Peter
Peter's POV
Peter groaned as he rolled over to hit the alarm off on his phone. He still felt like he had been hit by a train though he had slept better than he originally thought he would. He unwillingly dragged himself out of bed and had a quick shower before pulling on his suit and school clothes. Thanks to the new design it was comfortable to wear under his other clothes and it was way easier than having to find somewhere to change all the time.
He sat down with Aunt May and had the bagel she made for him while he listened to her chipper chitchat. He loved Aunt May more than anything and he couldn't help but smile as he listened. He frankly had no clue what she was saying, his brain wasn't working fast enough to keep up but her voice was comforting. Breakfast with May was one of the best parts of his day and the perfect start to it. Now he was Spiderman, he didn't see her much of the evenings, so he cherished every moment she got.
He took care of the city but Aunt May took care of him.
After a kiss on the head, she grabbed her handbag and headed for the door to head to work.
"I lub you heaps, Peter," she sang out and he answered in unison as he packed his school bag and prepared to leave as well.
The bus ride to school was uneventful. He stepped on to the familiar call of, "What's up, Penis Parker?" from Flash and he flipped him the finger much to the delight of everyone else. Peter didn't even take offence to Flash's comments anymore. It was much like the way he felt a certain fondness to MJ's constant nicknames of "nerd", "loser" and "weirdo". He felt certain that Flash no longer intended it with the malice that he used to. The blip had changed him much like everyone else he knew.
He sat down next to Ned who was listening to music in his headphones. They exchanged pleasantries but usually didn't talk much in the morning. It should be a crime to force kids to be awake this early.
Being a teenager was exhausting.
As the bus took them to school, Peter thought about his conversation with MJ last night. He was surprised to realise he didn't really care that she knew he was Spiderman. It was an accident she found out, but he felt like how he felt when Ned found it. He felt a sense of relief. He realised with surprise that MJ was one of the few people in his life that he wanted to have know his secret identity. Ned and May were the others and beside them, there was only one more...
Liz. He had tried to keep in touch with her, his crush was still just as present as it had been before the Blip, only it was different now. Liz didn't blip like him and the others. She was in college now and had a new group of friends. They had messaged back and forth but he knew she was just being nice. Her life was more exciting now and frankly, he didn't fit in it anymore, if he ever did at all. He was trying to move past his feelings for her, but it was difficult. She had grown even prettier since they were gone, properly maturing into a young woman as opposed to an awkward teenager like the rest of them.
He stopped messaging when he saw her Instagram post about dating this jock from her college. It was weird before but then it was just even weirder. He knew he had to forget about her, and he was trying to. It was just hard when it felt like only a few months ago that everything happened but it was years for her.
When he first saw her new relationship status, the first thought he had was,
"If I told her I was Spiderman, she'd probably want me then."
He had banished the thought instantly. He had kept his secret from Aunt May as long as he could, and she was the most important person to him in his world. It would be stupid to tell a girl his identity in an attempt to get her to like him.
As he walked up the stairs to the school building, Peter smiled when he spotted Michelle in her usual position. Her eyes were closed, headphones in place as she sat on the steps. Her hair was pulled into a loose bun at the nape of her neck and today she was sporting a pair of combat boots, fishnets and a long-sleeved black shirt. MJ rarely wore colour and Peter didn't know if he ever wanted her to. Black was her thing just as much as the spider suit was his.
He didn't want to startle her so he tapped her foot with his as Ned and him passed. Her eyes shot open, looking alarmed for a second before she saw them before her.
"What's up, losers?" she asked with her usual scowl.
"You know," Ned started as Peter pulled MJ to her feet, "you hang out with us so that makes you a loser too."
MJ shrugged. "I never said I wasn't but you guys are on a whole other level."
Peter laughed as he fell into step with her, Ned leading the way. They were a few steps behind him so he felt comfortable asking, "did you end up sleeping okay last night?"
The bruises under her eyes weren't so visible, he had noted so he hoped that was a good sign.
"Surprisingly," she yawned. "You?"
"Same," he smiled and came to a stop when MJ did too. She looked at her hands clasped in front of her.
"I think it would be nice if we kept last night our thing. I know you guys tell each other everything so if you want to that's fine, but-"
For once in his life, Peter was brave enough to cut her off.
"I agree. It's our own little world."
MJ smiled. "Thanks, Parker."
Her smile made him smile and without thinking, he asked, "would you like to do that again? Meet up on that roof? We don't have to stay out as late though."
Her brow furrowed in thought as she took a step away from him. His heart leapt in his throat. She was going to say no.
"Nice going, idiot," his brain reprimanded him. "You have to be careful with MJ. She doesn't like this stuff."
Peter steeled himself, prepared for his no and then the resulting cut-off from MJ that would probably last at least a couple of weeks. On the rare occasions where Ned or himself were brave enough to ask her to join them to go to the movies, she'd get weird and make up excuses that kept her from going and then from sitting with them at lunch until she'd magically appear beside them on a random day, acting as nothing had ever happened.
"I think I'd like that," she eventually said. "It just depends on my mums work hours. She doesn't like me being out."
"Okay," he breathed, trying not to grin in case she changed her mind. "When can you do it next?"
"She's working the night shift again," she explained as they started walking again. "So I can meet you there tonight. What time?"
"11 works for me," he replied instantly. He knew his preference was to sweep the streets for longer, but this felt important. He knew something was going on for MJ and he wanted to be there for her, even if he didn't know what it was.
"11 sounds good," she nodded her agreement before she gave him a stern look. "Don't be late, Parker. Just remember this isn't a Decathlon meeting."
He laughed as he waved goodbye, heading to their separate first-period classes.
He was surprised, he thought as the day skipped by, that he was excited for tonight. He was always excited to get into his suit and to be a hero for anyone who needed him to be. But this was different. He was excited for what came after.
He was excited to just hang out with MJ, on that roof, in their own little world.