Peter Parker thought he could catch a break.
After being bitten by a radioactive spider, losing his aunt and uncle, and nearly dying after an attack from an evil technology company, he had hoped he could spend some time with his new family. But that...
"I'm graduating tomorrow," Gwen said over the roar of the highway. Still loud, but not nearly as busy as it used to be three years ago.
She and Harley were sitting on a bridge that overlooked the traffic, kicking their legs above the tiny, zooming cars and just vibing. One of the perks of being the Ghost Spider: swinging to virtually any spot in the entire city and being able to just chill out there. Take a breath. Personally, her favorite spot to chill out was upside down on the Empire State building, but she'd settled for a place that'd be much easier for Harley to accompany her.
"I'm turning eighteen tomorrow," Harley replied, brushing the overgrown hair from his eyes and tucking it back underneath his ball cap. His gaze was so full and empty at the same time, like a glass filled to the brim with water, so it's hard to tell whether or not it's empty.
Gwen nodded. "Quite the day it'll be then, huh?"
"Yeah." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, then smiled. "Guess I finished high school before you. Tony let me 'step out' of my classes and take the GED right before I left for my mom's."
"You didn't tell me that!" Gwen slapped his arm. "Well, congrats, genius."
"Thanks." He finally glanced over at her and smiled, warmth finally shining in his face again. He seemed so much more alive now than he had last week when he'd returned to Tony's care.
"Well?" Gwen prodded. "What's next?"
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
"What's your next big move? You going to college and getting a job, or are you gonna live in Tony's basement for the rest of your life? As your girlfriend, I'm entitled to know these things."
Raising an eyebrow, Harley pushed himself farther up the bridge and pulled his good leg beneath him. "Girlfriend? Did I earn back the privilege?"
"Oh, shut up."
"Okay..." Harley sighed. "I was thinking of applying to college. Normally I think it'd be too late to apply, but Tony said he's got lots of pull at techie schools, I guess. What about you?"
Gwen put her hands underneath her chin in a mock pose. "MIT. I got in last month, probably around the time you were finishing high school and didn't bother to tell me."
"MIT..." Harley stroked his chin which, Gwen was alarmed to notice, finally had the startings of prepubescent stubble. "I could work with that."
"What?" Gwen had gotten distracted by the not-beard.
After a brief hesitation, Harley put a comforting, heavy hand on her shoulder. "If you're as serious about this as I want it to be, I'll go wherever you go."
"Aw," Gwen couldn't help but let slip. "Of course I am."
"So...it's official, then?" He raised a brow expectantly. "Again?"
Gwen leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Sure, Harl."
***
A/N I'm homeschooled I think I've made it clear by now I know nothing about public school, especially public school graduations whatever I'm doing it anyway last time writing about school's the charm amiright
A mere fourteen hours later, Gwen's name was called and she dashed up to receive her high school diploma. While she shook the principal's hand, a teenage boy with a crutch leapt to his feet and screamed amidst all the applause.
"YOU DID IT, MAMA!" he yelled. Tony grabbed his elbow and yanked him back down into his seat.
Billy clapped enthusiastically next to them, seated by their beaming foster parents. They looked proud, of course, but more proud of a family friend's daughter than their own. Not like her own parents would have been looking at her.
A sudden, cold sadness swallowed her, making goose bumps erupt across her skin. She pictured a twenty-year-old Peter, maybe with a beard, sitting in the crowd with her parents. Clapping along with everyone else, a big smile on his face, knowing that they would be swinging around the city together that night. Just two best friends who happened to have been bitten by the same radioactive spider, flying through the streets, nothing between them and the sky but the stars.
Gwen briskly wiped away a tear, stepped off the stage, and joined the rest of her former classmates.
She glanced over at Harley, who was grinning widely at her and giving a thumbs-up. Now she had a real future to look forward to. Going to college with a wonderful boy she didn't deserve.
And just like that, high school was nothing but a memory.
boom I'm so smart now I now know everything about public school
اوووه! هذه الصورة لا تتبع إرشادات المحتوى الخاصة بنا. لمتابعة النشر، يرجى إزالتها أو تحميل صورة أخرى.
