Webs of Steel

Chapter 10; Fear

Clark ran further down the corridor with Lois in his arms. He wasn't sure when exactly she had fallen unconscious, but he needed to find a safe space to leave her so that he could return to the basement and help Peter. He stopped briefly and glanced around, but found nothing to help. Knowing that time was something he didn't have, he caved in and propped Lois up against the wall, then ran back the way he'd come.
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"What's the matter, Wall Crawler? Scared?"

Peter inhaled deeply and squared his shoulders, showing no signs of fear. Mysterio laughed and before he could move, Peter found himself surrounded by thick gray fog, swirling around him like a storm. He could see nothing beyond it, and his head began to spin, making him dizzy. He spun around, trying to look for an opening out of the fog, when it disappeared suddenly. But when he looked around, he was no longer standing face to face with Mysterio, in the basement at Luthor Corp.

There were no grizzly dark gray walls and leaking pipes with faded stickers on them. All of it had been replaced by the four purple walls of Gwen's bedroom back in the family apartment in New York City. Though he relaxed when he saw Gwen, standing before him. His lips twitched into a smile.

"What?... H- how did you…?"

"You were dreaming, Peter." She informed him softly.

Something about her voice didn't seem right. He couldn't point out exactly what it was though. But it sent shivers down his spine, raising the tension in his body again.

"Oh." Was all he could manage to say.

Gwen folded her arms across her chest and cast her eyes down at her feet. She looked back up at him only a second later, and this time, her eyes met his, furthering his discomfort.

"S- something on your mind?" He questioned, unable to hold back any longer.

"Peter, I've been thinking…"

There was something about the way she said it. He didn't like it. Whenever someone used those words to kickstart a conversation, it was never good news. Her tone only added to his anxiety. This was going nowhere good.

"About?" He inquired, even though he didn't want to know.

"Us." She answered. "I've been thinking about us."

"Okay…" He frowned. "... You want to tell me something, don't you?" He guessed, picking up on her hesitation.

"Yes, I do." She confirmed.

"And it's nothing good, is it?" He sighed.

"That depends on how you feel."

"Gwen, please… don't stall, just tell me what you've been thinking." He pleaded.

"Alright." She agreed. "I want to break up."

Peter could have sworn his heart stopped at that moment. In his mind, he could hear the crackling sound as it shattered right in his chest. He pulled his lip in between his teeth, wanting to ask her why, but at the same time not.

"It's just too much for me." She continued. "I don't want to be constantly on the run or in the path of danger, having to watch my back wherever I go-"

"Gwen…"

"Let me speak!" She insisted. "I do love you, but this isn't the kind of life that I want to be living."

"Then I can walk away and we can-"

"No you can't!" She snapped. "And I'm not asking you to do that. The city needs you, and whether you want to admit it, Peter, you need Spider-man."

"Not as much as I need you!" He protested, stepping forward and reaching out with both hands to embrace her face.