Two best friends in a room... they might kiss... or end up completely killing each other.
Tasm!Peter Parker story.
Book [3] of the Paracosm series (but can also be read as a stand-alone).
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⋆ epilogue ⋆
Madison Kennedy knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man before she even knew who Peter Parker was.
Captain Stacy had once warned Peter against his job. He said that Spider-Man will always have enemies, and that anyone close to Peter would be in danger. It's the very thing he went against that led to Gwen losing her life. And no matter how much he chose not to believe it, it happened. He lost her, and it was no one's fault but his own.
He tried to move on, but he couldn't. It was too difficult, till he met someone else who screamed his name and ran across moving cars to catch him. And she was so insistent, so determined, and he couldn't do it again. But in the end, he made a promise that he wouldn't let it happen again.
He broke it. He broke his promise. He broke all of them.
It's always the best people that become associated with Peter Parker. They say they love him more, but it's never the last person they see. The last one they see is always Spider-Man.
Madison Kennedy crashed, and she burned.
How could Peter ever see Gabrielle again, knowing it was his fault her sister is dead? How could he ever look into Aleah's eyes as she asks where her aunt is, knowing she's never coming back? And he can't even tell them how it happened. He can't tell them that she died a hero, and it was all his fault. Because again, Spider-Man didn't get there in time. Which means Peter Parker is forced to suffer without her.
The house was far too empty when he made it back, but he understood. He understood what happened to Madison when she refused to leave. It becomes so tempting just to cut yourself off from everyone you know and love, the shame filling you up inside, bottling itself and pouring into you at your very lowest points till you scream out and sob and wait for the pain to stop tearing into you with every breath.
But it never stops, and eventually you're forced to step into the sunlight, a branded mark streaked across your forehead like a stamp of guilt for all the world to see.
It's me. I did this.
At first he was convinced he wasn't going to go to her funeral. He wouldn't dare. How could he stand there with everyone else, mourning and grieving the death of someone that left the world too early, when it was all his fault? How could he give a eulogy she would've hated, share the stories she shunned, describe her laugh or the way the sunlight in her eyes shone as it fell just right when he'll never witness it again?
But he couldn't do that. Because the world keeps on moving. He'll never get her back, but the world keeps on going, keeps on turning, and he's forced to turn with it. With each passing day, he's forced to drag himself out of bed, wade through the mess of dirt and clothes she would've scolded him for, and get on with his day without her there.
His parents. Uncle Ben. Captain Stacy. Gwen. Now Maddy. When does the list finally end? When will the universe finally deem Peter Parker's pain as enough?
