SPIDEYCHELLE SHIPPERS DON'T HATE ME also far from home spoilers ahead
summary:where on the summer trip, you hope to finally confess your feelings to Michelle Jones, but are painfully aware of Peter's six-step plan to do the same
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"And then six, hopefully, she tells me she feels the same way," Peter finishes laying out his detailed plan to Ned, who shakes his head and tells him to scratch it, and they continue loud whispering. You sink deeper into your chair, pretending to look focused on your writing, but eavesdrop on their not-so-subtle conversation.
Peter's a good friend, but sometimes you just want to smack him in the face for being so naive. You don't want Michelle to have to get strapped along to one of his games, the same one he played with Liz. You've got it down by now, how he comes off cute and shy but then constantly drops everything and runs off with some lame excuse. MJ doesn't deserve that, she deserves someone who will actually be there. Someone like you.
You angrily bite down on your bottom lip to keep from screaming at him, until you taste a faint trace of blood and breathe out, annoyed. That's when Michelle walks over to them, and you instantly jerk your head up to observe the three of them, trying to stifle a laugh at their 'little spoon' lie. So stupid.
MJ breaks eye contact with them and looks up to catch you staring, and you freeze, before the blood flows back and you awkwardly bury your face in a book.
"Whatcha reading?" her voice filters through the jumbled thoughts running through your mind, and she looks down at the pages. You follow her gaze and realize the book is upside down, mentally face-palming yourself as she raises an eyebrow.
"It's, uh, The Bell Jar..." you nervously admit, casually turning the book the right way up. Her eyes light up as you speak and she unbuttons her flannel, revealing a white t-shirt with a picture of Sylvia Plath printed across it.
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"I love her, I would marry her in a heartbeat," Michelle goes on, and you almost choke at her words. She realizes what she said, and quickly buttons up the flannel again, looking away with a flustered expression. "I mean, like..." she searches for the right words but you cut in to ease the uncomfortable feeling between you two.
"Me too."
She nods back with a smile, a loose curl that fell out of her ponytail bounces as she starts walking away from you. Your heart sinks a little, but every conversation with her lights up your day, while at the same time fills you with a sense of false hope. Just as you start to get back into actually reading, MJ turns back around when she's in the doorway, tapping her fingers against the frame.
"Do you usually read books upside down?" she calls out, trying to keep a straight face but the dimples showing in her cheeks give her away. You blush a little, but a surge of confidence fills you and you shoot her a wink.
"I like a challenge."
***
Once everyone starts boarding the plane for Europe, you sigh when you realize Betty is sitting next to Michelle, and you're next to Brad. He taps you on the shoulder and pulls you aside from the aisle.
"Do you think Betty will let me switch spots with her so I can sit next to MJ?" he asks with a hopeful smile on his face.
Fuck, not another one.
Also, she said her friends call her MJ, and since when are they even friends? Brad looks away from Michelle and back to you, awaiting a response.
"I don't know..." you struggle to come up with a reason why he shouldn't, when Mr. Harrington claps Peter on the back and starts dragging him away from Ned, who has an apologetic look on his face.
"Attention, everyone! Peter has a serious perfume allergy, so we need to switch up the seating. Uh, let's see..." he pauses to scan the students, and you narrow your eyes as Brad puffs up his chest, like this is his chance.
"Betty, sit next to Ned, Peter will be with me, Brad go with Flash, and Y/N will sit next to Michelle," he finalizes, smiling to himself with pride. You bite back a smile as Brad cringes and curses under his breath, looking to Flash who's busy live-streaming again. You shove past Brad and remove your carry-on from the overhead compartment, walking nervously towards Michelle, who keeps her eyes glued to you the whole way.
"So..." you stutter once you're standing above her, and she pats the middle seat beside to her with her right hand. After shoving your bag above your head, you try to climb over her long legs to the seat, but end up tripping over her foot. You can already feel the heat rise to your cheeks, anticipating a fall, when her hands instinctively reach to your hips, holding you up. Her hands linger for a few seconds longer than you expected, and when you meet her warm brown eyes, she blinks rapidly and drops her hands off.
"You good?" she comforts, rubbing her palms against the front of her jeans. You nod, dropping your eyes down to the floor, and take a seat next to her.
The first few hours of the flight are pretty uneventful, but you notice Peter's eyes flickering between MJ and Brad across the aisle constantly trying to catch her attention. Brad leans forward to tap her on the shoulder when she doesn't respond, and ends up spilling a cup of water all over the floor.
You feel her shoulders brush against yours as she turns her head to the side to lock eyes with you, and you both try hard not to laugh at his attempts to get to her.
"Boys," she sighs, rolling her eyes. You over analyze the statement in your head-- 'boys' as in ugh why do we have to put up with them, or 'boys' as in thank god I like girls? When you don't respond, she nudges your phone, with earbuds attached to them.
"Who are you listening to?" she questions, and fear twists inside your chest, cringing at your spotify playlist called 'gay bops.' You quickly scroll to it, covering up the title with your thumb, and show her the songs. She flicks her finger across the screen, smiling at all the titles. You open your mouth to try and explain, when she pulls out a dual adaptor.
"I love King Princess," she winks, and you can feel your heart start to beat faster. She plugs in the adaptor and looks to you for confirmation as she presses play on '1950.'
This has to be her dropping signs, right? If not, it's just cruel. Your mind races through all the possibilities as you roll through the playlist, listening together. Even if she does like girls, she could like boys too, so she could like Peter. But Peter's not the one sitting next to her right now.
Dodie starts playing, and you freeze when MJ's head falls on your shoulder. You expect her to pull away like before, but realize from her soft breathing that she dozed off. When you close your eyes and lose yourself in the song, you aren't aware of Michelle's lips tugging up in a smile.
