Flash sat with Cora at the ticket table ostensibly welcoming his classmates to the dance. None of the physical attributes that initially attracted him to her had changed. If anything, in her clingy red dress, she was "hotter" than she'd ever been. But Flash was seriously reconsidering the value of "hot". Cora and the other ostensibly "hot" girl at the ticket table had spent the last half hour viciously bitching about the fashion choices of their peers. Where Flash's initial impulse might have been to remark on how much a girl he'd always thought plain had been improved by her choice of dress or hairstyle, Cora and her crony could only point out her fat and her flaws.
Flash was savvy enough to learn as time went by that the pair saved their worst vitriol for the girls that they secretly envied. The ones who looked genuinely lovely and seemed happy with their friends or their date were shredded the minute they moved into the function room and his companions could turn off their fake smiles of welcome. He passed the time by watching the elevator doors open and close, only mildly interested in who walked through them.
"Oh, Flash," Cora cooed. "Would you mind seeing if everyone's here yet?"
He scanned the list in front of him. Most names were ticked off now, everyone except…
As the elevator doors opened, Flash inexplicably found himself on his feet.
Gwen walked towards him beaming and for a crazy moment, he believed that her smile was for him. He couldn't even pay attention to details like dress and hair and shoes. All he saw was the vision of loveliness that was Gwen Stacey. But then he noticed her arm extended behind her and at the end of that arm, her tiny beautiful hand, grasped in the strong grip of his one-time victim, Peter Parker.
Peter looked slightly stunned but he managed to grin sheepishly at Flash. Flash momentarily relapsed and pined for the good old days when he could have just grabbed Parker and frog-marched him to the toilets for a dunking. How did this guy get so good? And get Gwen? It was too much for Flash. He plonked himself back on his chair and thunked his head on the table.
"You okay, Flash?" Gwen asked, sounding genuinely concerned as she fished their tickets out of her dainty clutch.
"Mmnphf," Flash responded despondently.
"He's ok," cooed Cora, stroking his back and making his flesh crawl. "He's just been working so hard for tonight. Haven't you, Flashie?"
Flash was so disgusted with the whole scenario that he could only bring himself to rock his head from side to side in protest.
As the couple moved on, Flash braced himself for the awful things the girls next to him would have to say about Gwen. Whether for the sake of his self-esteem or not, Flash couldn't say, but they started with Peter instead.
"That Peter Parker used to be such a nobody!" Cora's friend whispered. "But now he is seriously hot!"
"I know!" Cora replied enthusiastically. "Would you just look at the way he fills out that suit? Those shoulders of his are SO hot."
"Look at the way he's staring at that Gwen girl. He is, like, SO far gone!"
"Hmph," replied Cora dismissively. "No idea what he sees in her, she's such a skinny little bitch. Bet she'll break his heart."
"And look at that ancient flea market dress! Gross! Well, if she's gonna break his heart, I'll happily step in to help him pick up the pieces…"
Flash amused himself by repeatedly banging his head on the table.
The DJ who had the first set was at the far end of the hall, as far away as could be from Cora and the welcome table. Most of their classmates were already on the dance floor and Gwen inclined her head towards them, her eyebrows raised in question. To her surprise, Peter shrugged happily and followed her towards the floor. Gwen had never been one to go out to dances or clubs but she was inclined to tune into the occasional independent dance station with her brothers and let off steam to a bit of dubstep or deep funky house now and again. It became apparent that Peter was not at all unfamiliar with the genre himself. Gwen was so surprised to find him confident and happy on the dance floor.
They laughed at each other in the joy and surprise of finding themselves both really enjoying something that they had never anticipated the other would be into. It turned out they were both examples of those rare nerds who also had excellent rhythm. Songs came on that they both knew and were simultaneously excited about – deadmau5, Skrillex, Swedish House Mafia – and they grew more and more playful with one another and more and more animated in their dancing. The pair of them were unaware of the admiring glances of their classmates, some checking out Gwen, some checking out Peter, and some just enjoying seeing what the two of them had with each other, some yearning to one day experience a connection like that themselves.
Peter and Gwen stayed on the floor dancing until the DJ's set finished and he threw on some ambience while he packed up.
"WATER," Gwen panted, pulling Peter off the floor towards the under-age-friendly bar. They downed multiple glasses before finally heading off to find their table.
"Hey, you two!" Cora cooed condescendingly as they found their places. "You're both GORgeous on the dance floor!"
Unphased, Peter and Gwen, plonked themselves in front of their slightly cold meals and tucked in. Both were keen to get back on the dance floor the minute the High Highs started their set. Peter snuck a glance at his watch. It was still early. He looked sideways at Gwen, still bopping from the residual beat of the previous set that seemed to have seeped into her bones. She was so beautiful, and this night was so far shaping up to be the best night of his life. But regardless of what he might end up missing out on, he was, God help him, not going to let that bird thing get anywhere near another one of its gruesome feeds. No more vulnerable people were going to die helpless tonight.
Perhaps as a result of the fun he'd been having on the dance floor, his fears for himself had subsided and his resolve for those who needed his help had sharpened. Unless he detected anything happening before, he'd stay only one more hour with Gwen and then he'd have to leave her. He knew she'd understand. He took the opportunity, while Flash engaged Gwen in small talk to her left, to grab her dainty clutch and shove a hundred dollar bill into it so that she could safely catch a cab home. He'd catch up with her after. He caught himself just before he mentally added "if there's going to be an after."
The ethereal sounds of the High Highs resounded in the cavernous space. Above them, through the glass ceiling, a light flurry of snow, tiny individual snowflakes whirling in the fitful breeze. The view of the night sky was unimpeded – above them soared the imposing spires and towers that made up the New York City skyline. The snow only enhanced the ambience of the room below where couples swayed together in the warmth.
Peter kept an eye on the large clock that formed the main decorative feature of the panelled north wall. Like a temporally conscious Cinderella, Peter both knew the moment of his departure drew near and wished with all he had that he didn't have to leave.
"Gwen," he whispered into her ear.
"Time to go?" she anticipated.
Peter nodded. "That ok?"
She nodded in return. "There are people that need you more out there than I need you in here." Gwen smiled bravely, "Not that having you here hasn't helped to make me look less awkward during the slow dances."
Peter grinned despite the ache of leaving her. "I stuck some money in your purse. Can you please get a cab home? I want to know that you're safe." He grew even more serious, looking down at his feet. "Hey, Gwen?" He paused. "Just in case anything happens, I wanted you to hear me say, so, umm, so you know it for sure…" He raised his eyes to hers, "I love you, too."
Gwen nodded, trying to smile, but the coloured lights reflected in the single tear glistening on her cheek.
Peter held her face in his hands, stroked away the tear with the pad of his thumb and stooped to tenderly kiss her goodbye. Gwen's tears fell freely, but when she opened her eyes, Peter was gone.
She found her way back to the table to grab her clutch so that she could get out. She wasn't thinking about anything but Peter, so it took her completely by surprise to find Flash sitting alone at his place next to hers.
He jumped to his feet as she approached. "Gwen? Are you ok? What happened?"
Gwen was at a total loss to explain her obvious emotion.
"Where's Parker?" Flash's eyes narrowed. "Gwen, what did he do to you?"
She shook her head, desperately trying to think of a way to contradict Flash's immediate assumption.
"Nothing, Flash," she said. "Nothing happened."
"Well, why is he gone?" Flash demanded. "And why are you crying?"
"We had a stupid fight," Gwen heard herself say, immediately wishing she could take it back. "I told him to get lost, and he did. He didn't doanything."
Flash paused. "A fight, hey?" She could see him struggling to look sympathetic. "Is it over between you two?"
Gwen contemplated how best to answer. Yes? No? "I don't know, Flash."
"Want me to take you home?" he offered hopefully.
Gwen wiped her face with her hands. "Thanks Flash, that's really kind, but I wouldn't want to be in the way for you and Cora."
Flash snorted and indicated the dance floor where Cora was making out with a guy that Gwen vaguely recognised from Bio.
Flash looked rueful. "Looks like we've both been ditched."
"Oh, Flash, I'm sorry. Still, thanks for the offer but I think I'd prefer to be alone."
Gwen's words were swallowed by a horrifyingly familiar piercing shriek and every eye, even Cora and Bio Guy's, turned skywards. Far above them, an aerial battle was being waged between Spiderman and not one but three of the hideous, bird-like creatures.
The Midtown Science Senior Year Winter Formal attendees stood in sudden silence. Since the day Spiderman fought an epic battle on their very own campus, the students looked on him as a kind of personal guardian. The student body was so unified in their craned necks that not even the unexpected arrival of their patron, Mr Anthony Abbott himself, made the slightest impact. The impressive personage stood unobtrusively against the wall in his expansive suit, whispering into his cell phone, his eyes on the sky.
Gwen felt rooted to the spot. All her self-control was harnessed as she forced herself not to scream or cry out. Spiderman, Peter, looked effortless in these initial minutes – ducking, weaving, firing web after web at his hideous assailants. Yet nothing slowed them down.
Three were vastly more terrifying than one. They wheeled and attacked in a blunt formation and forced Peter to constantly move in echo, nothing he was trying seemed to enable him to take the offensive.
Gwen willed him all her strength, all her speed, all her skill, such as it was. If she could have offered him any advantage in being in the air with him, she would have found a way.
The students collectively gasped as Spiderman somehow eluded a vicious concentrated attack. He spun and swung for all he was worth, shooting a volley of webs and flipping himself skilfully through the night sky. He landed on the mirrored side of a skyscraper and paused only to sling a web out across the abyss, swinging out to his left to try to gain the upper hand. The creatures seemed to anticipate this shift of direction and, instead of aiming for Spiderman himself, two took to the biocable with their razor sharp beaks and bladed claws. The third went for the body blow.
Gwen's scream was lost in the collective cries of her classmates as they watched their hero in free-fall.
Standing on the ground as they were, the Senior Class stood helpless as Spiderman's limp, spandex-clad form hurtled limply towards them. Gwen felt an impulse to stretch out her arms, as if she could somehow break his fall. He looked so vulnerable – face up, limbs akimbo, crashing down towards the earth. After what felt like ages, though it could only have been an instant, the glass ceiling above them shimmered and resounded with the huge impact of his seemingly lifeless form.
The teens stood as one, open-mouthed and terrified at this catastrophic sight. Spiderman fallen from the sky, prone. A pack of carrion creatures circling down towards their prey.
Gwen could clearly see the contours of Peter's shoulder-blades through the spandex that hid his identity from everyone else in the room. She could see the familiar shape of his forearm and hand. She had been held in those arms, pressed against that chest, wrapped around that neck that was suspended so close to her and yet was so impossible to reach. She felt the bile rise up in her throat as his attackers descended.
"Get up!" she cried and, with a burning affection for her classmates that she had never anticipated feeling, she found her shout immediately echoed by every student present.
"Spiderman! Wake up, dude!" "Kick their asses!" "Get up, man!" "C'mon!"
Whether or not the clamour of encouragement below had anything to do with it, Peter's hand twitched. His classmates shouted louder. She looked around her. Every eye was on the ceiling and every voice was raised in support.
Again, she glanced up at his helpless form. Spiderman needed more than a cheer squad. She found herself with a plan. Without anyone noticing, she marched out of the room and was gone.