Due to the alien invasion, schools throughout New York were closed for one to two weeks. Cleaning up the alien corpses from rooftops and streets turned out to be a massive undertaking, which Stark Industries was contracted to handle—though that is a story for another time.
The next morning, Helen Stacy knocked on the door, and receiving no response, pushed it open. Seeing Brown and Gwen sleeping in each other's arms, she quietly closed the door and retreated.
By midday, Brown woke up first. Seeing Gwen's peacefully sleeping face, a mischievous thought crossed his mind. He used a strand of Gwen's hair to gently tickle her ear. Gwen instinctively brushed at her hair, but still feeling the tickle, she opened her eyes and said to Brown:
"Why are you so mean? It's a holiday, and you won't even let me sleep in."
"The sun's already high in the sky. If you don't get up now, what are you going to do if your mom walks in?" Brown said affectionately.
"Let her walk in. We slept together last night anyway," Gwen replied nonchalantly.
Chapter 35