"What?" Peter exclaimed in a whisper.
Gwen quickly hushed him before turning her attention back to the caller. She tried to speak, but no intelligible words would come out due to the wave of emotions that had hit her. Hearing her mother's voice again after so long had thrown her through a loop once again. There were so many emotions trying to race to the surface all at once that she just couldn't describe how she was feeling.
Shock. Due to this out of the blue phone call.
Relief. Because it had been so long since she'd been comforted by her mother's voice.
Grief. Because hearing it again had brought back the bad memories, along with the good.
Anger. Aimed at the person responsible for the death of her family.
"That's not her, Gwen!" Peter whispered loudly, trying to convince her.
"W- Who is this?" She stammered.
Before they could reply, Peter pulled the phone from her hands and put it to his ear, wanting to put an end to the sick joke that someone had thought was funny.
"Peter, no!" Gwen pleaded.
"Look, whoever this is, whatever sick joke you're trying to play isn't funny. Leave her alone and don't call this number again or else I will hunt you down and end you!" He threatened, hanging up the call before the caller could respond.
"No!" She yelled. "How could you?" She questioned.
"Because it's not her, Gwen! I wish more than anything that it was, but it's not. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but you need to accept that your mom is-" He began to explain, but was quickly interrupted.
"Don't!" He warned. "Don't say it, Peter!" She pleaded
"Your mom is dead… And as much as I would love to tell you she is, she isn't coming back." He finished despite her plea.
As soon as he said the words he regretted it, but it was too late to take them back. Though even if he could, he wouldn't. It may have sounded harsher than he would have liked, but it was the truth and all he wanted was to protect her from whoever was trying to mess with her head.
"Why?" She whispered.
"Because it's the truth. I know it's been hard to accept, but that's the bottom line." He answered. "And whoever that was clearly is just trying to break you." He added.
He watched guiltily as her face twisted and conveyed many emotions in just a matter of seconds, knowing that she didn't quite know which one to settle on. It was tough not to feel responsible for this, but he knew that deep down she would know it was for the best, even if she didn't want to admit it. He relaxed for a brief moment as she moved towards him, under the impression that she was just going to hug him and accept the truth. Instead she ran her fingers through her hair as if struggling to process and then clenched her fists, thumping against his chest repeatedly. Despite her actions, he stood motionless and rather than trying to stop her, he waited for her to finish. She slowed down, but never quite finished.
"I already know it! You don't need to say it!" She cried.
"I'm just trying to protect you, Gwen. The world is a place full of sick and deranged people and it's easy to fall victim to one when they're using your weakness against you." He defended his choice.
"My past and my losses are not my weakness, Peter. I thought you knew me better than that!" She yelled.
"Yeah?" He questioned. "Well, if that were really the case then would you be acting like this towards me when you know that I was doing it because I care about you?" He retorted.
Gwen froze as she pondered his question. She knew that he had done it for the sole purpose of protecting her, but she didn't want to hear those words out loud. The moment he'd said them, the gravity of what had happened held her down. His intentions were pure, but clearly he didn't realize that he'd just brought back everything she'd worked hard to push away in order to keep from breaking. Overwhelmed by it all, she felt her legs turn to jelly and moved forward, falling into Peter before she could hit the ground. She felt his arms tighten around her to hold her steady, but it didn't bring the weight back to her body so she didn't bother fighting when he lowered them both to the ground, resting on his knees.
"It's okay, Gwen… Whatever you're feeling, just let it in. It's the only way you'll ever be able to let it go. First you've gotta let yourself drown in it, then you'll be okay. I promise." He spoke softly.
She didn't speak a word, not because she didn't want to, but simply because she couldn't. No words would form properly and she didn't trust her own voice enough to verbalize her feelings. Instead, she decided to let him continue to speak in the hopes that it would have a positive effect on her.
"It's an awful feeling, I know because I have been there myself but you've gotta keep going. At first the pain is your life and happiness is rare, but the more laughs and smiles you have will all build up and eventually they will become your life and the pain will just be fleeting moments." He continued, combing his fingers through her blonde hair.
Peter stopped talking for a moment, resting his chin atop her head and closing his eyes. He didn't know what else to say that would help her since he'd experienced the same feelings, but what she was going through was a whole other level. Out of ideas, he tightened his arms around her and helped her back to her feet, keeping a firm grip to ensure that she did not lose her balance. He didn't let go even as he took the lead, getting her safely to the top of the steps and not stopping until they were safely back at the house. As they got through the door, the scent of mince meat and spaghetti wafted up his nose and aunt May appeared from the kitchen.
"Ah! You two are just in time, come in and settle down. I've made us all dinner as I thought that tonight we could sit down together as a family." She greeted them.
"That sounds really nice but I'm not sure that Gwen would-" He began, but was soon cut off.
"Actually, Peter, I think that it sounds great. I would love to." She interrupted.
"Oh! In that case let me go and set the table." He said with a smile as he trailed off into the kitchen, leaving May alone with Gwen.
"Well I'll be damned, you know that's the first time he's ever gone to set the table willingly." May quipped.
"Now that, I can believe." She laughed, following the older woman's lead into the kitchen.
Setting foot inside, both women were surprised to find that the entire table had already been set and came complete with a white blossomed rose in a vase in the center. Gwen looked at May and vice versa as they shared an unspoken joke. Peter lifted his gaze as he noticed their presence in the room and he flashed a dopey smile. After placing the pans full of food out on the table along with serving spoons, May took her usual seat at the end. Peter went to take his seat but stopped as he looked over at Gwen, then he walked around to the other side of the table and pulled her chair out for her to sit down. She gave him a grateful smile before taking her seat and watched as he took his own beside her.
Dinner passed by fairly quickly that evening. Peter soaked up every moment of it too, knowing that it was a rare occurrence these days and it seemed to have brought Gwen a sense of calming comfort, which relaxed him just a little. After all the food had been eaten, Peter gathered the dirty dishes and Gwen had offered to do the washing up, so the three of them had everything cleaned and packed away within the next hour.
Back upstairs in the bedroom, neither Peter nor Gwen had spoken a word about the events that took place down in the abandoned subway. He wanted to say something to her but was afraid that he might say something that would only make it worse, and it had become clear to him by now that she wouldn't be the one to bring it up. He'd been waiting since dinner for her to speak of it, which she hadn't. She had spoken of other matters, having a conversation with his aunt May over favourite recipes and sweet treat bakes and whenever he'd asked her if she was okay she would always nod or answer with a yes, but he wasn't entirely convinced. He couldn't explain it. His senses weren't tingling and she had seemed fine since they'd been back home, but there was a part of his head that was telling him otherwise.
"Gwen…" He began, not quite what he was planning on saying.
She glanced up at him from the book in her hands, expecting him to speak again but remaining silent. They hadn't really had a proper conversation all evening, which made him all the more nervous to say something. Now that he'd gotten her attention though, there was no turning back.
"Talk to me." He prompted.
"What do you mean?" She questioned.
"I guess- oh, I don't know. Never mind." He sighed in defeat.
"No, tell me. If there's something on your mind that you wanna say then just say it." She pushed.
He thought over his choice of words carefully before speaking, fearing the outcome of the conversation he was about to start with her. "It's just… I feel like there's something that you're not saying, I mean you've barely spoken to me since we got back." He started, hoping that the assumption wouldn't make her mad.
"I haven't spoken because I've been processing, and when have I ever withheld anything from you?" She retorted.
"Right. Of course… So, it doesn't have anything to do with what I said back in the subway?" He questioned.
Gwen bit her bottom lip. She couldn't bring herself to tell him that he'd caused fresh pain by saying those words aloud. It would hurt him greatly and that wasn't something she wanted to do. He had meant well when he'd spoken the truth and she knew that he was only trying to do what was best for her, but what he didn't know was how those words had echoed in her mind all evening.
"Forget it. It's nothing. I'm fine, so just leave it at that." She dodged the question.
"Okay, now I know for sure that there's something you're not saying." He stated firmly.
"Stop! I said it's fine and that means it is. I'm not up for a game of twenty-one questions." She snapped.
"Gwen… You can't hide these things from me because I know you too well. Please, say at least something." He begged.
"I can't say it!" She told him.
"Why not?" He asked, feeling frustrated.
"Because it would only hurt you!" She answered.
"So it is what I said then…" He guessed.
"Part of it, yes." She confirmed.
Peter screwed his face up, mentally kicking himself. He thought that he had been doing the right thing but despite the intent of his words, he felt as though he'd been completely wrong. Unfortunately, it was too late for him to take it back. He'd wanted to protect her from anything that would cause her harm but instead he'd only hurt her himself.
"I'm sorry, Gwen. I never meant to hurt you." He said, his voice muffled as his hands covered his face.
Words escaped her as she took in what was happening. She stepped forward, intending to reach him but stopped and hesitated as she realized what the revelation had done. Peter's face was in his hands and from what she could tell, he was crying. The shock rattled her body but despite that, she forced herself to continue forward and sat down on the bed beside him. Feeling guilty, she reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"I don't care if what you said hurt me. It was the truth and it doesn't make me love you any less." She whispered softly.
It took her by surprise when instead of lifting his head, he fell into her as though he was trying to just shrink and disappear in her shadow. She swallowed hard and held him tightly, almost afraid to let go.
"I'm so sorry." He sobbed.
"Shh, Peter… Don't be sorry. I love you so much, and there isn't anything that you could say or do to change that. This is why I didn't want to say anything, I didn't want to hurt you." She soothed, taking in a shaky breath as she tried to keep it together.
As he took in her words, his body stopped trembling and his breathing slowed to a steady pace once more. He moved his arms and gripped her tightly, wishing that they could stay in the embrace forever. After a few more deep breaths, he felt more sure that he could trust himself to speak without breaking down again.
"It's just… I care so much about you, Gwen and I'm terrified that I'm going to lose you. I wanted to protect you so badly and stop any possibilities of you getting hurt, I guess I got so caught up in that and along the way I forgot that you are capable of looking after yourself." He explained, now almost completely calm.
"Can we go to sleep now? Together… I'm tired of thinking and I just want to start a fresh day where we can both be happy." She pleaded.
Peter fell silent again, but this time he wasn't upset. He shuffled over and pulled Gwen with him onto the bed as he laid down and encased her in his arms in a spooning position. With her head beginning to throb, she closed her eyes and allowed the sound of his even breaths to act like a lullaby; though she had no intention of sleeping properly. All she had to do was wait. So she did, keeping track over how relaxed and deep his breathing got until she was certain that he'd fallen into a deep sleep. Then she made her move; slipping out of his arms with as little movement as possible, she got out of bed and tiptoed across the room, grabbing her bag off the desk, continuing into the hall and down the stairs. Once in the kitchen, she gathered a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled a fairly lengthy note. She read it over twice before deciding that it all made sense then retrieved her suit from her bag and quickly changed into it before sneaking out of the front door.
Finally able to breathe knowing that there was no one around to stop her, she retrieved her phone from a hidden pocket in the suit and pulled up the number that had called her earlier. She took a deep breath, knowing the risk she was taking, and pressed the call button. She hated the thought of going behind Peter's back, but she couldn't rest until she knew who the person on the other end of the call was. The phone rang, then rang again, and then a little more. Gwen was about to hang up when the line was picked up.
"Gwen… How nice of you to call me back." The caller greeted, once again in the voice of her mother.
"Stop playing games with me. I know that you're not my mom. I want to know who you are and why you are calling me!" She demanded.
"Oh, someone's feisty tonight." They quipped.
"Enough! Spill it!" She snapped.
"Yeesh! And I thought that between yourself and Peter, you were the smart one… I guess you're not as intelligent as you look, Gwen Stacy." The caller teased.
"Leave Peter out of this!" She warned them. "Just tell me who you are." She added.
"Hmm… Alright, I will tell you. Not over the phone though." They stated.
"Then where? Just tell me and I will come find you." She questioned.
"The abandoned theme park on the outskirts of New York City harbour." They instructed.
"Got it. I'll find you." She told them.
"No! I'll find you." They corrected her.
Following their last statement, the mysterious caller hung up the call, leaving Gwen alone with her thoughts. She descended the few steps upon the front porch and continued down the path, throwing a look over her shoulder back at the house before exiting the front garden completely. As the house disappeared from sight, she stopped and flipped her hood up over her head.
"I'm sorry, Peter." She whispered into the night.
She took off running as she turned her third corner, desperately wanting to reach her destination. Tonight the sky was not entirely pitch black and unlike the previous night, there were no stars. Instead it was a mix of murky grey storm clouds and a purplish blue in the spaces between. A rumble of thunder vibrated through the ground beneath her feet and as if one que, ice cold rain began to fall, soaking her through to the bone within seconds. Aiming her shooters, she unleashed a web that attached itself to a nearby building and used it to launch herself off of the ground, increasing her travel speed. Reaching the harbour, she used one final web to swing herself over the metal gates that guarded the abandoned theme park and then dropped to her feet right behind the gates.
"Alright! I'm right here! Right where you wanted me! So you can stop hiding and show yourself now!" She called out.
Only the sound of torrential rain answered her demands, but through it all she could just barely make out the faint sound of footsteps getting closer and closer to her. With her guard now fully up, she looked around frantically, squinting to see through the downpour.
"I wasn't sure that you were going to show up." A male voice spoke from behind.
Gwen spun around with a gasp and backed away slightly as Harry stood before her. She pulled her hood down and ran her fingers over her face and through her hair to clear the water out of her eyes.
"Well, I'm here now, so do your worst!" She challenged him.
"Hmm… I see that you came alone. Smart move… Or perhaps very stupid." He pointed out with a malicious grin.
"I had to know who was behind the call. But wait… How did you do it?" She questioned.
"Don't tell her! This is the perfect opportunity to mess with her head and manipulate her. It will make her so much easier to break." Venom advised Harry internally.
Harry opened his mouth to speak, but remembered that Gwen had no clue that Venom had chosen him as a host. His eyes lit up with malice and he raised an eyebrow, contemplating his next move.
"I didn't do anything… You see, Gwen, I didn't actually slaughter your mom. Those annoying kids I did, but not her." He told her.
"No! You're a liar! I saw them, I saw them all! Her body too, you killed them all!" She protested.
"Did I? Did I really? Think, Gwen! Think really hard about that day." He prompted.
"Enough!" She screamed.
Charging head first towards him, she crashed into him and flipped him over backwards, sending him flying to the ground. Without giving him a chance to get back up, she spun around and kicked him in the stomach repeatedly until he reached out and grabbed her foot. He pulled hard, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground on her back. She laid for a second, breathing heavily to try and ignore the pain but while she was down, Harry had managed to get back up. He disappeared out of her sight for a moment, leaving her confused. Moments later though, he returned with half of a scaffolding pole that had been snapped in half, producing a sharp edge and swung it down. Her eyes widened as she saw the metal flying towards her head and she rolled over onto her stomach, watching in horror as the pole collided with the gravel exactly where her head had been resting.
She jumped back to her feet before he could attempt to hit her again, and kicked him where it hurt the most as he raised the pole once more. He staggered back a little, unphased by the kick despite the force that had gone into it. Gwen frowned at his reaction as the realization hit her; Harry had somehow gotten stronger.
