But Those Are the Best Kind

Peter's alarm went off causing his eyes to slowly open before squinting at the ceiling out of annoyance. He immediately swung his arm over, totally smashing the beeping object next to him. He laid there for a moment after removing his fist from the pile of crushed plastic, until he rolled over and buried his face completely into the pillow as he groaned. I swear if somebody had asked me what I'd rather be doing, sitting through another day of school or fighting a mutant lizard? Honestly, I'd say the lizard.

It was Monday. His least favorite day of the week, except for Thursday. God, did Peter hate Thursdays.

Monday, a new school week. A whole week of sitting behind Gwen in almost every class. Another five days of doing his best to keep himself from dragging her into the nearest closet and apologizing for everything. Thirty-five hours worth of being so close yet so far from the one he loves.

Peter slid his hands up lazily until they reached his sides to push himself off up the bed. Slowly, he got up; dragging his feet as he made his way to the bathroom. Peter had barely gotten any sleep the previous night, actually he barely got any sleep ever. There was always some issue going on downtown that was in need of the help of Spider-man. He rarely got a good four hours of sleep, let alone eight like normal kids his age. After reaching the bathroom, Peter rubbed his tired eyes and shut the door behind him.

Only minutes after getting in, Peter was already finished with his morning routine. Although he was tired, he was still superhuman and finished everything he did almost instantaneously. With nothing left to do but get dressed, Peter stepped back into his room; frowning at the piles of dirty clothes scattered all over the floor. I am an absolutely slob, Aunt May would drop dead at the sight of this. He dug his hands through the stacks, looking for the cleanest and most appropriate item of clothing he could find. He quickly threw on a white t-shirt and pair of jeans before slipping into the same jacket he's worn almost every day since his Aunt May bought it for him. That's probably the reason why it was his favorite, even though it had a few holes and spots where it was wearing away at the brown material Peter still loved it.

Peter grabbed his bag and hung it over his shoulder before turning to head downstairs, where he remembered the little pile of a smashed alarm clock that rested on his night stand. He swiftly turned around and grabbed the barely recognizably item, throwing it into a pile in the corner of his room. Peter was already out of his bedroom door by time it landed with the remains of his previous alarm clocks. Once he made his way to the top of the stairs, he slipped into his old, torn nikes and ran down the stairs - almost knocking over his aunt on the way to the kitchen.

"You're going to be late again, Peter!" His aunt yelled over her right shoulder before continuing up the stairs. She paused as she rested her hand on the door knob of her room, "I left your breakfast on the table!"

Peter stopped as he was almost fully out the door, quickly backing up until he reached the table. He ignored the assortment of eggs and sausage links once he grabbed the toast to shove into his mouth. He ran back out the door, barely yelling a muffled 'thank you' to his aunt as he chewed the rest of the bread.

Peter didn't have a car, and honestly he didn't need one. His form of transportation was much more fun, and quicker anyways. Once he reached the corner of his street, Peter ran down an alley. He looked around to make sure he was entirely alone before shooting his web to sling himself forward. He kept his hood up as he made his way towards his school, making certain that he only went behind abandoned alley ways and buildings until he reached the one he was looking for.

Only twenty feet away did he hear the warning bell ring, which made Peter groan in frustration as he ran faster, now sprinting into the front doors. He kept going until he reached his desired room, frowning to himself as he looked at the bronze plate that read 204 on the top of the door frame. He barely made it in when the first period bell rang above him.

"Peter Parker, only a second late. This is a new record for you," the dark skinned teacher said, not bothering to turn around to face Peter as he continued drawing a model on the white board.

Gwen glanced up once she heard a familiar name, causing Peter to quickly shift his gaze to the floor as he walked past her - he made sure that his eyes wouldn't meet hers before he plopped himself down into the chair. "Sorry Mr. B, traffic was killer."

This made Gwen scoff slightly under her breath; she knew Peter didn't have a car, and she knew exactly how he got to school too. She shook her head slightly, making Peter look up from the wooden desk in front of him. He couldn't keep himself from staring at her. The way her ponytail swayed back and forth, how she kept tapping her pencil on the side of her desk to help concentrate, or how every now and now she shifted her shoulders. As if she could feel his stare burning into the back of her head.

He was lost in thought by time the bell rang, which caused him to jump in his seat slightly. Which was surprisingly a lot for a superhero that barely flinched at the sight of a mutant. Peter had been staring at Gwen and day dreaming about laying in his bed asleep for so long he hadn't even taken more than a few sentences worth of notes. He frowned at the sloppy handwriting on his paper before slamming his notebook shut.

"I copied them for you," Peter's eyes widened as he looked up at the cheeky blonde in front of him, holding out a few pieces of paper full of notes. He must have been staring for awhile because she began to shift her feet awkwardly, "I know you didn't ask but I - uh, thought I'd help you out a little." Gwen laughed nervously and set the papers down in front of him before turning to walk away.

Peter shook his head slightly to himself before quickly standing up and grabbing the papers off his desk, "No I - I'm sorry," She quickly turned around, raising her eyebrows slightly at what he said until Peter continued, "for ignoring you for a sec there, I mean. Thank you for the notes, that was really sweet of you. It means a lot." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as he looked up at her with his big, brown eyes.

Gwen hugged her books to her chest as she nodded her head, "Of course." She brought her hand up to push a loose strand of hair back behind her little black headband.

After standing there staring at the ground silently, the both of them continued at the same time, interrupting one another.

"Look, I'm--"
"Anyways I guess--"

Peter looked up at her once they both stopped, "What was that?"

"I was gonna say that I guess I should be going," Gwen swung her foot lightly as she spoke, "I'm late already anyways."

Peter frowned once she finished. He didn't want her to go. Although they've only said a few sentences to each other, it was the most he's talked to her since the accident. He never realized how much he missed her until now, which caused his heart to drop in his stomach at the thought of another month without her. "Hey, we both have history next so how about I.. I mean I could walk you to class - if you wanted me too.." Peter trailed off, realizing how stupid he must have sounded. He mentally slapped himself for offering, he promised to stay away from her and here he was.. already wanting to walk her to class. I mean, it's just a friendly offer, right? Not like I'm asking her to stop by the broom closet for a make-out session or anything. Peter tried to reassure himself in his head.

It was weird to think that only a month ago he could talk to Gwen about anything, now it's like nothing ever happened between them and Peter hated that. More than anything.

Gwen pulled at the sleeves of her little blue sweater as a small smile crept onto her lips, "Yeah.. yeah, that'd be nice." She looked up at him as she bit down on her bottom lip gently, digging her tooth into the skin as she began walking down the deserted hallway. Gwen turned around, sending Peter an encouraging smile and motioned in front of her with her shoulder as she faced the front again.

The corners of Peter's mouth turned up into a small grin as he began following her; just the sight of her smiling at him gave him the best feeling he's felt in a while. He started jogging slightly as he made his way to catch up to her, chuckling softly under his breath as old memories started flooding his mind.

"What's so funny, Parker?" Gwen turned to look up at him as she continued forward, raising an eyebrow as she emphasized his last name.

Peter grasped the strap of his bag as his gaze shifted to the floor, he was a bit taken back by the question which made him pause before he spoke. "I - uh -" He snapped his head up to look at her, quickly changing the subject as he focused on her face, "What have you been up to?"

It's not like Peter just said that so he didn't have to state out loud how he just reminisced on moments in their past relationship - although it was a very important contributing factor - but he really did want to know what she's been doing in her spare time. He knew what she did at night since he just happened to slip by her window every night to check up on her (not creepy at all), but he didn't know what she was up to on the nights she did go out. And he was curious. He was curious if she still worked at OsCorp, if she had a found interest in a new guy, if she's applied to any one of those colleges she's been dreaming about for years, or if she found interest in a new guy.

Okay, he was mostly curious if she had found interest in a new guy.

Gwen shrugged her shoulders and let out a sigh before she spoke, "Honestly? Nothing," Hearing this made Peter furrow his eyebrows, he didn't know whether to feel some sort of relief or feel worried because Gwen Stacy never does 'nothing'. Gwen Stacy is always busy with extra-curricular activities. Gwen Stacy is never one to have free time. Peter paid close attention as she continued, "I've just been focusing on my grades I guess.. there's not much to do anymore. Just to study, study, study."

Peter felt guilt creeping back up to him, what if it's because of the.. yanno? he asked himself. Peter stayed silent as he thought of all the possibilities. He immediately felt regret for the past few weeks, you ditched her. You fucking ditched her within fourty-eight hours of losing her dad. You are an idiot.

The two continued to walk next to each other in complete silence as they turned down left down the 300 hallway. Why would you leave someone like that? You've been sitting here feeling sorry for yourself while she was grieving over the death of her dad.

Just a few doors down from their history class, there were screams that could be heard from the south wing of the school, making both of them whip their heads around.

Peter's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to listen closely for the exact place of the screaming students. He looked at Gwen, who was staring at him with her blue eyes filled with worry, and he flashed her a sympathetic look. Now I remember why I left her..

Before she had a chance to blink, Peter already disappeared around the corner; his shoes and clothes laying on the floor next to Gwen. Only it wasn't Peter Parker jumping out of the nearest window, it was Spider-man slinging himself from the top story with his bio-cables attached to the side of the building to get to the other end of the school faster. Standing there still stunned, Gwen exhaled out of her nose heavily before muttering under her breath.

"Oh boy."