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“Five.”
“Four.”
“Three.”
“Two.”
“One.”
Peter removed his hands from his eyes, smiling a little when he saw that the room was empty.
“Ready or not, here I come!” he called out, as he made his way down the stairs.
He heard the low buzz of a sitcom playing on the TV in the next room and made his way into the living room. He held his breath, when he saw the familiar pair of shoes behind the curtain. He approached the curtain slowly and pulled it to the side, making a broom fall out.
Peter checked the closet, only to find nothing.
As he walked to his dad’s study, he passed a photo of his mom and dad on the frame, snug and happy. Their smiles were bright and their eyes sparkled happily. He picked up his dad’s glasses on the table, making sure to give it to him later.
No one was in the study either.
“Dad?” he called out.
No one answered. The panic set in, “Dad!”
Richard Parker burst through the door of his study, taking in the mess before him. Caught in the middle of it, was his son, timid and relieved.
Richard sighed, carrying his son away and clearing up his mess. His mother carried him away, patting his back lightly.
It was all a blur. Before he knew it, Peter was at his Aunt May and Uncle Ben’s house.
He watched from behind the wall, as they discussed something that looked very important, Uncle Ben nodding, and Aunt May looking at Peter with a comforting smile.
“You’re gonna stay with Aunt May and Uncle Ben for a little while.”
And they left.
Staying with May and Ben –who both insisted that he addressed them by their first names- was nice. They made him feel at home. They would tell him stories, wild ones, about his mom and dad.
One day, “Your mom and dad love each other very much, as much as I love May.”
“Why do they love each other that much?”
Peter couldn’t imagine loving some stranger and getting married to them and possibly living together for the rest of your life.
“Because they’re soulmates,” came Aunt May’s reply from the kitchen.
Peter scrunched his nose up, “Soulmates?”
“Someday, you’re going to hear a voice in your head. That voice will be one that you’ve never heard before. You’ll be able to talk to that person through your mind-“
“Cool!” Peter touched his head with both his hands.
“One day, you’ll meet that person and you’ll fall in love with them.”
“That’s so cool!” Peter jumped up and down, his mind totally skimming over the ‘fall in love’ part.
“I can read minds. Awesome!” Peter pressed two fingers on the side of his forehead and focused really hard on May.
“That’s not-“ Ben started but May cut him off with a roll of her eyes, “Let him be, Ben.”
‘Soulmates are bullshit.’
A high-pitched voice spoke inside his mind. She sounded upset, which made Peter upset, and a little confused because, why was there a random girl in his head? Why was she sad?
This whole situation seemed oddly familiar…his soulmate! This was his soulmate!
Peter tossed his comic book across the room and watched as it landed far away from his desk- which made sense, he had horrible aim.
Oh my god. This was happening. This was really happening.
Then, he remembered what she had said.
Oh no.
She didn’t want a soulmate, did she?
‘What? Why?’
Peter facepalmed.
Way to sound cool and smooth in front of your soulmate, Peter.
Her response came after a second, ‘Oh my God, you’re my-‘
Peter cut her off, ‘Soulmate, yes. Why don’t you like me?’
Peter never meant to interrupt her. He was just a little disappointed because what if she never liked him? What if Peter had to end up alone? He wanted to live just like his parents, like May and Ben. They were really cool.
He wanted to have water gun fights with his soulmate like they did.
Or even, bake cookies together and end up with frosting all over themselves.
‘No, no, I don’t not like you…I was in a sour mood, that’s all.’
Peter couldn’t stop the slow grin curling on his lips, ‘So you like me?’
She sighed in mock defeat, ‘I guess…’
Peter giggled out loud. She was funny.
‘I like you too,’ he thought a little shyly, because she was probably really cool.
Before he could say anything else, the connection went out. Peter was left alone on the top of his bunk bed with a huge shit-eating, Peter Parker-smile permanently stuck on his face.
Peter climbed down his bunk bed, landing on the floor with a thud. He brushed himself off and ran outside of his room and into the living room, “May! Ben!”
He’s at home, watching a recap of the fight between Iron Man and some giant robot on TV. He’s thinking about how Iron Man swooped in and saved him and he’s totally fangirling right now and he really wishes he was an Avenger when he hears from her.
‘Why do you want to be an Avenger?’
Peter felt a smile instantly make its way onto his face.
He tried to act nonchalant when he responded. ‘Oh hey, I just want to be really cool with superpowers and…’ he punctuated the sentence with a very animated version of an Avengers fight, complete with all the explosion noises and villain impressions.
‘That’s cute.’
Was she talking to someone else? Was she thinking about something else?
‘What’s cute?’
He felt a million foreign thoughts running through his mind in a second. Damn, she was a fast thinker.
‘Um, I meant, you’re cute.’
Peter chuckled, ‘That’s funny, May always says the same thing.’
He heard a soft thump and felt the quietness engulf him. The connection must’ve went out.
May wrapped her arms around him, giving him a mug of hot cocoa, “Hey, buddy. You doing alright?”
“Yeah,” Peter sighed, watching the fight. “I heard from her again.”
May sat down next to him excitedly, “Ooh, your soulmate? Tell me all about it!”
“Well, she called me cute.”
May wiggled her eyebrows as she called for Ben, telling him about Peter’s soulmate from the living room. Ben teased Peter, from the bedroom, making the little boy turn all shades of crimson.
“It’s no big deal, you say it all the time!” Peter protested.
“That means she likes you, in a soulmate way!” Ben cooed.
“Aw, Ben, he’s blushing!”
Peter let a giggle escape him as he put both his hands on his cheeks and leaned back on the couch.
It was the day after Ben had died.
Everyone would’ve heard about it by now.
Peter clutched onto the straps of his backpack tightly, causing the thread to nearly rip out. He looked at his backpack and sighed, letting go of it and walking straight to his locker. Somehow, he made it through the school day, avoiding the piteous gazes of his classmates.
During Math, Gwen Stacy, his crush, turned around in her seat to look at him.
He was barely paying attention. All he could think of was how Ben was his fault, entirely.
Gwen tapped on his fingers to get his attention. He stopped drumming his fingers on the edge of his desk anxiously and looked up at her, mouth open and eyes wide.
“Hey, I’m Gwen.”
Peter would’ve laughed if he wasn’t so depressed. He managed to not frown as he nodded, “I know who you are. I’m Peter.”
Gwen smiled sweetly, “I know who you are.”
Peter nodded along with her, looking down at his desk, “Right.”
“Sorry about your uncle,” she said, looking at him sincerely.
For a moment, Peter blanked. Was he supposed to say thank you? Was that what people did in response to someone wishing their condolences?
“I don’t usually say this but, life sucks. It’s my last week here and everything but, would you like to spend lunch with me? At least, until this whole thing dies down and everyone stops looking at you like that.”
Peter blinked.
He thought about Ned for a second, but he knew Ned would understand. Peter just needed a break from it all, and Gwen’s offer was the perfect opportunity.
“I’d like that.”
“Great. Meet me at the gym.”
Peter nearly forgot about lunch when he stepped out of class and made his way to the cafeteria. Peter stopped right outside the cafeteria doors and realised that he wasn’t meant to be there in the first place.
Huh, that was weird. It was like he was on autopilot.
He smiled politely when he saw Gwen sitting on the bleachers, picking at her salad. She waved at him and motioned for him to sit next to her.
They talked for a bit and then fell into a comfortable silence.
Peter swirled his fork in May’s leftover spaghetti absentmindedly, he’s mind wandering off into a dangerous place again. Lucky for him, his savior came in the form of a frustrated, distracted girl.
‘Fergalicious definition, make them boys go crazy
They always claim they know me
Coming to me, call me Stacy
I’m the F to the E-R-G the I, the E
And can’t no other people put it down like me.’
Peter furrowed his eyebrows, looking at Gwen for a second, as if she was the one who had sang the lyrics to Fergalicious a little too loudly.
‘Jesus Christ, keep it together, woman. You’re taking a Spanish test for god’s sakes.’
Peter smiled. So, his soulmate was out there taking a Spanish test and she was thinking of Fergie.
Ugh, I need help.
Peter giggled, making Gwen look at him a little quizzically.
Peter stopped giggling, “No, I’m just…my soulmate.”
Gwen placed her chin in the palm of her hands as she leaned forward, “Ooh, did you just get a thought? Tell me about it! Was it one-sided?”
“Yeah, it was one-sided. She was just, she’s taking a Spanish test and for some reason, the only thing she’s thinking about is Fergalicious.” Peter chuckled to himself.
“No way. The song?”
“Yeah, she’s weird.”
Gwen smiled teasingly.
“What?” Peter pressed, a smile plastered on his face.
“It’s refreshing- seeing you like this.”
“Seeing me like what?”
“You’ve been sulking the whole day. She’s the first person who has managed to put a genuine smile on your face, and not just that, she made you giggle. I’m guessing this is the first time you’ve actually smiled in a few days?”
Peter’s first instinct was to frown but he nodded, “I guess.”
From then on, they sat together for the rest of the week. Exchanging knowledge that they’d gained about their respective soulmates.
When Gwen had carried her boxes out of school that Friday, she hugged Peter and wished him good luck.
The next thought he had from her was a rather sweet one.
He was swinging through Queens, patrolling like he usually did. The only problem was his sweatpants -that was supposed to be part of his suit- were threatening to fall off his waist. Maybe, using a pair of sweatpants that was one size too big as his Spider-Man suit wasn’t the best idea.
Defeated, he retired to the fire escape of a random apartment building in Queens. He grabbed the burrito he had bought earlier and unwrapped it after lifting up a part of his ski mask.
‘Hey, soulmate. If you’re hearing this, I could really use a bear hug right now. Get off your lazy ass and come find me.’
Peter chuckled, taking another bite of his burrito. He could tell by the muffled voice of his soulmate that it was another one-sided thought.
‘Oh, and I heard about your huge Chemistry test on…Tuesday, was it? I don’t really know if you’re listening but, I know you’re going to crush it. Go get ‘em, tiger.’
And with that, he heard the familiar hum of static, signalling that the connection had disappeared.
A huge grin made its way onto Peter’s face. As far as he was concerned, his soulmate was single-handedly one of the cutest people he has never met.
God, now he wanted a hug from her. She was probably an excellent hugger.
Peter saw an elderly woman waiting at a road and shot a web at a building.
Guess that was his cue.
A few weeks later, he was whisked away by Tony Stark –holy shit, right?- to go fight Captain America and his band of outlaws at an airport in Berlin.
From that, he gained the phone number of Tony Stark aka Iron Man’s bodyguard/security manager/assistant and a cool, new suit. At least, now he didn’t have to worry about his sweatpants falling off mid-swing.
He quit robotics, band, and decathlon after the whole Berlin incident, going off to patrol Queens at whatever chance he got. He started blowing off Ned and all his plans to build a Lego Death Star together and though he felt a little bad, he knew Ned would do the same thing because holy crap, he was a superhero now! Not really an Avenger, but still.
Then, he got himself into real trouble- with The Vulture, an arms dealer who was definitely dealing alien tech to criminals.
Throughout it all, he had heard frequent thoughts from his soulmate, but they were always one-sided. Always about the patriarchy, homophobes, Nazis, fascists and how stupid they were, which was a little amusing to listen to while he was punching bad guys and tracking down The Vulture.
One day, a rather depressing thought had sprung through his soulmate’s mind.
‘They’re right. Oh my God, they’re all right. I am not good enough.’
Peter frowned from the bush he was hiding behind.
‘No, they’re not right! You are good enough! You’re better than good enough!’ Peter hoped that she could hear it, he really did, but there was no reply.
Tony had taken back the suit. Peter was forced to focus on school, what else did he have? Lucky for him, he had rejoined Decathlon during the trip to DC. That meant seeing more of Liz, even if he had to endure Flash’s not-so-subtle remarks about him missing the finals for an hour.
Peter couldn’t help but to wonder about the girl with the messy hair, narrowed eyes, and a book always in her hand.
“Hey, who’s the new kid?” he had asked Ned one day, as he watched her get pulled away by Cindy to some other corner of the library.
“Who?” Ned said, looking up from his book and then looking at the girls behind a particular bookshelf Peter was staring at.
“Oh, uh, she’s Michelle.” Ned said, before looking back at his book.
Peter lifted an eyebrow, “That’s it? She’s just Michelle?”
Ned closed his book with a sigh and looked at Peter expectantly, “Well, what do you want to know, buddy?”
“Um, how she joined the team, maybe?”
“Cindy brought her in that day, when you were going to quit. Remember?”
Peter nodded.
“Yeah, well, she’s really smart and is literally the only person on our team who has the balls to stand up to Flash. You should’ve seen her the other day. Oh, and she’s weird, a little scary, but I can tell she’s one of those people who pretend to be tough but when you really dig deep, she’s a huge softie.”
“Wow, that was very well put.” Peter observed, looking at Michelle who was saying something that made Cindy burst into a fit of giggles.
“Eh,” Ned shrugged, “Abe was absent for a while so I’ve had to not-so-formally introduce him to Michelle too.”
Peter would’ve never thought that his soulmate would be someone so close, yet so far away.
His first hint was when he was apologising to Liz in what he thought was an empty hallway, for ditching her on Homecoming and sending her dad to jail- but she didn’t have to know about the latter.
‘He better be sorry,’ Peter heard a female voice say in his head. ‘He’s the one who bailed on her last night.’
Peter whipped his head around, as if his soulmate would reveal herself to him if he did. He scanned the nearly empty hallway and finally, his eyes settled on Michelle, the mysterious decathlon team member. She was looking at her notebook, seeming completely unaware of his eyes on her.
Then, she looked up from her book and flipped him off –just like she did at the dance-, making him avert his eyes awkwardly. Just as Liz was telling him that she hoped that whatever it was that was going on with him would work out, the bell rang.
Peter was about to leave when Liz grabbed him by the shoulders, making him take a few steps back. He looked at her, the confusion evident on his face.
“Do me a favor, Peter. Take care of MJ, will you?”
Peter nodded even though, who was MJ? Did Liz have a secret stash of Michael Jackson albums somewhere around here that she wanted him to take care of?
He looked at Michelle oddly as she walked over to Liz, immediately getting engulfed in a huge hug. Was Liz going to ask her to take care of her Michael Jackson albums too? Was it a joint responsibility?
He stared at the two girls for a while, his confusion growing even more when he felt the little thumping of his heart in his chest. Jesus, he really needed some rest.
So, it turns out that Liz never really had a stack of Michael Jackson albums stashed around the school. Peter knew that now.
“Uh, thank you. My friends call me MJ.”
Suddenly, it all clicked. All the little hints, all the thoughts, her voice- it all clicked. A million thoughts rushed through his mind all at once. On instinct, he saw Michelle flinch a little, and grab at her head. Oh, that must’ve hurt.
Peter couldn’t believe it. The little girl, who had made him throw his comic across his room when he was ten, was sitting right in front of him.
God, it really was her.
This was the girl who had Fergalicious stuck in her head during a Spanish test.
Peter looked at her. She was talking to Ned now.
Liz knew all along. That’s why she asked him to take care of her. She knew that they were soulmates. Michelle knew too, but why wasn’t she saying anything? She must know, considering, the way she was trying to avoid his gaze earlier today.
His phone buzzed, a text from Happy.
“I have to go…” he started, before realising that this was probably the first time she was hearing his voice. If she didn’t know that he was her soulmate before this, she sure as hell knew now.
He looked at her, his eyebrows raised ever so slightly as he gauged her reaction.
“Wait, where are you going?”
Peter blinked. She didn’t seem phased at all. Was she really his soulmate?
“What are you hiding, Peter?”
Peter’s mouth opened and he looked to Ned- who helpfully widened his eyes and shook his head vigorously. He had to think of something to say. Open your mouth, Parker.
Luckily, she saved him from potentially embarassing himself, “I’m just kidding, I don’t care. Bye!”
She waved at him adorably, leaving him to awkwardly scramble to his feet as he hurriedly made his way to the boys’ bathroom. Girls were confusing.
“Ned, could you come over?”
“Why?” came the other boy’s reply.
“It’s really important.”
“Like Guy-In-The-Chair duties? Say no more, Peter, I’m on my way.”
“No, wait, it’s not-“ but Ned had already hung up and was possibly making his way over to Peter’s at that very moment.
20 minutes later, Ned showed up at his door, sipping on a cup of coffee. He shoved one into Peter’s hands and strut into the apartment, “I came as soon as I could. What’s it this time?”
Peter stood at the doorway of his bedroom as he watched his best friend set up his computer. He looked down at his coffee cup with a sheepish grin on his face, “Um, actually, it’s about a much, much scarier topic.”
“C’mon, I’m your Guy-In-The-Chair! I’m not supposed to be phased by this kinda stuff…or am I?”
“It’s uh, I called you over here to talk about girls.”
Ned stopped typing away furiously on his computer and looked at Peter who was making his way slowly to the bunk beds, “Girls?”
“Well, it’s one girl in particular.”
“It’s not Liz, is it?”
Peter winced, “Uh no, but you do know her.”
“Sally?”
“You know her very well, actually.”
“Betty? It better not be Betty.”
“Nope, you talk to her all the time.”
“Cindy?”
“Getting warmer!”
Ned furrowed his eyebrows as he thought for a while before he let out an overdramatic gasp, “Oh, Peter! Oh, no, no, this is not happening!”
Peter nodded his head slowly.
“Are you thinking about who I’m thinking about?”
“I don’t know, are you thinking about who I think you think I’m thinking about?”
Ned put his face in his hands, “Ok, wait. Don’t say her name, just give me her initials.”
“…MJ.”
Ned let out a disappointed sigh, “I walked right into that one.”
“Dude, I think she might be my soulmate.” Peter dropped the bomb on him. There was no point in hiding it now.
“Get out of here! No way! Michelle is your soulmate?” Ned asked the obvious.
“Think about it, she’s been so iffy around me and that decathlon meeting from a few days ago was the first time I really heard her voice.” Peter reasoned.
“Wait, but she hasn’t said or done anything?” Ned looked frustrated, before he muttered into his hands, “Of course, she hasn’t, she’s Michelle.”
Ned spoke after a while, “Well, what now?”
“Look, I think there’s a reason behind her not dating me right after figuring out that I’m her soulmate because I’m so sure that she knows. The plan is to, you know, try to…”
“Get her to fall for you?”
“…Maybe,” Peter trailed off.
“Well, good luck. MJ is one complex woman.”
Peter rushed into the library, only to be met by the gaze of his fellow peers, staring right at him. He looked at Ned, who shrugged apologetically.
Beside Ned, sat Michelle Jones in all her glory, “Parker, nice of you to finally join us!”
She eyed him warily as he took the only seat left –which was in front of her- and mumbled a string of apologies.
Michelle rolled her eyes, dismissing his apologies with a wave of her hand, “Just get your things, loser.”
When practice finally ended, Peter told Ned to wait for him outside the library. Ned wished him good luck and walked out without a clue. As he returned to the table that was previously occupied by Midtown’s Decathlon Team, he saw Michelle with her head in her hands, her notecards and graph papers scattered all over the table.
“Hey.” Peter said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Michelle moved her finger, allowing him to only look at her left eye, “Hi.”
Peter stood there for a while, bouncing on the balls of his feet when he heard her sigh.
She removed her hands from her face and looked up at him, “I’m sorry.”
Peter took that as a cue to sit down, “For what?”
“I’ve been a little too harsh with you, these past few weeks. I’m just stressed, but if Mr. Harrington asks, there’s no pressure and being Captain is a breeze.”
Peter chuckled, “But with Flash-“
Michelle leaned back, fiddling with her pen, “Oh no, he deserves it. You don’t.”
“To be fair, I’ve been late to almost all the decathlon practices so far.”
Michelle sighed, “Yeah, but you’re trying. I see it. I know you’ve got stuff going on and maybe it’s hard for you but you’re trying.”
“Yeah well, I’m sorry for adding the extra bit of stress to your life. I’ll try to make it and if I don’t, I’ll just get the notes or whatever from Ned.”
“Thanks,” she smiled.
Peter felt his heart fluttering wildly in his chest. Oh, this happens now.
“Do you uh…” Peter pointed at the mess of a table. “Do you need help, with that?”
She looked down at her papers for a while before scrunching her nose and looking up at him with that adorable smile on her face, “Yeah.”
Wow, he was a goner.
He gathered her things and handed them to her, hoping that the blush on his cheeks wasn’t too noticeable when he accidentally brushed hands with her. When she stood up, nearly falling on her feet because the pile of books and binders in her hand were a little too heavy for her, Peter nervously offered to help her with it.
Michelle narrowed her eyes, “And what makes you think that you’ll be able to handle it?”
“Well, you see you’re tall but you’re really tiny-“ Peter’s eyes widened at the words he’d blurted out.
“No, wait, but you’re not tiny as in ok, um, well you see, if we generally compare the broadness of our shoulders, my shoulders are broader and you know technically, I’m just maybe a little bit more stronger than you. Not because I’m a man or anything, I mean, I’m 15, I’m a growing boy but it’s just, I think I could carry them?”
Before he could chastise himself for possibly blowing all his chances with her, she dumped all of her books onto his open hands and he caught them as if he was carrying a bunch of feathers.
Michelle rolled her eyes, “You’re so annoying. I can’t believe you’re actually stronger than me.”
Peter offered her a cheesy smile.
“You could at least try to look like you’re in pain,” she nudged him, and he made a big show of carrying the books when they caught up with Ned outside the library.
When Ned was ahead, he winked at her, “Is this better?”
She was sipping tea from her travel mug when she poked at his bicep, “You may be really muscly, but you’re the biggest dork I’ve ever met.”
“You think he’s going to leave you?” Peter, or well, in this case, Spider-Man asked warily.
“I mean, sure he’s probably going to date me, marry me, maybe we’ll even have a kid, who knows? Then, he’s going to end up leaving- like my mom did and I really, don’t think I’ll be able to go through that again.”
Michelle looked down at her closed sketchpad and Peter looked at her.
Karen’s voice rang through his mind, “Well, Peter. I have solved your problem. It appears that your soulmate is reluctant with you because of her abandonment issues. It looks like she is afraid of being abandoned again, but this time by you, in the near distant future.”
Peter looked at her again. It all made sense now. He guessed that his obnoxious crushes on Liz and Gwen never helped with her situation, either. That explained the cryptic, yet, depressing one-sided thought he had received while looking for The Vulture.
She looked deep in thought now and Peter prayed that she hadn’t figured it out, because if there was one person who could figure out his secret identity, it would be her. He felt relieved that the soulmate telepathy stopped once you’ve had an actual conversation with your soulmate. For the two of them, it must’ve stopped when she tried to patronize him in the library just a few seconds after she was elected as Captain.
The next day, he walked up to Michelle. If she was a cartoon, there would be a dark, stormy cloud hovering over her. Peter chuckled at the thought and tapped her on the shoulder, making him turn around to face him with a frown. She was holding her travelling mug in one hand, and a bunch of books and folders in the other.
“…Need a hand with that?” Peter offered, a playful smile on his lips.
The corner of her mouth quirked up for a nanosecond before it fell back into its original frown, “Nope, I’m good.”
She continued walking, and Peter took that as a sign to walk with her, “So, I’ve got a question…”
“Nope.”
“Please?”
She stopped in front of her locker and shoved her books into it, and yet, it was still organized. Slamming the door of her locker loudly, she glared at him, “Does it have anything to do with decathlon?”
“No.”
“Well, then you may not ask me the question.”
“Hey, I never asked for your permission!” Peter blurted.
She turned around slowly and crossed her arms. She squinted at him, making him feel like a specimen on a microscope, “Go ahead. Ask me your billion dollar question.”
Before he could protest, she spoke again, “I dare you.”
“OK, well, my friend, he’s uh, he has this thing that he’s really insecure about and he thinks I don’t know about it but it kind of concerns me, so of course, I found out, and now I’m wondering if I should just confront him about it? I really want to, but this thing’s really touchy, and potentially mentally scarring so…”
“Well, if I were your friend, I’d like it if you left me the fuck alone and never mentioned whatever it is that you know until I, your hypothetical friend, am ready to tell you about it.”
Peter nodded, “Noted.”
“Sadly, I’m not your hypothetical friend,” Michelle said and Peter smiled. If only she knew. “But it’d be nice if you left me alone. Just saying.”
The bell rang and Michelle began to make her way to class, Peter trailing behind her, “Well, sucks to be you, because you’re my real friend.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw her smile and Peter silently cheered. A victory for Parker!
She stopped outside the Chemistry lab and rolled her eyes, “Ugh, just get to your class.”
“But this is my class,” he held up his textbook and Michelle groaned. “Oh, and I asked Mr. Daniels to make us lab partners!”
He shoved her into the class, careful not to accidentally push her to the ground –superstrength problems- and offered her an ‘annoying’ smile, as she would later call it as he tapped on the other stool happily.
So far, Peter’s plan was going well. He was getting closer to Michelle. In fact, he had recently earned the right to call her MJ- as Peter, of course. He’d earned the right to call her MJ –as Spider-Man- ages ago.
It had almost become a routine.
He’d go to school, flirt with MJ excessively- to the point where it made Ned sick, and he’d feel the butterflies in his stomach grow each day. Then, he’d change into his suit in some alley and start his daily patrol. Usually, he had very mild things to do- like help old women cross the street, or return missing kids, and help out tourists. After that, he’d swing as fast as his webs could take him to Michelle’s penthouse building, and he’d hope for her to be out there, sketching God knows what on her sketchbook. The way she always did, her eyes concentrated on the paper and her tongue sticking out a little.
When she’d notice him looking at her sketches, she’d make a smart comment about privacy or creeps and he’s take that as his cue to sit down next to her. She’d talk about her day, and he’d ask her about himself, trying not to trip over his words.
As far as he was concerned, she was pretty satisfied with him, as Peter. It seemed like he was doing well, so you could imagine his surprise when she had gently pulled his mask up and caressed his jaw, on one random Tuesday.
Her lips were slightly parted, and he could smell her minty breath as she folded the outer layer of his mask on the bridge of his nose and he made no effort to stop her.
Karen’s voice boomed in his ear, but he couldn’t hear anything besides the heavy, yet, gentle breathing on his lips as she drew closer.
She brushed her lips against his and before he could capture her lips in his, she pulled away, eyes wide, “We-I can’t.”
Peter licked his lips as his gaze lowered to hers, “Why not?”
Michelle ran a hand through her hair as she looked out into the skyline, “Our soulmates!”
“But you don’t like your soulmate!”
She stood up, backing away from him. She looked down at her fingers and balled them into fists, “I never said that!”
A slow smile spread onto his face as he heard her retort, “So, you like him?”
“I guess, yeah. I don’t know…it’s complicated! Fuck, this is messing me up!” she paced around the roof nervously.
Peter watched her with curiosity in his eyes, he had never seen her this panicked before. He slowly walked up to her, his steps were careful. When she turned around, he was closer to her than he expected to be. “And me? What about me?”
She looked right at him before looking down at her shoes, “I like you too.”
He took a step closer and she took a step back. They carried on in this routine until he had her pinned against the exit door. “See, the thing about liking me, and liking him, is that it doesn’t matter.”
He saw her open her mouth, to probably school him with a sarcastic comment and he went in for the kill, as he closed the distance with an open-mouthed kiss. He sighed against her lips, he’d been wanting to do that for so long.
She used her hand to push the back of his neck closer to her, as he steadied himself with both hands on the door.
When they pulled away, he looked at her hesitantly. She was out of breath, panting slightly as she stared back at him.
She deserved to know at this point. If he hid from her and kept his identity a secret after this, he’d feel uneasy.
“It doesn’t matter because…” and he took off his mask.
MJ’s jaw dropped, “Oh my God.”
She didn’t say anything after that. She just stared at him, in shock and looked like she was having a silent debate in her head.
Michelle reached for the door knob behind her and turned around, her back facing him. Peter watched her nervously and put his hands on her waist to steady her when she stumbled.
“I need to…” she trailed off as she pointed at the ajar door behind her and slipped behind it, leaving him alone and cold- the familiar warmth he once had was gone.
“Aw, c’mon, lighten up, buddy! You’ve still got me!” Ned tried, as he guided a very hurt Peter across the corridor.
When Peter made no effort to smile, Ned pulled him by the lockers and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Listen, Peter. You’re soulmates. She kissed you. The only reason she’s not talking to you right now, is because she’s in shock and she’s scared. Remember, this is hard for her. She’s the one who told you that she liked both Peter and Spider-Man, so don’t assume that she doesn’t like you, now that she’s found out that you’re both the same person.”
Peter nodded, finding some sort of logic in Ned’s words, “Thanks, Ned.”
“You’re welcome. Now, get to class and try not to send her guilty looks from across the classroom.”
“I don’t have to,” Peter said as they walked into the Chemistry lab. “I’m her lab partner.”
Ned cursed under his breath before stopping and looking at his best friend, “Jesus! You can sit with me today then, Abe’s absent anyway.”
They both watched from the back of the classroom as Michelle took her place at her lab table and stared at Peter’s side of the table quizzically. When the teacher called on Peter, he saw her place her head in her hands as she focused on the chalkboard.
“Peter! Where are you? You promised May you’d be home for dinner! She called me and she’s worried sick, but I covered for you.”
“I-I’m uh…” Peter looked at his surroundings and looked down at his worn out sneakers with a sigh.
“You’re not…” Ned trailed off before sighing on the other end of the line. “Dude, she’s- give her some time. Go home.”
“But what if she comes up here to talk to me and I’m not there?” Peter reasoned.
“Then she’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Ned said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Ned, please…” Peter trailed off.
“Peter, you’ve been out on her roof every night for the past week, and she hasn’t showed.”
“Just, cover for me, please? If she doesn’t show today, I swear I’ll talk to her tomorrow and this whole thing will go away.”
“Oh, alright. I’ll stall for you, but if things go well, you better get your butt back home. You guys can make-out at school or whatever. Actually, don’t make-out at school, I’d probably have to wash my eyes out-”
“Bye, Ned.” Peter hummed.
“Fine.”
Peter told Karen to end the call as he looked down at the streets below, hoping to find something that would distract him from his possible rejection.
“You’re a little too close to the roof, Spider-Man.” he heard a familiar voice say.
Sweet Jesus, she came! Peter pulled his mask off and turned around to face her. “MJ,” he breathed, not knowing what else to say.
“Hi,” she nervously said as she took a step closer to the roof. She wrapped her arms around her torso and looked at him.
Eyes wide and voice a little squeaky, he spoke, “Hey.”
He had not rehearsed or prepared for this in any way possible. After days of waiting outside on the roof, he had given up hope on her ever talking to him again.
“I’m sorry,” she said, walking closer to him.
Peter frowned. He hoped she wasn’t going to let him down gently. Maybe, she decided that she didn’t want a soulmate and it was too much for her?
“What?” Peter blurted before he could stop himself.
“All this avoiding I was doing, it was because I was scared, but I’m here now and well…” she looked at her hands and back at him trying to string the right words to say to him.
Peter huffed out a smile. This was really happening. He stepped closer to her carefully, as if she was some sort of prey that he didn’t want to scare off.
He gently placed his hand on her chin and tilted it upwards, making her look at him. With a caress to her jaw, he placed his free hand on the other side of her face, cupping it.
Now that she was looking into his eyes, he spoke, his voice coming out a tad lower than he thought possible, “Can I kiss you?”
She leaned in, brushing her lips against his ever so slightly before looking at him. He looked at her before pulling her head closer to his, smashing their lips together, kissing her the way he had really wanted to.
Sometime during the kiss when she had flung her arms around his neck, he had settled for moving his hands down to her waist and pulling her flush against him. He held her tight, so carefully, as if this was all a dream and he’d wake up all alone in his bunk bed in a few minutes.
When they pulled away, and Michelle noticed that he had literally swept her off her feet –due to his superhuman strength-, she chuckled and rolled her eyes jokingly, “You’re a dork.”
Peter grinned cheesily, lowering his head slightly to capture her lips in another kiss. They kept going, clumsily walking each other to a wall, for Peter to get more leverage when a buzzing noise went off on both of their phones.
They both pulled away, and checked their phones.
He got five texts from Ned.
UM THE COOLEST GUY-IN-THE-CHAIR: dude it’s been nearly 40 minutes where are you???
UM THE COOLEST GUY-IN-THE-CHAIR: you both better not be playing tonsil hockey out on her roof!!! i live nearby, i own a pair of binoculars and i’m not afraid to use it!!!
UM THE COOLEST GUY-IN-THE-CHAIR: i s2g if i go outside right now and i see you two going at it i will literally kms
UM THE COOLEST GUY-IN-THE-CHAIR: fml i can’t believe you two horny fuckers
UM THE COOLEST GUY-IN-THE-CHAIR: i’m flinging myself off this roof, a swift death is better that what i just saw. nite
Peter rolled his eyes endearingly at the messages and quickly pocketed his phone in the hoodie that he was wearing over his suit. What? He didn’t want Michelle to make the headlines because she was seen kissing Spider-Man. From a stranger’s point of view, it looked like two average teens kissing.
“Sorry, it was just Ned,” Peter said dismissively, as he leaned in to continue their make-out session.
MJ pecked him on the lips and pulled away, resting her head against the wall behind her apologetically, “I’ve got to go. My little sister is getting suspicious.”
“Oh, ok.” Peter pulled away, and nodded, giving her room to move.
Michelle made her way to the door but then hesitated as she turned around and ran over to him. She pecked him on the nose shortly, “To be continued.”
Peter grinned happily, before pulling her against him again, but this time for a hug. When they pulled away, he shrugged sheepishly at her lifted eyebrow and kissed her on the jaw, “Night, MJ.”