Tower of Secrets

Michelle Jones-Watson

"Your house in nice."

"Thanks," I replied easily. "It belongs to my parents." He met my eyes after glancing around. Something told me he knew that there was more going on than I had let him know about. Frankly, that would be true. Sure, we were going to my little cousin's birthday, but she wasn't younger than me by any means. In fact, she was a bit older. She was just, well, vertically challenged. And, for some strange reason, she liked to make up for her lack of physical stature with verbal torment.

"Are you wearing something nice, Michelle?" My mom hollered.

"We're going skating," I shot back.

"There are plenty of nice shirts you can still wear!"

I rolled my eyes and sent Peter an apologetic smile as I began to lead him through the house. "So, Connie is turning eighteen."

"I thought she was younger?"

"I said 'little' not 'younger.'"

He caught on and suppressed a small laugh. "So, then what's got you so nervous?"

I stepped into my whitewash room, and he followed without much thought. Absentmindedly, I tucked a few books onto one of my many bookshelves so he could take a quick seat on my black and white checkered bed. "Connie's a jerk," I said bluntly. "That's why I asked you to come, actually. I swear I didn't ask you out with this in mind, but do you mind pretending we've been romantically seeing each other for longer than this week?" I rummaged through my closet and found a decent purple blouse. I held it to my torso. "Does this look like I'm trying to hard?"

"Looks impractical," he admitted, although I did notice that his brown eyes sparkled with enjoyment at the sight. He must have thought I looked nice. "MJ, I'll try to act all lovey, but you know I'm literally the most awkward person alive."

"Thanks, just follow my lead." I slipped off the cozy sweatshirt I had been planning on discarding before the event anyways, and double-checked that the black tank I had been wearing underneath would be modest on its own before slipping the purple cloth over it. "There. Now I look like I want to be there. Boo Mom."

Peter scratched the back of his neck, his face contorting into thoughtful features. "I'm not sure I understand the animosity between you."

"She's older. I'm taller. She likes to rub in that she's older, so I want to mess with her a bit this year. Now, let's get our story straight: in February (after Valentines Day), we went to the movies and saw Onward. We were dressed casually. Our first-"

"Isn't this a bit excessive?" he asked, pink dusting his cheeks.

"With my family? No."

_/\_

"Happy birthday, Connie," I greeted as we entered the building.

"Thanks, Michelle. Finally find a guy willing to stoop to your level?" the shorter brunette smirked, easily earning a chuckle from one of her nameless friends.

"Those are some big words for a dwarf," Peter deadpanned, an arm gently wrapping around my waist. I quirked a brow, but said nothing. Maybe Peter would be a bit better at this than I had originally estimated.

Casually, I leaned into the touch. "C'mon, Pete, let's go get some skates."

"Sure. Happy b-day, Connie," he said as he led us over to the counter. He sent me a glance. "How'd I do?"

"Keep it up, Parker." I was impressed that he had slipped into the role without much thought. Perhaps he was a greater actor than I had given him credit for. "When'd you learn how to act?"

"Believe it or not," he remarked, "I'm proficient in the art of lying."

"You've never been in drama before, or even had a girlfriend for reference. What's the secret?"

He winked. "That's for me to know, and for you to find out later."

"Y'know, you're a lot more put together now then when I asked you out," I commented. I turned to the teenager working the skate rental. "Size nine rollerblades, please and thank you."

"I'm an eight and a half. I'd like rollerblades as well, please!" Peter turned back to me. "It's becase I already got all my panic out," he beamed, like he was proud to have thought ahead to already have freaked out a bit. "You'd be pretty entertained watching me get ready. I know Percy was."

"Percy was there?"

His expression froze, like he was startled by the question. I had just been curious as to how the duo had gotten so close so quickly. It had taken Peter forever before he started to invite Ned over, and even longer before he let me step foot in his apartment. But, the two seniors seemed to be connected by the hip.

What was going on?

"I, uh, invited him over."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, to study."

"To study?"

"Calculus," he supplied, obviously making a mental note to inform Percy of the fabricated tale later. "We were doing some AP exam prep."

"It's a bit early for that, don't you think?" I inquired as I accepted my blades and passed him his.

"We're shooting for fives, so no."

I was skeptical, but I decided to let him keep whatever he was hiding. I'd figure it out soon enough if I paid attention, I was sure of that. Despite what he said earlier, there was no way he was actually that good at keeping secrets.

Now that I think about it, there have been many instances where he's acted like that.

I decided to cross-examine them later to figure him out a bit better. I knew he'd come to me in time, but I wanted to have a heads up beforehand. That way, I'd be able to control my reaction to be as supportive as possible, no matter how big the issue turned out to be.

We sat down to switch footwear; a mildly awkward silence enveloped the local atmosphere.

A/N sorry this took so long! I got busy, and then had a small bought of writer's block, and then got a little busy with Prom prep again! Of course, there's nothing like a recently ruined sleeping schedule to get you back on track (thanks, Prom XD).

Anyways, I can't wait for people to start picking up on the minor details that will mean things later on...