Michelle "MJ" Jones

You break up with your significant other because, despite how much you love them, the resentment you have towards them is not something you can deal with while still being with them. Your significant other – now your ex – calls you twice since then. Both times, you ignore the call. After the second time, you fear they'll start calling excessively. That doesn't happen. And now the only time you see them is on TV and in articles.

That was basically the sequence of events Peter and I went through. I didn't really want to break up with him. But I didn't think it would have been wise for me to keep that relationship going. The feelings I had for him were conflicting as fuck. I still loved him and I'd love him even after I die. But I was extremely angry with him for not keeping his promise after the spell was cast. I was also angry with him over a part of me being trapped by myself in a universe that was stuck in time. Of course, Peter didn't know about the second spell. Not even the person who cast the spell knew about it since, of course, Doctor Strange would cast a spell without protecting himself from its effects.

Did I ever mention that I still want to kick Doctor Strange in the dick?

Anyway, even though Peter didn't know, it still didn't change the fact that it happened because of him not keeping a promise. A part of me wanted to be understanding, and I guess, to a degree, I did understand. Quentin Beck really wanted to use Peter to get revenge on Tony by proxy, and, unfortunately, even after he died, he really got what he wanted. Peter's life was never the same since the video dropped and it took him a long while for him to find his mental and emotional footing after that. He lost a lot along the way – his aunt, his life, a good chunk of his reputation, and even his friends for a bit. I wanted to cut him some slack off of that alone. The problem was, every single time I want to, I keep remembering that I was by his side every step of the way, along with Ned. I even told him I got him. And yet, he still didn't keep his promise. I know he didn't do it for selfish reasons. But that was just the thing, though – I felt like Peter is the type of person who would try to aim for what he believes to be the greater good, no matter how others would feel about it.

So, when Peter called those two times, I was extremely annoyed. I was prepared to tell him off if he called a third time. But, he didn't call again. He didn't text me. He didn't try to contact me at all. He even stopped showing up to Peter Pan. Or, at least, he stopped showing up during my shifts. Peter was keeping his distance. I should've been happy about that since that's what I wanted. I wasn't though. I started wishing that he would try to call me. And I hated that. I felt like I was being that kind of person – the kind of person who'd complain about not being invited to something they didn't want to go to in the first place.

Why am I like this?

I figured Peter wasn't taking the breakup too well, either. I still kept tabs on Peter's exploits as Spider-Man. He was moving a bit different while under the suit. He wasn't doing things with that certain flair he was usually known. His maneuvers were more direct. He was almost no-nonsense. I also noticed that he hasn't been wearing the Black Dahlia Suit. Though I didn't say anything to anyone about it, I felt a bit hurt by that.

I thought I'd be able to take my mind off of things when Liz Allan was in town. Earlier in the week, we talked on the phone. When she asked how Peter and I were doing, I reluctantly told her we broke up. I didn't go into too much detail, partly because I didn't really want to talk about it and partly because I couldn't be completely honest with Liz without exposing the fact that Peter is Spider-Man. All I really told her was that Peter and I had issues we couldn't deal with while we were together, which was true. Liz and I decided to spend the day together. In the morning of the day we agreed upon, we had breakfast at a restaurant. We then walked around the city. Eventually, we ended up at a clothing store. I was trying my best to have a good time and… I guess I was having a time of sorts.

"So, what do you think about this dress?" Liz asked. I looked at the dress she was holding up. It was a simple black evening gown.

"It's okay, I guess," I replied.

Liz gave me a look. "Thank you, Em. I really needed that in-depth analysis."

"Liz, it's you. You can wear anything and you'd look good in it."

Liz scoffed. "True as that may be, I have a feeling that's not the reason you're acting a bit off. You're still thinking about Peter, aren't you?" I wanted to lie, but all I did was shrug. "Maybe you should test the dating pool."

I narrowed my eyes. "Peter and I JUST broke up. You do know that, right?"

"I get that, I really do. But the way you're acting, you'd think you were married to the boy for several years." She hung up the dress. "Listen. You're heartbroken. You love the boy. But you guys are not together anymore. Plus, last time I checked, Peter's the only guy you ever been with – you never been with anyone else."

That last statement was only half true.

"All I'm saying is expand your horizons," Liz continued. "See what the dating pool is like. You may actually find somebody better." She then shrugged. "Or be a hoe. I know I went through my hoe phase when I started in college in Oregon."

"I'm all for sexual freedom and empowerment as much as the next person, aside from the obvious exceptions, of course. But neither dating nor being loose appeals to me. I just want to be single for a while and focus on myself." I turned away, intent on ending the conversation. I ended up turning into somebody. I took a step back.

"I'm sorry," the person said. I looked at the person. My eyebrows rose up.

"Brad?" I said.

Brad smiled slightly. "Oh, hi Michelle." He then looked past me. "Liz! I haven't seen you in a long while."

"Yeah, it's been a minute, to say the least," Liz replied. I looked over my shoulder at her for a moment as she walked up to my side before I looked back at Brad. I really wanted to walk away. "How have things been?"

"They've been okay. I'm just ready to graduate." Brad looked back and forth between Liz and I. "I see you two are… clothes shopping."

"Yeah, we are," I said, doing my best to keep a civil tone. "I'm guessing you're doing the same."

"Sort of. I was really just stopping in to look at shirts before grabbing something to eat for lunch."

"You know, MJ hasn't eaten since this morning," Liz said. "Why don't you take her to lunch with you? She could use a pick me up after her breakup." I looked over at Liz with a glare. I didn't take too kindly to her putting my business out there like that.

"Um… if she's cool with that, sure," Brad replied with an unsure tone.

"Brad, would you kindly excuse me and Liz for a moment?" I asked. I didn't bother waiting for an answer. I walked away, grabbing Liz while I did so. I pulled her along. I heard her complain about me having a tight grip, but I ignored her until I felt I was deep enough in the store and far enough from Brad. I let go of Liz and gave her a glare.

"Okay, I know you were always kind of strong, but when did you become this strong?" Liz grumbled as she rubbed her arm with her hand.

"I don't know – when did you start playing matchmaker?" I shot back, making sure to keep my tone low so I don't make a scene. "And while we're at it, what makes you think it's cool to announce to the whole world that I'm single?"

"I'm not playing matchmaker. And while I'm sorry for putting your business out there, I figured you could spend some time with a guy not named Peter. I'm just trying to get you to test the waters. That's all."

I blinked slowly. "Brad is not waters I want to test."

"Why not? He seems cute enough."

I leaned forward as I raised my eyebrows. "Did I not tell you what Brad did at the Valentine's Day dance?"

"You did," Liz replied with a nod. "You also told me he apologized."

I took in a breath, resisting the urge to smack Liz upside the back of her head. "Yeah, he did. I still haven't forgiven him yet and I don't know if I ever will. He apologized and seems to understand that what he did wasn't cool. I get that. But that still doesn't change the fact that he not only stalked my boyfriend –"

"Ex-boyfriend."

I rolled my eyes. "– and a close friend of mine, took a picture of them while they were in the bathroom, and tried to use that picture to try and break Peter and I up."

"Well…" Liz trailed off for a moment. She then nodded. "…Okay, you're not wrong. But, think about it this way. You just have to have lunch with him. I'm not asking you to commit to anything. Consider it a vibe check of sorts." She leaned towards me and smiled. "I'll owe you one for this."

I closed my eyes and rolled them. Something told me that Liz wasn't going to let it go. "You know what? Fine."

Liz smiled at me. "There you go. Just text me where you and Brad are when you arrive at the place you guys eating at. And then text me when you're done, okay?"

For the sake of getting Liz off of my back about, I went to lunch with Brad. We didn't end up anywhere fancy, just some greasy spoon diner. I didn't mind it. During the lunch, Brad and I talked. And… I wasn't having a good time. I wasn't having a bad time. I was just… having a time. On one hand, Brad wasn't putting up a front and he wasn't pretending he was interested in the stuff I was interested in. I actually got to know a bit more about him. I learned that his father is originally from England while his mother is from Malaysia and is of Chinese-Malaysian descent. I learned he was going to Empire State on a sports scholarship, and that he was deciding on whether or not he wanted to be a doctor or an engineer, though he would be willing to give a pro sports career "the college try". It was a bit… refreshing… to see this side of him, I supposed. On the other hand, it was obvious that there was nothing there. Even if I didn't have heat with him over what he did at the Valentine's Day dance, I'd still have doubts about Brad and I even being a thing.

So, when we were done with lunch, and he asked…

"Any way we can do this again?"

I couldn't help but frown as I looked Brad in the eye.

"To keep it a hundred with you, I'd rather not," I said.

Brad nodded slowly. "I'm guessing I blew any chance of us being a thing after what I pulled, huh?"

I shook my head. "I can't say that's true. But that's only because you never had a chance to begin with. Don't get me wrong, I'm still not over the creep shit you did at the dance. But even before that, I never felt a connection there. Even now, I'm not really feeling it. So, I'm sorry Liz made you waste your time."

Brad shrugged. "I mean, there are worst things I could be doing. Besides, it's not like I went out of my way for this." I smiled at him. I was a bit relieved that he wasn't taking it personally.

The waiter came by. I asked for separate checks. There was no way I was going to have Brad pay for my meal. As we made our way out of the restaurant, I pulled out my phone and texted Liz to let her know that I was done with lunch.

"So, going to spend the rest of the day with Liz?" Brad asked.

"Yeah, I am," I said. I put my phone away in my pocket. "Unless you want to take her out to dinner later on."

At that, Brad scoffed. "No thinks. I'd rather not spend every night checking the window to see if Vulture is circling the sky above my building looking for me."

I shouldn't have found that joke funny. But, as we exited, I couldn't help but laugh. Brad actually laughed with me. I was about to responded as I gazed across the street. I then went quiet.

Across the street was Peter and Ned. Ned had his eyes wide in surprise. Peter, on the other hand… I couldn't quite get the read on the look he had on his face. He stared at me for some seconds. He then looked towards Brad for a moment before he looked back at me. After that, he turned and walked away. For some reason, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. Somehow, I knew that Peter wasn't too thrilled. A part of me wanted to walk after him and see what was wrong with him. Another part of me wanted to just forget about it. I was sure I'd find out about it from Ned later on. Still, I wasn't feeling too great.

"MJ, are you okay?" Brad asked. I looked over at him. He looked at me with a look of concern.

"I'm fine," I said. I shook my head. "I'm just going to wait here for Liz."

Brad left. I waited for Liz to meet me. A couple of minutes later, she arrived.

"So, how'd it go?" she asked.

"It was a waste of time," I grumbled. I left out the part where I ended up seeing Peter. "So, thanks for that."

Liz frowned. "I'm sorry. I just thought…" She trailed off before she shook her head. "I thought I was doing something good. But, it looks like I didn't."

"No, you did not." I took in a breath. "Let's just forget about this, okay?"

Liz nodded. "Okay."

I raised an eyebrow. "Where were you, anyway?"

"Oh, I was just making a few phone calls. There were a couple of people who were checking up on me."

For some reason, I started to get a funny feeling in my gut. Maybe it was the way she said, but a part of me felt a bit… suspicious. Something told me to press her about it. I didn't, though. I figured I was just in a weird mood from seeing Peter. So, I just nodded. "Okay."

Liz smiled at me. "Come on, I'll buy you some red tea." She started to walk and I walked with her. I kept a stoic face. But underneath it all, I just wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and sleep the day off like a hangover.