you said forever, now i drive alone past your street . . .
━ WHAT IF PETER PARKER NEVER BLIPPED?
peter parker and the earth's mightiest heroes
fought the mad titan thanos━but what if he
hadn't vanished with everyone else? withou...
THE RAPID PITTER-PATTER of Peter's footsteps against the floor upstairs were loud enough for Briar to hear, but the noise faded into the background as she examined Gwen's anxious face. Despite feeling like she couldn't breathe with her heart beating wildly out of her chest, Briar couldn't seem to pull her eyes away from the lady in front of her.
"It's great to see you again!" Gwen exclaimed cheerfully, yet kept herself at a distance for Briar's sake. Briar kept her mouth shut, not trusting her own voice. She knew if she were to respond, her words would either come out all jumbled and incoherent or she would forget to lie and completely burst out in anger. Neither would make her look even the slightest bit sane.
Grinning awkwardly, Gwen stepped to the side and opened the front door entirely, allowing Briar to take a small peek inside Peter and Gwen's shared home as they waited for Peter. As Briar's eyes stared into Gwen's face—glancing at how mature she had become—she felt like she could sink into the floor and die.
There was nothing else Briar could do but stand there defeatedly, knowing that this was quite possibly the worst way she could've been introduced to Peter's new lover. Her replacement.
She felt liked a kicked puppy. Like a child's favorite toy that'd been tossed aside or thrown into the attic, never to be seen again. Briar knew her face probably looked like she'd seen a ghost, with her entire body rigid and stiff and her eyes blown wide. It was clear that Briar's face registered her shock and the hesitant, uncomfortable expression Gwen wore was—without question—mirrored in hers.
Surely, they were thinking the same thing. Could Peter move any slower? Without realizing it, Briar's mind shifted to a memory from long ago, a moment that had only crossed her mind a handful of times since it occurred. When Gwen and Briar first, truly interacted with each other.
━━ ( SEVEN YEARS AGO ━ DECEMBER 8th, 2016 )
The rain came downand thundered unsteadily against the rooftops, drowning out the sounds of the busy streets of Queens outside. The dark December clouds had drifted in from the north, reminding the citizens of New York that winter was finally approaching.
Briar wasn't the biggest fan of the winter or New York's withering temperatures, but she loved everything that screamed wintertime. Cozy blankets, warm drinks by the fireplace, building snowmen, staying indoors to simply watch the snowflakes flurrying onto the earth in a leisurely manner. It all brought her immense joy.
