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Simple and True ~ The Backstory

Peter Benjamin Parker's life has consistently been a rollercoaster. Since the abrupt and brutal disappearance of his parents, expectations fell far behind reality for the seemingly normal boy. When Uncle Ben died, it only got worse, the pain of yesterday's occurrences becoming only a speck of dust in comparison to his now. As his identity as New York's savior known as Spider-man began to grow, so did his love for one girl in particular.

Gwen Stacy was the frustrating light in his life the moment he met her, and as soon as she discovered his other identity, everything became a mixture between perfect and horribly hard. Perfect because he did not have to hide himself from her, especially when it came to cuts, bruises, or broken limbs from the crime of the city. She could help him; but that was exactly when it became hard. Gwen Stacy was a stubborn, brave girl and all she wanted to do was to help the man she fell in love with. 

That was the frustrating part of Gwen Stacy. Peter Parker could not control her insistence on constantly helping the masked version of him, and he only wished she'd understand the type of danger it put her in. No matter how much Peter Parker loved Gwen Stacy, he could feel the inevitable end approaching every time something dangerous approached. And he blamed himself for not doing more to stop her. 

If it wasn't for Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker along with his other identity as Spider-man would be dead now. The problem is, Peter never minded his death. Sure, he worried about Aunt May and Gwen's reactions, but what hurt more was that Gwen took his place.

The day that Gwen Stacy fell down that clock tower was a day in Peter's life that he'd never forgive himself for. A simple mistake; shooting the web towards her flailing body. A mistake that cost him the one person he loved the most. A mistake that he'd redo at any given second if he could. If only he'd flung himself faster-- but no, there were too many objects falling in the way. If only he'd shot the web sooner-- but no, he would've had nothing to grab onto. If only he'd gotten to her sooner-- but no, Harry Osborn would've stopped him. You see, the only mistake that Peter Parker had deemed he made was a very simple one, and it happened way before the rivalry between himself and his best friend. 

The mistake that Peter Parker made was letting anyone into his life in the first place.

~

Marcy Jean Watson used to be a very social young woman. She loved her friends in high school, she loved her single father, and she loved her job at the diner off of sixth street. But when graduation came and her college application list was slim, she knew there was little to no hope of her ever getting out of New York.

She enjoyed the city, she just never enjoyed the crime. When Spider-man made an appearance while she was in high school, she thought that the city would be saved. Girls all around her began fawning over this mystery man, but all MJ could think about was who he really could be. Her friends started to talk to her less as she became more closed off and disinterested in their ramblings about the masked hero, and they did the same to her.

Sooner than later, Marcy Jean was a nobody at graduation. She felt absolutely alone, while her dad worked his days in construction and she filled her nights at the diner, making cash for college funds. But college was hard to think about when she didn't know what she wanted to be, and she especially didn't have any friends anymore. There were a few people at the diner she'd converse with, but she knew down the line they'd forget about her and forget about their conversations whenever she got out of New York.

College acceptance letters went out, and MJ got hers last. She's a very smart young woman, very gifted in Literature and History, however, she was wait-listed by nearly every college in the state. And to make matters worse, crime rates skyrocketed as the masked hero disappeared off the streets for months. One day he was there, fighting a villain on the clock tower and the next, he had completely vanished.

Where had he gone?  Did he die? Was anybody looking for him? What happened that night?

Questions swirled in Marcy's head repeatedly, all of them unanswered. 

That was until a rainy night after Marcy finished at the diner, when everything she had never expected to happen, happened.