I’m Not Becoming Spider-Man - Chapter 35: Gwen's Promise (Patreon)

Meanwhile, Gwen followed Mary Jane into her house.

“I don't have much to take. Just some clothes and a few things,” Mary Jane said. Compared with Peter and his mountain of odds and ends, moving her belongings would be simple.

But Gwen had barely stepped inside when she saw the mess. Broken pieces of all kinds lay scattered across the floor.

“Uh...”

“Watch your step. Broken glass can be dangerous,” Mary Jane warned as she went upstairs.

“Okay...”

It was Gwen's first time inside Mary Jane's home. The layout was much like Peter's, although the rooms were furnished differently.

The window in Mary Jane's bedroom stood open. Through it, Gwen could see Harley tidying things up inside Peter's room on the other side.

“Your room really is close to Peter's.”

“Yeah. I can climb onto the windowsill and jump right across, provided he hasn't locked his window.”

Gwen suddenly realized she'd underestimated how close Peter and Mary Jane truly were.

Mary Jane said nothing more. They gathered her things and went downstairs.

“Ugh... hic...” A disheveled man shoved the door open with a bottle of liquor in his hand. The sight of Mary Jane carrying bundles of clothes made him furious. “What do you think you're doing? You goddamn bitch! Are you leaving me too?”

“It's none of your business,” Mary Jane replied calmly.

“Hic... I... I'm your father, you bitch!” He swallowed another mouthful of liquor. “Listen here. You're not going anywhere without my permission!”

He lunged toward them in a rage. Mary Jane grabbed Gwen and dragged her back into the bedroom. With practiced movements, she locked the door and pulled a nearby cabinet into place against it.

She tossed her bundle aside and sat on the bed.

“...” Gwen felt as though she ought to say something. For now, though, perhaps silence was better.

“Well, you've seen him. That's my father, Philip. He's a violent drunk. My mother left and took my older sister with her, but I chose to stay behind. Funny, isn't it?”

“I'm so sorry, Mary Jane.” Gwen had never imagined her friend's home life was like this.

“There's nothing you need to apologize for, Gwen.”

“No, I should apologize. I had no idea things were this bad. We're friends, Mary Jane. I can help you.”

“Thank you, Gwen. But this is the life I've lived. I'm grown up now, even if I've been carrying the scars since I was little.”

Abuse and heavy blows against the door sounded from the hallway. Mary Jane seemed used to them.

“Actually, Gwen, I've never really thought of you as a friend.”

The admission stung, although Gwen couldn't say it was completely unexpected.

Mary Jane walked to the window and watched the activity across the gap. “Do you know something? All I have to do is call Peter, and he'll jump over from that window to help me. That's how it's always been.

“When I was small, Philip hit me again one day. It hurt terribly, and I hid in my room and cried. Then this little boy appeared in the window of the house next door. He told me to open mine.

“He was just a child, but he tossed a first-aid kit across and jumped over after it. He dressed my wounds, helped barricade the door, and comforted me. He told me that if I really couldn't stay, I could come hide at his house for a while.

“I agreed because I had nowhere else to go. He jumped back first, then held out his hand and asked me to follow. When I looked down, that little gap between our windows seemed like a bottomless chasm. I couldn't believe he'd been brave enough to leap over it himself. Back then, I thought, my God, he's a real superhero.”

“After that, he introduced me to Uncle Ben and invited me to eat at their house. The place next door practically became my second home.

“So do you understand now, Gwen? I love Peter, and he loves me. But I never seem to know how to act or what to say. Like a rose, I keep pricking him with my thorns, upsetting him and making him angry.

“I don't want to do that. I try as hard as I can to control the awful temper I inherited from my father. I hate making Peter unhappy. I've already made him dislike me once.

“Gwen, I even hate you. I hate every girl who gets close to Peter, especially when she's as pretty as you.”

“Was that... supposed to be a compliment?”

“Take it as one. You envy me for having such a good friend in Peter, but you don't understand. He's my family, the person I love. What we have goes far beyond friendship. It's not something you can just step into, and you shouldn't try.

“If you weren't close to him, and if I didn't have to consider his feelings, I'd have stuffed a rat in your desk drawer a long time ago.”

“Hah. I'm not afraid of rats.”

“That was just an example, Gwen. I'm capable of much worse.”

Gwen laughed. Somehow, having Mary Jane say everything aloud instead of keeping it bottled up made the tension between them ease.

“Mary Jane, I don't feel that way about Peter. We're just... a little closer than ordinary friends, that's all.”

“I hope you keep it that way.”

“I swear Peter and I will always be good friends and nothing more. He's yours.”

“He'd better be!”

“So you saw me as a romantic rival from the start?” Gwen asked as she went back to helping Mary Jane pack.

“You have to stay on your guard, Gwen. You have no idea how popular Peter was with girls back in middle school. I worked so hard to keep them away from him, and he got upset with me instead. He said I was being so nasty that everyone would hate me. God, he didn't understand. I didn't care about any of those girls. As long as I had him, that was enough.”

“Uh... I think he had a point.”

“All right, all right. I'll admit I have a terrible temper. Blame Peter if you want. He's the one who made me this way,” Mary Jane said. “Anyway, now that everything's out in the open, as long as you don't make a move on Peter, we're fine. So, Gwen, will you be my friend?”

“Isn't it a little late to ask? Aren't we friends already? Or do you want to make it official with something like 'friends forever'?”

Both girls broke into laughter. The noise beyond the bedroom door had also fallen silent.

“You know, Gwen, I really envy you,” Mary Jane said after a while. “Your father cares about everything you do. He hugs you. He worries about what will happen when you move away. I know he gets on your nerves, but look around here. You've got something other people can only dream of.

“I'm not asking you to pity me, Gwen. I have Peter.

“I just hope you'll care about your father a little more. He's a good man. You should talk to him more often.”

“I will...”

CRASH!

The cabinet toppled over, startling them both. Two more thunderous blows followed as an axe blade smashed through the wooden door.

“Oh my God! Gwen, hurry, get across!” Mary Jane screamed, urging her toward the window and Peter's room.

“No, Mary Jane, you go first. I'll be fine!” Gwen insisted, shoving Mary Jane ahead of her so she could cross first.

But their moment of hesitation was enough for Philip to break through the door.

“Hurry, Gwen! Come on, grab my hand!” Mary Jane had already climbed across and reached out to her.

“Oh my God!” Gwen's heart pounded as she stood on the edge of the window and stared at the dizzying drop below. With death bearing down behind her, she had no choice but to jump.