─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
August 17th, 2020
MAIA'S POV:
Life at the compound was anything but ordinary. In one corner you would have Bucky and Sam arguing over which superpower was the best to have, and in another corner, you would have Wanda and I practicing our powers and sometimes messing around with everyone. Finally, in the other corner you'd have the brainiacs which consisted of my Dad, Bruce, and Peter working on who knows what.
Although it was very different from my past life, I am very grateful to be here. I even got used to being called Maia instead of Emily, although I do miss my original name at times.
Everyone has been so kind and has easily welcomed me into the family.
Peter and I even became best friends. I told him about my life in the 90s and even the boys. I played him some of Sunset Curve's best songs and even some songs that were unreleased.
•
"This one's called Bright, it was the first song that I was going to officially be a part of on the album, but we never got around to recording it. It's starts off as, Sometimes I think I'm falling down; I wanna cry, I'm calling out; For one more try, to feel alive."
•
It was obvious that I got really excited and happy when I talked about the boys, and despite them not being around anymore, I still wanted to keep their memory alive, even if I had to do it one person at a time.
When talking about the relationships I had with the guys to Peter, I obviously left out the part that Luke and I dated because it is still a sensitive subject for me. I didn't tell him how they died either and what happened that night, I just told him that they were gone.
My mother's death is also still affecting me a lot. She would sometimes appear in my dreams and I would even hear her voice at times. After a bit of therapy, courtesy of my father, my conscience eased a bit.
•
Today is actually my first day of school since my dad had arranged for me to attend Midtown School of Science, which is actually the same school Peter goes to. He even told me that I could meet his friends today which I was really excited for.
A couple of weeks after I moved here, Pepper, Nat, and Wanda all took me to the mall so I could get some of the newest clothes that were in style since all of my clothes were outdated. We bought everything from sweaters to hair accessories.
"Ooh wait Maia, try on this one! It's really in season right now."
"No, no, no, wait..THIS, this is the one!"
"These shoes are so cute! I might get a pair for myself actually..."
•
As time went on, I also began to learn more about the AI's my dad made and how I could use L.I.V. to my benefit, especially at school.
She's now connected to my new phone, smart watch, and to an earpiece that I designed myself.
One major thing that I added to her software was a heart monitor. Wanda and I figured out that when my heart rate goes above 160, I start to lose control of my powers. So I made sure that L.I.V. would advise me when I needed to take a deep breathe and calm myself down.
•
After I head downstairs, I was met with everyone waiting for me, eager to see me and give me tips for my first day of school.
Scott made it clear that it was very important to make friends and to just be myself, while my father also made it clear to keep my identity a secret and to not mention anything about the 90s.
Wanda gave me more tips to help control my powers in case my emotions go sky high for whatever reason. Finally, Sam, Bucky, and Clint told me to just have fun and to enjoy it which I really appreciated.
"Maia, I also forgot to mention that Happy is going to take you to school since it's about a 20 minute drive." My dad says as he takes a sip of his coffee.
As if on cue, Peter walks in with an excited look on his face, making it clear that he was just as excited as I was to start the new school year.
"Hey everyone! Good morning, Maia. Are you ready for your first day of school?" He asks as he takes a seat next to me at the table.
My dad clears his throat and says, "Parker, are you forgetting something," while pointing his finger between the two of us. Peter mutters an "oh right" and scoots a bit away from me.
"Really dad? How many times do Peter and I have to tell you, we're just friends!" I say to him as he just gives me a dumbfounded look.
"I just want to make sure, don't want any little Starks running around the compound anytime soon." My eyes along with Peter's widen at my dad's comment.
Peter even becomes a stuttering mess saying, "Woah um....w-we haven't d-done any-anything like that sir!" I add on to the rant saying, "seriously dad! N-No oh gosh that's...that's weird! We're just friends!"
Soon enough, Happy thankfully walks in to end this awkward conversation and tells us that's it was time to go. Peter and I say goodbye to everyone and we follow Happy to the car.
While on the way, I begin to rant to Peter which is something that I typically do when I'm nervous.
"I'm so nervous, I haven't been to school in twenty-five years! Well for me it feels like it's only been eight months, but it's actually been twenty-five years! What if everything's different? What if I make it obvious that my social skills are out of date? What if-"
Peter cuts me off and try's to calm me down. "Maia, don't worry. You're the coolest person I know! Plus, we have most of our classes together. You'll be fine, I promise." He then gives me a warm smile which helps to calm me down a bit.
Like I mentioned earlier, ever since I came here, Peter and I have been inseparable. He always does his best to make me feel comfortable in the compound and he's kept me up to date with everything, from social media to new music.
I don't know what I would do without him.
With all that being said, I'm sure that most people would assume that I have a crush on Peter...and maybe I do.
It all started when crimes were at a low one day in Queens, so Peter decided to visit me.
FLASHBACK:
July 13th, 2020
I was working on a new song that I had just finished when I hear a knock at my window.
I automatically knew it was Peter since he visits me almost everyday. I get up to open the window and when I do, I am met with the familiar red mask of the infamous Spider-Man.
"Hey, what's up? You're here early." I say as I move to the side to give Peter some space to enter my room. He doesn't leave the window, instead he says, "Crime was slow today so I figured I could take you somewhere before the sun sets. C'mon."
He extends his arm to me and I think about it for a second before agreeing and grabbing on to him.
"Whatever you do, don't look down." Peter says as he shoots a web and starts swinging. I hold on to him tighter, afraid that I might fall. "Don't worry, I got you. I got you."
He swings for about two minutes and then lands on top of a building.
"Maia." He says as I continue to hold on to him, squeezing my eyes shut. "Yeah?" I respond as he lets out a breathy laugh. "We're here, you can let go now." I open my eyes and realize that he was right. I immediately let go,
turning a bit red from embarrassment but we both laugh a bit to ease the tension.
"So, why'd you bring me here?" I ask as he takes off his mask.
"Because, I wanted you to see that." He then turns me around by my shoulders and I get a clear view of the sunset, which looked beautiful.
It truly was something I'll never forget. The way the colors made the sky look so beautiful. It was all breathtaking.
"Wow. it's....it's beautiful. Thank you for bringing me here." I tell Peter as I turn around to look at him. His eyes meet mine as he respond with "you're welcome."
"Since we're already here, how about I swing by, get us some food and we could have a small picnic here?" Peter suggests as he puts back on his mask. "Sounds like a plan."
Not too long after, Peter returns with two sandwiches that he said was from a place called, "Delmar's." We ate them as we continued to watch the sunset which eventually turned into a dark and starry night sky.
"You know, this is probably my favorite thing that we've done so far." I say as I take a bite out of my sandwich.
"Really? Even better than the time we went to Coney Island?" He asks.
"Yup, even better than that. The sunset was so beautiful that it took the number one spot." Peter just stares at me for a while until he says, "I'm glad we did this."
•
It was since that day that my stomach would get butterflies every time I saw Peter.
Despite everything, It doesn't really matter how I feel because I'm still not one-hundred percent over Luke, and it wouldn't be fair to start something with Peter knowing that I still had feelings for my ex.
Plus I'm sure that Peter doesn't feel the same way.
I know it's been eight months since I've been back, but Luke and I dated for two years. He was my first love, first kiss, first everything.
Well except for...that.
It isn't going to be easy to just get rid of the love I have for him. I haven't even tried moving on yet, I just reminisce on the memories that we shared together.
Luke, along with Sunset Curve, will always have a special place in my heart. I just wish that I could talk to them...one last time.
PETER'S POV:
While in the car, I notice that Maia suddenly became quiet. Usually when she's nervous she rambles a lot, kinda like me. I turn to look at her and see that she had a sad, but serious look on her face.
"Hey, you okay?" I ask, giving her a concerned look. "You got a little quiet." She just gives me a small smile and says, "yeah I'm fine. Just thinking."
"Oh." I say, pressing my lips together. "Do you want to talk about it? Because based on the look on your face, I don't think it has anything to do with school."
It stays quiet for a second until I speak up again, worried that I might've over stepped.
"S-sorry, I probably shouldn't have said that. You ju-just seemed so upset and-and I wanted to try and help to make you feel better-"
"Pete." She says, cutting me off. "It's okay,
I was just thinking about my friends back in LA. I really...really miss them. Even though it's been twenty-five years since they've left, sometimes I still get that feeling of hope that I'll see them again. That they'll sudden appear in front of me and it'll be like nothing ever happened...like that night didn't happen. I don't know I just...I just still can't believe it." I just watched her and stayed silent as she confessed her feelings.
I take a moment to respond until I say, "I know how you feel. Death is..." I sigh but then continue. "It's hard. Really hard. I lost my uncle Ben not too long ago. I was in denial for so long, and I blocked up my emotions so that I could help my Aunt May move on. One day I just snapped and the emotions just kinda...flooded out. It's never easy to get over the death of someone, let alone when it's more than one person, but it's not impossible."
MAIA'S POV:
Silence falls between us as I think about what Peter said.
My thoughts are cut short when he speaks again. Only this time, his words almost bring me to tears.
"I didn't know the guys, but if they're anything like the people you described, then they would've wanted you to move on. They would want you to be happy."
"Thank you Peter, I really needed to hear that." I say as I smile at him. He gives me one in return and says "you're welcome."
A couple of minutes later, Happy rolls down the privacy window and informs us that we were here.
"Alright kids, we're here. How you guys feeling? Nervous?" He asks as he makes the turn, allowing for us to be able to see the front of the school.
"A little." I admit as I play with the rings on my fingers, another thing that I do when I'm nervous.
"I'm excited actually. I get to show Maia around and I'm finally gonna be able to see Ned after a whole month." Peter says to Happy as he grabs his backpack, ready to head outside.
Happy stops the car in front of the school and we both say our thank you's and our goodbyes as we get out of the car and watch Happy drive away.
"So, you ready?" Peter asks as we walk into the school.
"As I'll ever be."
•
We make our way into the school and through the hallways. Peter tells me which doors lead to what and even shows me where my classes are since we arrived a bit early.
After that, we make our way to our lockers since they were pretty close to each other, only five lockers apart.
He shows me how to actually unlock a locker since it was a bit different from what we had in Los Feliz.
"Well that's pretty much everything that you need to know. I showed you your classes, how to open your locker-" he says as he was cut off by a distant voice in the hallway. "Sup penis Parker. Who's this hot girl you're with?"
I give him a dry laugh and say, "not interested." He then starts to walk up to me, but Peter cuts in between us, clearly getting irritated. "Leave her alone Flash."
"Or what? Scared that your little girlfriend will leave you for me." He laughs and I can see that Peter starts to clench his jaw and close his fists. I grab him by the shoulder and whisper to him, "it's okay I got this."
He looks at me confused for a second before calming down and stepping back, allowing for me to go face to face with Flash.
"Listen Flash, today is my first day of school and I'm not really in the mood for a cocky jerk like you to hit on me. Leave me and Peter alone, or else." I say as I walk up to him and straighten myself to intimidate him a bit.
"Whatever. I'll leave you and this loser alone. Just know that eventually, you'll be wishing that you chose me instead of him." He says as he walks away.
Although my dad would strongly disapprove of the little stunt that I was about to pull, it's gonna be worth it.
"Watch this." I tell Peter as I hide behind him and use my powers to do a little trick that Wanda had taught me a couple of weeks into training.
Soon enough, my trick worked and I hear a person in the hallway say, "Aye guys look, Flash had a little accident!"
Everyone turns to look at Flash as his pants begin to soak in pee. He looks down at his pants, embarrassed, and runs out of the hallway and into who knows where.
Peter and I laugh our asses off until we're once again cut off by three other voices calling out Peter's name.
"Peter!"
They all say in unison as Peter and I turn around. I see that two girls and a guy walk over to us and they all looked very excited to see Peter, well except for the girl with curly hair.
As they approached us, the guy goes in to hug Peter and as they let go, they do a really cool handshake that I assumed they created themselves.
"Dude, how've you been? It feels like forever since we last saw each other." Peter laughs at his friends comment and says, "Ned it's only been a month." The boy, that I now know is called Ned, responds with, "one month too long."
As they catch up, the two girls that were with Ned come up to introduce themselves to me.
A girl with straight blonde hair is the first to talk, saying, "Hi, I'm Betty! It's nice to meet you." She gives me a kind, bright smile as I introduce myself to her as well.
"Hey, I'm Maia! It's nice to meet you too."
The curly haired girl then introduces herself as well. "Hey, I'm Michelle but you can call me Mj." She says and then grabs a book from her backpack and starts to read it.
Not too long after, Ned walks up to me and formally introduces himself and apologizes for not doing it earlier.
"That's okay, no worries." I assure him as Betty and Mj say their hi's to Peter.
The bell rings, signaling the official start of the first day of school.
• Time Skip •
My first four classes went really well. Most of my teachers were super nice and they all gave us time to talk to the people around us since it was only the first day.
I had Peter in every class except third, but it wasn't a problem since I had Betty in that class.
She's really sweet and she introduced me to even more people in our class.
Peter and I were currently walking to lunch, talking about how third period was. When we get to the cafeteria, we sit towards the back with Ned, Mj, and Betty.
As we were all talking, I suddenly felt a bit dizzy but I just brushed it off. Then with the blink of an eye, I was in a different place. A room of some sort. It looked like a room in the compound, but why am I here?
Suddenly I hear a voice call out my name, but it wasn't Maia.
"Emily? Emily!" The voice says, and I recognized the voice.
Everything was blurry, but suddenly I was brought back to Midtown, to the present.
Was that a vision? That's never happened before. Maybe this is one of the superpowers my mom couldn't find.
But wait, why would the voice call me Emily? No one calls me that anymore.
Unless...
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
AN: second chapter, done! Also I know that this book is moving pretty quickly but don't worry things will slow down in a bit :) also I just wanted to clear up some things.
1) Emily/Maia went into a deep sleep before she turned 17
2) More clarification will be given on the whole Killian situation
-El <3
[Edited: June 10th, 2021]