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After Hawk spoke, he could feel Gwen's hand tighten on his leg again.
He had gotten her signal.
It was a trap.
George's question was a trap...
Who was George Stacy? The Captain of the NYPD's 19th Precinct.
If Hawk were to call Spider-Man a vigilante, in George's eyes, it would be no different from defending a criminal.
Gwen's signal was a warning: don't fall for it. Answer the question in a way that would satisfy a police captain.
But...
If Hawk had called Spider-Man a criminal, he would have come across as a pathetic suck-up.
So, the question wasn't really a question. It was a no-win scenario. Whichever answer he chose would be the wrong one.
So between A and B, Hawk had chosen C.
He'd sidestepped the trap entirely!
He was just a student. He didn't care if Spider-Man was a hero or a villain. He only cared about getting his scholarship to NYU.
That's it.
If anyone else had given that answer, it might have come across as evasive.
But coming from Hawk, it was perfect.
Why?
Because Hawk was betting that George Stacy had already run a full background check on him.
And he wasn't afraid of what he'd find.
Because he hadn't just said it, it was how he lived.
He practiced what he preached.
The only inconsistency was that, after a lifetime of pinching pennies and never leaving New York City, he had suddenly taken a trip to Maryland.
But that was easy enough to explain.
He was a kid. He went on a vacation. It's not like he was out committing crimes.
Well, at least during his intensive training in Maryland, he hadn't done anything illegal.
Besides, every state had its own jurisdiction. What he did in Washington D.C had nothing to do with him now that he was back in New York.
After his answer, the look on George Stacy's face shifted from surprise to something else—a grudging respect. He nodded, and with that, the dinner was effectively over.
...
Nine o'clock that night.
Gwen walked Hawk to the door of her building. She smiled. "Get home safe. I'm sorry I can't drive you."
She was grounded.
Not by George, but by Helen. It was her punishment for running off to Maryland without telling anyone.
Normally, Gwen was free to come and go as she pleased before ten. But yesterday, Helen had moved her curfew up to nine.
"It's fine. The subway's fast enough."
"Okay. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah. See you tomorrow."
Hawk watched her go back inside, then turned and walked toward the subway station.
If the New York City subway was a chaotic circus during the day...
Then at night, it was a zombie apocalypse.
You couldn't expect a transit system where fare evasion was a city-wide sport to be particularly well-managed.
As a general rule, New Yorkers avoided the subway at night unless they had no other choice.
But Hawk wasn't too worried.
On the ride back to his apartment, he only had to knock out one tweaker and scare off two wannabe rappers who decided to perform in his face. All in all, he made it home without any real trouble.
When he got home, Hawk saw a text from Gwen. He replied, then went straight to bed.
School starts tomorrow.
He wanted to get up early to catch the free school bus.
Gwen had offered to pick him up on her way.
But he had refused.
If he accepted, Hawk felt like it would create the impression that he was only dating Gwen so he could bum a ride from her.
He knew that wasn't the case.
But he couldn't control what other people thought. And while he didn't care what they thought about him, he had to consider how it would look for Gwen.
...
The next morning, Hawk was waiting at the bus stop when the familiar orange school bus pulled up.
The driver was the same as always: the burly, bearded Mr. Hall, who looked like a biker but had the heart of a teddy bear.
"Morning, Mr. Hall."
"Morning, Hawk. Ready for your last semester?"
"I won't graduate until next year, Mr. Hall."
"You might get that NYU acceptance letter this semester. I've got faith in you, kid."
"Alright. Thanks, Mr. Hall."
"Don't mention it."
Hawk made his way to his usual seat in the back.
The bus continued on its route, picking up a student or two at every stop. When it reached the Forest Hills stop, a familiar face got on.
The moment he stepped on the bus, Peter Parker's Spider-Sense must have tingled. He immediately looked toward the back and saw Hawk, sitting alone by the window.
At the same time, Hawk looked up and saw Peter… and the boy standing next to him, who had a distinctly melancholy aura about him.
Is that...
Harry Osborn?
And not just any Harry Osborn. The James Franco version, the one who had beaten Peter to the punch with Mary Jane.
Peter said something to his friend, who had just transferred to Midtown from a school in England, and then led him down the aisle toward Hawk.
"Hawk."
"Peter."
"Hawk, this is Harry. He was studying in England, but he just transferred here. He's a senior, like us."
"Harry, this is Hawk."
Harry Osborn, not yet the Green Goblin, just a handsome kid in a blazer, smiled and extended his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Hawk."
"Likewise, Harry."
"..."
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