She paused and Harry could see a fierce expression on her face, something that looked a mixture of anger, exasperation and annoyance. It was a look that Harry knew well from his school days – it was one that Hermione often wore when things didn't go her way.
Something in his own face must have tipped her off to her appearance because Gwen seemed to take a calming breath, her eyes closing for a moment. When she finally looked at him again, her face was calmer, although he was sure that those who knew her well would be able to see the signs of how she was really feeling.
"Hi, Harry," she said.
"Hello, Gwen," Harry replied, before repeating his earlier question. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?"
"Midtown High's closed for the foreseeable future," she stated and it was obvious that she was repeating something that she'd been told.
"Oh?" Harry asked, his hands automatically moving about as he began preparing the requested latte for the customer at the far table.
"Yes. Spiderman and the Lizard did a bang up job of destroying an entire wing. Including the library!" she near-spat. She swallowed and closed her eyes momentarily again. "There's hope that they'll be able to work out a way to hold classes in the rest of the school while they rebuild the damaged part, but that won't happen for at least a week or two."
"So, you decided to put your newly acquired free time to good use by coming into work," Harry smiled.
"Well, it was the best place to be," Gwen replied almost sheepishly, making Harry cock his head in question.
"Oscop's a mad-house after what happened with the Lizard and everyone in Doctor Conner's division has been temporarily suspended while they conduct interviews to be sure that none of us were helping him," she replied. "And as much as I love my dad, I couldn't stay at home with him at the moment."
"How is Captain Stacy recovering?" Harry asked.
"He's getting better," Gwen sighed. "Still confined to bed, of course. But that hasn't stopped him going on and on about how stupid I'm being for continuing to date Peter."
Harry gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.
"He just cares for you and worries about you," he said.
"I know. Which is why I'm here. I was afraid that if I stayed at home I'd end up saying something that I'd regret," she nodded sadly.
"Go grab your apron and be useful, then," Harry said as he passed her to take the now-completed order to the waiting customer.
ooo00ooo
Doreen really wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing. Only the growling in her stomach kept her going. The meet rolls and juice that the guy had given her the night before had done wonders, not to mention the couple of slices of apple pie, but a single meal did not a cure for starving make. And, he'd seemed kind of nice. Monkey Joe had even agreed to hang out with their new friends in Central Park while she came here.
Tentatively, she pushed open the door causing the small bell above her head to jingle. She stepped inside and sidled to the closest table, the idea being to sit and observe a bit and if she didn't like what she saw, then she could retreat before anything untoward happened.
Unfortunately, those plans didn't last past the first few seconds.
"Hi. Glad you made it," a friendly-sounding voice said from her side – the side between her and the door at that.
Her head whipped about to take in the small guy standing beside her and she relaxed slightly – with her enhanced squirrel abilities, there was no way this guy with the glasses and messy black hair could stop her. Casually, her hand lifted back up from her backpack which she'd placed beside her chair.
"Hello," she replied cautiously.
"May I?" the man asked, indicating the chair across the table from her.
"Okay," she nodded.
He'd barely taken a seat when a blonde-haired girl, maybe a year or two older than Doreen herself appeared beside her table.
"What can I get Gwen to bring you …" the man asked, trailing off with a pointed look.
"Doreen," she supplied.
"Doreen," the man repeated and there was not even a hint of a snigger or anything at her name.
She stared at him. "You're not going to comment about my name?"
"Why would I?" he asked, sounding surprised. "Doreen's not that unusual. You should have heard some of the names of people that I used to know. Now, what would you like? As I said last night, it's on me."
Seeing the girl, Gwen, waiting patiently for her to choose, she picked up the menu and quickly perused it.
"Can I get some bacon and eggs? And sausage? And maybe some fried tomatoes? Oh, and a strawberry milkshake as well, please?" she asked.
"Not a problem," Gwen smiled, writing the order.
"My name's Harry," the man said after the waitress had wandered off towards the kitchen.
She nodded before blurting the question that had been burning in her since he'd given her the bag of food the night before.
"Why are you doing this? Helping me, I mean?"
He gave a kind of sad smile then, and she knew that whatever he was going to say, it was the truth.
"Because I know what it's like to be hungry," Harry replied. "And if it wasn't for my friends way back when, I could easily have been worse off than you."
"So, you're just going to give me free food?" she asked sceptically.
"Today, yes," Harry replied. "And we'll talk while you're here and work out what comes next."
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