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[b]September 5th, 2013. 11:26 am
Queens, New York[/b]

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It had been a few days since my public little tiff with Gwen, and, as I had predicted, she was still giving me the cold shoulder. I had been giving her space, intending to let her approach me once she had forgiven me, but Mr. Davis, our Civics teacher, seemed to have other plans. We had been discussing the attack on the West Coast S.H.I.E.L.D. base that had taken place a few days before. Mr. Davis was explaining to the class the importance of the attack, and how it would likely be a critical turning point about something or other. To tell the truth, I hadn't really been paying much attention, which is why I was caught off guard when Mr. Davis announced our first project of the year and asked us all to pair up. I hadn't even registered what was going on, so caught up was I in my daydream about Liz Allan, until Gwen plopped down in the seat to the right of mine.

I looked over at her, startled, and asked lamely, "what's going on?"

She stared at me briefly before turning away. "I'm still mad at you."

"Then why are you talking to me?" Oh yeah, I was smooth.

Gwen whipped her head back to glare at me. "Because everyone else was taken, and you were all that was left."

'Huh?" I didn't follow.

She sighed, exasperated. "Great, you weren't even paying attention, were you? Look around, Peter," Gwen gestured at the other students who had similarly paired up.

I quickly figured out what was happening, embarrassed that I had been so slow on the uptake. "Oh. So, uh, what do we have to do?" I asked a little sheepishly. 

"Mr. Davis is having us research events in history that we think had a significant impact; something similar to the recent Triskellion attack, and then we're supposed to juxtapose the two of them in a presentation we'll have to do in front of the class." Gwen held up a white slip of paper. "We have to pick a subject before class ends, and hand it in to Mr. Davis."

"Okay," I said, trying to come up with a worthy topic so I wasn't completely useless. "Well, why not go with that 'monster' attack on the city from last year. The one those four Future Foundation people fought. Both events involve superhuman teams combating supervillains of sorts."

Gwen frowned. "S.H.I.E.L.D. [i]isn't[/i] a superhero organization, and you can't compare a Neo-Nazi terrorist strike with an accidental chemical spill that resulted in some freak mutation. They're not even close to the same thing, Peter."

Well, if I hadn't felt useless and stupid before...

"Here." Gwen said, passing me the slip of paper."I already chose Pearl Harbor, I just need you to put your name on it so I can hand it in."

"Oh." I took the piece of paper and scribbled my name down. I had to admit, it made much more sense than what I had suggested. Pearl Harbor and the Triskellion attacks were both assaults on non-civilian, U.S. installations. It was actually probably the most likely choice the others would decide on, which explained why Gwen was in a hurry to give Mr. Davis the topic paper. That, or she just wanted to get away from me as soon as possible. I hoped it was the former.

"Good." Gwen said, preparing to get up and leave. "We can meet later today to work on the research and decide on how we'll do the presentation."

"Actually, I can't today." I told her. "I'm going t swing by my Godfather's lab after school for a visit. Tomorrow, though? We can go to your house and work on it there."

Gwen was silent for a few seconds, but finally nodded in agreement. "Okay, but you better actually show up, Peter. If you don't..."

She didn't need to finish her sentence. I knew that if I wanted to repair our friendship I couldn't skip out on her. Not again. 

'I'll be there, Gwen. I promise." 

The school bell rang and she began to gather her stuff. 

"You better." Gwen's voice was stern, but as she got up to hand the slip of paper into Mr. Davis I thought I saw a hint of a smile.

I vowed right then and there that I would be there tomorrow no matter what. I wasn't about to let Gwen down a second time, not when she was just letting me back in. Nothing short of a natural disaster would keep me away.