Hawk and Gwen exchanged questions and answers.
Their tone was natural.
Their expressions were relaxed.
As they spoke, the two walked side by side towards the lounge corridor.
Behind them…
Mary Jane's mouth was open as wide as possible.
Holy cow!
What did I miss this summer?
Peter also felt a bit bewildered at this moment.
He felt like he understood something, but also like he didn't understand anything at all.
Harry, on the other hand, looked at Mary Jane and tried to greet her.
Mary Jane was Peter's neighbor; during the time before he went to Britain, Mary Jane was sometimes present when he went to look for Peter.
So Harry also knew Mary Jane.
Harry thought for a moment, then patted Mary Jane's shoulder.
"Hey, Mary, long time no see."
"…Hey, Harry."
Mary Jane turned around, glanced at the appearing Harry, greeted him indifferently, then instantly turned to Peter: "Peter, do you know about this?"
Harry was stunned.
Wait, this reaction isn't right.
Is this the reaction one should have when seeing an old friend?
It's too indifferent, isn't it?
Peter was also stunned.
He met Mary Jane's bright gaze and was taken aback.
"What?"
"Gwen and Hawk."
Mary Jane suppressed the gossip in her voice as much as possible, holding back her urge to scream, and said urgently to Peter: "Aren't you Hawk's only friend at school? You should know, when did this happen?"
Peter was completely bewildered.
"When did I become Hawk's only…"
"Forget it, I'm too lazy to ask you."
Mary Jane looked at Peter, who was answering so unenthusiastically, and her curiosity completely overwhelmed her reason. After saying that, she lifted her foot and chased after Gwen, who had already walked ahead.
She planned to listen to the gossip up close.
But just then.
Mary Jane suddenly stopped, as if she remembered something, turned her head, and saw Harry, who was also bewildered and felt like he might have become transparent.
The next second.
"Ah!"
After Mary Jane saw clearly, she screamed, quickly ran to Harry, and then hugged the still gloomy Harry: "Harry, Harry, when did you come back?"
Harry was happy.
He watched Mary Jane let go of him, smiled, and was just about to continue the small talk when Mary Jane hugged him again: "I have something to do now, I won't talk to you, see you later."
Obviously, at this moment, a good friend returning from Britain was less important than Mary's desire to peek into the gossip between her best friend and the school's most aloof boy.
Therefore, after Mary Jane finished speaking, she turned around again, looked at Gwen, who was almost entering the lounge corridor in the distance, and quickly jogged to catch up.
Mary obviously couldn't chase Hawk to ask for gossip.
So…
For the entire morning, Mary chased after Gwen, her face full of pleading.
The central idea was just one.
"Please, say a little more, just a little more, be more detailed, please, Gwen."
"…"
Because today was the first day of the new semester, it was slightly more relaxed, and there were no classes scheduled today.
Everyone was busy with their own things, picking up their class schedules, or going to their counselors for advice on the last semester, and so on.
Therefore, Gwen was thoroughly annoyed by Mary for an entire morning.
Finally.
When the two were going to the cafeteria, Gwen looked at Mary, who was still pitifully eager to hear more gossip about how she and Hawk got together, and couldn't help it.
Gwen sighed.
"No, is it strange that I'm with Hawk?"
"Mhm."
"What's strange about it? Since ninth grade, I've been his deskmate in physics class, and we have the same counselor."
"Please, Gwen, that's Hawk."
"So what?"
"Don't you really know what everyone says about Hawk?"
"What?"
This time it was Gwen's turn to be curious.
Mary looked around and lowered her voice: "Everyone is saying that Hawk is either a pure straight man, or he's gay."
Gwen rolled her eyes: "How is that possible?"
She suddenly thought of Hawk standing in the Water at that waterfall in Maryland, wearing only a pair of shorts.
Gay?
Hawk is very straight.
As straight as a police baton.
No.
What am I thinking?
Gwen shook her head, subconsciously shaking off the image of the police baton in her mind, then said seriously to Mary: "Hawk is not gay."
Mary was startled, then seemed to think of something and blinked at Gwen.
Her smile became a little ambiguous.
"Have you tried it?"
"…"
Gwen was instantly startled, then looked at the ambiguous smile on Mary's face and took a deep breath.
The next second.
She turned and left without a word.
As expected of someone who studies dance.
Dirty.
Too dirty.
Mary watched Gwen, who had silently left her, and quickly chased after her.
"I'm sorry, Gwen, forgive me."
"…"
When Hawk arrived at the cafeteria, Mary was still trying to dig information out of Gwen.
But Gwen ignored her.
Mary saw that Gwen was already immune to her pleas, sighed, and then saw Harry, who had come to the restaurant led by Peter. Her eyes instantly lit up, and she said to Gwen: "If you don't tell me, I'll go ask Peter."
As she spoke, Mary Jane had already stood up, and without waiting for Gwen to react, she ran off with her tray to find Peter and Harry.
By the time Hawk sat down opposite Gwen with his tray, Mary Jane had already left.
"Mary finished eating?"
"Apparently, she couldn't hear any gossip from me, so she ran off to find Peter."
Gwen glanced at Mary, who had already pulled Peter down to sit, and shook her head helplessly.
Hawk heard this and asked, somewhat puzzled: "What does this have to do with Peter?"
Gwen shrugged.
"Maybe because last semester, you and Peter were together in the old gym, so this semester everyone thinks Peter is your friend."
"…Alright."
After Hawk heard this, he also chuckled, but didn't bother to refute anything, and picked up the burger on his plate and started eating.
Because she came to the restaurant early, Gwen had already finished eating.
Gwen rested her arms on the table, watching Hawk, who was eating his burger.
"Oh, right, did you call Dr. Connors to thank him?"
"Yes, I did."
Hawk nodded, swallowed his burger, then remembered something and said to Gwen: "When I called, Dr. Connors said that the experiment seemed to have made a breakthrough, and he sounded very happy."
Gwen blinked.
"Progress?"
"That's impossible."
"…"
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