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The still silence of the night is interrupted by a soft thud followed by the slow and soft scrapings of a window being opened against the windowpane. As is routine, the night must end just as inconspicuously as it started. Not a trace should be left that anyone left, and most definitely not a trace that anyone came back. One foot through without so much as a sound of fabric being shuffled is heard.
“Just this other foot, and I can finally call it a night,” our hero says to himself.
As luck, or in this case, misfortune would have it, as he brings in his other foot, his toe gets caught; causing him to stumble to the floor whilst attempting to avoid causing anything else in his room to fall. He hops on one foot to make it to his bed and dives in successfully.
“Maybe I could have stuck the landing better, but safe.” He says to himself assured that that was the end of things.
The combination of cockiness and early celebration results in some of the objects sitting on the shelves above his bed falling as if they were hurled to the ground.
“Miles?” his mother’s voice calls out distantly yet gradually growing closer.
He hurriedly buries himself under his blankets and comforter and in a panic, tucks his spider-man mask under his pillow and rests on his side facing the wall. To make his sleep more believable, he tries to snore as loudly as possible.
“Are you okay, Miles?” His mom asks as she opens the door to check on him.
Continuing his stellar performance, he lifts his head and says in his best sleepy voice,
“Yeah, I’m fine. I- I just... stumbled getting into bed from getting water and using the bathroom?” he replies.
“Alright, just try and get back to sleep; you have school in the morning,” his mom says.
“Yeah, I know. Night ma,” Miles replies softly as his mom closes the door.
The following day starts with Miles waking up and having to begin preparing for school, as is usual for a teen. Of course, the day started as best as it could, waking up on time, being able to grab a quick breakfast and get right out the door and making it to campus on time; even making it into his 1st period classroom before the teacher did. Homework done and handed in, even acing the pop quiz, Miles marches boldly into his 2nd period classroom only to find a familiar voice greeting him saying:
“Hey Miles. How’s it goin?”
Miles pauses momentarily in a mixture of shock and confusion.
“Whoa, whoa, wait a second; GWEN?” he asks out loud, meaning to ask himself internally.
“Uh…Yeaahh??” she responds in her usual manner.
“What are you doing here? I thought you went back to your dimension!” he exclaims focused in his joy rather than thinking of keeping talks of world and universe shattering topics to a minimum.
“I did... and I figured I should come back here,” she explains as she steps toward Miles.
“Back here? For what?” Miles asks.
“I never got to thank you for my haircut.” Gwen says as she puts her hand in Miles’ hair and grinning menacingly.
“W-wait, Gwen, I'm sorry about that! I didn’t know what was happening at the time!” Miles frantically begins shouting while trying to keep Gwen from pulling her hand away.
“Calm down, Miles. I’m just going to pull really hard.” Gwen says as she grins menacingly, before immediately counting:
“1, 2—”
Miles closes his eyes and grits his teeth hard, knowing that there is no possible way he can escape the fate awaiting him at Gwen’s literal hand.
“THREE!” Gwen shrieks as she flashes Miles a smile that resembles that of a demon and begins to jerk her hand back as hard as she possibly can.
The jerking motion from Gwen was the literal wakeup call Miles needed, shaking him up from this odd nightmare he had. It was something from their initial encounter that he still holds regret toward. Even though they agreed that he got to finally like her haircut, he never allowed himself to let go of the mishap.
Regardless, Miles found himself thanking the powers that be for being able to wake up from a dream that was sure to do nothing shy of leaving him paranoid for the entire day as to how many of his schoolmates remember the incident and still find him weird.
Now fully aware that he’s awake and not enduring a dream-state pseudo reality, Miles hurries to get ready for his day and heads off to campus ahead of his parents grilling him about being ready and heading out of the door on time. His walk to school is as normal as it could be any other day. He even made it to school earlier than he anticipated and used that time to go through his art book to review some of the tags he’d done in the past, as well as some of his old sketches.
As Miles flips through the pages, he finds a handful of pages dedicated to his drawing of Gwen. The days spent learning how to be Spider Man were few in number, but they left their mark in his heart and etched themselves into his memories. He hated having to say goodbye to Gwen, all three Peters, and Peni at the collider. He wasn’t ready for the rest of them to have to go; and he felt sure in his heart of hearts that he wasn’t the only one. He’d have much preferred to say goodbye on his terms, if at all. That particular sentiment was strongest for Gwen, of course.
With a sigh given, Miles put his book back in his bag and slides his headphones off his head.
“I wonder if they ever feel like they also need a break from everything spider related too,” Miles thinks to himself as he walks toward his first period class; where upon opening the door, he checks cautiously to make sure there isn’t any surprise ambush waiting for him.
“Okay, bro; Miles, calm down. That was a dream you clearly woke up from. It’s not like Gwen is going to magically appear at all today.” Miles assures himself as he makes his way toward his desk.
The day for Miles Morales is your usual everyday type of day for any teenager. Teachers talking a lot, work and responsibilities being given, trying to figure out who you are and how to handle it all while making sure your geometry essay is ready and that your English exam uses the right formula for solving for.. X?
“Okay.. Maybe I didn’t get enough sleep last night.” Miles thinks to himself, realizing that his thoughts are about as complete as a carcass strung about a spider web, funny enough.
Miles manages to get through the morning periods of his school day and succeeds in surviving his way to lunch, where after inhaling a meal packed by his mom, he feels rejuvenated enough to power through the rest of his day.
Upon making it back to his dorm room, Miles shares a brief fist bump with his roommate, tosses his belongings on and under his desk, and hurls himself into his bed. He lays still for a while and tries his best to lose himself in a moment where he’s not exactly needed to do much of anything. Miles only gets that moment, before making himself get a start on his known homework that is due the following day.
“The sooner I get this done, the sooner I can sit and chill for as long as I like,” Miles says to himself, trying to bring forth some sort of motivation.
The benefits of being a pretty smart kid are that the homework isn’t all that challenging, more a bother than anything; and that it doesn’t take long at all to complete. Miles blasts through his homework and checks the time, realizing he has a substantial amount of time left in the day to do anything he wants.
“It’s too early to go to sleep. Other than my roommate, I don’t really know anyone here on campus. I suppose I could go chill in one of the student centers and get some fresh air.” Miles ponders to himself.
“But I also don't necessarily want to be inside and hanging out. Where could I go?” he ponders a bit more.
Miles looks out his window and really admires the blue sky and the different heights of the buildings in the Brooklyn skyline, and it persuades him on how he’ll spend his afternoon.
He spends his time at school being Miles Morales, and he spends his time outside being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. He's always caught between those moments and rarely gets a chance to just be “Miles.” So, this afternoon was going to be a change of pace. Miles was going to enjoy a peaceful day and find a way to get a break from everything.
With his mind made up, he grabs his bag, laptop, and headphones, puts on his most casual and comfortable streetwear and bolts out of his dorm room, through the lobby, and into the closest inconspicuous spot he can find. From there, he puts on his Spidey mask, and swings his way high stop the city streets to find an idea spot to perch and relax.
The past few days, the usual wrongdoers have been quiet. It’s an unusual spot for both Miles and Spider-Man to find themselves in. In the back of his mind, he figures it might be the calm before an even bigger storm; but he may as well use the down time wisely to regroup, if the baddies are scheming their next plans.
Swinging through the air, Miles feels a sense of freedom and excitement that he hadn’t felt since he took that all important leap of faith back then. This was a bit different of a feeling though. This felt more peaceful and carefree, as opposed to swinging with newly found confidence and awareness. He enjoyed this feeling as though it were meant to be.
Miles makes a few pit-stops along the way, helping the elderly cross the street safety, checking to make sure a person locked out of their car can get their keys, and eventually to his favorite food spot where they offer a “local hero” discount whenever they decide to stop by.
“One large sausage and pepperoni pizza, please.” Miles says to the rep at the counter.
“Of course! Coming right up, Spider-Man!” The rep replies cheerfully.
The discount is 100% off for the friendly local hero who has been the security system for the establishment practically since its inception. Although this universe’s original Spider-Man died, they’re still willing to honor their dedication to anyone who dawns the mask and is seen day in and out keeping the neighborhood safe.. And at minimum, any children dressed as Spider-Man get a free slice, just to encourage good behavior.
The rep hands Miles his pizza after a small wait, and after thanking them for the pizza, Miles zips off and upward through the city. He lands atop the building with the lion head statue overlooking one of the streets, puts on his headphones, and opens his box of pizza.
“Now you might not be in the wrong, but ain’t nothin gonna save you from being annihilated,” Miles says out loud. Aside from the small lunch his mom made him, he hadn’t really had much to eat today.
He grabs his first slice, and within seconds, it ceases to exist. For Miles, it may be a personal record for the fastest time he’s eaten a full slice. He grabs a second slice and takes a bite, when through the music, he hears what he could swear was a voice behind him. He pulls the right side of his headset off, and with a full mouth says-
“If anyone’s there, I’m gonna have to ask you to wait a while before asking for assistance. Spider Man is on his lunch break.” To which the voice responds:
“Well, whenever Spider Man is done with his lunch break, can you have him tell Miles that he missed a visitor?”
Miles begins pounding his chest, trying to get the pizza he swallowed down his gullet safely. Upon hearing the voice and what was said clearly, he inhaled in surprise. He digs around in his bag to find a spare bottled water to help ease things down so he can breathe and speak, before standing up and facing the direction the voice came from.
“Whoa, whoa, wait a second; GWEN?” he asks out loud, meaning to ask himself internally.
“Uh… Yeaahh??” she responds in her usual manner.
“What are you doing here? I thought you went back to your dimension!” He responds in a mixture of joy, confusion, and concern. This was deja vu setting in hard for him.
“You’re.. not here to get revenge on me about the whole hair thing from the first time we met, are you?” he asks cautiously.
Gwen looks at him confused and tilting her head to the side a bit, trying to figure out what’s going on in Miles’ head.
“I did... and I figured I should come back here,” she explains as she steps toward Miles.
“Back here? For what?” Miles asks.
“Well, things are surprisingly quiet in my dimension. It had been a while since we got to hang out, and so I figured why not take a chance to check on a friend. That is what friends do, right?” Gwen replies as she gazes off into the view of Brooklyn above the top of the statue.
“Yes, it is what friends do,” Miles says, approaching Gwen with a much more relaxed state of mind, before continuing on; “And aside from the quietness of your dimension crime-wise, how are you doing?” he asks, pizza box in hand.
“Me? I'm good. Still haven’t had luck finding a stable band to play with. Still staying focused, still protecting others, still living the dual-persona lifestyle,” she says.
“And still eating, I hope?” Miles asks, gesturing toward her with the pizza box.
“Thanks Miles,” she says as she takes a slice. “So, is this where Spider Man hangs out in this dimension?”
“Oh this? I mean, it’s really only one of my favorite spots, I actually have several around Brooklyn here and there.” He starts before taking another bite of his slice and sitting back down, before cleaning up his belongings.
“I see. I have a spot in my dimension that’s kind of similar to this, but my perch is a bit higher. The sunlight bounces off the buildings and makes the city glow on the right days,” Gwen replies as she sits across from Miles.
“Sounds pretty neat. Might make a nice landscape drawing for a postcard or portfolio or something,” Miles ponders aloud.
“So, Spider Man. When are you done, and when can Miles come out to get a break from everything?” Gwen asks, peering over at Miles with a subtle smirk.
Miles smirks back and grabs his belongings and the remaining pizza, before pulling his mask down over his face and facing Gwen to say in an obviously deeper voice:
“Oh, don’t worry, young lady. Spider Man has a pizza delivery to make, and he’ll be sure to tell this ‘Miles’ person your request to chill.”
Gwen responds with her trademark blank gaze for a few seconds before chuckling a bit at Miles’ antics.
“Spider Man” zips hurriedly out of sight and in no time, “Miles” zips back with a fresh set of clothes and lands in front of Gwen who raises an eyebrow in intrigue.
“You sure got here fast, Miles,” she teases.
“Well, it’s rude of a man to keep a lady waiting,” Miles starts before finishing with: “Plus I got a message from Spider Man that someone wanted to chill, and I just had to see who it was.”
The two share a laugh momentarily before Miles cuts in asking:
“Sooo then what is it exactly that you wanna do?”
“Well, I'm pretty unfamiliar with this dimension. You should show me around.” Gwen answers back.
“Hmm. Well, I don’t know if you’re the gamer or competitive type, but there is an arcade not too far away.. we could maybe play a few games?” he suggests.
Gwen looks at Miles and pauses before responding:
“That is literally the most guy suggestion you could give.”
“Well given that you play drums, you don’t seem quite like the type to enjoy shopping or going to get our nails done together.” Miles immediately claps back jokingly.
Gwen squints her eyes at Miles as if to say “Oh, whatever,” and flashes a smile in his direction.
“Lucky guess, Einstein.” She says as a reply, as she stands by his side.
“So then how do we get to this arcade?” She asks.
“Just follow me, if you can keep up with my amazing skills,” Miles says confidently.
With a hearty laugh she nods forward for Miles to lead the way as the two head off to enjoy an afternoon as friends.