Chapter 36
Gwen couldn’t meet his eyes.
They were walking down the hall between classes, and Miles kept stealing glances at her, trying to catch her expression, trying to read anything on her face. But Gwen’s gaze stayed trained on the floor tiles, her thumbs fidgeting with the strap of her bag. Her responses were short. Almost robotic.
“So, uh… did you finish that chem lab yet?” he asked, feigning casual.
“Yeah.”
A beat.
“You okay?” he asked, voice softer.
She gave a weak nod. “Just tired.”
Miles could feel something cracking in his chest. He didn’t even have to ask—he knew this was about the kiss. About the kiss and Spider-Man and everything in between. The thing was, it hadn’t just been a kiss. Not to him. It had meant something. And judging from the way Gwen had run away afterward, it had meant something to her too.
But now? She was avoiding him like he’d done something wrong.
Which you did, a bitter voice in the back of his head reminded him. You let her fall for a mask. Then you kissed her under it.
She had no idea.
And that was the problem.
Miles stared at the ceiling in the library, books open in front of him but completely forgotten. Ganke had gone to get snacks, and he was finally alone with the only thing screaming in his head.
He had to tell her.
This… thing between them couldn’t keep going like this. Gwen was pulling away. She was hurt and confused, and every second he stayed silent made it worse. He wanted to tell her everything. About the kiss, about the truth behind the mask, about how it had always been her.
He was done lying.
He stood up abruptly, grabbing his phone, stuffing it in his pocket, and heading toward the dorms. He was going to find her. He was going to tell her—right now.
But before he even got down the block, his phone vibrated violently.
"BREAKING: RHINO SPOTTED IN LOWER MANHATTAN"
Miles stopped in his tracks. His breath hitched.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
He turned toward the street, eyes narrowing. He didn’t even hesitate.
He ducked into an alley, threw on the mask.
Spider-Man first. Then Gwen.
The streets were chaos.
Screaming civilians. Overturned cars. And in the middle of it, Rhino—tearing through a row of market stalls like they were paper mâché. Spider-Man swung in from above, shooting webs at anything to slow him down.
And then he saw her.
Gwen.
She was crouched behind a smoking car, eyes wide, covering her mouth. She hadn’t meant to get this close—he could see that—but somehow, she had. She was too close. Way too close.
“Gwen!” he shouted, heart lurching in his throat.
She flinched, not from him—but from Rhino’s massive fist slamming into the pavement near her.
Miles didn’t think.
He moved faster than he ever had, sliding in front of her and webbing a wall of debris to block them. The shockwave knocked them both back. Gwen hit the ground hard, her eyes dazed and terrified.
He was at her side instantly.
“Gwen. You okay?” His voice was strained, panicked.
She blinked at him, then froze.
Shit.
Too late.
She was starting to put it together, but she was scared, and she needed him, not the mask.
He reached for the edge of it with trembling fingers.
“I didn’t want you to find out like this,” he said quietly, pulling the mask off.
Her eyes locked on his face. Her breath caught.
“Miles?”
Everything stopped.
The sounds of the city, the chaos, the fight in the background—Gwen didn’t hear any of it. All she could see was his face.
His face under the mask.
Miles.
Spider-Man had been Miles this whole time.
He had kissed her. Lied to her. Protected her. Watched her fall apart. And all the while, he had known. And she had had no clue.
Her mind reeled.
“You…” she started, voice cracking. “You’ve always known. All this time.”
“I wanted to tell you—”
“But you didn’t!” she snapped, stumbling away from him. “You let me kiss you! You let me say all those things! And you knew, Miles!”
“Because I didn’t want to lose you!”
Gwen laughed—sharp and bitter. “Well, you did.”
She turned away, hands shaking, eyes burning.
“How could I have been so stupid?”
And with that, she ran—again.
Miles didn’t follow.
Because this time, he knew he might not be able to fix it.