Spider-Man : The Story of a Hero

New York — Downtown Restaurant — Early Afternoon

Inside a lively little restaurant, Gwen hurried from one table to another, a tray in hand, dressed in her waitress uniform. Alone in the dining area, she remained focused despite the fast pace of the lunch rush.

— ”Gwen! Orders for tables four and five!”

The moment she heard her boss’s voice, she answered energetically, raising her own so he could hear her.

— ”Got it!”

She grabbed the trays with a swift motion, served them with a smile, and wished each customer a good meal. As she returned to the counter, she noticed a new customer sitting alone at a table. His menu was raised, completely hiding his face. Even so... Gwen had no trouble telling it was a man.

Notepad in hand, she walked over to him, but suddenly froze when he lowered his menu.

It was Eddie Brock.

— ”Eddie?!”

Eddie’s eyes widened as well.

— ”Gwen?! Well... would you look at that! What are you doing here?”

Gwen parted her lips slightly.

— ”Uh... well...”

Caught between embarrassment and mild amusement, she simply gestured toward her waitress uniform with a faint smile, letting the obvious answer for itself.

Eddie immediately smacked his forehead, feeling a little foolish for asking such a question. Then again, when caught by surprise, anyone could end up saying something ridiculous.

— ”O-Oh yeah, of course! Stupid question, sorry!”

Embarrassed, he scratched the back of his head with a slightly goofy smile.

— ”It’s okay!”

Still slightly amused by the situation, Gwen let out a small laugh before gradually regaining her composure. Her expression then became more curious than amused.

— ”Still... I’m surprised to see you here...”

Eddie shrugged slightly.

— ”Oh yeah! Well, you know, I was just walking around and got a little hungry, so I came in.”

With a slight smile at the corner of his lips, he motioned for her to come closer. Gwen hesitated for a brief moment before doing so. Eddie then leaned toward her and whispered in her ear:

— ”Honestly... I kind of picked this restaurant at random!”

Eddie let out a light laugh, genuinely amused by his own remark. During that brief moment, Gwen observed him carefully. She wasn’t embarrassed, nor was she uncomfortable...

She was simply perplexed.

Ever since the day before, she hadn’t stopped thinking about what had happened between Peter and Eddie. Peter kept insisting that Eddie was a bad person. Yet the man standing before her didn’t match that image in the slightest. True, she didn’t really know him... but everything about him seemed to radiate kindness and gentleness.

The more she thought about it, the more lost she felt.

Noticing the seriousness that had settled on her face, Eddie grew slightly concerned and asked gently:

— ”Hey... are you okay?”

Suddenly, Gwen snapped out of her thoughts and immediately regained her professionalism.

After all...

She was at work.

— ”Anyway... what would the gentleman like to treat himself to today?”

Eddie picked up the menu again.

— ”What am I going to have, huh...?”

At that question, Eddie began thinking with almost exaggerated seriousness. He first scanned the menu with his eyes, then, discreetly, his gaze left the pages and slowly wandered over Gwen’s entire body, accompanied by... impure thoughts. His tongue instinctively moistened his lips, but he immediately caught himself.

— ”Could you recommend something? I don’t know what to choose.”

Suddenly, the lighting inside the restaurant changed. An enormous shadow blocked part of the sunlight that had been filling the room only moments earlier. Intrigued, every customer present, including Gwen and Eddie, instinctively turned toward the large windows.

Outside, a car was flying through the air and seemed about to crash straight into the restaurant, drawing panicked screams from several people. But at the very last second, the young superhero known as Spider-Man appeared and stopped the vehicle with nothing but the strength of his arms, barely preventing a catastrophe.

After struggling for a few moments, he gently set the car back down on the ground before scanning the area to make sure no one had been hurt. That was when his eyes met Gwen’s inside the restaurant.

He hadn’t even realized he was standing in front of the place where his girlfriend worked. But almost immediately, his gaze fell on Eddie, seated at a table just a few feet away from her, and his expression instantly hardened.

Even hidden behind his mask, Gwen immediately understood what he was feeling.

Panicking at the thought that he might once again misunderstand the situation, she rushed toward the exit, hoping to speak to him and explain everything. Unfortunately, she didn’t get the chance.

Peter ripped the two criminals out of the car at blinding speed, immobilized them in his webs while waiting for the police to arrive, then immediately launched himself back into the air, his black suit quickly disappearing between the buildings.

The young blonde remained frozen outside the restaurant, helpless and deeply frustrated that she hadn’t been able to say a single word to him. A few moments later, the police cars pursuing the criminals finally arrived at the scene to take over.

With a heavy heart, Gwen eventually returned inside the restaurant, doing her best to regain her composure and continue her work professionally.

As for Eddie, he simply couldn’t take his eyes off the scene he had just witnessed. He was completely stunned. His eyes still shone with admiration at how effortlessly Spider-Man had just prevented a tragedy.

— ”Wow... that was absolutely insane! Did you see how he stopped that car? He made it look so easy! I’d heard he was strong and I’d already seen videos of him, but honestly, I still can’t believe it! Don’t you think that’s incredible?”

While Eddie seemed genuinely fascinated, his eyes sparkling like most people witnessing such a spectacle for the first time, Gwen, on the other hand, remained completely silent.

Behind her apparent calm hid a deep sadness. She knew that, without meaning to, she had probably hurt the man she loved once again.

— ”Yeah...”

Her voice was gentle, but tinged with a coldness that Eddie noticed immediately. Intrigued by the sudden change in her tone, he looked at her with concern.

— ”Is everything okay, Gwen?”

Not wanting to worry anyone, Gwen quickly pulled herself together and forced a smile, convincing enough to move on.

— ”U-Uh... yeah! Everything’s fine! So, about your order...”

TO BE CONTINUED.