If Peter Parker knew one thing, it was that promising that things would be different this time was a bald-faced lie. He wouldn’t be late this time, he’d said. He’d changed, he’d said. He was responsible, he’d make it up to her, he wouldn’t let her down. It had been a desperate, panicked, Hail Mary sort of play, but he missed her. Every day, as he stood in the wreckage of his life, unable to find pieces large enough to put it back together, he saw her on billboards, on the radio, in the pictures he hadn’t had the strength to take down. He’d found himself reaching for the phone reflexively, not thinking through what calling meant. (Calling! Calling! What century were they living in?)
But if everything was going to shit, he needed to see Mary Jane’s face again.
He’d promised to meet her at the diner on time, for real, he swore on Aunt May. And then, of course, there had been a carjacking in SoHo and a crime ring setting up camp in the Village, and then he was running to meet her, flushed and sweaty and afraid to check his phone. He knew his hair was standing straight up, he knew he was out of breath, and he knew he was out of time. He saw a flash of red hair through the window, and he fought to keep his heart rate down. Get it together, Peter. His last chance, blown. Still, he pushed ahead, straightening his shirt, pushing open the door, walking towards her booth.
“Hey,” he said. “I’m so sorry, I was--” He swallowed. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. I’m late. I’m sorry. Hi. It’s good to see you.”
Things would be different this time, he’d promised. They never were.