Hi Guys!

Wow-78 reviews! That's, like, crazy! Thank you!

My little brother started his own Spider-Man fic, and right now it's posted under my account. It would be awesome if ya'll could check it out and leave him a little review! His own account will be up soon and when it is I'll give you the link. The fanfic is titled, "Spider Man: The Novel". Like I said, if you could check it out and maybe leave a review, that would be awesome! It's really good. :-)

Thank you! Hey, I'm loving the mixed MJ/Gwen opinions. So, whose side are you on? ;)

-Homey :D

Disclaimer: Spider Man does NOT belong to me. Obviously.

©HomeschoolGirl 2012, or at least this actual post is. The characters, not so much. But anyway, please don't use this as your own. Thanks!

Monday morning, Gwen found herself shuffling along the hallways of Midtown High along with the rest of her bleary-eyed classmates. Everyone was strangely sober; there were no juvenile pranks, jesting or scornful looks. The jocks were meek, reserved, seeing as most of them had dated Liz, if not all. Flash especially was distraught. Gwen had seen him at Liz's funeral, but he looked worse now than he had then.

"Are you okay?" Mary Jane asked him at one point, gently laying her hand on his arm as they passed one another in the hall. Gwen watched from under her bangs. For a moment, Flash's hands trembled, and then he sighed.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me, Flash."

He shook Mary Jane off. "God. Leave me the hell alone, would you?"

"Okay."

The girls continued to their sixth-period history class, exchanging looks.

"This is intense," Gwen noted as they took their seats. She couldn't help notice the one, glaringly empty desk up in the front of the room. For a moment, her breath caught, and she checked her phone. Let there be a text. Let there be a text. Let there be a next.

Nothing.

Gwen raised her hand, speaking before the teacher called her. "I don't feel well."

Mrs. Stride raised her dark eyebrows. "This wouldn't have anything to do with the absence of your friend, would it?"

Gwen didn't reply.

She sighed. "Look, kids. It's a tragedy. I agree. But we have an in-school counselor for matters such as these, and she's here 'till six. So please, if you all would open your books to page forty-two and focus, then you'll be free to go."

Mary Jane glared unashamedly at Mrs. Stride. The teacher flinched, but dismissed her with a shake of her head and turned back to the blackboard.

Gwen tried her hardest to follow the timeline George Washington's heroisms during the Revolutionary War, but she couldn't focus. Her tears were beginning to blur the words, and she was afraid that any moment she'd burst into tears.

"Um…excuse me? Mrs. Stride?"

Gwen raised her head at the sound of the familiar voice. Peter leaned against the doorway, shooting Gwen a brief, strained smile.

"Yes, Mr. Parker?"

He held up a yellow slip of paper. "Mr. Hubert wanted me to get Gwen from class and bring her to his classroom immediately. Something about a late project?"

Mrs. Stride eyed Gwen. "Do you know anything about this?"

She didn't, not at all. But she had her opportunity, and she was going to seize it. "Oh! Yes!" She widened her eyes for good measure. "I completely forgot to turn my assignment in during class today. I have it right here." She patted her bag.

Mrs. Stride sighed. "Very well. You may go. I expect you back in five minutes."

"Absolutely." She heaved her bag up over her shoulder. "This'll just take a sec…"

She followed Peter from the classroom, groaning with relief once they were out of earshot. "Hey—I don't have any assignment to turn in, so…"

He turned around, grinning. "I know."

She eyed him suspiciously. "Then what…?"

He held up the paper. "It's a fake. I figured today might be hard so I thought maybe we could ditch last period together."

Gwen grinned. "But that's advanced science."

"They can't cover too much in a forty-five minute period that we won't be able to catch up with."

"Actually, they probably can."

"Right." He peeked around the corner into the main hallway and grinned at Gwen. "We're in the clear."

They started forward, perhaps with a bit too much confidence, because a teacher came out of the office at that exact moment. One minute Gwen was standing in the center of the hallway, and the next she was out the door.

She looked at Peter. "How…did…"

He shrugged modestly. "I'm fast."

"Did you carry me?"

He shook his head slightly. "Uh…no."

She took a deep breath. "My craziness is official. Pardon me while I go buy a straightjacket from eBay."

He laughed, pulling her close to him by her wrist. "You're not crazy."

She eyed him meaningfully. "Want to go back to my house?"

Promptly, he turned and pulled her toward the car. Gwen took that as a yes.

Two hours later they were piled on top of one another in the couch, watching television. What Peter had originally hoped to be a kissing session had quickly turned into a sobbing fest. Gwen felt sorry, but Liz…

Just now, she turned and buried her head in his chest, sniffling. "I'm sorry. Sorry. Really, really sorry."

"Gwen, I don't care-"

"Yes you do." She raised her tear-streaked face. "You thought that…"

He touched her cheek. "I didn't think anything."

"Do you miss her?" She swallowed. "I do."

"I didn't know her, but yeah, she seemed like a nice girl."

Gwen snuggled deeper into his embrace, tracing the pattern of the couch with her finger. "She thought you were cute."

"But?"

Gwen looked up. "But what?"

"But…" He prompted.

She grinned. "But a bit of a nerd."

"Ah. There it is."

"Yeah." She turned her face to the television. "Do you think it's going to be like this forever? That I'll miss her? I don't understand why…people…are…dying."

"Because our police force here sucks and-" He stopped when he noticed Gwen looking at him. "Oh. Sorry."

"It's Spider Man's fault," she said in a decisive tone. "He saved countless other people but the one night Liz needed him he wasn't there."

"One man can't do everything."

Gwen laughed, sitting up. "Believe me, I know. But he should have."

When she looked back at Peter, his eyes were a bit misty.

He met her gaze and said with a sad smile, "Yeah. He should have."