By Moonlight (P.P + M.J)

5. Drawing in Detention

*MJ pov*

Michelle could barely focus the next day of school. The previous night had been such a wild ride. Not only had she met the elusive Spider-Man, but she had been saved by a full-blown werewolf! Yeah, she knew that trippy stuff happened in New York all the time, like when a god shot a blue sky beam into the sky, or when aliens on flying jet skis tore through the Manhattan area, or that time Liz's father was a thieving bird man. Despite all that, Michelle had usually kept a straight face to the chaos that often unfolded. In a sense, she'd grown used to it.

But last night had changed all that. She'd kept a straight face to everything because she was never directly involved. But to be thrown in the middle of it, that was a completely new experience she didn't need.

After school, she went immediately to detention. Never in her life had she ever been sent there, for she went on her own free will. It was quiet and peaceful, and gave her time to think. She also liked to "sketch people in crisis", as how she put it. But thoughts from the night before kept attacking her brain, and she started to sketch pictures of Spider-Man to distract herself. She had appreciated how kind he was to her, not talking a lot as he escorted her back to her family's townhouse. She smiled when she recollected their last conversation.

When they got to Michelle's front door, Spider-Man shot a web and hung upside down next to her doorway, his eye lenses wide as he stared at her.

"So, uh, here we are," the web-slinger said, glancing toward Michelle's door. She noticed he was actually trying now to disguise his voice, and she thought his attempt was, while cute, was ridiculous. She shrugged and blew her bangs out of her eyes.

"Yup, so it seems," she replied, and when he didn't move, she frowned at him, "What do you want? A gold star? A kiss? Beat it, Webs."

She heard him laugh softly, and she knew for sure she recognized that sound. It annoyed her to a major degree that she couldn't place who it belonged to.

"I guess I'll see you around then," he said, but he stopped abruptly at the end of his sentence, as if he was going to say more but halted himself, "What's your name again?"

"Never gave it to you, but it's Michelle. MJ to the people who know me."

"Do I know you?" He asked, genuinely curious as he leaned his masked head to the side.

"Not until you can name my favorite color," she scoffed, closing her hand around the doorknob to her home.

"Challenge accepted," was the last thing he said before he shot a web and soared up the building. When the hero had disappeared into the night, she stilled and stared at the spot she had last seen him.

God, I hope I see him again, she then thought to herself.

Back in the present, Michelle found herself drawing a very detailed depiction of Spider-Man hanging upside down, his eye lenses as wide as before. A noise took her attention away as Peter Parker stumbled into the room. He had been grossly late to school and looked beat, dark circles under his intelligent brown eyes. Coach Wilson, the overseer of detention, told him to have a seat. Peter sat down and buried his face in his arms. Michelle quickly flipped the page of her sketchbook to a picture of a snarling wolf, completed with lightly shaded fangs to act as silver. It was the same one from the night before. She thought she owed it at least one or two drawings for saving her. And honestly, she was quite proud of herself for recalling its features so vividly. Flipping to a blank page, she focused on Peter and started to sketch him in his worn-down, weary state.

"You're drawing me, aren't you," he mumbled from beneath his arms, "I can hear your pencil moving."

"It's what I do, Parker," Michelle answered simply, starting to draw his eyes after she'd outlined his face, "What's got you looking so beat? Not that I care or anything."

"Rough morning, is all," was his mumbled reply.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Not really."

She grunted softly at his stubbornness, but forced his life issues out of her head as she started to shade his brown locks that draped carelessly over his face.

"Oh yeah, thanks for hooking me up with Spider-Man," she said, glancing over at Coach Wilson to make sure he wouldn't overhear, but the coach was asleep in his armchair, headphones on. Peter gave her a peculiar yet interested look, "He's actually a pretty cool guy. Much cooler than you."

"How so?" He asked, lifting his head and laying his chin on his hand.

"For one, he's not a dork," she started, and he rolled his brown eyes playfully, "and he's altogether pretty chill. Wouldn't expect that from a superhero."

"That's cool. He's usually like that," Peter said, but his tone almost sounded cocky as he added, "Yep, he's pretty awesome once you get to know him."

"Suuure, Mr. "Fanboy" Parker," she sighed, smirking. She held up her finished drawing, and he raised an eyebrow.

"A wolf?" He questioned, and Michelle realized she'd held up the wrong side. Quickly, she flipped her sketchbook and showed him the right page.

"Do I look like that all the time?" He asked, and she nodded, quirking her chin.

"Sometimes, but it's not a bad look entirely," she pointed out, "Makes you look all serious. I'd say you rock the mad look, but I don't wanna inflate that bull-sized ego of yours."

He laughed slightly, turning his head away. But something clicked in Michelle's head. That laugh. She'd heard it before, and it puzzled her. Was it possible to hear the same laugh in different people? She figured, because there's no way a loser like Peter Parker would ever be a superhero.

Right?

I liked writing this. Idk why, it's my favorite chapter so far. And that's all I have to say about that.

~Fargone5