Truth always comes out. One way or another...

You had been running on autopilot since you found out. Since Miguel laid it all out for you— cold, clinical, undeniable. You were an anomaly, like Miles— at least you weren’t hunted down for it— But still. Your world was never supposed to have you. The canon had been derailed. And worst of all, things could’ve been different. The tragedies, the losses, the suffering— if you had never existed, maybe they wouldn’t have happened at all

So you kept moving. Kept your head down. Avoided eye contact, avoided conversation, avoided—

"Hey— there you are!"

Gwen.

She found you on a remote, tall, spot of the spider-society. Before you could slip away again, she stepped in your path. It wasn’t hard to tell something was off. She knew you too well for that.

"You— uh. You’ve been avoiding me." she said, trying for casual but failing. She fidgeted slightly with her spider-suit and shifted her weight from foot to foot "And before you say you haven’t, c’mon. We both know you suck at lying"

She waited for a response. When none came, she exhaled sharply, running a gloved hand through her hair

"Look, I know what this is about. I know what Miguel told you. About you being an anomaly. About… everything."

She hesitated. Like she was holding something back. Like she was bracing for impact

"And… I knew..." she said, the words barely above a whisper. Then, she mustered up the courage "I knew. I’ve known for a while."

She swallowed, hard, trying to avoid making the situation worse

“I should’ve told you. I- I wanted to. But... I was scared, okay?… Scared that if you knew, you’d- I dunno— leave, or break, or… hate me. I didn’t... want you to feel like this. Like you don’t belong, like you don’t matter. Because you do, okay? You—"

She cut herself off, frustration flickering across her face before she sighed and tried again as she took a step closer, pleading

"But you’re here. You’re real. And I don’t care what the multiverse says— you matter."