It's about 2 o'clock the next day and Michelle is standing in the center of the gym. She had decided to come to the center anyway just to give herself a bit of a break from taking care of her dad. However, she was now regretting it as she was getting more and more annoyed by the situation she was in. The kids were standing around her, bickering with each other and with her. They had finished a start-up game of 'Head-It, Catch-It,' and now the kids wanted to play some dodgeball. Michelle suggested a game involving basketball, but the kids wanted to play the former before they went on with any basketball. On any given day, she would've loved to play dodgeball with them, but the game they were asking for required two teams. Today, there weren't enough kids to make two teams, but she thought it would be unfair if she played. The kids were all bummed out and begged her to change her mind. 'Unless you guys can find one more person, we're not playing dodgeball!" she concluded to the children, as they groaned in annoyance.

Then, someone walked in from the hallway behind Michelle. The kids all perked their eyes up at the newcomer and acted quickly. Many of them called over to the newcomer, some even rushing over to drag him over to the group, asking him to play with them. Michelle turned around to see who had walked in and was soon lost for words when she saw three of the kids dragging Peter across the floor over to where she stood.

"Can you play with us, mister? Michelle won't let us play unless we get one more player" the kids all asked rapidly, a series of 'pleases' echoing through the gym. Peter and Michelle couldn't stop looking at each other. Peter felt embarrassed that the first thing she saw of him was being pulled by children, and Michelle was still surprised to see him come out during a time where she was preoccupied with kids. It made her extremely nervous.

Peter searched the faces of the begging children and stuttered, "Uh sure, only if it's ok with you" gesturing to Michelle. The kids' attention shifted back to their leader, full of hopeful faces that she would agree to let him play. Her eyes searched them all, still trying to make sense of what was happening. She ultimately agreed when she looked back at Peter, and his charming smile. The kids all cheered, and Michelle introduced him before splitting the kids into two groups. As each group went to their sides of the court, the kids berated the two teens with weird questions.

"Are you guys dating?" some of them asked Peter, which Peter said 'no' with a chuckle.

"Is he your boyfriend" some boys asked Michelle, making her feel uncomfortable.

"You should ask her out" a couple of girls suggested to Peter, making him almost regret coming to the center to see her.

"I ship it" they each heard some kids say.

Within a minute, Michelle had set up some background music and blew her whistle to start a game called "Doctor, Doctor." Each team has one doctor that brings back players that are out by tapping them, without letting the other team know who it is. Michelle's team selected a small girl named Neela who was fast and attentive, while the kids on Peter's team selected him as the doctor. Peter had a decent understanding of the game, he remembered playing it in gym class in middle school, but it had been so long since then.

The game played out, and Peter found himself having a great time. He tried not to throw his hardest, and to just let the energy of the kids fuel his excitement. Michelle noticed this quickly as she had been sitting down after being hit by a kid named Julius. From her spot on the ground, she observed how the kids reacted to his excitement and the energy he stirred in them. Couple that with Jordan Pruitt's song "Jump to the Rhythm" playing through her Bluetooth speaker, she felt content knowing that Peter had a fun-side to him, other than the shy and depressed boy she usually saw.

Neela found a way to tag Michelle back into the game, and she set to work to help her team get Peter out to win the game. She had an idea to have a hard throwing kid named Anthony stand in front of her with a ball, while a girl named Hailey handed her a ball discretely from behind. They waited until Peter started making an approach toward the front to make their move, and Peter soon started to inch forward. Seizing the opportunity, Anthony charged up to the division line and fired the ball at Peter. Peter saw him coming forward and prepared to dodge accordingly, but was not prepared for what followed. As soon as the ball left Anthony's hand, Michelle tossed her ball at Peter as well, totally taking him off-guard. Peter was able to dodge Anthony's ball with a crunching leap, but was hit on the lower left side of his torso by Michelle's ball.

Michelle's side erupted in excitement, and Peter was left in his reluctant amazement. He looked over at Michelle as he walked to the sideline and saw the huge smile on her face as her teammates gave her high-fives and some even jumping around her joyfully. He had only ever seen her smile like that only once, and it was nice to see her in a more cheerful mood than he was used to seeing from her.

When the game was over, they played the basketball game Michelle wanted to play called "Lightning," a game similar to dodgeball, but under the rules of basketball. Both Peter and Michelle took it easy on the kids, since it was a game where any individual player could win. A boy named Aquil, managed to score Michelle out of the game, but he was quickly taken out by Peter. When there were two shooters left, it came down to Peter and a shy girl named Bailey. All around them, Michelle and the kids cheered them on as the shootout played out for almost two-minutes. "Somebody just end it" a boy named Bryson called out, which caused Peter to put a little more force into his shot. He hoped that the shot would sink through, but he put too much force into his shot, causing the ball to recache off the back rim toward the side of the gym. Peter hustled to retrieve the ball but heard the sound of cheers behind him as Bailey made the game winning basket.

Peter joined the kids for a few laughs soon after, until Michelle let everyone know that it was time to go. The kids groaned, knowing that they had to say goodbye to Peter, but they asked if he would come back sometime, which he said that he would try. The kids gathered their bags and scurried out of the gym as Peter went to get drink from the water fountain in the hallway. Michelle was just locking up the storage room when she noticed him leave the gym. She followed quickly, hoping that he wasn't leaving the building. She walked into the hallway and found him bent over the water fountain taking in a full drink. She took a couple steps toward him until she stood about a yard away.

Peter finished his drink and was startled to find Michelle standing beside him. "What?!" he muttered, wiping drips of water from his lips.

"You could have told me you were coming" she said.

Peter trembled uncomfortably, "are you mad that I came?"

"No...," she sighed, "but a heads up would have been nice." Peter nodded his head with his lips pursed, trying to think of what to say next other than sorry. Her body language gave off this negative effect most of the time, and this was no exception. The way she held her posture with one strap of her backpack laced over her right shoulder, to the way her eyes darted at anything she looked at, even the formation of her arms when they were crossed over her stomach was enough to make him uncomfortable.

"It looked like you had fun," she continued, bringing Peter out of his humiliation.

"I did," he replied, "probably the most fun I've had in a while." Peter's confidence was starting to build again, now that she was addressing him in a positive way. "So um..., I got your message, and... if you're not busy anytime soon," Michelle felt her chest fill with butterflies, "maybe we could hang out...?"

Michelle took a moment to re-establish herself and inhaled deeply before replying, "Ok." She gave a light chuckle as she said it, which earned a soft smile from Peter. "So..., what were you thinking of doing, Parker?"

Peter's smile sunk quicker than he could think of a decent idea. He hadn't really thought about doing something with her. "I don't know, I was kinda hoping to just talk a bit."

"Ok," she pondered, "um..., have you eaten yet?"

Peter became puzzled by her question, and answered with concern, "a little bit, why?" Michelle sweetly smirked at the boy in front of her and waved her right-hand, implying him to follow her. "Where are we going" he asked as they exited the building.

"You'll see."

Peter and Michelle walked a couple blocks down one of the streets that bordered the center. The mid-afternoon sun shone brightly as the two came to a small establishment toward the end of its block. Michelle entered first, allowing Peter's curiosity to build as she lead him into a place called "Amazing Fantasies." He followed behind only to have an amazed look on his face as he took in this new sight. The tile flooring was made to look like a black and white chessboard, the tables and chairs were outfitted to a 1950's nostalgic look, and all over the walls were images and sketch drawings of almost anything. The sight earned a smile from Peter, and Michelle did the same in response to his reaction. The hostess said they could seat themselves and the two made their way toward the middle of the diner.

They found a small table and within seconds of sitting down, a server came by to take their order. Michelle asked for a tea, while Peter settled for a lemonade, and the server left them to fetch their drinks. Michelle kept eyeing Peter as his eyes searched the walls. "So, what do you think?" she interrupted.

"Not bad," he admitted, "I really like the drawings."

"Yeah, me too."

"Where do they get them from?"

"Anybody," she replied, "The owners had a dream of running a place like this. They mapped it all out on a bar napkin and built it all off that one sketch. Now it's kind of a thing here, for people to come in and express their dreams on a napkin."

"That's really cool," Peter answered. As he thought about the story, he imagined the type of people that had walked through here and drew their dreams on napkins. It really resonated with him, and it gave him the thought that this might be where Michelle got her interest in sketching people. "How did you find out about this place?"

"It was one of the first places my parents took me when we first moved here. Now, I try to come as much as I can."

"Where were you from originally?"

"Fresno" she said, as the server set their drinks on the table. "You o.k. if we just split some fries" she whispered to Peter, trying to come up with an order quickly.

"Sure," he softly replied and leaned closer, "with maybe some chicken tenders?" Michelle rolled her eyes in slight annoyance and told the server what they wanted. Once he left, they giggled at how quickly they had ordered the food. "Chicken tenders? Really?" Peter shrugged his face, "I've loved them since I was a kid. Could you blame me?" Michelle smiled a little wider at his reply and Peter swung the conversation back on track.

"So, Fresno, like in California?" Peter questioned, which earned a nod from Michelle. She explained her family upbringing, how she was born in Oakland before her she, her father and mother settled in Fresno. She spent most of her childhood there, discovering her interest in reading and making close friendships. From the way she talked about it, Peter could only assume that it was a time of her life that she treasured dearly. She went on to explain that her family then had to move to Queens in early 2013.

Michelle concluded the summary of her life and Peter was quite impressed at how drastic her life has been. For her to live in a place her entire childhood, only to be taken out of it and be brought to a whole new environment. It reminded him of how drastically his life changed when his parents left him with his aunt and uncle before their unfortunate death. At least she had both parents to go through the whole change with. Then the thought of her mother crossed his mind, and how he had never met her. He knew what her dad did, but he was curious to know what she was like. "What does your mom do?"

"She's an FBI agent" she replied.

Peter's eyes widened like a child, "that's awesome."

"It is," she said, "but it takes up a lot of her time." As she kept talking about her mother, something started to turn inside her, and her smile slowly faded. "It's probably the reason they got divorced."

Peter felt sad for her, "I'm sorry that happened."

Michelle shook off his attempt to comfort her. "Don't be. I think I'm over it." Internally though, she wasn't completely over it. She was able to live life normally, but the effects of her parent's divorce were still playing out as her life continued to roll on.

Their server came around and placed their food in front of them. Peter quickly reached for a piece of chicken as if there was a swarm of children coming to take it all. Michelle giggled at his childish act and continued the conversation. "So, what's your family drama?"

"Not much actually" he said and explained the summary of his life. About how his parents died in a plane crash when he was 3 and has lived with May and Ben since. Michelle knew that he didn't live with his parents, but never knew the reason why. Now everything seemed to make sense. "I've never seen your uncle before," she inquired, "what's he like? Does he work a lot too?"

Peter's eyes found the floor and a familiar lump in his throat returned. "No ah..., he um..., he died over a year ago."

Michelle's heart sank, and she felt embarrassed for asking the question. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mea..."

"It's ok," Peter cut her off, "you didn't know." Peter tried to give a warm smile to let her down easy, but Michelle sensed it was something he wasn't comfortable talking about. She saw his hands start to shake from thinking about it, which he would fiddle around with to avoid being noticed. Peter sighed heavily, realizing that she had already noticed, and couldn't help but talk. "You know..., he was the best man I ever knew. His ethics would tick me off sometimes, but he always pushed me to be the best that I can be."

Michelle pursed her lips, trying to find an appropriate response. She had never really dealt with death herself, nor did she feel close enough with someone who had. "Do you think you are?" she finally said.

"For the most part" he answered, "but at times I'm not so sure." His face fell into a frown and he felt his insides start to cave in. Michelle noticed and wanted to make him feel better. She knew that he would have made his uncle proud, now that she knew that he was Spider-Man. Plus, he had assisted her father in escaping the burning daycare. So, if he was doubting himself, he needed some kind of support to make him feel better. And Ned wasn't around to cheer him up, so it might as well be her.

His hands were clasped together on the table and she thought about reaching out for them in an attempt to console him. Her desire to do it when deep, but she ultimately went against it, in the case that he took it the wrong way. She wasn't prepared to let him know how she felt about him just yet either. Her eyes then met the basket of chicken tenders, and she reached for the largest piece and stuck it out in front of him. Peter's eye shifted back and forth between the chicken and Michelle's face as he tried to understand what she was doing. A smile perked up on her lips, making Peter feel comfortable. He took the piece of chicken and thanked her after. "Can I ask you something?" he said to her after taking a bite.

"As long as it's not gross."

"It's not, just something that's been bugging me." Michelle adjusted herself in her seat and leaned forward with her hands clasped in front of her, almost like a criminal mastermind about to converse with a secret agent. "I'm listening" she said confidently.

"Of all the people you could have asked to be friends with..., why did you choose me?"

Michelle took a couple seconds to find a reasonable purpose without giving away too much. "I don't know," she pondered, "I think ever since I've been here, it's been hard to make friends. And when my mom left, it just made things worse. So, I kinda just kept to myself and didn't even try to make any human connection. When I got over it, I tried to open up a bit, but most people saw it as being negative, and you and Ned were the only ones that didn't turn away from it whenever I sat near you. So, I guess I consider you two my friends more than anyone."

"But you asked me not to call you MJ."

"Yeah," she said with a bit of a quiver.

"If you want me to be your friend, then why not?"

"Peter," she lightly huffed, "you're over-thinking this. To be honest, I don't know, ok." They exchanged a gaze briefly before Peter returned his gaze upon the chicken. "I mean," Michelle continued, "it's not like I'm the only complicated one here."

Peter's eyes returned to her as he cocked his head back, "I'm complicated, how?" He spoke in an exaggerated tone that could've caught the attention of the rest of the diner if he was slightly louder. "What makes me so complicated to you?"

"Well," she cheekily smiled, "you..."

Before she could finish what she was going to say, their server came around with two small ice cream sundaes and placed each in front of them. Peter and Michelle eyed each other, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Uhm, we didn't order these" Michelle said to the server, who smiled kindly and explained with a hand gesture to the front of the diner. "It's from the lady by the window" he said, and walked back into the kitchen.

The two exchanged a confused look before they looked in the direction that the server had gestured toward. They searched every booth near the window, and they were all occupied by at least one woman. Michelle observed each one in the hope of knowing at least one of them, but Peter's eyes went wide at the sight of the first woman he saw.

"Ah man" he exasperated in slight panic, as he looked upon a blonde girl with a tight black tank top and pair of high-waist denim shorts covering her body. She was sitting on the edge of her seat with her legs crossed under the table while she sipped on an iced coffee. Michelle looked at Peter with confusion until she saw who he was looking at. "It's Felicia!" 

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A/N-  HELLOOOO READERS!! Hope you all are doing great. And I especially hope you enjoyed this chapter that took a long time to develop, conceptualize, write, and finalize. But it's done now, and I hope you were able to read it to this point , because why else would you be reading this Author's Note.

This is a chapter that I (and I'm sure all of you) have been waiting for. I knew I wanted to have some kind of "sit down and talk" moment and thought this would be the best scenario. Mostly because of how casual it is, the familiarity, and how conversations can just flow nicely while eating. I also wanted to explore Michelle's life a bit, and I think what I have come up with is an interesting story. 

Also, I've hit my 20th Chapter mark. WWWOOOOOOO!!! Can't believe I'm this far in the story, and I'm low-key beating myself up that I still haven't reached where I'd like the characters to be. Oh well, hope you guys are ok with it.

Hope you liked the chapter. Please leave a vote if you did, and be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments. Feedback (positive or negative) is always appreciated.

New chapter next weekend. Until next time, BYE!!!