Chapter 74: Stay With Me – Part 4

I take her hand.

A soft, feminine hand.

The looks from people around us don’t matter.
I’m not embarrassed.

…Well, maybe just a little.
But letting go of this hand would feel much worse.

…If I let go, it feels like she might just disappear somewhere.
I don’t really think that would happen, but right now, Michelle… there’s something fragile about her.

I’d known for a while that she had low self-esteem.
At first, I thought she was just being modest… but there was self-deprecation mixed in there too.
She genuinely believes she doesn’t deserve to be happy.

That’s not true.
Everyone alive has the right to be happy.
…But she stubbornly refuses to believe that.

I wanted to do something about it.
I wanted to show her that it’s okay for her to be here.

Michelle and I stepped into a café.
When I looked back, her tears had already stopped… but she wore an apologetic expression.
She glanced down at our joined hands several times.

Even with the staff giving us curious looks, we were led to a table in the back.
From the large window, we could see the scenery outside.

“Aah…”

When I let go of her hand to sit across from her, Michelle let out a small sound.
Then, perhaps embarrassed that she’d made a noise, she looked away from me.

…Seeing her like that makes me feel embarrassed too.

Michelle sat across from me—
Well, I wouldn’t say she was completely back to normal, but she did seem a little better.
She was looking intently at the menu, which was only a few pages long.

I opened my own lunch menu…

Ugh.
…Pricey.

I glanced back at Michelle… and she was also peeking at me over her menu.

Our eyes met—she blinked.
Her long eyelashes swayed.

“What is it, Michelle?”

When I asked, she dropped her gaze back to the menu.
Then, in a small voice, she spoke to me.

“Mm… um, I just thought it’s a little expensive.”

“Y-Yeah, it is.”

I nodded with a wry smile.

…Ah, right.
I remembered.

“I’ll, uh… I’ll cover it, so don’t worry about the price. I mean… I was the one who chose this place, right?”

Awkwardly said, and not very cool, but I was putting into practice something Mr. Stark had once told me:

《When you’re on a date, the guy pays for everything. A man without means is no good. Money and gifts are one of the clearest ways to show how much you care. When I take Pepper out, I make sure it’s somewhere classy—three stars or more—》

…or so he claimed.

It’s fine.
The one who’ll be suffering is the me of tomorrow and beyond.
Today’s me won’t think about it… yeah, it’s fine.

If it makes Michelle happy—

“It’s okay, I’ll pay for myself.”

Michelle refused.
The menu blocked her mouth from view, but I could see her brows knit.

“…Huh?”

The reaction was so different from what I’d expected that a weird sound slipped out of me.
…Ah, seriously uncool.
I clamped a hand over my mouth… but once a sound is out, it’s not coming back.

Michelle, watching me, continued speaking.

“Instead of that money… could you—”

She lowered the menu onto the table, letting me see her mouth.
She was smiling faintly.

It was a troubled yet happy smile.

“I’d like to go out again. Not just today… but again.”

Her words made my face feel hot.

“Of course… yeah, again. Not just today—any time.”

I don’t think there’s a guy alive who wouldn’t be happy to hear that.
And sure, that was the reason she refused my offer… but it felt like such a Michelle thing to do.
…If only I had a bit more to offer.

After that, we placed our orders with the waiter—
He gave us a rather warm, knowing look, but anyway, the order was placed.

Once the menus were cleared away and I was left with nothing to do, Michelle spoke.

“…Are we going somewhere after this?”

Ah, right.
I’d been so confident earlier when I said I’d be escorting her today.

“Yeah… hmm, where would be good?”

I folded my arms, thinking.
…After everything that happened at the movie theater and all, I hadn’t had time to plan anything.

I didn’t have much money either…
A science museum, history museum, art museum, zoo, aquarium, park… hmm?
Where would a girl like Michelle enjoy going?

…Maybe I should’ve asked Gwen more about this beforehand.

Watching me struggle, Michelle smiled faintly.

“You don’t have to look so serious… what was the first place that came to your mind, Peter?”

“The first? The first was… ah.”

A science museum?
No way… any time I’ve suggested that before, I’ve gotten nothing but grimaces.
Even Ned didn’t like the idea.

I’m probably the only one who’d be excited to go.
For most people, it’s the sort of place you only visit on school trips.

Whenever I’ve gone, it’s been full of elderly folks… and families with kids.

“Where?”

Whether she sensed my hesitation or not, she pressed again.
Resigned, I answered.

“Uh… the NY Science Museum.”

“Heh…”

Michelle made a sound of interest.
I hurried to wave it off.

“I-It’s not really that fun, you know?”

Sure, the admission fee wasn’t high.
That was nice for someone broke like me.

Cheaper than a movie ticket… well, not that I paid for today’s movie.

Still, how should I put it… it’s not the kind of place you go for fun.
They’ve got things like periodic table models… astronaut suits, engine models, cross-sections of human brains… that sort of thing.

No romantic vibes, and definitely not your usual date spot.
Most classmates said it was boring.

But before I could talk her out of it, Michelle spoke.

“But… you think it’s fun, Peter.”

She was right.
Learning new things, deepening what you already know, trying, experimenting—that’s science.

And I love science.
I love tinkering with machines.
Some people call me a gloomy science geek behind my back… but that’s never changed how I feel.

So I nodded at her words.

“Yeah… I like it.”

“Then it’s fine.”

I had no idea what she was basing that on, but Michelle nodded.

“W-Why?”

“If I don’t know how to enjoy it… you can teach me, Peter. That’d be nice.”

Hearing that left me completely speechless.

She’s either incredibly good with words… or maybe she actually means it.
Either way, I get the feeling that if we ever had an argument, I’d have no comeback and she’d completely dismantle me.

While we were talking, the food we’d ordered arrived at the table.

I had chili-flavored vegetable soup with bread.
She had pasta with eggs, cheese, and honey.
…Sounds pretty sweet.

The taste? …It was good.
I’m no food critic, so I can’t go on and on about it, but… yeah, it was good.
Michelle looked satisfied too.
No wonder Gwen recommended this place.

When we left the café and started heading toward the science museum… Michelle suddenly reached from behind me and took my hand.

…Huh?

I turned to look at her… but she was acting as if nothing had happened.

Yeah.

It was the kind of attitude that made it seem like holding hands was the most natural thing in the world—and it caught me off guard.
…Not that I minded.
If anything, I was happy.

So I squeezed her hand back and we walked on.

…Could it be that she actually likes me?

No, that’s just me overthinking.

When I was younger—much younger—
There was this red-haired girl who lived next door.
I thought she liked me, so I confessed to her…
…and ended up getting teased about it for days afterward.
It left more of a scar than I’d like to admit.

The truth is, what Michelle feels for me might just be friendship.
Not love, not romance—just friendship.
Honestly, the odds lean more toward that.

Don’t get the wrong idea.

…It’s not like I have anything about me that would make a girl fall for me.
No girl has ever told me she liked me.

So this is just wishful thinking.
The kind of hope that says, If that were true, it would be nice.

Hand in hand with the girl I like, I walked on.
Head over heels for a love I knew I couldn’t match.

---

Queens — the New York Hall of Science.

It was a pretty big facility… a strange, almost sculptural building, designed by an artist.

We paid at the reception desk and stepped inside.
Moving at an easy pace, we wandered through the exhibits.

Some of them had changed since the last time I came here, which made the whole experience feel fresh again.
Especially the newer displays—like a mysterious glowing stone recently found in Egypt, or the newly discovered tomb of a pharaoh. Stuff like that is fascinating.

I’d been a little worried, but Michelle seemed to be enjoying herself too.
…Honestly, I think this might be the first time I’ve seen a girl get so excited over a periodic table and the physical models based on it.

We sat in a small planetarium and watched the stars, saw the Mars lander, examined moon rocks…

Through it all, she kept smiling.
I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

I was happy.
Because this was the first time someone had shown interest in something I loved.
And it wasn’t just anyone—it was a girl I liked. That made it all the more special.

We stopped at nearly every display to read the panels and discuss them, until we finally arrived at a large hall where a massive machine was on display.

It stood about three meters tall.

“Peter, what’s that?”

Still holding my hand, Michelle looked up at me.

I’d been explaining various exhibits to her along the way.
Sometimes going off on tangents about things you wouldn’t even find in textbooks—half-worried she’d get bored of me rambling. But she always seemed engaged, even amused.

So it wasn’t surprising when she asked about this one.

“That’s a machine used for radiation experiments.”

“Huh…”

She tugged at my hand, and I let her pull me closer to the machine.
While she leaned in to study the information panel, I looked up at it.

To me, this radiation projector held deep, personal meaning.
It’s no longer in use, but back in the day, they even did public demonstrations with it.

And I remember it vividly—

Because this is where my origin began.

Everything started here.

A few years ago, during a high school field trip to the NY Hall of Science…
They ran an experiment using this very machine.
A spider, exposed to radiation, bit me—and I gained superpowers.

I could cling to walls like a spider, had incredible strength, and developed a danger-sensing “spider sense.”

I wanted to test my new abilities, so I entered an underground wrestling match.
The other wrestlers were strong, sure—but I was superhuman.
I never lost.
I got popular, earned a lot of fight money… and they gave me the ring name “Spider-Man.”

But I got cocky. Arrogant.
One night, I saw a robber running from the police.

I didn’t stop him.
I didn’t even try.

Why? Because it wasn’t my problem.

That night, my uncle—Ben Parker—was shot dead by a masked man.
I wasn’t even there when it happened.

Aunt May cried.
I cried.
I had just lost half of my family.

When I finally caught the killer, I beat him down and tore off his mask.

And underneath… was the same man I had let escape.

The regret was crushing.
I hated myself.

With great power comes great responsibility.

I had all this power… and I didn’t use it to do the right thing.
Because of that, Uncle Ben was gone.

That’s when I changed.
That’s when Spider-Man was reborn—not as an arrogant showman, but as a hero.
Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Even now, seeing this machine brings it all back.

“…Peter? What’s wrong?”

“Oh—nothing. Just… remembering something from a long time ago.”

Her hand was warm in mine.

I never want to lose anyone else.
Not someone I care about, not even someone I don’t.
Even if they’re a criminal—I don’t want them to die.
Because when someone dies… you can never see them again.

Michelle looked up at my face.

“…So, this place is important to you?”

“Yeah… you could say that.”

She turned her gaze back to the machine, her cobalt-blue eyes catching the light and sparkling.

“…I see.”

She looked… almost moved.

---

In the end, the only trouble we had was back at the first movie theater… no, for me, it was honestly rare—almost miraculous—that nothing else happened. Time just passed us by without incident.

Looks like wearing this nanotechnology suit on my arm had been nothing but needless worry.

When we stepped out of the science museum, the sky was already dyed red.

…For some reason, I felt a little lonely.
I didn’t want this day to end.

It’s not like I can’t see Michelle anytime.
Come Monday, I’ll see her at school.
If I really wanted to, I could just knock on the door of the room next to mine tomorrow and she’d be there.

…But that won’t last forever.

We’re already seniors.
By next June, we’ll graduate and go our separate ways.

That means days like this—making plans at school and inviting each other to hang out—only last until then.

I’ll probably move out of my current apartment and rent a place closer to my college.
Or maybe I’ll commute from Aunt May’s house.

As for Michelle… who knows what will happen with her.

That’s why… before then, I have to tell her how I feel.
If we were together, even without school, we’d still share a strong bond.

I glanced to the side.

Her platinum blonde hair swayed.
She’s a little shorter than me, and when she noticed my gaze, she looked back.
Under the sunset, she looked even more beautiful.

“…Something wrong?”

“No, just… feeling a little lonely.”

Her looks are stunning—astonishingly so.
Living means getting hurt, one way or another, and no one stays perfect.
Yet she has none of that.

Like a flawless sphere without a single blemish, I can’t think of a single word to disparage her.

…A confession, huh?
That’s a pretty high hurdle for me.

“…Then, want to hang out a little longer?”

“That’d be nice… but it’s dangerous if it gets too late.”

She draws people’s eyes like a beautiful light.
Even Harry likes her. Flash, too.

That’s why I have to confess before—

…But.

More than anything, I just want her to be happy.
That’s the biggest feeling I have.

The second is wanting to be the one standing beside her when she is.

It’s not like I’m thinking about keeping her all to myself.
I’m sure her presence is bigger than anything I could hold in my arms.

“…If it gets dangerous, I’ll just have Peter save me.”

“Haha… wait, what? You’re joking, right?”

For someone who obviously doesn’t look strong, who until recently was the kind of guy that got bullied?

I laughed, thinking she was kidding, but Michelle just looked puzzled.

It’s flattering that she trusts me, but…

“Um, Michelle? New York nights are seriously dangerous, you know?”

That’s something I know all too well.
Honestly, the crime rate is terrible.
Every single night—robberies, bus hijackings, all sorts of things happen.
…Things I end up fighting off as Spider-Man.

“…Maybe you’re right.”

She nodded like she’d just remembered.
…A few days after we first met, didn’t she get surrounded by shady guys in the middle of the night?

Back then, I saved her as Spider-Man.
If I’d been even a little later… I don’t want to imagine what could’ve happened.

“That’s why we should just head home. We can pick up dinner and—”

“Alright. Let’s buy dinner… and eat together.”

“…Huh? Together? Wait, you mean… at my place?”

Her words were so casual—like of course we’d eat together—that it caught me off guard.
I have no idea what made her say that… but maybe I shouldn’t jump to conclusions about us getting closer.

“Ah, no… um, never mind. Forget I said that.”

Maybe she realized how it sounded, because she quickly shook her head.

…No, it’s not like I’d mind.

“It’s fine. Actually… yeah, I’d like that. How about we eat dinner at my place?”

“…Mm. Let’s do that.”

Michelle looked a little apologetic, but her cheeks held the faintest smile as she nodded.

…Still, even if it’s me, going to a guy’s room at night probably isn’t the smartest idea.
She really has no sense of danger.

Someday… someone might try to take advantage of that.
Not me, of course.

But if something like that happened somewhere I couldn’t see… my head might actually explode.

Now I get why Gwen worries so much and sticks to her like glue.

We walked on, chatting about where to go and what to buy.

That’s probably why I wasn’t watching where I was going, and… I bumped into someone.

“Ah, sorry abou—”

“Tch, watch where you’re goi—”

I started to apologize, but when I saw the man’s face… I froze.

Striking golden hair. A mean, sharp face. Tall and muscular enough to look intimidating.
On appearance alone, he was just a rough-looking guy.

But I knew who this man was.

…He hadn’t changed a bit since a year ago, when I caught him and threw him in prison.

One of the recent escapees I’d run into as Spider-Man—a serial armed robber.

Herman Schultz.

The “Shocker” was standing right there.

…So he was alive.
Harry said he’d injured him, so I’d been a little worried—
No, it’s not like I had any obligation to worry about him.
But Harry had seemed bothered by it, so… yeah, I guess I’d been keeping it in the back of my mind.

He seemed to be off duty today, dressed casually without that yellow suit.
But he was holding a carry case.
…There could be weapons or something dangerous inside.

Then Herman… froze when he saw Michelle beside me.

Michelle’s expression shifted—first surprise, then fear—as she gripped my hand tightly.

I immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her.

Blocked from seeing her, Herman’s eyes locked onto mine with a glare.
But I had no intention of backing down.

…No matter what happened, I had to protect her.

“Hey, kid.”

…There’s no way Herman knows I’m Spider-Man.
But if he suddenly took a swing at me, and I had to fight back to protect Michelle, my identity could be exposed.

If that happened… she’d be in danger.
Knowing Spider-Man’s identity is dangerous.

I have no backing—no hero team watching my back.
The only thing I can protect my loved ones with is this body.

And Spider-Man has a lot of enemies.
If anyone ever found out she was a friend of Spider-Man, they could use her as a hostage—
Just like Gwen back then.

Herman pointed at Michelle.

“What’s your relationship with that girl?”

“That doesn’t matter… does it?”

I snapped without thinking—and regretted it immediately.
No matter how pathetic I looked, I should’ve just acted scared and tried to get through this quietly.
The moment it turns into a fight, I’ve already lost.

But it was too late.

Herman’s brow furrowed.

“Is she your girl? Trying to look cool in front of her?”

“No… but she’s my friend.”

Watching me flounder, Herman let out a laugh.
It wasn’t mocking—more like a laugh at his own expense.

“Heh… a friend, huh? Even though you’re holding hands?”

His eyes dropped to where Michelle’s hand was clasped with mine.
I couldn’t see her face from behind me, but I was sure she was scared.

I took a step forward.

“Look, I’m sorry for bumping into you, but she’s—”

“Hah? What the hell are you imagining?”

This time, his laugh was openly derisive.
…God, that was irritating.

It’s not like I’d done anything worth mocking.

“I’ve got no interest in some little kid.”

“L-Little…?”

A stunned voice came from behind me.
I shot Herman a glare.
He flinched slightly.

My glare isn’t scary—so why?

And what about her is… ah, well, maybe she does seem a bit childish…
But that’s more about her mannerisms than her looks.
Not that it’s any of his business.

“…Well, it’s not like I’m here to start a fight. I just feel a bit relieved, is all.”

“Relieved…?”

I frowned at the strange choice of words, but Herman just nodded to himself like it made perfect sense.

After a brief glance at Michelle, he looked back at me—
And for the first time, his eyes seemed… almost gentle.

“…Take care of her, alright?”

“Uh… yeah. I know. You don’t have to tell me.”

“…Heh. You two are really something.”

He gave a little chuckle and walked past me.

I followed his retreating back with my eyes as he waved a hand behind him.

…Right now, I’m Peter Parker, not Spider-Man.
So I can’t just run after him and take him down.
Besides, Michelle’s here…

I had no idea what he was after, but at least the danger had passed… and I let out a breath.

When I looked at Michelle… wait, what? She was glaring at Herman’s back with this… furious expression.

It was the first time I’d ever seen her look like that.

For a second, I wondered if someone had swapped her out while I wasn’t looking—
It was a little unsettling, so I called out to her.

“You okay?”

She quickly dropped the angry face and put on her usual smile.
…Good. That was the Michelle I knew.

“…He didn’t do anything to me.”

“But, were you scared, or—”

“Not really.”

I was surprised she said she wasn’t scared at all.
…From my perspective, it had seemed like a really dangerous moment.

While I was puzzling over that, Michelle hastily added—

“Because you were protecting me, Peter.”

“…R-Really?”

…It felt like a bit of an afterthought, but still, I decided to accept it.

I started walking again, this time making sure not to bump into anyone else.

…Then, out of nowhere, Michelle spoke.

“…Peter, do I seem childish to you?”

I froze.

She must’ve been thinking about what Herman said earlier.

If I’m being honest… yeah, she is a little childish.
The way she worries about things like this, for starters.
The way she pours a ton of milk into her coffee.
How her eyes light up when she’s staring at hero figures in a toy shop.
How she skips lunch and eats cookies instead.
…And how she doesn’t really seem to realize she’s a beautiful woman.

I wouldn’t call any of it a flaw, but…

Since she seemed self-conscious about it, I decided to deny it.

“N-No, not at all.”

“……”

A moment of silence.

Then—

“…I see. That’s good.”

Michelle made the same face she does when she eats something bitter.
Not angry, exactly—just… hard to describe.
A deeply displeased face.

Looks like she saw right through my lie.

…Damn it.
This awkwardness is all Herman’s fault.

Next time I see him, I’m taking him down for sure.
I still haven’t forgiven him for taking Gwen hostage.

Grumbling silently to myself, I gave Michelle’s hand a gentle tug.