7. Secrets.

A month had passed since Brandon Breyer moved to New York, and the city, though buzzing with life, hadn't yet fulfilled one of his biggest hopes. He'd expected to cross paths with Spider-Man swinging across rooftops, Iron Man soaring in his armor, or Captain America saving the day. But aside from tourist crowds, subway noise, and the occasional police siren, New York felt… surprisingly normal. The one exception was Gwen Stacy-Ghost-Spider.

Gwen and Brandon hit it off quickly. Maybe it was her easygoing vibe, maybe her knack for always knowing where to go or what to do, or maybe just that she had a way of making Brandon feel less like an outsider. They hung out on campus, in coffee shops, and sometimes on building rooftops, where Gwen liked to "catch her breath" after classes. Brandon didn't ask why she preferred rooftops- he suspected it was a Ghost-Spider habit-but he enjoyed those moments. They were a reprieve from his own thoughts, from the nightmares that still haunted him at night.

That afternoon, they sat in a small coffee shop near the university. Gwen scrolled through notes on her laptop. Brandon toyed with a plastic cup, spinning it in his fingers.

It was one of those moments when Gwen was watching him again-subtly, but not so subtly he didn't notice. Her bright eyes, sharpened by Ghost-Spider senses, studied him like she was piecing together a puzzle.

"What?" he asked with a smirk, looking up.

Gwen rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched into a smile.

"Nah, just… wondering how you do it." - she said.

"Do what?" Brandon raised an eyebrow, though he knew exactly what she meant.

She pointed at the cup in his hands. The plastic was crushed, as if squeezed by a hydraulic press. Brandon glanced at his hands and chuckled softly. He'd done it again-gripped something too hard, forgetting his superhuman strength. It wasn't the first time around Gwen. A week earlier, he'd accidentally bent a metal spoon while stirring coffee, and a few days ago, he nearly crushed a chair just by sitting down too fast. Each time, Gwen noticed, her gaze growing more curious.

"So?" he said, shrugging, but a playful glint danced in his eyes. "I'm stronger than I look."

"Yeah, right," Gwen muttered, propping her chin on her hand. "You're like… I dunno, Hulk on vacation. No green skin, but that same 'oops, broke some shit again' vibe."

Brandon snorted, and Gwen's smile widened. He loved this game-the way she watched him, trying to figure him out without asking direct questions. It amused him. He wondered when she'd finally crack his secret, when she'd realize he wasn't just some engineering student. Part of him wanted her to find out-he wanted to see her reaction, maybe hear what Ghost-Spider thought of someone like him. But another part, quieter, feared that once the truth came out, everything would change.

A few days later, they sat on the roof of one of the campus buildings, eating sandwiches and watching the New York skyline. The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple.

"You know, sometimes I wonder what it's like," she started, biting into her sandwich. "Having… y'know, a normal life. Without all the chaos and shit."

"You think I have a normal life?" he asked with a grin.

"I'm from a farm in Kansas. My biggest adventure was fixing a tractor."

Gwen laughed, but her eyes were analyzing him again.

"Yeah, sure. You're so 'normal' it's almost suspicious." She leaned closer, lowering her voice. "C'mon, Brandon, what're you hiding? You're hiding something, right?"

His heart skipped a beat, but he didn't let it show. Instead, he grabbed an empty soda can lying nearby and squeezed it with such force that it turned into a small metal ball. He tossed it to Gwen with a wide grin.

"Maybe I'm just really good at recycling?" he said, winking.

Gwen caught the ball, inspecting it with a raised eyebrow. For a moment, she looked like she wanted to say something, but she just shook her head and laughed.

"You're impossible" she muttered, but there was warmth in her voice, like she enjoyed the mystery.