So, we’re still at that party, and a guy is begging Geldoff to blow up another car. The kids seem weirdly ok with this when at least 2 of them just lost their parents’ cars and anyone could be next. But, as Peter tenses up like he’s going to do something, cops arrive. Gwen freaks out and drags Peter away, not wanting to be a Stacy caught up in this.
Peter smirking about being able to climb is fun, and I like the gang Scooby Doo-ing it in that bottom panel. At a bus stop, Gwen recaps what happened for Liz, who didn’t see it, and some girls say that was Geldoff, who goes to their school. This gets Peter’s attention.
Kind of glossing over Liz’s problem with mutants, but it’s something. On the bus, the kids spread out, but MJ eventually motions Peter over, to Gwen’s satisfaction, whispering that she thinks it’s funny that he’s there with them on the cold bus instead of swinging home in 2 seconds.He admits he lost his costume, and MJ says Liz talked her into dressing crazy tonight. Says she needed a “new me.” Then MJ very tentatively produced an envelope, and has to decide whether to give it to Peter.
Gwen totally does know, Peter’s just being a little slow on the uptake.
Our man leaps out of the basement and is up through MJ’s window in a flash.
The two share a big kiss, and we leave them alone. Pretty nice. Bendis really wrote thes messy teenage romance beats realistically and truthfully. They can really make you think back to your own chaotic teenhood, no matter how old you are reading it. The next day, Peter finds someone has written “GELDOFF RULES!” across several lockers, and wonders how he rules, exactly. He worried about that guy, about money problems, about PSATs, and about wanting to take MJ out on a nice date, while also being thrilled they worked it out. He’s thinking about how he feels good for the first time in a long time when MJ appears and expresses a similar sentiment. Then Flash comes up, again trying to talk to Peter, and now he’s got both of them telling him to grow up and go away.
He looks like Casual Friday Spider-Man, but he’s back! Our man’s really been through the wringer, and it’s nice to see him and MJ working it out. But now he’s got to get to the bottom of this Geldoff business, and that’s going to take him in some unexpected directions…