Third and fourth period classes went on about the same as they always do; Flash and Eddie did their best to humiliate me in gym class, this time in tug of war, getting everyone on my side except me to let go of the rope so I go flying onto my face. In all honesty I could probably take the entire class by myself, but like always, I have to just take it, for the sake of not exposing my super-powers. There's a little bit of irony that I'm sure would be funnier if it weren't happening to me, in that the gym that I'm routinely made the butt of their jokes is the exact same gym that I saved all their lives just a few weeks ago.
Mercifully, gym class lets out not too long after my spectacular face-plant, and it's on to Advanced Chemistry, the one refuge where I really excel. After a good ninety minutes of being the unabashed teacher's pet, it's time to head home, so I make my way to the parking lot...but not immediately to Harry's car.
Instead, I loiter out by the exit for a few minutes, trying to catch Gwen before Eddie shows up. Finally, she shows, blowing right past me just like she did when MJ and I ran into her earlier this morning.
"Gwen? Hey, c'mon, it's me," I plead as she gives me the silent treatment.
"You haven't said more than two sentences to me in days, you're not answering my calls....did I do something stupid?"
It's actually pretty pathetic the way I'm following after her in front of everyone.
"Look, I heard that you were...y'know, upset about something," I say, nearly getting run over by a car pulling out of its spot as I follow her into the parking lot. When I see we're out of earshot from the crowd, I continue.
"Harry told me Liz caught you crying in the bathroom the other day. I know I haven't been around as much as usual, because I've been off doing my...y'know, my other stuff. But if something's wrong, I just want to make sure that....that you're okay, and stuff."
Gwen stops, but still doesn't say anything.
"I was gonna say 'don't make me beg,' but I'm gonna do it anyway. I'm begging you. Just...talk to me. Please."
Finally, she sighs, and looks back at me.
"Mary Jane Watson? Really?"
"Huh? What about her?" I ask, taken aback a second by it.
"You tell me, Peter. You've been spending all your free time with her lately, ever since you pried her away from Flash Thompson. It's like you just completely forgot how mean she was to us."
"Hey, come on, she's changed since then," I say on MJ's behalf. Gwen may be my oldest and best friend, but that doesn't mean she gets a free pass to badmouth the girl I'm currently head-over-heels for.
"She's a lot deeper than she lets on, she has a great sense of humor, we just click on a lot of things. I mean, okay, I'm not entirely sure if she's actually wanting to date me or just hang out, but still, I've gotta admit, I like spending time with her. I think you would too if you gave her a chance."
"I don't know, it's just......." she pauses for a second, like she's not sure if she can ask what she wants to.
"....do you really think she's right for you? Because, if we're being honest? I think you can do better."
That last part actually gets under my skin a bit.
"Oh, I'm sorry," I hear myself saying before I can stop myself.
"Is Eddie Brock's girlfriend giving me grief over who I'm seeing now?"
Gwen bites down on her lip before storming off. Nice one, Parker. I'm fast enough to dodge bullets, but apparently not fast enough to stop my big mouth.
"Wait, come on, please, I didn't mean it like that," I say, stumbling over myself and my words.
"I mean, the whole thing with you and Eddie and me and MJ, it's weird and all, and we don't get to hang out as much as we used to, but we're still....y'know. It's not like this changes how I feel about you."
"And how's that?" She says, spinning around to get right in my face. This close, I can actually see her eyes are starting to well up, her cheeks starting to turn red.
"....how's what?"
"How exactly do you feel about me?"
With that question, my brain, which can calculate complicated acrobatics in midair, which can give me total awareness of my surroundings at all times even when blindfolded, which can alert me to dangers coming at me at a hundred miles an hour, suddenly locks up like a computer running on Vista.
"....I--.....um, well, it's just--.....I mean, you and me, we're........y'know, you and me, right? I just.....um....no, wait, I--"
"Exactly," she says with a sense of disappointed finality before turning to leave.
"Try again when you're able to come up with a coherent answer for that sentence."
Gwen walks off towards Eddie's car, and I'm left standing there, completely baffled, but with the unshakable feeling that I've screwed things up even more. Maybe the Big Man and Silvermane will take tonight off, so I can spend my evening banging my head against a wall.
Before I can find the nearest hard flat surface to use for self-inflicted cranial trauma, my Spider-Senses alert me to an oncoming threat, aimed for the back of my head. I instinctively juke my head to the right, and in my peripheral vision I see Eddie Brock's hand, completely whiffing on his attempted slap upside my head.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Parker?" he asks in a demanding tone, like I'd done something to him. I roll my eyes as I turn to face him.
"You mean aside from being harassed by a brainless tool? Not much at the moment."
"I mean you running around after Gwen like that," he says, a growl in his voice.
"What do you think you're doing talking to my girl, huh?"
"Oh yeah, my best friend since third grade? Yeah, why ever would I want to talk to her, right?"
Eddie actually grabs me by the collar, and it's all I can do to not just grab his arms and crush the bones. Just this morning I fought a pack of heavily-armed mobsters
and a guy made completely out of sand; I really don't have the patience to be intimidated by this clown.
Still, he gets right in my face, talking in a low tone so no one but me hears him.
"Whatever it is you did, you made her upset. And the more she's upset, the more she goes on and on talking about you, the less quality time she's willing to put in with me. I've been working on her for over a month now and I still haven't gotten past first base, because you keep getting in my way."
That's what he's mad about?! Not the fact that Gwen's going through some personal issues, but the fact that it slows him down from getting lucky? I ought to break this creep in half right now!
"Get your hands off of me, Brock," I say flatly, trying as hard as I can to not haul off on him. I could literally punch a hole right through this guy, right now. Seriously. Right through him.
"Or what, Parker?" Eddie says with a laugh.
"Or else you're gonna have to answer to me, Eddie," Harry says as he grabs Eddie by the shoulders and yanks him away from me.
"Hands off, rich kid!" Eddie says, spinning around and shoving Harry back.
"You really wanna try and start something with me, for Parker's sake? Why are you sticking up for this loser, huh?"
"Because Pete's my friend," Harry answers, putting himself between me and Eddie, just like he did when he tried to shield Mary Jane from Electro.
"He used to be your friend too, remember? Back before I left, the four of us were always hanging out together. Then when I come back, you're dumping on him to get cool points with Flash and Kong?"
"I got in with a better class of people," Eddie says.
"It's not like you didn't move out of the nerd herd yourself to be one of us winners. Hanging out with Parker was holding me back. That's what you never caught onto, Osborn."
"No, I just remembered who my real friends are, instead of selling them out for a social status that stops mattering the second you graduate."
"Or drop out, more likely in your case," I chime in before Harry shoots me a "shut up, you're not helping" look and I clam up again.
"Y'know, Harry, I don't know what everyone else sees in you that's got you so popular," Eddie says with a sneer,
"but under all your new clothes and attitude, you're still just a loser like Parker here."
"Better than being a dick like you any day," Harry practically spits in Brock's face.
"At least there are people who like Pete. More people might recognize you, Brock, but nobody at this school likes you. Hell, even Gwen can't stand you; she's just waiting for someone better before she dumps your ass."
With that, Eddie finally loses what's left of his cool and socks Harry in the face. Harry stumbles back, but to his credit he doesn't go down. I rush forward to go after Eddie, but Harry grabs my arm to hold me back.
For a few cold moments, Brock and I just stare death at each other, before Eddie finally snorts and walks away.
"****ing prick," Harry finally mutters before turning and heading toward his car.
"Come on, Pete, let's go. Liz is waiting at the car, and I think I'm gonna need an icepack for my eye."
"Yeah," is all I'm able to say as we walk through the parking lot.
"So....are you gonna be all right?"
"Eh," Harry shrugs,
"I punched a reporter a couple weeks ago when that whole scandal involving my dad and that Fisk guy made the news. Broke the guy's nose. So I guess a black eye is a little bit of karma."
"Well, um....thanks for sticking up for me."
"Don't mention it."
*****
A couple hours later, I'm done with my homework and trying to decide what to do with my evening. The obvious choice is to go on patrol, but after fighting the Sandman and the Maggia before school even started, I think I might be pressing my luck by going out twice in one day. Mary Jane said she's doing a thing tonight, so that's no good either. And Harry's off with Liz, letting her tend to his valiantly-earned war wound.
As I wander aimlessly around Norman's penthouse, I pull out my phone and check my voicemail.
You have (2) unheard messages and (1) old messages.
MESSAGE 1:
"Peter Parker? This is J. Jonah Jameson, Editor in Chief of the Daily Bugle. I'm calling you in regards to some photographs that one of my reporters credited you with taking, the ones with all those freak-show superheroes in Times Square. Come down to my office at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon, sharp. Understood? Good."
Well, that was....unexpected. I mean, I was going to try and get in touch with the
Bugle about those pictures myself, but hey, guess they decided to get to me first. Gotta wonder how they got my number, though. I won't lie, that kinda creeps me out a little.
MESSAGE 2:
"Peter, this is George Stacy. I'm just calling you to remind you that Gwen's birthday is coming up next week, and...well, you know how much it means to her for you to be there. Just make sure to bring some flowers this time. Same time, at the usual place. And, um, stay out of trouble until then."
Ah yes, the annual awkward reminder call from Captain Stacy. The one time of year when he doesn't intimidate the bejeezus out of me.
MESSAGE 3:
"Hello, I'm trying to reach a Mister...Peter Parker. This is Gregory Bestman, head of Admissions at Empire State University, and I'm calling to let you know about some recent developments regarding your submission to the recent ESU Science Fair....."
Oh yeah, this is an old one, forgot to delete it. Why does that name keep ringing a bell, though? I could swear I heard it just today.....
".....the ESU murder!" I blurt out when I remember.
"What?" Harry calls from the next room over.
"Nothing, just....something in a book," I say.
"It's a really good one!"
"Sounds boring," Harry says before going back to whatever he's doing, which allows me time to think.
Gregory Bestman was the man who was mysteriously killed on the ESU campus the night of the Times Square attack. The one who was apparently dropped from a huge height when there were no huge heights around from which he could be dropped.
He was also the same person who awarded me the ESU Scholarship money that was taken from Blackie Drago.....after his VULTURE flying suit was disqualified for cheating.....
.....and for the last couple of days, Blackie's been awfully content with himself in class.
"Oh holy crap," I say under my breath.
With that, I pull my mask and hoodie out from my backpack, grab some refill cartridges for my web-shooters out from under my bed, and sneak out the window.
In class today, Blackie said he was going to spend the evening working with his mentor Mister Toomes, then go over to Debra Whitman's house for God knows what. Which means both of them might be in incredible danger.
One of my classmates is a murderer. And tonight, I'm going to bring him in.
