Art, is wonderful

Despite it being late at night, I still don't want to go back to my parents. So I decide to go to Uncle Aaron's for a little. But I drop by my room through the window and grab my book with all my drawings.

Honestly, learning how to draw in this life has been one of the best decisions ever. But moving on, I swing by my uncles and land in the alleyway. Climbing up the fire escape ladder with ease, I go up the stairs to his window and see him on the phone with someone.

I take a selfie with a silly face while he's in the background. Sending it to him when his call ended, he's first startled before chuckling and looking over to see me with the same face in the picture causing him to laugh more.

"Man, you good?" He asked jokingly after opening the window and letting me in.

"Never better. You didn't get caught up with all that in Manhattan right?" I asked concerned, I know that he's either the prowler right now or used to be, but that doesn't matter. He's my uncle and you can't choose who's your blood relative or not. Besides he's always been good to me.

"Nah man, luckily I was of from work today you know." He said easing my worries as he went to the fridge and opened it.

"Want a drink?"

"Just a water." I said now realizing the bit of thirst I actually have.

"Think fast." He said before throwing the water bottle straight at me which I caught in one hand.

"Nice reflexes kid." He complimented me before walking over and sitting on the couch beside me.

"So what's been going on with that, Gwen girl you've been telling me about?" He asked as he cracked his soda open and then drank it.

"I don't wanna talk about it right now." I said letting some of my frustration show accidentally.

"What? She ghosted you? Gas lighting you? Being a bitch?"

"Something. Though it's because of something I did, she would've gotten hurt if I didn't do anything." I explained not going into detail really.

"Damn, sounds rough. Well let's see what you got then." He said before snatching my drawing book out of my lap.

"Oh man! Every time I see these they just get better and better!" He exclaimed as he slowly flipped through the pages.

"You put these up yet?"

"Nah, I'm good just drawing these in my book you know. Besides if my dad catches me I'm dead." I explained dismissively.

"These can't stay in a book Miles! C'mon, I got a spot you won't believe man." He said putting down his now finished can of soda on the little table in front of us.

"It's late." I said after checking the time.

"Nah it's close by anyway. We do this quick and you can go home." He said while putting on his sweater and coat before I sighed in defeat. He throws me a book bag with different spray cans inside.

Leading me towards a subway station, we wait before a train passes as he jumps onto the train tracks.

"I am not sure we're in our legal rights to be here." I said following him while turning on my phone flashlight. I can see normally sure, but he don't know that.

"We be aight, just follow me." He said as we continued walking till there was an archway in the wall leading to a hallway. Walking down we come across a metal gate with a door in the middle with a opening at the top.

"Do how I do." He says before running to the gate and jumping before climbing up and over.

Following suit, I run and jump before climbing with ease till the top as I start hanging with one hand.

Unstrapping the book bag from my free arm I switch and take it off before throwing it over to my uncle who catches it and I go over myself and land beside him.

"Where you hiding all your muscles man?" He asked rhetorically with a laugh as he starts walking further down the hallway while I follow, book bag back on my back.

Eventually it opened up more leading to a room, if it can be called that, with a super ceiling. My uncle then went to a power box and flipped the switch causing it to light up, showing all the different art around already.

"How'd you know about this spot?" I asked while looking at the different pieces of art.

"Got a little side job down here right now." He said while grabbing a boom box out of a corner.

"You sure we should be down here then?" I asked since if he working down here right now then they'll notice clear differences.

"It's fine man. Now get started." He said before throwing me a spray can.

"How about this one?" He asked showing me a page of my art book. It says "NYC Life" in the middle while surrounded by a bunch of buildings and different foods with a bus and train snaking around and through the letters.

"Sure!" I said before getting started as he played his mixtape.

"🎶It was all a dream I used to read Word Up! magazines🎶"

"Salt-n-Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine!" I sang along as I kept going while my uncle started giving me tips on what to do.

Making sure I get every precise detail was kind of easy to be honest since my senses are so dialed up. And by the end I put a little double cursive capital m as my sign in the bottom right.

"Man this is beautiful. We should've done this where everyone can see it." My uncle said as we stood side by side a bit away to appreciate the whole thing.

"Nah man, then I'd really be dead. Let's go though, before I get killed." I said jokingly at the end before we started packing everything up that we brought here.

Getting up top I hand the book bag over to my uncle and say my good byes before running to my house. But I'm suddenly stopped by a mugger, great.

"Stop right there kid! Empty your pockets!" He said while pointing a pistol at me.

"Look man, I ain't got nothing on me, if you just walk away-"

"Shut up! Now empty your fucking pockets!" He yelled at me while waving his gun at me.

"Fine, you asked for it-" I'm suddenly interrupted when Spider-Man drops down and punches the guy in the temple knocking him out cold.

"Oh, hey kid! Man it's so weird how you run into people, small world huh?" He said enthusiastically.

"Very, so what do you want because this clearly isn't a coincidence." I said as we now stood on the side walk face to face, luckily it's so late that there aren't much people around beside the homeless and late night shift type.

"Oh, well, you know how the super hero life is." He said awkwardly.

"No, I don't. I'm not a super hero, never will be one, so what you doing here?" I asked.

"Well, I just needed to know real quick, if you're working for the Kingpin or not." He said quickly at the end.

"Me? Working for Wilson Fisk?" I asked before I busted out laughing.

"That's a good one man, but why would I work for Fisk?" I asked amusedly.

"No reason! Just, wondering." He said clearly lying.

"Man your lies are horri-"

"Miles!" I suddenly hear my name called out. Turning I see Gwen running over.

"Gwen? What you doing here at this time?" I asked concerned, I may be mad at her still, but she's also my friend still.

"That's what I should be asking you!" She practically yelled in my face now getting close before punching me in the arm, it actually hurting with her super strength.

"Ow, what the hell?"

"Back at ya! Your mom and dad have been worried sick! They called my dad to see if I was over there, causing him to barge in my room with a gun while I was sleeping!" She explained.

"So you've been running around looking for me?" I asked actually touched by that idea.

"N-no. I just can't let someone kill you before me! I'm still mad about you taking me away from the fight!" She said covering up her clear concern with anger, nice to see she cares.

"Hate to interrupt children, but your the girl he was swinging with, right?" Peter suddenly asked.

"Oh, oh my god. Spider-Man! I'm such a big fan, I want to be just like you!" She said going full fan girl at noticing him and runs up beside him.

"Thanks! So you have powers like us right?" He asked while referring to me and him.

"Yeah! I don't have any extra powers like Miles does though." She said crestfallen at the end.

"That's completely fine! World can always use more people willing to do the right thing! Unlike somebody." He said the last part in a lower tone more in her direction.

"We all have super hearing." I said dryly.

"Oh, right." He said with a nervous chuckle while I sighed in response.

"But you want to be a super hero right?" He asked Gwen getting a excited nod in response.

"Then-"

"Not interested." I said for her and grabbed her arm.

"Yes I am! One hundred percent am!" She said while using her super strength and sticking to the floor to stay put.

"Gwen, you do not understand what you're getting yourself into!" I said, every hero story ends in tragedy, especially for Spider-Men.

"He's actually right." Peter suddenly said.

"This job is not easy, and it doesn't pay either, if anything you're the one that's always paying, one way or another. There are certain things you'll have to sacrifice if you actually want to do this." Peter said wisely.

"The reason why I offered Miles to join me in crime fighting is because he clearly understands what those costs are. Friends and family will probably die because of you, you sure you're ready for that?" Peter ended with a question causing us both to fall silent.

"I… I lost my mom in a home invasion. In this city, and compared to other things going on around the world, even in Manhattan just today. It's only one life lost in the billions to be forgotten eventually." Gwen started to say.

"But because of that, I understand the pain of losing family. I understand what it means to not be able to see someone again because of the cruelty of someone else. To wake up and expect to see them, but you never do."

"I don't want other people to feel that same sense of loss of and pain. I have the power to stop families from being broken up. So why shouldn't I use it for exactly that? I saw kids crying at the corpse of their parents or rubble from collapsed buildings."

"I saw people getting gunned down from alien invaders. I don't wanna see that again, all that death and destruction. Sure, maybe I can't save everyone, but that's not a reason to not try."

"So I may not understand what the costs are sure, but in the end, if I'm able to let a mother or father reunite with their kid. Or I'm able to save someone's love, it'll be worth it." She finished, while I could only think one thing.

'How naive.'