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06. SIX : how it all begins
"So you met Spider-Man and he gave you something from Peter?" Gwen laughed a little as she spoke.
Ella shrugged, "yeah I guess. He's probably busy."
Gwen nodded. "He's at work right now. I probably should be there too but you know what? I like you a lot more than my internship, actually, I really don't know."
Ella gasped dramatically. "You love your work more than me, Gwen? I am so offended right now."
Gwen shifted slightly on the couch so she could knock shoulders with Ella. A small smile teased her lips as she sat up straighter. The two girls had gotten really close, just like Ella did with Peter, but with Gwen something was different. It was a good different, not like they were in love with each other kind of good different, it was more like a platonic love for best friends.
"Well, you know I invited Peter to come with me to see you but he said he had to work, said it was something important at Oscorp. I don't know, honestly, I think he has a crush on you so that's why he's avoiding you. So this means he loves his job more than you." Gwen jumped up from her spot on the couch, clapping her hands like she just solved the worlds hardest problem. "I'm a way better friend then him!"
Ella quickly grabbed Gwen's hands, pulling her back onto the couch with a little 'oomph'. Green eyes met blue as Ella stared at Gwen, her face jokingly serous. "Gwen."
"Yes?" The blonde hummed, still staring right at the strawberry blonde.
"You can shut up now," Ella said with a little laugh.
Ella let go of Gwen's wrists and the girls sat in a comfortable silence. Ella's mind rushed with ideas of things to write for her story. She finally had proof, she finally had a chance to start. Without Peter's help she would've probably been fired so she didn't care that he wasn't here to see her in all her after shock glory. Sure, he had his job to do but so did he. At least Gwen was there with her, but the next time she saw Peter, she had to remember to kiss him. He was probably her most favorite person right now. The strawberry blonde gasped, her knees buckling a bit at the sudden pressure from standing. She quickly grabbed the picture off the brown coffee table and turned on her heel towards her room. Ella ignored the blonde's protests behind her until she got to the door of her room.
"Ella? What the hell are you doing?" She yelled, racing after her, feet pounding on the wood tiles of the apartment.
"I've got an idea for my article." She pushed through all the trash that littered her room from the past few days of staring at a blank computer screen. It wasn't her finest moment but now she actually had something to write. As soon as Ella sat down, she immediately set to work on the article.
"God, Ella. Did your room look like this when I called you yesterday?" Gwen muttered as she pushed some clothes off of Ella's bed so she could sit.
"Uh- huh."
"God, you're just as bad as Peter." She wrinkled her nose at Ella, noticing a few wrappers lying around.
Ella huffed and turned in her chair to look at Gwen. "I had a rough start. I was staring at this computer for at least twenty four hours trying to think of a good idea. Now I have it so don't criticize what I had to do."
"I just expected it to be a lot cleaner."
"Yeah well, never judge a book by it's cover." Ella muttered turning back around. "I can secretly kick your ass and still look perfect despite my messiness."
A soft chuckle erupted from Gwen's mouth, "oh, I don't doubt that."
____
"Ella? Hey, Ella. I'm going to go home. You've been going at it for the last few hours and I need to do homework, okay?" She felt Gwen's hand pressed gently against her shoulder. Ella felt mentally exhausted and rubbed her eyes, clearing her vision.
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for coming, Gwen. I'm sorry I got really caught up." She slammed her head against the desk, relaxing under Gwen's touch as she soothingly rubbed circles on her shoulder blades.
"Ella, it's fine. I'll see you at school, okay?" Ella peered up at Gwen who gave her a little half smile.
"Bye, Gwen," she muttered. Her eyes remained frozen on the screen in front of her. The thoughts of the article consuming her every thought. The door shut softly behind Gwen and Ella could hear her heels clicking against the wood until the front door slammed shut startling Ella. She swiveled in her chair to asses the damage that had been done to her poor room. Clothes were strewn across the floor, old wrappers complied near her desk, and trash overflowing onto the floor of her bedroom. Ella groaned as she stood, back popping from disuse. She set to work trying to cleaner her room in hopes to forget about her half written article.
The Amazing Spider-Man
At least she knew what she was going to call it now.
____
Ella jumped at the sudden loudness of kids slamming their lockers. She had never had overly sensitive hearing until today. It felt like she had been drinking all night and now she was having the worlds worst hangover. The bags under her eyes showed that she didn't get much sleep the night before, even if she tried to sleep she just simply couldn't. Ella would wake up gasping for air right before that truck was about to hit her. That thought haunted her, and even though Spider-Man stepped up and saved her, she still wondered what would happen if he didn't. What would she be doing right then if the vigilante hadn't saved her?
Slowly, one foot in front of the other, Ella walked towards her locker, flinching every so slightly at the people's noise around her. Afraid to meet anyone in the eyes, Ella kept her eyes downcast, watching her foot's every move until she got to her locker. Her hands fumbled with the lock, and Ella cursed as she tried to pull it open. Today was just not her day. She tried again, letting out a little noise when the lock popped open. She ripped open the locker and threw in a few textbooks, the crashing sounds shaking her to the core.
Ella was so focused, all she could hear was her own breathing, like she was alone. But she really wasn't. Peter and Gwen stood right behind her, a worried look on their faces as they watched the strawberry blonde with messy hair, sweatpants, and a frown on her pretty face. Gwen gave Peter a worried look and gestured for him to make their presence known. He looked back over at Ella, and hesitantly reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. The girl gasped, turning so quickly she almost hit Peter with her bag. He watched as she visibly relaxed when she saw who it was.
"Ella, are you okay?" His eyes searched every inch of her face, hoping she was okay after the almost accident.
"Mh-mm" She nodded, eyes wide.
"You sure? Because you look a little shaken up, everything alright?" Gwen peeped up from beside Peter. She was just with her yesterday, not much could've happened within the last twenty four hours.
Ella nodded slowly, wincing as someone slammed their locker shut across the hall. "I'm fine. Don't worry, I'm okay."
Peter and Gwen stared at her, she obviously wasn't okay and she knew that. Ella sounded like she wasn't just trying to convince the both of them that she was okay. She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.
