Prelude to the Birth of Lizard

Hawk and Gwen were exchanging questions and answers.

Their tone was natural.

Their demeanor was relaxed.

As they spoke, the two walked side-by-side towards the lounge corridor.

Behind them…

Mary Jane's mouth was open as wide as it could go.

Holy crap!

What did I miss this summer?

Peter felt a bit stunned at this moment too.

He felt like he understood something, yet also felt like he understood nothing at all.

Meanwhile, Harry, standing beside him, looked at Mary Jane and tried to greet her.

Mary Jane was Peter's neighbor. Before he went to England, whenever Harry went to find Peter, Mary Jane was often there.

So Harry knew Mary Jane.

Harry thought for a moment, then patted Mary Jane's shoulder.

"Hey, Mary, long time no see."

"…Hey, Harry."

Mary Jane turned around, glanced at Harry's appearance, and greeted him faintly. Then, with a swish, she turned to look at Peter beside her: "Peter, do you know about this?"

Harry froze.

Wait, this reaction is not right.

Is this how you react to seeing an old friend?

It's too subdued.

Peter also froze.

He met Mary Jane's shining gaze and paused.

"What?"

"Gwen and Hawk."

Mary Jane suppressed the gossip in her voice as much as possible, fighting the urge to scream, and said to Peter hurriedly: "Aren't you Hawk's only friend at school? You should know. When did this happen?"

Peter was completely bewildered.

"When did I become Hawk's only…"

"Forget it, I don't want to ask you."

Seeing Peter's unenthusiastic response, Mary Jane's curiosity completely overwhelmed her reason. After saying that, she strode off to catch up with Gwen, who had already walked ahead.

She intended to get the gossip up close.

But just then.

Mary Jane suddenly stopped, as if she had thought of something. She turned her head and saw Harry, who was also looking bewildered, feeling like he might have become invisible.

The next second.

"Ah!"

Mary Jane let out a scream when she saw him clearly. She quickly ran in front of Harry and hugged the still-vexed Harry: "Harry, Harry, when did you get back?"

Harry was delighted.

He watched Mary Jane release him and smiled, just about to resume their pleasantries, when Mary Jane hugged him again: "I have to go now, I can't talk to you. See you later."

Clearly, at this moment, the return of her good friend from England was not as important as Mary's desire to pry into the gossip between her best friend and the school's resident ice king.

Therefore, after speaking, Mary Jane turned around again, looked at Gwen, who was already nearing the lounge corridor in the distance, and quickly jogged to catch up.

Mary clearly wasn't going to chase after Hawk for gossip.

So…

For the entire morning, Mary trailed behind Gwen, begging with a pleading look.

Her central thought was singular.

"Please, tell me more, just a little more, be more detailed, I'm begging you, Gwen."

"…"

Since it was the first day of the new semester, things were a bit relaxed, and there weren't even any classes scheduled for the day.

Everyone was busy with their own affairs, picking up their course schedules, or seeking advice from their counselors for their final semester.

As a result, Gwen was thoroughly annoyed by Mary all morning.

Finally.

As the two walked towards the cafeteria, Gwen couldn't help but notice Mary Jane beside her, looking expectantly, eager to hear more gossip about how she and Hawk got together.

Gwen sighed.

"What, is it that weird that Hawk and I are together?"

"Mhm, mhm."

"What's so strange about it? Since ninth grade, we've been lab partners in physics, and we even have the same tutor."

"Come on, Gwen, that's Hawk we're talking about."

"So?"

"Don't you know what everyone says about Hawk?"

"What?"

Now it was Gwen's turn to be curious.

Mary glanced around, lowering her voice, "Everyone's saying either Hawk is completely straight, or Hawk is… gay."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "How is that possible?"

She suddenly remembered that time by the waterfall in Maryland, with Hawk standing in the water wearing only swim trunks.

Gay?

Hawk is straight as an arrow.

As straight as a police baton.

No.

What am I thinking?

Gwen shook her head, unconsciously shaking off the image of the police baton from her mind, then said seriously to Mary, "Hawk isn't gay."

Mary blinked, then seemed to realize something and winked at Gwen.

Her smile turned a little suggestive.

"You've tried him?"

"..."

Gwen froze for a moment, then, looking at Mary's suggestive smile, took a deep breath.

The next second.

She turned and walked away without a word.

No wonder she's a dancer.

So dirty.

Way too dirty.

Mary watched Gwen walk away without a word and quickly chased after her.

"I'm sorry, Gwen, please forgive me."

"..."

By the time Hawk arrived at the cafeteria, Mary was still trying to pry information out of Gwen.

But Gwen was completely ignoring her.

Seeing that Gwen was immune to her pleas, Mary sighed. Then she spotted Harry arriving at the dining hall, led by Peter. Her eyes lit up, and she said to Gwen, "If you won't tell me, I'll go ask Peter."

With that, Mary Jane stood up and, before Gwen could react, took her tray and ran off to find Peter and Harry.

Hawk sat down opposite Gwen with his tray. Mary Jane had already left.

"Mary finished eating?"

"Clearly, she's not getting any gossip from me, so she went to find Peter."

Gwen glanced at Mary, who had already pulled Peter to sit down, and shook her head with a helpless sigh.

Hawk, hearing this, asked with some confusion, "What does this have to do with Peter?"

Gwen shrugged.

"Maybe because last semester you and Peter spent time together in the old gym, so this semester everyone thinks Peter is your friend."

"...Alright."

Hawk let out a soft laugh after hearing this but didn't bother to argue. He picked up the burger on his plate and started eating.

Because she had come to the dining hall early, Gwen had already finished eating.

Gwen rested her arms on the table, supporting her chin, and watched Hawk eating his burger.

"By the way, 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 it seemed like his experiment had made a breakthrough. He sounded very happy."

Gwen blinked.

"A breakthrough?"

"Impossible."

"..."