Chapter 36

*Bird chirping noises*

"Need a medic?" one of the joggers chuckled playfully as he approaches his friend, who was lying down, floored, by one of the trees.

"Haha…," the other jogger chuckled lifelessly as he seemingly tries desperately to regain his breath. "I need a new set of lungs, is what I need," he joked.

"Dude, you just ran like 13 miles in 30 minutes," he said, sounding exasperated.

Gwen, raised her eyebrow out of curiousness, accidentally overhearing their banter. She quickly smirked to herself, chuckling at the need for boys (even fully-grown adults apparently) to exaggerate everything.

"Guess I got a late start," the other jogger smirked, himself panting ever so slightly from his jog.

"Really? You should be ashamed of yourself," his partner scoffed, a hint of playful sarcasm in his tone. "You should take another lap. Did you just take it? I assumed you just took it," he continued sarcastically.

Gwen smiled to herself, enjoying the morning view of the park and its morning visitors.

As she sat down by the lake, hugging one of her knees in contemplation as she playfully skipped the nearby pebbles into the lake, Gwen smiled ruefully, missing the days she used to spend in the park with her parents.

Nowadays, she almost constantly found herself busy, what with High School & the 'Mary Janes', and recently with her late-night excursions as Ghost-Spider and her internship. But even when she had the time, she could never really bring herself to spend the time at the park. Better to spend it doing something, going somewhere.

But today, having caught up on her sleep last night, she finally decided to spend the early weekend morning out for a walk at the park. Ever since she was young, she always found the park & the view of its people, calming & soothing. And in truth, ever since that day, Gwen always felt scared to be alone with her thoughts. Not that she didn't have her moments of silent contemplation, but to have a long, hard look into herself, to face her problems head-on, she was constantly running away from her own self for the past few years.

And Gwen herself knew this. She's smart enough to know that her problems will eat her up, no, it was constantly eating her up from the inside. But… she couldn't do it.

But yesterday, she felt a weight lifted from her heart. Being a part of her mother's research, helping bring to light the fruits of her efforts, working where she had worked, with the people she had worked with, for one reason or another, provided her with a sense of closure. And while she still had plenty of questions that needs answering about her mother's works, for the moment, she felt as close as she ever felt to her mother.

Gwen smiled as the soft morning breeze washes over her, blowing her bangs across her face. The sight of the people in the melting pot of a city that is New York, the cacophony of sounds from the variety of cultures and its colorful residents, Gwen took her time, enjoying the sight in front of her.

She softly reached for her mother's journal, safely tucked in her hoodie's kangaroo pocket, and softly brushes her fingers across it. As she slowly closes her eyes, finally, she hears it.

Silence.

Gwen stayed sat down, in silence for a few more moments, enjoying her moment with herself.

*tingle*

Gwen quickly shifted her head back to avoid the oncoming ball that was heading towards her.

"Woahh," she heard a subtle gasp of awe.

Gwen quickly opened her eyes, and was greeted by the sight of a young girl, staring wide-eyed at her.

"How'd you do that?" the young girl asked in amazement.

"TIANA!" a sudden voice yelled out, slightly angrily at them. As Gwen turned towards the source of the voice, she was greeted by the sight of a middle-aged lady, frowning angrily towards the little girl in front of her.

As the lady made her way towards them, she quickly pinched the young girl by the ear, as she berates her.

"What did I say to you about kicking that ball?" she snapped.

"Oww oww oww! Okay okay, it was an accident!" the young girl (who Gwen assumed was Tiana) winced in pain as she felt her ears twisted by the lady.

The older lady eventually lets go of the girl, before turning apologetically towards Gwen. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

"She's fine…, it didn't actually hit her," Tiana grumbled softly under her breath in annoyance, before being smacked in the head by the lady. "OWW!"

"You...," the older lady started, before letting out a long sigh and pinching her nose in frustration. "Just, go get the ball back," she sighed.

"Yes ma'am!" Tiana said excitedly, before sprinting away towards the ball.

Gwen couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. "I'm fine," Gwen assured her. "Like she said, it didn't hit me,"

"Thank goodness," the lady smiled, a look of relief on her face. "Still, we're really sorry about this," she continued.

"Oh no no, it's fine, you don't have to apologise," Gwen said hurriedly.

"Thanks," the lady smiled warmly. "Lenora," she introduced herself, before offering Gwen a handshake.

"Oh, I'm Gwen," Gwen smiled warmly, as she shakes Lenora's hands.

"And, that little critter there, is Tiana," Lenora pointed towards the young girl who was kicking & dribbling the ball across the park. "She's uhh, she's a handful," Lenora smiled, while letting out a soft sigh.

"I bet," Gwen nodded along softly as they both stared at the excited young girl. "So… soccer?"

"Oh, uhm, yeah, for now," Lenora smiled as she shrugged her shoulders. "Her grandfather bought those for her last month, and she's been kicking the ball around the house, breaking everything," she sighed defeatedly. "I promised to bring her to the park, coz, you know, because of the space…," Gwen nodded along with Lenora. "…as long as she stopped kicking it inside the house as much,"

"What about you then? What's a lovely girl like you doing in the park this fine weekend?" Lenora continued; her eyes always glued to the little girl running across the park.

"Hmm?" Gwen paused for a moment. "Nothing much, just uhh, getting some 'me' time,"

"I see," Lenora nodded along absent-mindedly. "Taking in the sights?" she questioned.

"Yeah, more or less," Gwen shrugged. "That, and I guess I was looking to sample some sounds, see if I find something interesting,"

"Oooh, you're a musician then?" Lenora cooed as she turned towards her excitedly.

Gwen blushed slightly, before tucking her arms in her hoodie. "Uhh, n-no, not really-,"

"Don't be modest, girl," Lenora playfully nudged her on her shoulders. "What you play then? Guitar?"

"Drums," Gwen said, slightly abashed.

"Ooh, that's a tough one," Lenora nodded slowly. "Coz you have to, like, set up the beat and all that, yeah?"

Gwen chuckled slightly at her remarks. "Well, not really," Gwen "It's actually simpler than it looks," Gwen played off the remark. "Do you play?"

Lenora eyes widened comically for a few moments, before she lets out a laugh. "Who, me? Please, I don't have a musical bone in me," she shook her head. "But I used to love going to concerts though. That's actually where Frankie & I met," she smiled.

"Oh," Gwen nodded. "I'm assuming Frankie is…-,"

"Her dad, yes," Lenora nodded, still smiling as she watches over Lenora. "But he left, so, you know,"

"O-oh, I… uhh, I'm sorry to hear that," Gwen shuffled awkwardly.

"Oh no, don't be," Lenora shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I've made peace with it. A weak man that runs away at the first sight of trouble? Good riddance," she smirked. "And besides, his dad comes by to see Tiana every once in a while. It is what it is, and Tiana's happy, so that's all that matters,"

"I-I see," Gwen nodded, unsure of how to follow up the current conversation.

"I guess that kinda dampened the mood huh?" Lenora smirked as she turned towards her. "Sorry about that,"

"N-no, it's fine," Gwen smiled awkwardly.

"Right, sound sampling," Lenora suddenly clapped her hands to try & change the topic. "Where's your gear? I thought you're supposed to bring, like, a mic, or headphones or something right?"

"Oh, uhh, no," Gwen quickly pulled out her iPhone & earbuds & showed it to Lenora. "I just use these,"

"Oh wow, you can do all that with just these nowadays?" Lenora raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Yeah, pretty much," Gwen nodded. "There's GarageBand, so it's like an all-in-one music app," Gwen explained. "I just use this to mix some sounds & what not,"

Suddenly, at that moment, her phone ringed, & Gwen quickly pocketed her iPhone & took out her other, slightly beat-up phone out of her hoodie.

"Yeah?" Gwen said simply, through the phone.

There was slight pause as the sound of someone chewing gum can be clearly heard from the other side. "We still on for 9am?" Betty's lazy voice sounded out slowly from the other side.

Gwen took a quick glance at her phone's clock, before returning to the call. "Yeah, sure. Why wouldn't we," Gwen raised one of her eyebrow.

"Hah, save the sass princess," Betty replied. "I'm having Eddie pick me & Glory up. Didn't want to be late," Betty continued. "Or early,"

Gwen rolled her eyes, smiling softly at the familiar antics of her friend. "So you're asking him to join us for breakfast then?"

"Eww! No!" Betty replied strongly. "Can't have any of you sluts having eyes for him,"

"Blegh!" Gwen purposely made a loud barfing sound, making sure Betty is able to hear her from the other side. "Like that would ever happen,"

"Right, coz you're all tied up around the whole triangle thing," Betty said, chuckling as she does so.

Gwen frowned for a moment. "What triangle thing?" Gwen asked in confusion.

"Nothing," Betty replied, a hint of amusement laced in her casual lazy voice. "See you in a while blondie," she continued, before succinctly hanging up the phone.

Gwen looked back to her phone in confusion. 'I can never understand that girl,' Gwen thought to herself.

"Your friends?" Lenora asked softly when Gwen turned back towards her.

"Y-yeah, sorry about that," Gwen rubbed the back of her head apologetically.

"Oh, no no, don't be," Lenora smiled warmly. "But if you don't mind me asking, why the two phones?"

"Hmmm? Oh, uhh, well, the iPhone isn't really a 'phone' phone," Gwen explained, to a confused looking Lenora. "My bandmates got it for me a few years ago, when we formed the band," Gwen explained. "I, uhh, don't really use it much other than for music stuff,"

"I see…," Lenora nodded her head softly. "Kinda like a 'work' phone then?"

"Uhhh, no-, well, I guess you can call it that, yeah," Gwen said, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

"And I assume the other phone is precious, in a way?" Lenora offered.

"Huh?" Gwen said, slightly taken aback by the question. "Yeah, more or less," she smiled softly, her hands tucked inside her hoodie, as it normally is when she felt shy.

"Right," Lenora nodded, while smiling warmly at Gwen. "So, what's your band name then?"

"Huh?" Gwen blinked in confusion. "Oh, uhm, it's the 'Mary Janes',"

"The 'Mary Janes'?" Lenora raised one of her eyebrows out of curiosity.

"The singer's name is Mary Jane, so…," Gwen shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"I see," Lenora nodded. "Is there any way I can listen to one of your songs?" she asked.

"U-uh, yeah, I think a friend of ours uploaded on of our shows onto YouTube," Gwen said slightly excitedly. "We only have the one song. You can look up 'Face it tiger' if you want to try & give it a listen," Gwen explained.

"Alright, sure, maybe I will," Lenora smiled. "Would you mind if we exchanged contacts? You never know, I might be staring at the next big thing," she teased playfully.

Gwen smiled shyly at the compliment. "Yeah, sure,"

"Mommy look," Tiana yelled excitedly as she dribbles towards them. "I saw this on Youtube the other day, look!" Tiana exclaimed, before she haphazardly tries to flick the ball with her backfoot, over her head.

*tingle*

As Tiana fails & launched the ball (softly) towards the pair, Gwen quickly used her enhanced agility and headed the ball up & softly lets it fall onto her foot.

"Woahh," Tiana gasped in amazement.

"W-wow, that was, amazing," Lenora blinked in surprise for a few moments.

Gwen felt her cheeks blushing slightly. "S-sorry,"

"WOW! ARE YOU LIKE, A PROFEESIONAL PLAYER?!" Tiana yelled excitedly, attracting the attention of the nearby park-goers.

Gwen quickly blushed, as Lenora quicky dragged Tiana towards her & clasped her mouth.

The pair then smiled awkwardly as some of the park-goers turned towards them.

"S-sorry! Haha, kids, you know?" Lenora said out loud, as she smiled apologetically.

Tiana then excitedly wrestle her way out of Lenora's grip and turned towards Gwen. "Are you?! Are you?!"

"N-no, no, I, uhh, never actually played soccer," Gwen smiled awkwardly at the excitable girl.

"Huh?" Tiana raised her eyebrow in confusion & disbelief. "But, then, how did you do that?"

"Err, great… reflexes?" Gwen offered weakly.

"Huh?" Tiana frowned deeply in disbelief.

"Jus-Let's just, leave the young lady alone, okay honey," Lenora said, a forced smile plastered across her face.

"B-but, I want her to teach-,"

"Tiana," Lenora said firmly.

"Tch, fine," Tiana grumbled as she picked up her ball & tucked it under her arm.

"Sorry about that," Lenora offered apologetically.

"Oh, uhh, no. I'm sorry too, about that," Gwen replied, referring vaguely to whatever happened before.

"It was nice meeting you Gwen," Lenora smiled softly, before dragging Tiana away. "See you around,"

"Nice meeting you too," Gwen smiled.

"The 'Mary Janes', 'Face it tiger', yeah?" Lenora said as she walked away.

"Y-yeah!" Gwen nodded excitedly.

"I'll give it a listen when I have the time," Lenora smiled softly.

As they walked away, Tiana quickly turned back towards her & waved her goodbye excitedly.

Gwen couldn't help but smile back as she waved her goodbye.

Lenora quickly gave her daughter a soft smack on the head. "Don't make me take that ball away," she said sassily.

"But mom!"

After she watched the two figures slowly walk away, Gwen quickly scrolled through her sound samples that she managed to record today.

"A work phone…,"

*bus door opening noise*

As she got down from the bus, her phone suddenly vibrated as she received a new message.

'U've got urself a new fan hun,' Lenora texted her, before suddenly a second message came in quick succession. 'Make that two, Ms. future football star loved it too,'

Gwen beamed happily as she sends Lenora her reply of appreciation. After she's done, Gwen looked around at the unfamiliar sight as she stepped down from the bus. After a few moments, she quickly spots her friend, leaning at a nearby pole.

Gwen slowly walked towards the, phone-scrolling, music-listening, teenager, and snuck up behind her.

"I did see you get off of that bus, you know," Liz remarked casually, her eyes still glued to her social media feed.

"Urgh, you're no fun," Gwen rolled her eyes in annoyance, before joining her friend by her side.

"A-miss A-LL-an," Gwen exaggeratedly curtsied, holding an imaginary dress up.

"Miszz S-TACE-yy," Liz bowed elegantly, as she tucks an arm under her chest. "A pleasure to meet you this fine 'dandy' morning," she continued, her voice, thick with a fake English accent.

"The pleasure is all mine, good sir," Gwen replied with her own set of thick fake accent, before holding out her hand for a kiss.

Liz's eyes quickly flitted between her hand & her face. "I'm not kissing that," Liz said in her normal voice. "Who knows where you've put that hand," she cringes exaggeratedly.

Gwen quickly pulled her hand back, a look of, fake, exaggerated, indignation plastered across her face. "Why, I'd never… What are you implying sir? That this hand is impure?! Why, I have merely picked my nose, and…," she continued in her fake voice. "…maybe picked my bellybutton once or twice," she whispered, before smirking.

"Gross," Liz rolled her eyes playfully, before the both of them lets out a small chuckle at their inside joke.

"So, where are the others?" Gwen asked, scanning her surroundings for any familiar faces.

"Harry's butler dropped him & Ned over, a couple of minutes ago. But they went ahead inside the convenience store to wait," Liz gestured over to a nearby store across the street.

"Ukh, and they left little old you, all by yourself?" Gwen said, feigning surprise.

"Yaa, I know, right?" Liz replied, doing her best 'Mean Girls' impression.

"Ehh, they probably found the company boring," Gwen shrugged her shoulders absent-mindedly.

"Hey!" Liz replied, before giving Gwen a light punch on the shoulder.

"Oww!" Liz yelled out in pain, as soon as her fist connected with Gwen's shoulder.

"Huh? Oh shit! I'm sorry!" Gwen quickly apologized as soon as she sees Liz clutching her hand in pain.

"No, it's fine," Liz brushed away her concern, before frowning at her. "Damn girl, have you been, like, working out or something?" Liz said, sounding slightly surprised & impressed. "Coz that felt like I was hitting a wall or something," she continued, now shaking her wrists as she tries to shake away the pain.

"A-hahaha, i-it's the shirt, probably," Gwen offered weakly, while her mind kept berating herself. 'Roll with the punches Gwen, always roll with the punches,' she berated herself as she was reminded of one of the things Spider-Man had taught her. 'This is a lot easier with actual baddies! At least I'd have my spider-sense then!'

"A-anyway, so, uhh, what about Pete? They didn't come together?" Gwen asked as she gestured to where the two boys were at.

"No, apparently he's got something to do, as always," Liz rolled her eyes, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "They say he'll be a bit late, as usual,"

"R-right," Gwen nodded absent-mindedly.

"Speak of the devil, look who's just arrived," Liz whistled as an old black mustang stopped across the street from them.

Two teenage girls stepped out from the car, their disposition a complete opposite of each other.

"Thx for the ride babe," Betty said in her usual disinterested voice.

"Yeah, thx Eddie!" Glory echoed her cousin.

"No problem hun," Eddie quickly said, before firing a quick air kiss to Betty. "See you later babe,"

Gwen & Liz quickly did their best silent barfing impressions for Betty to catch to try & annoy her.

Betty quickly held back a smile, before leaning towards the car & flashing them a finger above his car. "Thanks babe, I'll call you later," she smiled towards Eddie before waving him goodbye.

Once he left, the two of them walked towards Gwen & Liz & joined them by their side.

"Assholes," Betty remarked as she approached them.

"We try," Gwen shrugged her shoulders slightly, before smirking playfully.

Betty rolled her eyes in annoyance, before turning back towards Gwen. "Still, didn't expect you of all people to call for a hangout with Red," Betty remarked off-handedly.

Liz raised an eyebrow as she turned towards them. "Did you guys get into a fight?"

Gwen lets out a small sigh as her smile turned into a slight frown. "It's MJ, when has she ever not been in a fight?" Gwen remarked.

"Yeah, but this one's kinda on you," Betty smirked slyly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here now aren't I? I'll try & work it out with her," Gwen sighed, feeling slightly nervous internally. "Maybe,"

"So," Glory suddenly interjected. "What are we waiting for? I'm starving,"

"Peter," Liz shrugged her shoulders, which earned her a confused stare from the two girls. "Parker?"

"We know who-God. No, I mean, I thought this was all his & blondies idea?" Betty remarked.

"Well, you're not wrong," Gwen shrugged her shoulders. "But Peter being Peter, you know?"

"Wow, the nerd got some balls, making three gorgeous ladies wait for him like this," Betty smiled softly.

"Three?" Liz raised an eyebrow.

"I said what I said," Betty shrugged her shoulders playfully.

Gwen rolled her eyes at her friend's antics. "Let's just go in first, I'll go & get the boys,"

*Store Bell Chimes*

Led by Liz & Gwen, the group slowly made their way into the Diner.

As soon as they stepped inside, they were greeted by the sight of a nice quaint diner, with the occasional customers sitting down at a couple of the tables.

As they were looking around for MJ, a voice suddenly called out from behind the kitchen.

"Sally! Customers!" a rough voice with a slight European accent rang, which is then followed by a middle-aged lady approaching the group.

"How man-," the lady started, before a loud yell rang out from across the diner.

"Big Sis Liz & Gwen!" the voice of a young boy suddenly called out to them.

"Billy?" Gwen replied in surprise as she sees the family of three, seated at the far end of the diner.

At that moment, a flaming red-haired girl, came out from the kitchen, her hands carrying the trays of food meant for her customer.

"Okay Billy, Sis-Jane's got your pancake & syrup, coming right up," she said in a comical gruff voice, as she opened the door with her butt, courtesy of her hands being full with the trays.

"Sis-Jane, look, look, it's Big Sis Liz & Gwen, from daddy's lab!" Billy said excitedly as she pointed towards the group of teenagers at the door. "And Big Bro Harry too! Hiya Big Bro Harry!"

As MJ looked over at them in surprise, Harry quickly waved back at the excited Billy. "Heya Billy,"