"Hey, if this is getting too much for you Mj I can Gwen to tutor me again." Flash says after I catch myself almost having fallen asleep during our session. "No. No I can handle it." I tell him adamantly. "Take a nap." I go to protest but he beats me to it. "I know what I'm doing for once so sleep, I'll wake you up if I need you."
"Fine, but don't let me oversleep."
"I won't."
I move from the table to the couch and am out in an instant. I guess I was more tired than I thought I'd been.
***
When I wake up I see flash still here, I feel well rested for once but I feel guilty as I watch him handle my nephew. It was a Friday night, he could've been out with anyone, having fun but he was here babysitting, me and Tommy.
"Hey, you're up. Do you feel better?" He asks sitting beside me making me grin, "yeah, sorry for that." He shakes his head."Look you've done so much for me, so I'm here as your friend to do the same for you." He says taking my hand in his as I grin up at him gratefully.
"Well since I've got the rest of the day to waste, how about we finally watch that crappy basketball show-"
"Do not call one tree hill crappy again." I threaten making him chuckle as I hop up to put it on. I settle next to flash as it starts up and lean my head on his shoulder smiling once I feel him rest his head on my own.
***
"Peter!?" I was not expecting to see him tonight, I'd been working for a couple of hours already so I looked a mess as he entered the diner. "Mj?" He's equally as confused as me as he looks me up and down, not expecting to have seen me clad in my uniform.
My face practically floods red as the embarrassment fills me up at his gaze. I didn't know anyone I knew came here, it wasn't exactly a hot spot for teens. It's just the old diner that my dad used to bring me to.
"W-what do you want?" I ask pulling my notebook from my apron as he hesitates before awkwardly sliding onto the stool right across from where I was stood. "Uh coffee." I turn rapidly as I blink quickly trying to rid my eyes of the tears of humiliation that had begun to sting them.
It wasn't the fact that I worked here, it was more so the fact I looked awful, I had mashed up banana in my hair and other food staining my clothes due to a particularly difficult child that had thankfully just left with his mother who'd refused to discipline him as he pelted me with whatever food he picked from his plates.
I hated people like that, the people who refused to teach their children how to behave in public, I was cursing her out the entire time in my head. She was so lucky that I was not one of those workers who spat in peoples food because when I caught her laughing along to her sons antics I'd never been so tempted before.
But the diner had been incredibly busy since then and I hadn't had even a second to go and try and clean myself up, it'd only just begun quieting down when Peter had walked in. So here I was, stood in front of the last person on earth I'd like to see me like this.
"You trying something new with your hair?" There goes my face again as I pass Peter his coffee only for him to mock me. "Yeah I heard mashed bananas does wonders for hair." I shrug trying to act as though I were unbothered.
"Since when do come here?" I ask leaning against the counter that was separating us as he watches me, "I don't know, Ben brought me a few times, he used to bring may here on dates. They'd share a strawberry shake with fries." I smile slightly at the thought, I could imagine that.
"My dad used to bring me here." I reveal making him look at me intrigued, I hardly ever spoke about my dad, even back when Peter and I had been friends. "He'd put me on his shoulders as we walked here because I loved being tall and being able to see from above." He smiles as I speak, "and then we'd get here and he'd let me order anything I wanted, it was almost always a sundae that I wanted. He'd make a fuss saying my mom wouldn't be happy if she found out but he'd always cave. He'd say I could buy his silence with those disgusting maraschino cherries, it was win-win for me because I always hated them anyways."
"Watson! I don't pay you to stand around talking!" I shrug at Peter and send him half a smile before I get back to working.
I glance over at him every so often, he was studying as he sat. He looked so concentrated as he poured over his notebook scribbling furiously at such a speed I was surprised he hadn't burned a hole through the paper.
He looks up surprised as I place something in front of him just as he begins to get ready to leave. His eyebrows furrow slightly seeing as he hadn't ordered anything else. "On me." I shrug my voice light as he observes the two milkshakes and fries all packed up and ready to go.
One strawberry milkshake for may and a chocolate one for Peter. He didn't like strawberry as much as he loved chocolate.
"Thanks, but I can't take this on you." He nods in his usually awkward manner a smile tugging on his lips as he looks me in my eye as he begins to pull his wallet out. "Peter it's fine." He doesn't seem convinced and so I have to place my hand over his to stop him. "Honestly," his eyes land on our hands before mine do, I quickly remove my hand at that.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
I turn back to pretend to work to see my boss approaching and when I look back Peters gone. My eyes land on the tip jar which had been empty a minute ago and shake my head with a smile as I see the bill he'd deposited in it.
