The engine roared!
"By the way."
Locke, focusing on the road, caught the frequent glances from Gwen. She clearly looked like she wanted to say something. He raised an eyebrow and motioned toward the glove compartment on the passenger side. "There's a gift in there I picked up on my way over."
Gwen opened the compartment and saw a small, wrapped box inside.
"For me?"
"Mm-hm."
Locke let out a short laugh, glancing at her. "I heard you're supposed to give a gift on a first date. I hope you like it."
Gwen looked at him sideways before taking the small box out.
"Can I open it?"
"Of course."
If a gift couldn't be opened on the spot, its purpose was half-wasted. At least, that was the American perspective; for people from the East, opening a gift in front of the giver could be seen as a bit impolite.
"My god!"
Gwen let out a small gasp as she opened the box and saw what was inside.
Locke steered the car into the school campus. "Do you like it?"
It was a purple circular crystal necklace with a tiny sterling silver water-drop pendant hanging from it. It emitted a pure, crystalline glow, the translucent purple flickering as it caught the light.
Locke had originally eyed a diamond necklace worth 60,000 USD.
But... if he had sent that, there was a 99.9% chance Gwen would have refused it. So, he settled for the next best thing: this crystal necklace, which was beautiful but not excessively expensive.
Gwen looked at Locke and nodded. "It's beautiful. I love it."
Locke smiled.
Gwen then pulled a flat, carefully wrapped gift from her own handbag. After Locke parked the car, she handed it to him. "My gift isn't as pretty as yours."
'Pretty?'
Better not be.
His ideal path was that of a "Suited Thug" or, at the very least, a "Stylish Gentleman." He wouldn't touch the "pretty boy" route even if he drank the entire Hudson River dry.
A real man! A sissy? No way in hell.
Locke opened the gift Gwen handed him.
Inside was also a necklace.
A cross?
Locke's heart stirred slightly. He smiled and looked at Gwen. "Even though I'm from Texas, I'm not exactly a Catholic. But I really like it, Gwen."
Not every Texas cowboy was a believer. Locke certainly wasn't.
His innate wisdom made it impossible for him to convert to any religion. Deep in his soul, a voice told him that gods were illusions—if you are useful to me, I'll show you some respect; if not, I don't care who you are.
Gwen took the cross necklace from Locke's hand, leaned over, and put it around his neck. She smiled. "I know."
Locke raised an eyebrow, looked down at the cross hanging at his chest, and laughed. He then took the crystal necklace from Gwen's hand and helped her put it on.
"You look stunning."
"Thank you."
Their eyes met, and the chemistry between them intensified.
Just then.
*Knock, knock!*
"..."
Locke and Gwen heard the thudding on the window. Looking over, they saw Kim, dressed in a playful purple evening gown, knocking on the windshield.
'Great. When you go to Paris, I'm not even going to pack you up—if you don't want to go, I'll charter a private jet just to dump you there.'
Locke thought to himself as he shared a look with Gwen and stepped out of the car.
"Wow."
Kim seemed to realize something a second too late. Looking at the elegantly dressed Gwen stepping out of the car, she blinked. "Did I... just interrupt something good?"
Gwen rolled her eyes at Kim.
Locke, meanwhile, shook hands with the young man standing next to Kim, who was also dressed in a suit.
"Locke!"
"Jason."
After letting go, Locke asked curiously, "You're not from Midtown High, are you?"
Jason nodded. "Right. I'm from Trinity School."
Locke raised an eyebrow.
Trinity School was a private, elite preparatory school in Manhattan. Simply put, those who studied there were either extremely wealthy or from influential families.
But... Locke's bank account was more than enough to attend Trinity. To him, "wealthy and influential" meant nothing. He held a very basic view: People die when they are killed!
"Since when did the dance move to the parking lot?"
While they were talking, Mary Jane arrived, also dressed up for the occasion. She introduced the young man beside her—he had somewhat delicate features but wasn't effeminate. "Let me introduce my boyfriend, Harry. Harry Bruce, from Brooklyn High. He's transferring to our school next year."
'The Little Goblin.'
Locke's mind flickered as he took a few extra looks at Harry Bruce.
Wait. Wasn't the Little Goblin's name Osborn?
A fake?
But speaking of Harry Osborn, he was a tragic figure. Yet another victim whose life was ruined by Spidey.
The Little Goblin had been genuinely good to Peter Parker. Back when Peter was just a "poor kid," Harry never looked down on him and treated him like a brother.
But what did he get in return?
Once Peter Parker hit the big time, he tossed the Little Goblin to the back of his mind. He wouldn't even give Harry a drop of his blood when Harry needed it.
Locke could have gone on, but it wasn't necessary. The point was clear.
Soon, Cindy and Kahn arrived as well.
Like Mary Jane, Cindy joked about whether the dance had been moved to the parking lot. The group then headed toward the gymnasium, laughing and chatting.
Locke walked with the other boys, acting as "flower guards" behind their respective dates.
As they neared the gym, the music and laughter grew clearer.
In stark contrast to the festive atmosphere here was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s New York Operations Center. The atmosphere there was so tense it felt physical.
Nick Fury stood with his arms crossed, silent, staring at the large screen showing the manually erased surveillance footage from the school stairwell.
Beside him, a young man with naturally curly hair was excitedly tapping away at his computer.
"This guy is good."
"How good?"
"Reminds me of the attack methods those guys over at the CIA use."
Hearing this, Nick Fury looked at the man invited to help restore the footage—Walter O'Brien, one of the top hackers in the country and one of the smartest people in history. "Are you saying the CIA breached this surveillance?"
Walter shook his head, continuing his work. "I'm not sure. I'm just saying this method of modification and erasure is exactly how the CIA does things."
Nick Fury: "..."
***
150 stones goal achieved, let's keep the next goal 300, if we reach it before Sunday reset then I'll post 2 more bonuses
Thanks for reading
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