"... and also Spider-Man. He is also invited."
Nylah's eyes widened in shock. "Sorry?"
"Forgiven?"
"No, I don't think I heard you correctly." Nylah giggled lightly, her eyes fighting the urge to shut themselves completely.
"Oh you so did. Peter and," Ned looked around to ensure that no one else was in hearing distance of them. "-Spider-Man are invited to Liz Allen's party."
Nylah's eyes wandered to Peter's. Instead of what Nylah expected, he actually genuinely looked pretty happy with himself. She wasn't sure why – he was going to have to lie to the girl who he seemed to be in love with. Nylah's eyes widened a little at her thoughts, the thought of Peter being in love with Liz making her heart feel as though it had been squeezed. She tried to shake the thoughts and the weird sensation away, though it didn't seem to work.
"I – she said, Liz said that you could totally come too. She wants to get to know you." Peter stammered after a long pause of silence. Nylah quickly nodded without thinking, having the desire to get rid of the strange sensation Peter managed to have on her Asgardian heart.
"When is the party?" She asked, looking down at her fingers nervously. "But, Peter, do you really think that you should go? Is it not going to be difficult with also bringing along your other identity?"
"I'll figure it out." Peter reassured her before he looked down at the writing on his hand. "It's tonight... at 7. We'll pick you up from your house."
"That won't be necessary." Suddenly, Nylah felt a lot more awake. She couldn't let Peter find out that she had a connection with Tony Stark, the man that recruited Peter to fight Steve Rogers and his crew. She knew that one way or another Peter would eventually find out about Nylah's mission, but today was not that day. "I'll just meet you at your apartment."
"Are you sure?" Peter asked, concern filling his brown eyes meanwhile his best friend stood beside him with an excited smile. "Aunt May won't have a problem with stopping by your house."
"I'm sure. It will be easier that way." Nylah replied. "I'll be there at 6. Unless you want me there at another time—"
"6 is fine." Ned interrupted, replying for his nervous best friend. "I can't wait. Flash is going to freak."
Nylah had no clue what he had meant by 'freak', but she thought it was best if she didn't question it aloud. Tony was already mad at her enough from last night's incident. She didn't want to anger anymore.
"Yeah... me too." Nylah responded tiredly, with the slight nod of her head. The bell rang loudly in their ears, indicating that the next class was about to start. "I'll see you both tonight."
"You agreed to go to a teenage party?" Happy exclaimed. He held back the urge to face-palm himself as Nylah wriggled in her seat with discomfort. She didn't particularly like it when people yelled, having that she had to deal with yelling a lot at home. Especially when both Thor and Loki were home. God, how she missed her older brother... "Are you listening to me? Nylah?"
Nylah's head shot up to look at him with wide eyes. It was her attempt in keeping them open. "...yes."
"Look, I just don't think it's safe for you to attend this party. You look exhausted, and when you're exhausted, you might say something that you didn't intend to say." Happy let out a sigh as he clicked buttons on his square device. "I'll get Tony's advice on this—"
"Let the girl go to a party." Tony's voice echoed out of the device, causing for Happy to jump slightly.
"Stark, I didn't realise you were already on call."
"Surprise." Tony had sarcasm dripping from his voice. Nylah had been too tired and drained to notice this, though. "If Nylah doesn't go to a party like every other teenager, it could raise suspicion."
"Right, yes, of course sir." Happy replied before his eyes lifted slightly to look at the exhausted Nylah in the chair. "Well... I suppose you should get ready."
"Sure... but what does one where to a party on Earth?"
Dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt tucked into her black denim short skirt with black heeled boots, she waited patiently outside of Peter's apartment. She had a thin flannel-like shirt that stuck loosely to her body, supposedly keeping her a little warm on the cool-aired night. Pepper had helped Nylah with her hair and make-up, which was far different to what fashion is like back on Asgard. Nylah's hair was curled into beachy waves before Pepper had pulled into a half-up do. Pepper had applied mascara, winged eyeliner and a bronze-coloured eye shadow to her eyes, before letting Nylah apply a caramel nude colour for her lipstick.
Pepper had claimed that Nylah looked beautiful, though Nylah worried that she was too overdressed for the occasion. On Google Images, she hadn't seen teenage girls looking like she was for an average teenage party. She didn't want to stand out. However, she was too tired to ask Pepper to wipe the make-up off and find a new outfit. Besides, that would have been rude and even though the make-up felt a little uncomfortable for the moment, it covered the dark circles that were once under her eyes.
Nylah was brought back into reality when Peter had opened the door, dressed in the clothes that had worn to school earlier that morning. Peter smiled shyly, the smile slowly fading when he took it Nylah's appearance. She was used to men looking at her in Asgard – she was always known for her beauty, but they never made her feel nervous with butterflies. Peter's eyes did, though.
"S-sorry, come on in, Nylah." Peter stuttered before he awkwardly cleared his throat, stepping to the side to let Nylah walk in. Nylah smiled back at him nervously as she entered the warm apartment, the smell of a chocolate cake filling her nostrils. "Aunt May is still trying to cook."
"It smells rather lovely." Nylah complimented as she watched May pull out the chocolate cake from the oven. "Why aren't you ready yet, Peter?"
"I don't really know what to wear." Peter mumbled with a nervous laugh, his hand reaching up to scratch the back of his neck.
"Wear what you would normally wear to a party." Nylah suggested with a small smile.
"That's the thing," Peter chuckled nervously again as he folded his arms over his chest. "I've never really been to a party before. Especially not in the suburbs."
"Oh." Nylah let out with a tired sigh. "I can help you, if you'd like."
"That would be really good actually," Peter's eyes had lightened up with excitement. "You're a girl, so you have a rough idea with what girls like to see a guy wear, right? What makes guys attractive?"
Yeah. But in Asgard, not in Midgard.
"Uh... yes." Nylah hesitated before Peter began to walk to his room, expecting Nylah to follow. She forced one leg in front of the other, struggling with the high heeled boots, but she eventually made it to Peter's room safely. Peter had clothes sprawled out everywhere in his room amongst the clutter, Nylah found it difficult to walk around it all.
"So, what do girls like to see guys wear?" Peter asked with his hands on his hips, visibly awkward.
Nylah's mind traced back to the images of teenagers at a party that she had found on Google images. Most guys had their tops off and were in jeans, and weird shoes that had unusual markings on them. With every outfit she remembered, none of them suited Peter Parker, Queens's sweetest nerd. Oh, God... what the hell was her brain doing to her?
"Women like men with confidence, but not too much. As long as women get to see who you really are, we'll be attracted, I suppose." Nylah stated as her eyes darted around the room. Peter was left confused, clearly wanting Nylah to tell him what to wear rather than thinking about what would make him look confident. "So... wear what you feel yourself in. Don't try to be someone you're not."
"So... what do I wear?"
"Anything you feel comfortable wearing." Nylah answered with a small smile.
"Okay." Peter sighed, looking around his bedroom. He picked up a shirt, followed by another shirt and a pair of jeans. His eyes nervously wandered the room before they eventually met with Nylah's, again, looking awkward. "Do you mind if... you know, you step out of the room so I can... so I can get changed?"
"Oh, yes. Okay." Nylah nodded as she turned around and walked out of his room, closing the door behind her. She knew enough to know that she shouldn't stand in a room with a boy she barely knows and watch him get undressed. She was just used to Thor undressing himself wherever he went when he was home – he was confident with his body. He didn't care who saw him.
"You want a piece of chocolate cake?" Aunt May asked politely. Chocolate contained caffeine, which a lot of humans seemed to rely on in a drink. It helped them wake up, so Nylah thought that maybe it would keep her awake for the night. She didn't want to have night terrors about her brother's death again tonight.
"Please, if it isn't any trouble." Nylah replied with a polite smile.
"It's no trouble at all, sweetie!" May smiled a wide smile as Nylah walked to the kitchen counter. May grabbed a knife and began to cut through the cake, cutting out a triangle shaped piece of chocolate cake and carefully placing it on a white plate. "Peter's always scared to try my cooking. It's nice to have someone want to try."
Nylah smiled as May handed her a spoon. Nylah began to dig into the chocolate cake, not particularly liking the taste of the chocolate but she ignored it as best as she could. She needed every drop of caffeine she could get in this cake to keep her awake for the night.
"Do I look okay?" Nylah and May turned around to find Peter nervously standing in front of his bedroom door, playing with the tips of his fingers. He was dressed in a plain grey shirt with a checkered flannel shirt with a pair of jeans that clung to his hips.
"You look so cute!" May squealed with excitement as she clapped her hands together. It was something about certain aspects of human fashion that interested Nylah, she found it unusual how a simple look he had been wearing could make him look... different.
"Yes." Nylah agreed as she placed her spoon neatly on the plate. "Wonderful cake, by the way."
"You liked it?" May turned around, excitement staying in her brown eyes. Nylah nodded as May giggled like an excited child. "You're so sweet!"
"May, you're embarrassing me." Peter chuckled nervously as he looked down at his mobile device before looking back up at Nylah and May with wide eyes. "We've gotta pick up Ned. It's 7 right now – the party is starting."
Within half an hour, they finally made it to the large home of Liz Allen. Nylah was stuck in the backseat of May's car with Ned who had been wearing an unusual hat, which made Nylah smile. Peter had a plan for Spider-Man to drop by, confirm that Peter knows him, and then leave shortly after. Peter was so sure that it would work and so was Ned, the both of them filled up to the brim with excitement.
After an almost embarrassing talk about puberty after Peter's nerves almost got the best of him, the three friends were eager to get out of the car. Considering that Peter had no bag with him, she wondered where the suit had been. She didn't want to question it as they were walking up to the house, considering that the front yard had people standing around and drinking out of red cups.
"Peter, do you have the suit?" Ned whispered as Peter lifted his sleeve up slightly, showing both Ned and Nylah that had been wearing underneath his clothes. "Awesome."
Nylah entered the large home behind Ned and Peter, catching the eyes of a group of boys who had been standing beside the door. They watched Ned and Peter enter the home with confused eyes before they laughed to each other, probably talking and joking about the two sweet boys. Their eyes changed when Nylah was in sight, their eyes filling with a look that made her feel uncomfortable. She tried to tell herself that she was a Goddess and a hell of a lot stronger than those puny human boys, but that didn't chance how their stares made her feel uncomfortable.
The three friends stopped in the middle of the hallway, the music loud as ever. That wasn't another thing about humans that Nylah didn't quite understand... their music taste was unusual and repetitive. The loud music, however, was not keeping her awake and neither was that chocolate cake. She was left standing in the middle of the two bickering boys, ready to pass out.
"Wow, cool hat Ned." She heard a girl's voice, but it wasn't enough to bring her back to reality. She heard a small conversation erupt between Peter and the girl, though that was after she felt a hand make contact with her covered upper arm. That was when she forced herself to wake up a little and focus on their faces and voices. Liz stood in front of her, concern in her dark eyes as Peter and Ned moved their head to look at Nylah's tired self. "You look like you're going to faint. Are you okay, Nylah?"
"Yes." Nylah replied with the lazy nod of her head. She forced a small laugh from the back of her throat. "I am fine. Just need to sit down for a minute, I suppose."
"Okay, help yourself to the couches." Liz smiled politely just as a crash echoed through out the house. Liz sighed. "My parents will kill me if everything breaks. Have fun, guys."
"Yeah. Thanks, Liz." Peter smiled. That boy looked lovestruck. "Come on, Nylah, let's get you to that couch over there."