Chris's POV
I watched Peter all day.
He was acting beyond weird.
I knew the spider had bitten him, but he wasn't exactly playing it cool.
Throughout class, his eyes were glazed over, his thoughts clearly drifting into another dimension.
When the final bell rang, he didn't even look my way.
He just bolted out of the school like his pants were on fire, skipping our usual walk home without a single word.
"Oh no, you don't, Pete," I muttered, adjusting my bag. "You aren't getting away that easily."
I excused myself from the lingering crowd and ducked into a nearby alley.
In an instant, I shifted.
My bones clicked, my vision shifted to a low-light spectrum, and I dropped onto four paws.
In my full cat form, I was a ghost in the urban jungle.
I tracked his scent—that familiar mix of old books and now, something sharp and chemical.
I followed him to an abandoned construction site on the edge of the district.
I perched on a rusted steel girder, my tail twitching as I watched the show.
It was impressive, even for me.
I watched him heave a massive steel beam that had to be at least 15 tons.
Then he blurred, a 200m per second sprint that kicked up a cloud of dust.
His reflexes were abnormal, dodging imaginary strikes with a twitch of his head before they even landed.
The Spider-Sense was definitely active.
Spider-Man had officially been born.
I waited until he raised his wrist.
Thwip!
A strand of organic webbing shot out, anchoring to a brick wall.
That was my cue.
I jumped down from the girder, shifting back into my human form mid-air.
I landed softly on my feet just as Peter spun around, his eyes wide with absolute terror.
"Whoa! Pete! Nice rope trick," I said, leaning against a wooden crate with a smirk.
Peter scrambled, trying to hide his wrist behind his back.
"Chris! I—uh—this is... it's just a prop! For the drama club! Yeah! A high-tension cable!"
I just stared at him, my expression deadpan.
"Pete. Stop. I know you have powers. I've been watching you lift half a building for the last ten minutes."
Peter froze, his shoulders slumping as the secret came crashing down.
"You... you saw that?"
"Hard to miss a scrawny nerd turning into a Greek God in an afternoon," I teased, walking over to him.
I reached out and flicked the webbing stuck to the wall. It was tough as steel.
"Spider-Man is born, huh? Or should I call you Web-Head?"
Peter looked at me, completely baffled. "You aren't... scared? You aren't going to call the government?"
I laughed, a genuine, loud laugh.
"Pete, look at me. I'm a zoologist in training. This is the coolest thing I've ever seen. Besides, who says you're the only one in New York with a few secrets?"