—

After a phone conversation with her mother, Michelle was finally comfortable with not attending her fathers funeral. She wanted nothing more than to grieve alone, at her own pace. And after long thought, she felt like that may have been selfish. But when she spoke with her mother, all of her doubt went away.

"I'm so proud of the woman that you have become." Her mother sighed over the phone, "We haven't talked in so long. I never get to tell you that."

Michelle breathed a sigh. It was almost like the reassurance she never knew she needed, but suddenly, her shoulders felt lighter and her head felt clear.

"I miss you." Michelle said sweetly. It wasn't as hard for her to say as she thought it would be. Michelle came from a home low in warmth. It was her father's belief that children should be children first, and friends never. So whenever he wasn't around, Michelle's mother would sneak in a forehead kiss, a hug, maybe a warm embrace; anything more affectionate than a pat on the shoulder and a handshake. It was never truly a secret that Michelle's mother was not fond of the authoritarian parenting style. But as a supporting partner, she picked her battles, and shaped her daughter the best way she knew how, without impeding on the authority of Michelle's father.

"I miss you too, sweetheart."

There was sweet lull after that. Both women knew they were sorry. Although the two loved each other, pride was a hereditary characteristic. And anyways, there was no reason to ruin a sweet moment with apologies.

Michelle ended the call shortly. Her mother told her she wished she could be there with her. But it's her duty as a wife to be with her husbands loved ones. Michelle understood. They wished each other a good afternoon and went on with their grieving.

Later on, she finally decided to leave her room, after spending a questionable amount of hours in there locked away, tight, she saw Peter's door cracked down the hall.

He sat quietly at his desk, glasses on, hair a mess and a pencil behind his ear. Michelle had to say, he looked pretty darn cute while working. Later she would rue the thought.

She knocked, slowly pushing the door forward, causing a steady creak.

"Hi." Michelle said.

Peters lips parted. He had never denied the fact that Michelle was beautiful. He pondered the thought quite frequently. But there was something about the way she looked tonight, hair curly, face bare, and— were those his sweats? She was angelic. Peter almost had chills.

"Hi," he repeated simply. He was at a loss for words. He shook his head gathering his thoughts, trying to formulate more words, but Michelle best him too it.

"You busy?" Michelle asked, innocent.

Peter was very busy.

"Of course not. Come in."

He was. He's been working really hard recently, hoping that his efforts might result in some extra pay. But maybe he's been working too hard? And maybe that was his excuse for welcoming his number one distraction.

"Really? You look pretty busy." Michelle chuckled, her teeth peak threw your smile.

"No, I've been working on this for hours. My brains fried. Come in. How.. are you?" Peter shut his laptop, and moved things off the bed, gesturing for Michelle to sit. Before he could second guess himself, Michelle sat gently on his bed.

"I'm..." Michelle trailed off, wondering if she wanted to talk about her feelings right now. She said nothing (remember how her New Years resolution was to never tell a lie), instead starting a new conversation. "Remember that night where we watched all those movies?"

Peter tried to hide his eagerness. Of course he remembered.

He nodded. Simple, to the point, and that way, there was no chance he could stutter.

"Would you.. maybe .. I don't know. Do you wanna watch a movie, with me? In your bed?" Michelle asked. Peter has never seen her look so innocent.

"I," Peter began, trying not to lose his cool, "would like that MJ." He smiled.

Michelle got up on his bed, placing her knee underneath her chin and smiling lightly. Peter grabbed his Roku remote control, chasing between Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. Choosing to stay away from Netflix and Chill-esque vibes, Peter put on Hulu.

"You like adventure time?" Michelle asked, seeing his "keep watching" list on season 5 episode 13. He felt embarrassed. Peter was a smart guy, there was no reason to hide that. But Michelle was an even smarter girl, and there was no way she enjoyed cartoons with simple humor, nor was there any way in Sam Heck she would expect him too.

Peter blushed. He nodded, choosing not to lie when the evidence was right there.

"That's like my favorite show Peter, put it on. Pleeease." MJ begged. "And start from season one, please?"

MJ got under a blanket neatly folded on top of his duvet at the edge of his bed. She scooted closer to Peter (much to his surprise) in pure excitement. The purest thing he ever saw.

For an hour, Michelle and Peter laughed at the silly humor of the cartoon. There was just something about this show that was entirely different from any cartoon they'd ever watched. It was odd how they could enjoy a show with such vague humor.

"I love this show," Michelle signed, throwing the blanket over Peter and snuggling closer.

He froze. This is the closest he had been to MJ for, like— well, ever. She wrested her head on his torso, eyes never really leaving the screen. Peter softened, hesitantly placing his hand on her back and relaxing.

The two would fall asleep like that, the tv still playing quietly in the background until morning.