Gwen's Way Home: Peter 3 Brings Gwen Back

Chapter Three

"Listen-n, P-peter, I..." I began, hoping to sound confident but I heard my words sound shaky instead.

How could I explain this? I had no logical explanation, except for that I loved her, and that wasn't really a good explanation...but it was the truth...and if it's anything that Uncle Ben and Aunt May taught me, it's start with the truth.

"I...wasn't thinking. Well, I was. I was thinking about her," I tried again, my tone a little firmer than last time. I'd been waiting for a chance to prove myself to Gwen all this time...and here...in this strange basement...was my chance.

I paused to glance over at Gwen, but her big beautiful eyes weren't fixated on me the way I was hoping they'd be, but were in a stare-down with the concrete floor. She was shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She was nervous. And it was my fault. Shit.

My reflexes told me to grab her hand, and as her soft palm touched mine, I felt a pang of courage to continue.

"If I had the chance to see her again, and didn't, I would never forgive myself...just like I wouldn't forgive myself for-", I stopped mid-thought realizing that Gwen may not even know what happened to her.

I side glanced over at her to gauge how she'd react, and I could tell by the way her cute face was scrunching up she was processing, wondering what the hell I was talking about.

"What-" she began, but Peter 1 spoke over her, saying "Good."

"Good?" I repeated.

"I wanted everyone from their world to have another chance. She can too," Peter 1 suggested.

Wow! He took that better than expected.

Suddenly, a new voice entered the scene. "Guys, what's going-".

It was like Peter 1's face of curiosity was copy and pasted onto Peter 2 because my feelings of anxiety were drifting away. By his expressions alone, I could tell Peter 2 wasn't judging...he was relating.

"Your MJ," he said matter-of-factly, nodding at Gwen.

"His what now?" asked Gwen. "Who's MJ?"

"...me..." said a familiar voice, and Peter 1's love rounded the corner, her converse sneakers making a little squeaking sound as she hurriedly raced over.

"Hi MJ," Gwen said kindly, smiling at the only other female on the property.

"She's my girlfriend," said Peter 1 proudly, as if he couldn't wait to say those words.

"But not to be confused with MY MJ, back in my universe," Peter 1 was quick to clarify.

"Universe? I was right! That's what I thought might be happening...there's a multiverse? I have so many questions! Like how did it even-" Gwen was talking a mile a minute, her eyes alit with the possibility of new scientific discoveries.

A chuckle slid through my lips. "Maybe...we all sit down?"

—-

We got settled on the stools, my chair facing Gwen directly so that my knees touched hers. I refused to let her out of my sight...like if I blinked, she would vanish, and I'd be standing at her grave all over again...or in bed after sleeping through my alarm, finding that this was all an odd dream.

The room was silent for a moment until Peter 1 broke the ice. "This is...kinda my mess...so let me explain," he offered.

And he did. He told her about the wizard, and the spell, and even the missed opportunity with MIT.

Gwen politely listened the whole time, nodding occasionally to show she was following the crazy story. "Everything...makes a lot more sense now, that's for sure. I was pretty confused when I first got here - it was like walking off the plane and into a country that's totally different form your own....this is not my New York...but there was one place I was able to find."

"Where?" I blurted out.

"The public library. I've been hiding out there, reading and observing. I recently left the building to go look for a pay phone to call my family when I heard Peter's voice," Gwen explained.

"Wait...how long have you been here?" Peter 1 asked.

"A couple days, maybe. The last thing I can remember was....falling...I was falling in, in my world...and then...I was here."

Oh God. She doesn't remember.