nobody's gonna save you now

[spideyguy]

Someone's following him.

Peter noticed the tail an hour ago, at the park - the person unknown triggered a slight shiver up his spine that he had to manfully tamp down on, so as not to automatically turn his head. He ends up using the reflection off a lady's sunglasses to confirm there is, in fact, a person just outside of his periphery, hovering in his blindspot - he can't make out who, exactly, but it's certainly enough to spook him. Why would anyone be following him - as Peter Parker, no less? Out in his civvies?

Alright, maybe he can think of a few reasons. Selling pictures of his alter-ego, for starters - it wouldn't be the first time someone had thought Peter Parker might have a lead on Spiderman, though usually people bought his "I use a long telephoto lens" excuse and moved on. Sometimes he walked around in his civvies so as to avoid undue attention when he was casing an area with criminal activity - had someone seen him, and earned him a spot on someone's shitlist?

At least his sense isn't pinging danger persay, but Peter also isn't in the habit of sticking around to find out. So he tries to lose them, as only a native Queens resident can.

Peter's got his skateboard, backpack slung off one shoulder, so he goes zipping down Liberty, weaving in and out of the pedestrians like a bat out of hell. He makes a turn at the Tastewell bakery, cutting through a narrow alley and into the backdoor of the smoke-shop-slash-adult-video store - then back out the front, doubling around off 124th. He doesn't stop until he's eight blocks away, ducking into a coffee shop and taking a post in the back corner, leg jittering.

He doesn't dare swap into his suit - he could, he wears it underneath his clothes most days and today is no different - but depending on what exactly is going on here, it's not like he wants to encourage any rumors that Peter Parker has a direct line to Spiderman. The barista is glaring at him, so Peter hastily buys a coffee, squirreling back to his seat before anyone can try to kick him out.

Maybe he lost his tail? Peter pulls out his notebook to continue working on his latest web formula, though he's caught between fussing with chemical equations and doodling anxiously in the margins, occasionally sneaking up glances at the door. If only he could be so lucky - but Parker luck was pretty much an oxymoron at this point.

[ AKA the bodyguard AU ]