Reaching the door to the apartment where Gwen lived with her mum and two younger brothers, Peter stopped for a moment, not quite ready to leave her side just yet.

"Well, I guess this is it." He stated.

"Yeah." She sighed contentedly. "Thank you for today." She added with a smile.

"You're welcome."

Not ready to part ways after the amazing day they had spent together, the two stood face to face, silently staring into one another's eyes.

"I had fun today." She admitted to him.

"Me too."

"I guess I should probably head inside and get changed before my family wakes up." She stated, wanting desperately to stay with him again.

"Yeah… Stay safe Gwen." He whispered as he held her in his embrace.

"I will." She promised.

Stepping back, she removed her mask as Peter did the same and they both leaned in for a kiss. The moment his lips touched hers, it made him want to stay. But he knew that he couldn't watch twenty-four seven, there would be times when he couldn't protect her and so he had to get used to that.

"I love you." He told her.

"I love you too."

Placing one last kiss on his lips, she turned to unlock the door. Peter didn't move from the spot until he knew that she was safely inside. Once the door was closed he began to walk away and head back home himself.

Ensuring that her family were distracted by the television, Gwen quietly made her way to her bedroom, being careful not to alert anyone of her presence in the process.

She successfully reached her bedroom without drawing anyone's attention and pulled the door up. It had been an eventful but amazing day and no matter what else she was thinking about, Peter was constantly on her mind. Shedding her hood and mask, she walked over to the full bodied mirror that was in the corner of her room and stood there admiring her reflection.

Looking at herself dressed in a costume that was similar to Peter's, she almost couldn't believe her eyes. Everything she had done today; saving the little girl, shooting webs, climbing walls and jumping between buildings… She felt a surge of confidence as she replayed it all in her head.

Too lost in her thoughts, Gwen didn't notice one of her younger brothers standing in the doorway, having come back from the bathroom and noticed that her door was ajar and not closed as it had been when she was out, until he accidentally pushed the door and it creaked, startling her.

Spinning around, almost too fast for her head to be able to keep up, panic set in as she realised that her brother had seen her before she'd had the chance to change out of her suit.

"You know, it's rude to barge in without knocking." She informed him, praying that he would say nothing about what she was wearing.

"I didn't barge in, your door was open." He retorted.

"Still. Next time knock." She told him.

"What the heck are you wearing?" He questioned, taking in the sight of her. "Wait! Are you… You know Spider-man, don't you? And what's more? You're his sidekick!" The boy exclaimed, getting excited.

Gwen's eyes widened in horror and she made a loud shushing sound before ushering her younger brother into the room and closing the door behind him.

"No, I do not know Spider-man!" She snapped.

"Yes, you do. You're lying to me right now and don't say you're not because I can tell when you are." He argued.

"Ugh…" She groaned, planting her face in her palms.

"Tell me everything. Now." He demanded.

"I can't. Pet- I mean Spider-man would be furious." She explained.

"I've already seen you now so it's a bit late for that. Spill it!" He demanded again.

"Alright! Fine! You caught me, are you happy? But please… You can't tell anyone. Especially not mom." She pleaded.

"Oh don't worry, I won't tell her…"

"Thank you." She sighed in relief.

"If you get Spider-man to take a photo with me, that way I can become cool again in the eyes of my friends."

"What? You can't be serious!"

"I am very serious. You have one week to get me that picture big sis, and if you fail I'm gonna tell mom and everyone else your little secret. Do we have a deal?" He asked, his tone far more intimidating than it should have been for a kid.

"Yes. Alright, we have a deal. Now get out of here." She agreed, pointing and walking him towards the door.

"Good." He said before he turned and stalked out of the room.

Not willing to take any more chances, Gwen quickly changed out of her suit and into some bed clothes, tucking the outfit safely away in a box at the bottom of her closet. Flopping down on her bed, she covered her face with her hands, worried that Peter would be mad when she told him about what had happened with her brother.


After returning home, Peter had said goodbye night to his aunt May and changed out of his suit before going straight to bed.

Just as he reached Gwen, who was hanging only by his web, the clock in the tower ticked down. The time was 1:21am and there was absolutely no sign of the Green Goblin anywhere.

Unlatching his web from her body, he pulled her into his arms as he knelt to the ground and began to check for any signs of life. His body began to shake as fear gripped him when it was proving difficult to find any.

"DON'T LEAVE ME!" He yelled, trying his hardest to revive her.

Suddenly, Harry's face appeared in front of him, snarling viciously.

"It's all your fault! You killed her…" Harry taunted.

"No! It was you-" Peter began to say.

"No Peter, you let her die, just like you were going to let me die. Now I shall make sure that you die along with her."

Without warning the Green Goblin flew at him, tackling him to the ground and using his board to cut into Peter as the young hero screamed for help.

Bolting upright and gasping for air, Peter was once again drenched in sweat and this time his heart did not stop pounding as he realised that he was alone in bed.

Feeling distraught as a result of his dream, he quickly threw on some clothes and a pair of semi-decent shoes before heading out of the house; careful not to wake his aunt May.

Outside, the city was dead as it was still early hours in the morning. The only sounds were the beat of music coming from the many nightclubs scattered around the city and the occasional ambulance siren in the near distance.

Peter ran, and he didn't stop until he reached his destination. The apartment block where he had dropped Gwen off earlier. It was not a decent time to be knocking the door though, so instead he climbed up the fire exit until he reached Gwen's bedroom window and then he tapped lightly on the pane of glass.

Inside, the girl awoke from her sleep and rubbed her eyes clean. Her attention snapped instantly to the bedroom window as she heard a tapping sound for the second time. Throwing back the covers, she tiredly stumbled over to it and opened it up, looking out as the chill of the night's air hit her. Now more awake, the cause of the tapping sound came into her line of vision.

"Peter! What are you doing here? What time is it?" She questioned in a loud whisper.

"I'm sorry Gwen, I know it's late. I didn't mean to wake you… Can I come in?" He requested.

"Yeah, just… Try to be quiet, I don't want my family barging in here again." She agreed before opening the window wider and moving out of the way to make room for him to climb through.

With little to no effort, he managed to climb in almost soundlessly and then turned to close the window again.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, lowering her voice as much as possible.

"I got home tonight, and I fell asleep… But I was woken up by another nightmare. Even worse this time. My mind and my heart wouldn't calm down because I couldn't see or feel you there with me, so I had to come and make sure you were still safe. I'm sorry… Can you forgive me?" He explained, feeling a little ashamed of himself as he took a seat on her bed.

"You haven't done anything wrong, so there's no need for me to forgive you… Are you okay though?" She questioned, growing concerned for him.

This was the second night in a row that his sleep had been plagued by nightmares and it worried her greatly for both his mental wellbeing and his physical strength. If he didn't get enough sleep then he would grow weaker and in a fight, that is exactly what his enemies would look for; his weakness.

"Honestly… I don't know. I mean, I am, now that I know you're safe but… I keep getting these nightmares and… And these images in my head every time I close my eyes and I panic. I can't take it. Every time they occur my fear of losing you just becomes amplified and I can't control my worry." He rambled.

Feeling bad for him, she sat down next to him and took him in her arms, cradling him like a mother would a child. She didn't know how to put a stop to these nightmares but until they did cease to happen, she would do everything in her power to be there for him, to comfort and help him through it all.

She pondered for a moment, wondering whether or not to tell him about the incident with her brother, but glancing at the time as well as thinking about how shaken up he was at that moment, she decided to hold off until the morning. It would be better to tell him when his head was clear of all the horror that the night brought to him.

"It's okay, Peter. Whatever you saw in your nightmares, it wasn't real." She whispered soothingly into his ear.

"I can't lose you again." He stated again, his voice little more than a whisper.

Slowly, his heart rate began to calm and the tremors that had been rattling his body came to a stop. He held her close and tight, relieved to have her right there with him.