The second month
Michelle first started to notice that something was wrong when she went to the movie theater with Ned and Peter to some new Star Wars movie. MJ wasn’t a big fan of anything of that kind of thing, but Ned promised popcorn, and that was enough to convince her to go. MJ had no emotional investment in the characters at all, but she found herself crying at any mildly sad scene.
At school, she absolutely could not stand smelling Peter’s peanut butter sandwich. She usually really liked peanut butter, but it just smelled so absolutely horrible she was convinced he had put something gross in it like sardines. “MJ, you can look, it’s just a PB&J that May made me. It’s not poisoned, I swear it!” He cried as he took a massive bite from the absolutely disgusting-smelling lunch.
MJ had light spotting around March 1st when her period should have been, but she dismissed it as a light period for the month. But she still thought at least something was wrong like maybe she had some sort of illness. And when the morning sickness started to happen, she was convinced she had the flu.
After three consecutive days of throwing up, her mom took her to the doctor. By this time it was March 14th, which meant it had been a month since she and Peter’s special night.
Her pediatrician was asking for some symptoms she’d been experiencing, and MJ’s mom insisted it was just vomiting and that there were no fevers or anything. “Well, if you’re asking about things that are odd about me, I have loads,” MJ admitted. Georgina Jones-Peabody, Michelle’s mother, was about to protest that MJ had never expressed any of these ailments with her when the doctor asked for Mrs. Peabody to wait back in the waiting room.
“Michelle, I think you know what might be happening here as much as I do, but to confirm our suspicions, I think you are going to have to tell me everything that has happened for any weird change you’ve noticed recently. I’ve known you since you were a baby, Michelle, and I know that you know your body better than most patients I’ve met in my whole career. Anything you think might be something wrong, even if you aren’t sure it’s even important at all, I want you to tell me. Deal?” Dr. Sanders asked, and Michelle nodded and wiped back a tear.
She told Dr. Sanchez about the crying and the bloating and awful nausea and disgust she felt around peanut butter and how she just only wanted to eat rice for every meal, and how she forgot her birth control a few times but she had a light period two weeks ago so she wasn’t sure that was an issue and Michelle was listing things so fast she forgot to breathe.
Dr. Sanchez let out a little laugh and told MJ to remember to breathe. “Michelle, I am going to draw some blood, because that is the most accurate test we have because quite frankly it sounds like you could be pregnant.”
MJ had thought about that deep in the back of her head, but she really didn’t want to admit it.
Blood tests don’t come back right away, so they took MJ’s sample and told her they would call with the results in 24 hours. At that point, Georgina had reentered the exam room obviously debriefed, because she did not say anything to MJ or the doctor. She, instead, just holds MJ’s hand and squeezes it tight as they poke MJ with a needle and send her off with some pamphlets about the options she has with the baby.
The car ride home was almost silent if not for the hum of the car’s engine as the sound of the tire on the asphalt as it stopped at a red light. The radio quietly played, but MJ couldn’t remember what songs were playing as she instead heard the racing thoughts in her mind.
Mrs. Jones-Peabody took a different turn and parked at a pharmacy just before they got to their apartment. She stopped the car and turned it off, but before she opened the door, she put a hand on MJ’s knee. “Michelle, I am going to get you a pregnancy test just for a while we wait, it will make you less nervous. I know how scared you feel, baby, but you can’t let your mind wander too far before they tell us for sure. Do you want to stay in the car or come in?”
MJ decided to stay in the car, and soon Georgina came back with a box of pregnancy tests and two ice cream sandwiches. “Eat yours before your sister sees it, okay? I don’t want her to get jealous.”
MJ smiled and quietly ate her ice cream sandwich as instructed.
Three tests MJ took at home were all positive. She had to tell her mother that, because she’s been in the bathroom far too long to make any more excuses, but MJ was too terrified to come up with anything to say to her mother. She eventually just decided to open the door, give her mom the test sticks, and went to her own room across the hall. The door creaked open, and suddenly the hallway light came rushing in. MJ saw through her tears her mother silhouetted at the door frame. Before MJ could even speak her mother came over and sat on MJ’s bed, which creaked in reply.
“I was 16 when I found out I was going to have you, that much you already knew. Being a mother at this age is hard, Michelle. Trying to finish high school and then trying to go to college are two things already hard without the stress of a child. I don’t want to add any more stress on your plate, Michelle. I can’t imagine what my life would be like if my parents hadn’t kicked me out, it made me strong, but I would never do that to you. Just because you could do this alone doesn’t mean you should. Abram and I are going to do all we can to support you, Michelle. I love you so much, please remember that.
If MJ wasn’t crying before, she certainly was now. Georgina kissed her daughter’s forehead and was about to leave when she remarked, “And you need to tell that boyfriend of yours. I don’t like to talk about your biological dad, because really though you have half his genes you have nothing more to him. You are my baby, no his. I hope you know that however you tell Peter there, you remember that if he doesn’t accept you then walk away. I spent too much of my time hung up on him, don’t make my mistakes.”
And MJ was left in the dark for the rest of the night.
In the morning, MJ saw Peter running up to her in front of the school. She smiled back, and for a moment she forgot about the dread she was feeling anticipating telling him about his child.
MJ tried to be normal throughout the school day, but she felt like she was lying to Peter the whole day. She was never a secrets kind of person, but she knew she couldn’t just blurt out that she was pregnant, she had to let Peter down gently.
MJ ended up waiting for the blood test to confirm she was pregnant before telling Peter, and once that told her she was definitely going to have a baby she decided to make up a game plan.
When Peter opened his locker on Friday, he didn’t expect to see a positive pregnancy test on top of his math book with a sticky note saying “We need to talk. Science Lab at 2:00. MJ” attached to it, but that’s what he saw. MJ was scared to tell him without giving him time for a reaction, so she let him have the whole day to think about it.
Too bad MJ didn’t know that Peter had a literature exam first period, so his mind was completely occupied when he was taking that exam on The Great Gatsby.
“Oh my god MJ is pregnant?”
“I thought we were safe!”
“I have to go to college next year, I can’t have a baby my first year at University!”
Peter wasn’t scared of many things anymore, being Spiderman with the new avengers made him feel like he had nothing to worry about. This sort of curveball got him right back to being scared and confused and worried sick and he wanted so badly to talk to MJ but they didn’t have a class together until after lunch and he wasn’t sure what he would even say to her and…..
He hated to admit he kind of liked the idea.
MJ saw Peter for the first time since she put the pregnancy test in his locker early in the morning. She knew is a combination from when she had to get his things for him when he was out sick or had a mission to go to and didn’t have time to go upstairs to his locker.
“Michelle, I-” Peter tried to begin in the lunchline.
MJ hissed back at him through her teeth. “Not here. We can’t do this here when there are so many people.”
“Do what here?” asked Ned, who was in front of MJ in the line.
Peter began to stutter before MJ elbowed him. “Makeout. We can’t make out in the lunchline, it’s inappropriate. I suggest we meet after school when we can be alone to kiss a bunch, don’t you think Peter?”
Peter could only gulp and nod his head, unable to form words.
Ned seemed to take that answer.
At the lunch table, Peter was quiet and still, only moving his mashed potatoes and corn from one side of his plate to the other.
“Peter, what’s wrong?” Ned asked, sensing his best friend wasn’t telling him something important.
“Well, apparently MJ-OW!” Peter had began when Mj kicked him from under the table.
Peter looked at MJ to see her glaring at him and shaking her head.
“I think I failed the Gatsby exam.” Peter decided to say.
“But you liked that book!” Ned exclaimed. “Did you not study or something?”
“I was out on patrol all night, there was a situation. I can’t give many details at the moment, but I don’t think I’m in the headspace for tests today. I had too many before the first bell rang.” He said as he looked at MJ.
“I feel that for sure.” Ned agreed as he picked up a spoon of his soup.
The rest of the day felt weird for MJ, she felt like people were staring at her even though they weren’t. She was nervous like she had never been before because Peter seemed really out of it at lunch.
The last bell rang and MJ was making her way to the science lab to talk to Peter. He was already there waiting for her by the time she got there because she had to take a bathroom break.
“Okay, are you serious, is that real?” Peter yelled perhaps too loud, as some people turned to look at the couple.
“Shut up, I don’t want people to know unless they have to.” MJ quickly quieted him. “Come inside so you can freak out with me where people can’t see us.”
In the science lab was dark, but the sunlight from one of the open windows made it just light enough for Peter to see how upset MJ was.
“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, MJ. I just want to know that this is for real.”
MJ sighed. “Yes, it’s real. I wouldn’t lie to you. Especially not about this, that would be extra cruel.”
Peter put his hand on the back of his neck and sat down on the table.
“So you’re pregnant? Is that from Valentine’s Day?”
“Yes,” MJ told him. “I calculated from my last period which means I’m about 7 weeks tomorrow. That puts the due date at some time in early November. My mom set up an appointment for a couple of weeks from now, the day we have off for teacher conferencing, for me to go get an official doctor’s visit. You can come if you want. If you don’t want to be a part of this that’s fine, too. I understand. But I want you to know that I spent this whole week reviewing my options and I’m going to have the baby regardless of what your input is, and my mom said she will take care of it so I can go to college and she can like pretend it’s hers if she wants because Maya is too young to really know what’s happening and-” MJ was close to crying as she sniffled, unsure what to say next but not wanting to say nothing and sit in silence with Peter.
“I’ll come to the appointment. I wouldn’t want to miss it. I’ll be there for you, MJ, I told you I loved you on New Year’s Eve and I’ll say it over again for the rest of my life as many times as it takes: I love you, Michelle Elise Jones.”
And Mj couldn’t hold it in anymore and started to cry. Peter just held her and combed her hair with his fingers. Hearing that took such a weight off of MJ’s shoulders, and she knew this was the lightest she would feel for a very long time.
“Come on, Parker, let’s go. It’s weird to stay in here any longer.”
They walked out of the lab to an empty hallway, and they said they would call each other that night and they each took off their own way
And MJ couldn’t stop smiling.