Chapter 28: The End


"Wake up. You're going to miss your flight."

I woke to the sound of Gwen's voice coming from my bedside. I groaned and rolled over, pulling the comforter over my head. She wasn't going to let me off that easy - she yanked the comforter from my bed then let it fall to the floor. She loomed over me, hands on her delicate hips. Suddenly we were catapulted back into High School, and just like every morning she picked me up from my Aunt Anna's for school, she trudged into my bedroom, pulled the covers from my comatose body and stood there until my patience wore thin and I eventually pulled myself from the comfort of my bed.

"I'm up!" Like putty, I slid from the mattress and onto the floor, groaning all the while. "I'm up! Gah, Gwen, you're like the morning Nazi."

"Don't make jokes like that." She turned then kneeled to zip up my suitcase. "The Nazis were a horrible group of people who did much more awful things than force people out of their warm beds in the morning." Lovingly, she patted the top of my suitcase. "I've packed up your suitcase. I took the liberty of picking out some comfortable clothes for you to wear for the trip. They're hanging up in the bathroom."

She was wasting no time in hurrying me out of New York. I tried to brush off the feeling of rejection gnawing at my pride but it had already burned a hole in my armor and was working hard on digging into the last shreds of pride I clung to. I stood from the floor and stretched, trying to appear as normal as I could.

"Peter is going to make sure you get to the airport okay."

"Wait, what?" My eyes widened for a moment. "What about you? I thought we could maybe... I don't know... talk about everything that happened with the Green-"

She shuddered with disgust then raised her hand to silence the Green Goblin's name from my lips. "Unfortunately, I've been called into work so I can't go with you. You'll be safer with him." She began to leave the room but before she walked through the threshold and into the hallway, she turned and spoke over her shoulder, "We'll talk about everything when you get back to California."

I let her walk away. There was no use pushing it right now - even though I desperately wanted to talk about it. I stood there, quietly stunned.

When had we switched roles? When had I been the one to want to talk about things, and she the one who wanted to push everything under the rug?

I didn't know the answer then but I know the answer now... we switched roles when I stopped hiding my secrets and she began hiding her's.

When I had recovered my wits, I walked into the bathroom and just as she had said there would be, there was a pair of white jeans and a high-collared navy blue top set out for me on the counter. I didn't even bother with a shower. My hair had grown impossibly long, the tips brushing across the two dimples at my lower back. I did my best to brush my fingers through the knots but they refused to give. Angrily, I stared at myself in the mirror, cursing the dreaded locks. Mercilessly, I brushed through my hair, ripping away at the tangles that refused to budge. My hands were trembling. My body quickly followed suit - my whole frame shaking beneath the clothes. I couldn't leave New York. Not yet... Not like this! A terrible sense of dread held me tight within its icy grip.

"MJ," It was Peter's gruff voice barking from outside the bathroom door. "We've gotta go now."

I gulped down my fear and just as I had always done, I ignored my gut and put on a calm façade. "Hold your horses. I'm almost ready."

When I heard him sigh and shuffle away, I looked up into the mirror at my face.

"Everything is going to be fine." I whispered to my reflection as though I were speaking to a frightened child. I didn't want to leave Gwen, or Peter. I closed my eyes against the reflection and as soon as I had, the Green Goblin's yellow eyes appeared in my mind. Quickly, I flung my eyelids open. Gwen's words from last night rang clear in my head and I whispered them outloud to the frightened child in the mirror in desperate hopes of quelling her fears, "She'll be gone tomorrow and once she is, he'll leave us alone and everything can go back to normal."

"MJ," Peter knocked on the door, irate impatience edging into his tone. I flung the door open and tried my best to smile.

"I'm ready to go now." My voice cracked, the façade failing me for the briefest moment. The hard lines in Peter's bruised face softened when he heard my voice waiver. He paused and I could see that in that moment, he wanted to comfort me. I quickly stepped past him and walked into the living room where Gwen sat at the kitchen table. My luggage had already been placed by the front door. As soon as she saw me, Gwen stood from her chair and walked to me, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Oh, come on now," I chided as I opened my arms to embrace her. Peter walked past us. He stared for a moment then leaned his back against the front door, shoved his hands into his pockets and bowed his head. I brushed Gwen's hair from her face, desperate to calm her. "Don't cry, Gwendy." She sobbed into my shoulder, warm tears soaking through my hair. "This isn't goodbye forever - just goodbye for a little bit."

My words could do nothing to calm her so I gave up speaking and decided to simply hold her until her tears exhausted themselves. Her tears were bottomless and after some time had passed, Peter had to signal that it was time to go by standing upright and clearing his throat.

"I'll be downstairs." He reached down and easily picked up my overly packed luggage. He looked at me as he addressed Gwen, her face still buried into my shoulder, "Gwen, remember what I said. Don't leave the apartment until I get back. Okay?"

With one final gasp, she pulled herself from me then wiped the tears from her eyes, sniffling. "Yes, yes, I hear you, Peter."

Without another word, he opened the door and walked out with my luggage in hand. When he had closed the door behind him, Gwen reached into her back pocket and fished out a folded up piece of paper.

"Promise me that if I give this to you," She lifted the folded piece of paper for me to see, "You won't open it until you're in California."

"Why?" I stared at the piece of paper, unsure of whether I wanted to read what was inside.

"It's really important to me that you wait to read it." She dropped her hand. "Please, MJ." Her eyes plead with me and with a sigh, I nodded my head and reached towards her for the piece of paper. She handed it to me with a grim smile.

"Now, get going." Despite her glassy, red eyes, she managed a halfway convincing smile. "You've got a plane to catch."

I couldn't speak. Now, suddenly, I wanted to cry. I stuffed the piece of paper into my back pocket then closed the distance between us and hugged her to me.

"I won't say goodbye forever." Her voice waivered as she fought the tears that threatened to overwhelm her again. "Just goodbye for a little bit. Right?"

"Right." I pulled away from her and before either of us could begin crying, walked to the door. "I'll see you soon, Gwendy."

She said nothing, just turned and walked back into her bedroom.


Peter was sitting in the taxi waiting for me, his door still open and one leg resting outside of the vehicle. When he saw me emerge from the apartment building, he pulled his leg into the car and slid to the opposite side of the bench seat so I could get in. As soon as I closed the door, the cab driver pulled away from the curb.

We didn't speak for a long time. I was lost in my own thoughts, my nose practically pressed against the window of the cab. We drove further from the apartment and deeper into the jungle of New York City. Skyscrapers loomed high above us, their ominous shadows casting us in darkness. I looked from the window to Peter. I contemplated breaking the silence with an attempt at conversation but his pensive, brooding face deterred me from that venture. Instead, I lifted myself from the seat in order to pull out the folded up piece of paper from my back pocket. It burned in my fingertips - begging me to open and read its contents.

As we got stuck in standstill traffic, I unfolded the letter and began to read.

MJ,

If you're reading this then I know you're safe in California. I've never kept any secrets from you. You've been my best friend for as long as I can remember and it breaks my heart that I haven't been completely honest with you.

Norman Osborn is a bad man. A dangerous man. As long as you're in New York, you're in danger. I have reason to believe that because of your relationship with Harry, Norman is out for revenge... against you.

When I told you that I couldn't take you to the airport because I had to work, I lied. I'm going to speak to Norman Osborn on your behalf... he's too strong for Spider-Man and I fear that if Spider-Man continues trying to protect you, he will be killed, and your death will soon follow.

Once upon a time, Norman Osborn was a reasonable man. I pray that there is a part of him that will listen to reason still.

I love you, MJ.

I promise that I'll make all of this right.

-Gwen

"STOP THE CAR!" We had just begun moving through the traffic when the cab driver slammed down on his breaks. Peter and I slid in our seats, bracing ourselves against the backs of the seats in front of us. I was in a full panic. Peter stared at me with eyes as wide as saucers.

"We need to get back to Gwen!" Without thinking, I flung open the door of the taxi and jumped out. Traffic had stopped again and I began to weave in and out of the parked cars, oblivious to the confused looks upon the faces of the drivers whose vehicles I passed. I felt the blistering heat radiating from the parked cars but I paid no mind to it.

Suddenly, someone had firm hold of my arm. Peter whirled me around to face him, his brows knitted in concern.

"What the Hell is going on, Mary Jane?"

"Gwen. Norman Osborn." I could hardly form a sentence. I yanked on my arm in a futile attempt to free myself. "He's the Green Goblin. She's going to try and save me-" Tears began to fall from my eyes. Peter released my arm from his grip and took a slow step away from me. My words had visibly crushed him and for a moment, he didn't seem to know what to do.

"No- no, damnit! I told her-" He bounced on his heels then turned and began to run, his feet carrying him swiftly through the crowded traffic. I ran after him but my pace was much slower than his and eventually, he completely vanished from view.

Minutes passed. I continued running through the standstill traffic. The traffic began to move and I was forced onto the busy sidewalk. I pushed through the crowd, ruthlessly elbowing strangers out of my way. Sirens began to wail as policemen and ambulances parted the traffic - their vehicles travelling back towards the city. Fear caused my stomach to bottom out. I began to run faster, adrenaline fueling my fire.

I passed a small electronics store and standing in front of its display window was a large crowd, their faces glued to what was inside the display window. Rather than push through the crowd, my intuition forced me to stop. I slid through the crowd to the front of the display window. TVs, big and small, sat in the window, all turned to the same news station. In twenty different screens, I saw the Green Goblin standing atop one of the supporting pillars of the Brooklyn Bridge. He held a delicate blonde woman by her throat, high above the suspension bridge. She struggled against him, wisps of her golden-blonde hair catching in the wind as she struggled. My eyebrows furrowed. That woman's green jacket seemed so familiar... her long blonde hair pulled back by a little black headband so recognizable...

I fell to my knees as the Green Goblin released his grip from the woman's throat. Like a coward, he immediately fled the scene.

The entire crowd gasped as she plummeted.

Cheers lifted into the air as the news cameras zoomed out to show that Spider-Man, at the last minute, had landed atop the pillar and shot out a webline around her feet to abruptly stop her fall.

I stared up at the TV screens, hope swelling in my chest. ...but why wasn't she moving? Spider-Man had pulled her up to him and she laid in his arms, her body limp and lifeless. ...Why wasn't she moving?!

I struggled to my feet. When I saw Spider-Man lift his fist to the heavens as though to curse God himself, I knew it was over...

I knew that Gwen Stacy was dead.


I can't tell you how I made it back to the apartment but somehow, in my daze, I found myself standing outside the apartment door. All I could hear were Peter's sobs coming from behind the door. He was throwing things and it sounded like the entire apartment was being gutted from the inside. Wood splintering. Fists slamming into the drywall, no doubt leaving deep craters in their wake. He screamed out in agony.

I placed my hand on the doorknob, twisted it then stood silently as the door swung open on its own. Peter stood poised to throw one of the kitchen table chairs, the battered chair held high above his head. His barrel chest heaved visibly beneath the fabric of his thin t-shirt. Even from that distance as I stood in the doorway, I could see the glisten of sweat and tears on his face. He saw me and like a cork being pulled from a bottle of wine, the anger flowed from him. Without the anger, he had nothing left. He was empty.

He dropped the chair and collapsed onto his knees, sobs ripping through his trembling body. He cradled his head in his hands then buried his face into the hardwood floor and began to moan one word in agony, one simple word that he repeated over and over again, clinging to it with a ferocious desperation: "Gwen."

"Peter," I whispered, "I'm so sorry..."

He held his face in his hands and with a voice I hardly recognized, spoke angrily through his fingertips, "Don't make me laugh, Mary Jane. You wouldn't be sorry if your own mother died." Venomous grief steeped his words in hate. "Go on! Get out of here!"

My jaw dropped. I walked to the door and placed my hand on the doorknob. I opened the door then stood there in silence.

I wanted to run away but instead, I held my ground and steeled my nerves.

It's time for me to man up - woman up.

It's time for me to grow up... for her.

I closed the door then kneeled in front of Peter's trembling body. I wrapped my arms around him and for the next couple of hours, we remained like this; my arms wrapped around him to protect him from the vicious world, the both of us crying for the loss of the greatest thing we had ever known.

For the first time in my entire life, I didn't run away.


Reader, I want you to know that Gwen's sacrifice wasn't lost on me. I want you to know that even from the deepest depths of sorrow, good can spring forth, like a phoenix from the ashes.

I want you to know that rather than her gravestone reading, "Rest in Peace, Gwendolyn Stacy," it was meant to have read, "Rest in Peace, Mary Jane Watson," but somewhere down the line, the Fates saw a different purpose for me. An opportunity to make a difference in the world.

I want you to know that through her life and through her death, I was made into a better person. Not a day goes by that I don't miss her but I know she's always with me.

Rest in Peace, Gwendolyn Stacy. It's not goodbye forever, just goodbye for a little bit.


Author's Note:I can't believe it's finally the end... :(

For those of you who previously reviewed Chapter 28: Preview of "The End," you'll have to add your review to what is technically Chapter 29, titled, "Chapter 28: The End (Duplicate)" since apparently this website won't allow double reviews. (And please do review! I'd love to hear what you have to say about this Chapter!)

I've been entertaining the idea of a second story. A story about life after Gwen... what do you guys think? Depending upon the kind of response I get to this ending, I may or may not create a second story.

As always, thank you all. You guys have been fantastic and I couldn't have kept up with this for as long as I did if I didn't have each and every one of you cheering me on! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!