Liz had invited her the day before, smiling shyly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and Michelle had found herself unable to say no. How could she, when the girl she’d had a crush on for months was standing in front of her with that hopeful look in her eye. So she’d agreed to come, even gotten a little dressed up, in some sort of childish wishful thinking that maybe she would catch Liz’s attention. The other girl had greeted her with a tight hug when she arrived, making Michelle’s cheeks burn at her close proximity. It wasn’t long before she was called away though, and Michelle was left standing awkwardly amongst the crowd. She made her way to the kitchen, pouring herself a drink and looking around for something to eat.

Letting out a sigh, Michelle opens a pantry door and scans her options before grabbing a loaf of bread.

She finds Ned sitting alone an hour later, looking somewhat nervous as he glances at his phone. She makes her way over to him, sitting in the chair across from him.

“Where’d your boyfriend run off to this time?”

“He’s not my-” but he breaks off and lets out a sigh. “He has internship stuff.”

Michelle shoots him a skeptical look. “Really? At 10:00 on a Friday night?”

His eyes go wide. “He- it’s- they-”

She raises a hand. “Ned, relax. I don’t actually care. Why are you still here if he bailed?”

He gives her an offended look. “I do have other friends, you know.”

She looks around the empty room. “Yeah, I can see that.”

He sighs. “Did you just come over here to insult me?”

She feels a twinge of guilt. Ned is one of the few people she can actually stand, why is she doing this? She lets out a sigh. “No, I- I just thought you could use some company, that’s all.”

Ned relaxes again. “Oh. Um, yeah- that would be nice.”

“Ugh, I hate these things.”

“Yeah, me too.”

MJ coughs awkwardly and takes a sip of her drink.

“You like him, don’t you?”

“Who?”

“Peter,” MJ says like it should have been obvious (and it should have).

He doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t have to because the way his cheeks turn bright red says it all. 

“Yeah… That’s what I thought. If it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty sure he likes you too.”

Ned’s eyes go wide. “Really?”

MJ nods, giving him a small smile. 

“Thanks, Michelle.”

“MJ,” she corrects.

“What?”

“My friends call me MJ.”

“Does that mean we’re friends?” he asks with a wide grin. 

"Maybe," she replies coolly. "The jury's still out on that one." 

Ned laughs. "I'll take it."

They spend the rest of the party just talking, about anything and everything. MJ is surprised just how easy Ned is to talk to. Ned goes on and on about Peter, about the bubbly feeling he gets in his chest just looking at the other boy, and MJ can’t help but let her thoughts turn to Liz. 

Ned has to leave an hour later, and MJ decides to head out too. They say goodbye, plans to hang out next week already made. She’s just walked out the front door when she hears a voice call out behind her.

“MJ! Wait up!” She turns to see Liz running toward her.

“You’re leaving?” she asks, the look on her face akin to a kicked puppy.

“Yeah, I’ve got to get home. Curfew,” she says with a sad shrug. 

“Aw, that’s too bad. I was really hoping we’d get a chance to hang out, but I got stuck with hosting duties.”

“It was a great party. Thanks for the invite,” MJ says, turning to leave.

“Wait!” Liz calls out, a little frantic and MJ looks back over at her. Liz takes another step closer and MJ feels her breath hitch. “I just, I wanted to-” and before MJ can process what’s happening, Liz leans over and kisses her. MJ doesn’t have a chance to respond before she pulls alway, a nervous expression on her face. 

“Sorry, I- I hope it’s okay that I did that.”

“Don’t be sorry. You should do it again sometime.”

Liz smiles wide, eyes sparkling. “Maybe tomorrow night?”

MJ summons all of her courage and leans forward to kiss her again, short and sweet. “It’s a date.”

Her phone buzzes softy in her lap as she rides the train home. 

Ned: You were right

MJ: Almost always, yes. 

MJ: What about though?

Ned: Peter

Ned: He kissed me 

MJ: !!!!

MJ: Lunch tomorrow? I want to hear all about it

Her fingers brush her lips, thoughts turning back to Liz and her kiss. She bites her lip as she types out her next reply.