Disclaimer: It's nice to see this story is making some headway in the reviews department. Can we call it that? Anyway, here's the next chapter of the story; hope you like it.

I don't own the rights to Spider-Man or any supporting characters as they are the property of Marvel Comics.

Also, it's become a custom of mine to dedicate said chapters to certain people who have passed away. The most recent was "Eddie Valiant" himself, Bob Hoskins at age 71 and I offer my condolences to his family. Rest in Peace, Mr. Hoskins.

Chapter V

In a local Starbucks in Midtown Manhattan across from Empire State University, Gwen Stacy waited for Peter to arrive. She looked at the wrist watch with the face of the device under the wrist as opposed to over it, checking the time. 5:15; where in the world was Peter? Gwen wasn't sure if she should be surprised or annoyed with her boyfriend's apparent lack of commitment. She often tried to write it off as Peter being somewhat irresponsible, which was a stretch since Peter took the relationship pretty seriously. This was more so when Gwen father, Police Captain George Stacy, was killed by Doctor Octopus. Gwen blamed Spider-Man for not being able to save her father, but she loved Peter for being there for her when she needed him most. The problem was that she had no idea that Peter Parker actually was Spider-Man. But he loved her all the same.

Gwen returned Peter's kindness during that time when Peter was having those strange and unexpected anger issues. She had no idea that at the time of the issues, Peter was under the influence of an alien symbiote. Even worse was the alien merged with Eddie Brock to become Venom, who targeted Gwen specifically for reasons Gwen could fathom at the time. Spider-Man eventually save her and beat Venom, but that didn't earn the web slinger any praise from Gwen. Even before her dad died, Gwen was somewhat skeptical of Spider-Man, but not of Peter. She just wished that he a little more attentive with her once in a while.

Liz Allen approached Gwen at her table with a cup of herbal tea and set it down in front of her. "There you go, Gwen." she said.

"Thanks, Liz." Gwen replied with a slight smile when she looked up at the flat screen TV on the wall.

"It was a another stunning scene in Uptown Manhattan today as the super villain Shocker attempted to kill industrial magnate Norman Osborn during the reopening of OsCorp Industries. Although Spider-Man was able to prevent the attack, Shocker escaped and no arrests have been made. I'm Whitney Chang and we'll have more on this story as it develops."

"God, that Spider-Man is hot." Liz swooned right in front of a somewhat disgusted Gwen.

"You're strange, Liz." Gwen said.

Liz shrugged before she asked in all seriousness, "So what's up with you and Peter? You two still dating?"

"More or less, but he's been a little bit less attentive lately. I guess I could probably understand, what with school and his job," Gwen explained to Liz as she took a seat. "Plus, there's our internship at ESU, working for Dr. Warren. That's about the only time we've interacted lately."

"I see. Listen, if it's not working out between you two, well, I'd be happy to take Peter off your hands." Liz said.

"Liz!"

Liz quickly threw her hands up in defense and replied, "I'm just saying. Besides, I always thought Peter was cute."

Gwen was a hair away from telling Liz off when they heard a light tapping on the window outside of the store. Peter was standing right there, waving at Gwen and Liz. Gwen gave him a stark rolling of her eyes while Liz waved back at Peter. She also winked at him before she returned to her duties. Peter walked away from the window, headed straight for the front door of the Starbucks and entered. Gwen continued to be coy and somewhat dismissive as Peter reached the table she occupied and sat down where Liz was sitting earlier.

"Hey, I'm so sorry I'm late, Gwen. I got hung up with work for the Bugle covering the OsCorp reopening." he explained to Gwen, although she didn't appear to be buying it.

"You're 15 minutes late," Gwen stated before she glanced at her watch. "Make that 16."

"It was… it was that long?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Gwen said, and Peter practically dropped his forehead onto the table. Seeing Peter's distressed face at the very least made Gwen chuckle while she also lowered her face to meet his own. "You make it so damn hard to be mad at you, Mr. Parker. It no wonder why I love you."

"So does this mean I'm off the hook?" Peter asked.

"Not by a long shot," Gwen replied and stood up straight, brushing her hand through her shining blonde hair. "So I think I'm due a nice, quiet walk across the ESU campus; as a punishment for almost standing me up. Is that acceptable to you, Mr. Parker?"

Peter had to admit; Gwen was good, really good and pulling his strings. Maybe she was secretly a web slinger in her own right. A Spider-Girl? Without replying, Peter stood straight to face the love of his life. He put his arm out and Gwen took it in her arm and they started on their way out of the Starbucks. As they were leaving, Peter's attention was drawn by Liz behind the counter. She was waving and winking at him like a lovelorn stalker, just much pretty. Liz even blew an invisible kiss to Peter, and he chuckled as Gwen dragged out the door. Before Gwen left, she stuck her tongue out at Liz. In response, Liz wrapped her arms around her own shoulders and pretended to make out with her own invisible boyfriend. She also produced another, much more obscene gesture with her tongue pushing into her cheek, and Gwen answered back with a quick flick of her middle finger as she left the shop.

"Police have yet to determine the motive behind the apparent assassination attempt on Norman Osborn by Herman Shultz AKA Shocker, and Spider-Man is being sought for questioning at this time. There is speculation that the attempt on Mr. Osborn's life was orchestrated by Silvio Manfredi, known publicly and by the NYPD as the crime boss Silvermane. Further speculation is that the hit was the brainchild of the mysterious Kingpin of Crime, whose identity has yet to be discovered. As of now, Shocker remains at large."

Wilson Fisk expected as much from watching and listening to the news reports, and he didn't have to turn around once he heard Shocker's footsteps approaching. "You blew it, Shocker." he stated with marked annoyance.

"I blew it?! You blew it first, Kingpin," Shocker said as he stormed into Kingpin secret hideout on the Upper-East side of Manhattan. "You didn't think or even bother to warn me that Spider-Man would stick his webs in my business."

"You're a damn professional, Shocker. You should've seen Spider-Man's interference coming from the second you revealed yourself," Wilson argued. "Now because of you failure, Osborn's going to be on his guard."

Kingpin was right and wrong about Shocker; right that Shocker was a professional and damn good at his job, and wrong that he was a failure. In his mind, Kingpin owned for his efforts. He was owned a significant amount of cash to do the job. But quite frankly, Shocker was also very sick and tired of putting his ass on the line for Kingpin or Silvermane or any other crime boss in Manhattan and not getting his due. The time was right now that he started getting some answers.

"Why the hell do you want Osborn dead, anyway? What's he got on you?" he asked.

"That's none of you business."

"Hey, I took the shot at Osborn for half of what you owe me. So if you want me to take another shot at him, you'd better come clean with me and tell me what he's got on you." Shocker demanded.

Kingpin stared Shocker down, and Shocker didn't flinch one bit. They both gauged the other's strengths. Shocker's gauntlets were powerful enough to send Kingpin flying, or rolling across the room they occupied. Kingpin was physically strong enough to grab Shocker and crush every last bone in his body without breaking a sweat. Shocker was physically weaker than Kingpin, but Kingpin was in turn physically slower than Shocker. If they came to blows here and now, it would likely be a battle of attrition. Either way, Shocker didn't back up from Kingpin, who simply smirked at the professional criminal once he called his bluff.

"Since you asked so nicely, Osborn knows about my underworld activities. But he won't dare expose me without incriminating himself," Kingpin explained to Shocker. "So while he may or may not have something on me, I'm very sure that I have something on him."

Shocker folded his arms across his chest, appearing only mildly interested in what Kingpin was telling him. "So what exactly do you have on him?"

"You've heard of the Green Goblin, right?" Kingpin said.

With a nod, Shocker responded, "Yeah, what about him?"

"I have reason to believe that Norman Osborn hired the Green Goblin to kill me and Manfredi and Li. Osborn even provided him with the tools to see it through. Owl was at least smart enough, or paranoid enough to leave the city before the Goblin got to him as well." Kingpin explained further.

"Let me see if I can shake this concept down; you're convince that Osborn hired the Green Goblin to take you and the other bosses out, and then he could take over as New York and only crime lord. That about right?" Shocker deduced.

"In the most basic of terms, that'd be accurate. But as I said before, Osborn is now going to be on his guard, so taking another shot at him wouldn't be all too prudent," Kingpin stated to Shocker. "So for now until I say otherwise, we'll leave him be."

"Fine, but when I eventually do take him out, just remember that you owe me for the hit. If even one dollar is missing from what I'm owed, you're going to be next on my hit list." Shocker coldly and brutally clarified before storming off and leaving Kingpin with much to think about.

As the afternoon fell on Empire State University and the warm air slowly adopted a slightly cooler and more comfortable feel, Peter and Gwen spent the better part of the day stroll the grounds. For a long time since they met up at Starbucks, away from Liz's teasing, not a word was shared between them. There really wasn't much to say at all; most of the time was spent with Peter and Gwen exchanging giddy, nervous smiles and quiet chuckling. Gwen was especially giddy and she showed by trying to hide it. Peter was always able to pinpoint it in ways that just made it harder for Gwen to hide it. After another five to ten minutes of silent amusement between the two of them, Peter finally decided to speak. No doubt Gwen was willing to listen.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

Gwen shook her head with a smile before she replied, "I was just reflecting; the first day we met, remember? It was about two years ago and we were still in Midtown High. I was dating Flash and you, well…"

"I know, I know, I was that shy, awkward bunching bag for Flash and his kliq," Peter recalled those earlier days like they were only yesterday. "But you were there to talk Flash down. You did kind of take pity on my worthless hide."

"I think I did more than take pity on you. I'll admit; I took a liking to you without even knowing it or saying anything. But then you changed in so many ways; you dropped the glasses, you stood up to Flash and move into that apartment with Harry…" Gwen stalled on her words, not sure of what else to say. "And all of that came after… I'm sorry, Peter. I understand if you don't want to talk about your Uncle Ben."

"It's okay, Gwen. It does kind of get easier to talk about it. It has been two years since then." Peter stated, though the memory of that night was still deep in his mind. Having Gwen around made it easier.

Gwen smiled at Peter's resolve before said, "That's good to hear. Speaking of which, there was a little something I wanted to discuss with you. Figured, I might as well get it out before the sun goes down."

"By all means…" Peter invited Gwen.

Gwen was certainly relieved that Peter was willing to listen to what she had to tell him. When she received the message from last week, she wasn't sure how he would actually respond. In fact, Gwen hadn't told anyone about it outside of Mary Jane. She couldn't exactly tell Liz, who was notorious for being a proverbial blabbermouth. At least Mary Jane was capable of keeping a secret. Gwen still wasn't sure how Peter would exactly react. Would he be as jovial, good-natured and understanding as he'd always been with her. Or would he be upset and confused, even angry with her? It happened once before. Gwen decided to take that chance.

"Well, I got a webcast video from my mom in London asking me to come live with her and to study at Oxford. I was kind reluctant to say anything other than I'd think about it. I wanted to talk it over with you."

Peter was at loss for words when Gwen explained what she had to explain to him. "Wow!"

Gwen looked at Peter's stunned and silent face. "Wow?! That's all you can say? Just wow?"

"I'm sorry, Gwen; I'm just surprised that you bringing this up to me now. It's shocking, really," Peter said while he also thought, God, did I just say that? Then he asked Gwen, "Are you thinking about actually going to London?"

Gwen had a conflicted look on her face that Peter read as easily as book he'd read and she replied, "I don't know; I'm turn to be honest. On the one hand, going to Oxford is a huge opportunity for me. But on the other hand, it means I'd have to leave behind everything and everyone I love here in New York."

"Yeah, that's kind of a tough pill to swallow." Peter agreed.

"Yeah, and that's why I wanted to talk to you about it now," Gwen explained to Peter. "See, if I do actually decide to take this chance, it's a one way trip. I'd be a little more hopeful if you came with me."

As if Peter wasn't taken aback enough by Gwen's announcement of possibly moving to London, now she was asking him to go with her. Peter couldn't remember being anymore conflicted than now, even after all the super villains he'd battle over the years. He wasn't sure what to say to Gwen; leave with her to London or stay in New York. He could go with Gwen, but that would mean he'd have risked the city's safety if Spider-Man wasn't around. Conversely, staying in New York meant Peter would lose the one person he'd ever truly loved since Uncle Ben died. So yes; Peter was wrestling with the incessant conflict of not having it both ways. Either he'd stay with Gwen or he'd lose her. Peter wasn't sure what to do.

Peter spent the longest time in his life in a mere couple of moments of looking into Gwen's eyes. They were the very same eyes he'd fallen so hard for from day; bright and beautiful and full of life. They were with him after the loss of Uncle Ben and beyond that. Peter really couldn't imagine his life with Gwen being a part of it. But then there were his responsibilities as Spider-Man, the same responsibilities that he vowed never to abandon. Gwen didn't know that Peter Parker was Spider-Man, and she blamed Spider-Man for her own father's death. If she ever found out, what then? Peter was conflicted beyond words.

"Peter," Gwen said and brought Peter out of his trance. "I need an answer. If I ever decide to leave, would you come with me?"

Peter was still speechless, stammering on whatever response he tried to muster. "I… don't have an answer."

Gwen seemed to see through Peter as if she had x-ray vision. "It's about Spider-Man, isn't it," she asked, and when Peter failed to reply, Gwen continued, "Peter, you and I both know that you can't rely on getting photos of Spider-Man, and I know you want to be stuck doing the Bugle job forever."

"Yeah, but…"

"Let me finish. You know I've never forgiven Spider-Man for his role in my dad's death, and getting as far away from that memory is one of the reasons I considering moving to London at all. But I also feel like my life would be empty without you in it," Gwen explained to Peter and cupped her hand to his left cheek. "So I need to know if you're willing to come with me."

Peter still hadn't the slightest idea of how to respond to Gwen. He told her, "I'm sorry, Gwen. I'm torn; I just don't have an answer for you. I need time to think about this. I mean, really, think about it."

Gwen expected as much from Peter's response. She sighed to him, "I don't want to go without you, Peter. But I will if I have to, so don't take too long thinking it."

Gwen leaned forward and gave Peter a light kiss on the lips, maybe as incentive for him to give it all some serious thought. Then Gwen started on her way out the ESU campus, leaving Peter alone to collect his thoughts and process the calamity in his mind. Again, he was conflict and confused as to what to do next. Go with Gwen to London or stay in New York and lose her possibly forever? Peter also had this vague feeling in the pit of his stomach that Gwen, on a subconscious level, knew his biggest secret. Peter was starting to consider telling Gwen that he was also the same man she blamed for her father's death.

The conflict there was this; if Peter told Gwen that he was Spider-Man, that knowledge would've put her in harm's way. So far, only Eddie Brock knew that Peter was Spider-Man. And Eddie was locked up in Riker's Island. Peter could've hung up the costume to go to London with Gwen, but that would leave New York defenseless if Spider-Man was gone. Granted, there were other heroes in the world like the Avengers and the Fantastic Four to take up the reins, but they traveled the world and once in a while, even into space.

Spider-Man didn't exactly have the luxury of traveling across space and time unless he was dealing with Madame Web or Doctor Strange. But he never would've wanted it; he was New York's resident superhero and that was how it should've been. The news of Gwen possibly leaving for London left Peter in a state of confusion. He didn't want to lose Gwen, but he didn't want to abandon his responsibilities either. And that meant that sooner or later, Peter would have to make a decision. It was just a matter of making the right one.

Author's Note: I was expecting to get this chapter done sooner but lo and behold; distractions. Anyway, the primary focus of this chapter is the all important interaction between Peter and Gwen Stacy, with a semi-humorous cameo from Liz Allen. She even makes a certain suggestive gesture.

Kingpin and Shocker are apparently in cahoots (Who still uses that word?) regarding Norman Osborn and the Green Goblin, which clarifies that they don't know that Osborn actually is the Goblin.

Peter and Gwen's relationship seems rather troubled by Gwen's distrust of Spider-Man, not knowing that Peter is Spider-Man. This is coupled by the possibility that she could be leaving for London. Poor Peter is conflicted as to whether he should go with Gwen, or stay in New York. What's a Spider-Man to do?

That said, be sure to review while I work out the next chapter. Catch you later.

IN MEMORY OF
BOB HOSKINS
1942-2014