Spider-Man Talks Too Much, But Spider Spirits Aren't

Soon.

After everything was said, the three of them rose from the sofa, said goodbye to Mrs. Snow, and walked out of her office.

Gwen glanced over at Hawk.

"Do you need me to take you to the bioelectric power department?"

"No, I can go on my own."

Hawk said as much, then without lingering, slung his bag over one shoulder and headed out of the office building.

He didn't have much time left.

Afternoon classes were about to start, and he needed to hit the gym showers first.

Peter, who had followed the two out of Mrs. Snow's office, watched Hawk's retreating figure.

Yeah.

He was staring pretty intently.

Gwen, who had been quietly observing, suddenly spoke up.

"Peter!"

"...Ah!"

Peter's eyes were a little dazed as he looked at Gwen, who had called out to him. His pupils quickly focused, and he snapped back to reality. "Gwen?"

Gwen gave a slight smile. "Nothing. By the way, are you going to this year's prom?"

Peter smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, probably not."

If Hawk wasn't going because he had no money and no date, then Peter simply wasn't going because he had no date.

But Hawk had no date because he couldn't be bothered to find one.

If he wanted to, with his looks, build, and the aura honed from years of boxing, it wouldn't be hard to find a female classmate willing to be his date.

Peter, on the other hand, genuinely couldn't find a date.

To be precise, it was because Peter insisted on pining after Mary Jane.

Mary Jane, Peter's neighbor, was also an eleventh grader.

Maybe Peter thought no one knew about his crush on Mary Jane, but most people already did.

After all, everyone had eyes. In that situation, no girl would agree to be Peter's date and become a stand-in for Mary Jane.

And the real Mary Jane wouldn't accept Peter's prom invitation.

Peter didn't want to go to the prom alone and watch his dream girl dance with another guy.

Gwen wasn't surprised by Peter's answer either.

Because she was friends with Mary Jane, and as soon as the prom was announced, Mary Jane had come to her and signed up with her date's name.

Harry Osborn.

Yeah.

That fit Mary Jane's usual boyfriend standards.

Gwen thought to herself, but didn't say anything more. After getting Peter's answer, she nodded and turned to leave.

But...

After turning away, Gwen seemed to think of something. She instinctively glanced back over her shoulder.

Peter was still standing there, staring off in the direction Hawk had just gone, lost in thought.

A few days later.

Midtown High School suddenly erupted in cheers.

Break was here, break was here. The summer vacation students loved most had finally arrived.

"L, have you got your summer plans sorted?"

"Yeah, heading to Hawaii."

"Tom and I are planning to go to Slovakia."

"Whoa, Slovakia? Haven't you seen the news?"

"What news?"

"Didn't they say last week that some tourists went missing in Slovakia?"

"Fake news. Besides, Tom and I are built. What could happen?"

With the start of break, students drifted off in twos and threes, chatting about their vacation plans as they headed toward the parking lot.

Cars started up one after another, and within moments, the whole of Midtown High School seemed to empty out.

The noise that had filled every corner of the school vanished.

Only the rhythmic thudding from the old gymnasium continued to echo.

About ten minutes later.

The sound of striking faded.

Hawk stood in place, adjusting his breathing as he lowered his gaze, unwinding the bandages wrapped around his hands.

Even though he could now punch steel plates bare-handed without so much as a red mark, the habit formed over a thousand consecutive days had stuck, so he still instinctively wrapped bandages around his fists when training.

Just as Hawk finished removing the bandages, his sharp brows lifted.

The next second.

A voice came from behind.

"They say this gym is turning into a swimming pool next semester."

"...Peter."

Hawk turned to look at Peter standing not far away, his face a striking resemblance to Maguire's. "It's not 'they say.' It's true."

Peter smiled but said nothing.

This was another reason Hawk liked the original Spider-Man.

Compared to The Amazing Spider-Man's slight chatterbox tendencies and Holland's tech-savvy Spider-Man with his overwhelming talkativeness, he preferred the original's restraint.

Just like him.

Talent kept under wraps.

Not good with words.

Hawk thought to himself, then stuffed the rolled-up bandages into his pocket before looking at Peter. "You didn't come here today just to tell me this gym's turning into a swimming pool, did you?"

Peter quickly shook his head. "No."

"Then what is it?"

"Uh..."

Peter started to speak, but the words caught in his throat. He looked at Hawk, hesitating.

Hawk smiled.

He watched Peter's conflicted expression without saying a word, walked over to his backpack, slung it over one shoulder, and headed for the exit.

"Have a great summer, Peter."

"Fwip!"

Just as Hawk was about to reach the door, he heard a sound like a spider shooting silk. He spun around, his right fist already flying.

Peter, who had fired the web, felt his Spider-Sense flare and instinctively dodged to the side.

The next second.

"Boom!"

A bench in the middle of the old gymnasium split apart from the center.

Peter stared wide-eyed at the shattered bench.

Hawk, meanwhile, peeled the web stuck to his shoulder bag.

It was sticky.

He shook it hard a few times before finally flinging the clump of webbing away.

Peter snapped back to reality and looked at Hawk again.

"Hawk, are you also..."

"I'm not."

Hawk looked up and cut Peter off mid-sentence.

The strength he had today came from his own relentless effort and perseverance, day after day for a thousand days.

Of course.

A cheat might have played a small part in it.

But not much.

Hawk firmly believed that even without the cheat, he would still have awakened his Cosmo.

Right.

Since the cheat had already left and had no say in the matter, there was nothing wrong with that claim.

But that wasn't the real reason he had cut Peter off.

Hawk shot Peter a meaningful glance.

Peter, with his Spider-Sense, understood instantly.

Hawk gave a slight smile.

"Have a good summer, Peter. See you next semester."

"...Alright, see you next semester."

Peter held back what he'd originally wanted to say this time, and replied in acknowledgment.

Hawk said nothing more, turned, and walked out of the gymnasium.

And then...

He saw Gwen outside the door, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. "Gwen?"

Gwen: "..."