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Hawk and Gwen exchanged a few more words.
Their voices carried no tension, expressions perfectly at ease. They walked side-by-side toward the main hallway, leaving a trail of stunned silence in their wake.
Behind them, Mary Jane's jaw was on the floor.
Holy shit. What the hell did I miss this summer?
Peter was just as dumbfounded.
He felt like he understood what was happening, but at the same time, he felt like he understood nothing at all.
Harry, on the other hand, just saw an opportunity. He turned to Mary Jane, a charming smile on his face.
He remembered her as Peter's neighbor from back before he'd left for the UK. He'd seen her around whenever he came to visit Peter.
He tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hey, Mary Jane. Long time no see."
"...Hey, Harry." Mary Jane turned, gave him a distracted glance, and then immediately looked back at Peter. "Peter, did you know about this?"
Harry froze.
Wait, that's not the right reaction.
Is that how you greet an old friend you haven't seen in years? A little cold, don't you think?
Peter was just as taken aback. He met Mary Jane's intense, searching gaze.
"Know about what?"
"Gwen and Hawk!!"
Mary Jane was practically vibrating with the need to gossip, struggling to keep her voice down. "Aren't you, like, Hawk's only friend at this school? You have to know something. When did this happen?"
Peter was completely lost.
"Since when am I Hawk's onl—"
"Ugh, forget it. You're useless."
Mary Jane, frustrated by his cluelessness, gave up. She was going to get the scoop, one way or another.
The next second, her face lit up.
"Oh my God!" Mary Jane shrieked as recognition finally dawned. She rushed over and threw her arms around the still-gloomy Harry. "Harry! When did you get back?"
Harry's face lit up.
He smiled as she pulled away, ready to catch up. But Mary Jane just gave him another quick hug. "I have to go right now, I'll talk to you later, bye!"
Clearly, at this moment, catching up with an old friend from overseas was nowhere near as important as getting the dirt on her best friend and the school's number one ice king.
With that, Mary Jane spun around and took off at a jog, chasing after Gwen, who was about to disappear into the lounge.
Obviously, she wasn't about to go interrogate Hawk.
And so—
For the rest of the morning, Mary Jane followed Gwen around like a lost puppy.
Her plea was simple and relentless.
"Please, just tell me. A little more. The details. I'm begging you, Gwen."
"..."
Since it was the first day of the new semester, the schedule was relaxed. No actual classes.
Students were busy picking up their new schedules or meeting with their guidance counselors for last-minute advice.
Which meant Gwen was stuck dealing with Mary Jane's relentless pestering all morning.
Finally. On their way to the cafeteria, Gwen looked at her friend, who was still giving her the most pathetic, desperate puppy-dog eyes, and she broke.
Gwen sighed.
"Seriously, is it really that weird that Hawk and I are together?"
"Yes!"
"Why? We've sat next to each other in physics since ninth grade. We have the same counselor."
"Gwen, please. It's Hawk!!"
"So?"
"You really don't know what people say about him?"
"What?"
Now it was Gwen's turn to be curious.
Mary Jane looked around, then lowered her voice. "Everyone says he's either a complete, hopeless straight arrow, or he's... you know... gay."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "That's ridiculous."
An image flashed in her mind—of Hawk, at the waterfall in Maryland, standing in the water wearing nothing but a pair of shorts.
Gay?
He's straight as a nightstick.
Wait...
What am I thinking?
Gwen shook her head, mentally batting away the image of the police baton. She looked at Mary Jane, her expression serious. "He's not gay."
Mary Jane paused, then a sly, knowing look crossed her face. She wiggled her eyebrows.
"So, I take it you've... sampled the goods?"
"..." Gwen froze. She looked at Mary Jane's lewd, knowing smirk and took a deep breath.
The next second, she turned and walked away without another word.
Her mind is in the gutter.
Mary Jane watched her walk away, then hurried to catch up.
"I'm sorry, Gwen! Forgive me!"
...
By the time Hawk got to the cafeteria, Mary Jane was still trying to pry information out of Gwen.
But Gwen was ignoring her completely.
Finally, seeing that she wasn't getting anywhere, Mary Jane sighed, then spotted Harry walking in with Peter. Her eyes lit up. "Fine. If you won't tell me, I'll just ask Peter."
With that, she grabbed her tray and, before Gwen could stop her, ran over to their table.
By the time Hawk sat down with his tray across from Gwen, Mary Jane was already gone.
"Mary Jane done eating already?"
"Apparently, she figured she wasn't going to get any gossip out of me, so she went to interrogate Peter."
Gwen glanced over at Mary Jane, who was now pulling up a chair at Peter's table, and shook her head in exasperation.
Hawk looked confused. "What does Peter have to do with anything?"
Gwen shrugged.
"Probably because you two were seen together in the old gym last semester. Now everyone thinks he's your friend."
"...Right."
Hawk just laughed. He didn't bother to correct her. He just picked up his burger and started eating.
Gwen had already finished her lunch. She sat with her arms folded on the table, watching him.
"By the way, did you call Dr. Connors to thank him?"
"Yeah, I did."
Hawk nodded, swallowing a bite of his burger. "He said he had some kind of breakthrough with his experiment. He sounded really happy."
Gwen blinked. "A breakthrough?"
"No way..."
"..."
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