Raven's pov:
Six-year-old Raven was trying her hardest not to fall over.
She was attempting to bike down the street on her very first bike ever. Olivia was running beside her, making sure she wouldn't fall. Raven had never biked without training wheels and this was one of the hardest things she's ever done.
"Come on Ray, you can go faster than that" Olivia cheered.
Raven began to peddle faster and faster. She was reaching the end of the street. She was almost there and then-
She accidentally swerved to the side too much and the bike fell over.
Raven fell onto her back but instead of crying, she just started giggling.
Olivia caught up to her and ran over to make sure she was alright, she seemed less worried for her sister's wellbeing when she saw that the six-year-old was having a giggling fit.
"You're getting better," Olivia praised. She had wanted to teach Raven how to ride the bike instead of her parents.
"I'm the best" Raven grinned from ear to ear.
"Yeah yeah, whatever" Olivia rolled her eyes as she helped Raven to her feet.
"Oh-" Raven looked at the ground near where she had fallen and saw a small bird that wasn't moving.
"Do you think it's dead?" She asked her sister.
Olivia took a few steps toward it and nodded, "I think so, poor thing."
Now Raven was sad. She hated seeing animals that were hurt, it was even worse when it was a bird since her name was Raven.
"Aw don't cry Ravie" Olivia patted her little sister on the back. Raven had tears in her eyes, she hated that the bird had died here alone with no family.
"Here, let's give it a funeral okay?" offered Olivia.
Raven was immediately cheered up by this.
"Okay!" She cheered.
Olivia had sent Raven to go collect some things from around the area for the funeral. Raven had come back with a shovel and a large rock per Liv's request.
"Okay and put the rock there" Olivia pointed to the edge of a neat hole she had just dug.
Olivia carefully scooped up the bird and placed it in the hole. Raven watched as she shoveled the dirt back inside.
"Here lies little birdy, a beautiful soul-"
"-taken from us too soon"
Six-year-old Raven may have been at some small funeral for a bird found on the side of the road. But seventeen-year-old Raven was standing at the back of a full service. She knows she told herself she wouldn't come back here but she couldn't miss the funeral, it just felt wrong.
She hadn't wanted to capture too much attention since most people in this town either didn't know her or believed she was dead.
The ceremony was beautiful. There was a priest at the front, leading the others in prayer. It seemed the whole town had decided to show up. Towards the end, people came up and placed flowers on the casket. Once almost everyone had left, raven walked cautiously up to the closed casket. It was a tradition in their town that the casket remained out until sunset so that the spirits could come and help take the soul up into the sky.
Raven placed a single rose on top of the other's, a small tear escaped her eye and she quickly brushed it away.
"Did you know her?"
Raven turned her head quickly to see another girl standing next to her looking down at the rose she had just placed.
"No," Raven said quietly. She didn't want to have to explain to a stranger her connections to this person.
"Did you?" She asked the girl.
"Yeah, Olivia was one of my best friends. Almost like a sister to me" She sighed.
Raven felt her stomach clench at those words, she wasn't even sure why.
"They said it was a robbery gone wrong. I just don't get it. Who would want to hurt such an innocent person like Liv?" The girl ranted. Raven slid her hands into her pockets, she just now realized how extremely underdressed she was for this occasion.
While everyone else was wearing fancy suits and black dresses. She was wearing a hoodie and a pair of leggings. Honestly, she hadn't even known she was going to come. She kinda just hopped in the jet and took off.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Raven said honestly.
"Thank you"
Raven wasn't sure what to say next. She wanted to know more about Olivia's life. What better way than to ask one of her closest friends.
"Can you tell me about her?" She asked.
The girl seemed confused for a moment and Raven realized she had just asked a complete stranger to tell her about someone she had just said she didn't know. But then the girl nodded.
"Liv was-"
Raven spent the rest of the day listening to her sister's life being told through someone else's eyes.
------------------
It was dark when Raven returned to school and she didn't talk to anyone. She just went to her room and sat on her bed thinking.
She was glad that her sister had a pretty good life, but she was so disappointed in herself for not joining it sooner. She could have been there all those times but she wasn't. Raven placed her head in her hands, all these thoughts were making her brain hurt.
There was a light knock at the door which Raven ignored, she didn't really feel like talking to people right now.
Apparently, the person at the door didn't need an invitation, they just came in and closed the door behind them.
Pietro walked into the room. The first thing he saw was Raven sitting on the bed with her head in her hands.
He sat down carefully on the bed, she didn't look up from her hands.
"Raven?" He asked, cautiously placing a hand on her back.
She slowly lifted her head from her hands, her hair was partly covering her face so Pietro tucked it back behind her ear.
Her eyes were a little red but she wasn't crying, it seemed she was more stressed about something.
"What's wrong?"
Raven just shook her head a little and rubbed her eyes. "Nothing" She mumbled.
Pietro didn't believe her one bit.
Of course, he didn't, he wasn't stupid... sometimes.
"Raven, what's wrong?" He asked again. She closed her eyes and put her head down. Pietro cupped her cheek to open her eyes and look at him.
"Tell me what's wrong дорогой (darling)"
Raven didn't even bother to ask him what that word meant. She just kept her gaze on his extremely blue eyes trying not to let herself cry.
God, she was such a child.
Why did this even bother her so much?!
Get it together Raven.
"It's nothing," She said with a small smile on her lips, hoping he would leave it alone. He didn't of course.
"I don't believe you," he said in a "matter of fact" kinda tone that made Raven scoff.
"Well, I don't need your approval" She sassed quietly.
Pietro shook his head with a light chuckle.
"Raven please" He stroked the hand that was still cupping her cheek against her skin.
Well now Raven really felt like crying, she wasn't even sure why.
[You know when you get hurt but it doesn't actually cause any pain, and then somebody asks you if you're okay and that's when you start crying?
...Just me?
Anyways...]
Raven smiled sadly and sighed.
"I just hate this" She admitted, her gaze on the wall behind him because damn those eyes were too blue.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I had five years, I could've talked to her, been with her." raven sniffled a little bit before breathing out "seven years." With a sarcastic airly laugh.
Pietro knew exactly what she was talking about. He gave her a pointed look
"That was not your fault" she shook her head sadly and stood up from the bed. Pietro watched as she started pacing back and forth in her room.
Raven was going back and forth from one side of her room to the other. She honestly just wanted to go back to the way things were before she had decided to be stupid and get herself involved with something that she had nothing to do with. How had her life gotten so messed up?!
Now Raven did feel the tears forming in her eyes. She turned her head away so that Pietro wouldn't see and kept pacing. Her eyes caught on the small stuffed bear on her desk and she hated it. it was just staring at her. Accusing her of everything, or so she thought.
Pietro was a little confused on why she was having a staring contest with a bear but he was even more confused when she grabbed the bear and threw it against the other wall.
Pietro stood from the bed and in a matter of seconds, he was standing in front of her, a hand on each of her shoulders. Pietro was taller than her, that was evident when she had to tilt her head upward to look him in the eyes.
He could see that tears were now rolling down her face. He brought both his hands up and wiped the tears away.
"Talk to me, please" he whispered.
Raven could feel his breath on her face, that's how close they were.
"Haden was right" she whispered, a fresh tear falling down her newly dried face.
Pietro wiped this one away as well, he gave her a confused look.
"What do you mean?"
"In the woods" more tears were falling down her face, her voice was quivering slightly.
Pietro didn't know what happened in those woods. All he knew was when he got there. Hadeon was dead. He didn't know anything that happened before. He did know that Raven hadn't wanted to hurt him. If she had, then she was probably forced to. Not that it would make her feel any better.
"Raven, he was angry. Whatever he said wasn't true" he tried to get her to calm down.
She just shook her head, her eyes shining with tears.
"I didn't- and he wasn't-"
Pietro couldn't understand what she was trying to say. She was breathing fast and Pietro didn't know what to do.
"I tried to- but he wouldn't-"
Pietro needed a way to get her to calm down but he couldn't think of one.
Then he had an idea.
Would it work? He had no clue. But the sight of more tears falling down her face was enough to make him do it.
"He wouldn't- and then he-"
Raven was cut off by something.
Lips...
Yeah
There was a pair of lips on hers.
Raven was very surprised by the sudden action but she didn't fight it.
Pietro brought his hands to her waist and Raven brought a hand up to place on the side of his neck.
Pietro pulled away, his hands remaining on her waist.
Raven dropped her hand from his neck, still in complete shock.
"You are a good kisser" Pietro grinned at the completely dumbfounded expression Raven was wearing.
It took her a few seconds to realize that he had said something.
She laughed softly, completely amazed by what had just happened.
Because damn, she just had her first kiss with a superhero.
And she did not regret it one bit.
In fact-
Raven reached up to pull his face down to hers once more.