Chapter Text
"Honey? Did you remember to grab your wallet?" Michelle's mother called out from the front door, double checking her purse for her keys. "Yeah, Mum. I remembered!" Jake called back, as he quickly ran back to his room to grab his wallet and put it in his pocket without Michelle or their mother noticing. Michelle rested her head against the back of the couch, listening absent-mindedly to their conversation, letting out a chuckle. How is it that every time we try to go out, we always end up in this exact scenario? Michelle asked herself.
Michelle had already grabbed her wallet, keys and phone and had them in various different pockets in her jeans. Michelle briefly remembered a few months ago when she found a store that sold women's jeans that actually had pockets, and immediately bought 7 pairs, as she didn't know whether she would ever come across something like that again. It's so stupid how women's jeans never have pockets. It's all rigged. Just so that women will buy purses. Michelle shook her head and pushed her thoughts away, listening back in on the conversation.
"Jake! Why are you still in your pajamas?!" Her mother practically screeched. "What? I'm not in my...oh..." Jake ran back to his room for the fourth time and quickly got changed. Finally, after another ten minutes, all three of them were ready to go. "MJ, are you ready?" Michelle stood up and raised a brow at her mother, "Are you kidding? I was ready ages ago. Come on, let's go before the mall gets too crowded." As their mother locked the door behind them, Michelle and Jake left their apartment and made their way to the elevator, beginning their journey to the mall.
It was December 21st. 4 days until Christmas, and today the Jones family were all doing their Christmas shopping. The plan was that they would all go to the mall before splitting up, and buying all their presents separately. They arrived at the mall and walked through one of the many entrances. "Okay, so we will all meet up in 3 hours, okay? That should be plenty of time for us all to buy our presents. We will meet in the food court, but if you finish early, just head there and get something to eat. Sound good?" Michelle and Jake both nodded before waving to their mother and turning around, both heading in the opposite direction.
"So what should we get for mum?" Jake asked. "I already know what I'm going to get her. She has been reading a lot of cookbooks recently and the bookstore here is having a sale on a new release, so I'm going to head there now and get that. And I was also thinking of getting her a new coat with a scarf." Michelle answered. "Okay cool, I think I have a few ideas of what to get her, but at least now we won't get her the same thing." Jake said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and started searching something. "Good thinking. Okay, I'll catch up with you later. See ya, Poptart!" Michelle said as she quickened her pace and started to walk ahead of him. "Stop calling me that!" She heard him call, making her laugh.
Michelle headed to her usual bookstore first and quickly found the cookbook she was looking for in the new releases section. Picking it up and taking it to the counter, she pulled out her wallet and after scanning her loyalty card, paid for the book, getting it at a discount. She stepped out of the shop and looked around the mall. There weren't too many people, as they decided to come early in the morning to avoid crowds, but even at 8:20am there were still a decent amount of shoppers walking around.
As Michelle started walking towards Best Buy to get some games for Jake, when her phone started to buzz in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw the caller ID and quickly answered. "Morning loser," Michelle said, a smile forming on her face. "Good morning, MJ," a very sleepy sounding Peter responded. "Did you just wake up?" She asked. A hum came in response. "I wanted to hear your beautiful voice first thing after waking up." Michelle made a barfing sound, "Oh god, you're corny in the morning." Despite her words, she let out a giggle and smiled.
Peter laughed over the phone, "Oh, you love it." She rolled her eyes but didn't deny it. "So what you doing? Where are you, actually? It sounds noisy in the background." Peter asked. "I'm at the mall with Poptart and Mum, although we've split up to do our Christmas shopping," Michelle answered. "Oh crap! I haven't done mine yet. Mind if I join you?" Michelle laughed, not surprised her boyfriend forgot to do his Christmas shopping. "Sure. Do you know if Ned has done his?"
"Apparently him and his mum did their shopping a couple of days ago," he quickly answered. Michelle furrowed her brows. "What? How? Winter break only started yesterday." She could hear Peter shuffling around over the phone, probably trying to pull himself out of bed. "I dunno. They must have done it after school on Friday or something." Michelle shrugged, "Oh well. What time do you think you'll get here?"
"Uh, I'll probably leave in like twenty minutes or so after I've had something to eat. I'll meet up with you after I get your gift," He explained. "Okay, that works well, cause I need to get you yours as well." Michelle had just walked into Best Buy and was heading over to the games section. "Text me when your done and we'll meet up." She said. "Okay, see you then!" She said a quick goodbye before hanging up and putting the phone back in her pocket. Okay. Now, what games to get Poptart...
She browsed around for a little before settling on 3 games and a pair of quality gaming headphones. After purchasing them and Michelle quickly took photos of what she got before putting them in a bag where they would be concealed. She sent her mother the pictures, letting her know what she got Jake and so she wouldn't get him the same thing. While waiting for her response, Michelle quickly walked into a nearby clothing store and got a beautiful coat and scarf for her mother. Her phone buzzed, and with a thumbs up in response, Michelle turned her thoughts to the last person she needed to get gifts for on her own - Peter.
A smile grew on her face as a memory flashed in her mind. It was only a two days ago, after everything with Evie and her father was dealt with, and her and Peter sat on the roof. There they had both said 'I love you', making it a day that Michelle will never forget. It was afterwards that Michelle had an idea of a gift for Peter, and just thinking about it made her heart skip a beat.
She headed over to the store she needed and found a clerk. "Good morning, ma'am. May I help you with anything?" The clerk said. Michelle smiled at the woman, "Yeah, I was hoping you could help me pick something out..."
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Michelle walked out with a huge smile on her face, heart aflame with nerves and excitement, and clutched the new shopping bag to her chest. I really hope he likes them... Her phone buzzed in her pocket, so she pulled it out and read the text she received. 'Hey, I'm here and I've got your gift. Where are you?' Yay! Peter's here. I know I only saw him yesterday but I can't wait to see him. She smiled as she responded, 'I'm close to Best Buy. Meet there?' A response came immediately, 'Ok, on my way :)'.
She turned around and headed back to Best Buy, getting there first and waiting on a couch nearby the entrance. "Hi lovely," a voice called from behind her. She jumped up and turned around. "Hi dork," she said with a wide smile. Peter smiled back and stepped forward, immediately wrapping her in a hug and kissing her on the temple. Michelle relished in the feeling, letting out a shameless sigh, hugging him tight. Ever since their rooftop confession, the both of them had already become even more affectionate, although only when away from prying eyes. They both pulled away from each other, still smiling like idiots, and looked at each other. "Ready to do some shopping?" Peter asked, offering his hand. She took his hand in hers without hesitation. "Yep, let's go."