In the couple days that passed, Michelle spent most of her time with her dad in the hospital. His injuries weren't too serious, but they did require professional care to heal safely. Every day, her dad would have the news channel on, and it would always be reporting on the bombing. Each day revealing some new footage of what happened. Most of the scenes shown were their rescue operation on the street helping victims get to safety. On many occasions, Michelle's father would take pride in what he and his daughter had accomplished, and that pride was supported even more when Michelle expressed the thankfulness of the little girl's mother. It really made him happy to know that people appreciated what he had done.

However, he often thought about the hardship he had gone through. Running into a building with flames twice as high as he was, seeing the scared faces of the children he had saved, and the memory of the burning piece of wood slashing through his leg and collapsing on an enflamed carpet. The greatest fear of all, was just how alone he felt with the little girl before Spider-Man came to their aid. He thought what might have happened had the web-slinger not shown up. Regardless of what happened, he was just glad to be alive and see his daughter.

After a couple treatments and countless bandage wrapping, he was finally set to return home only two days after he was admitted. Michelle was glad that he was going to be home again, she had found that living in their apartment alone was not as fun as many movies made it out to be. Her father suggested that she stay with her mother for the time, but Michelle was very hesitant to do so, claiming that she'd rather keep a close eye on him.

Despite being lonely, the empty apartment gave her many opportunities to think about where she was in her life. Like how things were going to move forward with her dad, the fact that she was going to be a high school junior in the fall, and what her future would be like. She thought about that most of all, and she always found some way to be hopeful and disappointed with any possibility. She knew she was one of the smartest students at Midtown, but what if she wasn't smart enough for a school like NYU or Columbia. And Peter, now that she knew he was Spider-Man, how was that going to change their so-called "friendship."

The father and daughter arrived back in their apartment as the late afternoon sun glared through their windows. The light bouncing off the white walls and stained carpentry of the floors, window frames, and counter-tops. Michelle helped her father sit down in his favorite chair and set up a kitchen chair and cushion for his braced leg to rest upon.

"Anything else I can get for you, dad" she asked intently. He shook his head politely, saying that all he wanted to do was to watch the Mets and Marlins game. Michelle agreed, and went to the kitchen to prepare a meal. She didn't really know how to cook, but she could make a decent spaghetti or meatloaf every once in a while. Tonight, she wasn't in the mood to go over the top, so she settled with cooking up a frozen pizza, her dad's favorite casual snack.

Once the oven was preheated and she set the pizza inside, she joined her dad in watching the game. A huge smile came across his face as right-fielder Jay Bruce hit a line drive out to right center field of Marlins Stadium in Miami, scoring in a run from third base to put the Mets up 1-0 in the first inning. Michelle was never into watching sports, but it was usually one of the best times to have a good conversation with her dad. However, she wasn't into the talking mood, and pulled her phone out to pass the time.

She scrolled through her pictures and messages, hoping to find something worth her interest. She mostly stopped at pictures of quotes she found in random places or her sketches of people in crisis. As she kept scrolling, she found a picture of the decathlon team all in uniform. She couldn't help but notice the dorky smile on Peter's face, only to see herself behind him with a less-than-interested smirk. The photo made her feel heavy, full of doubt as she remembered the last time she saw him. He hasn't talked to you since Tuesday. Way to scare him off M.J., she told herself in thought and frowned.

"You o.k., baby?" her father questioned taking notice. She gave a quick nod before straightening her posture and facing the television screen. Mr. Jones knew her mind was preoccupied with her own thoughts, and he thought of something to get her mind off of it.     

"So," he interjected, "I don't think I'm gonna be able to go to work tomorrow." Michelle's head turned, curious to know what he was going to say next. "So why don't you take the day off."

"Ok" she passively said giving a shrug. However, Jones was not done talking.

"So watcha gonna do"

"Huh?"

"What are you going to do with all that free time?" he said waving his hands around to emphasize the amount of time.

"What I've been doing for the past two days," she chuckled, "looking after you."

"Michelle, I can take care of myself around here," he said gratefully, "besides you should be out having fun, like normal kids do."

Michelle huffed, annoyed with his persistence to get her to do something for herself. "Dad, I can't think of one reason why I should." Jones pursed his lips at this, knowing that he was going to have to cross some restricted lines in order to discuss her thoughts.

"What about Peter?"

Michelle's eyes widened at Peter's name, probably more because her dad knew about him. He then explained how they had met and how he observed them walking around the gym that day. "He seems like a nice kid. I approve."

In despair, Michelle laid her body out across the couch, resting her head on the armrest furthest away from her father. "I don't know dad," she said with doubt, "Peter's... complicated."

"Define complicated."

Michelle shut her eyes and silently groaned inside her head. If she were to be honest, she would have spilled all the details about him, but that wasn't her role. She knew if Peter wanted to let someone know who he was, he would either tell them or be dumb enough to let it slip out. She was just lucky to be in the right places at the right times to connect all the clues. Now that she knew, she had different thoughts about everything he did. She wondered why a super-powered nerd like him would want to hang out with someone as weird and depressing as her. "I don't know what to think of him at times," she continued after a moment in thought, "and I don't think he sees me as a friend."

"Really," her father exclaimed, "it looked like he was happy to see you, last I checked." There was a small smirk forming over his face, implying that he could see through her claims. Michelle knew it was impossible to keep this façade up for long. Her father knew how to talk with people, and that made it easy for him to read people's true thoughts based on the tone of their voice and their body language. 

"Dad, why would a dork like Peter be happy to see me" she lashed in a repressed tone. It took both of them by surprise, mostly to Michelle. She knew her cover was blown, her desire to seek his attention was revealed. She struggled to find words to cover what she said, but with the startled expression of dad's face mocking her every thought, she could only come up with a simple response. "It's just... I- I'm never friendly to anyone, so why should he?"

"I don't know Chelle" he replied in a soft voice. He hoped that he could comfort his daughter, but he could tell that she had been holding on to these thoughts for a long time. He couldn't dissect her true feelings, but she was revealing just enough to show. She wants to be friends with him, and based on what he saw in the gym, he knew that it probably went both ways. "I can see he likes being with you," he continued, "and if you like being with him too, my best advice..., avoiding him isn't the best way to be friends." Michelle sat back up, crouching over the floor in deep thought with her hands between her thighs and holding her phone. "Talk to him Michelle," he said, "text him, call him. See what he thinks. At least you'll know."

The beeper on the oven soon rang out and Michelle stood to take the pizza out. With every step to the kitchen, every movement to take the pizza out, the words of her father clouded her mind. The image of Peter's face sometimes appearing as their voices ran through her memory.

- I can see he likes being with you.

-Maybe we could, I don't know...

- Avoiding him isn't the best way to be friends.

- ... hangout sometime?

- Talk to him Michelle

She sliced up the pizza, slapped a couple of slices onto a paper plate and walked it over to the side-table beside her father. He thanked her for the snack with a generous smile and resumed watching the game. She stood for a moment to gather her thoughts, and soon retreated into the hallway to her bedroom. She paced the floor, tracing her fingers along the white walls as she thought about what to do. She reached into her pockets and felt the shape of her phone. As she brushed her fingertips over it, she could only think of Peter, and how things would be with him going forward.

"Oh boy" she sighed as she pulled her phone out and dialed his number. She felt more nervous with every ring, thinking of what each of them would say to the other. However, the only voice she heard was his voice cheerfully saying, "Hey its Peter, leave a message!" She froze at this and didn't know what to say. The beep sounded, and she took in a deep breath before speaking.

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A/N- FINALLY, was able to get this one out. I'm sorry I wasn't on schedule this week. School, work, and clinical hours have been overwhelming my time. Hopefully this is only because I'm in the middle of mid-term exams and everything is on tight schedule.

This chapter was supposed to be a 2-part story, but the whole 'late thing" forced me to cut it down to a small story. You'll see the 2nd part next Sunday if I'm on time.

Also, I have been thinking of putting up a new Cover and Story Description. I have the cover done, thanks to some new set photos from Spider-Man: Far From Home. I'm still working out the new description, so that will take time. Let me know what you think though.

Again, I apologize for being late and I hope you're still excited for what's in store. Leave a vote if you liked this chapter, and comment your thoughts. Feedback (positive/negative/random) is always appreciated.

New chapter coming next Sunday (Oct, 21st). Until next time, BYE!!!