May sat down on a picnic bench trying to catch her breath. She had her eyes closed, hoping that everything around her would seem calmer when she reopened them. When she did, all she saw was Peter and Frank standing in front of her, both looking concerned and amused at the same time. "How bad was I?" she spoke to her nephew.

It had been a long time since she was able to live freely and just dance her problems away. She remembers when she and Ben would go out once every other month just to make their lives a little fun. Now she only dances alone in the apartment while Peter is either out with Ned or patrolling as Spider-Man. This was the first time she had danced in public in a very long time, and having done it, she realized how much she missed it.

Peter and Frank on the other hand, thought about the question she had left for them. Peter made a lot of quivering faces, trying to find the best thing to say. He shared a look with Frank, and their looks both agreed that it was something so spontaneous that it caught both of them off-guard. Peter looked back to his exhausted aunt and sighed, giving a unique smirk that implied some humility from her actions. To May, this was enough of a hint to know how bad it was.

"Oh my...," she chuckled, clearly seeing how goofy she had been, "maybe I should quit while I'm ahead."

"No kidding," Frank commented, "I don't think we've ever had something like that happen. It was fun."

"Uhn," May groaned as she got to her feet, "I think I should go home as well. It's getting late and I don't think I can take another step."

"Are you sure" Peter asked with a pair of wide eyes. "Why don't you just rest a bit, we wouldn't want you to miss the fireworks over the lake" Frank added. May thought both were very sweet for asking her to stay, but she was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

"Yeah, I'm sure. But you can stay Peter, just let me know when you're on your way home."

"Well, were sorry you have to go May," Frank sadly said, "and we will make sure Peter is safe."

"Oh, thank you very much," May said as she approached him for a quick hug goodbye. Michelle walked up behind the trio with a handful of water bottles. She handed everyone a bottle, to which everyone thanked her. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I'm gonna be on my way sweetie" May answered, earning a sad expression on Michelle's face. "Oh, ok." May steps toward her and gives a little hug to her as well. Michelle is a bit surprised at this, but soon figures that she has been surprised by Peter's aunt practically all day, so she just accepts it. Once the two part, May has the crazy idea to take more pictures. Peter is obviously annoyed, but May reminds him of how he needs to work on taking pictures for Daily Bugle Magazine. Peter reluctantly agrees to do it and May asks Frank and Michelle to be a part of it, to which Frank delightfully accepts.

First, Peter takes a few photos with his phone of just May, Michelle, and her dad. Then, Michelle takes his phone, so Peter can take her place in the picture. When that was done, Frank stepped out to let Michelle share a picture with the Parkers. Michelle blushed a bit, bowing her head a bit and looking down at the ground like a shy sheep. She stood to Peter's left at the end of the line-up. She gave a modest smile, which was quickly made fun of by her father. After he had taken the picture, he called over to a nearby friend to take a quick picture of the four of them.

Once the pictures were done, Peter walked May back to her car. They joked a bit, expressing how much fun they both had. "You and Michelle look comfortable" she said with a smirk at one point.

Peter blushed a bit, "Yeah, we um... we're getting along alright."

"Are ya going to ask her out?"

"May," his voice went up an octave, "can we not talk about this now. We're friends and I don't want to ruin that between us." They arrive at the car in the small lot near the picnic area. May opens the driver's door and throws her things inside. "Ok Peter," she says as she turns back to him for a hug, "just want you to be happy." They embrace in a warm hug, May's arms wrapping around his shoulders to show how much she cares for Peter. He feels this, and subtly says "I know."

As they hug, May is facing the picnic area and sees Michelle walking away from all the festivities and toward their direction. The way she carefully walked and the way she looked down when they made eye contact gave May enough hints that she was waiting for Peter. This made May smile, and she couldn't help but let Peter know about it. She pulls away to look Peter in the eyes, "it looks like you got a fan."

Peter is confused by what she means, but then May nods her head in the direction that she saw Michelle. Peter turns his head and sees Michelle just standing on the walkway only 50 feet away. She stands there holding her hands anxiously waiting for Peter to join her. She and Peter lock eyes, and all she can give is a quick smile before looking down again. Peter warmly smiles at how timid she is, even letting out a little laugh. May smiles at this and pats him on the shoulder, "have fun, tiger." May climbs into her car and fires up the engine. She puts the car into reverse and gives a little wave by twiddling her fingers. Michelle waves back and Peter say goodbye before May drives off.

As soon as May is out of sight, Peter turns and walks toward Michelle. He couldn't help but admire how pretty she looked as she stood waiting. From the way her face perked up when he acknowledged her, to the way she pushed her curled bangs behind her ear when they were blown across her face in the breeze.

Michelle had complete butterflies. She had never exposed herself in this way before with anyone. From all the dancing and singing, even to now just waiting for Peter to join her. It was as if some strange spark inside of her had taken over, and she didn't even try to fight it. As Peter walked toward her, she reflected back to the many school days when she would watch Peter with Ned from the other end of the lunchroom tables, catch glimpses of him during class, and how she was always giving him attention when he didn't ask for it. Now, having these experiences with him and learning more about him didn't make her shy to show her attention toward him, and even more courageously to seek attention from him.

Peter came up on Michelle and the two teens smiled. "Hey" Peter quirked.

"Hey"

"What's up"

"Mm nothing, just felt like talking with you" Michelle's words went soft as she spoke.

"Ok," Peter replied, "you wanna walk a bit?" Peter gestured his hand down one of the footpaths of the park as he waited for Michelle to answer. While she didn't give a vocal answer, she did smile sweetly and turned down the direction he pointed. They walked side-by-side down the small path until they reached one of the main walkways that lead to main attraction of the park, the Expo Center grounds.

In the light of the setting sun, the Expo Center and its collection of architectural masterpieces glimmered marvelously in the orange and purple haze of the sky. Peter and Michelle wondered how far they should go, in fear that Frank would get worried about where they had gone. Michelle put the worrying to ease when she quickly shot him a quick text saying that they were going to walk the grounds a bit before the fireworks started. Frank was okay with this and agreed to meet up with them at the fireworks.

During their walk, they talked about everything that went on that day. Everything from the parade, to the food her dad cooked up, to May's ridiculously fun dancing that lead to a flash mob of people. They laughed and joked about the whole thing, but still happy that they were a part of it, together.

"I hope you don't find it weird that I just whisked us both into the whole thing" Michelle commented at one point.

"I don't think it was weird, MJ. I was fun."

"Ok, cool" she said awkwardly, but kind of dreamily sighing.

Peter took note of the way she replied and thought he should go a step further. "Plus, it was nice to do it with a friend" he said.

Michelle shifted her eyes to Peter, trying to hide a blushing smile in the hazy twilight. "Really?"

"Sure," Peter answered, "I like that were friends."

Michelle chuckled at his sweet comment. "Why?"

"Ah... well you're really funny. Um... and you're not afraid to tell me things straight." Michelle's face quirked, confused by what he meant. Peter saw this and panicked, "Wha-what I mean by that is you aren't afraid to correct me when I'm wrong." As if she was more confused, she rose an eyebrow at him, making Peter think he was saying bad things about Michelle.

"I mean... uugghh. How do I this this without making it sound bad" Peter groaned with his fingers practically clawing his face. Michelle couldn't help but be partially sorry for him. He was just trying to explain why he liked being friends with her, yet his experiences with her before they were friends weren't exactly friendly. She smiled reluctantly, leaving Peter expecting some kind of response.

"It's okay," she said, "I know I used to come off as dry and rude. So, I get how some people wouldn't want to be associated with me."

Peter couldn't deny what she said. In his mind, he knew this to be true, since he himself didn't associate with her. However, he knew in his heart that he regretted ever doing so.

"I don't think they should..." he said, "... I think people would be lucky to have a friend like you." Michelle hid a small smile, appreciating every word he spoke.

"... I know I do" Peter finished.

Michelle looked at him and Peter eyes met her's, smiles from both teens filling the second of silence. "Thanks Peter." She let her words sink in a bit before Peter said, "you're welcome."

"But you're still a dork" she teased, triggering a series of giggles from both of them. "C'mon" Peter shouted, Michelle still smiling. "Nope, sorry. You can never change for me Nerdy Parker. Even with your spectacular spidey powers."

Peter smiled, just enjoying every second of his time with her. "Do you wanna know the weirdest thing about us?" Peter said.

"What?"

"You're gonna laugh, cause it's kind of cheesy." Michelle looked at him sternly. "I already hang out with you, loser" she said, "how can anything be weirder?"

"Well, May thinks you'll be a good friend to have because you'll build my confidence."

"Mmm" Michelle hummed, thinking about the possibilities of that thought. "Does she mean your confidence in general..., or with girls?"

"Ah... which do you prefer?" Peter asked, giving an awkward smile.

"I mean she's not wrong," she said, "but you are talking to me better than you ever did with Liz."

"Yeah I know," Peter explained, "it's just kind of weird thinking that my aunt has this expectation from us."

"Don't worry about it too much. You're a smart, decent looking guy. Girls will practically chase after you if you were as confident as you are with me, or as Spider-Man."

"But what do I say that won't scare them off" he asked, hoping she would give some decent advice.

"I don't think there's perfect thing to say, Peter."

"Well..." Peter had a thought, but he wasn't sure how she would react to it, "... how would you like a guy to talk to you?" Michelle's eyes widened a bit, surprised that he asked her. "I don't know," she pondered, "I've never actually dated anyone."

"Really" he muttered, Michelle nodding in response. "How is that possible?"

Michelle gave him a dry look, as if he should already know the answer. "Again, dry and rude!"

"Okay yeah, but still."

"I think most girls like to be complemented," she continued, "I can't tell you how many times I've overheard Cindy and Sally gush over how some guy complimented their clothes." Peter chuckled a bit, knowing that he had heard a few conversations like that. Still, Peter looked down the pathway, contemplating her advice. "But if you ask me," Michelle added, "I wouldn't waste my time chasing a someone that isn't going to appreciate you. Go for someone that accepts you as you are."

"How will I know when she's the one?"

"I don't know..., she said giving a lazy face, "... but I'll let you know when I find out."

Peter smiled as she did, knowing that they could trust each other. It wasn't quite the conversation they would ever think of having, but in some odd way, they found some enjoyment in talking about dating advice.

They continued walking until they came near the large pavilion at the south end of the park. Michelle told Peter that she had to use the bathroom and he agreed to wait for her. When she came out, she couldn't find Peter where she left him. Her head swiveled in all directions, hoping to find him amongst all the park walkers. She even looked up to see if he was hiding on the roof of the pavilion, but he wasn't there. She started to worry whether she had scared him off, or if a crime had gone down while she was in the bathroom and he changed into his suit. Finally, she found him standing on the other side of the structure, standing completely still on a spot of pavement not too far from the walls. From what she could tell, he was staring blankly up toward the higher sections of the wall as if something was there.

She walked up to Peter and gave him a nudge. His head snapped in her direction as he was brought back to reality. "What are you doing?" Michelle asked.

"Uh nothing," he answered, "just started wandering and ended up here."

"You kind of scared me" Michelle explained. "I thought you left."

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."

"Well, you did. And if you tell anybody, you're going to regret ever doing so."

"Wait, the wandering or the telling?" Peter questioned. Michelle gave a disturbed face that even Peter hoped to never be on the receiving end of. "Never mind" he laughed nervously.

"Anyway," Michelle continued, "my dad texted me while I was in there. They're all on their way to watch the fireworks. You wanna get going?"

"Yeah sure" he answered excitedly. Michelle shook her head in annoyance and the two teens made their way to the lake to find Michelle's father.

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A/N- Hey everyone, glad you could make it through another chapter. this one was real difficult visualize. I probably went through five revisions before I landed the right sequence. either way, I'm glad I was able to get this one out, especially now that I'm knocking on my 30th Chapter with 5K reads. Again, I owe it all to you guys for sticking with me on this incredible journey to tell a plausible Peter and Michelle story.

I wanted to give Peter and Michelle some time to be a little flirty and leave little hints for each other, so this is ultimately what that looks like in my own weird way. I had two totally different endings in mind here, but am ultimately saving them for future chapters just for the sake of complexity.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Leave a vote if you did, and don't forget to express your thoughts in the comments.

New chapter next week, hopefully. School starts back up tomorrow. Until next time, BYE!!!