#i'm pretty sure mj has like absent parents

[softboyholland]

i am your sweetheart psychopathic crush

prologue - (https://riarkledale.tumblr.com/post/164622947889/i-am-your-sweetheart-psychopathic-crush)

chapter one - (https://riarkledale.tumblr.com/post/164622947889/i-am-your-sweetheart-psychopathic-crush)

| here’s chapter two. i just wanna say that you guys have been so supportive and kind, it’s so great. every comment and nice thing you’ve sent me is literally the reason why i have the confidence to post my fics. also, in case y’all are wondering how i get my fics out so fast, it’s because i’ve already written them in advance. currently, i’m stuck on chapter ten. the title of this chapter is taken from ‘the space between a rock and a hard place’ by 5sos. so, this chapter is a slightly angsty but it’s more of peter and michelle really bonding, as friends.|

Chapter Two: Faded (I’m Wrapped in Your Arms)

Michelle didn’t show up to school the next day. When Peter didn’t see her at lunch, he got worried. Was she actually hospitalised?

Ned was in the library, working on a project with Betty. Yes, Betty Brant, his best friend’s dreams were coming true.

He stared at his cell phone.

It wouldn’t hurt to call her, right? Or text.

Would it be weird if he texted her?

She‘d probably be too sick to text. He should call her.

His finger hovered over her Caller ID, littered with various heart emojis but then-

What if she was too sick to talk?

Peter shook the thoughts out of his head. He was just calling her, it wasn’t a big deal. Jeez, he really was a weirdo. He clicked on her name and held his phone close to his ear as he braced for the consequences of his actions.

Just as he was contemplating on ending the call, she answered, “Peter?”

“Michelle? Hi.”

There was an awkward silence as he tried to think of the right words to say without sounding like a creep.

“So, did you call me because you actually wanted to talk or for me to listen to your breathing over the phone?”

Peter snorted at that, “Right, I was just…concerned,” Concerned? What-Who says that? God, he wanted to web his own mouth shut. “I mean, you weren’t at school today and I still remember when you-“

“You wanna know if I’m hospitalised?” He could hear the smile in her voice.

“Yeah?”

“I’m actually at home. I’ve got these really bad allergies, I wonder why.” Michelle teased.

Peter’s eyes widened, “Is this because of my roses?”

The silence on the other end gave him his answer.

Peter panicked.

“Hey, you’re probably panicking right now or beating yourself up over it but trust me, it’s not your fault. Relax, would ya?” her soothing –and a little nasally- voice calmed him down.

“Sorry about that.”

“You better be scared when you see me on Monday,” And the Michelle he knew was back. “I’ll strike when you least expect it.”

Peter laughed, to cover up the tiny part of him that was genuinely scared by her threat.

“Oh, and tell Cindy to replace me for today at Decathlon. I’ve gotta go. I feel a big sneeze coming up. “

And she ended the call.

Peter wanted to do something.

So, he decided to pay her a visit. He skimmed over the article that made him give MJ the roses. The next step was to remember little details. This had to be the easiest one by far, Peter had observed everything about her. From the way she scrunched up her nose and smiled whenever he or Ned said something nerdy to how she would always tie her hair up on Wednesdays- like it was some sort of routine for her.

It wasn’t long before he found himself standing outside her apartment door, panicking. Somehow, as if she could sense him panicking from inside, she opened the door and stared at him- looking annoyed.

“What are you doing here?”

“I felt bad, about the roses and allergies,” he took in her appearance. Her hair was in a messy bun, her glasses resting on the crown of her head. She was wearing a Midtown High sweater and a pair of shorts. Peter didn’t even know she owned shorts. Speaking of, Michelle had only ever worn skinny jeans in school. Peter had always known that she had a pair of killer legs but man, this was-

“Eyes up here, buddy.”

Peter’s eyes widened, “I brought soup?”

Michelle dragged him in.

This was his chance. Remember little details. He had to show her that he remembered little details about her. “I remembered when you were pissed because you ran out of chamomile tea so I bought you some,” Peter held up the box full of teabags.

Michelle’s head was tilted to the side as she looked at him. A slow smile was creeping onto her face as she said, “Thanks.”

Peter nodded as he faced away from her and made her the soup, trying to ignore the way his heart fluttered at her smile. He set the bowl of soup on the coffee table and flicked through the channels on TV, stopping on a news station that was airing footage of him or well, Spider-Man swinging through New York.

“We have Netflix, you know. You don’t have to watch the news.”

“I know,” Peter smirked as an idea sprung to his mind. “So, what do you think of that spider guy?”

“I don’t know,” Michelle shrugged as she took a sip of her soup. “He did save our decathlon team from plunging to their death so he’s fine, I guess.”

Peter was not satisfied with her answer.

“Fine? He’s awesome. He literally swings from building to building!”

“Which is kinda creepy when you think about it, like where do those webs come from? Are they inside him?” MJ shuddered with disgust.

“Michelle, I’m pretty sure it comes from a device.”

Michelle poked at his cheek, “Well, I’m sorry I don’t have a crush on him like you do.”

“I do not have a crush on him!”

Michelle stared at him for a second, as if she was scrutinizing him. Then, her lips curled into a grin, “I know. I was just messing with you. I guess it’d be cool to swing from one skyscraper to the other.”

Satisfied, Peter opened the Netflix app.  “What are we watching?”

“The Lion King.”

---

If someone had told Peter that he would be spending his Friday night consoling a crying MJ, he would’ve laughed in their face because Michelle never cried, or had little to no emotion.

But here he was, with his arms wrapped around the teenager whose shoulders were shaking with sobs after the death of Mufasa. The movie was paused now, and Peter desperately wanted to tell her that it was okay and it was just a lion.

After he had finally gotten her to calm down, he leaned back on the sofa carefully- afraid that he would unknowingly strike a nerve in her and she would go back to crying.

The sound of her voice startled him, “I’m not a wimp, you know. It’s just that it’s all too familiar. I was 10, and my dad, he’d just lectured me because I was being stupid and I wanted to apologise to him again but he was lying on the floor and-and I panicked.”

She was fiddling with the loose thread on her sweater, refusing to meet his eyes. “It was brutal. There was a period of time in my life where I wondered if it was my fault but my mom, she’d really been there for me, you know? I love her, with all my heart but sometimes, it just-it gets a little rough.”

“Michelle, I-“

“No, it’s ok. You don’t have to say anything.” her frail voice cut him off.

And he didn’t.

Instead, Peter settled for wrapping his arms around MJ and never letting go.