Chapter 24
"And of course, as usual, Ms. Gwendolyn, 91," the teacher turned towards her with a warm smile.
Gwen blushed slightly as her classmates claps & jokes around as the teacher announced her results.
"Another A, congratulations!"
"Thanks, Mrs. Roberts," Gwen nodded, tucking her shoulder-length hair behind her ears.
"Wow, congrats Gwen," Evelyn congratulated her.
"Ugh, this is so unfair," Vanessa groaned out loud. "How is it fair that you're the smartest & prettiest in our year," she continued, rolling her eyes in mock jealousy.
"No I'm not," Gwen frowned at her friend. "And also, I-,"
"And last, but not least, Mr. Peter Parker! 96!" Mrs. Roberts exclaimed excitedly.
Gwen immediately perked up at the mention of Peter's name, clapping excitedly at the achievement.
The teacher's excited smile, quickly turned to a frown as she sees the indifferent reception from the other classmates. Apart from Gwen, the teacher & a very timid Eugene, the others were a lot less excited at the mention of Peter's name, some even scoffing & rolling their eyes mockingly.
"Well, at least by normal standards," Vanessa whispered slowly towards Gwen.
Peter quickly stood up and walked over towards the teacher, his silly goofy grin, plastered across his face.
"Thx Mrs. Rob-,"
"Come on guys, give him a clap," Mrs. Roberts frowned as she turned towards the class. "Peter's essays are better than most 8th Grader's. We could all learn-,"
Peter quickly stepped in front of the teacher, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Uh, it's okay Mrs. Roberts, I really don't mind,"
"Nonsense," she shook her head, her frown deepening, as she glares at Peter, signaling him to step away.
"Either you all show support to Peter, like Ms. Stacy just now, or we're gonna stay here all day," the teacher continued, to the collective groan of the class.
Gwen couldn't help but feel guilty as she notices how red Peter's getting from all the attention.
"Come on now, it's your choice," offered Mrs. Roberts.
Eventually, after a few seconds of awkward silence, Gwen quickly stood up & clapped, turning towards the rest of her class, who also eventually, reluctantly joined her & gave Peter a rather muted round of applause.
Mrs. Roberts frown softened as she nodded towards the class. "There, that's a lot better," she remarked before turning towards Peter. "Amazing job as always young man," she said warmly towards Peter, which only made him blush harder. "Your uncle & aunt must be so proud of you,"
"You're way too nice Gwen," Evelyn sighed softly as she berated her friend. "If it wasn't for Parker, you'd have been no. 1," she frowned.
"For the millionth time, I don't mind!" Gwen groaned in frustration. "Peter's smart, that's great!"
"Yeah, Peter's not that bad. I don't know get what're you guys deal with him anyway," Kathy echoed Gwen, as they walked across the hallway.
"Says the girl who also didn't clap," Vanessa said, smirking slightly.
"W-well, it's just, you know, no one else clapped…, so…," Kathy continued, slightly flustered.
Vanessa quickly scoffed at her explanation, before turning towards Gwen. "Don't worry Gwen, he just got lucky and scored a few extra points in the test," she reassures Gwen. "You're still the no. 1 smartest in our hearts," she continued, placing a hand on Gwen's shoulders, whilst gesturing to her heart dramatically with the other as a joke.
Gwen immediately rolled her eyes as she brushes off Vanessa's hands. "Well, I for one, have no trouble admitting Peter's smarter than me,"
Suddenly, Evelyn goes up to Gwen & stared at her intently, before suddenly pinching her cheeks.
"Ow-oww!" Gwen exclaimed as she swatted away Evelyn's hands, rubbing her cheeks in pain. "What are you doing?!"
Evelyn frowned for a few moments. "I was just checking if you're real or not," she joked. "Smart, pretty, nice, and humble? You're like something out of a fairytale,"
Gwen rolled her eyes in disbelief before walking away from them.
"You guys go on ahead, I think I dropped something. I'm gonna go look for it for a while," Gwen said as she turned back towards her class. "I'll catch up,"
Gwen immediately traced back her steps, heading to the toilet, and the changing room, looking for her missing item.
As she traced back her steps, she eventually arrived back at their classroom.
"Eeek!" Gwen jumped back in surprise, expecting the classroom to be empty this late in the evening.
The boy, slightly startled by her arrival, blinked back in silence for a few moments, not expecting anyone to come into the classroom at such a late hour.
"Peter…," Gwen smiled softly, if slightly awkward.
"G-Gwen,"
The pair stood there facing each other, smiling awkwardly for a few moments.
For the past 2 years, they've mostly kept to themselves. Try as she might, Peter always seems to keep her at a distance away. Naturally, they drifted away from each other, with Gwen fitting in with most of her classmates, and Peter, just keeping to himself most of the time. Eventually, Gwen, regrettably, found it easier to go along with the situation, something that Peter seems to have no issues with.
"W-what are you doing here?" Gwen eventually asked, almost immediately regretting her choice of words, wondering if her tone was accusatory.
"Oh, uhm, I was just, cleaning up the board," Peter smiled softy, gesturing towards the board as he does so.
"O-oh, I see," Gwen nodded. "Cool, cool,"
"Uhm, what are you doing here?" Peter asked her.
"Hmm? I-, I kind of lost something," Gwen smiled, looking slightly disappointed. "I was just looking for it,"
"Ahh," Peter nodded thoughtfully, before reaching for his pockets. "Did you lose this?" Peter offered.
He took out a slightly weathered, black & white panda hair clip, and handed it to her.
Gwen's face immediately brightened as she sees the clip in Peter's hands.
"That's it! You found it!" Gwen exclaimed excitedly, before taking it, and fixing her hair with the clip. "T-thanks," she blushed slightly.
"Y-yeah," Peter nodded, his face turning slightly red at Gwen's reaction.
"Y-you rememb-,"
"I just found it on the floor, just now," Peter quickly said. "I didn't know whose it was," he fidgeted slightly.
"O-oh," Gwen's heart sank slightly as she hears Peter's words. "I see,"
"Gwen?!" suddenly a voice rang out from the hallway, followed by several other voices, calling out for her.
Peter immediately turned and picked up his bag. "Sounds like your friends are looking for you," he said, as he started to leave.
"Y-yeah," Gwen said, not knowing how to keep the conversation going.
Peter nodded, before making his way towards the door. "I-, w-well…, B-bye,"
"Oh, uhh, bye," Gwen waved him away. "Oh, and Peter. Thanks for finding this. This really means a lot to me," Gwen smiled softly.
"S-sure," Peter nodded softly, before leaving Gwen alone in the classroom.
Gwen stood in silence for a few moments, ignoring her friend's constant call for her name. She eventually lets out a soft sigh, before turning to leave the classroom.
"Erk, I could've asked him about the test!" Gwen smacked her head in frustration.
"I'm home," Gwen announced, as she entered her house, to no reply. Gwen lets out a soft sigh before dropping her bags in the living room and making her way to the kitchen.
There, she sees her father, arguing over the phone. His eyes immediately widened as he sees Gwen entering the kitchen. He quickly mouthed an apology towards her, which Gwen just smiled & brushed it off.
She then gestured for him to continue with the call, while she headed towards the fridge & searched for something to eat. She quickly plopped down in front of the kitchen counter, having fixed herself a sandwich.
After a while, Capt. Stacy eventually hung up the phone, and lets out a long, tired sigh.
"Everything okay?" Gwen asked whilst taking a bite off her sandwich.
Mr. Stacy quickly gave her a warm reassuring smile. "It's nothing, just work stuff," he brushed it off.
"Cops & work problems usually equals crime," Gwen joked.
"Nothing your old man can't handle," he said playfully, puffing his chest out exaggeratedly. "But I will have to head to the precinct for a bit after this," he said, apologetically.
"Oh," Gwen nodded in understanding. "What about mom? Another all-nighter?" she asked.
"Another one," George said, frowning slightly. "You know how passionate she gets when it comes to her work," he sighed.
"Yeah," Gwen nodded. Recently, she's been getting used to this. With her mom's 'Cross-Species' research entering what she had call, a breakthrough period, her mom's been spending an increasing amount of time pulling all-nighters. And with Mr. Stacy's line of work constantly demanding his time away at the Police Station, nights where she'd spend time alone at home was becoming more & more frequent.
Gwen understood this, and she'd spend whatever time she had face-timing her mom, and she'd listen excitedly as her mom explains to her their latest findings & research results. She'd get to know all of her co-workers, like Mr. & Mrs. Connors, which was her favorite pair. And sometimes, her dad would join her, listening to his wife dutifully.
Gwen also saw the tired look in her parent's eyes, constantly wishing she could grow up faster, to help her parents. But as it is, she's resolved herself to avoid causing her parents any cause of distress, as much as she can.
"Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?" Gwen forced herself to smile at her dad.
George smiled back; a look of sadness flashed across his face. "I'm sorry princess," he went over & gave her a peck on the forehead. "I'll make it up to you some day,"
Gwen frowned, as she rolled her eyes jokingly. "You still owe me that trip to Disneyland dad," she joked playfully. "Not sure if you should be increasing your debt like that,"
*Alarm clock ringing*
"H-huh?!" Gwen immediately bolted upright at the ringing of her alarm. She groggily looked over at her alarm clock.
"Oh, shi-,"
"Mom?! You didn't wake me up!" Gwen moaned as she stepped down the stairs, expecting a reply from her mom, as she made her way to the kitchen. However, once she reaches the kitchen, only the eerie silence of the morning greeted her.
"Mom? Dad?" Gwen calls out, to no reply. She then saw the blinking red-light at her house's answering machine.
She quickly listened to the recorded message stored in the answering machine over the night.
"Where's your lunch box?" Kathy asked, as she opened her locker, next to Gwen's.
"O-oh? I must've left it at home," Gwen lied, deciding to keep her morning to herself. "I was in a bit of a rush today, woke up late," she sighed.
"Oof, that sucks," Kathy nodded. "You wanna share some of mine?" she offered.
Gwen shook her head. "Nah, that's okay. I'll just buy something to eat later,"
"Oh okay," Kathy replied. "I really don't mind though,"
"It's oka-,"
*Locker door slamming shut*
"Morning nerd!" one of the boys exclaimed out loud as they slammed Peter's locker shut in front of him, before laughing off with his friends.
Gwen turned to look at Peter, who was standing in front of his locker, opposite of hers in the hallway.
As they looked at each other awkwardly, Kathy smiled & waved awkwardly at Peter. "Morning Peter,"
"Blegh," Vanessa mocked vomiting as they left the lab.
"I still think they're cute," Evelyn shrugged her shoulders at Vanessa's antics.
"They eat their own shit Evie," Vanessa blanched. "Just think about that next time you kiss one,"
"B-but, that's how they are," Evelyn argued. "It's not their fault god designed them that way,"
Vanessa rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Suit yourself, I still think its 'Blegh',"
"Yeah, that was pretty…, interesting," Gwen smiled ruefully as she recalled her last Science class.
"You mean disgusting?" Kathy corrected her.
Suddenly, noise of a scuffle immediately caught their attention. As they approached their lockers, they were greeted by the sight of Rob & Nathan pushing Peter back towards one of the lockers.
"Right, that's happening more & more, recently, huh?" Vanessa noted, as she observes the scene.
Gwen immediately stepped into the scuffle, feeling slightly protective of Peter.
"What are you guy's doing? Leave him alone!" Gwen yelled.
Nathan frowned as he sees Gwen defending Peter. "Why are you defending him? He's the one snooping around your lockers," Nathan said defensively. "We're trying to catch the creep,"
"I-wait, what? Huh?" Gwen said, slightly confused, before turning towards Peter.
Peter turned his gaze away from her, not willing to look her in the eye.
"See? The creep's super suspicious!" Rob immediately exclaimed, before reaching out towards Peter.
At that moment, the noise of the scuffle had attracted a fair number of onlookers, which eventually caused one of the teachers to turn up to diffuse the situation.
"Excuse me, what seems to be the problem?" Mr. Patrick asked, a tone of authority laced in his voice.
The appearance of the teacher immediately caused Rob & Nathan to back off timidly.
Gwen, who was still frowning at Peter's apparent action, quickly turned towards Mr. Patrick. "Nothing sir, it's just a misunderstanding," she answered firmly.
"Y-yeah," Rob & Nathan answered in unison, with Nathan still glaring at Peter with the corner of his eyes.
The teacher looked them over through his glasses. "Well then, I expect the misunderstanding to have been resolved, yes?" he continued.
"Y-yes sir,"
"Yes sir," Peter answered along with the other 2 boys.
"Ok then, run along," Mr. Patrick shooed them away.
As the boys & the crowd dispersed, Peter turned slightly red, before immediately leaving the hall.
"Well, that was weird," Vanessa commented.
"Poor guy," Kathy frowned as she turned towards the now leaving Peter.
"Wonder what that was all about," Evelyn remarked as she opened her locker.
Gwen shrugged her shoulders as she opened the locks on her locker. "Who kno-," Gwen started, before stopping as she sees the contents of her locker.
"Ehh? I thought u didn't bring your lunch box with you?" Kathy remarked as she sees the bag of packed lunch in front of Gwen.
"Hmmm? Oh this?" Gwen gestured towards the bag, as she took out the contents of the bag. "I found it,"
The other three girls blinked in surprise for a few moments, slightly confused.
"H-huh?"
Gwen quickly took in the sight of the meal in front of her, recalling the fact that his favorite lunch had always been his aunt's tuna sandwich.
"Wait, you're serious?" Vanessa hesitated. "I don't think you shou-,"
Gwen immediately took a big bite out of the sandwich. "Emm, my favorite," she beamed, her mouth full of the delicious tuna sandwich.
Gwen stayed by the hallway entrance, waiting intently for him so she could thank him.
As the hours eventually goes by, after nearly all of the other students had already made their way back, she eventually sees Peter approaching the exit, walking side-by-side with the ever-timid Eugene.
Just as she started to approach them, she couldn't help but to listen in on their conversation.
"…sounds tough," Eugene said.
*yawn*
"Yeah, no, not really," Peter shrugged his shoulders. "But it does cause you to lose track of time. I get so sleepy in classes," Peter sighed.
Eugene shook his head. "I don't think I'll ever understand photography,"
At that moment, Peter & Eugene notices Gwen standing in front of the entrance.
"G-gwen Stacy?!" Eugene exclaimed, slightly flustered.
"Hey," Gwen waved at the pair of them, before turning towards Peter. "Uhm, I just wanted to say thanks to Peter," Gwen said, as she couldn't help but blush.
"O-oh, don't mention it," Peter smiled slightly, as he brushed off Gwen.
Gwen nodded as they stood in silence for a few moments.
"Uhm, did you over… heard-?"
"Y-yeah, I kind of did," Peter admitted, blushing slightly.
"R-right," Gwen nodded again. "Thanks, again,"
"It's okay. I wasn't hungry anyw-,"
*stomach rumbling*
Peter closed his eyes, as a frustrated smile crept onto his face.
"I wasn't hungry then," he continued, fidgeting slightly as he often does when he lies.
"R-right," Gwen laughed slightly at the excuse Peter gave.
They continued to stand there for a few moments of awkward silence.
"I uhh, I gotta go," Peter offered.
"O-oh, y-yeah, sure sure," Gwen said quickly, as she stepped aside.
Peter nodded towards her, before leaving with Eugene (who seemed perplexed by the situation)
"I'm so sorry Gwen," Helen immediately said, as soon as Gwen arrived back home. "You must've had it so hard,"
Gwen shrugged her shoulders, before smiling warmly at her mother. "It's just lunch," she smiled, before continuing. "And breakfast. And dinner," she joked playfully. "No biggie,"
Helen looked at her daughter guiltily. "I don't think it makes up for it, but I'm gonna bake you your favorite chocolate cake tonight, okay honey?"
Gwen immediately perked up at the mention of her favorite food, before catching herself. "W-well, only if you're not tired mom," she reasoned. "It's okay if you wanna take a rest first,"
Helen smiled warmly at her daughter's antics, before ruffling Gwen's well-combed bangs. "It's fine honey. Besides, it'd make for a pretty good surprise for your dad as well when he gets back home,"
Gwen beamed happily as her mother turned towards the kitchen to prepare the ingredients for her to bake. Gwen rushed towards her room to change & help her mom to bake.
Just as she was making her way up the stairs, a thought came to her. She slowly went back towards the kitchen to her mother.
"Mom, is it-, can you…, teach me how to brew coffee?"
"I don't get it," Kathy frowned, slightly worried at being caught along with Gwen.
"You don't have to," Gwen shrugged. "Think of it as revenge,"
"For what?" Kathy frowned in confusion. "And besides, how're you gonna get past th-,"
*lock clicks*
Kathy blinked in surprise as Gwen unlocks the locker and slipped a package in. "H-how?"
Gwen smirked, before shrugging her shoulders, "We both use our birthdays as the combination,"
Gwen eyed the pair of boys with the corner of her eyes as she sees Peter taking out the package, she gave him.
At that moment, Peter glanced towards her, and she returned the glance with a warm smile of her own.
Peter immediately blushed, before turning away & taking out the chocolate cake & drinks.
"Woah, you're eating fancy today," Eugene exclaimed as he sat down in front of Peter.
"Y-yeah," Peter said softly
"What's that?" Eugene said as he pointed towards the drink in Peter's hand.
"Hmm? It's- uhh," Peter hesitated for a moment, before opening the cap, which caused the smell to waft. "It smells good," Peter remarked, before taking a sip.
*cough, cough*
Gwen eyes widened slightly, worried that Peter might've disliked the coffee.
"You okay Pete?" Eugene asked, seeing Peter's scrunched up face as he drank. "What is this thing?" he said, as he grabbed the drink and put it to his nose.
"N-No!" Peter immediately grabbed the drink away from his hands. "I-I'm okay. I like it," Peter winced slightly, before taking another big gulp of the drink.
As she spies their antics with the corner of her eyes, Gwen couldn't help but let a smile creep onto her face.
"Oi, what are you smiling about," Vanessa frowned when she sees the smiling Gwen.
"Hmmm? Nothing" Gwen answered off-handedly. "Just, you know, it's a good day,"
"Bet she's thinking of a boy right now," Evelyn said teasingly, which caused Gwen to choke slightly.
"W-what?!" Gwen said defensively.
"O-okay, it was just a joke, sheesh," Evelyn said, slightly taken aback by Gwen's reactions.
"Please, Gwen doesn't have time for silly boys," Kathy quipped. "She totally rejected that 8th Grader last week remember?"
"Pity, dating someone older is pretty cool," Vanessa sighed.
Kathy rolled her eyes at Vanessa's remarks. "That's why, our Gwen is free from those dirty, impure thoughts, right?"
"Hmm?" Gwen smiled awkwardly at Kathy. "W-well…,"