Spider-Gwen || Caught in a Web

Second Wind || Gwen Stacy

"She's so high, high above me, she's so lovely"

-She's So High, Tal Bachman

Should've known better.

That was the only thing that Gwen Stacy could tell herself as she meandered down the halls of Midtown High-she'd popped into class late, which hardly ever happened, and had been given a somewhat half-hearted verbal warning from her teacher. She didn't care... nothing that was discussed in class had been stored away in her mind, not with her heartstrings being tugged at like this.

How could this have happened? That was the only thing Gwen still couldn't wrap her head around... if ever there had been something that had seemed poised for her to reach out and take, it had been prom with Miles Morales. She had every inclination to think that he liked her, too. And yet, here she was: a miserable aching in her chest and a lump in her throat once more.

"I can't go to prom... I've got a lot of stuff going on..."

The words replayed in Gwen's mind again and again. What was possibly so time-consuming that Miles couldn't go to prom? Something more time-consuming than Gwen's life that tugged her in four different directions at once? She didn't think so... he must've been playing games with her, as sickening a thought it was to realize. So not only were her feelings for Miles shattered, but the fact that he probably lied to her had destroyed her respect for him, too.

She hugged her arms tighter around her waist, feeling about as insecure as she had in a while. Was this really how the story was going to end?

No... Gwen told herself firmly. ...Maybe today's story, but not my story.

This was going to hurt for a while, she knew it. But Gwen had gotten off the deck and dusted herself off before-surely she could do it again. She had to do it again-Connors still had to be stopped. But even though the whole 'Lizard' ordeal was a huge issue, Gwen just felt so empty inside thinking about it. First Dr. Connors had turned out to not be the idealistic role model Gwen had looked up to, and now it was followed up with Miles rejecting her in a dishonest way? If I can't get over what just happened with Miles... how am I supposed to turn Dr. Connors in?

The thought was accompanied by a grim feeling in Gwen's stomach. For the first time in a long time, she was afraid that she might not have the bravery to go through with her responsibility to New York City.

As she pressed onwards down the hallway with her eyes glued to the floor, Gwen failed to notice someone blocking her way-that is, until she accidentally bumped right into the person.

"Hey-" Gwen, in no mood to be trifled with, initially looked up in frustration, but the irritation drained from her eyes immediately when she saw who it was. Owen.

"Hey, Gwen." His soft voice was somehow exactly what Gwen needed in this moment, leaving her tongue-tied and speechless. 

"Um, uh... morning." Gwen stammered, immediately wishing she could go back in time and respond in a more composed way. 

Owen looked confused for a moment, then decided to ignore Gwen's lack of composure. "I'm glad I ran into you, I wanted to show you something before class today..."

Her eyes followed his hands as he pulled something out of his back pocket and began to unfold it-what was that, another drawing?

Gwen sighed softly. As much as she appreciated Owen's talent for artwork, she didn't want to be thinking about anything that tied into feelings for boys right now. "Look, Owen-"