Actor in Hollywood

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Peter had an idea.

A bold, crazy, adventurous, and outrageous idea—one that his rational, composed self would never agree to, an idea that he might never dare to act on if he let this moment slip away.

Peter thought he was losing his mind.

But even more astonishing was how this idea grew uncontrollably, like wild grass in the spring, spreading rapidly and filling his mind until it was about to explode.

So, he did it.

He looked at Mary-Jane with such sincerity, such openness, and such calm that if the room had been just a bit quieter, you could have heard his heart pounding against his chest.

"I mean,"

"Spider-Man, Mary-Jane's greatest quality is…"

"When you look into her eyes, and she looks back at you…"

Word by word.

Unflinching, yet honest.

Mary-Jane, full of anticipation and excitement, let her smile blossom without holding back. It wasn't just excitement and giddiness; there was also a hint of curiosity and the thrill of gossip. But slowly, gradually, those emotions began to ebb away.

Mary-Jane stared into Peter's eyes. It felt as if this was the first time she was truly seeing them. Peter used to wear glasses, so she never noticed that his eyes were blue. Even after she noticed, they never really had a moment where their gazes met like this. After all, they were just friends.

Until now.

His calm blue eyes, with a depth that hinted at hidden waves, gathered strength bit by bit. There was fear, hesitation, and uncertainty, as if they were circling, unsure of their path, but in the end, the waves surged.

Peter's words were like a spell, blending the imagined scenes in her mind with the reality before her. Mary-Jane thought Peter was speaking about Spider-Man, but now it felt as though he was speaking directly to her.

Unconsciously, her heartbeat began to lose its rhythm.

Gradually, everything quieted down. Though the smile still lingered on her lips, Mary-Jane could now see her reflection becoming clearer in those blue eyes.

She looked at him, he looked at her, and she gazed at the reflection of herself in his eyes.

Buzz.

The world quieted down until it was just the two of them.

"Everything… becomes special…"

Peter's voice grew softer, landing gently on her eardrums. Mary-Jane searched for the light in those eyes, finding them filled with the vastness of the stars and the sea, and she slowly, irresistibly, began to fall.

### Time. Space.

It was as if someone had pressed the pause button.

Even Mary-Jane herself didn't realize it.

"Because you'll feel stronger... but also more vulnerable…"

Strength comes from two people walking side by side through storms, facing the world's harshest winters with a hardened exterior.

Vulnerability is the willingness to expose your soft spots in front of the one you love, yearning for support, for an embrace, for warmth.

"Because you'll feel excited... but also afraid…"

Excitement comes from rare possession.

Fear comes from the terror of losing it.

Bathed in Peter's gaze, Mary-Jane felt herself drifting, his warm and bright eyes wrapping her up entirely.

Was that her? Was she the person he was talking about?

She saw herself in those eyes.

One look, and it felt like a lifetime.

So focused, so tender, so pure.

It was like a moth drawn to a flame.

But that flame danced carefully around her, fully attentive to her, as if she were the sun, and he the earth, with the entire world revolving around her—leaving her dizzy and disoriented.

And then, in that space, it was just the two of them.

Him and her.

A thought struck Mary-Jane like lightning, burrowing deep into her soul. She just stared at Peter, lost in his tender gaze, slowly melting away.

Suddenly, tears welled up, blurring her vision.

He understood her.

Not just heard her, but truly understood. He really saw her.

Finally.

Someone saw her, someone heard her—not a hero riding in on a white horse to save her, because she didn't need saving. What she needed was companionship.

Just one person beside her was enough. She would continue forward on her own strength.

Moved. Sad. Vulnerable. Strong. Desperate. Struggling.

Her tear-filled eyes were brimming with countless emotions, but this time, she could see herself clearly in his eyes—

Her truest self.

A self that even she had never truly seen or understood, now reflected in the eyes of the man before her.

"The truth is, you don't really know what that feeling is; you just know what kind of person you want to be."

"It's like achieving an impossible dream, yet feeling completely unprepared for it."

His soft, gentle words slowly touched every scar she carried, not painful, but each wound could be felt as if she were retracing her journey.

Perhaps she had even forgotten why she first chose to become an actress, but he still remembered.

It was her. It is her.

The line between performance and reality blurred, the fourth wall disappeared, but the emotions and feelings remained, inescapable.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Her heartbeat echoed in her ears.

Reverberating, swirling.

Kristen's mind went completely blank. Her mouth slightly open, she felt herself falling under his gaze, a freefall that clutched her heart tightly with accelerating speed. And yet, she felt no fear.

Falling through gold into a sea of blue, the powerful impact shattered all the armor around her soul, breaking down the barriers between acting and reality. Her wildly beating heart roared in her ears.

So, was she Mary-Jane or Kristen?

Maybe neither. Maybe both.

She fell into those eyes, lost in a soft, golden glow, yet felt no confusion, no struggle, no anxiety, only a warm embrace. When she finally realized it, her vision had already blurred.

A chuckle escaped.

Kristen laughed, tears escaping her eyes as she quickly wiped them away, a bit shy, a bit awkward, but her smile only grew brighter and more radiant as she looked forward again.

Bold and brave, open and vulnerable, she revealed her fragility and confusion, her pain and struggles, without holding back.

Because this time, she knew it was okay to be her true self.