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If you asked him, he could pinpoint the exact moment in which it happened. He remembers that they were at Decathlon practice. He remembers Flash being a pain in the ass. He remembers having enough of the boy and putting him in his place. He remembers the way she tried to hide the smirk on her face- by looking down at her cards. He remembers feeling a sense of satisfaction at the fact that he impressed her. He remembers the lingering question that he pushed to the back of his mind; why did he want to impress Michelle?
They were nearing the end of the practice, almost wrapping up for the day when he felt Ned nudge him with his elbow, telling him that he was zoning out and that MJ would’ve kicked his ass if she caught him daydreaming during practice. He remembers Ned telling him that not even Spider-Man could endure the wrath of Michelle Jones and to quit daydreaming about Spider-Man if he still wanted to be, well, Spider-Man.
On any other day, Peter Parker would be dreaming about finally becoming an official Avenger and kicking some alien ass but today, or recently, he had been staring at the girl before him. He remembers thinking that she looked other-worldly, with the way the Sun was illuminating her features, giving her a slight glow. He remembers balling his fists in an attempt to hide his overwhelming urge to tuck the flyaway behind her ear because it looked like it was irritating her. He remembers thinking about the first time she hugged him. It was after the DC incident and she never wanted to admit it, but she was genuinely worried for him when he didn’t turn up until after the incident.
He remembers smelling her hair-he swore she smelled like chocolate chip cookies. He remembers the way she tried to blink back the tears in her eyes when they pulled away and how she’d chuckled softly as she punched his arm and told him that if he ever disappeared in the middle of Decathlon again, she was going to kick his ass. He remembers wanting to hug her again, just to see if she smelled like cookies.
Still, it wasn’t all his daydreaming that made him realise the unspeakable truth.
She had just dismissed them. She pulled him aside and told him, “I don’t know what you’re up to and dreaming about but you’ve gotta focus, Parker.” He remembers the resigned look in her eyes when she spoke again, “Look, I just-this means a lot to me, okay? Please don’t mess this up for me?”
He remembers the vulnerability of her words. He remembers hating the tired eyes she was projecting onto him.
“I’m sorry, MJ. I promise, I’ll try my best to attend the practices and I’m not going to zone out again. I’m not going to ruin this for you, okay?” He said it in his most reassuring voice, hoping that the sad eyes would disappear.
It was when she looked at him and cracked a genuine, sweet smile. A rarity, of that sort. That was the moment. That was when Peter Parker realised that he was head over heels for Michelle Jones.