The Amazing Spider-Man 3

Chapter 17

Gwen finally let me up, and we headed to my house. Aunt May was taking a night shift at the hospital, so we had the house to ourselves. We both sat on my bed, talking.

"Does your family know what you've done?" I asked.

"No. They think I'm in England," she said.

"Oh my gosh. What are they going to do when they find out? They don't even know I'm Spider-Man! And now you've turned yourself into the same thing! How will they accept this? How will they accept ME? They're going to blame this on me, and they won't allow you to see me because of it," I said. "I'd take the blame for you, Gwen, because I love you. But, that could make it worse."

"I'll worry about my family, okay?" Gwen rubbed her forehead, then buried her face in her hands.

"Gwen, look at me," I lifted her chin with two fingers. She stared into my eyes. "They think you're in college getting an education. Eventually they'll find out when they don't have to pay for it." She sighed. I lowered my hand.

"I don't know. Maybe I could take classes online until we sort all of this out," she mumbled.

"Gwen, we have to do this now. Before it gets worse," I told her.

"I don't think I can. Not yet."

"Gwen..."

"I at least have to figure out how I'm going to tell them! Just give me a few days to sit on that!"

I sighed. "Alright, fine. But where are you going to stay until then? Where did you stay for the past year?"

"I stayed in an old wooden house. It was kind of like a summer home for us, but only it's not far away from our real home. We haven't lived there in years. I couldn't afford a hotel room for that long, since I'm not working. I'm supposed to be in England, you know."

"Why can't you go back there?"

"Remember that huge thunderstorm a few weeks ago?"

"Yeah."

"It caused the wood to rot, and half of the house finally fell in a few days ago."

"Oh no."

"I can't stay there anymore. I was lucky that I wasn't there when it happened."

"So now where are you going to stay?"

She looked at me questioningly. Then she cocked her head.

"You want to stay HERE?" I exclaimed. "Holy crap, Gwen. My aunt will find out."

"Then let her find out," Gwen said.

"She won't keep it a secret. She'll go straight to your family to tell them."

"She's keeping the secret about you being Spider-Man pretty well, isn't she? Surely she can't keep another one too?"

"But this is different."

"Is it?"

"Kind of."

"Exactly."

"At least I'm in New York like I'm supposed to! I can't believe you want us to hide you in our house and keep you a secret from your own family!"

She cocked her head again.

"Fine. I'll talk to Aunt May. But we only get one chance at this. If we play it right, she's in. If we play it wrong, she runs to your family before we can stop her." Gwen. She's the only person that could get me to do something like that.

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. This is only just beginning."