Hawk and Gwen traded questions and answers.
Their tones were natural.
Their expressions relaxed.
As they talked, they walked side by side toward the lounge corridor.
Behind them...
Mary Jane's mouth had fallen as wide open as it possibly could.
Holy shit!
What had she missed over the summer break?
Peter was feeling a little dazed too.
He felt as though he had understood something, yet also as though he had understood absolutely nothing.
Harry, on the other hand, looked at Mary Jane and tried to greet her.
Mary Jane was Peter's neighbor. Back before Harry had gone to the United Kingdom, whenever he went to see Peter, Mary Jane was sometimes there too.
So Harry knew Mary Jane as well.
Harry thought for a moment, then patted Mary Jane on the shoulder.
"Hey, Mary, long time no see."
"...Hey, Harry."
Mary Jane turned around, glanced at the newly arrived Harry, and returned his greeting blandly. Then, with a swish, she turned to Peter. "Peter, did you know about this?"
Harry froze.
Wait, that reaction was wrong.
Was that how someone reacted upon seeing an old friend?
That was a little too indifferent.
Peter froze as well.
Facing the sparkling look Mary Jane had sent his way, he blinked.
"What?"
"Gwen and Hawk."
Mary Jane did her best to suppress the gossip in her voice and fought the urge to scream as she hurriedly asked Peter, "Aren't you Hawk's only friend at school? You should know. When did it happen?"
Peter was completely dumbfounded.
"When did I become Hawk's onl—"
"Forget it. I can't be bothered asking you."
Looking at Peter's thoroughly unhelpful answer, Mary Jane's curiosity completely overwhelmed her reason. After saying that, she lifted her foot and chased after Gwen, who had already walked ahead.
She planned to hear the gossip up close.
But just then.
Mary Jane suddenly stopped, seemingly remembering something. She turned her head and saw Harry, who was equally dazed and seemed to feel as though he had turned invisible.
The next second.
"Ah!"
Once Mary Jane saw him clearly, she screamed, dashed over to Harry, and threw her arms around the still-sullen boy. "Harry, Harry, when did you get back?"
Harry was happy.
He looked at Mary Jane as she released him and smiled, just about to continue their small talk when Mary Jane hugged him again. "I've got something to do right now, so I won't talk to you. See you later."
Obviously, at that moment, even a good friend returning from the United Kingdom was less important than Mary wanting to uncover the gossip about her best friend and the school's number one cold-faced guy.
So after saying that, Mary Jane turned around again. Seeing Gwen in the distance, nearly inside the lounge corridor already, she hurried after her at a jog.
Mary obviously couldn't chase after Hawk to ask for gossip.
So...
For the entire morning, Mary followed Gwen around with a pleading expression.
Her central point was just one thing.
"Please, tell me more. Just a little more, more details, please, Gwen."
"..."
Since it was the first day of the new semester, things were somewhat relaxed, and there were not even any classes scheduled for today.
Everyone was busy with their own affairs, collecting their course schedules or going to see their counselors for advice about their final semester.
As a result, Gwen was thoroughly pestered by Mary for the whole morning.
Finally.
On their way to the cafeteria, Gwen looked at Mary, who was still beside her with puppy-dog eyes, eager to hear more gossip about how she and Hawk had gotten together, and could no longer take it.
Gwen sighed.
"No, is it really that strange for Hawk and me to be together?"
"Mhm, mhm."
"What's strange about it? Since ninth grade, we've sat together in physics class, and we even have the same counselor."
"Come on, Gwen, that's Hawk."
"So what?"
"Do you really not know what everyone says about Hawk?"
"What?"
This time, Gwen was curious.
Mary looked around and lowered her voice. "Everyone says either Hawk is an absolutely hardcore straight guy, or he's bent."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "How could that be?"
She suddenly recalled Hawk standing in the water at that waterfall in Maryland, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts.
Bent?
Hawk was very straight.
Straight as a baton.
Wait.
What am I thinking about?
Gwen shook her head, instinctively throwing the image of the baton from her mind. Then she said seriously to Mary, "Hawk isn't bent."
Mary froze, then seemed to think of something and winked at Gwen.
Her smile became somewhat suggestive.
"You've sampled him?"
"..."
Gwen immediately froze. Looking at Mary's suggestive smile, she took a deep breath.
The next second.
Without saying a word, she turned and walked away.
As expected of a dance student.
Filthy-minded.
Way too filthy-minded.
Seeing Gwen silently shake her off, Mary hurriedly chased after her.
"Sorry, Gwen. Forgive me."
"..."
When Hawk arrived at the cafeteria, Mary was still trying to dig information out of Gwen.
But Gwen turned a deaf ear.
Seeing that Gwen had become immune to her pleas, Mary sighed. Then she spotted Harry, who had arrived in the cafeteria under Peter's lead, and her eyes instantly lit up. She said to Gwen beside her, "If you won't tell me, I'll go ask Peter."
As she spoke, Mary Jane got up. Without waiting for Gwen to react, she picked up her tray and ran over to Peter and Harry.
By the time Hawk sat down across from Gwen with his tray, Mary Jane had already left.
"Mary finished eating?"
"Apparently, since she couldn't get any gossip from me, she ran off to ask Peter."
Gwen glanced at Mary, who had already pulled Peter down into a seat, and shook her head helplessly.
Hawk heard that and asked in confusion, "What does this have to do with Peter?"
Gwen shrugged.
"Maybe because you and Peter were together at the Old Gymnasium last semester, everyone thinks Peter is your friend this semester."
"...All right."
After hearing that, Hawk let out a laugh, but he couldn't be bothered to refute it. He picked up the burger on his tray and began eating.
Because she had arrived at the cafeteria early, Gwen had already finished eating.
With her arms folded on the table, Gwen watched Hawk eat his burger.
"Oh, right. Did you call Dr. Connors to thank him?"
"Yeah, I did."
Hawk nodded. After swallowing his burger, he remembered something and said to Gwen, "When I called, Dr. Connors said the experiment seemed to have made a breakthrough. He sounded very happy."
Gwen blinked.
"A breakthrough?"
"That's impossible."
"..."
Before you continue