'Second Time Around'

By Penniless.Spidey.Poet.

Hello all! This is my first ever Spiderman fanfic so please...NO FLAMES! Just praise, advice, and nice comments! Thankies!

Disclaimer: Everything Spiderman related belongs to Stan Lee! I only claim Cassie Parker as my own!

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In the big city itself, New York, was a very crammed, and very dirty, subway station. A train had just arrived from downtown NewYork and on that train was someone who would change New York forever.
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Cassie Parker sat alone on the very empty subway, which was strange. But it was also six a.m. which explained a lot. She doodled in her old red notebook that her deceased mother had given to her. Deceased? She still hadn't gotten used to it. It had happened only a week ago. It was a storming night and her parents were coming home from a dinner party when all of a sudden their car lost control and drove off a cliff. Her parents had died instantly. Now here she was, on her way to live with a cousin she had never met and hadn't even known she had this 'cousin'. Heck! She didn't even know his name! She had no idea why her parents picked him as her guardian. Oh, well!

She pushed the thought out of her mind and finished her doodle. It was of a young boy standing in the middle of a crowd while everyone around him was just a blur. She closed her notebook and looked out of the subway's window and saw that it was slowly coming to a stop.

She hurriedly put the notebook in her overgrown suitcase and stood up causing her long gray skirt to flutter just underneath her knees. She grunted as she lifted her large and heavy suitcase and exited the train. She looked around and saw no one in the train station. Man! Some cousin! Doesn't even pick you up at the train station! she thought to herself. Her parents lawyer had given her the cousin's address just in case he didn't show up. Sticking her hand into the pocket of her red sweater, she felt around and pulled out a small piece of paper. She read the paper a few times and then walked out of the train station.

It took a cab, someone's bike, and some directions for her to arrive at apartment building that her cousin called home. It was nice...if you liked tearing wall paint and cracked windows. My cousin isn't very rich if he lives in a place like this! she thought as she walked into the building.

The building was no better inside than it was outside. It had squeaky floorboards and Cassie could have sworn that she had heard a mouse scurrying in the walls. She sighed and dragged her suitcase up the lopsided steps. Just as she reached the top of the staircase, a young man rushed by her. He had dark brown hair that flopped on his head, beautiful blue eyes that looked worried and frustrated. He looked about nineteen-twentyish. He wore plain black jacket over his white shirt and black pants and seemed to be carrying a newspaper of some sort. Turning her head to the side she read the newspapers headline.

'SPIDER-MAN STRIKES AGAIN!'

Cassie grinned. She had been a big fan of Spider-Man ever since he first appeared in New York City. She had always wondered who he was and how he got his 'spidey-like' powers. She pulled her focus off of the headline when an old appeared in a nearby door.

"Parker!" he yelled. For a second she thought he was talking to her but saw the young man with the newspaper turn around. "If it's about the rent, then I do have it!" he said in a calm voice and he pulled out an envelope. The old man took the envelope quickly and then disappeared inside his apartment.

The man called 'Parker' sighed and then turned a door right across the hall. He struggled with a key and finally managed to open the door. Before he had the chance to shut the door, Cassie appeared behind him.

"Excuse me sir, but I'm looking for apartment '8A'?" she told the man with a smile. He looked quite startled at her sudden appearance but quickly smiled and then said, "This is apartment 8A." Cassie's smile immediately faded as she looked at the man. This was her cousin?! He looked too young! How could her parents put her in care of a young man this...well...young?!

"Did I say something wrong?" he said sadly. "No! You see, I'm supposed to come live with my cousin and this is the apartment number they gave me but I must be mistaken..." she said and turned to go when she felt the man's hand on her shoulder.

"Are your parents Beth and Sam Parker?" he asked. Cassie slowly turned around. How could he know that? she thought. The only way to find out was to answer his question. "Yes..." she said slowly.

The man's smile quickly widened. "Because I'm your cousin!" he replied happily and held out his hand for a shake obviously, "Peter. Peter Parker."
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A/N: So? What did you think? I need answers people! Whoever reviews gets Skittles!