chapter twenty-three:
❛ the truth ❜

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

✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸

Gwen and Peter jogged up the stairs, their footsteps light but hurried, the adrenaline from their mission still fresh in their bodies. Gwen carried Peter's backpack slung over her shoulder, the weight a reminder of how much they'd been through. As they neared the top of the stairs, a loud voice broke through the tension of the moment.

"Peter! Gwen! Oh my God!" Ned shouted from his doorway. He looked as if he had just seen a ghost, his face flushed with excitement and relief. He quickly dashed over and pulled them both into a bear hug, his arms enveloping them both like he hadn't seen them in years. "We almost died," Ned chuckled, his voice a little breathless. The nervous laughter only added to the absurdity of the situation.

Peter was still trying to process everything they'd been through, but he didn't want Ned to worry. "It's fine. It's fine," Peter said quickly, putting on a half-smile to calm him down.

Gwen, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as calm. She rolled her eyes, exhaling in a dramatic huff. "I wish I was there," she muttered sarcastically, her voice thick with frustration. "But some stupid lunatic got me stuck in the sewers." Her words were sharp, and she shot Peter a sideways glance, still annoyed at how her part of the mission had gone.

Ned, his eyes wide in confusion, let out a breath of relief but also a hint of disbelief. "I was wondering where you were!" he exclaimed, still trying to wrap his mind around everything.

Peter quickly shifted gears. "Hey, we're done with our mission though," he said, trying to reassure him, though his voice still carried the weight of the intensity they'd just endured.

Ned looked a little less relaxed now, but his expression shifted as he got to the point. "Dude, the trip's over," he said, his voice filled with an undertone of urgency. "Monsters are coming out of the ground. Everywhere we go. Of course, our parents want us home."

Before Peter or Gwen could respond, Mr. Harrington appeared, walking out of his room with his phone pressed to his ear, looking slightly frazzled. He looked up at the three of them as if they were his lifeline, and his face lit up. "Peter, Gwendolyn, you're not dead!" he exclaimed, his voice a mixture of relief and excitement. Without missing a beat, he pulled them both into a quick but tight embrace, pulling their heads into his chest as if he'd just seen them after years apart.

Peter let out a small chuckle, awkwardly patting Mr. Harrington's back. "Okay, okay, we're not dead," he muttered, trying to play it cool but failing to hide how unnerved he still felt.

Mr. Harrington looked them over with an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Oh my God, yes! Good! Stay here. Don't-put some clothes on. We're booking flights!" he said quickly, walking off as he spoke, clearly in panic mode about getting them home.

Gwen shot Peter a bewildered look, then turned to Dr. Dell, who had just stepped out from another room. He looked completely unfazed, as if this entire scenario was just another strange chapter in the saga of their lives. "We came for science, but we're leaving because of witches. Welcome to the new Dark Ages," he said flatly, his voice dripping with sarcasm and dark humor. Without waiting for a response, he walked off as though everything were already decided.

Gwen raised an eyebrow, confusion evident on her face. "What the hell?" she muttered under her breath, still reeling from the absurdity of it all.

Peter turned to Ned, his voice tinged with concern. "What's going on, dude?" he asked, genuinely unsure of what was happening.

Ned exhaled heavily, his shoulders slumping as he gave them the grim news. "We're going home in the morning," he revealed, the frustration and disappointment evident in his voice.

Peter and Gwen exchanged stunned looks. "No, no!" Peter exclaimed, his voice rising in protest, clearly not ready to leave so soon. They still had so much to sort out, and the idea of heading home now felt like unfinished business.

"What?! The Elementals are all gone!" Gwen added in disbelief, her voice tinged with anger. They'd come all this way for a mission, only to have it interrupted by something they didn't even understand.

Before anyone could speak again, they were interrupted by a loud voice. "Ned!" Betty called from down the hall, her voice carrying a sense of urgency. She was clearly oblivious to the chaos unfolding around them.

"Coming, sweetie!" Ned called back, throwing a quick look at Peter and Gwen before jogging off to join Betty.

Just then, Flash's door swung open, and he stuck his head out, looking annoyed. "Hey, can you guys keep it down? I'm live-streaming," he snapped, shutting the door quickly before they could even respond.

MJ, however, was a little slower. Her door creaked open just a moment later, and she stepped into the hallway, her eyes immediately scanning Peter and Gwen with a mixture of suspicion and concern. "Hey," she said, her voice light but carrying a hint of interrogation.

Peter and Gwen whipped around to face her, both slightly startled. They accidentally bumped heads in their rush to respond, and Peter winced, rubbing his forehead. "Hey," he managed to say, his voice awkward.

Gwen, however, wasn't as polite. She shot MJ a hard glare, the tension between them as palpable as ever. MJ raised an eyebrow, sensing the discomfort. "Where were you two?" she asked, her tone sharp, as though she already knew the answer but wanted to hear it anyway.

"Um... We got lost," Peter said quickly, trying to sound casual and brushing off the question. Gwen nodded in agreement, not adding anything to the conversation, her discomfort growing by the second.

MJ's expression softened slightly, but her concern still lingered. "We were worried about you," she said, her voice quieter now, genuine but with an undercurrent of something else-maybe jealousy or suspicion, it was hard to tell.

"Okay?" Gwen responded, her voice sharp and guarded, her eyes flicking away from MJ's piercing gaze. She glared at her, silently daring her to push further.

Peter noticed the tension building and tried to defuse it. He gave Gwen a gentle nudge in the side. "Good thing you two are okay," MJ said with a smile, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

"So much for Paris," she added with a touch of bitterness, as though she'd already let go of the idea of them all going together.

"It would've been fun," Gwen muttered under her breath, her voice barely audible. Peter nodded in agreement, his thoughts clearly elsewhere.

MJ nodded, her smile disappearing as she took a step back into her room. "You guys should go. Stay safe," she said before disappearing from sight, the door shutting softly behind her.

Peter turned to Gwen, the situation becoming more awkward by the second. He exhaled sharply. "You two need to make up and be friends again. This is awkward," he stated firmly, knowing that they couldn't keep avoiding each other forever.

Gwen opened her mouth to protest, but Peter wasn't having it. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her toward MJ's door, knocking before she could stop him. When MJ opened the door, she looked between the two of them, her confusion written all over her face.

"Hey?" she asked, her voice hesitant.

Peter cleared his throat and gave both girls a serious look. "Look, I think you two need to get over whatever this... is... and be friends again. So you're gonna talk this out," he said, his voice firm, as though he had already decided it for them. Without waiting for either girl to argue, he turned and walked away, leaving them standing there, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

Gwen and MJ stood in the doorway, neither one sure of what to say or how to begin. The silence was deafening, both of them steeling themselves for a conversation they'd been avoiding for too long. Finally, after a long pause, Gwen took a deep breath, her eyes meeting MJ's with a mix of reluctance and determination.

Gwen and MJ walked outside together, the silence between them stretching uncomfortably. It felt strange to be near someone who used to be her best friend, especially now that everything between them had changed so drastically. The air was thick with tension, and Gwen couldn't help but feel the weight of their unresolved issues. They walked in an awkward, slow rhythm, neither one knowing how to start the conversation that had been hanging between them for months.

Finally, MJ, who was usually calm and nonchalant, broke the silence. "You know, they used to execute people on this bridge," she said, her voice sounding almost detached, as though she were talking about something trivial rather than something dark and historical.

Gwen glanced at her, surprised by the sudden shift in tone. They used to talk about all sorts of random things like this when they were close, but now it just felt strange. "Oh," Gwen said, unsure of how to respond, still trying to navigate the awkwardness.

"They would put them in a basket and they would drown in the water," MJ continued, her tone almost matter-of-fact, as though she were just telling a story from a history book. She didn't look at Gwen, instead focusing on the scenery ahead of them.

"Dark," Gwen muttered, her voice tinged with unease as she processed what MJ had just said. It was like a metaphor for their friendship-drowning in silence, sinking deeper into a place they couldn't get out of.

MJ suddenly stopped in her tracks, turning to face Gwen with an intensity Gwen hadn't seen in her before. The usual nonchalant attitude was gone, replaced by something raw, something vulnerable. "Why did you stop being friends with me?" MJ asked, her words cutting through the air like a blade.

Gwen froze, caught off guard by the question. She bit her lip, trying to gather her thoughts, but everything felt so tangled in her mind. She had avoided this moment for so long, and now it was here, confronting her. "Well... you didn't trust me," Gwen said quietly, the sadness creeping into her voice. It wasn't just about trust; it was about how things had changed, how they'd both grown apart, and how Gwen had retreated into herself, pushing MJ away.

MJ frowned, her brow furrowing as she processed Gwen's words. It was clear that the question had been lingering in her mind for a while. "That's because you started acting weird whenever you saw Peter's notebook during Chemistry class," MJ said, her voice rising slightly with frustration. "You started following him around, Gwen. You wouldn't tell me what was going on. Then, at Homecoming, you left me alone and ran off to help Peter, and after that, you two became best friends again, and you ditched me."

Gwen's eyes widened as MJ's words hit her like a ton of bricks. She had never seen MJ so emotionally charged before, so open about her feelings. It was a side of her that Gwen hadn't expected, especially considering how guarded MJ had always been. "I-" Gwen started, but her words caught in her throat. She hadn't realized how much her actions had hurt MJ. She had been so focused on helping Peter, on dealing with everything that came with their secret lives, that she hadn't considered how it affected her friendship with MJ.

"I'm sorry," Gwen finally said, her voice small but sincere. "I was helping Peter with something, that's all. I'm sorry though. I've been so mean to you and I-" She stopped herself, unsure of how to explain everything. The truth was complicated, and she knew MJ wouldn't understand all of it, not without the full story.

But before Gwen could continue, MJ cut her off, her words like a punch to the gut. "Because you're Spider-Woman. And Peter's Spider-Man," MJ said bluntly, her voice laced with a mix of realization and bitterness.

Gwen froze, her heart stopping for a moment as the weight of MJ's words sank in. It felt like the ground beneath her had shifted, and she wasn't sure how to react. It was as if MJ had finally figured it all out, and it terrified Gwen to think about how much she had kept hidden.

MJ's gaze locked onto her with an intensity that made Gwen feel exposed, like there was no more room for secrets. She could feel the weight of everything between them, the years of friendship and betrayal, the lies, and the unspoken truth that had been hanging in the air for so long.

Gwen opened her mouth to say something, anything, but she couldn't find the right words. How could she explain the reason she hadn't told MJ? How could she explain the danger, the fear of putting someone she cared about in harm's way? The guilt flooded her chest, and for a moment, she couldn't breathe. She hadn't just lied about being busy with schoolwork or secret plans-she had kept the biggest secret of all from her best friend.

And now, it seemed, MJ knew.

ASH SPEAKS!

leaving you guys on a cliffhanger hehehe!!

we're getting closer to the end of this act!!

mj and gwen besties again?? absolutely

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