Gwen Stacy stretched as the sun began to rise. She looked out of her window and thought 'What a beautiful Friday morning! I wonder if Peter's OK. I'll go ask my dad.' She wore her bath robe and walked into the kitchen. There, her father was sitting at the table, drinking coffee, and reading a copy of the Daily Bugle. The headline on the front page was: "Spidey, Doc Ock: Menaces to the City!" His father looked up at the sound of Gwen's footsteps and smiled.
"Hi, honey! How are you?"
"I'm fine," said Gwen as she sat across from him. She read the headline and frowned.
"What's wrong, Gwen?"
"It's just the headline. It really bothers me," she said.
"Honey, Spiderman is-"
"No, dad. If he was a real 'terror,' he would have tried to kill me like that Dr. Octopus freak," said Gwen angrily.
"Even if he does have good intentions, then what's with the mask? Not only that, but why did he enter Peter's apartment? I'm pretty sure that he was trying to steal something, but then he saw you and that Mary Jane girl and realized that he'd be in a lot of trouble if he was caught. So, he changed his mind at the last minute," replied Gwen's father as he sipped his coffee.
"Dad!" she said. She walked toward the counter and poured herself a cup of coffee. She sat back down at the table. "That's ridiculous! Believe whatever you want, but I think Spidey's a hero, and there's nothing else you can say that will change my mind," said an angry Gwen, "So, how's your other job?" She wanted to change the subject-she couldn't tolerate anymore insults about Spiderman. Besides, she was always curious about her father's amazing investigations and adventures. Her father was one of the best investigators of the state. She sipped her coffee.
"Actually," he said as he smiled, "I quit."
"WHAT?!?!?!" said Gwen as she quickly got up from her seat, "How could you-"
"Gwen, honey, I got promoted. I'm the captain of my unit!" he said.
"Wow, dad! That's great!" she walked over and hugged him.
"Because of that, though, I'm not going to be the landlord of this building anymore," he said, "And I think we might be moving soon."
Gwen quickly let go of him and stared at him with disbelief.
"But dad-"
"Yes, honey. I know, but I can't find any other way. I'm sorry. Besides, you'll meet new people, and who knows? Maybe you might meet your soul mate there," he said as he took another sip of his coffee.
'The only soul mate that I wanted is already taken.' thought Gwen glumly as she plopped onto her chair. She remembered those words that Mary Jane had muttered: "I'm Peter's girlfriend." She sighed. She didn't know Peter was seeing someone. Suddenly, she realized what she was supposed to ask in the first place.
"Uhh...dad? Did Peter come to his apartment last night?" she asked anxiously.
Her father stared at her with a mild look of surprise on his face. "No...actually. He never returned."
Gwen grew concerned. 'He must still be at the hospital. Wow...those must have been some pretty bad cuts and bruises.'
Her father caught the look of worry on his daughter's face. He noticed that lately, whenever he mentioned something bad about Peter, his daughter would immediately defend him. Not only that, but her attitude would suddenly change whenever Peter was around. 'Can she be in love with him?' He straightened up and placed his hand on Gwen's.
"Honey," said her father as Gwen sipped her coffee, "tell me the truth: do you love Peter Parker?"
Gwen spat her coffee out and coughed slightly. She quickly stood up and grabbed a paper towel. Her face grew slightly red as she wiped the table quickly. Her father stared at her the whole time. Gwen continued to wipe the table even though it was clean, and her father grabbed her wrist firmly.
"Gwen, stop. The table's clean enough."
Gwen stopped, stood up stiffly, and with an indignant air asked, "So what if I do?"
"Gwen," said her father with an exasperated sigh as he let go of her wrist, "Peter is a very lazy man. He pretends to appear exhausted all the time. Don't forget that he STILL hasn't paid his rent yet, and it's been over a month now! What kind of a boyfriend would he make if he can't even provide for himself?"
"Dad!" said Gwen angrily, "I know that Peter hasn't paid his rent yet, but he was just stressed out. He wasn't faking it. I know it! He's a really sweet guy, and he's kind and caring. He just needs some time off."
"Gwen, I honestly do not care if the guy's supposedly "stressed out." I understand that people do get stressed out sometimes, but if he cannot pay his rent after a MONTH, he has no sense of responsibility nor does he work hard. Although "sweet, kind, and caring" are good characteristics, "laziness, irresponsible, and dishonest" are not, and that's the type of guy that Peter Parker is."
"But dad-"
"Gwen," said her father impatiently, "I know you love him, but this is just a stage, sweetheart. Eventually, you'll see the true man that Peter Parker is: he's a dishonest bastard who consistently pushes off his promises and responsibilities not because he's "supposedly" tired but because he's lazy. Forget him, Gwen."
Gwen was extremely mad at her father. 'How could he say this about someone like Peter? Peter isn't faking it. I know he isn't; he's not that type of guy. He just doesn't understand what Peter's going through.' Suddenly, an idea popped up.
"Dad," asked Gwen, "what if I prove to you that you're wrong?"
Her father put his mug down and stared at her daughter with an arched eyebrow. He placed his paper down and folded his arms across his chest.
"And how are you going to do that?"
"I'll find out WHY he's so stressed out all the time," said Gwen with a determined expression on her face, "And then you'll realize that he's stressed out for a good reason-not because he's faking it."
Her father paused. After several seconds, he shook his head. "Gwen, I don't want you to-"
"Please, dad?" asked Gwen. Her father saw the look of desperation in her eyes and sighed.
"Fine, but you'll eventually see that I'm right," said her father as he picked his paper up again.
'We'll see about that!' thought Gwen as she walked into her room.