chapter one:
❛ tripping and falling ❜

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Gwendolyn slammed her locker shut with a loud, frustrated thud, her face scrunched in annoyance. "MJ, please, you have to save me!" she ranted, her voice echoing slightly in the now quieter hallway as students rushed off to their next classes. "Mr. Cobwell assigned me a project partner, and guess who it is? Peter!" She threw her hands up dramatically, pacing beside her best friend as if the mere thought of Peter Parker were physically unbearable.

MJ, who had been leaning casually against the lockers, raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at her, feigning confusion. "Peter...?" she asked, the corner of her mouth twitching upward, though she kept her tone deceptively neutral. She fell into step beside Gwen as they walked down the bustling hallway.

Gwen, clearly too absorbed in her rant to notice MJ's playful tone, threw her arms out again. "Peter Parker, MJ! My ex-best friend, the guy in your debate class, the one who—" She started, her words growing more animated as her frustration bubbled up again, but MJ's sudden burst of laughter cut her off mid-sentence.

MJ grinned, eyes glinting mischievously. "Gwen, I'm just messing with you. I know exactly who you're talking about," she said, shaking her head with an amused chuckle. "But come on, you're overreacting. It's just Peter. He's harmless! The guy can barely get a sentence out around you without tripping over his own feet."

Gwen stopped in her tracks for a moment, turning to MJ with a look of pure exasperation. "No, MJ! You're missing the whole point," she groaned, her words sharp with irritation. "I hate him!"

MJ gave her a patient sigh, crossing her arms as they continued to walk. "Just because he said you need to—"

Before she could finish, Gwen's path was abruptly blocked. Without realizing it, she walked straight into the one person she was desperate to avoid. Her body collided with Peter Parker, and the impact sent her stumbling, arms flailing as she crashed into him, knocking them both to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

"Peter!" Gwen shrieked in surprise, her voice rising in both shock and embarrassment as she found herself sprawled on top of him. Her face flushed red, and for a split second, she just lay there, wide-eyed and mortified.

Peter's eyes were just as wide, frozen in place under Gwen as his brain struggled to process what had just happened. His lips parted, but no words came out, only a small, strangled sound of disbelief.

A few feet away, MJ and Ned had been watching the whole thing unfold like a slow-motion movie. As soon as Gwen hit the floor, they exchanged a silent glance, smirking at each other. Without a word, they fist-bumped, their plan to somehow get Gwen and Peter back on talking terms seemingly off to a good—albeit chaotic—start.

Peter finally blinked, looking down at Gwen as she glared up at him from beneath his chest. "Can you get off me?" Gwen gritted through clenched teeth, her frustration and embarrassment mounting by the second.

Peter snapped out of his daze and immediately scrambled to his feet, his face turning crimson as he stood over her, awkwardly offering a hand to help her up. "Sorry! I— I didn't see you... Are you okay?" he stammered, his words coming out in a rush.

Gwen pointedly ignored his outstretched hand, standing up on her own and brushing off her jeans with a furious glare in his direction. "Maybe if you stopped standing in the middle of the hallway staring at Liz Allan, this wouldn't have happened," she snapped, her tone laced with irritation.

Peter's face turned an even deeper shade of red, his eyes widening in panic. "I— I wasn't staring at her!" he sputtered, his voice cracking slightly as he tried to defend himself.

Gwen rolled her eyes dramatically, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Sure, Parker. Whatever you say." She tossed her hair over her shoulder, the annoyance still clear in her voice. "If you want my advice, just make a move already. Stop being such a wussy."

Peter blinked at her in confusion, completely flustered and unsure how to respond. "I— uh—" was all he managed to stammer out, his hands nervously fiddling with the strap of his backpack.

With a final frustrated huff, Gwen brushed past him, locking arms with MJ as they continued walking down the hallway. MJ turned back toward Peter for a moment, shaking her head with a smirk before turning to Gwen. "Well, that was... something," she remarked, clearly amused by the entire situation.

Gwen groaned in response, rubbing her temples as if trying to fend off a headache. "This project is going to be a nightmare," she muttered under her breath.

MJ chuckled softly, giving her friend a sympathetic pat on the arm. "Or maybe it's exactly what you need," she teased, but Gwen wasn't having it.

"Not a chance," Gwen grumbled, already dreading what lay ahead with Peter Parker.

Gwen sat slumped in her chair, head resting heavily in her hand as she stared blankly at the front of the room. AP Physics was the one class that seemed to drag on forever, and today was no different. Her eyes wandered lazily to the clock, counting the seconds that seemed to tick by at an agonizingly slow pace. Ms. Warren's voice, discussing equations and forces, became nothing more than background noise as Gwen's eyelids began to droop.

It wasn't that Gwen didn't care about her grades—she did. But Physics was a different beast altogether. No matter how hard she tried, the concepts felt like they were constantly slipping through her fingers. And with Peter Parker sitting next to her, reminding her of everything she didn't want to think about, paying attention felt like an even greater chore.

Before she knew it, her head tipped forward, her eyes fully closed, and a small, barely audible snore escaped her lips. The lecture faded into a distant hum, and Gwen surrendered to the pull of sleep, momentarily finding peace in the chaos of her thoughts.

"Okay, so how do we calculate linear acceleration between points A and B?" Ms. Warren asked the class, her voice sharp as she waited for someone to raise their hand. The silence that followed was broken only by the soft shuffle of papers and the occasional whisper.

Ms. Warren's gaze swept the room, and when no one immediately volunteered an answer, her eyes landed on Gwen, still slumped in her chair, very much asleep.

"Miss Stacy," Ms. Warren called, her voice cutting through the quiet murmur of the room.

Gwen didn't stir at first, but as the seconds ticked by, a few of her classmates turned to glance her way, snickering softly. Ms. Warren narrowed her eyes, clearly unimpressed. "Gwendolyn Stacy," she said more firmly, her tone now edged with irritation.

Gwen jolted awake with a startled gasp, her head snapping up as her eyes blinked rapidly in confusion. She had no idea what Ms. Warren had just asked or what the topic even was. Her lips parted, but no words came out, her mind still foggy with sleep.

Sitting beside her, Peter leaned over quickly, whispering, "Mass cancels out, so it's just gravity times sine."

Gwen shot him a glance, but her stubbornness flared. She didn't want Peter's help, not now, not ever, especially in front of the entire class. Ignoring his whispered answer, she cleared her throat, still not fully awake, and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Um... C?" she said, her voice small and uncertain.

The classroom fell silent for a beat, and Gwen could feel the eyes of her classmates burning into her. Ms. Warren's expression darkened as she raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.

"C is not an acceptable answer," Ms. Warren replied dryly, her tone laced with frustration. "I suggest you stay awake in my class, Gwen."

A few students chuckled quietly from the back, and Gwen's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She hated being called out like that, especially in a subject she already felt like she was drowning in.

Peter, sensing the awkwardness, sighed quietly and raised his hand to spare Gwen from further embarrassment. "Yes, Peter?" Ms. Warren asked, shifting her attention to him.

Peter straightened up in his seat, his voice calm and sure. "It's when mass cancels out, so it's just gravity times sine," he answered confidently, repeating what he had tried to tell Gwen moments before.

Ms. Warren's stern expression softened, and she nodded approvingly. "Correct, Peter. That's exactly right. See, Gwen," she said, turning her gaze back to her, "being asleep isn't always the best choice."

Gwen clenched her jaw, feeling a mixture of frustration and humiliation swirl in her chest. Her eyes flicked toward Peter, who was watching her cautiously. The corners of her mouth turned down into a scowl, and her hands balled into fists beneath the desk.

"Thanks, Peter," she muttered through gritted teeth, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

Peter's smile faltered, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I was just trying to help," he said softly, clearly taken aback by her hostility.

Gwen shot him another glare, her irritation flaring again. "Well, I didn't ask for your help," she snapped, turning away from him. Her fingers tapped impatiently on the edge of her desk as she glared at the front of the room, hoping the class would just end already.

Peter sighed quietly, his shoulders slumping as he realized his good intentions had only made things worse. He glanced at Gwen one last time before turning his attention back to his notebook, deciding it was probably best to stay quiet for the rest of the class.

As the lecture resumed, Gwen's mind wandered once more, though this time she fought to stay awake. Despite how much she hated to admit it, Peter's answer had been right—again. And that only fueled her frustration. Why did he always have to know everything? Why did he have to be so... Peter?

The rest of the class dragged on, the tension between Gwen and Peter palpable as neither spoke another word to each other.

Gwen sat in her Chemistry class, trying to tune out the fact that she had yet another class with Peter Parker. Of all the people she could be paired with, it had to be him, twice in one day. But unlike Physics, she was actually excited about Chemistry. It was her favorite subject, and the day's lab had her feeling unusually upbeat. She slipped on her safety goggles, ready to dive into the experiment as Mr. Cobwell began his lecture.

"Today, we're discussing Danish physicist Niels Bohr and his contributions to atomic theory..." Mr. Cobwell's voice droned on, but Gwen's focus began to drift. Her eyes casually flicked toward Peter, who sat beside her, scribbling something in his notebook. She squinted, trying to make out what he was writing, and caught a glimpse of the words Web Fluid written across the top of the page.

Without thinking, Gwen blurted out, "Web Fluid?" Her voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to get Peter's attention—and his panic was instant. His eyes widened as he quickly snapped his notebook shut, his movements awkward and rushed.

"It— It's nothing," Peter stammered, his cheeks flushing slightly as he shoved the notebook under his other papers.

Gwen raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Yeah, okay," she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She leaned back in her seat, her mind starting to race as she processed what she'd just seen.

Web Fluid? That didn't exactly sound like the kind of thing someone casually wrote down in a Chemistry class. And then it hit her—Peter had been acting strangely for months. He would disappear randomly, often at the same times Spider-Man was spotted in the city. Could it be? Was Peter Parker... Spider-Man?

Gwen's eyes widened as she considered the possibility. It seemed absurd, yet everything was starting to make sense. The disappearances, the way he always seemed to know things, and now this—Web Fluid scribbled in his notebook. Gwen wasn't sure what to think, but one thing was clear: she needed to figure this out for herself. She couldn't just ask Peter if he was Spider-Man—no, she had to get proof.

Before she could spiral too far into her thoughts, she noticed Peter leaning down toward the drawer at their shared lab table. His movements were hurried and suspicious, and Gwen's curiosity flared once more. She tried to discreetly glance over to see what he was doing, but before she could get a good look, Peter slammed the drawer shut with a loud bang.

"What are you doing?" Gwen demanded, her voice sharp with accusation. She narrowed her eyes at Peter, her suspicion growing.

Peter's face paled slightly, and he shook his head quickly. "Nothing," he answered, far too quickly to be believable.

Gwen shot him another skeptical look but decided to drop it—for now. She didn't buy his answer for a second, and her suspicions were only deepening. Peter was hiding something, and she was going to find out what.

The rest of the class passed uneventfully, though Gwen couldn't stop stealing glances at Peter, trying to figure out what he was up to. As the bell rang, signaling the end of the period, Peter was quick to gather his things and head for the door, avoiding Gwen's gaze entirely.

Gwen, on the other hand, wasn't going anywhere. She watched Peter leave the room, making sure he was out of sight before turning her attention to the drawer he had slammed shut earlier. Her heart raced as she glanced around to ensure no one was watching before she carefully pulled it open.

Inside, the drawer was empty.

Gwen frowned, her frustration bubbling up as she rummaged through the drawer, hoping to find something—*anything*—that would explain Peter's strange behavior. But there was nothing. She let out a loud, irritated groan, slamming the drawer shut in defeat.

"He's hiding something," Gwen muttered to herself as she grabbed her bag and headed out of the classroom. She knew Peter wasn't going to make this easy, but she wasn't going to give up. If Peter Parker was really Spider-Man, she was going to find out. One way or another.

ASH SPEAKS!

i wanted to continue into the lunch scene BUT I COULDNTTT. this isnt a show so i need to separate a lot of stuff into more chapters since this is a movie ughhh

i love this book so far!!! i really hope people still read spiderman fics in 2024😭

PLEASE DONT BE A GHOST READER! COMMENT AND VOTE! IT HELPS US WRITERS STAY MOTIVATED:)