"But you were… I mean, Peter just…" Gwen stammered, unable to finish either sentence.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her phone and dialed Peter's number but quickly remembered that he had smashed his phone earlier on. With his absence she came to realize that she had no choice but to try and fight Harry off alone. Straightening herself up, she focused all her attention on the enemy.

"Haha, I'll admit it, I wasn't expecting Peter to fall for it. Yet he did… And what's more? He left you here alone, unprotected. He really didn't care about what could happen to you." Harry teased.

"I don't need his protection. I don't need anyone's protection, I am capable of looking after myself!" She stated, reminding herself of that fact as well as informing him.

"Oh well, we shall see about that." He challenged.

Taking his surprise attack to the next level, Harry moved towards Gwen and grabbed her by the hair. Letting out a pained cry, she retaliated by forcing her head forward and headbutting him right between the eyes, causing him to let go and stagger backwards. Before he regained his focus, she moved in for another attack, grabbing him by the shoulder and kneeing him in the stomach. Harry moved back again and then charged towards her, striking hard as he slammed his own fist into her face. Cradling her nose, she was left with no time to move out of the way before he lifted her up and threw her over his shoulder, letting her body slam to the floor. 

Pain tore through her spine yet rather than giving into it, she rolled over onto her stomach and crawled across the floor. Unwilling to let her get away, Harry reached down and grabbed her foot, dragging her along the floor. Not knowing what to do, Gwen resorted to Kicking at him with her other foot. When she realized that it was having no impact she used her web shooters and aimed them at his face, shooting a double web that temporarily distracted him. Getting back on her feet, she shed her normal clothes, leaving only her suit. 

Shooting another web, she moved fast to wrap it around Harry continuously until she couldn't run any more circles. Grabbing a jar off of the nearest counter top, she smashed it in his face, causing him to yell out. Leaving him no time to escape the webs she'd spun, she attacked him with a flurry of punches. Eventually though, he managed to rip through the thick webbing and blocked her next punch. Gripping her wrist tightly, he continued to apply pressure until her fist unclenched and the skin of her hand turned pale.

Sucking in a deep breath to deal with the numb feeling that was beginning to take over her hand, she swung her foot and kicked him full force in the groin. He stumbled back drunkenly which allowed her to pull her wrist free and before he recovered from the kick, she used a web to spring herself up to the ceiling above. 

"You can't hide up there forever!" Harry yelled.

"Who said I was hiding?" She retorted.

Crawling until she was directly above him, Gwen let go and dropped down so that she landed on his back and then wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing as tightly as she could. Backing back, Harry slammed into a wall, causing Gwen's grip to break. Dropping back to the floor on her feet, she used both hands and gave him a hard shove. After finding his balance, Harry turned around and blocked a follow up attack that she was in the middle of carrying out. Without hesitating, she went in for another attack but was stopped by a hard kick to the stomach. 

She stopped for a moment and spat out a thick mix of blood and phlegm before launching another attack. Shooting a web, she used it to pull Harry towards her and then threw him across the room. Crashing into one of the six cages that were spaced evenly in the room, he fell to the floor. Not leaving a second for him to retaliate, Gwen raced over to where he had landed and kicked him in the face, keeping him down longer. On the counter top, she noticed a tray of clean syringes and threw them like darts at him. As six of the needles fell to the floor, the other four struck him in the face and neck. 

Angrily, he yanked them out and tossed them aside before jumping back to his feet. Charging towards her like a rhino, he swept her off of her feet and grabbed her hair once more, slamming her head into the wall repeatedly until she webbed both his hands together. Shuffling into a sitting position, she touched the back of her head with her hand and pulled it away to see her fingers dyed crimson. Her body trembled as she struggled back to stand up again, but she moved forward once again and grabbed him around the throat, forcing him against the wall and kneed him repeatedly in the chest and stomach. Grabbing his thick locks of hair, she swung him around and then let go, sending him flying across the room. As he crash landed against a group of four shelves on the wall, she used several webs to trap him, giving herself a chance to think of something that would put him down. 

____________________________________

Racing up to the front porch, Peter slowed down as he noticed that the door was closed and there were no signs of any break in. As he opened the door and entered the hall, something began to feel wrong. The first thing he noticed was that the kitchen light was on as usual, and he heard the clattering of plates and dishes being washed up and dried.

"Aunt May?" He called out. 

The response he got was the sound of delicate footsteps before she appeared in the doorway. Safe and sound, much to his shock, relief and horror. He fell silent as the gravity of his mistake dawned on him. Not only had he said some horrible things to Gwen, but he had also failed to trust her and because of that she was left alone to fight Harry.

"Is everything okay, dear?" May prompted.

"Y- Yeah, I'm sorry, I have to… To go." He stammered.

Bolting from the hallway and out the door, he raced through the streets of New York city and webbed his way past any obstacle, desperate to get back to Oscorp. He felt like he wanted to yell and cry over his mistake, but held back, knowing that every minute he wasted getting there was another that Harry could be hurting Gwen.

____________________________________

Unable to think of anything before Harry broke out of the web, Gwen backed away as he came towards her. Throwing anything and everything that she could find to try and stop him, it was no use as he soon caught up to her and gripped her throat tightly. Struggling to breathe, she clawed at his hands as he lifted her off the ground. Giving up trying to loosen his grip, she clenched her hands into fists and hit him in the head several times, stopping only when she felt his hands tighten around her neck. 

Finally, he let go. Dropping her to the floor, where she coughed and sputtered from the air rushing into her lungs, he walked over to a cupboard that she hadn't noticed was there. Opening it up, he took out a baseball bat and turned his attention back to her. Upon seeing the bat, her eyes widened in horror as she realized what he intended to do with it. As he reached her, he raised the bat in the air and struck her leg with it. Scrambling to her feet, she hobbled over to where a fire extinguisher was attached to the wall and picked it up. Harry stopped in his tracks as she aimed it at him.

"Ha! Are you kidding me? Baseball bat versus fire extinguisher. I thought you were smart, Gwen!" He laughed menacingly.

Unphased by her choice of weapon, he continued towards her, prompting her to spray the contents of the extinguisher in his face. Blinded by a cloud of mist, Harry paused once again and Gwen took the opportunity to use the empty canister, throwing and hitting him in the face with it. Without seeing clearly, Harry took a swing with the bat and continued to repeat the same action until he landed a hit on Gwen's shoulder. 

Exhausted and overwhelmed with pain, she dropped to her knees. Harry stood above her, looking down like he was a predator and she was his prey, and then he kicked her in the face. Falling onto her back, she propped herself up with her elbows and shuffled away from him. Raising the bat once more, he prepared to make the final hit.

"Nooo!" A voice yelled from behind. 

Stopping mid-swing, Harry lowered the bat and turned around to see Peter standing in front of the entrance. Amused by this intervention, but not surprised, he smirked, but it quickly turned into a grin that revealed his bloodstained teeth.

"Well, well… Look who finally joined the party." Harry announced.

Staring past Harry, Gwen glared at Peter with both upset and anger as she caught her breath. Despite the state she was in, she was not ready to forgive him yet. 

"It's okay, Gwen, I'm gonna help you." He assured her.

A frown replaced the surprised look on her face and she got up off the floor, keeping the pressure off one foot. Her strength was fading fast, but she felt the strong need to prove to him that she didn't need any help.

"No! I don't need your help and… I don't want it." She snapped coldly.

Confused by her response, Peter found himself freezing in place and only able to watch as she snaked the bat from Harry, swung it and hit him in the head with it using so much force that it broke. Blood began to trickle down his forehead, and he turned his attention back to Gwen once again. 

"Not a chance in hell." Peter muttered under his breath.

Shooting a web, he used it to pull Harry towards himself and away from Gwen, who still refused to look him in the eye. Before he could even get a single hit in, she was already attacking Harry again. Deciding not to push her anymore, he continued to shoot webs that hindered Harry and gave her the advantage. 

Eventually everything came to a head when Gwen picked up one of the sharper pieces of the broken bat and shoved it into his abdomen, causing him to collapse to the ground. Limping past Peter, she pushed the button for the elevator and got in without a word. Not wanting to leave her alone again, he rushed into the small box just in time before the doors closed. Although facing forward, he glanced at Gwen out of the corner of his eye, just waiting for her to say something. When it became clear that she wasn't going to initiate a conversation, he cleared his throat and licked his lips, trying to find the right words.

"Still mad?" He questioned, kicking himself not having anything better.

His question earned him a look from her, but nothing more as she didn't break her silence. Being smart enough to know that this was her way of saying yes without speaking, he searched his brain for something better to say.

"I'm sorry, Gwen. Calling you stupid and selfish… It was wrong of me. I just panicked, but I know that I should have listened to you." He spoke softly.

Sighing in frustration, Gwen turned her attention to him as the elevator reached the first, walking out ahead of him and then waiting until he caught her up, she finally decided to speak up. 

"You don't get it! I understand why, but still… I really don't think that an apology is going to cut it this time, Peter." She informed him.

Exiting the building, she didn't bother to hold the door for him and instead he caught it as it swung back on him. Now back out in the street, she hobbled her way down the sidewalk. 

"But, I don't know what else I'm supposed to do. Are you- You're injured, let me help you." He stammered.

"No thank you." She rejected, swatting away his hand as he tried to support her.

"I'm sorry! I panicked because my aunt May is the only parental figure I have left and I got scared! I love you, Gwen. You know me, I make mistakes and sometimes I can act irrationally and I can be foolish. Please, don't give up on me…" He pleaded.

"Do you have any idea how it feels to be called stupid and selfish, especially after doing so much for the person that those words came from?" She questioned, moving as fast as she could despite the pain.

"No, of course I don't. You've never said anything so hurtful." He answered truthfully.

"Exactly! Those words… The words that you chose to use on me are so degrading, so belittling and hearing them come from someone I love and someone who claims to love me is even worse!" She informed him, raising her voice.

Peter screwed his face up, full of regret and anger aimed at himself. He tried to think of a way to make things right with Gwen. There really was no excuse for what he had said, and as usual it was in a moment where he wasn't thinking straight. The rest of the walk home was spent in silence as she refused to talk to him and he didn't know what to say. As they got inside, Peter went to head up the stairs but stopped as he realized that Gwen had sat down on the couch.

"You coming up?" He questioned.

"Actually, I think I'll stay down here tonight." She answered.

With a sigh, he turned around and continued up the stairs feeling lousy. He passed his aunt May in the hall, but turned his head as he was too ashamed to even look at her. Noticing his odd behaviour, May continued down the stairs and into the living room where Gwen was laid on the couch. As she got closer, she could hear the muffled sound of snivelling. Perching on the end of the couch, next to where Gwen's feet rested, and made her presence known by clearing her throat. 

"Oh my- I'm sorry!" Gwen stated, jumping into a sitting position and wiping at her eyes.

May simply chuckled and rolled her eyes almost comically. "Sorry for what? You're not doing anything wrong." She responded.

"I guess…" Gwen mumbled.

"Now, what's troubling you?" May asked, not taking any time to be subtle.

"It's nothing." She attempted to brush off.

"Come on, you can't fool me with that. It's okay, you can talk to me, I don't judge and I won't tell anyone." May encouraged her.

"Yeah, you're an awesome woman… It's just that this is something that you might… Well you might hate me for it." Gwen hesitated.

"Oh dear no, I could never hate you. You're far too sweet of a person for me to ever harbour such negative feelings towards you." May corrected her.

"Alright." She sighed. "In a moment of panic earlier today, Peter called me stupid and selfish, and I'm just having a really hard time getting past that." She admitted.

May thought it all through for a moment, trying to come up with her best words of advice. However, on this topic, she had not much to go on. Ben had never used any belittling words on her, and she knew that Peter was very different from his uncle. The boy had a heart filled with love that ran deeper than the ocean, but there were times where he would speak without thinking or act upon one particular emotion without care. 

"You know, I love my nephew to pieces but even I know that sometimes he can be foolish. He loves you though, I mean anyone can see that from a mile away. It's all written in his eyes. Try to see past it, because you know he will go to the ends of the earth just to see you smile." She reminded her.

Gwen bit down on her lip as May's words began to sink in. Despite her best efforts, tears rolled down her cheeks. Seeing how upset she was, May opened her arms and hugged her tightly. For a split second, Gwen found comfort in this moment. It reminded her of all the times as a preteen where she would come home upset about something small and silly, and her mother would always be there to pick her up and make her happy again. 

"Give me one second, I'll be right back." May requested.

Getting up from where she was sitting, she watched as Gwen laid her head back down on the couch and then headed upstairs, tapping lightly on Peter's bedroom door.

"Not a good time! Let me sulk in peace!" He called out, annoyed.

"It's me." May announced.

"Even still, go away!" He ordered.

Ignoring his demands, she opened the door and stepped inside the room, closing it again behind her. "I would, but the way you're asking me to leave you alone is very childish, Peter." She told him.

"I know, and I'm sorry… It's just that now isn't really a good time." He admitted.

"If this is how you feel, then how do you think she feels?" May questioned him.

"Oh, I already know how she feels. She's seething mad at me to the point where she won't even look at me. Though, who could blame her? I certainly can't! I behaved like an absolute ass and now I have no idea how to fix it!" He raged, more to himself than to his aunt.

"Really? Because she doesn't seem mad to me." She told him.

"Yeah, right. What do you know?" Peter retorted.

"Lots of things. Like I know that you both love each other very much, and that there are times where you panic and in those times you tend to say things that you don't mean. And I know that she is the best thing that has ever happened to you." She corrected him.

"Clearly, that doesn't go both ways." He muttered.

"Enough with the back talk! Peter, that girl loves you enough to stick by you even at your worst! I've seen it for myself, and would she be laid on the couch downstairs crying her heart out if she didn't? I don't think so!" May, having had enough of his mood, scolded him.

Peter lifted his gaze from the floor to meet May's eyes. He was surprised by that last sentence, but once the shock wore off all of his anger and annoyance disappeared, replaced with regret. 

"Wait, she…" He began, but May nodded before he could finish.

"I think that you hurt her more than you think, and without meaning to." She informed him.

"Oh. Wow. Now I really feel bad." He told her.

"As you should, a woman who has been there for you through thick and thin does not deserve to hear such hurtful words." She said, leaning on her side against the door frame.

"Yeah, you're right. But what do I do? I've already apologized, and she told me that it isn't enough." He questioned, feeling confused.

"If she has told you that an apology isn't enough, then you should listen to her. Don't tell her you're sorry, show her." May advised.

"Thank you, aunt May, and I'm sorry again about biting your head off." He concluded.

"Haha, that's quite alright. Now go get her, Tiger!" She encouraged him.

Standing up, Peter straightened himself out and fluffed his hair before exiting the bedroom and heading downstairs. Entering the living room, he took a deep breath as he spotted Gwen curled up on the couch, however she didn't notice him. He approached her slowly, cautiously and crouched down in front of her. 

"I know that you don't want to hear this because it's not enough, but I'm sorry." He whispered.

Reaching out with his hand, he caressed her cheek and wiped away a falling teardrop with his thumb. Swallowing hard, he knew that he had to do better than a simple word. 

"You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, you know, and I'm so afraid that one day I'm going to say or do something to screw up and you won't forgive me. I love you, Gwen." He spoke softly.

Slowly, she lifted her head to look at him, propping her head up with one of the many cushions against the arm of the couch. "Keep going." She requested, her voice husk and cracked.

"I was panicking, but that's no excuse. I shouldn't have used those words, nor left you alone at Oscorp. It was wrong, and I was wrong. You're not selfish, far from it. You wouldn't stick by me if you were. And you're not stupid either. If anyone is stupid, it's me for ever saying that." He told her, placing his hand on top of hers.

Gwen let out a shaky breath, her body still ached from the fight and her skin felt crusty as the blood from her wounds dried up. The worst pain was in her leg, where Harry had hit her with the bat. 

"You're not stupid, Peter." She whispered.

"No? Well, it was stupid of me to hurt you like that. Look at what he did to you because I left you there." He said, mentally kicking himself.

"If you think this looks bad, you should see the other guy." She joked, giving him a weak smile as the last of her tears fell.

Unable to stop himself, Peter snorted with laughter at her comment. It wasn't the funniest thing he'd ever heard, but it broke the ice that had been thickly wedged between them.

"Ha, ha, funny. But seriously though, how bad does it hurt?" He questioned.

"A lot, but not as much as fighting with you." She admitted.

"Cute." He quipped.

Propping herself up on her hand, she signaled for him to sit down, which he did, and then rested her head on his lap. Playing with her blonde locks, he noticed the blood that had dyed it crimson in parts. The more wounds he noticed, the more he felt like an idiot. 

"I don't expect you to forgive me just yet, I mean lord knows I don't deserve it. Though I would appreciate it if you just give me a chance to prove to you that I can do better." He stated.

"No… You've already proved that to me. It's okay, Peter. I'll forgive you and…. I love you." She muttered before her eyes fluttered closed and her head tilted to the side as she finally fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.

"Yeah, but I need to be doing better by you." He mumbled, knowing that she wouldn't hear.

Somewhere in between the whispers and watching her sleep soundly, Peter himself fell asleep too and the two spent the rest of the night together on the couch. 

____________________________________

Waking up to a stiff feeling in his back, Peter shot off the couch as he realized that Gwen was no longer asleep in his lap. 

"Gwen!" He called out.

Racing up the stairs, he checked his bedroom with no luck and then the bathroom. Bursting through the door, he could feel his cheeks going bright red as he saw her standing facing the mirror.

"Sorry! I uh- I didn't mean to barge in. Is everything okay?" He rambled.

"Haha, it's okay and yeah, everything is fine. I was just taking care of yesterday's wounds. Most of them seem to have healed overnight but there are a few lingering ones." She explained.

Peter's eyes fell to the floor and he scowled. He wasn't angry with her, and the anger he held for himself was beginning to seep away, but he couldn't help but feel that he was responsible for her sustaining all those wounds. 

"Look, about last night… You don't have to forgive me straight away. I was the one who made a mistake and I can't be mad at you for having a hard time putting it behind you." He said sweetly.

Gwen stopped attending to a wound that she was patching up on her arm and looked at him with a sympathetic smile. His efforts were not lost on her, and it appeared that he had learned his lesson. She still didn't forgive him fully just yet, but she couldn't feel herself starting to.

"I'm not mad at you, Peter. Not anymore. More than anything I guess I was just disappointed in you. Ever since we met, I've always known you as this sweet, funny, lovable guy who doesn't have an ounce of bitterness in his heart and so when I heard you say those words, it surprised me. In a way, it shattered that idea I had of you… But while my heart was aching because of that, I learned a lot. Spider-man aside, you're only human and you always try your best. Sometimes you make mistakes, but that's okay because we all make them. It may still take more time, but I've already started to forgive you." She explained, pouring her heart into her words.

Noticing how his eyes were twinkling in the light, looking as though he was about to cry, she opened her arms and nodded her head. Without hesitating he closed the distance between them and fell into her arms, shutting his eyes as he felt them close around him.

"I'm still that guy, Gwen. For you, I am always that guy." He whispered into her ear.

Stepping back, planting a soft kiss on his cheek as she did so, she remembered something that she had been wanting to talk to him about. She'd planned on bringing it up after they had finished investigating the ground floor, but things hadn't gone to plan since Harry had caused them to get into an argument. 

"Listen, there's something we should probably talk about but… It might be best to take it to the bedroom." She began.

"Haha, oh yeah? What conversation could that be?" He jokingly asked, wobbling his eyebrows comically.

"Certainly not the one you're thinking of!" She answered, holding back a laugh.

Taking hold of his hand, she led him out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Sitting down on the bed, she patted the spot next to her and waited until he'd sat down before continuing.

"It's about yesterday, the moment before the lights went on." She informed him.

"Yeah, I remember. What about it?" He asked, recalling yesterday's events at Oscorp.

"That thing. The gross, sticky…" She began, shuddering at the mention. "Whatever it was that I felt in the dark, I think we need to stay alert. It could be dangerous." She expressed.

"Gwen, really? There was literally nothing there… Sometimes the dark can play tricks on us and-" Peter began to dismiss.

"Don't you dare!" She warned him. "That thing was not a figment of my imagination. Even in the dark, I know the difference between what is real and what isn't. So don't tell me that it was the dark playing tricks on me!" She scolded.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Just because we didn't see it, doesn't mean that it was nothing." He agreed.

"Exactly. So anyways, I think that we need to go back to Oscorp and try to figure out what it was." She suggested.

"But what is it to us? Their experiments have always been beyond mental." He said.

"Peter! This thing could be a threat to innocent people! Look, I don't know what it was, but when I felt it I could just tell that it was something dark and unpleasant. Something evil." She told him.

"Oh. Well that settles it. I think it's time we go back to Oscorp and do some digging." He decided, jumping up from the bed.

Happy that he was finally believing her, she stood up and pattered around the room, gathering a bag full of things; a notebook and pen, a water bottle and even a flashlight. This time, no one would stand a chance at catching them off guard.