ROSALEEN WENT BACK TO SEE THE DEMONSTRATION. Her parents weren't too interested in what she was doing, not for lack of caring, but simply because their daughter was never one to do anything too dangerous. Of course, she did have a habit of trying to chase down the biggest bad guy of the week in the hopes of catching a glimpse of one of the vigilantes or, maybe, even one of the Avengers; maybe even the X-Men, though they kept to their own problems most of the time.

But it was their lack of any real suspicion of their daughter that she was able to head out once again to the same science museum that she didn't understand why she was so drawn to.

Of course, this time was different, she did know why she was heading over, and that was why she was walking with purpose rather than aimlessly, as if just waiting for something interesting to happen to her. In a way, she was seeking it out.

She was surprised to find there was a bit of a crowd, but that was what happened when Oscorp did anything, it gathered a good deal of attention. She wished she was smart enough to apply for the internship program that girl had been talking about—Gwen, her name was. Rosaleen had looked it up as soon as she got home, and she wished she ran in the circles that made it so she could have these opportunities.

But what was done was done and her main focus now was simply finishing her summer homework and squeezing by to see the demonstration. The crowd wasn't solidified yet, which made sense as she had come an hour earlier, but she figured she could get settled to make sure she would have a good view.

There was a large stage with Oscorp tech strewn about. Stark tech was the main branding in the world, but that didn't mean the other companies were entirely out of a job, Oscorp focusing on research, Eastaughffe Co. more on the level of Pym Tech on the West Coast, their focus not on the same brand of technology Stark Industries focused on, and so many others in the world having their own branches. 

Rosaleen herself couldn't afford Stark tech, so she had the cell phones made by Eastaghffe Co. They were amazing in their own right, but Stark tech was always going to be superior, though Oscorp was trying to come up with their own phone line that were promised to soar far about Eastaghffe's line.

She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts, eyes trained on the stage and the equipment, that she hardly noticed the girl with her head buried in her notes, trying to remain calm as she prepared for the demonstration, the two colliding with each other head-on, nearly falling if it wasn't for both of them reaching out to right the other.

"I am so sorry!" the girl cried, and Rosaleen shook her head, trying to speak past the pain in her nose, but perked up as the girl continued, "Oh! Hey, it's you! Rosaleen, right? You came back for the demonstration!"

Rosaleen tried not to look too pained as she nodded, finally allowing herself to look down at the grinning girl who was buzzing with both nerves and excitement. "I did, what did it end up being about?"

"Well, since almost no people wanted to look at me, let alone sign, we only caught the attention of the youth who all wanna hear about genetic mutations because we all love the X-Men," she explained, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, her blond headband slipping, "I actually got our speaker to start talking about how some people have tried to synthesize the X-Gene in other ways and how, if we were to do this, it would be a lot safer and regulated. It's a little controversial given the Accords, but we have a disclaimer that any and all opinions and stances made by the speakers and interns aren't indicative of Oscorp as a whole, nor Norman Osborn himself, so we're all good."

Rosaleen nodded as she tried to keep up with everything Gwen said. She didn't talk fast by any means, she spoke deliberately and with the cadence needed to not have to repeat herself, but Rosaleen wasn't any brighter than the average student and it took her a few moments to just let everything settle in, and she nodded in finality once she understood.

"This'll be exciting," she said, and, in truth, she was very excited, it was just hard for her to show it all the time, so she tried again, "This'll be fun! Do you have visuals and stuff?"

"Yeah!" Gwen chirped, and she seemed a lot more energetic than usual, possibly due to her nerves, but she motioned for Rosaleen to follow her, and the taller girl had to wonder why she was being singled out.

It didn't take her too long to figure it out, however. All the people at the demonstration were either college students, interested adults, or excitable families humoring their science-driven children. All individuals that had more than any right to be there, but Rosaleen was the only teenager in sight.

It was summer, no one spent their vacation in a science museum. Most teenagers, anyways, though Rosaleen had a feeling that most Midtown kids did this sort of thing. They were all rich and smart, they could also be getting high off the good kind of drugs the people at Standard could only dream of getting; they were more humanities and business, but tuition wasn't a problem.

"Okay, so Oscorp tech is similar to Stark tech, just with different materials and layout, so we have the same holographic capabilities and what we're gonna do is we're gonna have this tree that appears, then we'll show some examples of DNA, talk about how extracting the biological mutations and capabilities of animals can save the lives of people..." Gwen went on and on and on about what the demonstration was going to be like, and Rosaleen wished she was smarter so she could keep up with all of it, the two standing by the equipment that still had to be loaded up onto the stage.

"Gwen," a voice called, and the two turned to find a boy approaching them, dressed in the same kind of lab coat she wore.

He was the same twenty-something that had called Gwen away the last time, and now that Rosaleen got a better look at him, she couldn't help but feel her face warm when he smiled at her. She couldn't explain it, as he didn't have the conventionally attractive face, but there was something charming about him, something that made her avert her gaze as soon as he caught her looking.

Gwen seemed similarly flustered, but composed herself well, smiling up at him, making herself seem smaller, which was an impressive feat considering how small she already was. "Hey, Brayden.

Brayden. Even his name was charming. He smiled down at her, reaching up to lightly touch the back of his neck. "Why're you spoiling the demonstration?"

Gwen laughed rather awkwardly, rubbing the back of her own neck as she looked over to Rosaleen who had her attention planted on the ground, and it was clear the girls were in solidarity, albeit a flustered kind, the kind that made them feel as though they walked in on something they weren't supposed to see despite having been fine only a few moments before.

"I mean, I was excited," Gwen reasoned, but Brayden only, smiled, shaking his head.

"I'm just joking with you, Gwen," he said, laughing as he reached out to tap her shoulder, "Who's your friend?"

"I'm Rosaleen," the girl in question just barely managed to choke out, unsure of whether to reach out to shake his hand, but the choice was taken out of her hands when he held out his own which she took shakily, "I, uh, go to Standard, so I don't really know if Gwen and I are friends, but..."

"Well, you know what they say, strangers are just friends you haven't made yet," he reasoned, smiling at her, and Rosaleen wasn't sure she could bear the full weight of that smile ever again, her knees growing weak.

"But stay around for the demonstration, you know, Gwen's a great storyteller, but it's way different when you actually see it," he said, turning now to look down at the smaller girl who was smiling up at him, "Just come by ten minutes before so you can get set up and no one'll start yelling. You know what William's like."

The two shared a laugh, and Rosaleen felt a pang of loneliness, feeling left out of a joke, and it made sense that she was, she wasn't their friend, but her mind began to wander to her own friend group, to how she didn't have friends that she could just hang out with whenever, the kind of friends that everyone always said one should have.

But her musings were cut short when Gwen turned back around to face her, and it was as if something had been lifted the moment Brayden left, the two sighing with a kind of relief that wasn't necessarily relief at all.

"Sorry for just dragging you over here, I just got excited, but I do hope you stick around for the presentation, and if you want, try to find me afterwards and we can talk more. If you want," Gwen said, and Rosaleen smiled at the prospect; it had been a while since she'd made a new friend, at least one that she made all on her own, and they got along fairly easily for hardly knowing each other.

"Yeah, I'd like that," she said, and Gwen brightened even more, though she faltered when she made a habitual glance towards her watch.

"I haven't finished setting everything up, so I gotta go, but try to find me afterwards, okay? If you can, you know," Gwen said, and Rosaleen said, looking around towards the crowd, trying to figure out the best way towards her, giving her a smile when the girl glanced back before scurrying off and out of sight.

º º º

The demonstration was incredible.

Rosaleen had positioned herself right towards the front so she could see easily without having to strain herself, and she wasn't disappointed. Oscorp tech was incredible, it truly was, and it was so much better than Gwen had described it, and she had described it amazingly.

It wasn't Brayden who headed it, as he was an intern, same as Gwen, but the woman who did do the demonstration was just as capable as either of them. She began with the usual, using the same Parkinsons example that Gwen had used, showing how the combination of the DNA could actually save her life and reverse the effects. Of course, it was all simulated, but the research and evidence was there, and it was just beautiful to look at either way.

Then she started to talk about the X-Gene and that was when things started to get really interesting. 

She prefaced by talking about the research on the X-Gene as a whole and how everyone had one, but most of theirs weren't activated, which was what led her into discussing underground groups that tried to either synthesize mutations or awaken the X-Gene, both of which were always done unsuccessfully do to the illegal practices, not to mention illegal uses for the people should they be somewhat successful.

She then talked about what benefits there would be should Oscorp try this kind of experimentation—not that they were, as she constantly reminded—and she talked about the pros and cons, what they would do ethically and correctly, everything. It was all so fascinating and Rosaleen was able to keep up to some extent.

What she wanted more than anything, however, was to be a part of it. She didn't need to understand if she could live it and she wanted nothing more than to live it.

When the demonstration was finished, she felt a newfound kind of buzz within her that she felt a good few times. The buzz of want. She wanted something more than this, she wanted something, anything, she wanted to be a hero just like all the people she looked up to.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't remember Gwen until she was already a block away. Stopping in her tracks, she backed up and sprinted back towards the museum, hoping that they were still there.

But by the time she reached the place, they were already packing up, everyone dispersed, paying no attention towards the Oscorp employees and interns packing up. It took her some time, but she caught sight of Gwen who was talking with Brayden, the girl looking rather disappointed, struggling to smile down at him.

Rosaleen took a step forward, wanting to rush over to apologize and catch up, but then Gwen was pushing herself off the machine she was sitting on and walking towards the area that she couldn't see, packing up and leaving.

Rosaleen sighed as she watched her go, her shoulders slumping slightly. Part of her berated herself because Gwen had connections with Oscorp, she could help her.

But another part of her berated herself because she hurt someone. Moreover, she hurt someone who could've been her friend.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Because Into the Spider-Verse is coming out, I'm asserting my dominance by updating this as well as my Peter Parker fic Spider-Gwen (this is a joke, I'm kidding, because I'm not actually an asshole despite what people believe, I'm more than ecstatic at the love Gwen has been getting, ya'll, I can make a joke. Jesus Christ, I'm just making fun of people who think they're better than others for liking something first, like get over yourself, I can make a joke.)

Also, I really liked how Brayden wound up being to the two girls, he needed to be charming, but he has this almost supernatural kind of charm (don't read into that he's really not supernatural or anything) but he just has an intense charm and it's hard to handle, he's cute and they're fifteen.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!