Phenomenal Women | p.p. x m.j.

Three

When Peter woke up the next day, it was already 3 o'clock in the afternoon and thunderstorming.

He got up out of his bed and went to the bathroom to do his business. When he looked in the mirror, he couldn't help but notice the bags under his eyes. Was he really that tired?

There couldn't have been a worse day for Michelle to have asked him out.

Well, not like out, out. Peter should be so lucky. But there was certainly no chance they could leave the house today without getting completely soaked and having a severely less than average time.

He walked down the hallway to the living room. He was pleasantly surprised to see Michelle up, staring out the window with a cup of tea, looking like her old self.

The Michelle that didn't care what she'd looked like or how she came off. Who was comfortable not owning a single comb, let alone a dress. Like MJ.

Not that Peter didn't like the new Michelle. That was far from the truth. But it was nice to see a familiar face every once in a while.

"Good morning, Peter," Michelle said, breaking him away from his thoughts.

"Afternoon." Peter chuckled. It was just like her to be unaware of the time.

"I ordered Chinese. I figured we could just watch movies or something," She shrugged. "You know, 'cause it's raining and all."

Peter smiled. If he was being honest, he would have preferred staying in to going out anyways.

--

"I'm not against the book or movie at all. I quite like it, but what I am against is the whole concept of a smart, well-read girl like Maddy  throwing everything away for some guy she's been IM-ing."

Peter and Michelle had eaten all of their food and watched around three or four movies of no specific genre. Each time, stopping in between movies to discuss everything that was wrong with it.

"It's more than that, MJ." Michelle felt her stomach fill with butterflies as the words came out of Peter's mouth. No one's called her that since high school. "It's the idea that she could love someone so much that she didn't care that she was sick. She was so curious about the world and all she knew was what she'd read about and watched on the screen. The fact that she had wanted to see the world and she wanted to see it with Ollie, regardless of the consequences. That's the kind of love I hope I find. The kind that survives under impossible circumstances."

Peter felt his cheeks heat as he realized the gravity of everything he'd just said. He never meant to open up like that. Not this soon, anyways.

And then it's silent again.

"I've been meaning to ask you something." Peter blurted out, as Michelle tried to escape the awkward silence by playing another movie.

She sat back down next to Peter and faced him. "Yeah?"

He suddenly became nervous. He realized how oddly personal this question was and, were they really there yet? They'd only been roommates for a healthy month or two and this is the first time they'd actually spent time together.

"Well, it's just . . ." Peter trailed off, not really knowing how to word it.

"Spit it out, Parker." MJ laughed.

"Well, like, let me put it this way. You're really different since high school. You're almost a completely different person. Not that that's bad or anything, it's just, you've changed. And I know I-"

"Was there a question somewhere in there," she interrupted.

"Right. See, I was just wondering . . . why did you change. Not to say I don't like the change but-- you were always the biggest advocate for being yourself and not really caring what anyone else thinks."