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Hawk looked surprised.
Gwen looked back at him, her expression deadpan.
Fake... So fake.
She couldn't help but offer a sincere critique.
"You're a terrible actor."
"Sorry."
Hawk shrugged. "I'm not a professional."
It was true.
Gwen had been outside for a while.
To be more precise, she had arrived just as Peter was about to confront Hawk. She'd stopped when she heard the commotion inside.
Gwen thought she had gone unnoticed.
But—
After awakening his Cosmo, Hawk's five senses were heightened to a superhuman degree. He could hear a leaf fall from a tree behind the gym if he wanted to, let alone Gwen's footsteps.
The same went for Peter and his Spider-Sense, especially this version of Peter, who was the genuine, mutated article.
Though Peter had probably just gotten his powers and wasn't used to them yet. Plus, Hawk's punch had left him in a state of shock.
But with Hawk's subtle signal, Peter had quickly caught on, his senses picking up Gwen's breathing just outside the door.
So, they had both, in a moment of unspoken agreement, shut up.
This was yet another reason why Hawk preferred the original Spider-Man.
He had no comment on the Andrew Garfield version.
But the tech-based Spider-Man?
Heh.
Hawk had no doubt that if it had been the Tom Holland version in there, the kid wouldn't have understood his signal at all. He probably would have just kept babbling on and on.
No, not probably. Definitely.
Hawk thought to himself.
Just then.
Peter emerged from the gym. He saw Gwen standing there and put on a look of mild surprise. "Gwen, you're still here?"
Gwen looked at the stiff, unconvincing surprise on Peter's face and finally lost it.
"Peter, your acting is even worse than Hawk's."
"Hahaha..."
Peter's expression froze. He just scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly. He mumbled a quick goodbye to Hawk and then hurried off toward the school gate.
Seeing his cue, Hawk prepared to leave as well.
He had to be at Oscorp early tomorrow for his first day of work. He planned on getting to bed early tonight.
Gwen stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
"Something's different about you, Hawk."
"Huh?"
Hawk blinked.
Gwen's brow was furrowed, her eyes searching his. "Since when are you and Peter so chummy? I've never even seen you talk to him before."
To be more accurate, she had never seen Hawk make small talk with anyone.
Even when other students tried to talk to him, he would just give a few short answers and go back to doing his own thing.
And then there was the prom situation. At first, some girls had actually worked up the courage to ask him to be their date.
The result—
As the rumor among the girls went:
"Hawk?"
"He's a mountain of ice. A ten-thousand-year-old mountain of ice."
That was how the other girls saw him.
And Gwen was no exception.
She thought about the times she had tried to talk to him. Even though he never said it, she could always feel this invisible wall, this resistance to their conversation.
But today?
Her intuition was telling her that the wall was gone. The resistance she always felt when talking to him had vanished.
She was curious.
Hawk listened to Gwen's assessment and explained with a relaxed tone, "Peter and I aren't friends. He just came to thank me. I was there when Flash cornered him in the locker room."
Gwen fell silent again, listening to his explanation.
After a moment.
She looked him straight in the eye, a slight smile playing on her lips. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. There's no need to lie."
Hawk thought for a second, then met her gaze. He gave a slight nod.
"Okay. I don't want to tell you."
"I'll figure it out on my own."
"Go for it."
Hawk nodded, ready to leave. But just before he turned, he paused and looked back at her. "Just be careful. You know what they say. When a woman gets curious about a man, that's the beginning of the end."
Gwen was now certain that the wall between them was gone. But she just scoffed playfully.
"I don't think I'm in any danger of falling for a guy who can barely admit that we're friends."
She remembered the look on his face a few days ago when she'd given him a ride home and told him they were friends.
No, wait.
Even then, the wall had already started to come down.
Gwen replayed the scene in her mind, and a thought struck her.
Hawk didn't argue. He just shrugged and started walking down the stairs.
"See you around, Gwen."
Gwen called after his retreating back, "I'm going to find out your secret!"
"Good luck!"
Hawk waved over his shoulder without looking back.
He didn't give it another thought.
That line about a woman's curiosity was just something he'd said on the fly.
But—
He probably wouldn't have said something like that before he'd awakened his Cosmo.
...
Sitting in the back of the school bus on the way to his new apartment, Hawk stared out the window at the passing scenery, lost in thought.
Before he had his power, love was a luxury.
A luxury he could never afford.
But now?
Courage comes from confidence.
Hawk still didn't have any money, but he had his fists.
Strength is power.
Power is currency.
By that logic...
To have strength is to have wealth.
So—
Then was then.
This is now.
With his awakened Cosmo, he had finally earned the right, from a position of strength, to believe that love was something he could have.
Hawk thought to himself.
Just then.
The image of Gwen looking him in the eye flashed in his mind. He felt a sudden, sharp pang in his chest.
Hiss!
Hawk snapped out of it, shaking his head to clear the sudden thought.
It was nothing.
Just the "Three Biggest Delusions" warning system kicking in again.
He wasn't Peter.
Peter would see Mary Jane smile at him once and convince himself she was in love with him.
Hawk wouldn't make that mistake.
So—
Forget it.
Time to focus on what's important.
Tomorrow was his first day at Oscorp. He would finally find out if Dr. Connors's lab held the key to the Gammanium he was looking for.
If it did, that would be perfect.
Hawk already had a plan.
Once he had confirmed the location of the Gammanium, his next target would be the source of all Vibranium: Wakanda.
And the plan was simple.
If Wakanda was willing to hand over the Vibranium he needed, then everyone would be happy. But if they refused, and if they chose to fight back?
Then too bad for them.
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