The place wasn't exactly easy to find. The entrance was simply a door that led to a staircase leading up to the apartment. The fact that the door was unlocked had clearly been taken advantage of, as evidenced by the graffiti and gang symbols that decorated the walls. As Alexia walked up the noisy staircase, she could smell some kind of foreign food cooking, not exactly a pleasant scent.

'Nothing a few sticks of incense and perfumed candles won't fix', Alexia thought.

The sound of unfamiliar instrumental music directed her attention to a partially opened door, and she knocked. The door opened to reveal a middle-aged, dark haired man sitting at a table and a sickly thin girl about her age cooking something on a stove.

"Hi, I'm Alexia," she began, "I called earlier about- ,"

"You're that college girl, right?," The man interrupted, " The rules are simple. You pay your rent on time, and the bathroom is first come, first serve. You wake up late, you wait your turn. And don't leave your stuff in there."

Alexia didn't say anything for a moment, offended by the man's rudeness.

""Well, you moving in or not?," the man said impatiently.

Alexia simply nodded, afraid she might say something rude.

"Good. Your room is beside ours. Rent is due on the seventeenth."

He went over to a drawer, took something out and handed it to her.

"Here's your key. You can call me Mr. Ditkovitch, and my daughter's name is Ursula."

He turned away, and Alexia opened the door to her room. It wasn't much. There was a bed, a night stand, a small dresser, and a sink. The balcony door, which led to a space barely large enough to stand on, had no curtains

She was about to open the windows to let in some fresh air, when Mr. Ditkovitch's loud voice caught her attention.

"Where's my rent money, Parker?," he bellowed.

"I don't have it right now. I'm getting paid tomorrow-,"

That voice. Alexia had heard it before. The person had been speaking in a different tone the last time she had heard them, but she was positive that she'd heard them before.

"Always the same," Mr. Ditkovitch snarled, "A couple hundred here, a couple hundred there, but never enough, and never on time."

Alexia heard the sound of a door being slammed, and she walked quietly to her doorway.

The man who had just had the door slammed in his face stayed where he was, looking down and slouching a bit.

Alexia shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and the floor gave a loud groan in response. The man looked toward the doorway where she was standing. Alexia nearly fell over from shock when she saw his face.

The man was about her age, almost six feet tall, with sandy brown hair combed mostly to one side. His eyes were a strikingly deep blue, the color of the ocean. His face was round, as round as a baby's, his skin a pale creamy color similar to Alexia's.

She grabbed onto the edge of the doorway to keep her upright. Memories of her first day in New York flooded her mind. She had taken the subway to the university, but didn't get the chance to reach her destination, as Doc Ock had smashed through the window of the conductor's car, destroying the brakes in an attempt to distract Spider-Man, with whom he'd been fighting.

While everyone inside thought that they were doomed, Spider-Man had climbed to the front of the train, trying to stop it. Just when it seemed that it was hopeless, that the train would fall off of the tracks and crash into the street below, Spider-Man had fired webs in every direction, attaching them to every surface around. The train slowed down as the webs pulled taut, while Spider-man struggled to maintain his hold on them. The train finally stopped a few feet off of the edge of the tracks.

Then, he had collapsed from the strain, and was carried aboard by the passengers. Sometime, Alexia couldn't be sure when, Spider-Man had taken off his mask, and his face was completely exposed as they lowered him to the floor.

He had woken up a few moments later, and instantly touched his cheek, realizing that everyone was staring straight into his unmasked face. He sat up, clearly afraid.

But then two young boys step forward.

"We found something", the older one said, and held out Spider-Man's mask to him. Spider-Man hesitated a moment.

"We won't tell nobody", the boy promised. Everyone nodded their agreement.

Alexia had made a promise that day, and she had kept it, never telling anyone what had happened that day.

And now Spider-Man was standing right in front of her. The thought was nearly overwhelming.

"Have we met before?", he asked, obviously recognizing her, but didn't know where from. Alexia glanced back and forth between him and Mr. Ditkovitch's door.

"I- we-," Alexia stuttered. She took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"We… met on the subway about a month ago. In the first passenger car. You lost something, and two little boys returned it to you." She was trying to be as subtle as she could, just in case Mr. Ditkovitch was listening.

It seemed to take a moment for him to understand what she was saying, and when he did, his facial expression was shocked and afraid, the same one he'd had that day on the train.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"I didn't tell anyone, and I never will, " Alexia said, trying to reassure him.

He nodded slightly, unsure of what to say.

Suddenly, Mr. Ditkovitch's door opened, and Ursula stepped out, nearly bumping into him.

"Oh. Hi, Peter," she said with a nervous smile. The look on her face made it obvious that she had a crush on him.

"Hi, Ursula," Peter responded, moving out of her way.

As she started descending the stairs, Ursula looked back at him.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?", she asked.

"Yeah, I'm really late. I forgot my books," said Peter.

Ursula nodded and continued down the stairs.

Reminded of the reason he was there, Peter walked to his door and unlocked it. He still looked a bit shaken up. Alexia wished there was something she could say to reassure him, but she couldn't think of anything.

Peter emerged from his room a few moments later wearing a back pack. He locked his door, but hesitated to go.

"I don't know what to say," he said truthfully, "This is just so…" He trailed off, unable to find the right word.

"Yeah, I know what you mean", said Alexia.

Peter nodded.

""You live here, right?", he asked.

"Yeah."

"Then I guess I'll see you later. I really need to be going."

"Later, then", Alexia said nervously.

Peter nodded again, then turned and disappeared down the starirs.