Hello all! It's been a long time since I wrote anything, and when I came up with the idea for this fic, I thought why not give it a go! This is basically like a pilot chapter, so if it gets a good response, I'll definitely continue!. Let me know what you think and if you want me to continue! xxx
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel characters (unfortunately)
Chapter 1
Useless. Absolutely useless. I slammed the textbook shut, sighing in despair as I watched my pen roll slowly off the desk and onto the carpet. Well, I thought, it was not like I was going to need it anyway. Two years in, and I still wasn't sure what had possessed me to take this stupid course. Take Business, they said. It'll change your life and earn you a shit ton of money, they said. Well a shit ton of money was right. Except it was all debt, and I hadn't earned a thing since my Saturday job in high school. I honestly couldn't think of anything more boring in my life than being here. When was something exciting going to happen?
"Em! Em, where are you?" A voice shouted from down the hallway.
Oh shit. I had completely forgotten I'd agreed to go out tonight. I rolled up my sleeve to see just how late I was. 9.30. Ifthat was the universe answering my question, it had seriously bad timing.
"EMILIA BARNES, YOU BETTER BE REA-"
I opened the door to my room before my annoying little friend could finish her sentence, and watched as her eyes slowly looked me up and down, returning to rest upon my sheepish face with a scowl.
"I cannot believe you."
I threw my hands up in apology. "I'm sorry! I didn't realise the time, and I was trying to finish my notes and-"
Lucy threw up a finger and waved it at me in disapproval. "I said I'd be round at 9.30 ten times. I even texted and called and everything."
Lucy was my best, and most irritating friend here at college. We took a few classes together at the start of our first year, but didn't get to know each other until I found her swaying side to side in a 24-hour pizza place after one of the biggest nights out of the year. Of course, I wouldn't exactly say I was sober, but at least I wasn't singing the alphabet song backwards.. in Spanish. Or attempting to, anyway. Since then, I hadn't been able to get rid of her, which meant she managed to rope me into every activity whatsoever that involved alcohol, inevitably leading to us falling both up and down the stairs because we were both My parents had even started to question why I'd come home at the holidays with multiple bruises over my body, so I had to think of the least dodgy explanation ever. Thus, my parents now think I'm the newest member of the karate club. To be fair, I never said I was particularly inventive. They were only slightly suspicious because we were all sitting on the sofas watching Karate Kid at the time, but I managed to get away with it.
"Maybe instead of standing here arguing about why I'm the most pathetic excuse for a college kid, I should actually start getting ready," I responded defensively, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow at my little friend.
Lucy paused for a moment, but then nodded her head, hands going straight to my shoulders. She steered me to my bed and forced me to sit down, commanding me to fix my face as she moved to my wardrobe and began taking out any suitable clothing she could find in there for a night out. She turned round to give me a dirty look after seeing the massive pile of clothes at the base of the wardrobe.
"How am I ever managed to find anything in here?"
"Work your magic, Luce," I told her, reaching over to grab my makeup bag to start the process of making my face presentable.
"Not that, or that…oh my, definitely not that…a-ha!"
Lucy pulled out a black halter-neck bodysuit and threw it at me, just missing my newly made up face. I picked the scrunched up cloth off the floor and proceeded to take off my sweats. After a few tugs, the fabric was firmly in place, reminding me I should probably use the gym membership I'd bought months ago before I needed to go up a dress size. I fixed the outfit with a pair of black jeans, and after a quick brush of my hair, I was ready to go.
"How do I look?" I asked, giving my friend a twirl.
Lucy smiled, "Perfect! Now let's go because there's a few people I want you to meet."
"Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not set me up with any boys."
"Now that's a promise you know I can't make."
Lucy took me by the hand and dragged me out the house, only letting go to let me grab a jacket and lock the door. I had to argue with her that I didn't want to be hypothermic and burgled in the same night, or at all, preferably. It was colder than I thought, and I instantly regretted agreeing to come out on what must have been one of the coldest nights of the year so far. We wandered down the street to the first bar of the night, making small talk as we walked, which consisted mainly of me persuading her that if she absolutely had to set me up with a guy, he couldn't be a weirdo like the last few. I shuddered at the thought of the last one, who insisted on feeling me up the entire night, even following me to the bathroom when I lied about needing to throw up. At first, I was drunk enough to think it was just a bit of fun, but eventually I realised how creepy he actually was and quickly exited the club.
The first bar was dimly lit, with huddles of comfy chairs dotted across the room. It was still quite early for many students, so the bar wasn't too busy, and along with the soft music in the background, the place felt fairly laidback.
"This is just a starting point, so we'll have a few drinks here whilst we wait for the others, then move onto somewhere that's buzzing, okay?" Lucy explained.
"Sure, let's get this night going," I replied, moving over to the barman with her to get our first round of drinks.
Several gin and tonics later, Lucy's friends joined us at our table. Luckily, I was starting to feel a bit tipsy, so I wasn't as intimidated when two of the prettiest girls I had seen sat down, along with three tall boys. At least two of them were my type; tall, dark and handsome, and I silently congratulated Lucy for finally having good taste.
"This is Emilia," Lucy waved a hand at me, "Emilia, this is Ri, Liv, Simon, David and Alex," she pointed to each person in time.
We all smiled and greeted each other, settling into conversation as a group. After a few more drinks, I'd already forgotten their names, but it had got to that awkward stage where I wasn't sure I could ask them again. Eventually we moved onto the next bar, which was a lot more crowded and too noisy to have any sort of conversation. After several spilled drinks and arguments erupting over who's turn it was next in the queue, I made the executive decision that we leave and just go to the club.
"This is the BEST. NIGHT. EVER!" Lucy screamed at the top of her voice, taking me and one of the other boys by the hand and leading us onto the dance floor.
It was hot and sweaty, but for once, I didn't care. I was loving every minute of it. The alcohol had firmly hit my system, making the world spin just a bit, but not enough so that I ended up plummeting face first onto the floor. The boy that had been dragged along with us wrapped his arms around me, and I leant into his embrace, happy to just dance the night away.
"Is she alive?"
"Maybe she's dead."
"Oh yeah, real optimistic, Tony."
My eyes shot open at the sound of their familiar voices, but I quickly shut them again as the bright surroundings stung them. After a few prods in my side, from what seemed to be a hard, metal instrument, I let my eyes flutter open to find myself lying in a vast desert. The hot sun was beating uncomfortably onto my skin, and I could feel it starting to burn. I knew I needed to find shelter as soon as possible. My eyes wandered over to my left, where I noticed many pairs of feet. One pair appeared to be made of a reddish metal, which at first, I put down to my severely hungover brain. I looked up to see who they belonged to, and my mouth dropped.
"Oh shit."
