By Sunlight (P.P + M.J)

41. Panic

"Peter, can you hand me the red one, with the glitter?" Aunt May asked, pointing to the scarlet ornament in the box. They had just finished setting up their fake Christmas tree and were now busying themselves with decorating it with proper holiday attire. "Too bad Jack isn't here. He was going to put on the star, since he's so tall."

Peter pressed his lips together in a thin line. He was sad that Jack wasn't there doing this with them. He had expressed such enthusiasm at the idea of decorating the tree. Peter decided to save a few ornaments for the werewolf to put up, once he came out of hiding.

It being so close to Christmas, Peter had planned on going shopping for his aunt, Jack, MJ, and Ned, who was outside on the phone with his mom. He didn't really know what they would like, but Jack had been all over it. He had been thinking about Christmas for the past month, and even though he never voiced it, Peter noticed all the lists of ideas he had for things to get everyone. Even with the zero dollars in his nonexistent bank account, that didn't stop him from having wild ambitions.

He went into his room, hoping to maybe find one of his lists and steal some his ideas, and he shuffled around the papers and homework sheets on his desk. He looked everywhere, even under the bed, but what he found under there was not what he was expecting.

There was a package sloppily wrapped in green wrapping paper with Santas all over it, tied together with a bow only May could have made. Peter furrowed his eyebrows as he fished the gift from its hiding place, and proceeded to inspect it. It was to "Webhead" from "Furball", and Peter smiled to himself. Of course, Jack had already gotten him something. He was always ahead of the game.

He gave it shake, but didn't hear any rattling. What could it be? The suspense was starting to eat away at him. Giving up his search for the werewolf's lists, he went back out to the living room, where May was stringing up the lights. He placed the present gently under the tree, and his aunt winked mischievously at him.

Jack Russell was the best roommate ever.

Plus, he didn't have to be suspicious of him anymore, which was a huge relief. That whole "thing" between him and MJ turned out to be no thing at all, because MJ finally explained what had been really going on.

"I'm gonna head out," MJ said, walking into the room with Ned. Peter gave her a sad look. After the day he had, he really didn't want her to go. MJ must have seen it on his face, and assured him, "Don't worry, I'll text you later, Webs."

She had just closed the door when Ned caught Peter's eye and jammed his thumb toward the door. He said, "Go ask her about Jack if you're still thinking about it, which you shouldn't. But still, go ask before she leaves."

Peter nodded, standing up. He definitely wanted it all clarified. While it had stopped bothering him, he still wanted to know what was going on. Besides, communication was key in a relationship, and if they didn't talk about what they were feeling, then was that really a good relationship?

He opened the door to his apartment and looked out into the hallway, spotting her walking down it. When he called her name, she stopped and turned around, eyebrow raised. He closed the door and joined her in the hallway.

"You know that thing you always make fun of in romcoms, the whole "miscommunication can lead to bad things" trope?" Peter asked her, and she nodded, "Okay, so with that in mind, can I ask you, without any other feeling besides curiosity, what's been going on with you and Jack?"