044

Norman was on his way to Empire State University, because in the end his schedule had not conflicted with the invitation that Gwen and Connors had given him and therefore having given his words he now had to honor it.

In the end he was simply to talk about his knowledge and answer any questions there might be among the young people, so there would not be much of a workload.

The ringing of the telephone bell caused Norman to quickly put on a hands-free headset before he answered the call.

"What did you find?" he asked before the other side spoke.

"Nothing you didn't know beforehand, Fury is after you, from what I could see no one knows why that is, but the fact that he sent one of his best agents to watch your movements indicates that he holds you in high regard" the answer was not long in coming.

Norman didn't mention anything, as he didn't expect to find anything else: "Go back before you are discovered, and I want you to keep an eye on Danvers, until I tell you otherwise that will be your mission" he indicated after a little silence.

"I understand" was the only answer he received before the other party hung up.

Norman just took the earpiece out of his ear, he had sent Bucky on an infiltration mission to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in New York in the hope that he would find out more than he had deduced about the strange fixation Fury seemed to have on him.

He wasn't too surprised by the results, as it was something he had already expected even, so he was still a little undecided what to do about his irritating vigilantes.

Maybe he could give them little information and with that get them to stop paying attention to him for a while.

With various thoughts in mind Norman simply continued driving towards his destination.

…

Once he arrived at the university grounds Norman simply headed towards the parking lot which Gwen and Curtis had previously told him he could use.

When he arrived at the place he could see Gwen waiting for him, the blonde was wearing a long sleeved black shirt while her legs were covered by a green pencil skirt.

'She really likes that color' thought Osborn, most of the time Stacy wore somewhat muted colors and somehow green was always present in her outfit.

Putting that thought aside Norman soon found a free spot and parked in it, then turned off the car and got out of the car to head to where Gwen was.

"Miss Stacy a pleasure to see you" greeted Osborn as soon as he was near the blonde.

"Likewise, Mr. Osborn, now come on Dr. Connors is a little anxious thinking you weren't coming" she mentioned quickly as in a somewhat brave act for her, she took Norman's right hand before starting to walk with him.

Norman for his part did not give too much importance to that fact and simply let himself be guided along the way and despite the hurry with which Gwen was going she did not forget to tell small curiosities or personal experiences of the university.

Which despite the indifferent image that Norman had he listened to in detail, as it seemed a bit disrespectful and in bad taste not to do so.

As he walked around the university Norman could see that there were many small exhibits, either from adults who he assumed were professors or students, so he made a mental note to take a look, you never knew when there might be a hidden diamond.

Something that Osborn came to notice were the little undisguised glances that people gave him and Gwen, among them, he could detect surprise, curiosity, and envy that were directed at both equally, this made Norman shake his head as he thought they were too obvious with their emotions.

Before long they arrived at their destination which was some sort of theater or something similar that had been arranged in such a way as to allow a lecture to be given to over 100 people at a time and honestly Norman was surprised when he saw that most of the seats were full.

Stacy soon led him to the place where everything was being set up that Osborn had ordered for his lecture some time before and where a nervous Dr. Connors was standing.

"See, I told you he would come," Gwen mentioned with a smile as she pointed to Norman with her free hand.

Seeing them Curtis only let out a sigh of relief, "That's wonderful, Mr. Osborn I need you to do a little sound check and verify the material you requested" he said quickly, but not forgetting to respect the other part.

Norman only nodded at Connors request before looking at Gwen who only returned his gaze with curiosity, "Can you let go of my hand?" he asked to the blonde.

Norman's words caused Gwen to be surprised and her small pink lips to open in an O, act next she retracted her hand and consequently released Norman's hand.

A small smile formed on Norman's face as he saw Gwen act that way, somehow, he found her action a little cute, as if she was a surprised little animal.

Without giving it much thought Norman simply began to follow Connors who also had a smile on his face at the young couple's actions.

When both men disappeared from Gwen's sight she simply lowered her gaze to the hand with which she had held Norman's: 'That was very comfortable' was a fleeting thought that passed through her mind.

…

Norman spent about more than 60 minutes giving his lecture, if he was honest he didn't think the students were that interested in science, but it was a pleasant surprise to see that he had been wrong.

At the end of his talk he simply walked back to where Gwen had taken him earlier, where both Connors and Stacy were waiting for him.

"Again Mr. Osborn I want to thank you for accepting the invitation even with your agenda" expressed Connors in a sincere manner.

"No need to thank me Dr. Curtis, I really enjoyed being on stage, although maybe it was also due to how participative everyone was" commented Norman.

Norman's gaze shifted to the work that various people were doing, "I guess there are still more lectures, right?" he asked curiously.

At his words both Gwen and Curtis nodded: "Most of them consist of lectures by professors from the university, there was one that we had hoped a representative from Pym Technologies would attend, but in the end it didn't work out" explained the blonde to Norman's question.

Before Norman could say anything he felt a presence approaching him quickly: "Felicia I hope you don't try to do anything stupid" his words were said slowly, but with a hidden danger in them.

The pair of teacher and student were a little confused until they saw a young woman approaching who had a look of irritation on her face as she looked at Norman, "Someday I will be able to approach you without you noticing" she told him with conviction as she walked up to Osborn.

"Maybe" not wanting to destroy Hardy's hopes he replied doubtfully.

Norman shook his head as he looked at Felicia, the beautiful woman was wearing simple ripped jeans with a dark blue hue, which showed a bit of her long legs while she wore a white colored shirt and a black jacket on her upper body.

Felicia flashed a smile as she watched Norman scan her for a few seconds, "Do you like it?" she asked curiously as she did a little twirl.

"Does it or doesn't it matter?" refusing to answer instead he asked his own question.

"Of course, it does, after all I picked it for you" Felicia told him as she looked Norman straight in the eye and moved closer to him until they were only inches apart.

Their little exchange had lasted only a few seconds and had been seen by Connors and Gwen, which made the last one has to cough a little, so they would remember each other's presence.

Norman just withdrew his gaze from Felicia and directed it towards the other two people, "Sorry about that, Dr. Connors, Miss Stacy, this is Felicia Hardy" Osborn began to introduce, "You may get to know her due to her being a student at the university, she's just a little older than Gwen" he added simply.

"Oh yes I remember having her in my class last year, a good student, but she tended to be a bit chaotic" commented Connors which elicited a sheepish grin from the Hardy which Norman could appreciate out of the corner of his eye.

"I've heard a bit about her" was all Gwen mentioned in a low tone as she was looked at by Felicia who only discovered why she was familiar to her from the pictures Norman had in his office.

"Well why are you here?" asked Norman after the presentation was over.

"I thought after your lecture you would go take a look at all the other people giving small lectures looking for something interesting, so I'll be your guide" she explained then stated casually, only to receive a flat look from Norman.

"Okay, I was bored and thought I could at least have a little chat with you" she confessed as she understood that Osborn knew she was lying.

Norman let out a sigh at Felicia's attitude, "Well at least you'll be my guide" he said then turned to look at Gwen and Curtis who just stood by as they watched the two interact, "I'll see you both later" he mentioned before starting to leave as he was followed by Felicia.

"They make a cute couple" Curtis joked, but when he didn't get a response he brought his gaze to Gwen, who only had her gaze focused on the male and female couple who were walking towards the exit.

With a bit of gentleness Connors tapped the blonde on the shoulder which snapped her out of her strange state, and she quickly looked at her mentor, "I'll be rooting for you" was all he said before turning his back on her and starting to head elsewhere.

Leaving only a confused Gwen not knowing exactly what he was referring to.

…

Two people were walking through the university territory, both women, one of them redhead and the other blonde, while one had a look of curiosity for everything she saw, the other had a somewhat indifferent look.

"Can you tell me again why we are here?" asked the blonde.

"Me because I'm curious about the little obsession Betsy has with Norman Osborn and you because you didn't want to be in lessons with the Ancient" she replied simply.

"You know if we are discovered then we will be in trouble?" the blonde questioned again which brought a smile to the redhead's face.

"Little correction I'll be in trouble at most you'll just have to read more books than usual" replied the redhead without concern: "Besides we'll only be in trouble if they find out, which they won't" she added as she saw a small stand that had some food and headed towards it.

The blonde just shook her head at her friend's words, "Jean" she called out to the redhead who only paused for a moment before turning her head to look at the blonde, "Sometimes I wonder why I'm your friend" she mentioned, but one could tell she didn't mean it in a bad way and instead in an amused way.

"Because I bring color to your gray life" was the redhead's reply before she walked back in the direction of the food stand.