Having mastered wall climbing in such a short period of time, the next thing to learn was web shooting. Not wanting anyone to be able to take note of what they were doing, Peter once again led Gwen up to the rooftop where he had earlier tried to teach her his parkour tricks.
"The best place to practice shooting webs is up high for two reasons. The first being that no one will notice what's going on up here, and the second is that from higher up it is easier to shoot them, especially if it is one that you're going to be swinging on. If you shoot one from the ground then there is a fifty-fifty chance of crashing into people and whatnot, to avoid that, try shooting webs from higher up." He explained, lingering on every word to ensure that she was able to take it all in.
"But what if I have no choice but to shoot from the ground?" She questioned, her mind flashing back to when Peter faced off against Electro.
"In cases like that then try to climb up a building to get a little higher in order to shoot the web, but if an enemy makes that impossible then… Then you will be prepared, as once you have finished your parkour training then we will cover being able to move around whilst swinging." He decided.
"Okay, sounds good." She agreed.
"Great! Now let's get started."
Allowing her to get a good look at his web shooters, he took aim at the wall of a neighbouring building that over towered the one they were on top of.
"Impressive." She commented, admiring his pure skill.
"Ha! That? Oh please, that's nothing." He joked.
"Well to me it is." She informed him.
"Alright, your turn." He stated, rubbing his hands together and enjoying the anticipation of her learning this trick.
"I got this!" She whispered to herself under her breath.
More determined now after seeing Peter in action, Gwen extended her arm out and shot a web. Unfortunately, unlike Peter's it was short and didn't latch onto anything. Instead it flew through the air before falling to the ground.
"That's okay, give it another try, I'm sure you will get this." He encouraged her.
Nodding to show she understood him, she turned back in the direction that the failed web had fallen and put all her concentration into her next move. Aiming the built in web shooter at the tall, over towering neighbouring building, she shot a web once again. This time it did latch onto the building but slipped through her fingers before she had the chance to grab hold of it.
"Ah, now that was better… Keep trying." He cheered.
Proud of her progress, Gwen glanced at Peter, who smiled in encouragement, and then faced the same direction once more. Taking a deep breath, she locked her aim into place and then shot another web. Speeding through the air, it latched on to the same building and she caught the end of it, gripping onto it tightly.
"Wooohooo!" Peter whooped, watching her success with a huge smile on his face. "Now swing from it!" He called out.
"What? No! I can't do that." She called back, terrified by the idea.
"Yes you can. Just believe in yourself, Gwen. Believe in yourself the way that I believe in you." He told her.
"O- Okay…" She stammered.
Fighting through her fear, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Taking a few steps back, she made a run for the edge and leapt off the edge; gripping the end of the web tighter than ever. When she reached mid-air she opened her eyes despite the brief terror that had washed over her a moment ago and when she neared the surface of the higher rooftop, she let go of the web and let herself fall, rolling as she landed and standing back on her feet almost instantly.
With his heart full of pride, Peter shot his own web and made his way up to the higher rooftop that she had just landed on.
"Did you see that?" She asked, her voice high pitched with excitement.
"Every second of it." He answered. "You did great!"
"And I owe it all to you." She added.
"Nah, you don't owe me anything. Having you here and being with you is enough for me." He informed her.
"Even still… None of this would be possible without you."
"Praise yourself, not me. You're the one who deserves it." He corrected her.
Shaking her head at his modesty, she walked up to him and hugged him, resting her head against his shoulder momentarily before stepping back to look at him.
"Do you want to call it a night?" He asked, worried that she might be tired.
"Not just yet… I uh… I think I'm ready." She told him.
"Ready for what?" He questioned.
"For the parkour." She clarified.
"Wh- Are you sure?"
"As sure as I can be."
"Okay then. Uh… How about trying without webs to jump from this building back to that one?" He suggested, his nerves growing as his mind raced with endless possibilities of what could go wrong.
"Yeah, I think that could work." She agreed.
Holding his breath, Peter watched as she readied herself for the jump; finding the right angle, calculating her timing and estimating the distance between the two buildings. As she leapt off of the safety of the solid rooftop, he gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists, only relaxing once she had made it safely to the other side. He quickly made his way back to her side, ready to praise her and to move on to the next part of the training; Jumping between buildings with double the distance.
"What's wrong? You okay?" She asked, concerned as she noticed his fidgety behaviour.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little worried for your safety with the next level of parkour training." He admitted.
"It's okay. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." She reassured him.
"I know, you're a tough girl Gwen, I just don't wanna lose you again." He confided in her.
"Oh…" She whispered as the realization hit her.
Taking her mask off of her face so that he could see her clearly, causing him to remove his own too, she caressed his cheek in the palm of her hand. He closed his eyes and leaned into the feel of her hand.
"Peter… Please stop thinking like that. I know that there's a fifty-fifty chance that something might go wrong but isn't that what life is all about? Taking chances."
"Not when it's a gambling with your life." He protested.
"If we lived every second of our lives afraid of the what ifs then we're not really living, are we?"
"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. I'll try not to worry so much from now on." He promised.
"Thank you."
"Now let's see what you've got!" He cheered, lightening the tone of the conversation.
The smile returning to her face, she slipped her mask back on and put her hood up, heading over to the other side of the rooftop. Next door was a smaller building that was much further away than the taller one. Down below was an alley riddled with garbage and damaged fire exits. Making this jump would be extremely risky as the targeted landing looked to be almost ten feet apart.
"Be careful Gwen." Peter called as she prepared to make the bigger jump.
Taking in his words, she took more steps back this time to ensure that she had a good running distance and then she took off. Sprinting to the edge, she didn't hesitate once as she made the jump. Much to Peter's relief, she landed safely; though not as cleanly as she did the previous time.
Pleased with the huge progress she had made, she decided that it would be best not to push herself too hard, especially with it being her first day (or night) of training. Watching as Peter landed next to her, having made the jump himself, she turned to him, removing both her hood and mask.
"Ready to call it a night?" He guessed.
"Yeah, I don't think it would be wise to push my luck anymore tonight." She explained.
"That's my girl." He praised her.
Using a web to get them back down off the roof, he placed his arm around her shoulders and began to walk her home. A million thoughts were racing through his mind but there was one in particular that stuck with him; Gwen's words. If we lived every second of our lives afraid of the what ifs then we're not really living.
Although he had promised her that he would try not to worry too much, he couldn't help but feel the fearsome thoughts lingering in the back of his mind. It was something that he would most likely carry with him for the rest of his life - and hers too.
