This next drafted scene was probably the heaviest scene throughout the fanfiction. I had this scene running through my head for a few weeks before I decided to draft it in order to be able to focus on where the story was at that point.

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                       The Afterglow
                         Scene Draft
              (Peter Tells The Truth)

Closing the front door behind her, Gwen paused for a moment as her mind flashed back to events earlier that day. Hurrying across the hall, she caught up with Peter and stopped him before he entered the kitchen.

"Hey... Uh, Peter..." She began, relaxing a little as she glided her hand over her stomach, trying to ease her anxiety.

Leaning back against the doorframe, he stopped for a moment with a feeling of dread over the conversation that he could sense they were about to have.

"Yeah?" He questioned.

"Back in the parking lot... When we were confronted by Venom... You said something after he kept pushing you and tormenting you..." She prompted.

"A lot of things were said... Which words exactly are you talking about?" He asked, though he was afraid that he already knew.

"Come on, Peter... You know which words I'm talking about." She said, unimpressed with him pretending not to know.

"I said I..." He sighed. "I lied." He finished hesitantly.

"Yeah I caught that then, but lied? Lied about what?" She questioned.

"The night we fought Harry." He told her.

Swallowing hard, Gwen forced herself to continue the conversation despite her head already spinning. "What do you mean you lied?" She quizzed.

"I'm so sorry, Gwen." He muttered.

"N-n- No, I don't want to hear your apology, I want you to clear things up for me." She demanded.

Knowing that no matter how he said it, the end result would be the same, Peter decided that he had no choice anymore. He had to come clean with her and accept the consequences of his dishonesty. He closed his eyes for a second, thinking of where to start, then opened them again and spoke.

"I lied about what happened the night that we fought Harry." He admitted.

"No... You're joking. This has to be some sort of joke." She denied, fear laced in her voice.

"I wish to God that I was joking, but I'm not. I lied to you, Gwen. I promised you honesty and I failed." He insisted.

"Tell me... T- Tell me the truth." She demanded, struggling to keep her voice steady as her eyes glossed over.

"Oh I really don't think-" He began, but she was quick to interrupt.

"Don't! Don't tell me what you think is best for me right now. You said you lied to me, so tell me the truth." She pleaded.

"Venom was calling you, pretending to be your dead mother. I tried to warn you that it wasn't really her, but you wouldn't listen. Later that night, you got up and left me, leaving only a note behind. I was upset by what you did, but when I woke up and you were gone, I looked everywhere for you. I realised you'd gone to fight Venom or Harry... Or both, and I followed my senses which led me to the fight. You almost got yourself killed because you were blinded by the thought of revenge. Don't worry, you didn't kill Harry, he kinda got himself killed... But you walked into that fight and barely walked out alive. Despite what I said, you allowed yourself to be fooled by his tricks and allowed it to overpower your feelings for me." Peter explained, biting his lip, feeling ashamed as he anticipated her response.

Her eyes wide with realisation, Gwen remained silent as she felt her whole body begin to shake. She gripped the doorframe to support her weight as she feared that her legs would fail her, but despite the ease on her feet, she struggled to breathe; her chest feeling like she was buried underneath a tonne of weights.

"I..." She tried to speak but her voice cracked and she knew she wouldn't be able to keep it steady if she finished her sentence.

"Gwen, I am so... I'm so sorry." He muttered, feeling pathetic. "Are you- Are you okay?" He asked, although he knew it was stupid.

"You just admitted that you lied to me and have been lying to me about that night for over a year and- And you just told me that everything that happened that night was because of me... No, Peter. I'm not okay. Not even a little bit." She answered, her voice low and heavy with distraught.

"I should have told you a long time ago, I know. But I didn't. I was stupid, and I was scared... And I was also wrong." He admitted.

"Wh- Why didn't you just tell me?" She asked.

"Because I didn't want to hurt you. You were already on a fragile path and I was afraid that if you knew then you would lose it." He answered truthfully.

"So you lied because you thought that I couldn't handle it. You thought I was weak." She snapped coldly.

"No, that's not-" He began to protest.

"Yes! That is exactly how it feels, Peter! Though you wouldn't know that because I have never... NEVER been dishonest with you because I thought you couldn't handle the truth! You lied to me, and what's even worse is how long you kept up with that... With that lie! You brushed off all of my nightmares as just classic PTSD... You hated when I didn't tell you something when all the while you had done worse! You stood at that altar on our wedding day, you looked me in the eyes and you made a vow to be honest when this whole time you were keeping a secret from me!" She screamed at him. "This... This h-hu-h..." She stuttered, unable to finish the sentence or stop the tears from falling. "Oh my- This- I... I can't even... I can't think straight. It hurts so bad that I can't- I can't breathe." She cried, her few spilled tears becoming more frequent.

Peter winced at her tone and cast his eyes down at his feet. He couldn't bring himself to lift his head and look her in the eyes. The shame he felt was just too strong, and knowing that he had caused her extreme amounts of pain made him hurt too. He couldn't be mad at her for how she'd reacted, she had every right to be upset with him. He was even upset with himself; and angry too. Hearing the evidence of how bad he'd screwed up had ignited a burning hatred of himself.

"Look... Look at me, Peter!" She demanded.

"I- I can't." He whispered.

"Look at me! You looked me in the eye when you admitted to lying to me, so look at me!" She demanded again.

Not wanting to make the situation worse, he lifted his head and looked her in the eyes, feeling like his heart was being strangled as he took in the sight of her face; her eyes red rimmed and glossy, her bottom lip plastered in ripped skin from the mere force of her biting it. He already knew that he was to blame for it. All he could do was live with what he'd done.

"I have forgiven you in the past for some pretty huge mistakes. Calling me stupid and selfish because you were in a panic, constantly breaking up with me because you let your fear take over and so much more... B- But this? Peter, I don't know if I have it in me to forgive you for this. I mean I- don't... I don't know if I can even trust you anymore." She cried.

"You- You're hurt. You're angry, and you have every right to be. You should be mad... Hate me, even. But you can't hate me more than I do myself right now." He stated, his voice dry.

"I'm beyond hurt, Peter! I feel like you just ripped my heart out and smashed it with a hammer! I can't- I can barely speak clearly right now and I can't think, I can't breathe... It feels like death." She snapped. "But I don't hate you! I love you and this- This is killing me! I don't want to fight but I can't just forget about this! You... Congratulations, Peter. I could be mistaken, but it sure as hell feels like you have destroyed that last hope I had." She added.

Before she could say anymore, she felt her legs begin to shake and feared that they wouldn't hold out much longer. Pushing herself away from the doorframe, she found herself unable to move and let her back hit the hard wood again as she fell back against it.

"Gwen, please... I'll do anything. Anything that you want me to do. Just please... Give me a chance to prove that you can trust me... Here, let me help you!" He pleaded, reaching out to help move away from the door.

"No!" She snapped, shoving his hands away and finally finding the strength to move away. With her weight fully back on her own two feet, she began to stalk away. Peter moved after her, reaching out to her again only for her turn and shove him back. "D- Don't touch me right now!" She screamed, hurrying into the bathroom and slamming the door shut in his face before he could enter.

Peter let his head drop against the door with a harsh thud and closed his eyes with a sigh. He couldn't recall a time where he'd ever felt worse than he did at that moment. The one person he'd never wanted to hurt, yet he'd allowed his fear to take over and destroyed her more than the truth would have done from the start. He felt the door move, indicating that she had sunk down to the floor, and his heart ached as the soft cries turned into painful sobs accompanied by gasps for air and the sound of heaving. Sighing in defeat, he turned around and slowly walked away from the door, knowing that the only thing he could do was leave her be for a while and try to talk to her when she was ready; if she would ever be ready.