No, Wait. She Likes Me?
No, Wait. She Likes Me?
The next day, Peter and Ned were checking over their chemistry homework while eating lunch. He had mostly forgotten about MJ's strange behavior the day before. After thinking it over before bed, he decided that it was just her being her and to let it go at that. Besides, there was no reason being upset with her for very long. Odds were she wasn't going to apologize for it; she rarely said she was sorry for anything, and when she did, it was sarcastically.
“How'd you come up with #12?” Ned asked as he scratched his head. “I stared at it for twenty minutes before just giving up.”
He explained how he came up with the formula just as MJ was approaching the table with a salad in one hand and a water in the other. Peter didn't want to admit it, but his eyes trailed from the homework sheet to MJ. Specifically, her legs. Her jeans were a bit tight, so he could see the sculpted contours of each calf. God, she had nice legs.
“Dude,” Ned whispered harshly.
“Oh. Sorry.” He was starting to stare. He sighed and got back to explaining the formula. Ned was starting to understand, so he eased off and took a bite of his lunch when MJ sat down next to Ned. Like, right next to Ned. Their arms were practically touching, they were so close.
A sudden swell of jealousy rose out of nowhere. Like, MJ always sat on his side of the table, even if she always sat five seats away from him to give a semblance of a buffer zone between him and her. Why would she sit next to Ned all of a sudden? Why not him?
No, wait a second. MJ can sit wherever she wants. Just calm down, Peter. He shook his head and let the jealousy wash away into the ether. Besides, it wasn't like anything was going to come of it. Why was he even jealous to begin with? It wasn't like he liked MJ like that, and he was sure that she didn't like him that way. Or Ned, for that matter. In fact, he was pretty sure she didn't like guys that way. Or girls. Or anyone.
In short, MJ could sit wherever she wanted to.
With that settled, Peter got back to checking homework. They started exchanging ideas back and forth for a few minutes when he noticed MJ was staring at him. Now, she had long since made a habit of it, to the point where he was used to it. There was something very different about this time, though. This time, her staring was intense and probing, whereas before, it had been mostly curious and observational.
It was unnerving. Like, it was making him very uncomfortable. What could she have been staring at that hard? Someone behind him? He discreetly looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was looking in their direction.
Nope.
When he turned back around, she was still staring. Like, what? Did he have something on his shirt? He looked down and saw that, for once, there wasn't a stain of some kind. All the sudden attention made him regret where the shirt he was wearing, though. He was wearing a light blue polo that was a little tight around the sleeves and shoulders. Thanks to his spider strength, his muscles were noticeably large. Larger than a lot of guys his age, actually. Well, the non-athletes, anyway.
Could... could she be staring at his arms? No. No way. He just reasoned with himself that she didn't like anyone that way, so why would she be interested in his arms, outside of trying to count his arm hairs or some shit?
Ned noticed it, too. They shared an uneasy glance. “Hey, MJ?” he said to snap her out of it, to no avail.
A full minute past and the staring continued unhindered. It was like she was trying to pierce the veil into his soul and find out all of his hidden secrets. What if she could read his mind and was trying to do exactly that?
He was becoming self-conscious and fed up. “Michelle!”
The sudden shout snapped her out of her long, uncomfortable gaze. “What?”
“Why are you staring at me?” he demanded, speaking slowly to ensure she understood what he was asking.
“I wasn't?” she more asked than stated. A far cry from her usually pointed, decisive manner of speaking.
“You totally were, dude,” Ned argued. “Like, trying to stare into his soul.”
Peter looked at her expectantly, half expecting her to shrug it off and give some contrived excuse, like she was counting the threads in his shirt or noticed that one of his arm veins was visible and was tracing its path. When she gave a sheepish, “My bad,” and seemed to shrink under his gaze, he shook his head in shock.
Not only did MJ apologize, she did so meekly. He was pretty sure he had never heard her sound meek in the five years he had known her. “The hell's her problem lately?” he asked Ned.
“Dunno, dude. Maybe, I dunno, maybe she's going through some things?” he shrugged, just as confused as Peter.
“Maybe.” He would have been the very first to admit he didn't know anything about girls. Maybe she was just going through something at home and this was her way of crying out for attention without seeming weak and helpless. He didn't know, but the urge to find out was nagging him. MJ was his friend, and he didn't want to appear to be pushing her away the moment she started to act off-kilter.
It was too late to do anything about it then, though. Lunch was almost over and they were about to have a chemistry quiz right as soon as the bell rang. He couldn't be late. “Maybe I'll give her a call tonight,” he suggested.
Ned raised his eyebrows. “I'm pretty sure MJ doesn't talk on the phone. She never answers when I call!”
“That might just be you,” he said with a cheeky grin. Ned laughed and playfully pushed him. “But, seriously. What if you're right and she is going through something? I don't want to make it seem like I don't care or something.”
“I mean, yeah, but it's probably none of our business.”
“Still, we should be there for her. If nothing else, then give her a listening ear,” he reasoned. That was reasonable to him and didn't overstep the bounds of friendship in the slightest.
Ned raised an eyebrow. “You really care about her, don't you?”
“Well, of course. She's my friend.”
“A friend that nearly caved your chest in yesterday.”
“She did not! I barely felt it.”
He laughed again. “I beg to differ, dude.”
Peter thought about MJ for the rest of the day. Nothing too major, just what she could possibly be going through that would make her act so off. Off for her, anyway.
After a night of web-slinging through the city, stopping crime and helping out where he could, he stopped on a high rooftop and pulled out his phone so he could tell May he was on his way. One of the caveats May gave him in order to keep being Spider-Man was that he had to check in every two hours he was out. Reasonable, and he kept his word. Having Karen there to remind him was a huge help.
He noticed he had a message from MJ of all people.
MJ: Hey.
It took him by surprise for one simple reason. She never texted for the sake of it, which was exactly what she was doing here. She always stated the reason for her text in the first one, like she wanted help with chemistry, or to remind him of decathlon practice the next day or something. It seemed that here, she just wanted to talk.
He was not about to let this opportunity slip through his fingers.
He texted May to tell her he was on his way, then hustled back to his apartment. It didn't help that there was a mugging in a dark alley on the way. Seriously, what was with people and insisting on traveling through dark alleys at night?
When he got in stealthily through the window, he responded.
Me: Yea?
Not the most open of responses, but it was too late to take it back.
MJ: Just wanted to say sorry for being
so weird lately. I'm just going through a
lot of stuff right now.
Two things. One, MJ just apologized for the second time in one day. That was surprising enough. He couldn't remember the last time she said she was sorry for something. Two, Ned was right – she was going through some issues that had her acting a little off. Funny how Ned saw it immediately, but Peter didn't.
Me: What kinda stuff? R u ok?
MJ: Yeah. Just female stuff.
Well, that was... a lot more information than he was really looking for. He repressed a shudder, even though she wasn't there. She would probably know, anyway. Despite how grossed out he was at the prospect of hearing about MJ's girl issues, he had to be there for her. As a friend. Because that was what platonic friends did.
Me: Gross
No, Peter! Again, it was too late to take it back.
MJ: You're gross
Me: ur face is gross
MJ: Your face is grosser times infinity
Me: +1
Peter smirked triumphantly at his victory. MJ just didn't stand a chance. It was weird; he and MJ just had the most childish fight possible, and yet, she hadn't yet called him an idiot, loser, dweeb, dork, or anything like that. It was nice. It was really nice to just talk with her about something other than school or decathlon; even if that something was something as immature over whose face was grosser. Not MJ's by the way. Her face was perfect.
MJ: I'm coming over tomorrow. Just so you know.
Wait, what? He was pretty sure she couldn't just invite herself over to someone else's house like that.
Me: Wat? Y?
MJ: So I can meet that sexy aunt of yours ;-)
Peter nearly spewed vomit all over his bed. To know that people were actually attracted to May sickened him. Like, that was his aunt, and people were constantly pining over her. Most of the time, right in front of him.
Me: WTF?!?!
MJ: A joke, dork -_-
MJ: But seriously. Expect me about 7 :-)
Me: NOOOO! :o
Me: Don't come over! I don't want you near my aunt!
Me: MJ, I'M SERIOUS! ):-(
MJ never responded. “No, this can't be happening!” He immediately called Ned to fill him in. “Dude! MJ just invited herself over to my house tomorrow!!”
“What the shit?!”
“I know, right! What am I gonna do?”
“Did she say why?”
He was tempted to tell him what she said, but the rush of bile in the back of his throat changed his mind quickly. “No. Just that she was coming by at 7.”
“Dude. What if she knows?”
Peter was about to ask what she was supposed to know, then it hit him. What if she knew he was Spider-Man? It was completely explain why she had been behaving so weirdly behind him. “Oh god. No, no, no. Don't say that.”
“It makes sense, though.”
“No, it doesn't.” He tried to stay calm, but couldn't help but panic. If MJ found out he was Spider-Man, he didn't know how she was going to react. That was much more frightening than her threatening to spill to the entire school. At least then, he could prepare himself.
“Okay, okay. Don't panic. All you have to do is hide the suit, right? Easy. You can keep it at my place for the night.”
As risky as that idea immediately sounded – the chances of Ned's parents finding the suit and asking questions were too high – what if there was a situation that needed Spider-Man. He wouldn't have time to go all the way to Ned's place, even if he didn't live that far away, to retrieve the suit. “No, that wouldn't work.” The only other recourse was to try and convince MJ not to come. “I'll just have to convince her not to come.”
“Good luck,” he replied with a scoff.
“Yeah.” Once she got her mind on something, MJ didn't give up until she did it. She was determined like that. It was actually pretty endearing, except when he was the subject of that determination. “I'll just say... uh... we have a lice infestation.”
“Roach infestation?”
“May has diarrhea?”
“Excuse me?” May's voice drifted in the from cracked door.
Peter let out a high pitched squeak and nearly jumped out of his skin. “May!”
“Why do I have diarrhea, Peter?”
“Um... I was, uh, just joking, May.” The laugh he gave was so fake, it was painful. “I have a friend coming over tomorrow night. I guess for dinner.”
“Oh, a friend not named Ned. Who is it?”
He figured she would have to find out eventually, but he really didn't want to tell her. “Um, MJ.”
The way her eyes lit up with pure excitement made him grimace. “Oh, your girl friend from school.”
“She's not my girlfriend,” he grounded out through gritted teeth.
She raised her hands in surrender. “Okay, fine. A friend from school who happens to be a girl. Hm.” She leaned against the door jamb and tapped her chin in thought. “I was going to go over to Linda's to watch Game of Thrones. But, I can't leave you two here by yourselves, now can I?”
Man, that was conflicting. Peter really didn't want to risk May embarrassing him in front of MJ, even though she was cool most of the time. On the other hand, he didn't want to be alone with MJ, in case what Ned said was true and the whole reason she was there was to find out if he was really Spider-Man. May could have served as another distraction. “Yeah, you're right. Please, just... don't tell any embarrassing stories about me. Please.”
Her lips quirked up as she stepped inside and sat down. “So—”
“Wait, lemme just,” he gestured to the phone. She nodded. “Hey, Ned. Lemme call you back.”
“Sure, dude. I'll talk to you later.”
He hung up and tossed the phone aside. “Okay. Let me have it.”
“So, you really like this girl, don't you?”
“No.” About a second later, he realized how harsh that sounded. “Wait, yes. I mean, I do, but I don't. I mean, I like her, but I don't like her like her. Like a friend is how I like her.” He laughed nervously.
Her headed nodded slowly while she tried to parse through that messy jumble of words. “I mean, you must. You invited her over, didn't you?”
“Well, that's the thing. She kinda invited herself over.”
May frowned for a moment, then grew quiet, as if thinking. “This MJ. She's the one who reads a lot and flips you off all the time?”
He totally didn't sigh dreamily. It was a normal, everyday kind of sigh. “Yeah, that's her.”
“And she just invited herself over randomly?”
“Yeah.” Peter didn't know where she was going with this, but he knew he probably wasn't going to like what she said next.
She smiled softly. “I see. Alright. Well, I better think of what to cook. Does she like anything in particular?”
“Healthy stuff,” he answered immediately.
“Alright. Healthy it is, then. When you get in tomorrow, clean up around here. No girl is going to take you seriously with this pigsty.” Before he could protest, she was out the door and down the hall.
Peter sighed and rolled over onto his stomach. He knew exactly what May was implying. That MJ liked him. Which was absolutely ridiculous. He was pretty sure MJ was aromantic. She just didn't seem the type to do relationships and romance at all. Once May met her, that silly idea would go out the window.
The next day, Peter tried mightily to get MJ to change her mind. He tried the lice and roach infestation, both separately and combined. He tried that May had explosive, radioactive diarrhea. He even said that they had just gotten evicted out of their apartment. Nothing doing. She stubbornly told him that she was coming over whether he liked it or not. “Okay, see you tonight,” he said feebly.
He spent the rest of the day worrying over whether or not tonight was going to be a shit-show or a complete shit-show. Either way, he was sure it was going to be a disaster. He didn't know why. It wasn't like MJ didn't know how to behave around other people. She invited herself over, so there was no reason to assume that she wouldn't be on her best behavior.
Peter didn't know why he was so worried about it. The more he thought on it, the less anxious he became. Almost to the point that he was kind of excited. He had a feeling that May and MJ would get along just fine. Perhaps even enjoy each other's company.
Hey, maybe tonight won't be so bad.
When he got in from school, he frantically cleaned up the entire apartment. It wasn't very big, so it was no problem for his spider speed to take care of the rest. Two hours later, the entire place was spic and span and fit for someone not named Peter, May, or Ned to inhabit.
“Wow. Looking good, Peter,” May complimented as if Peter had never cleaned up before.
He rolled his eyes and went to take a quick shower and get his clothes together. He decided, upon getting out, on a white shirt with blue jeans. There was no need to wear shoes, but he pulled out his white sneakers just in case. He ironed everything, then dressed quickly. He looked at his watch. Only fifteen minutes until MJ would be there. Plenty of time for him to comb his hair.
He decided to use some hair gel so he could style it nicely.
He spent ten minutes combing it so it could look just right. “Looking good, Peter,” he complimented himself. He tried to flip his comb through the air and catch it all cool like, but ended up bobbling it until it landed on his shirt. “NOOOO!” Yellow gel was smeared on the front of his shirt. “Damn it.”
He angrily pulled out another shirt and ironed it quickly. He slipped it on in a hurry, only to curse when it messed up his perfectly styled hair. He had to do it all over again, and of course he couldn't get it like it was before.
He heard the front door open.
“Ah, you must be MJ. I'm May, Peter's aunt.”
“Hi, I'm MJ. Peter's friend from school.”
“Shit, no! She's here!” He swept the comb through his hair one last time. It wasn't close to perfection like it was before, but it would have to do. He sprayed some cologne on and made sure his shirt was straight. It was. “Okay. You got this, Peter.”
He stepped out, and promptly almost tripped over himself when he saw MJ. She was wearing a skirt. One that showed off those mile long legs of hers. He couldn't help himself. He wanted, needed, to take a picture of her to preserve this rare occasion. She turned around before he could get his phone out of his pocket. “Hey, MJ. Glad you could make it.” He smiled and hoped he didn't look like a complete doofus.
“Well, I told you I'd be here, dork,” she answered.
Peter took in her entire outfit. It wasn't like something he expected from her. Like, MJ never wore skirts. He was half expecting her to be wearing something similar to what she wore at school earlier that day. But, no. There she was, in nice clothes that were ironed. It... she looked good. She looked really nice.
“So, Peter. Nice place you got here,” she complimented when May went to get the food together.
“Thanks,” he replied with a small smile. “It's not much, but it's home, you know.”
“Yep.” She smiled.
Peter felt his heart skip a beat. Usually, when MJ smiled, it was disingenuous at best and mocking at worst. Like, she only smiled when she was insulting someone or being purposefully fake. Not so here. This one was genuine. It was also really cute nice. MJ had a really cute nice smile.
What was weird, and what confused him, was why she was smiling at him all of a sudden. She never did it at school, unless she was doing on of the two things he mentioned. She did neither, and yet... not that he was complaining. Quite the opposite, in fact. He wanted her to smile more. Like, he wanted to see a full, toothy grin from her. He had never seen that, but he was willing to bet it was just as pretty as this one. MJ was really pretty.
“So, you hear about Chad?” he asked suddenly in a desperate attempt to get his mind right.
“That he got suspended for some shit he did in chem?” He noticed her smile faded a little.
“Yeah. For pretending he was making meth.” It was really funny, so Peter laughed. He was glad to hear MJ join him. She also had a really pretty laugh, too.
They kept laughing until Peter felt a hand on top of his. It was MJ's. He stopped laughing.
His stomach started churning. A light fluttering sensation washed over his chest. His heart sped up. MJ... Michelle was touching his hand. Why? Like, it wasn't necessary to laugh. Unless... no. There was no way May was right about her. MJ didn't like him like that, and he didn't like her.
He looked at her. She looked at him. They shared a painfully awkward laugh as he slid his hand free from hers. The warmth of her hand lingered for a second until it faded away.
Peter got up under the guise of needing to wash up, but in reality, he needed to calm himself down. If he stayed while worked up, he was liable to say or do something he was going to regret immediately. That was something he could not afford to do. It's fine, Peter. MJ is just being friendly for once. It's cool. Cool cool cool. Cool. You still got this.
He returned to the kitchen and found MJ looking down at her phone. Hm. He snuck up behind her and glanced over her shoulder. She was reading something about touching herself. What the fuck? No. NO! Brain, do not think about this. No. Bad brain. He shook the dirty thoughts off before they had a chance to take root. “Touch yourself.” He grinned cheekily when she whirled around in her chair, eyes wide. “So, is that for later?”
“Shut up,” she mumbled.
“Then what are you reading?”
“Nothing.”
“Doesn't look like nothing.”
She shrugged. “I doubt you know what nothing looks like. Dweeb.”
“I know what Flash looks like.”
She snorted.
“You look nice, by the way.”
The comment took her completely by surprise, and it showed. She gently touched her cheek. “I... thanks. You look nice, too.”
Peter decided that MJ was very cute when she was embarrassed. He wouldn't voice such an opinion out loud, obviously. But, she was. “Thanks.” He smiled again and nudged her hand. She nudged him back. His heart started racing again.
May brought the food in and passed out plates. “Help yourselves, guys. And don't forget to kiss the cook.”
“Thanks, May. It all smells great,” he stated. He gestured for Michelle to help herself first.
She did, making sure to let her fingers linger on the back of his hand when he handed her a ladle to scoop the potatoes with. A chill ran up his spine. Seriously, what was MJ doing?
She and May started talking about different social issues. Peter was only half listening. He was too preoccupied with trying to decipher what MJ was doing. She kept touching him. While he certainly wasn't opposed to it – she had really soft hands – it was disturbing because she never did stuff like this. She always kept her hands to herself. Now, all of a sudden, she was putting her hand on his, letting her fingers slide down his hands, and smiling at him.
The term culture shock seemed appropriate, even if it totally wasn't.
“That was all very good, May. Thanks for having me,” Michelle stated.
“It was such a pleasure to finally meet you, MJ. Peter talks about you all the—”
“May!” Peter protested. He gave May what he hoped was a dissuading look. MJ could not know that he and May discussed her in private. That was not an option.
“Okay, okay. Never mind. It was nice meeting you.”
Too late. MJ seemed shaken. “I-I'll see you at school tomorrow, dweeb.”
“Y-yeah. See you.”
She was almost to the door, and he was almost free to breathe and think about what the hell had just transpired that night, when suddenly, MJ lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his chest.
Peter's brain stopped working. Ho-holy shit! Holy shit holy shit holy shit. MJ was hugging him. Michelle fucking Jones was hugging him. Like, actually hugging and not sarcastically hugging him. He knew it wasn't possible to sarcastically hug someone, but if anyone could figure out how, it was Michelle.
But, like, she was so soft and warm. Was that weird to think? Probably. But, the urge to hug her back was strong. He resisted, because he was not ready for that. She just couldn't go from flipping him off and punching him to hugging him in a three day span. It wasn't possible. It was confusing.
“M-M-MJ... wha-what are you doing?”
“I...” It was a few moments before she answered. “I'm hugging you.”
Well, obviously. Why would he even ask that. “But, why?”
“Um, I don't know?”
“Could you let go?” he asked against his own body's fervent protests. Seriously, if she kept holding him like that, pressing her body against his so tightly, something was going to pop up and make everything so much more awkward than it already was. “Like, please.”
She slowly let him go. As her warmth dissipated, he both regretted and didn't regret not hugging her back. “I, uh, I'll see you tomorrow. At school. Peter.”
“Okay. MJ.”
And, she was gone. His heart was still beating a million miles a second. “Not a word, May. Please.”