Circus - Britney Spears
All eyes on me in the centre of the ring of the ring
Just like a circus
When I crack that whip, everybody gonna trip
Just like a circus
Don't stand there watching me , follow me
Show me what you can do
Everybody let go, we can make a dance floor
Just like a circus
When Amara stepped out of the Maserati that was parked outside of the school, Peter was less shocked than those around him were at the girl's hidden wealth.
And when Amara walked towards where Peter was standing with Ned and MJ, Peter could see her eyes sparkling, she looked happy.
Now they were walking toward their lockers to collect their things. That was until Ned said, "Hey, MJ? I think we should go this way."
MJ turned around in confusion, "What do you mean? This is the way to our lockers."
Ned looked directly at Peter and winked, "I know, but I think we should take the scenic route."
Peter's eyes widened in realisation. Ned was trying to get him and Amara alone together.
Before MJ or Peter could object, Ned grabbed her hand and led her in the opposite direction.
Peter harshly whispered, "No! No, Ned!"
Despite Peter's protests, Ned just smiled and gave him a thumbs-up as he and MJ turned around the corner.
Peter reluctantly turned back to Amara and tried to laugh the incident off but this only resulted in an awkward chuckle.
Amara smiled though, "So that was... weird..."
"Totally weird!" Peter said, kicking himself at how enthusiastically that came out.
"You okay, Parker?" Amara asked and Peter's cheeks turned red at the nickname.
"Yep, all good...Rogers..." God that sounded so awkward! She's gonna think you're so weird! Pull it together!
"So...should we go?" She asked, gesturing for Peter to lead the way.
He soon realised this and walked slightly ahead of her, guiding her to where her locker was.
As they walked, Peter saw Amara's eyes land on the block of lockers that he hides his web fluid under and Peter suddenly felt extremely warm. Does she know something? No, come on you're just being paranoid! She doesn't even know you, if she had a question, surely she'd just ask...right?
Peter scratched his neck, desperate to end the awkward silence that fell between the two of them, "So... did you get the homework done?"
Amara replied nonchalantly, "What homework?"
"For Physics? You didn't get it done?"
She just shrugged, "No, I guess not. It's fine, I'll do it in the lesson."
Peter was shocked at how little she was bothered by this, "I mean, it was pretty confusing.."
Amara looked at Peter and gave him a half-smile that made his stomach drop, "Well, did you have a problem with it? Was it hard for you?"
Peter replied quickly to avoid further embarrassment, "No! I got it, eventually. It was fine."
"Then I think I should be fine, don't worry," Amara joked, smiling at Peter as his cheeks, once again, turned a shade of bright red.
Peter opened his locker and Amara saw a camera on one of the shelves.
"Is that a 35mm film camera?" Amara asked.
Peter stared at her, "Yeah. Yeah, it is. I work for the school paper. Take photos and stuff."
"Really? I didn't know you worked for the school paper," Amara said.
"Yeah, It's just a hobby."
"You should show me your work, sometime. Maybe you could take some photos of me," She laughed. "Only if you make me look good though," she warned.
"It's be impossible not to," Peter whispered.
"What was that?" Amara asked.
"Nothing."
When they finally got to the room, Peter breathed a sigh of relief. Amara had no trouble with the homework, just as she'd said. And for the next hour, they talked and talked, getting to know each other much better.
—————
Amara sat down at lunch waiting for her friends, but they were taking longer than usual, so she opened her copy of the Handmaid's Tale and started reading.
She hadn't noticed Peter standing in the corner, with his camera taking candid photos of her as she read. He took a few before she looked up and noticed.
She rolled her eyes and smiled at him. Calling him over.
"I was waiting for you for ages!"
"I'm sorry. I was taking photos, someone specifically requested, if I remember correctly."
"You're such an idiot," she laughed, playfully. "I better get those photos back!"
He joined her and they sat together, before Ned and MJ soon joined them.
—————
Amara's day had passed pretty quickly, and although it was only her second day, the school day had already begun feeling repetitive - at least with her lessons.
Amara had gotten to know Peter, MJ and Ned really well today and managed to get their numbers. She was happy to be able to say that she, at the very least, knew a little bit about her new friends.
When Amara had returned home, Pietro zoomed out of nowhere, picked up Amara on his back and continued to run around the tower while she held on tightly, shouting protests for Pietro to stop and put her down.
When he finally stopped, they were in the Avengers training room. Amara looked around, confused at why Pietro brought her there. "Maximoff? Why are we here?" Amara asked in a slightly exasperated tone.
Pietro threw his fists up and got into a fighting stance, "Let's fight! Come on! Hit me!"
Amara sighed and dropped her things down in the corner. She could beat Pietro and still make it in time to meet Steve, no problem. She also readied herself in a similar stance tilted her head and said, "Has anyone ever told you how fucking needy you are?"
"Yes. You. Multiple times! Now let's get on with it! No powers,"
Amara shrugged and agreed, "No powers."
Amara threw the first punch at Pietro, but he dodged it, he used that momentum to flip Amara onto the floor. Amara rolled to the side just before Pietro landed a punch on the floor beneath her. She used her feet to sweep Pietro's feet from under him, and he landed with a slight smack on the floor, with Amara now pinning his arms down.
"Ready to give up?" Amara asked, smugly.
"Not likely," he replied.
"That's too bad, I would've gone easy on you."
Amara smiled and caught Pietro's fist right before he landed a punch squarely in her jaw. However, he used his other hand to throw a hard punch at Amara's stomach, and she was thrown backwards from the impact. She stands up and shakes off the punch, charging forwards to meet Pietro's fist with her own. She uses his distraction to her advantage and tries to grab his fist with her other hand, only for Pietro to stop her halfway. He twists Amara around so that he's holding her arm against her back.
"Give up! Come on," Pietro said while gradually twisting her arm more and more.
Pietro expects Amara to give in, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. She stamps on his foot - hard. She then used his moment of vulnerability to use her free arm to elbow him in the stomach. She twists her body so that she is no longer in his grasp and then uses the momentum to flip Pietro onto the ground, achieving victory, once again.
"When are you going to stop challenging me, when you always lose, anyway?" Amara asked, helping her friend onto his feet.
"When I win," he said it so simply that Amara laughed, only to be met with a glare from Pietro.
Amara cleared her throat, "sorry."
"What? You don't think I can do it?" Pietro asked, feigning hurtfulness.
"Oh no! I have full faith that you'll try your hardest. But how do you expect to ever win when you never practice?" Amara asked grabbing her school bag that she left in the corner of the room and slinging it over her shoulder.
"The same way I beat you the first time we met."
"Hey! You only beat me cause you caught me off guard!"
"Yeah, yeah, make your excuses, I don't care."
Amara rolled her eyes before saying, "see you later, penis." Amara laughed at the nickname that she had first given her best friend as she walked toward her room.
—————
As Amara attempted to find Steve, she ran into Laura, who smiled and hugged her.
"Hey Amara, where are you headed in such a rush?" Laura asked.
"Oh, I was just trying to find Steve, do you know where he is? He's usually training at this time, but he's not in the gym."
"You might want to check his room, it sounded like he was rearranging furniture when I walked past."
"Thanks, Laura! How long are you guys here?"
"We were gonna stay till the end of the week, but Cooper wants to leave sooner, so we're leaving tomorrow now." Amara felt a sharp pang of guilt.
"Laura, I-" Amara started.
"I know what happened with Cooper, and don't worry, I understand."
"I just feel so bad, I really was so excited to hang out with you guys."
"Don't worry, Cooper will get over it, we'll be back soon, and then you can tell us all about your mission!"
"I'm so sorry, Laura, again. I ruined your guys' vacation."
"No, don't be silly, if anything, Coop ruined it, he shouldn't have cornered you."
"No! He didn't corner me, I ran into him!"
Laura held on to Amara's shoulders, "Amara, stop stressing, okay? You didn't ruin anything, everyone's fine! I'm gonna go pack everyone's bags, we'll see you soon, okay! We'll probably be gone before you get back from school tomorrow, so we'll just call you when we get home, okay?"
"Okay."
Amara hugged Laura and thanked her again, before they went their separate ways and Amara headed to Steve's room.
—————
When Amara knocked on Steve Rogers' bedroom door, she was expecting him to be reading a book or sketching in the little red book that he carries around with him everywhere he goes. But Amara was certainly not expecting that sight that she saw in front of her.
Steve was huddled in the corner of his room, surrounded by various potted plants, sitting on the floor with a watering can and his head in his hands, looking overwhelmed.
"...Steve? Are you okay?" Amara asked, concerned.
Steve looked up at Amara and said, "Oh, hey, kid. I'm fine, just Clint tried to teach me how to buy something from an online shop and I wanted to buy a plant for Sharon, 'cause she said she liked plants. But then I accidentally ordered way too many, and now I'm stuck with them, and I don't know what to do."
Amara giggled slightly, "Why didn't you return them?"
"I...don't know how... Clint only taught me how to buy things, not send them back."
Amara took a seat on the floor next to Steve, "Don't worry, Captain, I'll teach you."
Steve smiled warmly, "Thanks, kiddo."
"No problem."
----------
Amara spent the next hour and a half teaching Steve how to use eBay and Amazon. It wasn't as hard as she originally thought it would be, Steve caught on pretty quickly, which must be the super soldier in him. The plants had been spread out into various different rooms, so they were no longer cramped into Steve's room. Now they were both sitting opposite each other with snacks littering the floor. Currently, they were sharing a pack of Haribo gummy bears and talking.
"Michael Jackson," Amara said, grabbing another handful of gummy bears from the packet.
"Is the..." Steve was thinking hard, "King of Rock N' Roll?"
"No, that's Elvis Presley, close though. Try again," Amara said encouragingly.
"...Pop? King of Pop?" Steve asked tentatively.
"Yes! And who's the Princess of Pop?" Amara asked, excited about the progress she was making with Steve.
"I know this one! Britney Spears...right?" Steve exclaimed, just as excited as Amara.
Amara reached for a high five in return and then said, after putting another gummy bear into her mouth, "Okay, your turn. Quiz me."
Steve thought for a moment then said, "Puttin' on the Ritz."
"Frank Sinatra. He also sang Blue Velvet and Somethin' Stupid. Come on, challenge me."
"Okay, three Ella Fitzgerald songs, go," Steve said confidently.
"Cheek to Cheek, Shiny Stockings and... Stormy Weather."
Steve smiled, equally as proud of Amara as she was of him. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, occasionally passing an oreo to each other. Until Amara sat up in attention, "So, Stevie. What's going on with you and Sharon?" Steve looked into the distance trying to find an answer. "It can't be going great if that's how you react to hearing her name."
"Well, how should I react then, Miss Stark?" Steve asked, sarcastically, although Amara ignored the mockery in his voice.
"I don't know. Smile when you talk about her? The way that Tony's face gets every time Pepper walks into a room. Or when his face lights up when you mention her? Or the way Clint and Laura smile when they're talking about each other? Or even, how excited Vision gets when he talks about Wanda. I don't know, you just don't seem that excited at the prospect of a relationship with her."
Steve sighed, knowing that he was going to have to pour his heart out to this teenager sitting in front of him, "Don't get me wrong, Sharon's great, she really is. She's smart and kind and caring and just amazing, but I just don't feel that spark with her - the one that I had with..." Steve trailed off.
"The one that you had with Peggy," Amara finished for him. She knew how hard it had been for Steve to wake up and have lost the one and only woman he had ever had feelings for.
"Yeah. Sometimes I think... she was the one, you know. I don't think I'm ever gonna find that again. She would've been it for me, I think. There are times when I think about what we could've had if I hadn't gone under the ice all those years ago. We would've danced and I would've proposed one day - I would've walked her home and then I'd just do it, get down on one knee."
"And they lived happily ever after," Amara smiled to help him feel better.
"Yeah."
"You know, contrary to popular belief, there are multiple ones. You had this...this incredibly romantic love story, and it's okay if you're not 100% healed, but it's not okay to start a relationship with someone else when you can't see yourself having a future with them. Especially when they can."
"I know it's not fair, but I think that being with Sharon helped me hold on to whatever I had left of Peggy. And that's wrong, Sharon isn't Peggy and I know that, that's why I have to end things with her, but I just..."
"You feel like Sharon is your only chance to have the life that you wanted with Peggy. Like she's your fresh start, right?" Amara was good at reading people, but anyone could tell that this is what Steve was thinking.
Steve nodded slowly and Amara sighed, "l- Look, I know I'm probably the least qualified person in this tower to be giving relationship advice, but nobody wants to feel like they're somebody's second choice. And I know that's not what you intended or what you wanted to do because you're a good person Steve Rogers and everybody knows it, but Sharon isn't your second shot at Peggy. They are separate people with different personalities and if that's what your relationship with her is purely based on, then, you know what you have to do."
Steve nodded in an attempt to hide the tears pooling in his eyes, but he wasn't fast enough, "I know. I'm just scared. What if - what if letting go of Sharon means letting go of Peggy, what if Sharon isn't my second chance? What if she's my last chance?"
Amara wanted to be comforting, but she also didn't want to give Steve the wrong advice, so she said, "Are you kidding me? You're Steven Grant Rogers - Captain America! If you can't find a date, what hope does the rest of humankind have?" Steve let out a small laugh at that.
"And listen, when you meet the person you love, you'll know. You'll know from the way you never want to be apart from them. If you don't feel that way with Sharon, then it's not right to lead her on, to make her think that you feel the same way when you're still not over Peggy. You need to heal first, to realise that, that perfect life with Peggy isn't possible anymore. And maybe sometime in the future, when you've moved on and you somehow find yourself in a position to truly love Sharon - or even someone else - then you should go for it."
Steve nodded, "Don't worry, I am gonna end things with her, I decided a while ago already, I just wanted a second opinion. That's why I'm buying her lots of gifts; hopefully, it'll soften the blow," Steve sounded really upset at the prospect of losing his first relationship since the ice, but Amara could tell that he knew it was the right thing to do.
Amara reached over to give Steve a hug, "I'm sorry Steve. I can't even imagine how hard it is to lose everyone you love and be expected to carry on as normal."
"I guess everything worked out, still. If I hadn't gone into the ice, I would've never met all of you and I never would've become an Avenger. I'm glad I got to meet you, kid," Steve smiled at Amara.
"I'm glad I got to meet you too, Stevie. But maybe lose the gifts, might give off the wrong impression. I'll keep them."
"That's really convenient for you, huh?" Steve laughed.
"That's why I said it."
----------
After eating dinner that evening, and saying goodbye to Lila, Nate and Cooper, Amara made her way back up to her room. She sat on her bed and switched her phone on for the first time since she got home. She saw that she had texts from her friends.
Ned had sent 3 messages: 'Hey Amara it's Ned.', 'This is the right number, right?', 'Amara?'. MJ had sent two messages: 'Hey it's MJ', 'Do you have a free third period tomorrow?'. And Peter had sent 5 messages: 'Hey Amara', 'Just wondering if you got home safe :)', 'It's Peter, by the way', 'Parker', 'Hey, it's been a few hours and you haven't replied, you did get home all right didn't you?', 'Amara? Should I be worried? It's been 6 hours. Just text me back.'
Amara replied to them all: 'Hey, Ned, sorry, I haven't had the chance to look at my phone yet', 'Yeah I have a free third period, do you want to meet in the library to study together?', 'Sorry, Peter, I haven't looked at my phone all evening, I'm home, don't worry xx.
Amara put her phone down on her bed and was just about to get ready when she heard a buzz. She turned around to look at her phone and saw Peter's name pop up. She sat down and opened the message.
'Okay, sorry if I was being annoying'
'No, Peter, you're not annoying. Trust me, I'm just awful at replying to my messages, I was homeschooled so I never needed to use my phone to communicate with my friends.'
A couple of minutes later he replied, 'So, is regular school better than homeschooling?'
Amara thought for a second - she didn't want everything that she told him to be a lie, she genuinely really liked her new friends and she wanted those friendships to not be based solely on false truths. 'It's different. I didn't really want to go to school, I felt like homeschooling was much better for me, but, I have to admit it's nice having some friends my own age.'
'Yeah, having friends makes high school so much easier to get through.'
Amara wondered if he was patrolling so she asked, "What are you doing, right now?'
Three typing dots appeared and then disappeared, just as quickly. Amara waited until her phone buzzed once again, 'Just doing some homework.'
'Which homework? we can video call and do it together,' Amara hoped that Peter would fall into her trap.
Another few moments, before he replied, 'I'm just finishing up now anyways, so there'd be no point'
Sure, Peter, whatever you say, Amara thought, still surprised that Peter managed to keep this a secret this whole time. 'Yeah, I guess. We could still just call if you want?'
He replied quicker this time, ' I would love to, but I have to go and eat something now, I've been working all evening, I haven't had the chance.'
'Okay, Peter. See you tomorrow. Goodnight x,' Amara texted back and then turned her phone off.
She called out, "FRIDAY? Any reports on Spiderman in the last 10 minutes?"
"Western Boulevard, Miss Stark. 34th Street, in what looked like a minor robbery." Amara smiled.
"Thanks FRIDAY, open my suit chamber. I think it's time that Aura meets Spiderman..."
(A/N: I'm sorry. I broke my promise, this was another very fluffy chapter, but the next chapter is gonna m be very interesting. The first time Spiderman and Aura meet.
Also I want to make it clear that I'm open to any suggestions plot wise or if you guys want me to write a specific chapter. Just leave it under the comments. As always thank you for reading!)