Tonight there was a big party that all the Avengers were invited to. I, technically being an Avenger, was going along as well. Also because Dad didn't want to leave me alone. Clint and Peter were also coming as they were Avengers too.
I sat on the side of my bed, my hands together and resting on my forehead. There was going to be a lot of people at the party and I was nervous. What if they asked questions? What if they were rude? What if I had a PTSD episode? What if they attacked Korey? Thoughts and questions rushed through my head.
I sighed, I needed to get changed. It was a fancy party, casual (people would be getting drunk), but fancy. I needed to dress more formal. I walked over to my wardrobe. I had a very large array of items in my wardrobe. It varied anywhere from onesies to ball gowns.
I scanned through multiple items of clothing before I settled on a mid-length black sequin dress. I put in on before going downstairs to let Wanda do my hair. She put it up into a nice bun with a small plait. She placed a small flower in it before spraying it with hair spray. Finally, she applied some mascara on my lashes and a small amount of lip gloss to give my lips shine.
When it was time to leave we all clambered into the limo. Even though it was all people who knew our true identities, Vision was in his human form. I shuffled about in my seat, playing with my hands. I was nervous, there was no hiding it.
We arrived and I took a deep breath. I clipped Korey's lead onto his collar before getting out his disc that was his vest and tapping it twice so it could cover him. As we entered the main room where the party was being held my ears were filled with the noise of chatter, laughter and glasses clinking.
We were greeted by none other than Phil Coulson. He turned to me and furrowed his eyebrows.
"I don't mean to sound rude, but who are you?" He questioned. I just froze. I looked at Dad for help.
"She's Violet, she's my other kid," Dad said for me. Phil nodded, smiling. He held out his hand for me to shake.
"Nice to meet you, Violet, I'm Phil Coulson." He introduced himself. I smiled, shaking his hand and nodding curtly.
We walked more into the heart of the party and Dad took me to the side.
"What was that all about?" He asked. I shrugged.
*I don't know. I guess when I'm in really big crowds and/or meeting a lot of new people I revert back to my old ways. My old ways meaning not speaking.* I explained to Dad in ASL. He frowned, putting his hand on my shoulder.
"There's nothing to worry about, you'll be okay." He assured me. I smiled sadly.
*Yeah, I guess. I'm still not talking though.* Dad hugged me.
"I know and that's okay. You do whatever you need to do to feel comfortable."
Dad walked away to talk to someone and I was left on my own. I sighed, I wasn't particularly very fond of parties. I spotted Clint sitting alone at the bar and headed over to him. I tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention and waved. He smiled at me and waved back.
*How are you?* He signed to me. I wondered why be was signing but then I noticed his hearing aids layed in front of him and decided that since people would have to sign to him, he thought it would be easier if he signed too.
*Okay. I'm not talking though. Not that you know or particularly care because you can't hear me.* I signed back. He laughed slightly at my comment but then turned slightly more serious, sad even.
*I do care, I care about you a lot. Don't you ever think that I don't, okay?* He wasn't speaking but if he was his tone of voice would have been firm but also soft and caring at the same time. With sign language, you can only tell people's intentions and feelings in their eyes and facial expressions. Clint's eyes were filled with love and care.
I smiled at him. He really does care about me.
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It was slightly later in the party and I had started to talk again but only to my family (the avengers). I sat with Peter and Stephen at the bar. We were the only ones who weren't drinking, apart from Vision who can't drink but he was with Wanda. We were basically the only ones who weren't drunk or hadn't gone home already. Nat is strong, she wasn't drunk, Thor and Loki are gods, they weren't drunk and Steve and Bucky are super-soldiers so they weren't drunk either.
I took a sip of my non-alcoholic cocktail and sighed. The smell of alcohol wafted through the air and I grimaced. I hated the smell of alcohol. Mostly because of my past but partially because it was disgusting.
I didn't why Dad thought it was a great idea to take me to a party where there would be drunk people and lots of alcohol. It really was a big risk for me. The whole place screamed 'potential trigger' but I stuck through it anyway.
That's why I decided to stick with Peter and Stephen. They were sober and didn't stink of alcohol which was really helpful. They could also calm me down if someone walked by us or ordered a drink, I tended to get a bit tense and on edge when that happened.
Just then a middle-aged man appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. His speech was slurred and he could barely walk straight. He pointed his long finger at me.
"You...are a beautiful young lady." He purred. He tripped over his feet and wobbled slightly before regaining his balance.
I could feel my heart rate begin to quicken and my breaths become shallow and ragged. Sensing this, Korey stood up and put himself between me and the man. The man chuckled slightly.
"What a pretty dog." He said, unintentionally dragging out the e due to his drunken state. He reached out to touch Korey and I tugged on his lead, pulling him away.
The man stood back up, pouting. I began to pet Korey to calm myself down.
"Oh, so you can pet him?" He questioned. I simply pointed to the patches on his vest to show the man that he was a service dog only I was allowed to pet him because he was working. He just shook his head.
"You're not a veteran sweetie, you can't have PTSD." He cooed. At this point, I snapped. I couldn't shout st him so I began signing furiously.
*How dare you, I'll have you know that I was abused for 5 years of my life by my own mother and I was kidnapped by Hydra for a year.* I wasn't speaking but you could tell that I was angry. The man simply shook his head again. I huffed. Why weren't Peter and Stephen helping me out here?
The man edged towards me becoming increasingly more hostile with each step. I was panicking and starting to hyperventilate. Then the man groaned, his knees gave in and he fell to the ground. A girl smiled at me. She had light mocha skin and beautiful deep brown eyes. Her wavy hair flowed past her shoulders.
She walked towards me, sitting down on the stool next to mine.
"I'm so sorry you had to deal with him. He was being really crappy to you. I'm surprised no one stopped him earlier." She said to me. I smiled, nodding.
*Yeah, I was hoping my brother or my Dad's boyfriend would help me out but apparently they're deep in conversation.* I signed. She looked over to Peter and Stephen. This told me she could understand ASL so I carried on signing.
*But thanks a lot. I was getting pretty scared.*
"You're welcome." She smiled, putting her hand on my shoulder. I tensed up at first but soon relaxed into her touch.
"My name's Deya by the way." She told me.
*Violet.*
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We got home and I sighed. Everyone who was drunk passed out as soon as they touched the couch. That left just me, Vision, Thor, Loki, Nat, Stephen and Peter. Steve and Bucky were slightly tipsy and had gone up to bed.
Deya and I had talked for basically the rest of the night before she had to leave. We exchanged numbers though. I learned that she was the same age as me, she played the guitar and she loved Sherlock. She pointed out that Stephen looked a lot like Benedict Cumberbatch and I couldn't stop laughing for about five minutes.
I thought about how Deya saved me and Peter and Stephen did nothing and grew slightly angry.
"Thanks for that back at the party guys. I'm really happy you had my back." I said to them, breaking both the silence and my not speaking. They both just looked at me, confused. I groaned. "Typical." Stephen reached out to put his hand on my shoulder and I slapped it away.
"I was being hit on by a creepy drunk middle-aged man and you two did absolutely nothing," I told them, agitated.
"FOR GOD'S SAKE I WOUKD HAVE BEEN MOLESTED IF DEYA HADN'T TURNED UP AND SAVED ME," I shouted standing up. Nat pushed me back down.
"Stay calm Violet." She said.
"No. I will not stay calm. Those two could hear him, they must have. They just sat there and did nothing." I sniffed.
"Violet," Stephen began, softly. I shook my head.
"No, I don't want your apologies." I got up and walked to my room. I threw myself on my bed and cried.
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There was a knock at the door and Loki walked in. "Go away," I mumbled into my pillow. I felt the bed sink as he sat down on it. I sighed, clambering to sit next to him.
"Violet, I'm sure they didn't mean to hurt you." He assured me. I sniffed. I threw myself onto Loki, wrapping my arms around him. Loki hugged me back, stroking my hair.
"Shh, it's okay." He cooed soothingly.
"I'm here with you. It's okay."
Wow, what a wholesome end we love.