Who: MJ and Liz (feat May and Alyssa) What: awkward meeting is awkward Where: the insect house When: during the time Ned and Peter cannon update at home Warnings: TBD Status: closed/g-doc
MJ felt out of sorts. Not long after her arrival Ned and Peter got sent away. According to her guardian, Mia, if their stuff still remained, they would return. Speaking of her guardian, Mia seemed as guarded as MJ, so MJ figured either they’d get along famously or they’d kill each other.
After texting MJ, thanks to Ned giving her both May’s and Peter’s numbers, to ensure their stuff still remained, MJ decided to wait a couple days before she visited. Unfortunately, she had to go to high school, even though they only had a few months left. But whatever. Maybe she could go to college here.
But, finally she had some time and decided to go visit May. Plus, she wanted to meet the Alyssa person who lived with Ned and Peter.
When she got to the house, she noticed a pretty girl about their age walking up the steps as well. “Hello.” Maybe this was Ned’s girlfriend. MJ actually hadn’t done a deep dive on the network or anything to see what people looked like.
Liz was worried about Alyssa and May. She missed Peter a lot, more than she realized she would, and she missed Ned too even though they weren’t as good of friends. Lost in her thoughts, she noticed the girl around the same time as the other girl seemed to notice her. She blinked and then paused as recognition hit in. There was a sudden rush of dread and anxiety and briefly her chest became heavy like somehow it was hard to breathe.
Even so, Liz forced a friendly smile on her lips. It wasn’t like MJ asked for any of this. If anything, she was the ‘other woman’ wasn’t she? “Hi. Um. You’re here to check on May, right?” Liz knew she was being a coward not introducing herself right away. She would. She just needed to work her way up to it.
The thing is, even if Liz said ‘I’m Liz’, MJ wouldn’t have any idea who she was, since it turned out the coward in this situation was actually Ned. By this point, MJ had already knocked on the door.
“You know May…of course you do. This town is fucking tiny. And it’s not like we can leave. Yes, I’m here to check on May. Plus, Ned mentioned I should meet Alyssa so I figured two birds, one stone.” She eyed the girl curiously. “I’m MJ. I’m friends with Ned and Peter. Are you Ned’s girlfriend?” Personally, MJ really wanted to meet the girl who Ned managed to date for two years.
Liz suddenly blushed and her eyes widened before shaking her head. Later she'd worry it might have seemed like she was very adamantly dismissing the idea of being Ned's girlfriend, but she really just wanted to avoid any mixup. "No, no, that's Melinda. I'm Liz. I'm-" Liz faltered. She should have just said it.
The door opened and May looked from MJ to Liz and looked utterly surprised. "... I was just going to put on some tea… why don't you both come in?" May stepped back to let them. She was trying to figure out if they had spoken yet. No one was crying or yelling like it was Jerry Springer so she doubted it.
Alyssa was in her room. She just finished getting the last of her art to the museum and heard the knock. Assuming it was Liz, she came down the stairs to May standing at the door with a look of surprise on her face. “So it’s not Liz?”
MJ couldn’t understand May’s expression. To Liz she said, “It’s nice to meet you, Liz. Sorry for the mixup. Ned mentioned a girlfriend and pretty.” The other girl was pretty in a quiet kind of way.
“Sure, tea sounds great, May.” MJ walked in and noticed a girl with bright hair. “You must be Alyssa. Ned mentioned you. I’m MJ.”
MJ? Like Peter’s MJ. Well fuck, she wasn’t going back upstairs, in case Liz needed her. “Yeah, why don’t you make enough tea for me as well, May? Yeah, I’m Alyssa.” She smiled at the new girl and then said, “Hey Liz!”
Liz closed the door behind them as May have Alyssa one of those private wide-eyed 'well this got complicated' silent looks. May then disappeared into the kitchen after gesturing to the living room.
Liz was moving like she was in autopilot. Her mind was moving a mile a minute and it was hard to do more than send a hello smile to Alyssa before she sank down into the couch.
The thing was, Liz felt bad. MJ was suddenly surrounded by people who knew things that she didn't. That didn't sit well with her. Lisa pressed her lips together, her hands on her lap as her palms slowly rubbed up and down on her knees. "MJ. I'm, um. I'm more than just, a friend…of Peter's."
Alyssa had followed May into the kitchen, but not before she heard what Liz said. So, she pulled out a container of peanut butter chips cookies she’d baked the night before in a stress induced ‘I can’t sleep’ kind of night. And, in the back of her mind, she felt frustrated that Liz was the one who told MJ. Of course the boys got sent home and it fell on Liz.
For her part, MJ didn’t scream or yell. Or cry. It seemed everyone in the house knew, which meant Ned hadn’t even given her a head’s up. What a fucked up situation. And why the hell was it Liz telling her?
“Okay. Does Ned know?” That’s all she planned on saying as she processed the information. And, being angry at Liz wouldn’t solve fucking anything. It wasn’t anything she did. But, she certainly didn’t have to like it. Where the fuck was Peter, so she could yell at him. And possibly Ned.
This was entirely more civil than Liz was used to. No experience back home was as calm as this except maybe when she tried to break up with Max the first time, but even that didn't last long when he had come to try to win her back. Liz wasn't sure how to process it. Somehow, this was scarier. It felt like MJ was secretly going to explode or something.
She wet her lips and nodded at the Ned question. That told Liz that MJ must have seen Ned and Ned hadn't said anything. Did that make things more awkward? Yes, probably.
"I'm sorry." She felt the need to lead with that. "I don't think - it wasn't planned or anything. It just sort of -" it sort of happened, though she realized as she said it that it sounded cliche so she stopped herself. Instead, she offered. "Peter's told me a lot about you."
May, waiting for the kettle to boil in the kitchen, looked at Alyssa and mounted 'at least they aren't fighting?' but it was probably obvious by her expression this was not how she saw today going.
MJ’s face showed her displeasure momentarily at the nod, because of what it meant. Of course she felt hurt and angry, but it wasn’t MJ’s way to show a lot of emotion.
So she looked around the house for a minute and noticed some artwork. Definitely not done by Ned or Peter. Just, avoiding everything felt like the best plan at the moment.
“At least you didn’t finish the sentence.” MJ didn’t say it meanly, but as though she realized why Liz stopped.
At the mention of Liz knowing a lot about her made her feel uncomfortable and she didn’t hide her expression. Not that Liz knew things about her bothered her, but that Peter would talk about her to his new girlfriend. It meant, again, MJ was in the situation of knowing the least. “You realize how fucked up that sounds, right?” Her voice didn’t raise, and she said it in her typical MJ way, with hints of dry sarcasm.
Alyssa looked at May and quietly said, “Would it be better or worse if MJ yelled?” May knew MJ. Alyssa didn’t.
“I don’t know.” May looked at Alyssa while being cognizant of keeping her voiced down too. “I’m a yeller. And a thrower. I’m pretty sure MJ can be too, but I think she realizes it’s not exactly Liz’s fault.” It wasn’t really Peter’s fault either since Peter couldn’t, or shouldn’t, be expected to put his life on hold here.
Back in the living room, Liz still felt tense. She was pretty sure the last time she had this best of posture was when she was interviewing for Harvard. “I know and I’m sorry. I just didn’t - didn’t want to meet you and lie to you.” It felt wrong to do that. Them not having Peter here made things worse, though, as now they were essentially left in limbo. Liz realized this and realized the ‘limbo’ would end up being ‘who would Peter choose’ and she hated that immensely.
As someone who definitely hadn’t put her life on hold, Alyssa agreed it wasn’t Peter’s fault, although she still felt annoyed that he got sent home before he could deal with the situation. If Morpheus showed up in Madison Valley, she and her husband would need to have a frank discussion, but who knew what would happen if the Dome sent her home when it brought him here? “Is it okay that I’m annoyed that the Dome sent Peter and Ned home before Peter could deal with this? Because I’m frustrated it all falls on Liz.”
MJ took a deep breath. “Look, obviously, this isn’t ideal. Especially since Peter isn’t here.” And while underneath MJ felt hurt and confused, taking it out on the girl in front of her would help nobody. “I appreciate your being up front. And if Peter decides he’d like to keep dating you, I won’t be mad. I mean, I’m probably not going to be asking the two of you to hang out, but I’m not going to make your lives miserable or anything.” It took all her effort to not cry. God, she’d never felt more sure of her ‘expect the worst and you’ll never be disappointed’ mantra than in this situation, even with MIT and that had sucked A LOT.
Alyssa whispered to May “I gotta say she’s handling this better than I would.”
May was impressed as well. She looked at Alyssa. “Me too.” May would have lost it for sure.
Liz nodded. It was entirely awkward, but this was how she felt as well. While she might not have been so confident as she spoke, but she meant what she said. “Me too…” She was being honest, too. It would hurt, but she wanted Peter to be happy. It was what she did with Max too.
May sighed. “We should go out there.” Picking up a tray, she brought out the tea and a bunch of mugs. “Alright so I know you’ve already discussed the awkward stuff, but as hard as it’ll be, all either of you can do is wait until Peter comes back and then even then you’ll probably have to give him a day or so to breathe if he comes back from something not-so-good.” Which knowing their world could be something. “But I think the fact that neither of you are at each other’s throat is a good first sign.”
She poured everyone a cup and then sat down, then May looked at Liz. “And you’re welcome to stay here for a visit of course, but you also don’t have to on my account if it’s suddenly a lot for you.” May thought it’d be a little easier for MJ who knew her better.
Liz paused, then looked over to Alyssa as if asking for help silently.
Alyssa followed May out to where the other two teens sat in what felt like complete awkwardness, carrying a plate with cookies. Although, still way less terrible than Jeb and Morpheus meeting. Of course, she’d been present for it.
At the glance from Liz, Alyssa said, “Liz can stay and hang with me, otherwise we can go for a walk or whatever.” She brought a cookie to her mouth, “You two could just date each other and let Peter be the one to lose out.” Did she mean it? Alyssa couldn’t be quite sure, but sometimes she enjoyed giving a chaotic suggestion.
MJ had been bringing a cup of tea to her mouth and even managed to get a small sip in her mouth before she started coughing at Alyssa’s suggestion. “I don’t think that’s going to happen, nor would it make the current situation any less awkward.” She raised an eyebrow at the girl and wondered if she generally threw out random suggestions which weren’t helpful at all.
Liz immediately turned red and sputtered. “Oh, um, no, I’m not - I -” Liz was entirely embarrassed. While there was definitely nothing wrong with girls who liked other girls, the idea of her being with a girl and kissing a girl made her blush very deeply.
May let out a soft laugh and came to Liz’s rescue. “Maybe let’s just let MJ settle into Madison first. But I think a walk might be a good idea. That way me and MJ can catch up. I’d love to know how things are going back home.”
Alyssa nodded. “I was kidding. Let’s go get a cup of tea and go for a walk Liz.”
MJ looked forward to a conversation with May. Even if she planned on letting Peter tell May about her future back home. “Sounds good.