It's a Little Strange

6. RULES

Obviously, Peter still didn't quite understand what it meant to be someones plus one. You had to be with them as they enter the event. He didn't know that Michelle would show up at his house. He kind of expected him to go to Flash's and meet her there and spend time with her there.

This night was going to be so confusing.

Peter stared at her, blinking and unmoving. May sensed his presence from behind her and stepped aside, saying, "Oh, he's right here."

Michelle was... someone else entirely. For one thing, her hair looked more controlled. On top of her head was a thick plastic golden crown. Her curly hair coiled from the rim of the crown to frame her face. Usually, Michelle tucked her hair in a ponytail but she let it completely loose to flow down her back. She wore a white dress which was battered and ripped and speckled with blood. And the makeup she had? It was incredible. She put stitches on her face, cutting her face in half from her forehead to her nose and the bottom half was from the bridge of her nose to her jawline and further down her neck. Fake blood trickled from her stitches, making her look horrifying.

Peter was pretty impressed. He felt rather underdressed compared to Michelle. She really went all out, which he honestly didn't expect. He thought she would be the only person who wouldn't wear a costume yet her look was so good, if there was a costume contest, she'd win.

"Wow!" gasped May. "I love your costume! Did you make it yourself?"

"Yeah," Michelle laughed. "My stepdad helped me with the dress though. He's into fashion design." Michelle glanced over at Peter and snickered. "Spider-Man? Really?"

Peter glanced at his outfit. So far, so good. "Hey, Spider-Man is pretty cool." He turned to his aunt to kiss her on the cheek. "We're gonna get going to the party! Night Aunt May."

"Night! Text me when you're ready to come home."

She closed the front door and Michelle and Peter were alone. Michelle had already sized him up, but Peter could feel her calculating him, studying him. Michelle didn't say a word and walked to the elevator. While they waited for the elevator to reach his floor, Peter had to ask. "How do you know where I live?"

"Ned told me."

That backstabber! Why didn't his own best friend mention this vital piece of information over the phone? Now that Michelle knew where Peter lived, who knows what might happen.

"To be honest, I kind of thought we were going to meet up at Flash's."

"You wanted to meet me forty-five minutes late?" Michelle scoffed. The elevator door opened and she stepped inside. She pressed the ground floor button. "That's an awfully long time to leave your date alone. Do you not know the proper etiquette for a date?"

Peter's mouth fell. Breathlessly, he asked, "Is this a date?"

Michelle's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to reply- probably say something snarky and shoot down Peter, but she couldn't manage a single word. Instead, she clamped her mouth shut and stared ahead at the closed doors of the elevator.

Nice job, Peter. You haven't even left the building and it's already awkward.

"How's Teddy?"

Michelle glanced at him through the corner of her eyes. "He's doing okay. His little leg is broken but he's alright. My mom almost didn't want me to go to this party after yesterday but... well, it's a party. Not a spot for another attack like that."

The elevator opened with a ding, allowing the two to escape from the enclosed space. Peter followed her to her dad's car. Michelle's father early greeted him with a loud, booming voice. "Hey! You must be Peter! Nice to meet you, I'm Alexander, Alex, or Mr. Jones- whichever you prefer." He twisted his body around from the driver's seat to give Peter a handshake. Peter shook his hand, and he knew that Alexander had a death grip, but thanks for Peter's powers well... it didn't bother Peter that much.