~Peter and Michelle - Book II~

Chapter 15

Peter and Ned were resting in their room, watching a movie on Ned's phone, when they heard a knock at the door. Looking at the time and seeing that it was almost 11pm, they glanced at each other with the same confused expression. "Who could that be?" Ned asked, his question more rhetorical than anything. "I'm not sure," Peter said, thinking out loud. He walked over and looked through the peephole, a small smile appearing on his face when he saw who was on the other side. "It's MJ," Peter said to Ned before opening the door and revealing her in her pyjamas and a cardigan. "Hey, MJ. You alright?"

He stepped back so that she could step inside, and as she passed him, he shut the door behind her. Ned raised an eyebrow, "You guys aren't going to make out again, are you? Because if you are, I'm leaving." Peter coughed in surprise, but Michelle kept her composure and answered him dryly. "No, but I do need Peter's help with something." Peter walked over and stood beside the bed, staring at her with concern. "What is it?"

"You know how I have been saying that my neck has been killing me all day?" She waited for them both to nod before continuing. "Well, I took a shower and when I got out, I saw a small bruise above my collarbone." She was about to continue but Ned interrupted her, "You sure that it was a bruise, or was it a hickey from Peter." Peter coughed again in embarrassment, refusing to look at anybody in the eye. Oh my god, Ned. Please shut up. "It's not a hickey, Ned. Keep going and I'll smack you over the head with that pillow." She gestured to the cushion on the reading chair in the corner. Ned shut up.

"I didn't think much of it, but I was a little confused as to how I could have gotten the bruise. When I got out of the bathroom, Betty saw it and well, her reaction was different from mine." Peter raised an eyebrow, "Why?" She started to pull of her cardigan, "Well, she took a photo of my back and..." She turned around and both Peter and Ned gasped at the same time. "Oh my god, what happened?!" It's huge! How on Earth could she have gotten a bruise this bad?! She didn't get hit by anything that could of caused a bruise like that as far as I can remember. It's really dark. God, MJ, what did you do?!

"I have no idea how it happened but explains why my neck has been killing me. It's really tender as well." Ned looked like he was on the verge of throwing up. Peter stood up and walked over to her, getting a closer look at it. I've had many bruises before, but all the ones that were even close to this size was because I cracked a rib or got thrown back against a wall or I hit something really hard. How could she have gotten something this bad?

He reached out a hand and pressed a finger lightly against her back. She winced instantly, so he pulled away quickly before turning her around. "You sure you can't remember bumping into something, or anything that could have caused this?" She shook her head. "I can't think of anything, that's why I'm worried. I was hoping you could scan my back and see what's happened. You brought your suit with you, right?" Oh, I see what she's saying. That's a good idea. Peter nodded and ran over to his suitcase, opening it up and pulling out his mask.

He pulled it over his head, and he heard Michelle laugh a little. "I look stupid with just the mask on, don't I?" She laughed, "just a little." Shaking his head a bit, he called out for his AI. "Karen?" Her voice rang throughout his mask. "How can I help you, Peter?" He turned towards Michelle and motioned with his hands for her to turn around, which she did quickly. "Karen, I need you to scan her back and see if you can find out why she is bruised."

He watched as Karen did as he asked, and when she scanned, she outlined the area which the bruise covered, which actually extended further than they could see, almost down to the bottom of her shoulder blade. "I have detected large amounts of broken blood vessels, which has caused the bruising. The broken blood vessels extend further down than the visible bruise, so the bruise will become bigger and more painful over the next hours. I cannot detect any other abnormalities, so the most likely cause is either suffering from taking a large blow, or mass amounts of strain on her muscles." Peter nodded, sighing with relief that it wasn't too serious. "Okay, what should she do?"