Mixed POV
Peter's POV
Peter was worried about her. Leaving her in her room, looking everywhere except at him felt like a betrayal to himself and his own ethics, even though he knew on a deeper level that giving her space was what MJ needed. He felt terrible about how the night had turned out. It did not go to plan at all. He didn't know what he was expecting. Maybe a smile? Maybe a chat like they used to have full of self-deprecating jokes on Peter's behalf as they snacked on his carefully chosen selection?
After leaving MJ's, he returned to the building and packed everything away into the backpack. The hopefulness about their evening had left, leaving in its wake a numbness and even frustration. What could he do? How was he meant to support her? He was lost.
Returning home at the unusually early hour was a dead giveaway to Aunt May that something was wrong. As Peter jumped from the ceiling onto his bed, she appeared in the doorway.
"Why are you home so early?"
The concern on her face was one he struggled to return as he raked his fingers through his hair. Her frown deepened.
"Let's go to the couch."
They had a routine. Like any typical teenage boy, sometimes Peter struggled to initiate difficult conversations with Aunt May even though he loved and trusted her more than anyone. She knew him so well that she could tell when he was struggling so they started this simple ritual: as Peter sat on the couch, she disappeared into the kitchen and put the kettle on. He heard her hum as she prepared her coffee and his hot chocolate before rifling through the freezer for their emergency ice cream that they kept a consistent stock of. As he waited for her to return, he pulled off the suit and instantly felt slightly better. He loved the suit. It was like a second skin, but he always felt like he could breath better, more deeply, when he was out of it. He didn't bother asking Aunt May if he could help put the ice cream into bowls or anything because he knew the response he'd get.
"Oh shush, Peter. Sit down and breathe."
He smiled at the thought and did what she would have told him to do.
Chocolate and coffee in hand, she put them on the coffee table they had thrifted and painted together before returning to the kitchen for the ice cream. Sinking into the couchwith her steady warmth at his side and the warm chocolate in his hands, the small smile on his face was genuine.
"You're the best, May."
She smiled in return and nudged her shoulders against his.
"Don't you forget it, honey."
After a few sips of his chocolate and a mouthful of ice cream, he began to tell Aunt May about everything, making sure to leave out any identifiable factors so she didn't work out it was Michelle. He told her about how he had been meeting up with this girl on the rooftop, about how the first night he knew instantly something wasn't right and then he told her about the other night, how she cried and told him about the rape. He told her about how this friend now appeared to want nothing to do with him and how tonight's failed plans had turned out. Through it all, Aunt May listened, eyes trained on him as she sipped her coffee and ate her ice cream. Her eyes were soft and full of concern and she kept a firm hand on his shoulder.
It felt good to tell her. He didn't realise how heavy of a burden it was to carry. But most importantly, besides Mr Stark, Aunt May's advice was always the best.
When he finished, she put her empty bowl down while he picked up his. It was his turn to listen.
"That's some heavy stuff, Pete. Thank you for telling me and I'm so sorry that happened to your friend." She paused for a few moments before taking a deep breath and continuing.
"I don't know this girl, but it sounds like telling you might have been the tip of the breaking point. Pushing you away could be to keep herself safe from the memories."
He frowned.
"Wouldn't it be the opposite? I thought having someone there to help you would make it a little easier."
"Not if you're a private person," Aunt May shook her head. "And not if keeping it secret is a defence mechanism and I think that could possibly be the case for her."
Peter thought about this, frowning as he sipped his hot chocolate. It would make sense if this was the case. He always knew Michelle was private and didn't like to be open about her feelings and experiences, he just never considered it could be a defence mechanism.
He placed his mug down with a sigh.
"Then how do I help her?" his frustration was evident in his voice. "I can't just... I can't just pretend she didn't tell me what she did."
May placed a reassuring hand on his arm.
"You don't have to pretend, but you don't want to be bringing it up, reminding her about it. She had her control and autonomy taken away from her by that horrible man and the best thing you have to offer is to give her every chance to use it now. If she wants to talk about it, let her bring it up. Don't treat her any differently unless she wants you to. She told you, remember? Don't change now."
He nodded grimly.
"That makes sense, but... it's hard."
"I know, honey. I'm proud of you for helping but... just be careful, okay?"
He looked over at her, brow furrowed.
"Why would I need to be careful?"
She leant in, maintaining eye contact.
"Because you already do so much for this city. You help me here. You go to school and have assignments. You already have so much on your plate and you don't have a lot of time for yourself. This... rape is not easy to deal with even if it's just you supporting someone coping with it. I don't want you to burn out because then you won't be able to do any of the above."
She tucked one of his loose curls behind his hair.
"You're a good kid, Pete. Almost too good."
He smiled and pulled her into a hug. Her obvious care for his wellbeing always helped him feel better and valid.
"Thanks, Aunt May."
"Anytime. Thank you for telling me."
He stood up and collected their dishes to wash in the sink. As he was drying them, she leant against the kitchen bench.
"Just remember you can come to me anytime."
"I know," he reassured her. "I will."
Aunt May chewed her lip.
"I hope she'll be okay. I wish I could give her a hug."
He didn't say it, but he wanted to.
"Me too."
MJ's POV
Thursday came and went as it usually did. She dreaded going to school but she couldn't stay home. She dreaded seeing Peter and having to talk to him. She spent the whole night crying before falling into a terribly fitful sleep. She fully expected him to approach her as soon as she saw him in the hall, but he simply smiled and waved before returning to his conversation with Ned. She replayed the image throughout the school day in her head with confusion. He didn't seem even remotely bothered by what happened last night, no trace of anger or worse, pity, on his face or in his eyes. At lunch, he didn't interrupt her reading and in their shared History class he just hummed a song to himself and doodled in his notebook after smiling at her approach. Weird.
Friday came too soon. Their morning assembly was extended by an extra hour so Liz could give a presentation about important changes to the academic system and university selection processes that had occurred during the Blip, followed by her personal testimony about how she was finding it. She thought about ditching, but the effort and resulting guilt wouldn't have been worth it. She hid in the back row with kids she didn't know as she listened, trying to take notes and failing completely.
She could see Peter and Ned, a few rows from the front. They were listening and taking notes, occasionally whispering to each other. The jealousy she had felt after she saw his received message roiled its ugly head and she pressed her lips into a hard line. Peter looked happy and excited. She wished she didn't know he was going to see Liz tonight after school. They hadn't spoken about the Liz thing at all, but she was 75% convinced that his crush was in full bloom. It bothered her that it bothered her, even though she knew she had no right to be. Especially since they weren't talking.
After the presentation, she left quickly, not bothering to hang around. She didn't want to see Peter talking to Liz and she could see he was one of the first in line to do so. She went to her class early, determined to just focus on getting through the rest of the day.
At the end of the school day, she felt more tired than usual, if that was even possible. Her legs felt like lead as she walked home and she was barely listening to the podcast playing through her phone. She needed to sleep.
Not bothering to clean the house when she returned felt like a decent sized fuck you to her mother as she instead beelined for the shower, bathing quickly before changing into some comfy sweats and t-shirt before climbing into bed. She would be perfectly happy sleeping into the next day.
Michelle was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
*
The bang on her door startled her awake as she flew up, crawling back against the headboard as she gasped in air. Did she dream it? She looked around her darkened room with the confusion that often comes with afternoon naps. Her digital clock told her it was 7:30 pm.
Another bang on her door had her bolting out of bed and scurrying as far away from it as she could.
"Michelle," her mothers voiced drawled from outside. "Come out here, Baby."
MJ relaxed only slightly as she approached the door. She completely forgot about her mum being home tonight. She had been too tired to think about it.
She unbolted her door and pulled it open to find her mum leaning against one of the hallway halls, a cigarette in one hand as she braced herself with the other. She smiled at MJ dopey.
MJ ran her fingers through her hair with a huff.
"Hey, mum."
"There's my baby!" her mother staggered forward and hugged her tightly and she returned it awkwardly. On rare occasions like tonight, she got physically affectionate when she was drunk. On one hand, Michelle found it disgusting, but on the other, it was slightly welcome.
Hooking her arm around MJ's shoulders, she pulled her towards the kitchen.
"Come on baby, there's someone I want you to meet."
"Wait," MJ tried to stop but her mum kept pulling. "Mum, stop."
It was too late. They were in the lounge room and there on the couch sat a man.
His beard was shaved off and his white singlet was swapped for a black one. The smirk on his face sent her stomach spiralling as vomit arose up her throat. Even with the changes she still knew him.
"Hello, Michelle."
Peter's POV
Liz and Peter had ditched Dunkin's after eating to go to the local bowling alley and subsequent arcade. They spoke about everything and Liz was more than eager to answer any and every question he had about college. She was just as beautiful as ever, but he felt himself more at ease than past Peter could have ever dreamt of being. Sure she was still attractive, but at the assembly this morning, he knew that his crush was officially gone. Now he could just enjoy the pleasure of her company.
They shared memories from Decathlon practice and the ridiculous school drama. Well, they were old memories for Liz but still fairly fresh for Peter.
They were returning to her car, milkshakes in their hands as they laughed against the chilly night. Well, he suspected it was chilly by the way Liz wrapped her arms tightly against herself even with a jacket on.
"I'd offer you mine, but I left it in your car," he told her, feeling mildly guilty. In a swift moment of thinking he had decided to leave his backpack in her car as well, Spider-Man suit, phone and every other distraction included so he could focus on this and just spending time with a friend. It was quite relaxing if he was being honest. Usually, he would be checking his phone everything ten minutes or so for messages from Michelle that never came or alerts from authorities for any situations that might need the Spider-man, but here and now, he was just a teen hanging out with an old friend.
He should do it more.
As Liz drove them back to his apartment (it was still somewhat surprising to him that she could drive so well when he wouldn't even dream of it right now), she showed him the best music in her opinion that had been released in the last five years that she was determined he listened to so he could continue his quest to become pop-culture savvy. Some of them he already knew and when those played, he sang along with her. By the time she pulled up to the curb, he was smiling broadly and so was she.
It didn't feel awkward to hug her as they said their goodbyes.
"I really enjoyed tonight," he told her earnestly. "it was so good to see you and hear, well, everything that's been going on for you. It's so crazy how much has changed."
"It's still wigging me out that you're still you," she admitted. "Seeing everyone at school today just reminded me of everything and how much it hurt when you guys Blipped. It was awful."
He didn't have to think about it too long to nod in agreement.
"I can only imagine."
They exchanged further goodbyes and promises to meet up again before she left the city and she was pulling away from the curb, smiling and waving to him as he returned the gestures. He pulled his backpack on after pulling out his phone and made his way into the apartment building.
The door hadn't even swung properly closed before Peter was darting out of it again, dressed in his Spiderman suit and his frantic voice begging Karen to call Michelle back.
Five missed calls, from MaJestic.
Twenty texts, from MaJestic.
The only one his eyes properly processed before he flew into action had two simple words.
"He's here."