Gwen got up early to go for a run, even though she looked like a bookworm; she often went out for a run.
Gwen put on her sneakers and a sports hoodie, tying her blonde hair into a ponytail.
"I'm going out, Mom," Gwen said from the entrance of her house.
"Take care, dear," Helen, Gwen's mother, responded.
«Good morning, Al, it's already morning, although you probably stayed up playing some video game ;3»
Gwen smiled beautifully as she sent a good morning message to Allen, staring at her phone expectantly for a quick response. When she saw Allen's response her cheeks turned red.
«Good morning, Gwen. I was indeed awake, but it was for a good reason; I was editing.»
«Okay, I believe you~ Just don't be late for school... silly~»
«Yes, Mom.»
Gwen furrowed her brow in annoyance at the last message but immediately smiled again. She didn't realize her mother was watching her from the window.
"It's rare for a relationship to be so pure these days. I hope everything works out between them, but I fear my daughter is too clumsy for romantic relationships..." Helen closed her eyes and shook her head, seeing her daughter's saccharine aura at the entrance.
"Okay!" Gwen put away her phone and started running in a good mood.
She had a route she liked to follow, a few streets ahead, she passed by a small park. Gwen noticed there were fewer people than usual today, but it didn't feel too strange.
...
On a corner was William, Flash's friend and a Gwen fan. He used to watch her from afar; given his haughty personality, he was hardly ever the first to make a move with a girl. However, William noticed that Gwen didn't seem to want to talk to him; when they met in the hallways, she usually ignored him, and when he invited her to eat, she turned him down.
Initially, William thought Gwen was a difficult person to win over, and in a way, that increased his instinct to conquer her. Unfortunately, he was wrong. One day, William saw Gwen talking to a nerdy, unattractive guy with big glasses. He wouldn't have thought much of it if he hadn't seen the usually cold Gwen smiling cheerfully with him. William was about to jump on Allen and break his legs, but he held back; unlike Harry, he didn't have a rich father to protect him from the law, and Gwen's father being a police captain was another issue.
William thought they could be family, otherwise, he couldn't explain how an incredibly beautiful girl like Gwen was with a nobody like Allen.
William observed for two weeks, gritting his teeth; their relationship was too... cloying. Between hugs and laughter, they held hands while walking as if it were common among friends. It was so unpleasant to see a teenage romance program in real life.
William endured watching their relationship because no matter how it seemed, Allen and Gwen never took that final step. William felt better and started mocking Allen behind his back, thinking that Gwen would eventually tire of that game.
However, Allen Walker suddenly transformed; overnight he beat Flash and humiliated Harry in class.
William felt danger, and that pushed him to take extreme measures; now he was waiting for Gwen to pass by the park.
He didn't have to wait long; Gwen appeared jogging while listening to music. William immediately called her, but Gwen kept jogging.
Thinking she hadn't heard him, he started jogging alongside her.
"Good morning, Gwen"
Gwen paused while keeping her distance from the suspicious guy. Then, she remembered seeing him at the football team's table. "What do you need?" Despite answering him, she didn't let her guard down. You never know what kind of person you might encounter on the street.
"You don't have to be on guard; it's me, William..."
"What do you need? I'm sorry, but I don't like strangers approaching me out of nowhere, especially on the street."
"I'm sorry," William apologized, thinking it was normal for a police captain's daughter to be cautious. But then he remembered how she interacted with Allen and got upset.
"Gwen, I just thought that if you have time this weekend, I could invite you to the movies."
"..." Gwen remained silent for a moment. "I don't know you at all. You stop me on the street and try to ask me out? Of course not."
"I..." William felt uncomfortable and thought maybe he had rushed. "You're right; I'll come back another day..."
"Don't bother; the answer will still be no."
"Wait, Gwen, I apologize for approaching you like this. Just let me try after talking a bit more."
"You're not understanding," Gwen looked seriously at William. "I don't want to go out with you, not now, not ever, that's all."
"It's Allen Walker... the guy you love is Allen Walker right?"
Gwen's cold face broke, and she blushed. "It's not like that! He and I don't have that kind of relationship..." Gwen stopped speaking when she remembered Allen's recent interactions; she felt something sweet inside her.
William felt an enormous amount of hatred and jealousy the moment he saw Gwen's gaze while she was embarrassed, thinking about Allen.
"He's just a nobody! That bast-"
William felt a burning sensation on his cheek; Gwen had slapped him. William looked in astonishment at the girl; she had a dark and angry expression. William stepped back; he had never seen Gwen so angry.
"Say anything about him again, and I swear you'll regret it..." the girl's voice was cold as ice, with an implied threat. "I won't forgive anyone who threatens him..."
William felt like he had eaten sh*t, and in a fit of anger, he grabbed Gwen's arm.
"Gwen- AAHHH!"
Gwen immediately sprayed pepper spray in William's eyes; in fact, she had it ready since he approached her. Of course, Gwen wasn't going out for a run without being prepared for something like this to happen, and apparently, she was right.
"GAAHH!"
William screamed while his eyes burned, but it didn't end there. Gwen kicked him in the groin, and when William fell to the ground, she kicked him a couple more times.
Gwen was so furious she didn't know how to control herself. If it weren't for her moral code, she might have kicked William to death.
"You'll be in jail before the day is over, you bastard!" Gwen took out her phone to call the police.
...
"How unfair the world is..." said a voice behind Gwen.
Gwen immediately moved away from where she was upon hearing someone speak. "Who are you?!" Gwen shouted. For a moment, she thought she might be overreacting, but when she saw the young man, she felt chills and decided it was a good idea to step away.
The young man was blonde, of average build, and wearing a face mask. He carried a plastic bag, as if he'd just come from the store.
"A handsome young man, tall, athletic; you must be popular..." the young man said sarcastically and mockingly. He took out a lighter and flicked it on, then off. "Your life must be so nice, just wondering which pretty girl you'll sleep with tomorrow. But this time, it didn't work, did it?"
"Who are you?! How dare you mock me?! I'll rip your throat out!" William regained enough composure to shout at the guy next to him.
As Gwen watched this unfold while stepping back, there was no reason for this; it was simply her instincts telling her so.
"Heh..." the young man sneered, "Why does someone as unpleasant as you have life all figured out? While I have to live hiding every day."
"You..."
"Isn't it ridiculous?! This bastard lives a dream life being a complete scumbag, and I have to live in the shadows just for being born different!" The young man screamed in rage, throwing his bag to the ground.
William felt fear as he stood up. Though he was bigger and felt confident enough to win a fight against the young man, he shivered and just wanted to leave.
"You're no better than me! My only sin was being born with a power I never wished for! But it's alright... I found out that disdain everyone has for us is just a form of fear..."
"Who are you?" William stepped back a couple of paces.
The young man removed his face mask and looked at William emotionlessly. "I'm John Allerdyce, a guy like you and anyone else, but I'm also a mutant..."
"Mut-"
William's words were cut short.
John ignited his lighter with hatred, and to William's terrified gaze, an enormous flame shot out of his hands, hitting him.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
With an inhuman scream, William writhed in unbearable pain as he was burned alive.
"HELP! SOMEONE! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
His skin burned, causing agonizing pain; soon after, his eyes boiled due to the heat, leaving him blind. His nerves were exposed as the fire engulfed and burned his flesh. Perhaps William was a bastard who deserved prison, but he didn't deserve to die like this. William collapsed, his screams fading away.
"That's reality, you fear us for that reason... but it's okay if you fear me. I won't desperately seek your approval anymore; from now on, I am Pyro!"
(A/N: Pyro, x-men villain)
Pyro showed no mercy to William. Gwen wanted to run, but her legs failed her; it was the first time she had witnessed a murder, and one as brutal as this.
"It's so unpleasant yet so liberating," the mutant capable of manipulating fire played with his lighter while gazing at the sky. The sirens of patrol cars were heard in the distance; obviously, someone had heard William's screams and called the police.
[Gwen Stacy, you need to run]
'Is that a woman's voice?'
Gwen felt she could control her emotions upon hearing the voice in her head. She immediately stood up and ran as the mutant, John, glanced at her for a moment, feeling imprudent for revealing his real name.
However, he was no longer afraid to kill. Thus, Pyro sent a fireball flying towards Gwen.
[Get down]
Gwen obeyed the mysterious voice, which was the system, and the fire passed over her. Feeling the heat so close, Gwen knew she was in a very dangerous situation and thought of her parents' faces as she got up to run. Then, the face of her beloved appeared. 'I should have told you how I feel before... Allen...'
...
[Host, Gwen Stacy is in danger, a mutant is trying to kill her!]
Allen heard the words and felt like someone was trying to rip his heart out.
Without explaining anything to Natasha and MJ, he simply jumped out of the window. Clown Crown transformed into a mantle, Allen activated Bullet Time.
Feeling he wasn't fast enough, Allen used a fragment to upgrade the ability from green to blue.
This tripled the speed, which was previously just a bit faster than sound. Allen vanished, and shortly after, a sonic boom was heard in the air.
It took Allen two seconds to jump out of the window, but it took only a tenth of a second to reach Gwen. That's all it took for Allen to get to where his Gwen was.
From the sky, Allen saw a guy shooting fire at Gwen. Allen's heart shrank and went ice-cold. Allen's nature was calm, and he generally avoided conflict, he never thought of seeking revenge on someone or becoming a tyrant. He remained calm and kind.
But at this moment, for the first time, something inside his head stopped working, and Allen felt immense terror seeing Gwen in that situation. He only wished to tear the man in front of him apart.
The fire was about to reach Gwen, and Allen landed and hugged her while using Clown Crown as a shield. He could feel Gwen's fear of being in danger; his heart grew even colder.
Pyro watched in amazement. "You...!" but couldn't speak upon seeing Allen's emotionless eyes.
Allen extended his hand while spears shot out from his clothes; the mutant sensed danger and created a barrier of fire, but the thorns formed by Clown Crown didn't even flinch. One of them pierced the mutant's shoulder, and another went through his stomach. Pyro was pushed back and crashed into a tree while spitting blood.
"Hahaha... you're strong..." the mutant said, laughing with blood oozing from his stomach and shoulder as he looked at Allen kneeling with Gwen in his arms. "However, I'm not weak!"
With a suicidal and desperate look, the mutant gazed at Allen. Allen's eyes dilated as he felt his danger detection ability spike.
"Clown Crown!" Immediately, a shield formed around Allen.
"Allen..." the girl murmured in Allen's arms as the clown crown enveloped them.
Allen looked at Gwen and smiled. "Don't worry, Gwen, I won't let anything happen to you."
"I know..." the girl said with a smile, moving her face closer to Allen's. He responded in kind, drawing closer to Gwen to kiss her. Their lips met for the first time.
A massive explosion of fire rose in the middle of the park, engulfing most of the trees. Although there were no people nearby, there were squirrels and birds. However, Allen is in no position to think of anyone else other than his beloved Gwen.
===
A/N: I swear this chapter was going to be lemon, but then I thought it was too unfair to have another woman before Gwen...