Chapter 24 : Between Truth and Comfort - Friday Plans
New York, Queens – Alex's POV
Gwen was curled up against me, her breathing steady, syncing with mine. The warmth of her body, the soft rise and fall of her chest — everything felt peaceful. Her scent lingered in the air — a faint mix of shampoo and something uniquely hers, warm and faintly sweet, grounding me in the moment. For the first time in days, the silence didn't feel heavy. It simply existed between us, gentle and fragile.
My fingers traced slow, absent circles along her arm, savoring the calm. The conversation had gone better than I expected. Gwen had finally told me everything — or almost everything. I'd had to nudge her a bit, using a subtle touch of suggestion with mind whisper to help her open up, and while I wasn't entirely sure I'd done the right thing, I was relieved by the result. In the end, she'd trusted me. And I'd given her part of the truth in return. Not all of it. Not yet.
I sighed inwardly. It wasn't about trust — I trusted Gwen completely. That's why I'd told her as much as I could, even if I'd had to bend the truth a little, wrap it in something she could actually believe. But there were things I couldn't explain — not because I didn't want to, but because they didn't make sense even to me.
How was I supposed to tell her about the system, about the way it whispered options and rewards in my mind like a game menu only I could see? Or that I'd regained memories of another life — a life where this world, where she, were just part of a story I'd read?
How do you tell your girlfriend that you're not really her boyfriend — that you're both him and someone else entirely, someone who remembers everything from before?
Even in my own head, it sounded insane.
I pictured it: Hey Gwen, small update — the world you live in used to be fiction for me until a few weeks ago. And now I'm part of it. Yeah. Totally believable.
I looked down at her. Her head rested against my stomach, peaceful, trusting. She had no idea. Maybe that was for the best. Because honestly, I didn't even understand it myself. I didn't know why me, why here.
All I knew was that I was real here. That we were real.
And for now, that was all that mattered.
I let the silence linger a little longer, the soft rhythm of Gwen's breathing syncing with mine. It was nice — peaceful in a way I hadn't felt in a long time. But the more I let my thoughts drift, the more I realized I didn't want to stay buried in all the serious stuff. Not tonight.
We'd said enough heavy things for one evening.
Maybe it was time to bring a little normal back into our lives.
I smiled faintly and brushed my thumb along her shoulder. "Hey," I murmured, breaking the quiet but keeping my tone soft, "how do you feel about going out this Friday? Just the two of us. Something simple — dinner, a movie, and maybe a walk after."
Gwen stirred slightly against me, her head tilting back just enough for her eyes to meet mine. "You mean… a date?" she asked, voice drowsy but curious.
"Yeah," I said with a small grin. "A real one. No spider powers, no strange abilities, no secrets hanging over us. Just… you and me."
She blinked slowly, then smiled — that small, genuine kind of smile that always seemed to hit me harder than I expected.
I hesitated for a beat, then added, half teasing, half serious, "And if the night goes really well… maybe we could finish it somewhere nice. You know — just us, away from everything. Maybe a hotel or something."
Her eyebrow arched slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing her face before her expression softened.
I chuckled, trying to keep the tone light. "After all, the queen of the harem deserves special treatment. I can't exactly go looking for new members until I've properly honored my first, right?"
Her cheeks flushed at that, and though she didn't answer immediately, the corner of her mouth tugged upward in a shy, amused smile.
I let out a quiet laugh and tightened my arm around her waist, pulling her a little closer. "Don't worry," I said softly. "No pressure, no expectations. I just want us to have a good time. You deserve it — we deserve it."
She didn't reply, but I felt her relax against me, her fingers brushing lightly against my side before settling again. A quiet warmth spread through the room, something tender but charged, a promise neither of us needed to say out loud.
I rested my chin gently on top of her head, letting the scent of her hair and the softness of the moment sink in.
Friday couldn't come soon enough
We stayed like that for a while, just wrapped up in each other, the quiet broken only by the soft hum of the city outside. Eventually, the conversation drifted back to lighter things — like where we'd go on Friday, what restaurant sounded good, what movie we should see.
It wasn't anything serious, just the kind of back-and-forth that felt normal. Gwen laughed softly when I insisted on something "classy but not too fancy," and she countered by suggesting we go somewhere that served way too much cheese instead. We debated genres too — horror, romance, action — teasing each other about who would hide behind whose shoulder during the scary parts.
It was easy. Natural. The kind of easy I didn't realize I'd missed until now.
Eventually, though, I felt her shift slightly in my arms, stretching a little as she glanced toward the window. The sky outside had darkened completely, the last traces of daylight gone.
"I guess you should probably head home soon," she murmured, her tone soft, reluctant.
"Yeah," I said, though I didn't move right away. "Probably."
For a few more seconds, I stayed there, just looking at her — the way her hair framed her face, the faint flush still coloring her cheeks. Then, slowly, I let her go.
She sat up beside me, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes flicking toward mine and then away again. The air between us felt charged — not awkward, but alive.
I stood, taking a quiet breath. "So… Friday then," I said with a small smile. "Dinner, movie, and maybe something more."
Her lips curved in a small, playful smirk. "We'll see," she said, but her tone betrayed a hint of anticipation.
Before I could overthink it, I stepped closer, my hand finding her cheek. She looked up at me, her eyes wide but steady. For a moment, neither of us said anything — and then I leaned in and kissed her.
It wasn't gentle this time. It was deeper, slower — a real kiss, full of everything we hadn't said out loud.
She hesitated only a heartbeat before melting into it, her hands sliding lightly up my chest as she kissed me back. And it feels so nice to feel like her body melting into mine. The excitement was building up inside me.
When we finally pulled apart, she was breathing a little faster, her lips slightly parted. Her eyes met mine, soft and shining.
I wish it could have lasted forever. But it's only a postponement, and on Friday even more might be waiting for us.
"Goodnight, Alex," she whispered.
"Goodnight, Gwen," I murmured back, brushing my thumb lightly against her jaw before stepping away.
I left her room quietly, my mind still humming with the feeling of her lips on mine. The cool night air outside hit me as I walked home, grounding me, but the warmth she'd left behind lingered all the way.
And for the first time in a long while, the world felt… right.
New York, Queens – Alex's POV
Friday came faster than I expected.
I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting my shirt for what had to be the fifth time, trying to find that impossible balance between casual and I actually tried.
It had been a strange few days. Quiet, but not idle.
Most of my time had gone into training — pushing the limits of Leech's power, testing, measuring, learning. I'd gotten better at it. Much better. The range had grown to a little over ten meters now, and more importantly, I could control it — dial it up or pull it back at will.
At the moment, it was still active, humming quietly beneath my skin, an invisible field that extended around me, wrapping over my clothes like a second layer. Like a suit of armor that only I can feel.
It felt good to have that kind of control again — to know where my limits were and how to push them.
When I wasn't training, I'd been focused on my other project — the Minecraft one. Progress was slower than I'd hoped. Not because I lacked ideas, but because I couldn't exactly pull the cyberdeck out in public. Every test, every bit of code, had to be done in the privacy of my room, usually late at night when no one could walk in.
Still, it was coming together. Piece by piece.
Now, though, my focus was elsewhere. Gwen. The date. The first real one since… everything.
I caught myself smiling faintly at the thought. After everything that had happened — the powers, the secrets, the mess that was my double life — tonight felt like a chance to just be. To be Alex. Her Alex.
I glanced at the clock. Twenty minutes until I needed to leave.
My reflection looked back at me — not the same guy from before, but close enough. A version of me that was still trying to fit in a life that half felt borrowed.
I ran a hand through my hair, exhaled slowly, and murmured under my breath,
"Alright. Time to make this a good night." and let's hope I'm not alone in bed tonight, I added mentally.