Chapter 41
Gwen didn’t want to cry. She really didn’t.
But the second she stepped into Miles’ dorm room and saw him waiting, it all came out.
“She’s pulling me out,” Gwen choked. “My mom—she’s serious. She’s already filing the paperwork.”
Miles crossed the room in two long strides and wrapped her into his arms.
“She didn’t even ask. She didn’t even listen to me. She thinks she’s doing the right thing, but it’s just—it’s ruining everything.”
He held her tighter. “I’m so sorry, G.”
She clung to his hoodie like it was the only thing keeping her from falling apart. “I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to leave you.”
“I’m not letting you go that easy,” he whispered. “We’ll figure this out. I promise.”
“Okay, so… this might be the worst idea I’ve ever had,” Gwen muttered, arms tightly locked around Miles’ neck.
“Oh please. You’ve got superhero balance and dancer reflexes. You’ll be fine.”
He crouched, crouched deeper—and launched her.
“MILES!”
Gwen screamed as she flew into the air over Brooklyn, flailing before Miles leapt up, shot a web, and caught her mid-air.
“See?” he grinned, flipping her in his arms. “You’re flying.”
“No, I’m dying!”
But then he tossed her again—and this time, Gwen laughed. A real, sharp laugh that made her cheeks hurt.
It didn’t matter how high she went. She always landed back in his arms.
They perched on the side of a water tower, upside down and swinging gently. Spider-Man’s mask was pushed up just to his nose, and Gwen’s hair swayed like a curtain in the breeze.
“I wish we could stay like this,” Gwen whispered. “Just… stuck to a tower. Not going anywhere.”
“I’d be okay with that,” Miles murmured. “As long as I was stuck here with you.”
They hung there in silence, fingers tangled.
“I don’t want a countdown,” she said. “I don’t want to start measuring how much time I’ve got left here.”
“You’re not alone,” he told her. “We’ll fight this together. Even if I have to talk your mom down myself.”
“You do know she scares me more than half the villains in Brooklyn, right?”
“She hasn’t met Spider-Man yet.”
Gwen smiled, small but real. “You always catch me.”
“I always will.”
Ballet class ended and Gwen was toweling off her neck when she spotted a familiar figure through the door.
“…Dad?”
She walked over, confused. “Is everything okay?”
George gave her a long look before opening his arms.
“I’m here to take you home.”
“Wait—did something happen?”
“I’m going to talk to your mother,” he said simply. “You deserve to be heard.”
She blinked, surprised. “You’re… on my side?”
“I’m on the side of what’s right,” he replied. “And Gwen? You belong here.”