She doesn't know why she spoke to him that day, of all days. It had been a normal day in late February, and it was the first day they had a conversation. Peter Parker was notorious for sticking up for the freshmen when Flash started his usual bullying, and he was well-known amongst the clubs (of which she was a part of many, and the President in most) for his photos, the school always choosing to "hire" him rather than a professional, and he'd been in her classes for the entire year, and god knows she'd been forced to stop Flash from doing something stupid countless times... in the end, it didn't matter why she turned around and engaged in conversation with the maybe-concussed teen, just that she did.

And something about him had intrigued her. Gwen didn't know if it was the spark in his eyes as he realised she was talking to him, or the faint hint of a smile as she laughed at him, or... something. Whatever it was, it seemed that fate was going their way. He could claim (and did still claim) that he wasn't at Oscorp because of her (not even a little bit, and he smirked at her every time she brought it up since then), but whatever his reasoning for being there... he was there. And they got another conversation and when he wasn't concussed he was a lot more coherent and a lot more adorable.

"Second? Are you sure about that?"

"I work here. I don't work here."

"I snuck in because I... love science."

The intrigue only increased. She hadn't particularly noticed Peter Parker before that week, but suddenly he was everywhere. In every class they were constantly catching each other's eyes, he was turning up at her internship, he was in her thoughts all the time... Every conversation they had was short and sweet but it all seemed to be building up to something - his smashing of the basketball hoop, him having her as his desktop background (which was kinda creepy, but the way he tried to excuse it just made it adorable)... He was so easy to trip up and to be perfectly honest it was just flattering.

"So you wanna, uh... I don't know we could... or we could do something else..."

Those words flitted around her head like birds all evening. It was a promise of something. Not quite set in stone, but undeniable and just... cute.

But then his uncle died. And it was horrific and she wanted to say all the right things to him but the words would never come. Suddenly Peter Parker's face was constantly haunted, the faint smile that was always ghosting his face gone... probably with no hope of return.

Gwen didn't even know what the right thing to say was, seeing as she'd never lost anyone like that. Her grandparents were all still alive, her aunts and uncles, though living several hours away, were still at the other end of the phone should she need them, and her brothers were still as annoying as ever, and her mother still there, and her father... sure, she worried about him near-enough constantly, but he was home most evenings to make her hot cocoa. Just the way she liked it.

So how could she possibly empathise with the guy? The guy who lost both his parents when he was just a kid (yes, she'd looked his file on the school enrolment system up - curiosity got the better of her), and had grown up with his aunt and uncle who had became pretty much his mom and dad, and now he'd lost his uncle? It was impossible to even think about that happening without wanting to cry.

But in the end she didn't even have to say anything. Flash had decided that it was about time to offer his condolences, and Peter had responded with a strength that was... remarkable. Gwen, logically, supposed that he had taken to "pumping some iron" to try and deal with his grief... and then when it came down to it, a simple "Peter?" was enough.

And they were hugging, and he was clutching to her like she was the only good thing in his life. Which she probably was. But the moment was shortlived, as he wandered off without so much a goodbye, leaving her feeling crappy for him, but knowing that how she felt was nothing compared to what he was actually feeling.

Days passed, and with each passing hour the desire to talk to him, to try and help in some way, got stronger. It was killing her, that she couldn't fix this like she fixed all the other things in her life. Everyone who had a problem went to Gwen because she was logical and she got stuff done. But not this thing. Not until, with a small smirk on her face, she practically skipped over to him, before realising that was inappropriate around a grieving person and she became solemn. And then the solemnity wasn't a ruse when she saw the obvious black eye.

Please let Peter not have got involved in some sort of gang,she prayed (though she didn't know to whom, seeing as Science kinda made it hard to believe in a God). That would explain the extra strength, the stand-offishness that he'd been showing... Fuck.

And she knew that her parents would assume he was her boyfriend (even though she had no clue what they were, if they were even friends), she couldn't help herself from doing a bit of charity. So she invited him for dinner.

"So, mom... is it alright if you set another place at the table for tonight?"Gwen played with her sleeves, staring down at the floor as she felt the slight blush creep across her cheeks.

"Of course, who's coming over? Jenna?"How much easier it would be if this was just one of her girlfriends. How much easier life would be if Peter Parker hadn't swung into it, leaving her constantly thinking about him.

"No, um... it's Peter."All eyes were suddenly on her and the slight blush turned into a full on redness. Damnit, why couldn't she stay cool?"I know what you think, but he's not my boyfriend. His uncle died recently and he just needs a friend. So don't say a word and don't make it horribly awkward because he is just my friend and I'm allowed to have friends over for dinner, aren't I?"She let out all her breath in a big sigh as she finished her mini-rant, before turning on her heel and heading back to her room.

Everything about that meal was horrible, so when Gwen looked back she purposely skipped all of it until the after bit. Standing outside, the New York air brisk and Peter... fucking Peter Parker. The conversation was completely irrelevant, until the "I've been bitten"and then the walking away and the web pulling her back and the kiss.

Man, even looking back Gwen still couldn't be coherent. At the time she'd been so swept up in the kiss that she didn't even register that PETER PARKER WAS SPIDERMAN because her brain was thinking PETER PARKER IS KISSING ME.

"Oh, I'm in trouble."

The rest of the week can only be described in snapshots. Images that fly through her mind when she tries to write it down, or form some kind of normal thought about it. Making out on the bleachers, tending to his wounds after the lizard hurt him, explaining to him about her father and why it made it so hard to be with him, swinging through the city, being thrown out the window at school, him relying on her to save the city...

losing her father.