Didn't expect such a quick response here. But thank you to everyone that has favorited and followed! I hope I can meet any and all expectations XD
School went by slower than usual the next day. That always seemed to be the case when you were waiting for a big event. But once things were all finished up, I made my way home to finish the homework we'd been assigned for the weekend. Also to get cleaned up and changed. Putting on something a little more casual. Maybe something I wouldn't mind the Spiderman seeing me in.
Relax, I don't mean like... That. I just put on a nicer black shirt, my clean white jacket and some better kept jeans.
Peoples always wondered why I wasn't dressing like the other cute girls at our school. Because believe it or not, I'm actually quite a looker. Ironically, my lack of a personality tends to drive most boys away. Either that, or Miles. He was a little protective, and I wasn't very social with anyone but him. Together we formed an unstoppable barrier that no horny jock could penetrate with his "Won't take no for an answer" attitude.
"Gonna be out late, see you in the morning."
After sending a quick text to my Dad, I was out the door. By the time I finished everything, it was already getting dark. Which was good I suppose, doubt anyone would be able to see the stupid rock if it was still too bright out. Over all, I wasn't that interested in seeing the meteor. But I didn't go out much like this, so it was probably healthy for social interaction or something...
Miles was already waiting for me, clad in his green jacket and jeans, "About time, ready to go?" He was also carrying his backpack, for unknown reasons.
"Of course," Together we began making our way towards the park. It was only a couple blocks away from my complex, "Know anyone else that's going?"
"I think Michael said he would," Miles shrugged as we went, both of us stuffing our hands in our pockets. "That means his brothers will probably be there, I'm sure there will be plenty of other people from our school there."
"So much for a quiet evening right?" I didn't have a problem with anyone being there, I was mostly just joking around.
"No such luck I guess." He chuckled in response to my sarcasm, turning another corner.
The park was in sight now, plenty of traffic around it. More people showing up to watch the show I guess. Though if I had to guess, most would probably try to watch from the cities high rise spots. I'd heard more than a couple rumors about rooftop parties being held. In the back of my mind, hopes for Spiderman showing up were dwindling.
"Hold up," I nearly tripped when Miles stopped so abruptly. Turning my head, I could see he was staring down a nearby alley. "Give me a minute..." Pulling the bag off his shoulder, he started walking into the space between buildings.
It didn't take much to guess what he was up to, these were some clean walls after all. "Come on Miles do we really gotta do this now?"
"It'll just take a second," He assured, reaching into the bag for a spray can, "I just wanna tag the spot for later."
"Fine, just be quick." Shaking my head with a sigh, I leaned against the nearest wall by the edge of the alley. Silently keeping watch for him, the can in his hands clattering as he gave it a good shake before use.
"Oh yeah, I can make something great here..." I could hear him muttering, releasing the purple spray against the bricks. I looked away for just a second before I heard something splat, followed by Miles yelping in shock. My head whipped around to see his hand was now attached to the wall via a sticky white webbing, "Crap! It's stuck!"
"Hey buddy, long time no see am I right?" My eyes lit up as they turned to the rooftop above us. Sure enough, crouched on the ledge was our friendly neighborhood Spiderman.
"Come on dude really?" Miles pleaded, tugging at his hand while looking back at him, "Couldn't you just have like, nudged me or something?"
"I think you've used up your share of warning shots." He replied, wagging a finger, "Nothing personal, more of a professional obligation."
"Mr. Spiderman please!" I quickly jumped into action, though I was happy to see him in person, I didn't want Miles getting into trouble. "I promise he won't do it again, can you just let him off the hook this time?"
He jumped down, landing with ease before us. "No can do, I've let him go a few times already but he doesn't really seem to learn."
My face twisted in confusion, as I looked back at Miles, "You've run into Spiderman before!?" The betrayal, "AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!?"
Miles rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah once or twice, didn't seem worth mentioning..." But an idea must have hit him, because for a split second he had a smirk on his face. His eyes darting back to Spiderman, "Hey man, let me introduce you to my friend, Gwen Stacy," Wearing a big friendly smile, "She's a huuuuge fan yours! Even has this blog where sh- OW!"
My fist hit his shoulder faster than my cheeks turned red, "Oh my GOD! Don't tell him about that!"
"The Spider's Web right?"
My entire body stiffened, eyes wide as I turned back around to look at Spiderman. "You've... Seen my blog?"
"Well I... Check it, some times for... Updates." He shrugged, was he nervous? I don't know, I didn't care really. My heart was doing back flips and on the inside I was screaming.
"We were just on our way to the park to see the meteor pass over." Miles continued, pressing his advantage, "I'd really hate it if Gwen had to go by herself because I'm stuck to a wall..."
Spiderman must have figured what he was insinuating because he snapped right out of his own nervous demeanor. "I suppose... A nice girl like you shouldn't be wandering around alone at night," He rubbed the back of his neck, before releasing a sigh, "Alright fine, I'll let you go this time... Next time, you're sticking around until your Dad comes to get you." He stepped closer, holding out his wrist and releasing some clear fluid. It quickly began to dissolve the webbing holding his hand in place, "And I'll be taking the spray paint."
"Deal." It didn't matter to Miles, he always ended up getting more.
As he was finally freed, I mustered up what courage I could and opened my mouth, "So... Spiderman can I uh... Get a photo with you?" I doubt I'd get an opportunity like this anytime soon, "For the... Blog?"
He seemed a little hesitant at first, before shrugging, "Yeah sure, why not right?"
My heart skipped a beat, "Awesome!" Practically shoving my phone into Miles' hands before stepping over beside the super hero. I was so nervous, but managed to put on a smile. My everything was tense, I was probably sweating. Oh god please don't let him notice that I'm sweating!
"Gwen you gotta relax," Miles chuckled as he held up the phone, "Why don't you put an arm around her Spiderdude, you can at least make it look like you're friends."
I am going to slug him again once this was over, "O-Oh no you don't have t-"
"Its no big deal," Spiderman's arm was around my shoulders before I could react, "I appreciate all your support." He added, giving a thumbs up to the camera with his free hand.
Those words made my face absolutely light up, and I couldn't resist wrapping my arms around his torso. While Miles had a big stupid grin on his face, "Perfect." Snapping the picture with a flash.
"Alright, I've gotta get going," The masked hero stated after breaking away from me, sounding a little flustered himself, "You two have a nice night!" With a strand of webbing firing off towards the building top, he swung away into the night.
As he disappeared over the buildings across the street, I snatched my phone back from Miles. My eyes glued to the screen as I examined the photo, "Aaaagh! Miles you glorious idiot thank you!" I threw my arms around him as well, hugging him tight as he laughed.
"Yeah yeah, no problem Gwen," He assured, chuckling and patting my back, "Now come on, we've got a show to watch."
After letting him go and getting out of that dark alley, we continued on our way to the park. Passing by a number of other people along the way. More had gathered, some with blankets to sit and watch. You'd think they were getting ready for fireworks or something. Miles and I found a spot beneath one of the trees, the leaves hadn't all grown back yet so we could see pretty well. And now we just had to wait for it...
I however, was more preoccupied with my newest prize.
"Still staring at that picture?" Miles questioned, leaning against the tree.
"Don't judge," I huffed defensively in response, tucking my phone back into my pocket, "I was just setting it as my wallpaper..." Liar.
"Well, thanks for getting me off that wall." He added with a chuckle.
"Not like you gave me much choice," Rolling my eyes as I looked at him, "You kinda volunteered me."
"Well it all worked out in the end right?" Miles shrugged casually.
"Yeah I guess..."
"Hey, up there!" Somebody else's voice called out from a nearby crowd, "I think I see something!"
The two of us stepped out from under the tree. Eyes up to the sky, spotting the large fiery object. It must have already passed through the atmosphere because it was lit up with heat. Racing across the sky, I had to admit it looked pretty cool. It would probably end up in a museum or something after they fished it out of the ocean in the coming days.
"Wait," Miles said suddenly, eyes squinting a bit, "There's a second one?"
"Huh?" That wasn't right, following his pointing finger though I couldn't deny that there was a second ball of light in the sky. Strangely enough, it appeared to be going faster than the first meteor which... Didn't make much sense?
Before I had a chance to say anything, the sky lit up. A brief flash before the first meteor exploded over the city. People gasped and cried out, while flaming chunks of rock started to rain down. Almost immediately, people began to scatter and run for cover. Fearing the falling rocks could hurt them.
Likewise, Miles pulled me back under the tree, "We need some better cover!"
"Are there any subway entrances nearby?" I asked, eyes still glued to the skies above. The second meteor had disappeared, maybe having passed over already amidst the chaos.
"Not that I know of!"
While most of the rocks seemed to be breaking up, one larger chunk of space stone was getting closer and closer to the park. My eyes widened, "Hang on!"
The impact shook the entire area, lamp posts outside of the park were shaking. Car alarms started going off, Miles and I were thrown to the ground. I think I banged my head on a particularly thick tree root. I was in a bit of a daze, everything was kinda foggy too. Not in my mind, literally. Sitting up I couldn't see very well, like their was steam in the air.
"Ugh... You okay Miles?" I asked, using the tree trunk for support and pulling myself up.
I heard him groaning as well a few feet away, "Yeah, I'm good..." Offering a hand, I pulled him up, "Where did all this fog come from?"
There was a faint sizzling sound coming from nearby, "I'm guessing that meteor just fried a bunch of water in the ground." A reasonable deduction I think, it had been raining a lot recently.
"We should get out of here." Miles said after brushing some dirt off of himself.
I could already hear sirens, first responders coming to make sure everyone was okay. "Hang on, I wanna get a picture of the meteor."
"Are you nuts?" Miles scoffed at my idea, "It could be dangerous."
"Then I'll go by myself," I waved him off, "It'll be a great pic for the blog, and I bet Spiderman is checking it out too!" I pressed onward into the fog, heading towards where I thought I'd seen it crash.
"Wait, Gwen!" But I didn't stop, and looking back I couldn't see Miles at all so I'm sure he'd already lost me in this thick fog.
"Agh!" In these conditions, it was impossible to see where the edge of the crater began. As such, I took one misstep and tumbled down inside of it. I spread my arms out to stop myself, fearing the likely still molten rock in the center, "Great," I grumbled looking down at my now mud covered jacket, "So much for keeping this clean..."
Rolling over, I looked ahead and saw the shattered stone that caused this mess. The meteor fragment wasn't really that big, and looked like it had shattered into more pieces on impact. Some of the ground was still sizzling, adding to the fog. I could feel the heat from where I was, and quickly brought out my phone.
"Alright, just a quick picture..." Leaning forward, I placed one hand in the dirt to start pushing myself up. Before I felt something wet and gooey between my fingers, "What the..." Quirking an eyebrow confused, I looked down at the substance, "Eeeewww... What is this? Oil?" Bringing my hand back up, it was totally coated in this sticky substance. A small puddle of it remained in front of me, "Gross."
Wait, did it just move?
My eyes widened, and I was going to scream before it leapt up from the ground. The black substance splashed against my face. Instantly covering my mouth and muffling my cries. My mind racing, I tried to pull it off, fearing it was going to suffocate me or worse. I was struggling, freaking out and thrashing about on the ground, but no matter what I did my hands couldn't pull it away. In fact, any of that got on my hands seemed to be sinking into my skin!
I could feel it forcing its way down my throat. It tasted disgusting, and I was running out of air fast. Things were getting blurry, I was getting weak.
Was I going to die? Killed by some gross space sludge?
I had tears running down my cheeks, as everything went black.
. . .
When I woke up again, I was laying in my bed. I sat up quickly, remembering immediately what had happened. Hands touching my face all over, feeling for any type of deformity or just making sure I was actually alive. After a quick pinch, followed by some pain, I knew I wasn't dreaming. And after checking the date on my phone, I knew it was the day after, in fact it was already past noon.
"What the hell happened?" I wondered, before I felt a terrible nausea wash over me. Without waiting for it to come up, I ran to the bathroom. Slamming the door shut behind me, my face was in the toilet in seconds as I began to vomit. I broke out in a cold sweat, felt sick to my stomach, and had a throbbing headache. And I threw up so much, chunks of food that I don't remember eating. Something was wrong with me.
"Agh!" I screamed as my phone went off, the noise reverberating in the bathroom only adding to my headache. I answered without even checking who it was, "What?!" Barking at the person on the other end.
"Sheesh sorry," Miles' voice answered, taken off guard by my outburst, "Is this a bad time? I just wanted to check up on you."
Wait, of course! "Miles!" I quickly started getting my thoughts in order, "What happened last night? How did I get home?"
"Uh... You walked?" He answered with a confused tone, "You went to check out the meteor, and came back acting kinda weird... Said you weren't feeling good, so I took you home, are you okay?"
I didn't remember any of that, this was getting scarier by the second, "But I didn't-"
"I walked us home."
"Agh!?" My head whipped around at the sound of the voice, searching for the owner of it.
"Whoa hey what's going on!?" Miles asked worriedly, "You're freaking me out Gwen, why don't I come by and we head over to the hospital? You must have hit your head pretty hard last night."
"Bad idea."
"No! No that's-" The voice was definitely coming from inside my own head. Whatever was going on, I didn't want Miles anywhere near it just yet. He might just think I'm crazy, "I'm okay, just tired, and yeah I did hit my head pretty hard... I'm gonna just stay in today and relax, I'll uh... I'll text you later!" Before quickly hanging up.
I flushed the toilet and stood up, trying to catch my breath. I looked at myself in the mirror, I was still covered in mud. After whatever happened, I just walked home and crawled into bed. Wait, no... There was more.
"What the hell are all these stains?"
"Food."
"What the fuck!?" I exclaimed as my own eyes in the mirror darkened for a split second. It didn't take much to understand, after last night putting two and two together was easy, "Are you... That weird black sludge?" I asked quietly, sure Dad was probably at work already but I didn't want to take any chances.
"I... Am Venom."