issue they needed to address sooner rather than later.