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That night, Peter Parker messaged Jasper saying that his identity as Spider-Man had been found out—by Ned.
Jasper was speechless. Peter had only been Spider-Man for just over a month, and he already got busted?
Oh well, whatever. It was gonna happen sooner or later. As soon as Jasper got the message, he quickly told Peter not to tell Ned anything about him.
Peter replied almost instantly, promising not to mention Jasper to Ned.
After a bit of random chatting, they ended the conversation.
The next morning, when Jasper got to class, Peter and Ned were off in their own little world, clearly talking about Spider-Man.
Jasper didn't try to eavesdrop or anything.
He just turned his head and looked out the window. Annie was already out there doing her morning workout, showing off that killer waist of hers.
Honestly, Annie was the kind of girl who could make your mind go wild no matter where or when you saw her. She had that succubus vibe—like she could seduce someone without even trying.
No wonder there were always guys trying to get close to her.
Beauty… it's one of those things people pretend to scoff at but can never really ignore.
Everyone acts all proper in front of beauty, but deep down, they're already thinking about how to make it theirs.
Jasper pulled his gaze away and looked off into the distance.
Lost in his own world, he didn't notice what was going on around him—until Peter gave him a nudge.
Snapped out of it, Jasper turned with a glare. If someone woke him up without a good reason, he wasn't gonna be all smiles about it.
Peter pointed out the window and said, "Someone's calling you."
Seeing it was Peter, Jasper wasn't as annoyed anymore. He looked outside.
There stood Annie, holding her sketchpad, staring at him with a helpless look on her face.
Before he could say anything, she gave a little wave and quickly walked off.
What was that about?
Jasper had no idea.
Peter, on the other hand, looked at him in shock. "Wait… you know Annie?"
They did know each other, technically. But they weren't close. It's not like they hung out or anything. They were basically from two different worlds.
Jasper nodded. "Yeah, we've talked a few times. That's it."
"Oh, really?" Peter didn't buy it.
Because earlier, Annie had written "Lunch together?" on her sketchpad.
You don't ask someone to lunch if you're not close, right?
Wait—could they be secretly dating or something?
Peter walked away with a whole bunch of questions swirling in his head.
Lunchtime.
"Annie? What are you doing here?" Flash Thompson straightened up, acting all proud in front of the crowd. He puffed out his chest and flashed his best smile. In his head, he was thinking, Heh, look at this—don't we look perfect together?
Annie tilted her head, giving him a look like he was ridiculous. "I'm here to find someone."
She brushed past him, ignoring the stares, and walked straight toward Jasper.
She gave him a playful wink and said softly, "Lunch is on me. Just a little thank-you for the other day."
Her voice was super low—she didn't want anyone else to hear.
"Huh?" Jasper glanced at her and replied, "You don't have to."
But Annie didn't move. She looked right at him and said, "I don't want to owe you anything. So just accept it."
Seeing how serious she was, Jasper didn't push it. He figured she'd back off after he turned her down once, but clearly not.
"You guys know each other?" someone nearby asked, unable to hold back their curiosity.
Annie's eyes sparkled mischievously, and she smiled. "Actually… we're dating."
She had used this same excuse before to shake off some annoying guy. So she figured it could work again. Hopefully, it would keep the crowd off her back for a while.
Hearing that, Jasper felt a little annoyed. That kind of rumor might make it even harder for him to get a girlfriend!
Then again… with his track record, getting a girlfriend probably wasn't in the cards anyway.
So thinking about it like that, he wasn't too upset.
Naturally, Annie's words caused a stir. After all, she was like the perfect combo of purity and sex appeal—a total goddess in the eyes of every guy in school.
And Jasper? Sure, he was a total loner, but you couldn't deny it—he was stupidly good-looking. Like, girls-chase-him level handsome.
Still, getting close to Jasper was tough. The guy would disappear out of nowhere.
Well, to be fair, that's because he could shadow-walk.
Annie's little "we're a couple" bombshell hit like a grenade in a calm lake—everybody was stunned.
Annie and Jasper left together, but Peter couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
He knew Jasper didn't have a crush on anyone. So why would Annie say she was his girlfriend?
Was she just using him as a human shield?
That made sense. I mean, both of them were insanely attractive. If they pretended to be dating, people would totally buy it. They looked great together—talent and beauty, a perfect match.
I'll go ask him tonight, Peter thought.
Annie and Jasper had a quiet lunch and then went their separate ways. She really had just wanted to repay a favor—nothing more.
The rest of the day, a bunch of guys kept giving Jasper the stink eye. Not friendly at all. Most of them looked at him with a mix of jealousy and contempt.
A lot of white guys looked down on anyone who wasn't white—Asians, Black people, you name it.
Jasper didn't really care for that kind of environment. But if anyone messed with him… he wasn't gonna hold back.
There was only one class in the afternoon, so school let out early—around three.
On the way home, Jasper saw a pretty girl with long, straight black hair accepting a $100 bill from a white dude.
His expression didn't change, but the girl's face did—she looked horrified. She quickly said goodbye to the guy and rushed over to Jasper.
"I was just pretending to be his girlfriend, that's all! We didn't sleep together, we didn't even kiss! You know how hard my mom works, please—please don't tell her!" she begged.
This girl with the long black hair was the daughter of Jasper's Japanese neighbor.
Jasper didn't know if he should believe her or not… but it really didn't matter to him either way.
"I won't say anything," he said flatly.
This kind of "job" could really lead someone down a dark path.
"I don't believe you!" she cried, grabbing his arm.
Jasper shook her off. "Believe what you want."
She looked at him, eyes full of pleading… and a bit of jealousy.
"I know you've always looked down on me. You act all high and mighty, like you're too good for me," she said, her voice trembling.
Her eyes turned red. She'd once tried to get close to Jasper, but he'd always kept his distance. Not rudely, just… distant enough to hurt.
It's not that Jasper looked down on her—he just didn't want to be involved.
"....."