Chapter 19: Love, What?
*Jade’s POV*
I wake up the next morning, about 8 o’clock. I look over and out the window. Sitting up and stretching, I push my covers off and walk to the window. I look down at the city. Busy people move quickly, yellow cabs infest the streets, and venders shout for people to buy there “incredible” products. I look up and to the right. A giant tower with an A on the side takes up my view and I sigh as I walk away from the window and into the bathroom. I shower and prepare myself for the day. As I’m picking out my outfit, I hear a knock on the door.
“Really?” I say as I walk towards the door. I stop through and mumble “Shit.” As I glance down and remember I’m wrapped in a towel. I shake my head to dismiss the thoughts and look out the peep hole. Oh, it’s just Collin. “What do you want?” I say as I open the door. Collin steps in and pushes me out of the way of the door before shutting it.
“Uh… I locked myself out of my apartment, mind if I stay here for a while? Just until the land lord gets in and can get me a spare key.” He says turning and looking at me.
“Sure, I wasn’t busy or anything.” I say my voice filled with sarcasm. He looks down at my body and says,
“You know, if you were showering, I’d be happy to help you finish.” I smile and say,
“You know, I had actually just finished. Maybe next time.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” He says before walking over to my couch and sitting down.
“I don’t doubt you on that. Okay, I’m going to go change in my room, while you stay here.” I say gesturing for him to stay on the couch.
“Are you sure, cause I’ve been told I’m very helpful in the bedroom.” He says, turning his head back to look at me.
“Collin, if you come in my room, I will injure you.” I say looking at him too.
“Right.” He says before turning the TV on. I roll my eyes and close my bedroom doors. I pull on a pair of ripped skinny jeans, a white tank top with skulls on it and my rocket boots. I’m not planning on going anywhere, but they’re cute. I dry my hair and walk back out. When I do, I’m expecting Collin to be on the couch or raiding my fridge. Instead I find the living room empty and hear several piano notes being played. I walk to where my piano is and see Collin standing there.
“I haven’t heard you play in a while.” He says looking at me.
“You can hear me?” I ask walking up to him.
“These walls aren’t exactly steel Jade.” He says smiling down at me.
“Yeah, well, I’ve been kinda busy.” I mentally add Collin to the small list of people who have heard my music.
“Will you play something for me now?” He asks looking back at the piano. Before I can answer, I hear a door slam. I run to my door and open it. When I look out, I see a girl with brown hair walking down the stairs, making the journey of her walk of shame. I look back and see Collin smiling sheepishly at me.
“Locked out my ass.” I say as I push Collin out the door.
“But what about that song?” He asks.
“Bye Collin.” I reply as I close my door. When I walk back through my apartment, I stop and look at the piano. I then find myself walking towards it and sitting down at the bench. I press one of the keys and listen to the soft note echo through my now quiet apartment. I press the same note again and also the pedal that causes the note to hang in the air while I press another key. I let go of the pedal and key and take a deep breathe. Collin wanted a song so, he’ll hear a song. I start out slow, because I haven’t been playing. As I remember how much I love gliding my fingers across the keys, my mind decides to start playing Photograph by Ed Sheeran. I start with an intro I added before I start the actual song.
“Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes
But it's the only thing that I know
When it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes
It is the only thing that makes us feel alive
We keep this love in a photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts are never broken
And time's forever frozen still
So you can keep me
Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans
Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet
You won't ever be alone, wait for me to come home”
I close my eyes and let my mind go free. When I play, it’s like I’m not even on the surface of the earth anymore.
“Loving can heal, loving can mend your soul
And it's the only thing that I know, know”
I mentally laugh at the irony of that line.
“I swear it will get easier,
Remember that with every piece of you
And it's the only thing we take with us when we die
We keep this love in this photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
hearts are never broken
And time's forever frozen still
So you can keep me
Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans
Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet
You won't ever be alone
And if you hurt me
That's okay baby, only words bleed
Inside these pages you just hold me
And I won’t ever let you go
Wait for me to come home
Wait for me to come home
Wait for me to come home
Wait for me to come home
You can fit me
Inside the necklace you got when you were sixteen
Next to your heartbeat where I should be
Keep it deep within your soul
And if you hurt me
Well, that's okay baby, only words bleed
Inside these pages you just hold me
And I won’t ever let you go
When I'm away, I will remember how you kissed me
Under the lamppost back on Sixth street
Hearing you whisper through the phone,
‘Wait for me to come home.’"
I liked the song, because it made me feel as if someone out there really could love a criminal. Maybe I can learn to love again too. I hate that word. Love. It’s caused me a lot of trouble, but apparently people seem to really like it. Not to mention that I live on Sixth Avenue. I take a deep breath and the silence is interrupted by a commotion I hear in the hallway.
*Tony’s POV*
8 a.m. That Morning
“Come on Stark! The funs about to begin!”
“5 more minutes Pepper.” I mumble into my pillow.
“Pepper’s in DC, remember? You’re gonna wish I was Pepper if you don’t get up though!” I pull a pillow out from under me and throw it at the door.
“Alright, you asked for it.” I hear the voice behind my door say, along with footsteps. Like they’re gonna do anything. Please. I roll over onto my side. As I’m beginning to drift off, I hear something above me. I open my eyes and look up. Nothing. I shrug and close my eyes again. “I’ll give you one last chance Tony.” I hear the disembodied voice say, a lot more clear though.
“Not gonna happen.” I say, keeping my eyes closed.
“Alright… Bombs away!” I hear. I open my eyes just in time to see Clint jumping out of and air vent and on top of me.
“Aarrghu!” I shout as his weight lands on me. He jumps off and starts laughing.
“JARVIS!” I shout. He should have prevented this.
“Terribly sorry, sir, but Mr. Barton instructed me not to notify you.” My robotic butler says. I groan as I sit up. Clint’s still laughing his head off and I death glare him.
“Hey, I warned you. Just be happy I beat Tasha from waking you up.” He says calming down.
“Alright, alright, I’m up. Now get out.” I say standing up.
“Be ready in an hour.” He says while closing my door. I run my hands across my face and through my hair as I remember what we’re going to do today. Normally, seeing a chick like Jade, hot, smart, humorous, would make me slightly eager, but since the… incident with her taking a jet, I’ve got my beef with her. I walk into the bathroom and shower. I look down at my bare chest, where the glowing arc reactor used to be. For so long it was a part of my life. It saved my life, you know, a part from keeping shards of shrapnel from reaching my heart, but when Loki tried to control my mind. Like he did Clint. If it weren’t for the arc reactor, we probably world have lost. I close my eyes and take several deep breaths. I can't have an attack now. After a couple minutes I open my eyes and continue with my shower. I shut the water off and finish getting ready. I walk out of my room and see Peter walking out of his too.
“Hey kid, ready to go find your friend?” I ask as I walk up to him. He sighs before answering.
“Yup, by Natasha said we were going to make a plan first before we go. And Bruce is still sleeping. Should I go wake-”
“No, uh the big guy needs his sleep. He’ll be up soon enough. Let’s go get some breakfast.” I say, cutting Peter off. When Bruce first started living at the tower, I learned the hard way never to wake him up. Don’t get me wrong, I plan on pranking the kid for staying here, but that would be too cruel. And that’s coming from me. We walk into the kitchen and see Thor at the table with the coffee pot and a box of poptarts. And yes, the actual coffee pot. After he broke one of my mugs shouting “Another!”, I deemed the pot to be Thor’s coffee mug. Cap is sitting at the counter-bar that separates the kitchen from the living room, reading the paper. Who reads the paper anymore? Clint is on the couch shoveling food in his mouth, he better not make a mess, the bastard.
“Jarvis, what’s for breakfast?” I ask as Peter searches the fridge.
“We have a selection of Belgium waffles, eggs benedict, or you can shove whatever you find in the refrigerator into your mouth as Mr. Parker is demonstrating.” Peter pokes his head out from behind the fridge door with a mouthful of bacon and shrugs as he kicks the door shut and joins Thor at the table. I roll my eyes and say,
“Eggs sound good.”
“Of course, those will be right out for you sir.” Jarvis replies. I walk over to Steve and take the seat next to him.
“So what’s going on in New York today Capsicle?” He glances away from the newspaper and at me before folding it and saying,
“Nothing, much, have you seen Natasha?”
“She’s organizing our transportation.” Clint says after walking in the kitchen and chugging the rest of his coffee. He places his dishes in the sink and then walks over to the counter.
“Transportation?” Thor asks.
“Yeah, we aren’t taking the Avenjet?” I ask. I just finished the engineering on it all and really want to take the jet out. Did you know that I’ve crafted it to come completely out of the side of the tower?
“No, Tony, and the Avengers can’t exactly walk down the street and that’s where Leiton lives.” Clint says.
“Wait Jade’s just down the street?” Peter says standing up.
“Yeah, here. I’ll show ya.” Clint says gesturing for us to follow. We all walk out to the balcony. “See that old looking building right there? That’s her. I bet if she came out on the fire escape, we could see her.” He says, pointing to a building a few blocks away.
“There’s the gym I saw her at too.” Steve says.
“Good job, Legolas.” I say while patting Clint on the back and walking back inside.
“Breakfast, sir.” Jarvis says when I’m back in the kitchen.
“Thank you, Jarvis.” I say while taking my seat.
“Whoa!” Cap says walking back in.
“What? What’s wrong?” Peter says concerned.
“Nothing. It’s just… Tony said thank you.” Steve says. I give them all a “really” look and go back to my food.
“Wait, since when does Cap make jokes?” Clint says, resuming his place on the couch. After 10 minutes of silence, thank God, I finish the orange juice Jarvis served with my meal and place my dishes in the sink. I join Peter, Clint, and Steve on the couch, while Thor finishes another pot of coffee. Bruce walks in minutes later and gets his usual cereal. Steve clicks to the news and I’m about to ask why if he’s already read the paper when I’m interrupted by Jay Jonah Jamerson.
“That horrible Spider Man has been seen shooting those disgusting webs near the Avengers Tower. Let’s hope he doesn’t corrupt our beloved New York City super heroes with his villainous acts. Now, back to the Daily Bugle Weather.” The TV says.
“For the last time, I don’t shoot webs I thwip them.” Peter says to the TV.
“So do you plan on corrupting us?” I ask leaning forward, my elbows on my knees.
“I don’t think I could corrupt you Tony.” He says, turning away from the TV.
“Lord knows he’s messed up enough.” Steve says getting up to leave, but Natasha walks in.
“Oh, good you’re all here. Mind taking a seat?” She says as she walks in. Everyone sits on the couch and Natasha stands and talks to us. “Peter, Tony, both of you will be in your suits. Thor, Bruce, you two will take a cab and meet us there. Clint, Steve and I will walk there. Wh-”
“It took you 40 minutes to come up with that?” Clint asks.
“If you had let me finish, you wouldn’t have needed to waste your breath to ask that question.” Natasha replies back with a smile. Clint gestures for her to continue, while I smirk at the two. “Anyway, when we get there, we get Leiton by surprise and take her any way possible. Whether it be walking, in a cab, or one of you taking her.” Nat continues gesturing to first herself, Thor and Bruce and then me and Peter.
“Well I’d be happy to fly around New York with her, but she’ll probably be more willing to go with Peter.” I say.
“Wouldn’t be too sure about that one.” Peter says leaning back.
“Whatever, as long as we get Leiton back here.”
“Wait, we’re bringing her back here?” I ask sitting up.
“Oh, don’t worry Stark. It will only be for a day maximum. Just until we can arrange a spot for her in a SHIELD facility.” Nat reassures me. It’s not that I don’t like Viper, I mean, she’s a criminal and all, but if it weren’t for that, Leiton would be more bearable to live with than Legolas. And if she has to stay here, I’m positive she’ll break something. Whether it be a suit or something really expensive… I see Peter sink further into the couch, in discomfort. “When she’s here, we contact Fury and go from there.” Natasha finishes and walks out. Clint and Steve follow her, but before they can get too far I run towards them.
“Address?” I shout as I get to the doorway.
“210 E. Sixth Avenue. Apartment 16B.” Nat and Clint yell back in unison. I go to my workshop and get a suit. The rest disperse and I head to Leiton’s building.
As I fly through the sky, I see the kid swinging from the buildings. As I’m not paying attention, a web is shot, or thwipped, right in front of me. I come to a jolting stop and as the Web Head swings in front of me, he solutes and I swear he winked under that damned mask of his. I fly after him and land on the roof of the building Natasha and Clint told us. I step to the edge and see Thor and Bruce stepping out of a cab.
“Jarvis, scan the crowd for Widow, Hawkeye and the Captain.” I say looking down at the people.
“Right away, sir.” He replies. My screen lights up and goes to work. I spot the three faces and see that all of them are relatively close.
“Jade’s on the top floor, so if we want to get her by surprise, we’ll have to go in quietly.” Spider Man says joining my side.
“Right. Everyone should be here soon. Let’s go in.” I say turning around. We walk into the 16th floor and there are 3 doors. A vacant sign hangs on 16C which means there’ll be another person here. “There’s another resident on the 16th floor, Nat.” I say.
“On it.” Is all she vaguely says back. The Web Head stands over by the railing and looks down. I join him and see Widow and Capsicle walking in while Thor and Bruce are on the 5th floor.
“Stairs guys? Really?” I say.
“Elevators out.” Bruce says looking up.
“And flying would create too much noise.” Thor says. The building is set up so you walk up one flight of stairs to the floor, circle back around and up another flight and so on, leaving a straight drop down inbetween the flights of stairs. I see Natasha roll her eyes and climb the first railing then projecting herself to the next floor and swinging herself up. She continues this till she stands next to Peter. Steve copies her and meets us at the top, shield in hand. How did he get that through the streets without stopping? Whatever, that thing always seems to come back somehow. Bruce and Thor are now on the 11th floor and Hawkeye just walked in. Could this take any longer?
“You brought that thing?” Widow asks as Clint brings out his bow and quiver. He grabs an arrow and shoots straight up and the ceiling, the arrow head being a grappling hook.
“Of course I did.” He says once he’s up here. “Steve brought his shield.” Nat only rolls her eyes at him. Thor and Bruce reach us and I say,
“Nice for everyone to finally join us. Now what…” I trail off. Everyone becomes quiet as we all listen. The sound of a piano resonates in the silence along with a girl’s voice. Legolas points to the door marked 16B and raises his eyebrows. Spider Man walks up to the door and presses his ear to it. After a couple second he nods.
“How did she learn to sing and play like that?” Cap asks.
“It has to be a recording right? No one’s that good.” I say, still listening.
“Jade is.” Peter says, stepping away from the door. “Her parents taught her at a young age. If things were different, she probably would have made it her profession.” We all stand in silence as Leiton sings, completely unaware of us.
“And time's forever frozen still
So you can keep me
Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans
Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet
You won't ever be alone
And if you hurt me
That's okay baby, only words bleed
Inside these pages you just hold me
And I won’t ever let you go
Wait for me to come home…”
“Are we really going to wait for her?” Widow asks, interrupting.
“Yes, we are. This is one of the very few things she still has from her parents. You will not take that from Jade.” Peter says sternly towards her. And here I thought I had a crappy childhood.
“Hey kid, you do know that we’ll have to ask her about her childhood right?” I say. He turns toward me and says,
“I know, just let her have this.” Legolas walks over to 16A and quietly knocks on the door.
“What’d you do with the people who live here Nat?”
“I shot a transmitter at the window that blocks out all noise that comes from inside the building.” Widow says. We all quiet down and listen again.
“Well, that's okay baby, only words bleed
Inside these pages you just hold me
And I won’t ever let you go
When I'm away, I will remember how you kissed me
Under the lamppost back on Sixth street
Hearing you whisper through the phone,
‘Wait for me to come home.’"
Cap speaks up after Leiton finishes.
“What was she singing?” Before anyone can answer, Natasha talks.
“Let’s ask her.” As she walks to the door, it swings open and we’re caught starring at Leiton as she stares right back at us. At least I think that’s her. They weren't lying when they said she changed her appearance and may I say, she looks pretty damn good. Compared to everyone else we've captured.
A/N: Whoopdy-Whoop! Another update! I hope you all don't mind that I actually wrote out the lyrics to the song. I do that when it's really important, and most of the songs that will be included (yes there will be more) will have a point that ties into the story. Also a little disclaimer right now. Any songs that Jade writes will be actual songs. Written by actual people in the real world. Unless I say otherwise. I will try to tackle the feet of writing at least lyrics down for the story. And if I'm feeling really good, I might make a youtube video with me playing guitar and singing to the song. Unfortunetly, I don't play piano, so it would be hard for me to make a song like that. Now this wouldn't happen for a while and it would be something I'd have to consider for a long time. Don't get your hopes up on the video, basically.
Anyway, what'd y'all think? I like this because you get to dive into Jade's musical life and it's also in Tony's point of view if you didn't notice. For some reason he was especially hard to write as and I have yet to find an answer to why that is. I want to hear your thoughts on the song and how you think that connects with the story and Jade as a person. Also tell me what you think of Collin. I don't really know what to do with him as a character, but I like him and will probably think of a way to include one or two more times.
The picture attached is of Jade's apartment and the video is obviously Ed Sheeran's Photograph. I couldn't find a good cover of just the piano so, just imagine it without the guitar and you know, a female's voice. Now, hopefully you get from the Avengers comments that she's rather good at singing and playing piano and all that. How do you think that'll affect their outlook on her? What do you think of Peter snapping at Natasha when she slanders Jade? Natasha doesn't really like Jade, so she doesn't want to take any bull from her and when Peter says something like that to her, Nat just kinda stays quiet, knowing that she shouldn't say anything.
Okay well I think that's it. Sorry I didn't get this up sooner today. Basically I cooked, ate, then cleaned and have now been enjoying my time sitting on my couch relaxing with my full stomach. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! If you don't live in America then Happy Thursday! Or if it's not Thursday where you are then... hope your day is a wonderful one! I'm thankful for all of you supporting my story and making my day brighter by making my phone notify me that there's a new comment or vote! Really, thank you all so much!
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