Chapter 28
"Gwendolyne? Oh my, you've grown,"
Gwen smiled awkwardly as her cheeks was being squished by the woman in front of her.
"Let me take a good look at you," the woman cupped Gwen's face in her hands. "Do you remember me?"
"Y-yeah… Uhm, Martha Connors, I remember," Gwen maintained her awkward smile as she felt her face being inspected.
"Oh wow, you were such a tiny babe last time I saw you. And look at you now," Martha said, a slight tear forming in her eyes. "You look so much like your mother. Except the eyes. You have your father's eyes," she continued, smiling warmly at Gwen.
"Er-Eyy, was that a 'Harry Potter' reference?" Gwen joked awkwardly.
Martha blinked back in surprise, looking at her with mild confusion. "A what?"
Gwen could feel her cheeks heating up as she hears Liz in the back, stifling a laugh.
"I-I was-, forget it," Gwen blushed. "T-thanks, I guess,"
Martha took a quick glance at her tied-back hair, and noticed her pink ends. "Did someone bully you dear?" she frowned, as she reached out towards Gwen's hair.
Gwen instantly pulled back her hair, trying her best to hide her pink hair with her palms. "N-no, no, I did that to myself," Gwen continued, laughing awkwardly and blushing profusely in the process. "It-Well, it's kinda a new style I'm trying out,"
Martha's eyes widened in surprise and embarrassment. "I-I see. Well, uhm, they-, they look nice on you dear," she smiled awkwardly at the end.
Martha then took a small step back to get a better look at the young lady in front of her. "You've grown into such a beautiful young lady. Just like your mom was," she smiled as she looked at Gwen.
"That's not the only thing she got from Helen," Dr. Curt interjected as he entered the room. "Clearly, she knows a thing or two about 'Cross-Species' genetics. Give her a few more years, and she'll probably fit right in with the rest of us in here," he said, smiling warmly at his wife & Gwen.
"I see. Then I'm sure your mother would've been very proud of you Gwen," Martha continued.
"Y-yeah," Gwen hesitated slightly.
Liz, noticing the look of discomfort creeping onto Gwen's face, quickly cut into the conversation.
"Hey, Dr. & Dr. Connors, my name is Liz Allan. I'm so happy to finally meet the both of you!" she said, slightly exaggeratedly. "A big fan of your work," Liz continued, before jumping in the middle of the group, and shaking their hands vigorously.
For a moment, the pair of doctors was slightly taken aback. "I-I'm sorry, you are?" Dr. Curt managed, a slight frown forming on his face.
"Liz Allan sir, from Midtown High. I'm a friend of Gwen's," Liz beamed.
Martha eventually understood what was happening, as she noticed the look of discomfort on Gwen's face. "Oh my, I'm-, We're so-,"
Liz smiled warmly and shook her head softly towards the female scientist.
"I see. Thank you, Liz," Martha nodded in understanding, before taking Liz's hands and shaking it. "We're happy to have met such a wonderful young lady as well,"
Curt, who was still oblivious to what was going on, raised his eyebrow in confusion. "This… must be one of those infamous 'girl talk' I've heard so much about," he smiled as he took a step back, raising his arms in defeat.
"Regardless, it was great meeting the both of you, but I wouldn't want to take any more of your time, Gwen, Liz," he nodded back at the pair, before seemingly gesturing them back towards the group of interns in the distance.
"Curt, why don't we take them in for the program? We needed the interns anyway. Might as well pick them," Martha said towards her husband.
"W-well, I don't think we're supposed to be picking favorites-,"
"Oh, I-it's oka-Ouch!" Gwen stopped mid-sentence as she felt Liz violently nudging her in the ribs.
"Just keep quiet, and let them handle this," Liz mouthed softly with the corner of her mouth, maintaining a warm smile towards the pair of doctors in front of them.
Martha flashed them a warm smile of her own, as she noticed the girl's antics. "Curt, what's the point of having friends in high places, if they can't pull a few strings here & there, hmm?" she winked towards Gwen & Liz. "Besides honey, she clearly impressed you earlier, so I'd say she's more than earned this through merit, no?"
Curt opened his mouth to argue, but then thought better of it & closed it, before letting out a defeated sigh. "Fine, you know I can't argue with you honey," he smiled warmly at his wife. "I'll talk to Norman if we can have three of the interns for our department,"
"Three?" Gwen asked.
"Well, yeah. If I'm taking the both of you, I might as well take that Parker boy as well,"
*subway noises*
"I didn't know that he was gonna be there," Liz replied through the phone.
"Oh, so you expect me to believe that Pete & Harry just happened to be there? Seriously?" Gwen rolled her eyes, her face covered by her hoodie & bangs as she held onto the one of the train handles.
"Well, I mean, did I know they would be there? Of course not," Liz explained through the phone. "But, did I think there was a good chance that Harry's dad was gonna pull some strings to get Harry into the program? Maybe…," she continued. "Did I also think that Peter might be roped in because he's Harry's best friend? Eh, who knows…,"
Gwen groaned in frustration as she lets out a long sigh. "Liz, just stop. I can't-not Peter, it's not gonna happen," she said, sounding slightly melancholic.
"Why not?"
"You know why not," Gwen said softly. "You're the only one that knows why not,"
"No, I don't," Liz said firmly. "Gwen, Peter's not gonna hold someth-,"
"I know! That's exactly why," Gwen raised her voice in frustration. "It's not him. It was never him Liz. It's me,"
For a moment, Liz remained quiet, as the sound of the subway marching along the tracks fills Gwen's ears.
"Fine. But who says I'm doing it for you anyway?" Liz replied. "Peter's my friend too, so maybe I want what I think is best for him,"
"Liz…,"
"I gotta go. I'll meet you at the lab tomorrow, Gwen," Liz said through the phone, before abruptly hanging up the phone.
Gwen pinched her forehead in frustration, as she frowned to no one in particular.
She then noticed a puppy staring at her with large, clear eyes, his owner focusing on his own phone & headset. The innocent, tail wagging, puppy immediately reminded her of Peter.
"Yeah? What are you looking at?" she groaned towards the puppy.
*CRASHH*
Gwen winced slightly as she mistimes another beat. But, just as before, the others kept playing without mentioning her mistakes.
After finishing their 2nd rep for the night, the group remained silent for a while.
Gwen thought about apologizing for her mistakes, but try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to apologize to MJ. Sure, she made a lot of mistakes tonight, but MJ was out of line before this, and Gwen couldn't bear to apologize until MJ apologized to her.
"Well, I thought tha-," Glory started, as she tried to break the silence.
"Sorry, that was my bad," Betty suddenly said out of nowhere. "Let's call it a night. I can't focus tonight,"
MJ shrugged her shoulders, as she looks away in disinterest. "Fine. I've got something as well," she said simply, before turning away to leave them. "Don't forget to turn off the lights when you leave," she said off-handedly as she made her way out.
Gwen slowly let out a soft sigh as MJ left. Betty then quickly packed her guitar, and silently headed out the room through the back door.
"Err, I guess that means an early night for us then?" Glory smirked awkwardly, trying her best to lift the mood.
Gwen smiled slightly in appreciation. "Yeah, I guess it does,"
Gwen then continued to re-arrange & collect her stuff as she stores & covers her drum set.
"Soo, how was the new gig?" Glory asked, leaning on one of the walls with her bags slung next to her.
"Hmm? You mean the Oscorp internship?" Gwen said casually, whilst cleaning up.
"Yeah, Liz told us earlier about it yesterday," Glory continued. "Sounds pretty cool,"
"Yeah, well, I guess we'll see," Gwen smirked slightly. "It's only our first day,"
"First days are always the best though," Glory beamed happily.
Gwen lets out a soft chuckle. "Ehh, I don't know about that Chief," she remarked playfully. "I think you might be alone on that one,"
"Really? You think so?" Glory looked up in thought for a few moments. "Well, still, what did you get up to there?" she asked curiously.
"Today? Nothing much really. It was more of an introduction session," Gwen shrugged her shoulders. "But I guess we'll be helping out on 'Cross-Species' Genetics research after this,"
"You & Liz?" Glory asked.
"H-hmm? Y-yeah, yeah, just me & Liz," Gwen blushed slightly for a moment.
"Sick," Glory smiled excitedly. "Cross-Species Genetics huh? Soo, are you gonna be like, splicing different species' DNA together or something?"
Gwen looked up in consideration for a few moments. "Err, yeah? I guess? That's probably the gist of it, yeah,"
"Urk, kinda sounds like something out of science fiction," Glory whistled softly in amazement. "Mermaid & Centaurs, here we come,"
Gwen lets out a soft chuckle at Glory's jokes. "I was thinking maybe more like, a Werewolf," Gwen bared her teeth playfully at her friend.
"Oooh, or maybe Vampires," Glory said excitedly.
"What? Vampires aren't cross-species," Gwen raised her eyebrow in confusion.
"Uhh, yes, it is," Glory countered. "Human plus bats, equals vampires. Duhh,"
"What? No, that's not what a Vampire is,"
"It so is," Glory rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Look, if werewolf's are half & half, then Vampire's are totally halfies too,"
Gwen opened her mouth to argue, before stopping herself for a moment. "Wait, you've lost me,"
Gwen waved Glory away as she made her way out of the basement ahead of Gwen.
She took a quick glance at her phone. 'Hmm, still a few hours before patrol starts,' she thought to herself.
As she turned off the lights, and made her way out of the basement, a light drizzle showered her as she stepped outside.
Gwen blew her wet bangs in annoyance, as she flipped up her hoodie to cover herself from the New York rain. As she does so, she noticed Glory who was a few minutes ahead of her, being waved away by Betty. Betty then turned back towards her, and seemingly gestured with her head for Gwen to follow.
Gwen raised her eyebrow curiously for a moment, before taking a quick glance at her phone, and deciding to follow Betty.
Gwen quickly hastened her steps to walk side by side with Betty.
As she arrived by Betty's side, Betty gave her a slight grunt to acknowledge her.
"You're not going back with Glory?" Gwen asked casually.
"Nah, I've got some time to kill," Betty replied, with her lollipop firmly in her mouth.
"Lollipop?" Gwen smirked as she raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Well, we already look the part, might as well play along with the stereotype," Betty smirked slyly. "And I'd much rather lose my teeth, than get lung cancer," she shrugged, before taking another lollipop out and offering it to Gwen. "Want one?"
Gwen shook her head. "Nah, I'm good,"
"Here," Betty called out to Gwen as she tossed her a can of 'Monster' energy drink.
"Thanks," Gwen said, as she snatched it out of the air. She then took a quick gulp of the drink. "Mmm, heaven-in-a-can,"
Betty chuckled as she took a gulp out of her own can. "Never understood what you liked about that shit," she smirked, shaking her head dismissively.
"Well," Gwen smiled to herself for a moment. "My goals are beyond your understanding," she said jokingly, making her tone more dramatic for the delivery.
Betty smirked slightly at Gwen, keeping her eyes glued to the scenery streets ahead of them.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Gwen asked after a while.
"Hmmm? Nothing much," Betty shrugged her shoulders dismissively. "I just thought we could hang,"
"Heh, trust me, that's one thing I've been doing in abundance," Gwen muttered to herself under her breath.
"Hmmm?"
"Nope, it's nothing," Gwen smirked softly, before taking another sip from her drink.
The pair stood in silence side-by-side to each other, the silence only broken by the occasional sip.
"Thanks for earlier by the way," Gwen said. "With MJ,"
"Mmmm," Betty shrugged her shoulders dismissively.
"What's on your mind Stacy?" Betty asked, breaking the silence, her eyes still glued to the streets.
"Mmm, nothing much," Gwen replied. "Just, you know… How much I suck," Gwen said with a snicker. "You?"
"Hmm, nothing much," Betty replied nonchalantly. "Mostly how much you suck," she smirked.
"Heh, I guess I do, huh,"
"Yeah, but welcome to the club," Betty shrugged her shoulders. "The 'Mary Janes' pity party. Occupancy, three and a half,"
Gwen couldn't help but smile wryly at Betty's dry sense of humor. "Who's the half?" she asked jokingly.
"Ehh, I doubt 'Glory' is as insecure as the rest of us," Betty chuckled slightly.
Gwen smiled warmly at her friend's jokes, before slumping her shoulders. "I'm holding you guys back," she sighed softly.
"Mmmm,"
"No sweet words to cushion the blow?" Gwen smiled ruefully.
"Your words honey, not mine," Betty smirked.
"Mmm, fair enough," Gwen chuckled softly.
Betty remained silent for a few more moments. "Your drumming, they sound like you're lost,"
Gwen raised an eyebrow at her friend's words. "Sorry?"
"You heard me the first time Stacy," Betty shrugged.
Gwen paused for a few moments. "Huh," Gwen nodded along. "I guess I am,"
Gwen lets out a long sigh as she slumped her shoulders again. "I don't know…, I just feel like my life's in… kind of a mess right now,"
Betty nodded silently. "More than it usually is?" she smirked.
Gwen chuckled slightly at her sass. "More than it usually is,"
"Huh… that sucks," Betty continued.
"Yeah, I guess it does," Gwen smiled ruefully.
"You know, not even the great 'Gwen Stacy' can hold the weight of the world on her shoulder," Betty remarked.
Gwen rolled her eyes at Betty's remark. "Please, there's nothing 'great' about this Stacy," Gwen sighed softly. "But I get your point Brant," she smiled slightly. "I know you guys are here if I need you. Thanks Brant," Gwen smiled to herself.
"I'm just looking out for my drummer," Betty said, slouching down on her shoulders. "Don't know about you, but she's been kind of a bummer lately," she smirked playfully.
Gwen winced slightly at the barb. "Yeah, well," Gwen shrugged her shoulders. "But still, didn't think you'd catch all that just from my drumming," Gwen looked up in thought. "That's kinda amazing actually,"
"Yeah, well, what can I say, I'm an amazing musician," Betty grinned playfully as she turned towards Gwen. "Or maybe, you know, I could actually just see that my friend's acting off recently. Who knows,"
Gwen stared at her phone for a few minutes, as she debates about giving her father a call. After a while, she lets out a long sigh, and slid her phone back into her pockets.
"You've got something going on?" Spider-Man's voice rang out from behind her.
Gwen remained silent for a few moments, staring at her palms as she thought about her superhero identity.
After a few minutes, she slowly lets out a soft sigh and called out to Spider-Man.
"Hey Spidey! I'll race you to Battery Park," she yelled playfully before firing her webbing onto his face, and leaping off the roof onto the streets below.
"Hey! No fair!" Spider-Man yelled out from afar, as he rips the webbing off and chases after her.