The phone rang in the middle of the night, interrupting a dark and dreamless sleep. "Hello?" I somehow managed to groan. A female's cry was brought forth in response. I shot up. "Gwen, are you alright? Is your head hurting?" Has Jessica Drew kidnapped you? I added in my head. The woman sniffled. "N-N-no it's actually Mary Jane." She whimpered. My heart returned to normal. "MJ, why are you crying? Also why are you calling me in the middle of the night?" She paused and caught her breath. "It's Harry, Peter. They found him in an alley; he's d-d-dead!" She wailed. Everything seemed to slow. I could picture Harry as he had been in high school, eyes mischievous and healthy. And then I saw him as he had been the other day, a man lost in his own desperation.
"What happened?" I finally choked out. "He overdosed." Mary Jane whispered. "His letter, his suicide letter said he needed to get away from the red headed sorceress, and this was the only way!" My blood ran cold. I saw Harry, lips pulled over teeth in insanity as he chortled about Mary Jane. "It's my fault too." I said flatly, guilt threatening to drown me. "I should have been a better friend." Mary Jane said sympathetic words, but I wasn't listening. Not now. I was at fault here; Harry had blamed all of his problems on Spider-man, who couldn't even save his best friend from dying.
I don't know when Mary Jane and I hung up the phone, but when Gwen came over at ten in the morning I was in the same position. "Peter!" She rushed to me, perfume trailing behind. Despite her black eye, she still shone with worry. "What happened?" She grabbed my icy hands in her small ones. "Harry." I rasped with a hoarse voice. She furrowed her light brow. "What about him? Is he okay?" I just shook my head. She sat down on my lap, staring deep into my eyes. Her own blue eyes twinkled with unknown depths.
"Peter Parker." She whispered as she ran her free hand through my tangled hair. "I don't know what's happening yet, but it's obvious you feel responsible so listen up. You're a good man and a good friend and whatever happened to Harry Osborn is not at all your fault. Hear me? It's not your fault." I blinked, breathing slowly. "It's not what happened in the past Gwen, it's what never happened. We never got to reconnect; I never got to see him put his life back together."
Gwen slowly opened and closed her mouth. "You mean…." I nodded dully. "Harry Osborn was found dead in an alley early this morning." She looked away in shock. "I dated him." She wondered. "I dated him and broke up with him." I nodded. "It was a part of life Gwen; your breakup didn't kill him." She frowned. "It sure as hell didn't help him find a reason to live though." Tears began to float down towards her throat, drifting down her pale cheeks in translucent waves. I pulled her tight, breathing her in. "Why do so many people die?" She asked; voice muffled from my chest. "It happens, everyone dies eventually Gwen. At one point everyone will leave us. But it is rough." I let my voice trail away.
"Don't ever let me go Peter." She asked eyes puffy. "Please, don't ever, ever let me go." I just held her tighter. "Not in a million years Gwen, you and I will be together forever, I swear."