When We Were Young

Chapter One

Taking the mascara wand out of the tube I held it close my lashes, separating the hairs with the bristles, coating on a light amount of the black tinted paste. Next I brushed through my brows with a clear gel to hold the fine hairs in place. I wanted to look as natural as possible, but still like I put a little effort into how I presented myself to the outside. For the final touch, I applied a sheer red lipstick to match my rose tinted cheeks.

I opted for a yellow sundress, the hem reaching mid-thigh. It wasn't too revealing just the right amount of skin showing off the tan I got over the summer, the colour of the dress exenterating it even more. To finish off the outfit, small golden studs adorned my ears. I took a final look at myself up and down in the mirror. The reflection showing a strong, independent woman, who has enough strength to survive the next three days. "You can do this, y/n."

On my way out, I grabbed my tiny suitcase and quickly slipped into my heels. I didn't pack a lot, if I'm lucky, I can fly back on Saturday. I put on my cardigan and saw the cab already waiting for me in front of my house. The cold morning breeze woke me up even further and catching a seven am flight didn't seem too terrible anymore. We drove through London for a bit and I was able to catch the sight of the sun rising between the different buildings.

Y/n was surrounded by kids her age, forming a perfect circle around the scared little girl. They were shouting profanities, none of their parents would be proud to hear coming out of their child's mouth. The playground was full of kids to pick on, so why did they pick her out of all of them? It was unfair, but y/n would later learn, that she's actually grateful for being picked by them. Because if they didn't, she would've probably never met her best friend.

One of the boys stepped closer to her, almost touching her nose with his. So close y/n could see the tiniest freckles on his face. "No wonder you don't have any friends! You're so weird." They all laughed in sync making her feel the tears prickle at the corners of her eyes. Suddenly someone from outside of the circle spoke up.

"She does have a friend!" Everyone's head turn to the boy who walked over to her to stand by her side. "Me!"

She looked up to the boy and smiled at him as a silent 'thank you'. The kids left except for the boy with the freckles. "Great, now you can be weird together." He ran away laughing, trying to catch up with his friends.

Y/n turned to the boy, a little frown on her face. "You don't have to be my friend if you don't want to. I am weird." She looked to the ground, ashamed of the title they gave her.

The boy gently, but firmly gripped her shoulder so she would look at him. "I do want to be your friend, I also don't have any because everyone thinks I'm weird." She looks up to meet his eyes again with her eyebrows knitted together.

"Why would they think that?"

He was scared to reveal the reason why, but had faith and hope she wouldn't push him away. "Because of my arm." He pushed back the sleeve of his hoodie on his left arm. The silver of the metal reflected the few sunbeams shining through the cloudy sky that hovered over London.

She stared at his prosthetic arm in awe. "I've never seen anything so cool!" She lifted her head to look at him with sparkling eyes. His expression showed how relieved he was to hear those words coming from the pretty girl.

"My dad's friends with Howard Stark, his son Tony hangs out at my place sometimes. He found a new way to make prosthetics and gave this to me for my birthday." He's never been so proud to talk about his arm.

Her admiration for him only grew bigger. "You're dad's friends with the Howard Stark?" He straightened his back and lifted his chin proudly. "Yes he is."