― summary : you're a new investigative journalist at the daily bugle who's been paired up with its star photographer: peter parker. j. jonah jameson wants you, the new hire, and peter to catch spider-man for an interview; but the catch? peter's spider-man and you don't know! can peter manage to thwart the interview with the help of some friends, or does your big break come to end?
― chapter one word count : 1643
― author's note : and chapter one is here! i'm really happy to see everyone enjoying this series so far, and i hope i can keep up with the momentum! i can't wait to keep going. here's the series masterlist for big break!, and here's the prologue ♡
chapter one : first day, huh?
Earlier that morning. . .
If Peter was finally going to be honest with himself, he was tired of the slander. He picked up yesterdays newspaper from a food truck and read the title: Spider-man causes over 5 Million Dollars in Damages to Newly Built Roxxon Building. The paper crinkled under his grip as he read the title over and over again. Maybe, he wouldn't have caused so much damage if it weren't for Rhino. He tried stopping the guy for over 10 blocks before he ran through the entire building and swatted desks, chairs, and electronics out of his way like flies. His webs only had so much grip strength before they frayed at the seams.
He stuffed the newspaper back where it belonged and made his way to the Daily Bugle. He was already late and the last thing he needed was for Jonah to chew him out again. Peter bit back a sigh and ran a hand through his hair in stress. Living a double life wasn't easy, but it was what he had to do to keep the city safe.
"Do you know how absolutely late you are?" Jonah rounded on him as soon as he stepped into his office. His blue eyes shook and were red at the corners. "I told you we had a meeting this morning with the new hire, and you didn't even show!"
Right, so that's what he was missing. . . the meeting. He was sure whoever the chump he was supposed meet would be fine waiting until tomorrow. No harm no foul, right? Peter sighed and dropped his satchel into the chair across from Jonah's desk. He shrugged and spread his arms wide. The last thing Peter wanted to do was lie, but if he didn't. . . he didn't even want to think about the consequences of that.
"I'm sorry, Jonah, I am. But Aunt May had a thing, and— and I couldn't miss it. Okay?" Peter huffed quietly and sat on the arm chair with his shoulders bunched up to his ears. He thought the excuses would stop in high school, but now he's well into his 30s and still lying. Was there going to be any hope for him?
J.J.J just sighed and shook his head. The same excuses and stories, it was like Peter never changed at all. "You can't keep doing this, kid," He slumped in his chair and waved a dismissive hand at Peter. "Dismissed. But be here tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. sharp."
Peter hated the guilt that sat in his gut like a rock. It was heavy and it made him nauseous. Sure, he didn't mind a white lie here and there, he lied to his baddies all the time, but it was different this way. He exhaled and entered the bullpen with a slow gait.
"What's up with you today," MJ stopped by Peter's desk and rested her hip against the edge. "Thought you'd be excited after your win yesterday?"
Peter looked up at MJ with sorrow in his eyes. "Yeah, well, when the paper you work for keeps slandering your side hustle it isn't exactly easy to be happy," Peter leaned back in his seat and rested his hands on top of his stomach. "I mean, it wasn't even me! Alex— Rhino was the one who tore through the place."
"I wouldn't worry if I was you. There's barely any mention of that in the article. And you'd know if you read it." MJ lightly flicked Peter's forehead and he rubbed the spot with the dramatics like he'd been shot.
"What's this about a new hire," Peter changed the subject and sat upright. He appeared busy as he fished his camera out of his bag and placed it on his desk with all the care in the world. His prized possession, his (literal) money maker. "Anything I should know about them?"
"They're cute." MJ stated. Peter looked up at her incredulously then back down to his camera again. "Seriously? That's all you have for me?"
"I met them yesterday, it's not like we're BFFs or anything," She crossed her arms over her chest then pursed her lips in thought. "Fine. Listen up. They are cute. Eager to start, good work ethic, insane portfolio. You know they met Captain America?"
Peter's eyes went big as he stared up at MJ. They met Sam? Peter shook his head and finally turned his monitor on. "Well, I'm meeting them tomorrow, so I'll see for myself if they're so great."
You hate yourself. Deeply, and utterly hate yourself. Your coffee spilled all over your shirt and on to a stranger's when you both crashed into each other getting on the elevator.
"I am so sorry. Are you okay?" You didn't wait for their response as you grabbed a handful of napkins from your bag and began patting them down.
"No, no— it's fine! I swear." The stranger looked up at you as you patted down his sweater. Slowly, you looked up and met the softest pair of brown eyes. You cheeks felt warm as you backed away and accidently hit your lower back against the elevator's handlebars.
You hissed in pain and stuffed the wet napkins in the front pockets of your pants. You couldn't meet the stranger's eyes and hurriedly exited the elevator once you got to your floor. Unbeknownst to you, the stranger followed you out, but you were already half way down the corridor by now.
You steeled your nerves before you entered J.J.J's office and tossed the clump of soaking wet napkins into the trash. It was 8:32 a.m. when you entered with a gentle, yet strained smile on your face. "Good morning, sir." You greeted as you stood near the chair with your hands clasped in front of you.
"Have a seat newbie, I'm still waiting for—"
"Sorry, I'm here. Some idiot spilled coffee on me." Peter's words slowly trailed off as he entered and looked between you and J.J.J. He cleared his throat awkwardly and brushed down the front of his sweater with clammy palms. "Sorry, didn't know it was you."
Great. Just great. You spilled coffee on your coworker and now he thinks you're an idiot. You looked away before he caught your eyes and refocused on J.J.J's words.
"Now that you're both here. I need to discuss something with the both of you," J.J.J sat down in his leather chair and steepled his fingers together. He looked every bit like a cliche villain right now. "Spider-man recently wrecked havoc on the new Roxxon building. Before that he had a run in with Doc Ock at his lab, then a splash zone party with Lizard down in the sewers. For too long has he gone unchallenged. Left to his own devices. That's why I need the two of you to catch Spider-man and question him."
"What?" you both balked at the same time at J.J.J's words. That was the big surprise he had in store for you? He wanted an interview from Spider-man? That's it? But you knew it was more than that. He wanted Spider-man's version of events. . . at least that's what it sounded like to you.
"Wait, wait, wait. You want Spider-man to do an interview with the Daily Bugle? What for? It seems like they've already made up their mind about him being a heathen and everything," Peter rushed out and stared down J.J.J with an intensity in his eyes. "Isn't this going to be a biased interview?"
"It won't be, because our newbie here will be conducting it," J.J.J gestured to you and shrunk into yourself at the attention. "They've never interacted with Spider-man or seen him action, therefore they have a totally unbiased opinion on him. Isn't that right, kid?"
"Yes sir. That's right." You fidgeted with your fingers and kept your eyes on the linoleum floor beneath you. You hated the reflection you saw. You were usually so confident, but this task was daunting. Did every new hire have to do something insane to prove themself?
"What about the Human Torch? He's been going crazy lately. He burned down that power plant!" Peter swung his arms wildly and it confused you on how much he didn't want this. "He's more of a menace than Spider-man is."
"I don't want an interview with the Fantastic Four. I want Spider-man, Peter," J.J.J rubbed the bridge of his nose in stress and shooed the both of you away. "Figure something out. You have a week."
As soon as you both stepped out of J.J.J's office, it's like you both became yourselves again. You breathed out a sigh of relief and smoothed down the front of your shirt in habit; then flinched when you remembered Peter's coffee soaked sweater.
"Sorry about your sweater by the way," You extended your hand for a shake and offered your name. "Didn't mean to ruin your morning too."
Peter shook his head and took your hand with a friendly smile on his face. "I was just being dramatic, it's no worries, really."
You both held on for longer than necessary then quickly let go when things became awkward. From out of the corner of your eye, you saw Peter's cheeks take on a slight pinkish hue and yours became hot after the fact. It's just the nerves, you thought.
"I'm going to go get started on those questions. I'll run a draft by you once I'm done, okay? See you around Peter." You waved goodbye shyly and started towards your desk.
As soon as you left his sight, Peter hastily searched for his phone and shot out a quick text. 'Dude. Need your help ASAP. Text me back.'
― summary : you're a new investigative journalist at the daily bugle who's been paired up with its star photographer: peter parker. j. jonah jameson wants you, the new hire, and peter to catch spider-man for an interview; but the catch? peter's spider-man and you don't know! can peter manage to thwart the interview with the help of some friends, or does your big break come to end?
― prologue word count : 1139
― author's note : oh em gee! guys idk what happened but i got hit with the writer's - block - begone machine so here's there prologue for my series big break! here's the series masterlist ♡
prologue : welcome to the big city!
Everything in Manhattan was bigger. From the buildings to the cars, even the people. The phrase "go big or go home" summed up the city, and it was intimidating. You walked backwards on the sidewalk and looked up at the sky in wonder. It was a picturesque perfect day. The sky was blue, not a cloud in sight; it seemed like today was going to be a good day. The Avengers tower even seemed to have an otherworldly glow to it. A slow day for the heroes of N.Y.C, then. And not too far from the tower was your destination: the Daily Bugle.
Located on 39th street and 2cd avenue was a large, brown brick building with too many floors to count. At the very top, in gold letters, was the sign that called out to everyone: Daily Bugle. The two words separated by a horn. It called to you and you rushed across the street, barely avoiding speeding taxis and bicyclists on their morning commute.
You clutched your satchel to your side as you entered the building and exhaled with a grin on your lips. This was the moment. The receptionist didn't take long to give you directions, and soon the elevators doors dinged open to showcase the rush that was the Daily Bugle's bullpen. It was chaos, but one you knew you could handle.
There were two pillars that acted as support and had TVs on all four sides constantly playing the news for real time updates. Each veteran journalist had their own desk but were close enough to each other to speak to. Interns and juniors sat together at a round table where hushed conversation took place, and even though your arrival felt so big then, the bullpen drowned it all out.
Your bag fell to your side in a slump as you stepped out of the elevator, and you immediately had to side step as a women rushed forward carrying a tall stack of newspapers.
She had the brightest red hair you'd ever seen, and it brought out the gold flecks in her gem green eyes as she looked you up and down from around the stack. "You must be the new kid! I'm MJ. I'd shake your hand but these just came hot off the press, I couldn't afford to drop these."
You stuttered out your name, "Hi, yeah, that's me! Need any help?" MJ didn't waste time and handed you half the stack off the top. Peering at the top of the paper, you saw the headline and flinched at the tone: Spider-man causes over 5 Million Dollars in Damages to Newly Built Roxxon Building. MJ noticed you reading and she rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Don't mind the headline, it's barely covered in the actual story you know. Jonah just needed something eyecatching. Something about the kids needing clickbait these days."
Right, J. Jonah Jameson. The most notorious editor in chief in the entire journalism sphere. Anyone who was in the industry knew of him, and how could they not? Even now you could hear the yelling happening in the office just down the corridor (and to some poor intern too).
"Don't look too freaked out newbie, okay? I promise Jonah is only like that on Mondays," MJ nudged your shoulder with a knowing smile. Damn, maybe you've should've scheduled your interview for Friday then?
"Here, let me give you some advice," you and MJ placed the stack of newspapers on a table and she turned to your with a smirk on her lips. "Just let him do all the talking and only answer questions when he asks. He doesn't like showoffs and he sure as hell doesn't love know-it-alls. Stay humble, and you'll be fine."
You breathed in slowly to calm your nerves and nodded, "Thanks for the advice MJ." You flashed her a grateful smile and awkwardly adjusted the strap of your satchel.
"Impressive resume. For a small townie like yourself, you've made some big moves," J. Jonah Jameson leaned back in his brown leather chair and reglanced at your resume. You didn't say a word, remembering MJ's wise advice. "Tell me kid. Why superheroes? What makes them so great to the little people like you and me?" He took off his glasses and wiped the lenses with the hem of shirt. He looked up at you with a seemingly nice smile, but you knew this was a test.
"Well, sir, uh—," You cleared your throat and sat up straighter in your seat. "I don't think they're all that great. I just think they're doing the right thing." And that was the truth you believed in. While some heroes had powers like Captain America with his super strength, or insane technology like Iron Man, you knew that those were only aids to them in their fight. You believed, deep down, that regardless of powers or technology, they would always find a way to do the right thing.
J.J.J hummed and placed his glasses back on. That moment felt symbolic to you somehow. He clasped his hands on top of the table separating you two and leaned in close. You waited with bated breath as he began to speak.
"I like you kid. You keep it real and your portfolio is no joke. An interview with Captain America just a month after you started at your last job. . . An on field q&a with Cyclops. . . It's not easy catching heroes like them even for a quick 'hi'. I'll tell you what, you got the job. But, there's something you have to do for me first."
"Thank you sir! And, whatever it is, I'll be ready." You nodded with new found invigoration.
"I'll give you the details tomorrow. But, for now, be here tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. sharp. You have a partner you'll be working with. And if he's half as late as he is today, I'll knock some sense into him."
"Of course sir, thank you so much!" You sprung up from your seat and nodded your head quickly at J.J.J then scurried out the door. Your chest felt both heavy and light at the elatedness you felt. A new job in a big city, it felt like nothing could bring you down.
Before you left the Daily Bugle, MJ caught your arm and shared your wide grin."So, I take it you got the job then?"
"Sure did!" You laughed lightly as she held your hands and shook them.
"I knew you could do it! It'll be nice to have a fresh face around here, God knows we needed it. I'll see you here tomorrow newbie, don't be late."
You nodded once more in confidence then took the elevator back down with a pep in your step.
