Fractured Mind

Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Marvel or The Amazing Spider-Man. I do not own any of these characters.

Thud.

Peter heard the sickening noise even from seven stories up in the air. In the back of his mind, he knew. There was no way he was going to accept it. He quickly tied the end of his web to the pole and dropped down to the bottom of the clock tower.

Everything will be alright, he thought. My webbing caught her. He whipped his mask off his face and tossed it aside. Gwen wasn't moving. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he decided to ignore it for now.

Peter reaches out to Gwen, "Hey. Hey." No response.

"Gwen," his voice shakes as he cuts the webbing off her, pulling her onto his lap. "Gwen?" Peter asks as his eyes start to fill with tears. There is an edge of panic to his voice. He knows. He can't accept it.

"You're alright. You're okay. Breathe," he encouraged.

"You're okay," he says to himself nodding his head.

"Gwen?" he cries out. "Stay with me, stay with me!" he pleads desperately.

Nothing.

"No, Gwen, stay with me please!" he begs.

Then he sees it. His heart sinks as blood starts to trickle from her nose. This isn't real, he shakes his head and holds her tightly.

"Gwen, no! Please, please. Please," he cries out. "I can't do this without you..."

He wasn't sure how long he was holding onto Gwen's body for. His hope. His life. Everything. Gone.

His thoughts began to travel to Gwen's family. God, they think she is on a plane to England right now, he shakes his head.

He lowers his head down and kisses her lips one last time. Pulling a strand of hair away from her face, he smiles at her. She is still so beautiful, he thought. Little did he know, that would be the last smile on his face for a very long time.

Peter carefully lowers Gwen's body onto to the ground. With one final glance at the girl he loved more than anything, he picks up his mask and runs from the building. When he gets to the closest payphone he dials 911.

"New York City Police Department. What is your emergency?"

Peter pauses. He doesn't know how to say the words. "Th--there's been a murder."

"Are you sure? Who is the person? Did you see what happened?" the voice calmly asks him.

He chokes out the words, "Gwen Stacy."

A pause from the other end. "Gwen... Stacy? And you're sure she is not alive?"

"Yes," he cries out. "She's gone.."

"Sir, where did this happen?" The operators calm persona seemed slightly shaken. Of course they would know who Gwen Stacy was.

"Th-the clock tower. By the Oscorp p-power grid."

"We are sending an officer over right away. We do need you to stay where you are so you can answer some questions about what happened. What is your name sir?"

Peter doesn't give an answer. "Sir, what is your name?" she repeats.

"Spider-Man," he whispers and hangs up the phone.

As he is about to swing home, he sees several large black vehicles quickly pull up to the clock tower. He silently goes in for a closer look. He can hear sirens in the distance, the police will be here any minute. Then, three men come shuffling out of the building holding the motionless body of Harry Osborn, followed by another four men carrying out the glider. Peter narrows his eyes.

"Harry.." he growls out, about to swing over and make Harry answer for Gwen's death. Then, he remembers, and abruptly stops. This is all my fault, he thinks. I broke George Stacy's promise to stay away from Gwen. None of this would have happened if I hasn't been so selfish. The black vehicles quickly drive away just as several police cars and an ambulance pulled up. Peter quickly goes back to his home.

Four days later, Gwen's family hosts her funeral. Everything goes by so quickly. It seems like most of the police force are there. Aunt May had drove with Peter, she knew he needed her support right now more than ever.

Peter couldn't take his eyes off of Gwen's body in the casket. After crying for the last two days, his eyes were bloodshot with deep bruise-like circles had formed under them. His main thoughts were, "I did this. I killed her. It's all my fault."

He snuck a glance at her family. Gwen's mother had tears steadily sliding down her face. Her many brothers had red-brimmed eyes and looked disbelieving. This is my fault, he repeated in his head. I took away their father and...and Gwen.

From the time they got there, Aunt May had a firm grip on Peter's arm. He wasn't sure if it was more for him or her, she had recently gotten very attached to Gwen. Many people came up to him and put their hand on his shoulder expressing their sympathy.

Flash came up to Peter and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. "Man, I'm so sorry. Gwen was... well she was an amazing person." Peter just nodded to him, not making a move to return the gesture. Flash looked at him and gave a small shrug, walking off.

Finally after three hours, people started to clear out. Peter still kept his eyes on Gwen's casket, even after it has been buried into the earth. It was as if he could see right through it. Aunt May looked around realizing they were the last people there. She took one glance at Peter and sighed. He didn't even notice she had let go of his arm and had walked to the car. He didn't realize how long he stood there. All he knew was, he would come here every day for the rest of his life. He owed this to her, to at least keep her company after he killed her.

A vibration startled him from his jacket and he brought out his phone to see that Aunt May was calling.

"Peter, I'm so sorry to call you, but when are you coming home?" she sighed.

"Soon," he whispered.

"It's two in the morning Peter, please come home."

He paused for a minute. She shouldn't have to worry about him. "Okay," he answered and hung up the phone. It took him a couple hours to walk home because he had refused to call for a ride or use a taxi.

He silently opened the door to his house and Aunt May was asleep on the couch. Stealthily walking up the stairs he collapsed onto his bed. Peter wasn't sure what to do now. He couldn't feel anything. He had cried himself exhausted. What's the point of going on? I can't live without her. I killed the person I loved the most. He wrapped his arms around himself and plunged himself into darkness.