Gwen had fought Miles.
Like actually, physically fought him.
It felt wrong- thinking back on it. Well, they weren't full out brawling, but still. It didn't feel right. It bothered her.
She didn't regret it, though. Miles's wasn't thinking straight. He would have gotten himself seriously hurt or worse had she not intervened.
Gwen understood why he was upset. She knew that he felt neglected, unwanted, and useless. She understood because she had felt all of those things and more. When she felt that way she never had anyone to talk to about it- anyone to lean on. She made a promise to herself that she would be there for Miles- or at least she would try. She wasn't good with emotions or... people really, but the least she could do was try to help.
Miles was worth it.
Gosh, she sounded so sappy.
Gwen shook her head directing her thoughts on something else.
What if Miles was mad at her for stopping him?
Peter texted them both to tell them that everyone got away unharmed, but not much else detail. She assume that meant that they didn't make any headway, but... What if Miles was mad she kept him from helping? She had dragged him through the portal right before the fight had started- not that she regretted that- but she still wanted to be on good terms with Miles. He was her best friend.
Gwen used reasoning to extinguish the small flame of doubt.
Miles was maybe a little depressed that night, but he didn't seem mad at her. He wouldn't have just suddenly gotten angry in the last few days. Plus, he had asked her she wanted to go play a game with him at his house today. That had to be a good sign, right?
That was how Gwen now found herself looking in a mirror, checking her appearance for probably the fourty second time today after changing her outfit three times. She had a reason. She swears! It had nothing to do with Miles!
She wasn't sure what the weather would be like in his universe and wanted to be prepared. That's it!
Gwen sighed heavily as she looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and ran a hand through her hair nervously. Who was she kidding? She couldn't believe she was acting like this over some guy. She used to think girls were ridiculous when they would fawn over some guy like this and now she was doing the one thing she never wanted to.
"But Miles isn't just some guy."
A small part of her brain whispered those words to her. Gwen wanted to scream.
She was thinking too much about this. She was going to go see Miles- her best friend- Miles. They were going to hang out- just like they had done numerous times- play a video game, and it'd be fun. Gwen just needed her brain to shut up for a few hours.
She gazed at the screen on her goober, and typed in the coordinates to Miles's universe and took one last glance into the mirror.
Did her white hoodie make her skin look pale or-
"Stop!"
With an aggressive shake of her head Gwen punched 'enter' on her watch and waited as the portal's light illuminated her bathroom, reflecting off the wall and giving the once white room a bit of a disco vibe.
*******
Not too long after Gwen arrived at Miles's house. She rang the doorbell and Silently prayed one of her friend's parents weren't the one to answer the door, because she did not feel like having an awkward conversation, explaining her presence.
Luckily, the door opened the reveal the cheery face of Miles. He wore a grin on his face that made Gwen's shoulders instantly relax.
"Hey Gwen, what's up?" he spoke lightheartedly. His demeanor more relaxed then the girl had seen him in awhile.
"So not mad. Good."
"Not much," she replied as she stuffed her hands in her hoodie pocket. She nodded toward the doorway, "Mind letting me in?"
"Oh right, sorry," the boy chuckled nervously, stepping aside give her access.
Gwen stepped in a briefly looked at her surroundings. The Morales living room had a rustic feel to it. They're were dark brown couches along the wall, positioned across from the tv. Between the two pieces of furniture, lie a short, wooden table and beyond the living room she could see a small kitchen. In the kitchen there was a white countertop with and island, wooden seats and matching wooden cabinets along the walls.
"Cute," Gwen complimented, her eyes drifting from the cabinets down to the kitchen sink that only had a frying pan it.
"Yeah, mom's a crazy neat freak," Miles chuckled, "I swear she has OCD."
Gwen matched his laugh with her own. "Yeah well, I'd say that's a good thing," Gwen spoke as Miles made his way to the couch and plopped down, his eyes trained on her as she talked, "If it were left up to you this place would look like the Hulk just came barreling through."
"Well..." Miles drawled the words out with a smile as his head tilted up and a hand cupped his chin, "Yeah."
The two teens laughed as Gwen took a seat beside Miles. The boy reached forward and grabbed two controllers from the shelf underneath the table.
"You ready to lose the best hero ever?" Miles asked, flashing his signature dorky grin.
Gwen titled her head to the side in mock confusion, "I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting him."
Gwen smirked at Miles stunned expression. "Ouch," he laughed. He pressed a button on the controller and the television screen came to life.
It was some sort of fighting game, though Gwen was surprised at the detail in the graphics.
"So... whatcha think?" Miles asked. He bore a proud grin as if he had hand-crafted the game.
Gwen had to smother a smile at the look on his face. "It's pretty cool," she replied, "I don't think I've ever played a game that wasn't 2d."
"What!" Miles boomed. He shook his in utter shock as Gwen rose a brow. He placed a hand on his chest and sighed dramatically, "You poor uneducated soul."
"Shut up," she laughed as she gave his shoulder a light shove. Gwen couldn't help, but notice the way Miles eyes lit up at the contact.
Biting her lip to suppress a smile, Gwen turned back to the illuminated screen in front of them. "So are we gonna play or are you just gonna sit here and brag over something that'll never happen?" The blond joked her eyes trained on the screen as she selected her character.
Miles shot up in his seat a toothy grin forming on his face. His gripped onto the control tightly and leaned closer to the screen as if he needed to see it better, even though Gwen knew the spider-bite had corrected his nearsightedness. "Prepared to lose, Gwanda," he warned.
"So bragging it is," Gwen smirked, glancing at the boy out of the corner of her eye. She peered down at her controller briefly, in attempt to memorize the buttons and their placement. "You're gonna regret challenging me."
"I doubt it."
*******
"You're totally cheating!" Miles screeched, his voice raising two octaves.
"How exactly would I cheat, Miles?" Gwen laughed.
"Your just spamming buttons! You're not even like coordinating your attacks!"
"No, I'm not," the girl scoffed. "Come on, Morales," she shrugged, "You should be used to losing to me by now."
"You. Cheated." Miles spoke enunciating each of his words as he looked her dead in the eye. Gwen swallowed her laugh.
She was of course but she enjoyed egging him on and he didn't need to know that. She beat him three times in a row by only pressing the same three buttons repeatedly.
"Looks like I'm the better fighter in this game and real life." Gwen boasted, trying not to laugh at Miles's peeved face.
"Alright, Alright," Gwen said, finally breaking down into a fit of laughs, "Truce?" She reached a hand out to the boy, the remains of her laugh still prominent on her.
Miles looked down at her hand for a moment before clasping it with his own. His neutral expression then split into a smile. Gwen couldn't help but be drawn to it.
This was the happiest she'd been all week and she didn't know why.
Actually that was a lie. She did know why, but she was scared of the reason- terrified even.
The last time she got attached to a person, she let her guard down and because of that they died. She couldn't let that happen again.
She stared at Miles as his eyes reflected the light from the TV screen. They made his dark eyes, shimmer a bright, honey-brown. A childish pout rested on his face as he watched Gwen's character hold a fist up in the air behind the big, bold 'winner' sign. Gwen bit her lip.
How long could she look at someone before it was considered staring?
Miles turned his head and his eyes found hers. Gwen tried to look away as inconspicuously as possible.
"So..." Miles started. The blond stiffened. His eyes wandered around the room, refusing to meet hers, "What do you want to do now?"
Gwen shrugged noncommittally, "It's your universe."
Miles bit the inside of his cheek in thought. His eyes darted around the room before finally returning to Gwen, a victorious smile on his face.
"I've got it!" he grinned. Gwen rose a brow, but smiled anyway. The boy darted up the stairs of his house, leaving Gwen to stare, confused at the place where he had just stood.
"Umm... okay?"
Gwen blinked when she heard the sound of heavy footsteps as Miles stomped down the steps. He wore a giddy smile on his face and now had a beat up navy backpack slung over his left shoulder.
"Where are we going, Miles?" Gwen laughed as he grabbed her by the hand and sped out the front door. She tried to ignore the jittery feeling it gave her.
"You'll see," was the only response she got.
They made it to the end of the sidewalk and crossed the street, Miles dragging the girl behind him all the while Gwen thought of his resemblance to a five year old yanking their parent over to the ice cream truck.
She fought back a smile as Miles turned a corner, the warmth from his hand creeping up her arm and pooling in her chest. Still, she needed to keep her unfazed demeanor.
"You know I can follow you on my own, right?" she smirked.
Miles only looked over his shoulder at her, cast her a grin, and continued to run with his hand still clasped to hers. Gwen let out a yelp as she stumbled and nearly tripped from the unexpected movement. She then shook her head fondly as she allowed Miles to drag her along to the undisclosed location.
A few more minutes of running and laughing
later. Miles let go of the blond girl's hand and jogged ahead of her. He ran forward to the destination while he turned to face her and cast a proud smile.
Gwen gave him a confused and unimpressed look. "A basketball court?" She said it more as a statement than a question, "You brought me to a basketball court."
"Um, yeah!" Miles spoke enthusiastically, "One v one. You and me."
Gwen gave him a strange expression, but it soon shifted to a smile, "You're on, Morales."
The two settled into their positions, Miles standing on the free throw line facing her, while Gwen stood just behind the three point line. The girl ignored us he fact that she knew next to nothing about this sport, only seeing it on the TV when her dad would watch a game. One thing she knew for sure- she would not be letting Miles beat her.
"Alright Gwanda, first to seven," Miles smirked, knowing that name got a rise out of her, "Check up."
Gwen rose a brow, clutching the ball with both of her hands, "Uh huh, and that means?"
"Bounce the ball to me," He instructed as he pointed at a particular spot on the pavement.
She did as he said. Miles caught the ball and did the same, passing it back to her. He then nodded, "Now we can start."
"That was pointless," Gwen mumbled, earning a light chuckle out of Miles.
She began to bounce the ball, admittedly rather clumsily, but she wasn't doing too bad. That thought was proven wrong however. As soon as she took a step Miles snagged the ball from her. He dribbled the ball down the court and made an easy lay up.
"Boom! That," Miles announced, "Was not pointless. One to Zero."
"Shut up."
Miles made his way behind the three point line and Gwen stood ahead of him. She kept her hand out ready for him to pass the ball. Instead he spoke.
"Dribble more with your fingertips," he instructed. Gave gave him a look, surprised by the help, but nodded.
The two checked the ball and their gave resumed. Miles dribbling the ball expertly around Gwen while she aimlessly flung her arms out in attempt the steal it.
She had actually managed to, surprisingly. While Miles back was turned she came up behind him, knocking the ball out of his hands.
She instantly held the ball up and threw it into the air. It slapped roughly against the backboard before sailing out of reach.
Gwen winced as she stared at the hoop. She had imagined that going differently.
She nearly jumped when a hand came to rest on her shoulder.
"Here," Miles said offering her the ball and Gwen took it, a confused expression on her face, "Use this hand to aim and the this one to shoot." He positioned her hands on the ball as he had said and Gwen tried to ignore the way her arm's hair stood on end and her body stiffened at the contact.
"Bend your legs and give a little hop and as your shooting the ball let it kinda roll of your fingers so it spins." He continued.
Gwen's scrunched her lips to the side, perplexed.
"Like this," Miles said. He gave her a demonstration of him shooting an invisible ball. His motions were nearly identical to the players Gwen had seen from her couch at home.
Gwen did her best to mimic his movements, but in the end the ball bounced off the rim of the hoop and off to the side. The girl huffed in frustration.
"Hey, that was good," he spoke, though Gwen figured he was just trying to be nice. "Think of your body like a spring."
Gwen tensed as Miles placed his hands just above her waist. Her breath caught in her throat. He continued speaking, not taking notice, "Bend your knees and jut your hips out a bit and then spring up."
His fingers flexed involuntarily and in a flash Gwen jerked back and out of his grasp. Miles took a step back his expression shifting when he saw the look on the girl's face. He instinctively took yet another step away from her, his eyes darted to the floor, and he heavily gulped. "I-I'm sorry," he stuttered, "I didn't realize... I-I didn't know that..." he sighed, "I'm sorry."
Gwen hated herself for making him feel bad- like he did something wrong. He really didn't. It was her. She still was used to... being touched- to being close to people. She's had this problem for so long. Why can't she just get over it?!
"Gwen?" Miles spoke cautiously, as if he were talking to a rabid dog that would attack at any moment. There a thick as brick tension that had engulfed the air like fog.
The girl hated to she had brought this out in her friend. This... fear. He was scared because of her- that he had ruined the day.
Gwen knew she had to say something to fix this.
"You're fine, Spider-boy," She said softly. The girl bit her lip in thought, then smiled as a thought came to her. "I still just can't believe you brought me all the way down here, just to find the one thing you might be able to beat me at."
Miles shook his head with a smile, though the uncertainty never left his eyes. The beginning of his smile did start to slice through the heavy tension that was slowly suffocating the two teens. "No way, you know I can beat you in basically everything." He titled his head to the side in a cocky manner, but Gwen couldn't help but find it a little endearing.
"Yeah? Your game said otherwise," she taunted, resting a hand on her chin in mock thought, "I don't think I remember you ever beating me."
"You cheated!" he squealed, his hands flailing into the air in exasperation, a smile growing nevertheless.
"Sure, sure," Gwen waved him off, turning away so he couldn't see her grin, "Keep telling yourself that."
"You're so annoying," The boy chuckled.
Gwen cast him a playful wink, "I learned from the best."
Their game went by rather smoothly after that, both heroes making shots here and there- Miles obviously making more then Gwen, but she was was fairing pretty well. The score was now six to four and Gwen knew she was lose, but there was no way she was going down without a fight.
She stood outside the three point line. A smirk played on her face as an idea flowed through her mind. She could tell Miles recognized the look on her face because he replanted his feet and trained his eyes on her face in order to anticipate her next move.
She and Miles checked the ball and Gwen began to dribble. She made her way to the center of the court and Miles stretched out a hand toward her, blocking the girl from going any further.
With that Gwen set her plan into action. She brought the ball two steps back and drives forward. Miles quickly jutted both hands out to block, but Gwen barreled forward knocking the boy off his feet as she leaped into the air.
The blond flew upward and shoved the ball into the hoop as her fingers latched around the rim. She hung there for a second before dropping down to her feet before any random passersby's could see her. The girl looked over at Miles's who was still sitting on the ground, in the place where he fell, gaping at her, eyes wide. Gwen smiled victoriously.
"WHAT!" Miles screamed.
"Yes?" Gwen asked, feigning ignorance.
"You can't do that!"
"I can't?" Gwen asked with pretend confusion, "Didn't seem like that to me."
"You know what I mean! You can't use your powers to dunk. That's unfair!"
"I didn't hear you say we couldn't," She shrugged with a smirk, "That's six to five."
"You're such a cheater!"
"You're such a sore loser."
"What if some like random person saw that?! No regular girl your height can dunk a basketball."
"No one saw me. I was too fast."
"Alright, fine then, if we're allowed to use our powers, you better watch out."
Gwen gave him a challenging smile as she settled into her spot behind the three point line. The two checked the ball, then Gwen brought it down the court. She bent her knees and raised her hands in preparation to shoot. As the ball left her hands she let out a light yelp as a figure flew over her head, snatching the ball on it's way.
She turned around gawking as Miles flipped his feet over his head landing skillfully on the ground. He charged forward bouncing the ball along the pavement, before chucking the it high into the air. The boy jumped up, his sticky hands and feet latching onto the backboard. As the ball came sailing down, Miles grabbed it with one of his hands. His arm did a three-sixty and he slammed it into the hoop. The ball swished through the net bouncing a few times after it collided with the ground.
Gwen was at a loss for words.
The boy hopped down the backboard and strode over to the girl with a stupid proud grin on his face.
"You moron." Gwen mumbled.
"I think you mean genius."
"What if somebody saw you?!"
He smirked, "No one saw me. I was too fast."
Gwen shook her head as a breath of a laugh escaped her lips, "You're stupid, you know that?"
Miles only grinned annoyingly, walking closer until he was face to face with her. Gwen shuddered as his breath fanned against her cheek. His dark brown eyes stared deep into her blue ones. His face was no serious devoid of any emotion. Gwen didn't know what was happening, but she couldn't find it in her to move.
Miles lips then curled upward as he spoke, "I learned from the best."
Gwen shoved his chest with a laugh. She could see something flicker in Miles's eyes as his smile widened. She looked up to meet his eyes, her smile growing to match his.
"You know it, Morales."
*******
Gwen didn't know what to do about Miles- or more accurately the way she felt about Miles.
Gosh, she didn't even want to say it like that. It just sounded so... unlike her.
Gwen Stacy wasn't the type of girl to obsesses over a guy. Her feelings were locked underneath layers and layers of stone that she had spend years carefully molding together to form protective walls around her heart. Clearly she didn't build them strong enough, because Miles found an opening. He wedged his way into the tiniest crack and chipped away at her feelings until the whole structure came tumbling down like a landslide.
Gwen wanted to punch Em Jay for even bringing up the idea of her having a crush on Miles. She hated that word it made her feel like she was being childish- like she was some weak fairy tale princess falling head over heals for a guy she couldn't be with.
Gwen had tried to suppress these feelings. Really, she did, but it just seemed to get harder every time she saw him.
It was like she kept loosing pieces of herself to Miles the longer she was with him- like she was sinking further and further with every laugh and every dumb joke he made, into something she couldn't escape.
She didn't know what to do. The girl felt trapped. She was honestly scared, which seemed silly but it was the truth.
Gwen and Miles had a connection and she loved that. She loved being around him and spending time with him. The only problem was, how was she supposed to do that without her insides turning to lead with every action he did?
What she really needed right now was sleep. Thinking about this with no sleep wouldn't do her any good.
Then in the morning she could deal with these emotions and it would all-
"Gwen?"
The girl jerked back in surprise to find Miles standing behind her. The sun had set, making his features hard to recognize, but she could easily make out the pile of curls that sat atop his head as well, as his deep brown eyes.
"Is everything okay?" he continued, his voice cautious.
Gwen was still trying to get her bearings about her. The blond had completely forgotten he was there. She wasn't even sure where they were.
Her eyes scanned her surroundings. They were not to far from Miles's house and they stood on the sidewalk just outside a bodega. There was a crosswalk just ahead of them wear an orange tabby cat darted last them, before squeezing through the slightly ajar door of the bodega.
Gwen had completely forgotten about Miles's question and was reminded when she saw his brows crease together in worry.
"Yeah, I'm fine." That phrase had become so much of reflex for her to say that it almost stung to utter the words.
Miles's lips pursed, clearly unconvinced.
"It's just... you've been acting strange all day,"he said in a hushed whisper, "Are you mad at me?"
"I'm not mad at you and I haven't been acting strange." Gwen didn't mean to sound as harsh as she had. She was being defensive and she knew it, but she couldn't let Miles know the real reason for her behavior.
"Gwen, you said you were going to head home and we've been walking down this road for fifteen minutes when all you need to do is make a portal. I know something is wrong," his voice grew soft, "Just talk to me." He place a hand on the girl's shoulder and she flinched back.
"See, your still doing it! It's like you're... afraid of me or something." Miles spoke, his voice raising slightly.
"Afraid of you?" Gwen scoffed, trying to keep her face from showing how nervous she felt, "Don't think so highly of yourself."
"Why are you making this so difficult?" the boy exasperated, his arms slapping his sides lazily, "I just want to help you."
"I don't want or need your help, because nothing is wrong!" Gwen growled. Why couldn't he just drop this?
"You're lying to me."
Gwen looked into the boy's eyes. There was nothing, but concern and care behind them and that just made her feel so much worse. If her feelings were already causing this much of a problem imagine how it would be if he knew.
"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not," she scowled, "It's really none of your business."
"Of course it is. I'm your friend."
Gwen opened her mouth a rebuttal prepared, but all that left her was a sigh, "Look, I'm sorry. I really don't want to fight. You can trust me when I say that I really am fine."
The blond watches the uncertainty dance around the boy's eyes before he conceded and gave her a nod. Though there was still the unsolved tension in the air.
"I'm sorry too," Miles said his eyes locked on the floor in shame. His eyes traveled up to meet hers as he said, "I do trust you."
Gwen smiled small at those words then looked down at her goober. She fiddled with the settings for a second and quickly glanced around to make sure the tow were alone, before pressing a button the ripped a colorful whole in the space in front of them.
The girl glanced back at her friend, noting the way he had his hands stuffed into his hoodie pocket and his back was hunched which made him look smaller. He was nervous, she knew.
"See you soon, Miles."
"Later, Gwanda."
Even with the undeniable tension Gwen couldn't help, but smile at the annoying name. She walked through the portal and closed her eyes until it spit her out on the other side.
She was back in her universe. The girl looked up at the dark purple sky, littered with stars and couldn't help, but think of how she preferred Miles's sky. Sure it was more bland and you could hardly see any of the stars, but it held a connection to the boy and that in itself made Gwen like it.
Gwen tangled her fingers into her blond locks. She shouldn't have left Miles like that, but she was so tired and confused and scared, she couldn't think straight.
She'd make this right next time she saw him. She wasn't sure how yet, but she would.
He was her best friend and what happened was not at all a big deal. They's be fine. She just needed sleep first.
Gwen took a quick look at her surroundings. Her house was just the next street over. She could walk. She hadn't even realized how late it got. The sky was nearly at its darkest.
Gwen knew her dad would kill her for being out this late. Hopefully he was home.
Gwen rounded the corner to her street. Her eyes wandering around landing on Em Jay's house as well as a few others. She found it intriguing how differently things looked in the dark.
When she finally came to her doorstep she fished her keys out of her pocket and jiggled them into the rusty doorknob. The old, rickety door creaked open and Gwen winced as she heard shuffling from the far end of the room.
Her dad was definitely gonna kill her.
She flipped on the light switch and her blood ran cold as ice at what she saw.
There sitting at her kitchen table was Olivia Octavius, casually drinking a cup of tea with a sinister smile on her face.
"I hope you don't mind that I made myself comfortable," her overly cheerful voice sent pinpricks down the girls spine. Liv continued, "You were just taking so long to arrive."
"What did you do with my dad?" Gwen spoke through gritted teeth. Tears stung her eyes at the thought of Doc Oc hurting him. If only she had Miles or Peter or somebody else here with her for backup.
Olivia lifted the mug the her lips and took a sip that was so agonizingly slow. She lowered the cup back down to the table, grabbing a coaster front the backer in the middle of the table to place it down on. "You mean Officer George Stacy," She spoke, lacing her fingers together and resting her chin on her connected hands, "I did some research. Any good scientist would, correct?" She leaned back slightly in her chair, her folded hand now dropping to her lap. Gwen fingers twitched, ready to fire a web at any sudden movement.
"Born in London, England and is Captain of the NYPD police force." Olivia rose brow at Gwen giving her an opportunity to react before continuing, "Husband of Helen Stacy. Deceased. Very, very sad."
The comedic lack of sympathy in her voice made Gwen's blood boil.
The doctor continued on, "Father of Gwen Stacy who also resides under the alias, Spider-woman- Also known as Ghost-Spider."
Gwen felt a chill shoot through her body at Doc Oc's words. "Where is my dad?" the girl reiterated.
Olivia gave a lazy shrug, "Working the late shift as he usually does. I won't lay a hand on him. he is of no interest to me."
Gwen felt her shoulder's relax at the newfound information, but she didn't let her guard down. "What do you want?" She forced the words out. They felt as if they burned her throat as they exited her mouth.
Gwen flinched as Doc Oc slammed her hands into the table, a loud clanking sound ensuing as the cup of tea was knocked over. "How many time do I have to say it?!" she spat harshly, "I want the new Spider-man!"
Octavius sucked in a breath to calm her nerves, then gently picked up the mug and placed it back on the coaster. "My plan will be falling into place shortly," she spoke her voice light and calm. Gwen had a suddenly urge to run back out the door.
"I keep my word. I told you I wouldn't lay a hand on your father," a malicious grin crept onto her face, "But I never said anything about you. Isn't that right, Adrian?"
Gwen felt her spider-sense scream at her to run, but it was too late. A sharp, cold prick made contact with her neck and next thing the girl knew, her body collapsed to the ground. She tried to move, but her brain couldn't seem to connect with her limbs.
Her vision was going blurry. The lights of her house amplifying into a bright beam of white.
She could see the faces of Doc Oc and her henchman, Vulture loom over her before everything faded to black.
*******
Yes, it's taken me a long time to update and I'm sorry about that.
But the good news is this is only the beginning of Olivia's scheme and there is much more action to come
I'm not gonna give anything away, but all will be revealed in time.
See y'all next time.
—Ghost