Engaged: No Matter What

Chapter 4 Gwen's POV

About a half hour later, Peter drops me off at my apartment. After greeting my mom and brothers, he swings off to his house. Then I join my family in the dining room for dinner.

As we begin to eat, my mother asks, "So how was your day, Gwen?"

"Amazing!" I respond, excitedly. "I just found out at the end of my shift that I'm going to Paris this Friday."

"What?" Mom says, shocked. "Are you serious?"

"Yup," I say. "This Friday night there's a party we're being invited to for this organization that's found a cure for cancer. They want the avengers to come support them since it's a huge honor, along with Peter's parents since they're the best scientists, and me with a few other doctors since we're considered the most intelligent. We're going to be there for a week and we'll get a tour of their whole headquarters and how they make the medicine. The trip is free; the president of the company is paying for everything. All they want in return is our presence. How awesome is that!"

"Oh, Gwen, that's amazing!" Mom exclaims. "I'm so proud of you. I told you you'd make a successful doctor!"

"Thanks, Mom!" I grin.

"No problem, dear," Mom returns the smile.

"Which reminds me; tomorrow after work, Lily's going to help me find a dress for the party," I tell her. "Is that okay with you?"

"Absolutely!" Mom replies.

"Thanks! Man, I've always wanted to go to Paris. I'm so excited, especially since I'm going with Peter. It's going to be so romantic."

"Gwen and Peter are sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Howard chants.

I roll my eyes. To change the subject, I ask my brothers. "So how was school today, guys?"

"Good," Howard and Simon say simultaneously.

I look over at Philip who's staring down at his plate, poking his spaghetti around with his fork. Something's up, I can tell. He's usually never this quiet!

"How about you, Philip?" I ask him. "How was school?"

"It was alright," he replies, still looking down at his food.

"What's wrong?" I say, knowing that something is wrong.

Philip finally looks up from his plate and sighs before he responds. "I'm invisible, okay?"

"What are you talking about, honey, you're not invisible," Mom protests.

"Yes, I am," he raises his voice, frustrated as can be. "I can't get my crush to notice me and I'm a senior in high school for crying out loud!"

"Mom, will you excuse Philip and me for a moment?" I ask.

"Sure, but don't be long," Mom says. "Your food will get cold."

"We won't," I say, getting up from the table, gesturing for Philip to follow me. He reluctantly agrees, sliding out of his chair and following me upstairs to my room.

Out of all of my brothers, I'm the closest to Philip, so this won't be awkward. He needs my help. I can't let him just go on with his life, thinking he's not worth it.

When we reach my room, I let Philip go inside first so I can shut the door behind us. I tell him to go sit on my bed as I pull out the 'spinny chair' from my desk, taking a seat on it. "So tell me your problems," I say, crossing my arms, trying to act like a counselor.

"Well my first problem is that you're doing a terrible job pretending to be a counselor," Philip replies, making me frown slightly. "And second, why do you always have to sit in the 'spinny chair'?"