Peter's plan

Chapter 18

"A pair of handsome geniuses?"

When it becomes evident that MJ doesn't mind him staying with her, Peter finds a patch of sun on the grass and sits there, a few feet away from her. He's deeply relieved that she still wants him to be around, despite him proving to her how much of an idiot he actually is. He's super lucky, he thinks, glancing at her furtively to see her focused on her drawing. His heart leaps happily in his chest when she tilts her head a little, gaze fixed on her sketchpad, the tip of her tongue peaking from between her lips as she concentrates.

When she looks up from her drawing and catches him staring, Peter decides to lie down on his back and observe the clouds to resist the temptation to just look at her. He manages it for a little while, focusing on the fluffy shapes of white clouds above him, his mind wandering aimlessly. When he glances in her direction again – because he can't help it, because he's an idiot –, it's to find her already looking at him, and they both look away hastily at the same time. And honestly, Peter loves it.

He's a little surprised when he hears her put her things back in her bag and stand up, and then a little more surprised when she comes to sit down next to him without a word. He peaks at her and she's glancing in the distance, her arms wrapped around her knees. The sun is shining behind her, the rays beaming through her brown curls. Peter thinks about telling her how beautiful she looks, but he doesn't. He's already made a fool out of himself today, once per day is enough he thinks. "You done with your drawing?" he asks after a little while.

"I'm not showing it to you right now," MJ huffs a little defensively, laying her legs on the ground and glancing at him with a frown.

"Oh no no," Peter stammers, waving his hands around, "I wasn't asking for that I–" But then she's grinning, lying down on the grass next to him, her shoulder a couple of inches away from his, and he completely loses his mind over it, he admits it. "MJ."

"What?" she turns to look at him with a raised eyebrow, and obviously he blushes hard.

"Nothing." Shaking his head, Peter turns his gaze to the sky once again, trying to stay calm. It's like he can barely breathe. She's so close to him he can smell the fruity flagrance of her shampoo, hear each of her peaceful breaths, feel the heat of her skin where their arms are the closest. He's paralyzed, thinking it's been a very long time since his senses last overload. He's known how to dampen down his enhanced senses for ages, but it's like he can't at all right now.

"Relax Parker." MJ's voice brings him back after a couple of minutes, and it's like he's waking up from a dream.

"I'm relaxed," he scoffs, a little offended when she chuckles.

"Liar," she retorts, smirking at him, and Peter decides childishly to hold her gaze to prove her wrong – despite the fact that she actually isn't wrong at all, because honestly he doesn't think he's ever been this tensed in his life before. Her smirk slowly fades away as they stare at each other, their faces at the same level, and Peter thinks back to the night before, when they were in the hallway and they'd almost kissed – he thinks. The tension between them is similar now, and it's sending shivers down his spine. He desperately wants to close the gap between them, to press his lips against hers, but he also cannot move at all. A small part of him thinks it wouldn't be practical anyway, because he'd have to move his entire body first before being able to lean his face close enough to kiss her. Close enough to kiss Michelle Jones.

Oh wow.

He's both disappointed and relieved when a familiar voice comes from above them, breaking the spell. "Hey guys!" Ned tells them happily, "Harrington says it's time to regroup."

Peter looks up and meets his best friend eyes upside down with a smile. He feels MJ sitting up next to him with a breathless 'right', and when he glances back at her, he's surprised to catch her with a thoughtful look on her face. It only lasts a second before she's smirking at him, and then he's sitting up too but she teasingly pushes him back on the ground and jumps on her own feet. "Hey!" he complains, and MJ just looks down at him with a snort before grabbing her backpack and heading towards the main alley of the park ten yards from here, where Betty is waiting for them.

Peter stands up with a chuckle, his cheeks a little red when he meets Ned's knowing look. His senses are all over the place still, and he cannot help overhearing Betty say in a quiet voice: "You guys are cute."

And MJ to retort blankly: "Shut up."

It was a whispered conversation, one Peter shouldn't have heard, and yet he did. He feels a little sheepish about it, a little guilty, but then he sees MJ spin to look back at Ned and him, and her cheeks are a little red, and Peter's heart jumps in his chest. He smiles at the ground, the world around him so full of possibilities it's almost overwhelming. In a very, very good way.

The rest of the afternoon is devoted to a tour of the park with the group, and a little trip on the rooftop of the Philharmonie, a huge theater located in the park. The view from up there is amazing over a large portion of the city, and Peter isn't surprised to see MJ grab her sketchpad and start drawing. He likes the surge of happiness in his heart at that. He keeps his distance, sensing that she probably wants to be alone again. Brad's been given him murderous looks all afternoon now, but he hasn't confronted him about anything so Peter just ignores it. He doesn't like what Brad is obviously trying to get him to do, which is compete for MJ's affection. It's just stupid, and definitely disrespectful to MJ too. He's not gonna do that.

Peter walks around the rooftop on his own for a little while, considering what it would be like to swing as Spider-Man in Paris. He's not gonna do it – that would be a pretty stupid thing to do and would most probably end up with his whole class realizing he is Spider-Man, so hard pass – but it's fun to imagine it nonetheless. He spots the Eiffel Tower in the distance and leans into the guard-rail for a while, looking forward to the next day and the end of his plan. It's getting closer. It should have been today, but in a way he's kind of thankful it actually isn't because waiting one more day gives him the impression that he is more prepared.

"What is it with you and the Eiffel Tower?"

Peter spins to catch MJ's smirk and he chuckles. "Feeling the first effects of mind control I guess," he shrugs, and is delighted to hear her laugh openly at that.

"Nice," she nods, grinning at him before pointing her gaze towards the view. They're silent for a moment, and then she sighs. "It must only affect slow minded people then, I'm not feeling anything."

Peter snorts and shakes his head, ignoring the teasing to go with the flow instead. "Wait till we're there tomorrow," he assures, "it's gonna blow your mind away."

"Feeling incredibly drawn to large cities yet?" she retorts like she's asking about the weather forecast, and Peter lets out a chuckle before nodding seriously.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna go reverse the street signs once we're done here."

"Cool. Let me know when you start stealing everyone's left shoe," she adds casually, but Peter can hear her grin in her voice without even looking at her.

"Why are you guys quoting Lilo & Stitch?" Ned asks with interest, stopping on the other side of MJ with an interrogative eyebrow raise.

"Did you know the Eiffel Tower is actually built as a mind control antenna to create an army of the insane?" Peter asks back, leaning on the railing a little to look at him.

"That's cool," Ned says with an appreciative nod, and Peter can't help his beaming smile at his best friend.

"Peter's already affected," MJ tells Ned with a sad smile, patting Peter on the shoulder like he's on his death bed. "I didn't think it would affect anyone from this distance, but his brain must be really weak and impressionable for it to impact him even from here."

Ned laughs and Peter scoffs. "Or," he retorts, waving her hand away with a pout, "I'm actually super smart and very perceptive, and that's why it works on me from this far."

"Keep telling you that buddy," MJ snorts, her eyes filled with amusement as she looks at Peter, and he feels his heart jolts in his chest. He pouts and she smirks, and they stare at each other for a moment before Ned clears his throat behind MJ.

"Yeah I'm not feeling anything either."

"That's because you and I are the same, Leeds," MJ tells him.

"A pair of handsome geniuses?"

"Exactly."

"And very modest too," Peter adds with a mocking frown.

"Shhhh, that's alright slow brain, don't overthink this, let Ned and I handle the thinking," MJ retorts with a smirk, and Peter groans while Ned bursts out laughing. She takes a step back with a self satisfied smile, then waves them off with a casual 'see ya later losers!' à la MJ.

Ned waits for her to be out of earshot, then he turns to meet Peter's eyes and nods enthusiastically. "Alright, I give her my stamp of approval, you two have my blessing."

Peter cannot help his laugh at this. "Of course, she basically told you you were a handsome genius."

"It's nice to be acknowledge for who you truly are," Ned sighs thoughtfully.

"I bet," Peter laughs, shaking his head in amusement. "But thanks dude, I appreciate it. We're a long way from your initial plan of being bachelors in Europe."

"This trip was the change we needed to become men, Peter."

"Right."

"Do you think we could do double dates afterwards?" Ned asks then, looking dreamily to the sky. "Imagine this, Star Wars marathon double date, wouldn't that be the best?"

"I probably need to be with her first before we make more plans," Peter chuckles, "but yeah that would totally be awesome."