CHAPTER THIRTEEN | NIKE, GODDESS OF VICTORY
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there are things i'd rather whisper and never quite say out loud.
-virginia woolf
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Bella was having a particularly good time with her lips on Peter's and her legs wrapped around him when Alex texted her. With the first text, Bella ignored the buzzing and just tangled her hands further into Peter's hair. It was blissful, and Bella really liked kissing Peter – something that had recently become her favorite activity.
But then three more texts buzzed into her phone. Groaning, Bella detached her lips from Peter's and picked up her phone.
"Ugh," she said, flopping back down on Peter's bed. "Alex says I need to get home, like, now."
"But we haven't even studied yet," Peter whined, pulling at her waist to wrap his arms around her. "English test tomorrow, Bells."
"Yeah, and Alex thinks I've been studying for the past two hours," Bella reminded him teasingly, poking at his rather hard bicep.
She found it odd how muscular Peter actually was when he appeared to be incredibly scrawny and skinny. Bella also knew he didn't have a gym membership or anything like that so she had no idea how he was in better shape than most people she knew. She had seen him eat. That boy did not care about vegetables at all.
"One more kiss," Peter requested.
"Ugh, Parker, you're so clingy," Bella teased as she kissed him again.
"You're just as bad," he mumbled against her lips. And then he pulled away. "I'll walk you home."
"You're going to walk me home so that you seem like a good boyfriend but in reality you just wanna dumpster dive for old electronics," Bella huffed. "I see right through you, Parker."
"Not trusting your own boyfriend's devotion to you? When I have that adorable picture of you next to my bed?" Peter scoffed. "You've got some serious issues, Bella."
"Yeah, and you don't, Parker?" she retorted, a wide grin on her face.
He rolled his eyes and opened the door of his bedroom. Aunt May hadn't been home ( the reason why she and Peter were able to just make out in his room for two hours without interruption, she suspected ) so Peter just walked right out of the apartment.
"We really should have studied a little bit," Bella muttered, biting her lip. "I haven't even read Huck Finn."
"You're totally screwed," Peter told her.
"Um, SparkNotes and Shmoop are a thing, thank you very much," Bella scoffed, sticking her tongue out at him as they walked hand-in-hand.
"It's a wonder you have an A in that class."
"Let's call it divine intervention," Bella said with a sigh, collapsing into the last empty seat on the train.
The train ride was short but crowded. Bella hated taking the train and had hated it ever since she was able to teleport. Everything else just felt slow. But Peter, being the romantic and sweet boyfriend he was, insisted on walking her home ( because "The streets aren't safe, Bella! We have superheroes for a reason!" ). And with Peter by her side, Bella couldn't teleport, because Peter couldn't know she was Poltergeist.
As the train came to a stop, Bella and Peter shoved their way out and walked up to the street. When they arrived at Bella's building, Bella pulled her hand from Peter's.
"I'll see you in school tomorrow?" Bella asked, biting her lip.
"Yeah," Peter nodded. "Read Huck Finn."
"Don't tell me what to do," Bella retorted, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
She then shot him a wink and turned to walk into the building. There was something about being with Peter that made Bella feel light and bubbly. Being with him made Bella forget about the emptiness and darkness that often lurked within. It was a temporary fix, but a welcomed one. Bella needed her friends and Peter to keep her from going completely insane. They rooted her within normalcy, and when she was with her friends she didn't feel so heavy and numb.
Bella was humming to herself as she waltzed towards the elevator. It was a cheesy love song, the kind that Bella used to turn off when she heard it because 'how could anyone be so stupidly in love?' But now she understood, she thought.
"Hey, Alex!" Bella yelled, walking into the apartment and kicking off her shoes.
She shrugged her backpack off and went straight into the kitchen.
"Bells, get in the living room," Alex's voice called.
"One sec!"
Bella grabbed a bag of chips from the counter and a bottle of soda from the fridge. Soda tucked under her arm, she struggled with opening the chips as she shuffled into the living room. Alex was sitting with a dark haired woman on the couch. If the woman didn't appear to be so perfect, Bella would've assumed Alex was introducing a girlfriend.
But then Bella saw the woman's face. And the bag of chips dropped to the floor.
"You—you're—"
"Hello, Bella," the woman said, a hint of some sort of exotic accent in her voice. "I'm Ashara King. It's lovely to meet you."
"You're Nike," Bella exclaimed, practically swooning as Ashara stood up. "Wh—what—what are you—you doing here?"
Ashara made a face and wiped her hands over the tight, dark gray skirt she wore. She licked her lips and stepped closer to Bella. It was then that Bella noticed the dark circles beneath Ashara's eyes.
"Bella, I've read your file," Ashara said, glancing at Alex. "What you've endured is... awful doesn't seem to begin to cover it. To witness what you did and still continue to—well, that's not important. You heard about what happened at the UN?"
"Yeah," Bella said, scratching at her neck. "We saw it on TV. It was crazy. And Bucky Barnes is being blamed for it?"
"Bucky Barnes didn't do it," Ashara said, pursing her lips. "But he is being blamed for it. The government is after us. The Avengers, minus Hulk and Thor, have been split up into two sides. It seems to be Captain America versus Iron Man."
"Tony Stark is a dick," Bella said, scowling.
Alex chuckled. "Bells, Tony Stark was the one that deleted our files from the ones leaked to the internet."
"Still a dick," Bella shrugged.
"He still has a copy," Ashara said. "It's how I've seen it. Bella, do you realize what you're capable of?"
"Teleportation? Voice manipulation?"
"So much more than that," Ashara said. Ashara reached down, pulled out a file, and handed it to Bella. "I'd like to help you, train you and such."
"No freaking way," Bella exhaled, her eyes wide with excitement.
"Yes freaking way," Ashara laughed. Her face then turned grim. "I'd also like to ask you for your help."
Bella watched as Alex pursed his lips. He seemed to know what was going on and he didn't seem to be all that happy.
"It seems like all signs are pointing to a fight within the team," Ashara said. "I need you to help me."
"You want me to fight the Avengers?" Bella asked with a blank face. "Like as in me fighting trained adults?"
"No," Ashara scoffed. "You're fifteen, a child. Do I look like a savage to you?"
Bella giggled quietly.
"I won't be doing an actual fighting," Ashara said, exhaling heavily. "I'm gonna be on the outside, surveilling everything. I need your help watching over everything and if civilians come anywhere near the fight, you need to keep them away."
"Do I get to meet Captain America?"
"Yes."
"I'm in."
"Really, Bells?" Alex asked her. "You're in? Just because you can meet Captain America?"
"Duh," Bella said, winking at him. "Also, because freaking Nike, AKA the literal goddess of victory came to ask me for help." She turned back to Ashara. "When do we leave?"
"Tonight."
"She has school," Alex said, rubbing a hand over his beard. "How long will she be gone?"
"I plan on having her back by Sunday," Ashara said.
"Can't you just, like, say I'm sick?" Bella asked, her eyes wide and pleading.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Alex sighed, ruffling his hair. "I have to get to the hospital. Please stay safe, Bells."
Eyes softening, Bella nodded and wrapped her arms around Alex. "Always."
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in case you're confused, ashara is the main character of my story "echoes" and this story and that are connected.
alex is unhappy with bella going. why? well, you'll find out soon.
-peterparrker