Chapter 19

*School bell ringing*

"Huh?" Liz looked at Gwen quizzically.

"You don't have to answer that," Gwen replied, trying her best to come off as nonchalant as possible. "It was just a random question,"

Liz closed her locker doors & flashed her a playful little smirk. "God, you trip up one random pickpocket, and now she's all-,"

Gwen loudly slammed her own locker doors shut to drown out Liz's words. "Shut up!" Gwen hissed, her face turning beet red with embarrassment. "This isn't about that,"

Liz made a comical show of rolling her eyes exaggeratedly & smirking in disbelief at Gwen's words.

"Besides, I thought we agreed we won't be talking about that incident, ever?" Gwen said, forcing a smile on her face.

"Fine," Liz scoffed playfully, before walking with Gwen to the cafeteria. "Soo, do I still have to answer the question?"

"Uhh, suuuureee… I mean if you want to," Gwen smiled awkwardly at her best friend.

Liz lets out a heavy sigh, before looking up in thought. "Well, become a hero? Maybe?" Liz shrugged her shoulders. "Go & help people out, beat up villains, those kinds of things? I mean, if you can, why not right?"

Gwen nodded thoughtfully. "Well, yes, but that can't be right, can it?"

"Woww, imagine asking someone for their opinion, just to tell them they're wrong," Liz rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on, that's not what I meant,"

Liz smirked playfully, before turning back to her friend. "Why not though? It's kind of like being a cop, isn't it? If you're a cop, you have gotta uphold the law & what not,"

"Yeah, but that's different," Gwen argued back. "You become a cop, 'because' you want to help people, not the other way around,"

"I don't get it, what's the difference?"

Gwen took a moment to think before turning back to her friend. "Well, its like, if you want to help people, then you try & become a cop. It's not like, if you can become a cop, then you have to help people, right?" Gwen explained her reasoning. "It's like being a runner. What you're saying is more like, if you can run fast, then you have to become a runner,"

Liz nodded thoughtfully. "Ok, I see what you're saying," Liz said. "But still, if I can run fast, why wouldn't I become a runner? I get what you're saying, and yes, you don't have to, but if you had the opportunity, why not?" Liz pointed out.

Gwen remained silent for a few moments, contemplating Liz's opinion. "Yeah, no, that makes sense," Gwen conceded.

"Besides, why are you taking this so seriously? Did you suddenly develop your latent mutant powers overnight or something?" Liz joked dismissively.

"N-nah, I was just curious you know,"

As they continued their conversation, they passed by one of the classrooms and Gwen sees Peter leaning over Ned who was still seated in front of his laptop, deep in discussion.

Liz looked over her shoulder to see what Gwen was looking at, only to see the two boys in the classroom.

"Figures," Liz scoffed jokingly, before turning to enter the classroom.

"H-hey!" Gwen quickly tried to stop her, unsuccessfully, as Liz makes her way to them.

"Hey guys," Liz smiled innocently. "Not going for lunch?"

Gwen sees Peter quickly pocketing something that looked like a USB drive, before he turned to them & gave them his trademark awkward smile.

"Uhm, yeah, no. We uhh, got the message. Harry told us earlier," Peter said quickly, slightly put off by their sudden appearance. "We'll go there after this,"

Liz nodded along as she eyes Peter suspiciously. "So, what is, 'this'?"

Ned shrugged his shoulders casually. "I don't know. Peter said something about cracking an enc-,"

"ENTERTAINMENT!" Peter yelled out quickly, slightly panicking. "Cracking entertainment! Funny youtube videos! That's all!"

Liz opened her mouth as if to form a reply, but eventually thought better of it. "Right," Liz said, more to herself than anyone else. "We're heading over there, right now. Wanna come with?"

Before Peter could say anything, Ned immediately got up & answered Liz. "YES PLEASE!" he replied excitedly, before turning back towards Peter. "Sorry man, I'm starving. Let's talk about it more after lunch?" he looked at Peter apologetically.

Peter just smiled back warmly at Ned. "Yeah, why not. I'm getting kinda hungry too," Peter assured him warmly.

As the boys packed their bags & eventually left the classroom with the pair, Liz eventually turned towards Peter. "So… how're you feeling?" she asked Peter.

"Huh?" Peter blinked back in confusion momentarily. "Ohh… yeah, no, I'm fine," Peter smiled back. "I wasn't actually involved, you know. I was still in class when it happened," Peter continued, before sneaking a glance towards Gwen.

Gwen pretended to not notice Peter's glance, and focused on her shoes instead.

"I thought you said you were in the library?" Ned asked innocently.

"Hmm?" Peter turned towards Ned casually, before he suddenly started stammering momentarily. "O-oh yeah! I was. I meant, I was dropping by the classroom, because… I had left my pen!" Peter explained hurriedly.

Liz eyed Peter suspiciously, before letting out a soft sigh. "Still, I wonder what that was all about?"

"I know right? Imagine having seen Spider-Man fight an 'actual Monster' in the flesh!" Ned beamed excitedly. "You guys got so lucky!"

Liz furrowed her eyebrows before turning towards Ned. "Lucky, that no one got hurt? Right?" she questioned sternly.

"Uhh, y-yeah, o-of course! Lucky that you're not hurt," Ned smiled sheepishly.

Liz eyed Ned cynically, before turning towards Gwen. "Have you heard anything from your uncle?" she asked Gwen.

Gwen shook her head. "No. Apparently after that day he called my dad, he asked for his help to go into the lab to take some of his research papers," Gwen paused for a moment, herself trying to make sense of what little information they have right now. "Told my dad, there was some guys, after his research, and then just straight up disappears,"

Gwen kept her suspicions and what she had read in the labs to herself. 'I don't actually have enough information & evidence to assume anything just yet' Gwen thought to herself, frowning silently. 'But… if Uncle Miles is actually…'

As Gwen looked up from her monologue, she realised Peter was eyeing her intensely, a look of determination flashed across his face. As they realised their eyes met for a few moments, both of them instantly looked away & pretended to look at their surroundings, with Gwen feeling a slight blush rising to her cheeks.

Liz, having watched the pair, smiled, emotions flashed briefly across her face, to herself, before locking arms with Ned and dragging him ahead of the pair.

"Soo, any ideas what MJ wants to talk to us about?" she asked Ned.

"H-huh?" Ned furrowed his brows, slightly flustered by Liz's sudden initiative. "I-I'm not really sure…"

"Hmm, let's guess then," Liz smiled warmly at Ned, before walking further forward, leaving the pair of them behind.

"H-hey!" Gwen called out to Liz, belatedly, but she was too far ahead (or she's ignoring me. Dammit Allan!). Gwen turned towards Peter, who was now looking as flustered as she was.

"H-hey," Gwen fidgeted nervously. "We should go after them," Gwen said, smiling weakly before turning away from Peter.

"Y-yeah! Right," Peter nodded along before falling into step with Gwen. As they proceeded towards the cafeteria, Peter shot a few glances towards Gwen. "So… Uhm, how're you feeling?" he asked carefully.

Gwen sighed softly, her sense of guilt & self-doubt causing her to hesitate for a few moments. "I-I'm fine. I just had some headache over the weekend," Gwen smiled weakly towards Peter. "All good now though,"

"I see. Great, great," Peter nodded, pursing his lips as he considers his next conversation options.

"Thanks, by the way," Gwen continued. "My dad told me what happened on the night,"

Peter face visibly flushed red, Gwen being oblivious with her attention occupied towards keeping her own emotions in check. "I… I-it's nothing," Peter smiled sheepishly. "He did most of the work anyway. I was, uh, just there, you know, doing nothing,"

Gwen lets out a small chuckle, before turning towards him & seeing his goofy smile staring back at her. Gwen quickly turned away & increased her pace slightly to hide her face from Peter.

"Still, thanks,"

"Finally. Took you two long enough," Liz remarked teasingly.

Gwen pursed her lips & forced a smile towards Liz, while flashing her the middle finger, discreetly, away from the boy's view. "Not everyone's as excited as you to eat Cafeteria food," Gwen fired back.

"Oh wow, your loss then," Liz said, feigning innocence. "Soggy fries & cheap canned corn, can't imagine anything better than those,"

Gwen smiled back innocently before sitting down & resting her head on her hands, partially covering her mouth.

'I hate you,' Gwen mouthed discreetly, while glaring furiously at her best friend.

'You're welcome,' Liz mouthed back discreetly, beaming teasingly, while giving her a knowing wink.

Gwen intensified her glare, getting more & more annoyed & Liz's innocent smile.

Liz then suddenly turned towards Peter. "So, did Gwen ask you about her new project?"

"Huh?"

"N-no?" Gwen & Peter both looked towards Liz in mild confusion.

"What would you do if you ha-,"

"AHH!" Gwen quickly stood up & reached across the table to shut Liz's mouth. "Ahaha, that one?! You can ignore that one!"

Liz smiled teasingly towards Gwen, clearly enjoying the distraught she's causing her friend. "Are you sure? You kept wanting me to answer that earlier today though?"

Gwen gritted her teeth, whilst trying to maintain her smile to avoid suspicion from Peter & Ned. "No no no, forget about it, ahaha. I was just joking," she smiled forcefully.

Liz then feigned innocence & looked at her with her best puppy-dog eyes. "Really? So, you don't want Ned & Peter's opinion on this?"

Ned, being the ever-naïve boy that he is, immediately falls for Liz's ruse. "What are you guy's talking about? I wanna know as well," he asked excitedly.

Gwen looked over hesitantly at Ned, her mind going into overdrive to find a way to get the conversation away from her question.

"I-if you don't want to talk about it with us, it's okay," Peter offered hesitantly, trying to feel out the situation without offending anyone. "I think we should respect people's privacy, no?" Peter smiled awkwardly.

"W-well, it's not that I don't wan-," Gwen hesitated for a moment.

"What would you do if you had to live without internet," Liz quickly sneaked in the question.

"Huh?" Gwen blinked in confusion at her now smug friend.

"O-oh, is that it?" Peter smiled hesitantly, still slightly unsure.

"Y-yeah! Ahaha!" Gwen hurriedly nodded along, after realising what had happened. "You know, the usual stuff, no internet, no phone, etc,"

"O-oh, ok," Peter nodded slowly.

"Well, if it was me," Ned stroked his chin comically, whilst thinking earnestly. "I guess I'd focus on finishing up my gaming collection,"

"Isn't that kinda cheating?" Peter joined Ned in considering their answer. "I mean, I know we can still play thing's like 'Midnight Suns' offline…,"

"Actually, it's what would you do if you had superpowers," Liz said quickly before Gwen could stop her.

"Uhh, ok?" Ned & Peter was slightly taken aback by the sudden change of question.

Gwen eyes widen in embarrassment as she looked in disbelief at her best friend.

"What? I think it's a good question," Liz shrugged her shoulders innocently.

Gwen's face immediately started turning red in embarrassment as she glared daggers at Liz. "Y-y-you!"

Peter immediately tried to diffuse the situation by putting his nose in. "S-so! Uhm, that's an interesting question, but we don't mind, right? Ahaha," Peter asked sheepishly.

"Yeah. I mean, I don't mind answering," Ned shrugged his shoulders. "I always think about what I'd do if I had superpowers," Ned assured them.

"See?" Liz smiled triumphantly.

Gwen fired another death glare towards Liz before turning towards the two boys. "I'm, uh… It's for a s-song that I'm writing…," Gwen said softly.

"O-oh, in that case…,"

"I'd definitely be a superhero!" Ned smiled smugly. "If anything, just getting to hang out with other heroes would be insanely cool,"

Gwen opened her mouth, before closing it back, & stopping to consider Ned's opinion. "You want to be a superhero, cause it's cool?"

"Well, when you put it like that," Ned shrugged his shoulders defensively. "I mean, of course I'm doing it to help people & all that, d-duh," Ned smiled sheepishly towards the others. "But, think about it, Ned & Xavier, kicking bad guys ass, all while seated in a chair. That'd be insane," Ned grinned to himself.

Peter chuckled to himself, grinning at his friend's fantasy. "Figures that even with superpowers, you'd still want to be the 'guy in the chair'," he asked amusingly.

"Yeah, definitely man. I'm all about being 'the guy in the chair'," Ned grinned confidently towards the other. "I could have, like cyber hacking powers, like talking to machines or something. Or maybe even like 'Psychic' powers like the 'X-Men'," Ned continued. "I mean, you might as well have fun in the process, right?"

While Ned was busy rambling about his fantasies & ideas, Peter noted the resigned smile slowly forming on Gwen's face.

"You ok Gwen?" Peter asked with a warm smile of his own. "Is your next song gonna be about superheroes?"

Gwen lets out a small chuckle at the suggestion. "Nah, probably not. Guess 'heroes' & 'fantasies' just isn't really my thing," Gwen replied confidently.

Liz, noting the pair's conversation, suddenly towards Peter. "Come on Parker. You haven't told us your answer yet,"

"H-haha, nah, I'm good," Peter quickly tried to avoid the question.

"Oh no, you're not weaselling your way out of this one," Liz insisted. "Come on, just tell us what you'd do,"

"Err, then I guess it's probably the same as Ned's-,"

"Boo, that's cheating," Liz quickly interjected before Peter could finish. "You've gotta do better than that, Parker,"

Peter hesitated for a moment, before letting out a small sigh of defeat under the curious stare of the remaining three.

"Powers huh…," Peter said softly, almost melancholically. "I guess I'd have used it for something stupid like to make money or something," Peter said with a soft chuckle, his face hidden under his bangs.

"Woww, Parker, didn't expect such a cynical viewpoint from you," Liz said calmly. "But sure, nothing wrong with a little pragmatism, right Gwen?"

Gwen who was still slightly taken aback by Peter's answer, nodded her head towards Liz. "Uh, y-yeah, sure,"

*School bell ringing*

With her earphones & hoodie on, Gwen casually contemplated her decision whilst waiting for the bus.

'I guess being a hero isn't for me after all. I wonder how Spider-Man's gonna take it…,' Gwen thought to herself. 'I guess I have to go meet him anyway,' Gwen continued with her thoughts now focused on the bracelet hidden underneath her sleeve.

Whilst she was thinking to herself, her attention turned to the pair of boys that were coming out of the school halls.

'That's rare,' Gwen mused to herself. The rounder of the two suddenly turned back into the halls, whilst the other continued his path towards the bus stop.

'Oh shit,' Gwen felt slightly flustered as she turned around to find anyone, she could've hidden behind at the unfortunately deserted bus stop.

'What is with my luck these days?!' Gwen berated her situation, before deciding to turn up the music volume, and cover her face with her hoodie, hoping this was enough to deter Peter from coming up to her.

Gwen bit her lips, hoping her plan would work. As the seconds tick inside her head, she eventually realized that no one came up to her.

'Did it work?' Gwen said, feeling slightly relieved, (if a bit disappointed) that Peter must've missed her.

As soon as she turned her bangs to peek at the direction of the halls, she was greeted with an awkward smile from the boy seated a few meters away from her.

"W-woah!"

"Wh-wha-," Peter whimpered out loud, as he was surprised by Gwen's reaction.

"P-Peter! H-hey!" Gwen smiled awkwardly, trying to regain her composure.

"H-hey, ahaha," Peter laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't want to disturb you, with, you know," Peter gestured towards the headphone now resting on her shoulders.

"O-oh? This? N-no, no, it's okay," Gwen laughed awkwardly, trying to downplay the situation. "W-why are you here?"

"Uhm… the bus?"

"R-right! Of course," Gwen nodded her head furiously. "J-just that, you know, it's kinda rare to see you taking the bus back,"

"Oh, well, I'm uhh, thinking of going to Ned's place this evening, to help him out with something," Peter explained.

"Ahh, I see," Gwen nodded along, finally managing to keep her cool.

*Awkward silence*

After a few moments, Peter started fiddling with his thumbs, as his mind started furiously thinking of things to talk about.

"S-still, I didn't know you were k-keeping tabs on me, ahaha," Peter said out loud, laughing nervously to dispel the awkwardness.

"H-huh?" Gwen's eyes widened in surprise, as she registered what Peter said, her face imeediately flushing with embarrassment.

Peter, who quickly saw the rising color in Gwen's face, immediately regretted his words. "T-that's not-, I didn't mean that you-, uhh-," Peter stammered with his words as he mistaken the flush on Gwen's face to be out of anger.

Gwen pursed her lips, fearing to give anything away further towards the boy sat next to her, as he sat there, his palms sweating, his mind on overdrive, screaming at himself for being an idiot.

"N-Ned sure is taking his time huh?" Peter eventually tried again.

"Y-yeah," Gwen said softly, hiding her flustered face behind her hoodie.

"S-so, that was some speech MJ came out with huh?" Peter continued after another moment of silence between them.

"Ye-yeah," Gwen said slightly nervously.

"Uhm, so are you going to go practice at her house later?"

"Uhh, probably not," Gwen replied. "I… kinda have something I need to take care of tonight,"

"O-ohh, cool cool," Peter nodded his head. "Is it about that song you're writing?"

"Huh?" Gwen was momentarily taken aback by Peter's question, before realising what he was referring to. "O-oh yeah, sure. Something like that,"

"Cool cool," Peter nodded his head, tip-toeing around the conversation to avoid embarrassing himself further in his mind.

"H-hey Pete,"

"Y-yeah?"

"About that question at the cafeteria earlier," Gwen paused for a moment, before resolving herself to proceed with her question. "You really think its ok to use your powers for something like making money or something?"

"Ohh, uhh, well-," Peter started rubbing the back of his head.

"Doesn't that sound a bit selfish?"

"W-well, I was just saying, that if you suddenly got powers, maybe that is what I'd do," Peter smiled awkwardly as he tried explaining. "Maybe I am selfish, and stupid, and immature," Peter continued, his voice trailing off as he reached the end of his answer.

"O-Oh…," Gwen nodded along with his explanation. "But if that's the case, I think that you would be the last person who'd be that," Gwen said softly, slightly hesitantly. "You know, selfish, and stupid and all that,"

"You really think so?" Peter replied softly, a sad, melancholic smile plastered across his face.

"Y-yeah," Gwen replied, slightly hesitantly, confused at seeing the smile on Peter's face.

A few moments pass between them, before Peter looked up towards the trees in front of them.

"One of the last things my uncle said to me was, 'With great power, there must also come great responsibility'," Peter continued, his gaze focusing on somewhere further than what he's seeing. "Every moment of my life, I wonder, if I could ever live up to those words,"

Gwen tried to open her mouth to reply, but thought better of it. Feeling slightly stunned, try as she might, she couldn't figure out what to say in that moment.

After a few seconds of silence, Peter eventually smiled towards her. "Guess that would've been a cooler answer to your question huh?"

*phone ringtone, beeping ends*

Gwen bit her lips, her feelings conflicted.

After a few seconds, she lets out a heavy sigh, before laying on her back on her bed. Suddenly, the phone in her hands started ringing.

Gwen hesitated for a few moments, before eventually deciding to pick up the call.

"Hello?"

"Gwen? Honey? Why did you call?" her father's voice suddenly came from behind the speaker.

"I-it's nothing," Gwen said, rubbing the back of her head out of habit.

"Is everything alright? Are you hurt somewhere?" a tone of concern laced behind the incoming reply.

"No no, it's just…," Gwen continued, hesitating momentarily. "I wanted to ask you a question,"

"Huh?"

"It's okay if you're busy. It's nothing important anyway," Gwen quickly said, deciding to give up.

"No! No, it's fine Gwen, ask me," George's replied warmly from over the phone.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Gwen eventually braced herself and asked the question. "Why did you decide to become a policeman?"

"H-huh?" George's confused reply came from over the phone. "Is this about school? Or-,"

"N-never mind, forget it," Gwen flushed out of embarrassment even though she was alone in her room. "Sorry dad,"

"W-wait!" George's voice rang out clearly, before a few moments of silence passed between them.

"I… I wanted to be a hero of justice…," the reply came softly from the phone.

"What?" Gwen couldn't help chuckling at her father's response. "Hero of… Justice?"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh at your old man," George continued. "But yeah, back in my day, I wanted to be a cop, because I wanted to catch bad guys & become a hero,"

"I see," Gwen smiled, glad that her father couldn't see her face at that moment. "Has that changed now that you've gotten older?"

"Hmm, you could say that," George replied jokingly.

"How so?"

"Well, for starters, I now know that being a hero isn't about catching bad guys and looking cool," George said warmly. "Of course, this is only my point of view, but for me, a hero is someone who gives people a reason to smile another day,"

Gwen paused for few moments. "You mean like clowns?" Gwen said half-jokingly.

"Uhh, n-no," George voice came out weakly from his side. "I meant more like, 'hope'," George continued. "I think that every single one of us, Cops, Firefighters, Parents, Teachers, Chefs, you name it. I think that we're all heroes because each of us, in a society, is the reason why we can wake up and smile every day, and give our best, every day for each other,"

Gwen sat there, slightly stunned, at listening to her father's opinion. "O-oh,"

"Too cheesy?" George asked jokingly from over the phone

Gwen couldn't help chuckling. "A bit, yeah,"

"Well, that makes me 'heroes among heroes', since I'm the one saving all them 'heroes' every day," he said smugly from over the phone.

"So, in the end, cops are still the best?" Gwen asked jokingly.

"Of course," George replied smugly. "Gwen, honey… I don't know why you're asking this, but there's no right or wrong answer for people wanting to be something," George continued warmly. "Okay wait, there's definitely a wrong answer for somethings-,"

"Dad…,"

"Right, sorry, but you get my point," George continued. "Point is, do what you want, for whatever reason you feel that's right. Did that answer help you?"

Gwen paused for a moment, to consider. "Yeah, I guess it did. Thanks dad,"

"You're welcome, honey," George replied. "I gotta get back to work…,"

"Oh yeah, sure sure. Sorry,"

"No no, it's okay," George assured her. "Just call me if anything happens ok?"

"Ok dad," Gwen smiled warmly. "Thanks"

*call ends*

"Responsibility… & Hope… huh,"

*Thwip*

"Woah, almost didn't recognise you there,"

Gwen's face flushed in embarrassment from underneath her mask. "Thanks, you like it?" she said, before leaping acrobatically over the web-slinger, showing off her brand-new costume that she had worked on over the weekend.

"Not bad," Spider-Man shrugged his shoulders. "So, are we ready to go Spider-Lady?"

Gwen makes a blanching noise from underneath her mask. "Seriously?"

"S-spider-girl? Woman?"

"No. Call me… 'Ghost-Spider',"