TITLE: The Night of the Fight

FANDOM: Spider-Man: The Movie

RATING: PG

KEYWORDS: Missing scene, Peter/MJ Romance, Drama

ARCHIVE: Anywhere, just let me know where it's going

DISCLAIMER: Spider-Man doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Stan Lee and Marvel Comics. I'm making no money off of this. This story is copywrited Nov 2002 and may not be altered in any way without the express permission of the author.

A/N: I got the idea for this story from watching my Spidey DVD. The scenes that gave me the idea was the scene where Uncle Ben is in the car talking to Peter and when he begins talking to Peter about the fight, Peter says..."I didn't start that fight with Flash, I already told you." Which inspired the ending of this fic. And also the graduation scene where MJ angrily gives Flash his ring back. I thought about what could have happened between her driving off with Flash in his car and the graduation to make her want to give his ring back. So this is a missing scene of sorts...

By Cheri.

Peter bent over his sketchpad, deep in thought. He had been working for a few hours now sketching out designs for his wrestling outfit. After seeing Mary Jane drive off with Flash, he knew the only way he was going to impress the party girl was to own a cool set of wheels too. He paused and frowned. He just wasn't happy with any of the ideas he had sketched out. Either the designs weren't impressive enough or they were just too bizarre looking. He needed something that would make him stand out, but not make him look completely ridiculous either.

He thought and thought. He turned his right hand over and stared for the hundredth time at the small welt where that spider had bit him. He remembered as the spider scurried away that he had an unusual red and blue coloring on his abdomen. His eyes widened.

*Red and blue...hmmm...* he thought as he suddenly got a flash of inspiration.

He began to sketch as a picture of a red and blue costume came into his mind. In about a half hour, he was finished and he held up the results. He stared at the sketch he had created and nodded to himself.

*Not bad, not bad.* he thought. *Something like this just might be what I'm looking for.*

He looked up as he heard a car door slam. His eyes widened as he suddenly heard Mary Jane's voice.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I don't care, Flash! I said no, and I mean no!" she yelled out. "I'm not ready to go all the way with you!"

"Why not, Mary Jane. I thought you were supposed to be the party girl." Flash said, mockingly.

"Well even the party girl has her limits." Mary Jane spat back.

"It's Parker, isn't it?"

Mary Jane stared at him.

"What in the hell does Peter have to do with this?" she asked, confused.

Flash snorted.

"I saw how you acted at our fight today. You didn't even support me. In fact, I seem to recall you asking that Harry Osborne to help him. So what exactly is going on between you and the bookworm, Mary Jane?"

Mary Jane's mouth fell open.

"In the first place, Flash, nothing is going on between us and second, what happened to you was an accident, Flash. You had no right to go after Peter like that."

"AN ACCIDENT!" Flash sputtered out. "YOU CALL A FLYING TRAY AN ACCIDENT? No, Mary Jane! Parker threw that on me, on purpose."

"Well, after the way you treat him, I wouldn't blame him one bit." She spat out.

Flash's eyes narrowed and he suddenly grabbed Mary Jane by the shoulders and threw her against the car.

"I knew you were lying about being in love with Parker." He bellowed out. "You get this straight, Mary Jane. You're my girl! You go anywhere near Parker and I'll make both of you regret it!"

Mary Jane glared at him.

"Go to Hell, Flash!"

She grunted as Flash slapped her hard in the face.

"Don't you tell me to go to Hell ever again, you got you..."

Flash screamed as he felt someone grab his right wrist and twist his arm behind his back. Then he felt another hand grabbing his shirt collar. He felt himself being whipped around and pressed up against the car. He shuddered as he saw Peter Parker staring at him with hate filled eyes.

"Don't you EVER slap MJ again! You got me, Flash?" he said, in a deadly tone of voice.

Flash gulped.

"Hey, take it easy, Parker." He said, fearfully. "I don't wanna fight you."

"That's funny." Peter said, with a smirk. "I wouldn't wanna fight me neither."

Flash's eyes widened as he realized the irony of his words. Normally, he wouldn't take Parker seriously, but after today...

"Um, look. Mary Jane and I were just having a conversation." Flash said, hesitantly.

Peter snorted.

"Yes, I heard and so did the rest of the neighborhood, I bet. Which is why I came down here. I didn't feel like sitting up in my room while you treat MJ like a piece of shit. I know you probably think this means there's something between us, but at the moment, I don't care. I'm warning you, Flash Thompson, If you hurt MJ in any way, Mentally, physically or emotionally, I'm gonna come for you and next time, I'll make our little fight today look like a cake walk. Got that?"

Flash winced as Peter jerked his arm up behind his back for added emphasis. He shivered as he stared down into Peter's eyes. He saw nothing but rage and he knew that Peter would make good on his threat. Slowly, he nodded, too stunned to say anything.

"Good." He said, letting go of Flash. "Now why don't you get into your little expensive car and drive your pathetic carcass home?"

He smirked as Flash quickly scooted around the back of his car. Opening the drivers side door, he took one last look at Peter before starting the car. Peter pushed Mary Jane back as Flash mashed his foot down on the gas pedal and drove off with a thunderous screech of the tires.

Mary Jane stared at Peter as he stood there glaring at the rapidly departing Flash with a look of pure hate. She couldn't even believe this was the same Peter Parker who used to get swirlies and spit balls on a daily basis. It seemed like since the field trip, he had changed into someone completely different. As Peter continued to glare, she tentatively reached out her hand and touched his shoulder. Her eyes widened as she watched Peter's hateful expression disappear instantly as he looked over at her.

"Are you okay, MJ?" he asked, concerned.

Shocked at the complete 180 he had just taken, Mary Jane could only nod.

A smile spread over Peter's face and he sighed.

"Good." He said, quietly.

Mary Jane stared at Peter. She couldn't be sure, but it seemed like Peter was looking at her with love in his eyes and genuine concern as well. Two things she had never seen in any man's eyes before. As she looked at him, she felt something stirring inside of her. She couldn't be falling in love with him, could she?

Peter coughed and stared at her, sheepishly.

"Look MJ, I guess I went overboard with Flash. I knew it shouldn't have been any of my business, but once I saw him slap you, I just couldn't take it anymore."

He was glad too that Mary Jane and Flash had been so preoccupied, they hadn't noticed him jumping out of his bedroom window in his haste to get to her.

"No, it's okay, Pete. I'm glad you did it." Mary Jane said. "After what happened between us, I would have been better off staying by the fence with you."

Peter smiled warmly. He had hoped in his heart Mary Jane would say something like that. He never felt that Flash was right for her. Flash only cared about one person in the world and that was Flash Thompson. Mary Jane deserved so much more than a brutish jock like him. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, their eyes locked. Finally, Mary Jane cleared her throat.

"Well, I better go inside, Tiger." She put her hand on Peter's shoulder. "I really appreciate what you did for me tonight."

Peter's insides felt like they were turning to jelly. He fought to get the words out and not look like a fool, like he had when Mary Jane had asked him if he had gotten contacts.

"It's no problem, MJ." He said. "I just can't stand to see anyone treat you like dirt."

Mary Jane smiled. A man who couldn't stand seeing her being treated like dirt? That was a first. She liked it. She gave Peter a quick peck on the cheek.

"Good night, Tiger." She said.

"Mmmhmm." Peter said, still reeling from the kiss.

She watched as Mary Jane walked inside and close the door before he started back inside his own house. As he walked, he felt like he was floating on air. He was so glad he was able to keep his composure, especially after he felt like he was going to have twenty heart attacks from Mary Jane's kiss. He entered and began to walk upstairs, more determined than ever to get the 3000 dollars and win MJ's heart.

"Hey, Pete."

Peter paused and looked back down the stairs. He saw Uncle Ben staring up at him with Aunt May behind him.

"Can I talk to you for a minute, buddy?" he said.

Peter sighed.

"Um, can I talk to you later, Uncle Ben? I'm really busy right now." Peter said, starting back up the stairs.

"It's about that fight you started with Flash Thompson today."

Peter's hand gripped the banister. A conversation about Flash was the last thing he wanted.

"I didn't start that fight." He said, tersely.

"Well, can I just talk to you about it anyway?" Uncle Ben said.

Peter sighed.

"Can we talk about it some other time, Uncle Ben? I'm really tired and I'd like to go to my room."

He took another step up the stairs.

"Peter?"

Peter stopped as Aunt May called up.

*Now what?* he thought.

"Yes, Aunt May." He said, fighting to keep his temper under control.

"Why didn't you help Uncle Ben paint the kitchen today like you said you would?"

Peter's eyes widened and he gave out an exasperated sigh.

*Oh, for Christ's sake..." he thought

"I forgot, Aunt May. I'm sorry." Peter said, between gritted teeth. "Something came up and I had to take care of it. I won't do it again." He looked down at Aunt May and Uncle Ben. "Can I please just go to my room now?"

Aunt May and Uncle Ben looked at each other with wide eyes. They looked back at him and slowly nodded.

"Thank you." Peter said, hurrying up the stairs.

Aunt May and Uncle Ben heard the door to Peter's room slam and looked at each other.

"What is going on, Ben?"

Uncle Ben shook his head.

"I don't know, but if this is some kind of teenage phase, I hope he grows out of it soon."

THE END