The Bride-To-Be That Wasn't-To-Be

Disclaimer: I don't own Spider-Man 2 or anything connected with it.

Author's Note: This idea has been going through my head since I saw the movie the other day.

Mary Jane Watson lay awake. It was the night before her wedding. Tomorrow was the day she'd marry John. She really ought to get to sleep. After all, she didn't want to show up at the wedding tomorrow with bags under her eyes. How embarrassing would that be!

C'mon, MJ, she thought to herself. You've got to go to sleep. But sleep couldn't come. Her mind was just too distracted.

John never calls me MJ. Only Peter and Harry do. With John, I'm always Mary Jane. I suppose it sounds more grown up. I'm not a little kid anymore. I think Peter still thinks I am a little kid. Peter…What was she going to do about Peter?

Mary Jane sighed. Lying in bed with the lights off and her eyes shut was not getting her anywhere. Peter just wasn't there for her. Peter just couldn't be there for her. He had other priorities and she needed to feel like somebody cared about her. Her parents didn't, she need someone who did. John did. Then why was she having doubts all of a sudden?

She sat up and turned on one the lamps, blinking and squinting her eyes at the sudden brightness. She stumbled around until she found a little notepad and a pencil. She sat back down on the bed and curled her knees up to her. She didn't even know why she was doing this. It was crazy. After all, she was going to marry John tomorrow and that would be that.

She drew a line down the middle of the page. On the top of one column, she wrote Pros, and on the top of the other column she wrote Cons.

Hmm…Pros. There were a zillion reasons to marry John. She started the list.

1) John cares about me

2) John is there for me ALWAYS

3) John is smart

4) John is handsome

5) John is kind

6) John is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS there for me. I can count on him.

She looked at her Cons list. There was nothing there. There wasn't anything wrong with John. The only thing wrong right now was herself. She was just getting cold feet. Snap out of it, MJ.

She shut off the lamp and rolled over, still clutching the paper and pencil. After what seemed like an eternity, she fell asleep.

Mary Jane woke up with the sunlight streaming through her window. It was morning and today she was getting married. Today she was marrying John. This was it. The day she'd dreamed about since she was a little girl. Her wedding day. Of course, when she was a little girl, John hadn't been the one waiting at the altar for her. She didn't know him then.

She looked at the paper and pencil, still scrunched in her hand. She hadn't let go of it all night.

She pocketed the pencil and little sheet of paper and went about doing her usual morning things. She ate, showered, and made her bed. Then she was off to go get her hair done and put her dress on and all those other wedding day details.

Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the mirror and her best friend was handing her a bouquet of flowers. "Could you hand me my purse?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"You aren't going to walk down the aisle with it, are you?" her best friend asked, handing it to her.

"No, of course not. Just hold my flowers for a minute."

"Sure thing, Mary-Jane."

Mary Jane Watson took out the crumpled paper and pencil out of her purse. She looked at the empty Cons column and wrote down just 3 words. I love Peter. That was it. That was all there was to it. John was a great guy and he was someone she could count on, but she was still in love with Peter. And she knew he loved her too. If only he didn't have to be so noble and self-sacrificing! He hadn't asked her about any of it before deciding that they couldn't be together. Well, she wasn't going to give him up without a fight.

"I need you to do me a big favor."

"Anything, Mary-Jane."

Mary Jane Watson opened the drawer under the mirror and took out some stationary and a pen belonging to the church. She knew she had to write fast, Here Comes the Bride would be starting any minute now.

Dear John,

I'm sorry, but I can't marry you. You're a great guy and I care about you a lot, but I'm still in love with someone else, and it wouldn't be fair for any of the three of us if we went through with this wedding. I'm sorry to do this to you at the last minute. I'm sorry about how you're going to feel waiting at the altar and then seeing my Maid of Honor walk down the aisle instead of me. I'm sorry, but I just can't go through with this.

Always a Friend,

MJ Watson

Mary Jane folded the letter and put it in an envelope. "I've got to go. Give this to John for me. You're the best friend anyone could ever ask for." She hugged her and handed her the envelope.

Her Maid of Honor was stunned. "Mary-Jane, you're supposed to be getting married now. The music is starting. Your-husband-to-be is at the altar. Everyone is here. Where are you going?"

"I can't stay. I can't go through with this. I'm still in love with somebody else and I have to find him before he gets away again. I'm going to fight for him this time."

The Maid of Honor looked at her best friend, standing in the doorway with the light streaming in behind her. Both hands were holding up her huge skirt so she could get out of there quickly. "Are you sure about this?"

"More sure than anything else. I love Peter Parker. And now I'm going to find him. I won't let him get away again. Never again. He's already walked away twice. I'm not letting him do it again."

"Alright. You go. I won't tell anyone where you are. Go now, before they send someone to find you. I hear the music."

"You're the best. Thanks!" Mary Jane called over her shoulder as she ran out of the room and out of the church.

The Maid of Honor saw the look on her best friend's face. She was happy now. Out of the church and happy. She'd looked a bit off all morning. No more time to dwell on that. Now the girl in the black dress ran out of the room as fast as her little heeled shoes would carry her. She saw all the faces turn to her when she came down the aisle, and the looks of disappointment. She knew everyone was wondering Where's the Bride? She handed John the letter and he opened it and read it to himself. He did not look pleased.

Her part was over, and now she sent silent wishes of good luck to Mary Jane Watson and Peter Parker, wherever they were.

-Finis-