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‘Ok so you know the general story, in an entire multiverse there is a common theme of my life. However this one is different, not like all your other friendly neighbourhood arachnid vigilantes with their backstory that you’re used to seeing though there are some things that play the same. But I’m getting ahead of myself as usual.’
‘Let’s track this from the beginning.’
Some time ago.
The moisture of sweat was starting to form from his head as he was sprinting to his destination that continued to evade him going further and further away with his energy giving up on him. Life normally dealt him a bad card and this just happened to be another one to add to the deck.
‘Typical Parker Luck’
“STOP THE BUS!!!” screamed Peter Parker as he was trying to catch up to the bus that was on the way for the science field trip he was preparing for.
“PLEASE, I KNOW YOU CAN SEE ME” he exclaimed and he knew that for a fact, he could see the popular students at the back of the bus point and laugh at his misfortune, taking it in as entertainment rather that doing anything about it.
Sporting a stylish yet introverted "hipster" appearance wearing casual, skater-inspired attire, including his hoodie, denim jacket, Converse shoes, and plaid shirt with a red scarf wrapped around his neck along with his skate board attached behind his bag, Peter continued to race down his bus hoping to grab the attention of the driver even though he knew it was a dying effort, his hair being slightly disheveled as a result.
Inside the bus showed Flash Thompson laughing at his situation with the rest of the football team joining in whereas the other people did not seem to mind with the exception of a few individuals.
Cindy Moon sat near the middle of the bus all by her lonesome having been aware of the situation and wanted to do something about it but didn’t have the courage to stand up for her fellow classmate. Wearing casual urban wear with a dark trousers and shirt with a white jacket to battle the weather, Cindy tends to keep a low profile so as to not draw as much attention as she used to when her excellence was being recognised.
Born of Korean descent, Cindy is a smart individual, high grade student thank to her eidetic memory which made her loved by her teachers but isolated from her fellow classmates, loathing her talents which in turn made her secluded. Not everyone disliked her but there weren’t enough people for her to have genuine friends. Though there were some people in her life that showed her kindness during a time she desperately needed it.
Which brings us to the two students sitting behind her.
Beautiful long, blonde hair, striking blue eyes styled with her iconic black headband wearing her knee-high boots, black mini-skirt, short green coat and pastel sweater sat Gwendolyn Maxine Stacy. An extremely intelligent and dedicated student with a heart of kindness and compassion when needed whilst also possessing a strong sense of duty and morality and responsibility most likely passed down from her father Captain George Stacy of the NYPD but strengthened by the way she lived her life.
Beside her sat one of her best friends Mary Jane Watson or MJ as she’s known to her friends, wearing her black sleeveless tank top with a heart emblem and dark blue trousers often showcasing her fashionable, confident, and often trend-setting nature that highlights her personality which was further enhanced by her piercing green eyes and lusciously vibrant red hair that took the notice of everyone at first glance.
“Ok I’ve had enough of this, you with me?” said Mary Jane in a rather annoyed mood as she glanced at Gwen Stacy after having to endure seeing their friend Peter Parker being treated as a joke to the amusement of the other students and even the bus driver who was letting this happen. Gwen in return had her phone out recording the event being sure to focus in on the bus driver and avoid exposing Peter to the predicament he was in to save embarrassment if she had to make this public. Cindy meanwhile discreetly glanced behind her, approving her fellow classmates decision to handle the situation appropriately.
“Oh yeah, got what I need to bring this guy’s career to an end if he doesn’t listen to us” replied Gwen as she stopped her recording and stood up with MJ in tow heading down to the front of the bus to confront the driver. As they made their way to confront the driver, their eyes came into contact with Cindy staring back at them, nervous but approving of their decision.
“Are you gonna help us? Peter’s your friend too” asked MJ.
Cindy stared at them for a moment and glanced back at Peter still trying to catch up to the bus. She was trying to keep a low profile but MJ had a point, while it was never official she did consider Peter her friend as much as she did MJ and Gwen for including her whenever they could in school. While it wasn’t a lot of instances, they did matter to her. Looking back to MJ and Gwen, she still seemed a bit hesitant.
“I’m not sure I’ll be as much help as you two will” stated Cindy as she had her nerves in being noticed negatively again by her classmates.
“You’ll be as much help for Peter as we are and that will mean a lot to us” stated Gwen confidently as she stared back at Cindy.
Hearing those words from Gwen brought some confidence to Cindy as she started having a look of determination slowly overcoming her nerves as she glanced back at Peter feeling helpless.
‘Screw it, if people mock me for this then they’re not worth my consideration’ thought Cindy.
“Let’s go” Cindy stated simply as she rose up from her seat and joined Gwen and MJ
“Atta girl” MJ exclaimed happily.
She knew that this was a lot for Cindy who would prefer to not draw much attention to herself as much as she already has with her intelligence, rivalling that of Peter and Gwen. It even got to the point when MJ jokingly remarked that Peter was 2nd in his class with both Gwen and Cindy being tied for first. It was an inside joke still going on to this day with Peter pretending to be mad about it but the smile that showed off in his eyes told them that he didn’t mind their teasing even if it was at his expense.
“Oh come on girls, don’t ruin the fun” moaned Flash Thompson as he noticed the girls making their way to the front of the bus.
Flash Thompson was of an athletic muscular build due to his time in sports over in Midtown High with blonde hair and green eyes which in turn made him a popular high school jock to his peers but an arrogant bully in Peter’s life, tormenting him on the daily as he viewed him as an easy target.
Though MJ and Gwen advised Peter to report on him, Peter simply told them to stay out of it as there was a time they used to be friends when they were children and certain lifestyle changes got them to where they were now which didn’t make much sense to the ladies but let it go for the moment.
The three ladies simply ignored him as they confronted the driver.
“Stop the bus! He’s been chasing us since Woodhaven Boulevard” stated Mary Jane angrily as she pierced into the driver’s eyes.
“I have the entire thing recorded on camera, my father is captain of the NYPD. If you don’t stop this bus right now, I’ll have this sent to him and chances are you’ll be arrested and lose your job for purposely ignoring a student in need and subjecting him to torture by having him run after you” stated Gwen professionally as she held up her phone letting the driver know that she was serious.
“And I’ll have your face across every social media site that I know of; Facebook, Twitter heck even the Daily Bugle and let the entire city never mind the neighbourhood know what kind of person you are. I’m sure there’ll be good coverage on your life from those reporters wondering why someone such as yourself would go to such lengths to ignore students with getting to their education. It won’t matter if you try to run, everyone will know about you as soon as the story and evidence gets out and it’ll be a matter of time before someone recognises you in passing and your life being officially over” stated Cindy quietly but calmly with a hidden aggression in her voice.
At this point the entire bus went silent as the rest of the passengers even Flash realised the severity of the situation, even the driver had his face go pale not realising one of his passengers was affiliated with the police and that this was all recorded. Even Gwen and MJ were impressed by the confidence that Cindy displayed as they had a look of approval on their faces having grown accustomed to Cindy’s silent demeanour.
“Ok, ok I’ll stop. I’m sorry” apologised the bus driver as he slowed down the vehicle to allow Peter to enter.
“Make sure that it doesn’t or else” warned MJ as the three ladies went back to their seats pretending nothing happened.
The bus doors opened as Peter finally entered the bus ignoring the driver knowing that he let this carry on for so long and proceeded to look for an open seat. Not finding any he was about be comfortable standing until his name got called out.
“Hey Tiger over here!!!” exclaimed MJ happily at seeing Peter having his attention grabbed by her.
Peter looked over seeing MJ waving her arm happily to him with Gwen sitting beside her doing the same with a happy expression. In the seat in front of them Cindy glanced at Peter and gave him a smile acknowledging him with a nod and an open seat beside her. Peter blushed at having them look at him with such notice it grabbed the attention of the other passengers with even Flash silently seething of having the attention of three gorgeous ladies. Even though they were all friends, Peter still couldn’t help but acknowledge how beautiful all three of them were and wanted to spend time with him. MJ he could understand, she lived next door from him and his Aunt May and her Aunt Anna set up a little play date so Peter could be more social and make friends and MJ always had the positively magnetic personality where she could just brighten the room by being there. Gwen and Cindy were a bit more complicated being classmates not not having met naturally but brought together by their intelligence in their studies as a catalyst before being closer together as people. Whatever the case, he was just glad he had them in their lives. Friends were a luxury and his lifestyle was anything but that, so having these three ladies made his life less of an isolation than it already was.
“Hey girls, thanks for the seat and thank you for getting that driver to stop” as Peter gave them a pointed but knowing look.
“How did you know?” questioned Gwen
“I saw you three walk back to your seats as the bus slowed down. That and the driver looked as pale as a ghost so I figured you three did some really good convincing to change that guys mind” Peter stated as he smiled at them.
“Yeah well, we couldn’t let our second best student miss out on his science trip” joked MJ with a teasing grin on her lips.
At this all 4 of them couldn’t help the chuckle that was brought about.
“Good observation Peter but why were you late in the first place?” Cindy asked
“I couldn’t sleep, stayed up all night cause I was excited for the trip and when I did manage to get to sleep I woke up late. It’s thanks to Aunt May and Uncle Ben I’m here right now otherwise I’d miss the whole thing completely” Peter sheepishly admitted as he scratched the back of his neck.
“You really need to be better prepared. You can’t be late to everything. It’ll leave off a bad impression” remarked Gwen as she started at Peter in concern.
“Yeah I know, I’ll be better next time. Least it’s better to be late than never show up at all” as Peter tried to find a silver lining to the situation.
“That’s something at least” Gwen agreed as she smiled at him.
“You’re so lame Parker” Flash casually remarked as he started at him as though he was pathetic.
Peter didn’t dignify him with a response as he couldn’t be bothered to be antagonised this early on. However, this seemed to set off Flash more for not being acknowledged and was about to make a scene until MJ chimed in.
“Not as lame as having Eugene as a name. No wonder you needed to resort to having a nickname like Flash but that could be just as bad. What was it for, being fast in bed or for streaking naked in the front garden when you were a baby? I’m sure your mom has pictures for the latter” MJ said with a smile.
At this the entire school bus erupted in laughter with Peter choking on his breath and Gwen and Cindy having a shocked expression on their faces not expecting that from MJ. Or maybe they should have.
MJ was not one to back down from a fight.
Flash’s entire face went red from the insult and tried to save face saying he had plenty of experience and MJ has no idea what’s she’s talking about but the laughter continued to drown out his defence.
“Damn you need some Aloe Vera? Cause you just got burned” chuckled Randy Robertson, fellow member of the Midtown High Football team, muscle and best friend of Flash Thompson.
Randy is actual a decent person. He’s typically laid-back, neutral, and a friendly student, often hanging out with the "In Crowd"as we like to call it (Flash Thompson, Sally Avril, Liz Allen) but rarely engages in their bullying. He’s pretty easy-going and often acts as a calming influence within his group. Plus he’s got that cool guy tone of voice so yeah can’t go much wrong with Randy.
“Shut up” grumbled Flash childishly crossing his arms and looking ahead trying to ignore the laughter that was slowly beginning to die out.
Once the laughter faded out, casual conversations started to occur with the topic of the school trip being in discussion.
“I can’t believe we’re going to Oscorp, well General Techtroincs but they’re in collaboration with Oscorp so that’ll be interesting especially with their breakthrough in scientific discoveries” Gwen stated excitedly.
“It is impressive” Cindy quietly agreed albeit reluctantly.
Her own parents were scientists and even they agreed that Oscorp was a leading specialist in the Scientific area. However they also had their own concerns regarding the company itself though they never said too much of it to Cindy which intrigued her.
“We’re here” stated Gwen bringing Cindy out of her thoughts.
The group glanced outside to see Oscorp Industries come into fruition, a massive company housed by Norman Osborn with a lady wearing a scientist attire waiting at the front of the building. The class slowly exited the bus as they were approached by the individual.
“Welcome everyone, my name is Dr Dora Skirth and I’m an official scientist here at Oscorp Industries and I’ll be your guide for the remainder of the trip. Main rule is where I go you go, so long as you follow that everything will be great especially since this building is grand and we don’t want to file a missing persons’ report.” Which drew some chuckles from the crowd.
“With that being said I hope you enjoy your time here so please follow me” Dr Skirth said with a kind smile.
As the class began to head inside the building a sudden gust blasted the group drawing shivers from the crowd. Peter glanced back at his friends to see MJ and Gwen huddled together but Cindy not faring as well.
“You ok?” Peter asked Cindy in concern.
“Huh, oh yeah just don’t deal with the cold that well compared to others. Should’ve worn more layers” Cindy tried to wave off her predicament with a reassuring smile.
“It’s ok, here take this.” Peter took off his red scarf and slowly wrapped it around Cindy’s neck making sure it’s secure.
Cindy was frozen in shock as Peter closed in on her space gently placed the scarf on her. No one ever cared for her like that before aside from her parents and seeing Peter do this for her, she couldn’t help but look into his eyes as he covered her protectively and be drawn to them and the rest of his face as she took in his details. As he stepped back, she couldn’t help but reach up for the scarf touching it, feeling his warmth that was still lingering on even after being removed from him. Cindy looked back at Peter and couldn’t help the blush that was rising on her face.
Gwen and MJ were watching the scene with a smile albeit slightly jealous that Peter provided that level of care which wasn’t directed at them.
‘You lucky girl’ Gwen and MJ thought in unison
“That better?” Peter asked which brought Cindy out of her thoughts. Shaking her head quickly, Cindy tried to focus.
‘It’s warm’ Cindy thought to herself as she appreciated Peter’s kindness.
“Uh yeah th-thank you” Cindy managed to stutter out as she reigned her blush back in.
The group then proceeded to head on inside with Cindy walking slightly ahead so they wouldn’t see her face whilst Peter hung back with MJ and Gwen.
“That was a nice thing you did Peter” MJ stated with an approving smile.
“Yeah out of all of us, Cindy is probably the most withdrawn of the class so caring for her like that goes a long way” Gwen said as she glanced forward at Cindy.
“I’m just doing what’s right besides I care about her, we all do” Peter stated
“She cares about you too in her own way, should’ve heard what she said to that driver to get you on board, same with Gwen as well. Could’ve sworn the bus got colder especially with Gwen giving her signature look” MJ joked
“I do not have a look” Gwen stated defensively
“You do” replied Peter and MJ in unison
“It’s super effective” Peter joked out in the end
“Yeah well maybe you shouldn’t give me a reason to use it” Gwen replied with a smirk
“When are we getting your clothes Peter?” MJ questioned randomly. Peter and Gwen looked at MJ in confusion “You gave Cindy your scarf, seemed really sweet and romantic so we’re curious when it’s our turn”
MJ and Gwen couldn’t help but blush a little bit imagining themselves wearing Peter’s clothes and what scenario could justify such a predicament.
“What are you talking about?!” Peter replied incredulously a blush forming on his face. “That was me just caring for a friend, nothing else”
“I’m not so sure Peter, MJ might have a point” Gwen teased as she joined in on the fun
“I have no idea what you’re on about and besides I don’t have any clothes to spare” Peter tried to shift the conversation.
“Well then I guess we’ll have to settle for you instead, c’mon girlfriend” as MJ looped one of her arms around his, prompting Gwen to do the same to his other arm.
“Seriously?” Questioned Peter as he glanced at both Gwen and MJ but couldn’t help but blush a little.
“Just accept it Pete” Gwen stated casually with a wink
“Face it tiger, you just hit the jackpot” MJ confirmed in a dazzling smile as the three got comfortable and quickened their pace to catch up with Cindy to enter Oscorp Industries.
Where their lives transformed.
The day where everything changed.