Back at the football field, the game fell onto its last legs, the Midtown Tigers' spirit in disrepair. The Central Park Mustangs maintained a huge lead while the Tigers continued to play in spite of their one ineffective play weighing them down. They had to finish after all.
The cheerleaders, on the other hand, did their best to maintain a chipper spirit despite what happened earlier. Liz, their cheer captain, was down for the count, leaving them with little direction on what to do outside of their coach instructing them. Regardless of the outcome, the student's section had to remain pumped for the remainder of the game.
With the way things were going, Gwen couldn't hardly stand to put up with the current circumstances. Completely out of school spirit, she sat and watched her high school football team lose their first home game of the season - a downer way to start the year, really. Moreover, Peter just up and abandoned her halfway through the game, not even caring about staying for the outcome. As the clock ticked lower, she took a Snapchat of herself with a downcast expression to display her dissatisfaction with the current moment. She captioned it, "We are losing. Where are you?" and input Peter's name as the recipient. Since this had already happened once between them, she knew she had to make her feelings known, no matter the case.
One spot over, MJ turned to notice Gwen's downcast expression, the latter just barely noticing her gaze out of her peripherals.
"What's the matter, sister?" MJ asked, kneeling beside her.
With the way she butted into her space, Gwen tensed, fearing her transparency was more than apparent to someone like MJ. How she would approach the issues with Peter, she had no idea.
"I'm just hung up about the team losing, that's all," Gwen admitted shyly.
"Something seemed wrong the moment our favorite Tiger left us a while ago. You sure this has nothing to do with him?" MJ inquired. It was as if she was reading Gwen's mind.
Coming out of her shell, Gwen took a deep breath and formulated her words carefully. "Look, Mary Jane, I didn't know how to tell you before, but… Pete's been… Abandoning me," she slowly admitted. "He's done this to me twice now - once at the party, once now. We look like we're getting closer and then he pulls a fast one. This isn't right! I mean… What if he doesn't wanna… You know, be friends?"
"I know Peter wouldn't go so far as to outright abandon you for no reason," said MJ. "He just… There may be some things he needs to work out. Did it seem urgent?"
"I'm not even sure what he's up to. I don't even know if I can accept it. Is it too soon to consider putting him down easy?"
"I wouldn't go so far, sister. Just cut him some slack and maybe he'll come around."
"Right… Cut him some slack," Gwen affirmed, nodding. "Very well. When he comes back, I'll just let him know how I feel."
"Sounds good to me!" MJ exclaimed, giving a playful nudge.
Lightening up, Gwen turned to face her friend. "What will you be up to after this?"
"Harry and I were gonna catch a movie and head to the Silver Spoon afterward. First we'll wait and see when Tiger gets back so we can take you guys home."
Gwen forced a smile at her proposition. If her inner voice told her anything it was that she ought to heed MJ's advice while also taking her own; part of her simply didn't wanna let Peter off the hook so easily if he was going to abandon her this much. As much as she liked him, she had to let him know how she felt in order to enforce some rules if need be.
Once the game ended several minutes later, the Midtown Manhattan side of the field walked away glumly, disappointed that their star team would be so easily defeated. If this was how it looked throughout the year, the best they could hope for was a little encouragement.
As Gwen followed everyone out of the bleachers, she watched with jealousy as Harry and MJ held each other's hands beside her. Together they flaunted their love to one another and giggled the way Gwen wished her and Peter would. She felt like the third wheel to their relationship, having nobody to enjoy the night with. If this was how things were, she wasn't sure a future with Peter could work.
She hung back by the gate, waiting for something, anything, to indicate that Peter was returning. As the crowd of students vacated, she stood there alone, the dark surroundings of the school parking lot representing her literal and figurative loneliness she felt. The way things were going were not what she imagined for the year. Her ideal junior year saw her getting close to Peter and loving him the way all the other couples would in time for homecoming. Given what he had done these last few times, that didn't seem like it would come soon enough.
There came a moment she almost gave up waiting when, from the darkness, a familiar voice called out.
"Gwen!" shouted Peter. His fit figure and tall head of brown hair emerged from the darkness, appearing under the light of the street lamp. He approached her in a haste. "Gwen! I'm so sorry. See, Aunt May wanted me to go get groceries so I went-"
"Dude, you said you needed air," Gwen interrupted. "What sort of game are you playing with me?"
"What? No, I'm not playing any games! See, I've just been trying to, you know, get some exercise and help my aunt. It's been really rough for us since my uncle's passing so I'm really trying to take my mind off it."
"Well then why haven't you been honest with me about it?" snapped Gwen. "I feel like you're keeping me in the dark. Twice now you've given me vague excuses only to come back later and say you were doing something besides be with me. What sort of good friend does that?"
"Oh no… Gwen, look, I've just… I've been a little unfocused and I'm just… Just trying to… Get my life back on track."
"But you won't include me in it, is that it? Look, Pete, I really like you, but your level of trustworthiness is concerning me. If you wanna get closer, then prove it to me. Otherwise, I'm not sure I'll want us to stay friends."
Peter's eyes widened at this statement. Of all the things he could have done, she was convinced he took her seriously. He slumped. "Gwen… I'm sorry. I know it might not seem like I care; I really do. If you give me another chance, I'll stick by you in the weeks building up to homecoming. Would you consider that?"
Gwen contemplated his words. She knew there was potential for this to blossom into something else, but the way things were playing out indicated that he needed to work on a few things first - like telling the truth about why he had been leaving her all of the sudden. If nothing else, she wanted to ask him to homecoming at some point. Should he show improvement in that time, she figured maybe she ought not to let him go quite yet. "I'm sure if you give me time and give me more disclosure by then, I'll consider us going to the homecoming dance… Just don't make it a race to see who asks first."
"You have my word," Peter said, nodding. These words from him were the best thing she needed to hear. Despite the uneasiness of the situation, she hoped she gave him a reason to want to be better than how he was acting. "Are Harry and MJ waiting on us?"
"They said they'd wait in the car for us so I reckon we should get going. You do need to meet a curfew, don't you?" Gwen asked.
"For now, yes I do. Gotta make sure I abide by Aunt May's rules."
Hearing this, Gwen nodded. "Uh-huh. Now make sure to apply that to our relationship as well."
"No worries!"
Together they strolled across the parking lot, searching for Harry's eye-catching green convertible that would no doubt stand out in the dead of night. Eventually, they found him, and he signaled them to pile into his car. Remembering how late it was, Peter checked the time on his phone, noting the time nearing ten pm. With what Gwen knew of his curfew, this would be the opportune time for him to inform Aunt May that he'll be home within the next hour or so. He had to keep her at ease.
"I gotta call Aunt May and let her know I'll be home within the hour," he said to which Gwen gave him the "okay" signal. Once he dialed his aunt's number, he waited for her to answer. "Hey, Aunt May. Just calling to let you know I'm on my way home."
"Oh, wonderful!" May exclaimed over the phone speakers. "I was almost starting to think you'd never call. Thanks for letting me know!"
"Will do, Aunt May!" Peter answered. "Harry's gonna take Gwen home first since she's closest, but I promise he'll deliver me home within the hour."
"Sounds good," she replied. "Love you, Peter. Stay safe and see you soon!"
"Love you too, Aunt May! See you soon!"
He hung up. Hearing this was rather wholesome for Gwen and the others to hear as they drove to Gwen's apartment. There was a lot of good family dynamic between Peter and his aunt as there was between Gwen and her family. With as much as she could see Peter and his aunt getting along fine, Gwen knew that there was potential for Peter to be a better version of himself no matter how well she already got along with him outside of their conflict. Given the time and the fact that she showed him enough tough love, hopefully she would see the same amount of improvement in Peter herself.
Later that night, Adrian Toomes strolled into the underground entrance of Big Sky Billiards. The neon sign lit up his slender, shadowy appearance as he disappeared down the stairs hoping that whatever came of this meeting would benefit both him and his colleague. After the recent defeat he suffered, the last thing he wanted was for anyone to mock him for his incompetence; and so, he sneakily slipped into the bar and searched for the firm face of Montana seated in the low light. The bar noise made it hard for him to concentrate hard on where he was looking, but, eventually, his eyes locked straight onto Montana's iconic cowboy hat. To his relief, the man himself was seated at a high table alone waiting for Adrian. There remained a whiff of uncertainty regarding Toomes's mission results; hopefully, he wouldn't take it too hard.
He sauntered over to the elevated table and took a seat on the tall chair. Once he sat down, he met eye to eye with Montana as he sipped his American lager like he always did.
"Mission report, Toomes," Montana inquired.
"My attempt to obstruct the delivery of Osborn's tech flight was… An unfortunate failure to say the least," Toomes stated rather solemnly.
"What in tarnation?!" Montana questioned. "Did y'all get distracted or something?"
"Not in the sense that I'm an old man who can barely remember my childhood, rather someone intervened in my attempt. That lousy do-gooder, Spider-Man, had my tailfeathers in a bunch while the Oscorp truck ever so cleverly made its way into a parking garage, preventing me from ever catching it!" Toomes announced, balling his hands into fists. "If I had known that wall-crawler was real in the first place…"
"I tried to tell y'all about him, but you didn't seem to believe me. Do you believe me now?"
"Certainly so, Montana. Thankfully, I managed to escape, my suit and person largely unscathed. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that thanks to this Web-head's interference, Osborn has surely gained the upper hand in our plot against him. Not only will he get to display the tech flight himself at the showcasing, but now he'll be taking credit for my life's work! If there's anything we can do to prevent that, we must refocus our efforts."
"A nice proposition. What'll it be? I break out my suit and we both squash the bug together?"
"Not so, but rather we distract Osborn from his work. You and I both ought to use your men to cause a disturbance at one of Oscorp's facilities, allowing us to steal more of the weapons you so desire. Once we do that, Osborn will be stirred to refocus his efforts on repairs and replacing stolen goods. It's a win-win scenario."
"I gather y'all are focused on ruining Mr. Osborn's company more than ya are about eliminating the more apparent threat at stake. Shouldn't we be taking out the bug to ensure he don't ruin any more of our missions?"
Toomes slammed on the table, his blood pressure elevating. "Simply too much is at stake for us to focus on something as petty as Spider-Man. If he just so happens to interfere with our next heist then we can seek to destroy him together. Otherwise, I believe we ought not to waste time and resources hunting him down exclusively."
"Calm down, Toomes," Montana reassured. "I get that this means a lot to y'all, but just remember I'm in charge of this criminal gang here. I'm the one who calls the shots."
Toomes thought slowly about what his partner said and did his best to calm down by squeezing the edge of the table. He did not wish for this partnership to meet an abrupt end before it really began. "I understand you're in charge here, but remember our partnership. We seek to benefit the other in our personal escapades. Can we at least come to some sort of agreement?"
From where Toomes stood, Montana ducked under his cowboy hat, seemingly thinking to himself about the logistics of the situation. Hopefully, he wouldn't argue farther to the point of causing a rift between them. They were former colleagues after all so why would he waste energy trying to turn them into bitter enemies?
"How's about we do what what you suggested and only deal with any outside attackers should they spring themselves upon us?" Montana suggested. "That way when vigilantes like the bug attack us, we'll be ready, but we won't waste any time hunting them down?"
"A very sound agreement," said Toomes. "You always did know how to play to my 'good' side."
"Just remember, it's our operation and whatever complications rise up we'll deal with together," Montana said, extending a hand.
Toomes watched the hand, taking it firmly to affirm his partnership. "Very well. In that case, I suggest we ought to lay low for a while. We don't want to draw the city's attention to our presence quite yet."
Montana nodded. Either this would be a worthwhile partnership or the beginning of the end for Spider-Man.
Midtown Manhattan High couldn't have been full of mixed emotions the following Monday. Already the varsity football team had lost the first game of the season causing some people to wonder if it would be worth it to continue. For others, life went on and especially the jocks were optimistic that the season could get better. If there was anything that could make it better, though, it would be for them to win the homecoming game next month.
While homecoming was on the minds of many, Peter, Gwen, Harry, and MJ were just living in the moment. They had classes, helped each other with homework and kept the festivities going between the four of them. This year couldn't have been more fun for them in spite of the tension between Peter and Gwen. One thing was certain, they were confident they could pull things together.
Harry and Peter, meanwhile, struggled together in precalculus, but did their best to maintain fun conversation while figuring out brutal problems.
"Four x plus five… x equals six!" Harry shouted, excited that Peter helped him figure something out.
"Great job, Harr!" Peter exclaimed. He held up his hand to give Harry a high five to which Harry reciprocated.
"I'm glad for your help, really," Harry continued. "I really don't know how else I could figure this out without your advice."
"Don't mention it," said Peter. "Keep this up and you might just be as smart as me!"
"L-O-L, that'll be the day!" Harry joked. "Say, you haven't happened to come across any crime scenes of guys stealing Oscorp trucks by chance? I've been meaning to ask you since my dad seemed rather taken aback by that one incident. He's even reported several more trucks missing since last time! When does the madness end?!"
"You're telling me…" Peter said, spacing off before blinking back to reality. "I-I mean, no! No, not really. I haven't really come across any more since that one time, but if I ever do… I'll let you guys know!"
"Thanks, man! I'm glad we can help each other. That's what I've always enjoyed about us being friends."
"Not a problem, I appreciate it!"
The two of them continued to work until the end of the period, occasionally asking the teacher for help. Once the bell rang to dismiss them, Peter and Harry exited the classroom, books and bags in hand. Collectively, the two of them were as giddy as could be to meet the girls for open lunch. While Harry's excitement to see MJ was rather apparent to Peter, Peter himself still resolved to keep everything between him and Gwen to himself. He did not wish to leak this information to Harry quite yet.
"Thanks again for help on that last problem, Pete!" Harry said, nudging his best friend on the shoulder. "Until you stepped in, my brain was totally like, 'I know what to do, I just don't know how to do it.'"
"Don't mention it, Harr," affirmed Peter. "As long as Gwen and I have big brains, surely we'll continue to help you with homework well into college!"
"Just you wait, I might develop an intellect beyond your understanding by then!" Harry joked.
"Won't that be the day?!" Peter joked in return.
"Yeah…" Harry said, spacing off. He turned to face Peter once more. "Speaking of Gwen, I couldn't help, but overhear MJ talking with Gwen about you at the game. And while I totally get if there's something going on, I gotta know: is there something you're not telling me yet?"
Peter's eyes bulged. All in an instant, he felt put on the spot as if he were on stage in the high school auditorium, naked, with everyone pointing and laughing at him. He had to do something to evade this or else he would spoil his excitement. "What?! N-nothing, it's just… I don't…" Peter said, searching for the words when, all of the sudden, Gwen and MJ appeared in the midst of the crowd of students. He turned to wave at them as they strode confidently to meet their men. "Oh, hey, Gwen! Hey, MJ!"
"S'up, Pete?" Gwen said, bursting with energy.
"Hey, Tiger," MJ said smoothly before turning her attention to Harry. "Harry, how's my big hunking man doing in precalculus today?"
She grabbed Harry's strong arm and kissed him on the cheek, Harry blushing a rosy red. "Oh, just solving problems, asking for Pete's help; you know, the youzhe," he commented. "Are you both ready to go to open lunch with us?"
"Ready as we'll ever be, Harry!" Gwen responded enthusiastically.
Peter, on the other hand, shot her a look of urgency. "Uh, actually, Gwen and I have some business to discuss, you know, with precalc and everything… So, you guys go ahead, we'll catch up!"
"No problem, Pete!" Harry confirmed. "We'll see you at my convertible!"
"Meet us at the Silver Spoon if you fail to catch us," MJ said teasingly, throwing them a sexy wave that made Peter question his attraction to Gwen.
Once they left, Peter turned his attention to the girl who mattered most.
"Need help with your precalc homework again, bright guy?" Gwen asked him rather presumptuously.
"Not exactly. See, it's about Harry," he informed her under his breath.
"Oh? What about him?"
"Nothing too serious, it's just… I think he's onto us."
"How?"
"You know, between me and you, I mean we both talk to MJ about things, but he's already picking up… The chemistry between me and you before we're laying it down. Should we tell him?"
Gwen pondered his words for a moment. Even he wasn't sure he should've said anything. "Maybe give it a few weeks and we'll tell him together. Got that?"
Peter nodded. "Sure," he said with certainty. If there was anyone who would determine when to tell his best friend, it was the girl herself.
"Great, then let's go," Gwen affirmed. She yanked Peter's arm forward to get him to walk with her.
The two of them strolled down the rows of lockers into crowded corridors to catch up with Harry and MJ. In the midst of all the noise, a rhythmic thumping could be heard nearing their position, but initially Peter ignored it. Once they reached a corner, they turned to find that the thumps blonged to a pair of crutches. The holder: Liz Allan, all gimped up and recovered enough to where she could at least attend school. Unusually, she smiled at the two of them.
"Hey, Petey," she said happily before turning to Gwen. "Gwen. How's it going?"
"Liz!" Peter exclaimed, startled that she would ever approach and acknowledge him in a setting outside of Flash's party. "Hey… Uh, great to see you back here so soon. Are you feeling any better?"
"I'm better, but not completely a hundred percent. That's why I'm talking to you in the first place: I need your help with something."
"Help?" Gwen asked. "What sort of help?"
"See, I never told you before, but… I'm actually the homecoming committee leader," Liz informed them.
"Oh, really?" said Peter, slyly.
"Yeah, it's true. I just got promoted this year after the previous leader stepped down at the end of last year. Anywho, as you can see I'm all gimped up and can barely do anything to assist the committee by myself. So I was wondering if maybe you two could be my few extra hands until homecoming?"
Peter thought for a moment about her proposition. It sounded like a neat offer and, for the time being, he didn't really have anything else to balance with outside of his Spider-Man life. On the other hand, this could also be a chance for him to spend more time with Gwen outside of school and extracurriculars. In his mind, it sounded like the ride of a lifetime. "Well, I don't have much to do outside of school this year, so… Yeah! I can definitely help!"
"But Peter…" Gwen said concerningly. "What about the valuable time me and you could spend, you know, applying for colleges and earning scholarship money?"
"Gwen, that's important too, but it's only a few weeks and, plus, it's our junior year. Why not use this time we got to have some fun with each other?"
Gwen looked down shyly, apparently reconsidering the offer. "I guess we could have some fun doing that. Promise me you'll still look into more important things by the end of this year," she said, holding out a pinky.
"The deal is sealed then!" he said, performing their signature handshake. They both turned to Liz. "We'll be glad to accept that offer together! W-when do we start?"
"Our first meeting is Wednesday after school at 4 o'clock. Gymnasium," said Liz. "Be sure to be there since I'm counting on you and all!"
"Don't mention it, Liz!" shouted Peter waving as she hopped away on her crutches.
Peter and Gwen strolled away, resuming their route to their best friend's car. If there was one thing besides open lunch Peter was excited for it was helping out on the homecoming committee with his favorite girl. He could hardly wait to be a part of the festivities.
Wednesday evening arrived and Peter's excitement to contribute something to his school was through the roof. Before now, he had never been picked to help make a difference in the halls of Midtown Manhattan High. He, Gwen, and the others were often considered social outcasts that nobody wanted to choose first for anything - including dodgeball. Today, however, would be a rare exception. With Liz being the one to ask them to help her, things were shaping up to be better for Peter's remaining time at Midtown Manhattan High.
Students were gathered on the bleachers, their inaudible conversations echoing off the gymnasium walls as Peter and Gwen took their seats right next to one another. It didn't take long for Liz to arrive hobbling in on her crutches while attempting to carry several huge papers and coloring supplies that looked rather important. She sat them down at a table and chair that had been set up for her to take a rest on and turned her attention to the chattering students.
"May I have everyone's attention, please?" she asked, projecting her voice just barely above the loud conversations. No one shut up to listen to her. "Hello?!"
Once more, the students continued to ramble creating an annoyed look in Liz's eyes that Peter couldn't help, but notice. He turned back to face everyone. "Hey, guys! Yo, everyone!" he shouted, causing the students to immediately stop talking. "Liz is here and has something to say."
"Thanks, Petey," she said to Peter before turning to face the students. "As you know, today's our first day of the homecoming committee business and I am excited to announce that this year will be different with me at the helm of head organizer."
Hearing this, everyone applauded, many commenting on Liz's advancement through the ranks.
"Nice going, Liz!" an intellectual girl in glasses complimented.
"Way to step up!" shouted a nerdy guy, clapping.
"Thanks, guys," said Liz, casually bowing her head. She then proceeded to sit down on the chair seated in front of her, keeping her broken leg elevated on the adjacent chair. "Anyways, so for starters, I should let you know that while I'm recovering from my injuries last Friday, I'll be relying on you all to do most of the work for now. Before we can do that though, we ought to go over the usual business of choosing our theme for the dance this year. I have many ideas for the game and pep rally, but this year I want to make the dance top priority to ensure that we make it the best experience possible for the student body."
By this point, the students were nodding in agreement.
"So for this year," Liz continued, "I've selected three themes: Enchantment Under the Sea, Over the Rainbow, and 80s Retro Vibe. Anyone want a vote?"
All in an instant, everyone shouted out their pick simultaneously, muddling the responses in a myriad of inaudible echoes. Meanwhile, Peter and Gwen just sat there, barely knowing what to pick themselves.
"Hold on, hold on!" Liz projected, raising her hands to calm them down. "Let's go around the room and vote. Lenny, you first."
"I vote Enchantment Under the Sea," said the nerdy Lenny confidently. "It's big, it's bold and it's straight from Back to the Future - one of my favorite movies, I might add."
From there, Liz continued to go around the room, calling out random student names to give their pick, some of them choosing the movie-focused themes while others chose to represent the eighties. The pressure was on as Peter fought to choose what suited him best. Scanning the room, he tried to imagine each theme and what the decorations would look like for each - especially Enchantment Under the Sea. Thinking about it, though, he knew he loved classic movies like Back to the Future and The Wizard of Oz as much as the next guy, though something about the school representing an entire decade struck his fancy like nothing else did - except Gwen. Given that he was born the decade after the eighties ended - nineteen ninety-five to be exact - the prospect of the entire school being warped back to the eighties seemed appealing to him. When the time came for Liz to call on him, he had certainly made his decision.
"Alright then, Petey, what's your vote?" Liz asked anticipatedly.
"I vote for the 80s Retro Vibe if no one else will!" he shouted enthusiastically.
"We already have plenty of votes in your favor," Liz noted before turning to Gwen. "And you, Gwen?"
Gwen looked down, appearing rather puzzled as if searching for the best answer on a test. Seeing this, Peter reached out and touched her hand, leaning into her ear.
"Don't worry, you can copy my answer this time," Peter whispered.
Gwen turned to face Liz once more. "I guess I'll go ahead with 80s Retro Vibe," she ultimately chose.
Liz took note of this on her piece of notebook paper, tallying everyone's votes for a grand total that was obvious to everyone. "I guess it's all set; we'll do 80s Retro Vibe!"
The majority of students that voted for the eighties applauded while others seemed to get discouraged that their vote didn't win.
"Now then, since we have our theme chosen, it's about time we put together the banners with appropriate designs on them. Here, divide yourselves into groups of your choice, take these huge poster papers, and spread them out all over the gym to color on," Liz announced. "I can't wait to see what you have in store for me!"
The students hopped up from their spots and walked down in groups toward Liz's table to grab a piece of poster board and their markers of choice. Aside from choosing the brighter colors for neon vibes, Peter and Gwen were each other's obvious picks for poster partners.
They set up shop in the corner of the gym nearest to the drinking fountain in case they, themselves, got thirsty while working.
"I don't know about you with neon colors and everything," Gwen commented. "You sure you won't go overboard like you did drawing me in art class?"
"That was just the background! I'm sure I can make this look reasonably flashy enough to get someone's attention," Peter promised. That moment he drew an overly flashy background for a portrait of Gwen was a moment she never seemed to let him live down.
"Well, in that case, let's start with the essential words first."
The two spent their time spelling out the word "homecoming" in big, bold letters alternating between lime green, light pink, lemon yellow, and sky blue to give off a colorful eighties vibe. From then on they wrote the words "80s Retro Dance" in smaller, all pink words so that it wouldn't clash too much with the multi-colored headline. The poster was looking like a neon rainbow before they knew it.
"Perfect!" Gwen complimented. "Looks fun!"
"Thanks!" said Peter.
"We still have to add some pictures to make it stand out."
"How about a disco ball or something?"
"I like your style! Let's go with it!"
Honing in on his art skills he picked up from his required sophomore year art class, Peter drew his best sketch of a disco ball dangling from the top of the poster, the ball itself just hanging by a thread.
"Wow, that's really good," complimented Gwen once more.
"Thanks! One thing's for sure, my art skills do come in handy!" Peter boasted.
"Certainly," Gwen agreed, holding forth a neon orange marker. "What do you say we use neon orange to draw a tiger? You know, to represent the Midtown Tigers?"
Peter scratched his chin, thinking of her proposition. "You know, I'm not exactly sure I do well drawing a tiger face without a reference," he declined. "What do you say we practice on each other's faces first?"
Gwen thought about his proposition for a moment. "Perhaps… If it gives you good practice, then yes!"
Excited, Peter pulled up a picture of a tiger face on his phone and used it as a reference to draw a similar pattern on Gwen's face. She giggled as he drew on her, claiming that the feeling of a marker on her face was rather ticklish and reminiscent of when she used to draw on herself as a kid. She couldn't stop laughing or smiling until he was ultimately finished coloring a tiger's facial structure on her pretty human face. Like an artist viewing his work, Peter morphed his fingers into a rectangle formation to view his priceless work on Gwen's face much to her amusement.
"I'd say that looks great!" Peter boasted. "Now do me!"
"Okay!" she said, grabbing the black marker. Unlike him, she just drew black stripes on his face.
"Really, that's it?" Peter asked, bemused.
"I'm no artist like you so I guess it'll have to do."
The two stared at each other for a moment before breaking out into laughter. Despite their previous tension, they still very much enjoyed each other's company. Before either of them could resume usual business, they heard the thudding of crutches nearby as Liz cleared her throat.
"What is this?" Liz demanded sternly.
"This?" Peter denied meekly. "Oh, we were just… Practicing, yes, practicing our tiger designs on the other's face… You know, for reference!"
Liz lowered her head in annoyance, unable to facepalm due to holding her crutches. "Look, I brought you both onto this committee to be my extra hands, not goof off by drawing on each other," she stated, annoyed. "We need homecoming to be absolutely perfect this year! If you can't keep your hands to yourself, either ditch the markers or use them properly."
Peter and Gwen opened their mouths to speak in an effort to defend their actions, but neither allowed their words to pass for fear of upsetting Liz more. "Yes, Liz. Sorry, Liz," they both said simultaneously.
"Good because right now, I'm really in no condition to be an ass to someone. Better keep working if you don't wanna get on my bad side," she said, hopping away.
Peter and Gwen lowered their heads in shame. Both were a little ashamed for wasting time, but at least Peter found an excuse to have fun with Gwen like he wanted. He turned to smile at her.
"Hey, at least, on the bright side, you look like a true Midtown Tiger!" Peter complimented.
"Thanks, Pete," she said, flattered. "You're right, this is loads of fun! I might have to keep coming here with you!"
Peter smiled. This was all he needed to hear - reassurance that he and Gwen were okay. If he could stay on the nice side of both Gwen and Liz while spending time with the former and working hard for the latter, hopefully this would be the perfect homecoming for everyone.
Not the sharpest cliffhanger, but still hopeful nonetheless. This has been my longest chapter yet actually! I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!