MJ had been giving voice messages to Peter because she's worried about him. He's always absent, he skips classes most of the time, and he doesn't even attend a single decathlon meeting anymore. One time, she called him and he finally answered.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Her voice booming in Peter's ear.

"At home. Why?"

"You were absent once again, Parker. You didn't even attend our decathlon meeting! What is up with you lately? I've been asking Ned what you're up to but he never talks! Just give me a heads-up if you ever wanna leave the team, I'll gladly replace you with someone more responsible." She didn't want to come off as a horrible person, but she was getting furious with his behavior.

"Listen, I've just been really busy lately. With the whole Stark internship thing and everything. Please understand that, MJ. I promise I'll make it up to all of you, especially you. I don't wanna leave the team. Please don't kick me out." He explained. Michelle's heart softened just hearing his desperate voice on the phone.

"Okay, fine. But I'm really worried about you, Peter. You've been behind with not only decathlon meetings, but also classes. Midterms are coming up."

"Ah shoot I completely forgot about those!" He said, facepalming. "Can I... ask you a favor, Michelle?"

"What is it?"

"Here's the thing: Ned usually comes by to my house to help me study. Since he has a girlfriend now, he helps her."

"Okay...? Just get to the point, Pete."

"Can you help me study for midterms? I literally don't know anything. I have no notes whatsoever. I don't even know the topics that were discussed! Please help me." Michelle's heart softened once more.

"Sure. Want me to come by later today?"

"Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much, Michelle. You're such a good friend." If only it was so much more, Peter thought internally. "See you later!" He ended the call.

***At Peter's house***

Michelle knocked on Peter's door and he answered it with a smile plastered on his face.

"Thank you so much for coming over." He said.

"No problem." She replied. He looked at her face and noticed tiny details here and there. How her skin looked like it was glowing even though she never wore makeup, how her bangs fell on her face perfectly and making her cuter, how her lips seemed so kissable. He grinned. MJ snapped her fingers in front of his face. "You okay?"

"It's just... you... you.." He stuttered.

"I... what? Is there something on my face?" She asked.

"No it's just... nevermind. Anyways, come in." He made room for her to walk inside. MJ put her bag on the kitchen counter and put all of her books on it.

"Okay. What subject do you wanna start off with?" She asked, sitting on a stool. Peter sat beside her.

"Anything."

"Physics it is."

A few minutes later, MJ gave Peter some equations to solve. It had been very quiet. Peter decided to break the silence between them.

"So... The Winter Formal is coming up..."

"So I heard." She said, looking at her hands that were on the table. She twiddled with her thumbs.

"It's just so hard to find a date nowadays."

"True that." Michelle sort of knew where he was going with this which made butterflies flutter in her stomach.

"Has anyone asked you out yet?" Peter asked, slowly looking at her. His focus on the equation completely gone. He fidgeted with the tip of the pencil. MJ's face started to redden.

"No," She replied, giving an awkward chuckle. "I don't think anyone would want to ask me out."

"W-Why not?"

"I don't know... I'm not really the type of girl to be asked out by guys, you know. Most girls are rich and beautiful. Their faces with be full of gorgeous makeup and their hair would be down and perfect and not in a ponytail with an ugly bang hanging on their face."

"What are you talking about, MJ? Nobody likes 'perfect' because there is no such thing. That's what makes you so unique out of most girls. You're not perfect, and you're beautiful just the way you are." She slowly looked up at him.

"You think I'm beautiful?" She said in disbelief.

"I think you're gorgeous. You just don't see it yet." He said, caressing her cheek. She smiled, and he did too.

"Well I think you're very cute." She replied.

"Oh stop it." He said, doing a hand gesture, making Michelle laugh. He loved it when she smiled. The kind of smile where her teeth were showing.

They sat there for a while and just laughed. Eventually, they continued on studying. In between though, they talked about a lot of stuff. They realized they had so much more in common than they thought. At some point, their conversation drifted back into the Winter Formal.

"Who are you planning to ask out?" asked Michelle, waiting for a specific answer.

"There's this one girl in mind," He replied, smirking. "But there's a high possibility that she might reject me."

"Why so?"

"I don't know.. I don't think I'm her type."

"Who is it, then?"

"Doesn't matter. Someone probably asked her out anyways." He teased, leaving MJ confused. She wasn't the type to always think that people were talking about her, but she genuinely thought that Peter was talking about her. She already told him that she didn't have a date yet, right?

"Tell meeeee." She said, forcing a smile. Maybe he doesn't like me in that way, she thought. But whoever it was he had in mind, she'd be so happy for him either way.

"Okay, I'll describe her for you. She's wonderful. Inside and out. She's smart, she's feisty when she needs to be, but she's actually really kind. She's very quiet and reserved. Whenever I see her, I can't help but smile. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who likes her. I mean, who wouldn't like her? She's the best. I love the way her hair would fall on her face but she'd still look amazing. I love how she never wears make up yet she still looks extravagant. She may not be the universal definition of 'perfect', but she's perfect to me." Michelle had so many names in mind: Riley, Kyla, Jazzy, Holly, Iris, it could be any of these girls that Peter was talking about. He noticed the confusion in her face. Does she not get that I'm clearly talking about her?, He thought.

"Is it... Jazzy?" She asked.

"Oh my god Michelle," He said, facepalming. "I'm talking about you!" He smiled, holding her hand.

"Oh... oh!" She let it sink in for a bit. She realized he'd been teasing the whole time. The cliche things that happen in a movie. She smiled at him.

"Will you go to the Winter Formal with me?" He asked.

"Of course, Peter. I'd love to." She said. He cupped her cheek and leaned in. Suddenly, the front door burst open and Aunt May walked in. The two pretended to flip through the textbooks like nothing unusual was happening.

"You're back so soon, Aunt May?" Peter asked.

"Yep. Thank goodness there wasn't so much traffic. Is she your classmate, Peter?" She asked, looking at MJ.

"Uhh yeah. She came over to help me with reviewing for midterms. Ned was.. pretty busy."

"Nice to meet you..." She told MJ, waiting for her to introduce herself.

"MJ." She finished her sentence.

"MJ." Aunt May repeated. "You're very pretty." She complimented, going in for a hug.

"Thank you." She hugged back.

"Do you want some snacks?" She asked.

"Actually, I was just about to leave."

"Aww too bad. Are you coming back tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah, wanna come back tomorrow?" Peter asked, echoing Aunt May.

"Sure." She smiled. Peter helped her clean up and put the textbooks in her bag.

He walked her out of the house and said goodbye.

"See you tomorrow, I guess." She said.

"Yeah." He replied. She started to walk away but suddenly stopped. She looked back at him.

"Peter, I really really like you. I just wanted to let you know."

"I really really like you too, Michelle." She chuckled under her breath. He walked towards her and kissed her cheek.

"See you tomorrow." He said. She walked away and waved at him.