Peter POV:
The morning after our sexcapade was quiet. Gwen was also quiet at breakfast, pushing her toast around her plate, her mind clearly elsewhere. Both of us deep in thought as the memories of last night kept lingering in both of our minds.
It wasn't until we were walking down the block toward school that she finally spoke.
"Hey, Pete?" She said, twirling a strand of her blonde hair around her finger.
"Yeah?"
She hesitated, then smirked like she was trying to downplay the weight of her words.
"I've been thinking… I want to change my hair. Something bold. Something that feels like me, not just… Gwen with blonde hair."
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What're we talking about here? Mohawk? Mullet? Dreadlocks? Shaved head? Giant perm?"
She shoved me with her shoulder, laughing. "Relax, Parker. I'm not joining an 80s rock band. I was thinking… something more along with the times. And maybe…" She paused, eyes sparkling. " A little colour, maybe pink."
I blinked, trying to picture it. Then I grinned. "You'd look awesome in whatever you decide. Like, knock-the-multiverse-off-its-axis awesome."
"Flatterer." She said, but her cheeks flushed pinker than the dye she was describing.
Salon – Afternoon
The place smelled like a cocktail of hairspray, shampoo and coffee. Gwen sat in the stylist's chair, a black cape draped over her, her hair sectioned with silver clips. I sat nearby, pretending to read a magazine but mostly sneaking glances at her in the mirror. She had decided on her style at lunch.
The stylist tilted her head, running fingers through Gwen's hair. "So, right side half undercut, pink dye at the ends, right?"
"Yep," Gwen said confidently. "Let's do it."
I gave a little thumbs-up from my seat. She rolled her eyes at me, but her smile was impossible to hide.
As the stylist worked, trimmer humming, scissors snipping rhythmically, I noticed something odd. The reflection in the mirror stuttered—just for a second—like an old VHS tape. Gwen's hair shifted between blonde and a strange, flickering platinum before stabilizing.
I blinked hard.
"Must've been the lights." I muttered.
But then it happened again. A magazine on the counter glitched, its cover briefly replaced with a newspaper headline that read SPIDER-MAN 2099 DECLARES WAR. Then, just as quickly, it was back to 10 Ways to Get Summer Hair.
Nobody else noticed. Gwen chatted casually with the stylist while violet static danced faintly along the chrome of the scissors.
Gwen POV – Reveal
When the stylist finally spun me around, I almost didn't recognize myself. My hair framed my face in sharp angles, the undercut clean and daring. The ends glowed pink under the salon lights, vibrant and alive.
[Image]
"So?" I asked, looking at Peter through the mirror.
He just stared for a second, then let out a low whistle. "Gwen… you look like trouble."
"Good trouble?"
"The best kind."
I laughed, brushing a hand through the freshly cut layers. For the first time in weeks, I felt like I was carving my own identity not just wearing a mask.
But when Peter helped me out of the chair, his smile faltered for half a second. Because behind me, in the mirror's reflection, the salon wasn't a salon anymore.
It was a dark city skyline with neon glitches rippling across the sky.
Then the image snapped back, leaving only our reflections staring back.
Peter squeezed my hand tighter. Neither of us said a word, but we both felt it.
Something was coming.
And this time, it wasn't just New York on the line.
Read ahead 29 chapter on P.A.T.R.E.O.N
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