Author's Note: One of the things I love about Polyvore is that some of the items you use in a set have prices (so you can theoretically go online and buy the stuff). So I, being crazy and lacking a life, went through and calculated how much theoretical money Ryland and Anya would cost to dress and the price is astonishing! Especially cause more than half their stuff is name brands lol Ryland cost roughly $2,272.87 in Mini-Vengers (which is about 1701.63 Euros if I remember how to do that math right lol) and Anya cost about $4,040.84 in Mini-Vengers (which is about 3025.26 Euros I think) which is crazy considering they were one and four years old in that story haha For Linchpin Ryland coat about $5,623.33 (4210.02 Euros) and Anya cost about $5,848.58 (4378.66 Euros). That is a lot of money on clothes (and that's not counting everyone else's wardrobes from both stories!)
Review Reviews:
KMPcool: Yes their level will most certainly be made of chocolate. That's a pretty name. I'll try incorporating it somehow into the story ;)
Lollpops101: Thanks :) I knew it was pretty predictable, which is why I wanted to do something different and actually have them move out, but in the end I decided to go with the predictable since it fit the characters most.
discordchick: My mom is actually worse than my dad when it comes to dating and whatnot. My dad is more like Clint- he knows it's happening/going to happen, he just doesn't want to hear about it lol I will try working in some more Clintasha in the next chapters for you :)
marvelgirl88: Them building/decorating their level will come in bits and pieces throughout the next chapters probably. Then they'll be a final chapter about the level when it's done :)
WhatTheValhalla: Thanks! I always knew giving them their own level was an option but at first I wanted them out of the tower. But the more I wrote and the deeper I got into the history of these characters, it felt more in-character for Ryland not to leave. He's always been a family guy and back when he was still a little guy- before Mickey and Danni even came around- his biggest fear was his family leaving the tower. Now of course he's grown and matured and whatnot, but I think there's still a part of him that never wants to leave that tower or the people that inhabit it. So in the end, it might've been more predictable, but it was more realistic to me :) I kind of added a little of your suggestion to this chapter (with them furniture shopping at the end) and there will probably more similar moments in the future. Hope you like :)
blackangel150: Lol Clint is aware but he doesn't want to know :p
crazyninjagirl: Let's be real here, Tony might own the tower, and Steve might captain the Avengers, but Pepper runs the whole operation ;)
kimbee: Of course! I went through and gave all the other kids birthdays and so Little Miss needed one too. Now she has yours :) My dad is aware of what's going on in might life but he chooses not to acknowledge it too often lol Since Pepper is so hormonal I liked the switch in roles between her and Tony. And Clint...well let's just say Clint is my favorite for a reason ;) lol
Sasha: I approached them moving out with the thought in the back of my head that every kid around their age starts thinking about moving out. Especially kids like them with enough money to do so. But the more I thought about their characters I realized that, though they might think about leaving, neither of them would actually leave (yet). And I feel like secretly the family knew that. Especially Natasha who treated the whole thing with a very relaxed attitude (because she knew these kids well enough to know they wouldn't actually leave yet). No one was ready for them to leave- not even Ryland and Anya themselves- and they all know that. As for This One Time, I completely forgot about that story! Don't ask me how hahaha but I added a new chapter today that has lots of Clint feels for you ;) Hope you like it and this chapter!
Enjoy!
Dahlia never really liked school all that much. Not because she didn't love learning, but because of the naturally toxic environment. The teachers were usually fine; such as her sassy English teacher Miss Morgan who usually spent 70% of class time gushing over author's and being a general fangirl for anything literate. Her math teacher Mr. Calvin was pretty cool too, despite being a math teacher, but mainly just because he fielded questions like, "When are we ever going to use this stuff?" with remarks such as, "Never but shut up and do it anyway." which always made Dahlia chuckle. No one could ever beat her science teacher Mr. Adams who constantly made science puns (usually referring back to his name) that went over the other students heads but hit Dahlia right in the funny bone.
The teachers were fine, it was the students she didn't like. When she was a kid she had no qualms with her peers whatsoever. Some of them were a little dense (compared to the brainiac superheros and gods she usually hung out with) but they got along fine. It wasn't until she hit sixth grade and entered middle school that things started shifting. She began to notice more and more the girls in her class acting different. Suddenly they all wanted to try out for cheerleading, not because it seemed like fun but because the outfits were 'hot' and it gave the girls access to the football players. Dahlia would sit in the bleachers while all her friends danced around on the sidelines flirting with any male that walked passed.
Dahlia didn't really care much for boys yet at that age. Of course she realized they didn't have cooties but she wasn't anywhere near ready to date so she didn't see the point. She was still stuck thinking of boys the way she thought of Ryland or Kellen. Bros not dates. But she was okay with her friends acting like flirts if just because it was entertaining to watch. But they kept changing even after that.
Dahlia was okay for a long time listening to her friends constantly talk about boys but as soon as her circle of friends started slamming other girls for no particular reason, that's when she wasn't okay. It made Dahlia uncomfortable whenever her supposed friends would talk about other girls in blatantly insulting ways. She kept quite for a while though, figuring it was just a phase or something, but the other girls kept talking and talking. So finally Dahlia stood up and told them their words were hurtful and that they were being mean. The next day at school nobody talked to her.
She ate lunch alone, walked to classes alone, sat through study-hall alone. She went the whole day without talking to anyone other than to answer one question a teacher threw her way. That was bad enough but then the snickering and whispering started. The girls Dahlia had once been friends with turned their backs on her faster than she thought possible and soon enough the terrible things they were saying about other girls were directly on Dahlia.
They had plenty of ammunition, what with her family and all. Despite being a pretty girl, they tore Dahlia's self-esteem down to studs. Suddenly she was acutely aware of how tall she was and how wide her shoulders were and how coarse her hair was. She suddenly started wondering why she didn't wear dresses and skirts and heels like the other girls and usually opted for tee shirts and raggedy jeans and sneakers. The girls she once called friends hand Dahlia questioning every little aspect of herself from the curl in her hair to the size of her feet. Everything about her was their playground for scrutiny.
Of course the family wasn't going to stand for such treatment of their own but Dahlia refused to let her parents say anything. Jane wanted to have a sit-down with the girls' mothers and key them in to how horribly their children were acting. Tony offered to transfers schools and cover the costs, and Anya, one grade year older, was more than willing to smack some heads together. But Dahlia refused. Either she'd handle it herself or just put up with it. She wasn't going to have other people fighting her battles for her.
Dahlia, and the family, did a good job of building her self-esteem back up again little by little. They got out of New York for a while and spent almost an entire summer in Asgard where everyone treated her with the utmost love and respect for no reason other than that they truly did love and respect her. She was their princess and was treated as such which would give anyone quality self-esteem. Hell she even had a tiara made entirely of rare metals and jewels exclusive to Asgard.
But the one to help the most in restoring her self-esteem was an Asgardian boy named Auden. Dahlia thought she'd already met everyone in the palace but apparently she hadn't for one day when she was wondering about she ran into a man she'd never even seen before. He was probably a few years older than her and a good few inches taller as well; he had dark brown hair and bright green eyes. They'd literally ran into each other so of course Auden immediately apologized but Dahlia brushed it off like it was nothing.
Their conversation started with her asking him to sneak her desert from the kitchen and didn't end until a week later when Dahlia returned to earth. For that week they spent all their time together- usually getting in trouble and having a blast. Auden was a warrior in Odin's army but he'd yet to see any battle. Because of that, or maybe because of something else, he wasn't as polluted as some warriors tended to be. He was full of life and energy and he made Dahlia smile. She promised before she left that she'd come back to visit real soon.
Auden was her first kiss and it was flawless. Soft and gentle, really just a peck, but perfect. Most first kisses were awkward and lacked proper know-how, but Dahlia's was great. Even though she'd only known Auden a week she couldn't regret kissing him for it was so great. Auden did wonders for her self-esteem if just because he was older and attractive with many prospects and yet he chased her. It made her feel special and adored and just downright good. She went back to school the following fall with a renewed sense of self and the girls she once called friends couldn't touch her. Of course they tried, kept picking on her for a long while, but eventually they gave up. After all the entire point to their game was to make Dahlia feel bad and she wasn't having any of it.
Finally when middle school ended Dahlia allowed Tony to pay for a school switch. Instead of following her bullies of classmates on to high school she switched to the high school Anya and Ryland attended. Ryland was already a junior but quickly accumulating the credits needed to graduate early and Anya was in the grade above her, but having them around made the transition smoother.
The first day of high school she sat with Anya and her friends for lunch. She intended not to make it a habit- she wanted to make her own friends- but quickly realized making friends was harder than she thought. Even the nice girls were hard to make friends with if just because making friends required a certain set of social skills Dahlia hadn't fully developed yet. She was shy and a bit awkward and despite coming to terms with that she still couldn't make friends. Definitely not as easily as Anya. Everyone loved Anya and everyone swooned over Ryland but Dahlia mostly just talked to her teachers.
The first friend Dahlia made was an oddball drama student who loved musicals and puppies more than life itself. Zoe was a small girl to begin with and especially so when next to Dahlia but she never let it get in the way. She was a blast to be around and always made things more interesting. Dahlia quickly found her to be a best friend and they went on many adventures together.
However Zoe got a part on a Broadway play Sophomore year which lead her parents to homeschool her. Dahlia was left walking the school halls alone once again and spending time together quickly became practically impossible with Zoe's new schedule. They tried so very, very hard to keep in contact but they slowly but surely drifted apart. So Dahlia set out to make new friends.
It took time and a lot of effort but eventually she found a friend in a peculiar young guy in her science class- the only other student to laugh at Mr. Adams' puns. Noah got amazing grades but genuinely never studied and Dahlia quickly learned he had an IQ probably as high as Ryland's or even Tony's. He kept it quite in order to keep a regular life and class schedule.
Noah's best friend was a slight red-headed girl named Molly who was probably almost as smart as he- but she didn't keep it a secret. She took every advanced placement class she possibly could and spent a good portion of her time studying. But that didn't mean she didn't know how to have fun. Molly threw the best laser-tag/karaoke parties and she always had something fun up her sleeve (so long as she'd done all her homework first).
Noah and Molly were Dahlia's absolute best friends through sophomore and junior years of high school. Molly never had any of the same classes but she always walked with Dahlia and Noah to their different classes and they ate lunch together- usually out in the courtyard or somewhere secluded where no one wold disturb them.
Things got tough for Noah junior year though. Rumors started spinning about his sexuality even before midterms. He handled all the rumors with grace and class and confidence but it still shook him up a good bit. Everything was going really well for a while until some of the guys started playing practical jokes on Noah that weren't funny at all. One boy took it too far and Noah just didn't show up for school the whole week. After that he revealed his genius and gathered enough credits to graduate early. It wouldn't have mattered if he stayed the next year or not because he wasn't talking to anyone anyway. Dahlia tried reaching out a million and a half times but he put up a wall between him and everyone else. He said he was grateful that she cared and that he was sorry but it was time for him to grow thicker skin. He put up a giant gray wall between him and anyone who could possibly hurt him- including Dahlia and Molly.
After what happened with Noah, Dahlia and Molly clung to each other for support. They needed each other more than they even realized but that relationship also failed when Molly decided to take on an even heavier work load senior year. Dahlia literally hadn't even seen her since the start of school. The first day they passed each other in the hallway and smiled but that was it- that friendship was over.
With three failed friendships under her belt Dahlia walked the school hallways alone every single day. It wasn't even winter yet and she was already begging for graduation. She had no friends. No one. Ryland was long since graduated, Anya graduated last year, Zoe was in California on a TV show, Noah was at Harvard and Molly didn't have time for anything but her chemistry books.
It was the really lonesome days that Dahlia wondered about Auden the most. Had he gone to war yet? Was he still okay? Was he still full of life and light and wonder and magic? She really didn't know. After that week she never saw him again. Despite going back to Asgard a few months later for her birthday, she never saw Auden. She looked and looked, asked everyone who could possibly know where he was but never found him. Odin had too many warriors in his army to know for sure whether he'd seen war yet- or if he was even okay still. No one knew where he was. He was there but just out of Dahlia's reach. She couldn't find her only friend.
Of course she had a tower full of family at home but it wasn't the same. She cherished the relationship she had with everyone in the family but it wasn't the same as having friends. And it certainly wasn't the same as having a relationship. Dahlia looked at the couples around her with envy. Not just because they looked happy but because they had their somebodies. They had people to share their time and life with, someone to come home to who would ask how their day was and give them a kiss. They had people to hold their hands when they're scared and they had shoulders to cry on. Every shoulder Dahlia had to cry on she considered family.
She wanted someone outside of her family to be interested in her the way Auden was. The way Ryland was with Anya. The way Tony was with Pepper. The way Thor was with Jane. The way Bruce was with Danni. The way Steve was with Mickey. The way Clint was with Natasha. She wanted someone to express a genuine fondness for her.
But alas the only people that paid attention to her were the paparazzi that followed her, Kellen, the twins and Robby to school in the morning. All three of their schools were within a few blocks of each other so the group usually walked together. The twins school was first then the high school but either Kellen or Dahlia always walked the extra few blocks to Robby's school to make sure he got there okay.
"Hey, Lia?" Robby asked as he walked alongside her on their way to his school. She'd probably wind up being a tad late for her first class but it was Miss Morgan so it wouldn't be such a big deal. When Dahlia looked down at Robby he added, "How comes your sad so much?"
Dahlia paused to think for a minute. "Am I?"
Robby just kind of shrugged. "You look kinda sad." he said softly, pulling on the sleeve of his jacket. It was getting colder and colder in New York every day so when Robby was getting ready for school that morning Pepper made sure he was dressed warmly in a sweater and coat as well as a winter hat. However only three steps away from the tower Robby unzipped his jacket just to spite his mom.
"Well that's cause I'm kind of lonely." Dahlia replied honestly. She never really knew how to talk to Robby because she never knew how much he understood but instead of dumbing down everything she talked to him like she would anyone else and just hoped he got it.
"Why are you lonely? You have lots of family."
"You're right," Dahlia added, searching for the right way to describe her predicament to someone of his age. "however sometimes we need other people besides our family."
"Like friends?"
"Exactly like friends. And sometimes we need boyfriends or girlfriends too. We need love from all different kinds of people in order not to feel lonely. You know?" Dahlia replied as they rounded the corner to Robby's school.
"You want boyfriend or girlfriend?" Robby asked, stopping and looking up at Dahlia who nodded slowly. "So go get one then."
Dahlia chuckled a little as she ran a hand through her hair. "I wish it were that simple man., I really wish."
"What's so hard about it?" Robby literally popped his hip to the side as he asked and Dahlia was taken back by how much he looked like Pepper in that moment. "I mean all you gotta do is go find a guy and date him."
"Well for starters I have to find a guy that's also interested in dating me."
"Oh come on," Robby huffed. "tons of guys like you."
Dahlia paused to make a face. "If they do none of them have said a word."
"Of course not!" Robby replied as if what he was saying should make perfect sense to her. But it wasn't so he sighed and explained better. "Guys don't like saying they like girls cause then that means they have to act more grown up and guys don't like acting grown up. Just ask my dad, I'm pretty sure he never grew up." That made Dahlia pause long enough for Robby to walk away. But Dahlia kept thinking about what he said all day throughout school.
It made a bit of sense but at the same time it made absolutely no sense. She was so very confused but couldn't stop thinking about it. So after dinner that night she followed Ryland and Anya to a local furniture store where they were going to pick out furniture for their new place- their level of the tower.
"Is it true? Is he right?" Dahlia asked Ryland in reference to Robby's earlier statement. She'd followed Ryland around explaining what his little brother had said all the while Ryland tested out every single chair and bed they looked at.
"Sorta, I mean he's right about Dad never growing up and it's true that guys are expected to mature a little when they enter into a relationship. But that's not the only reason guys don't like admitting they like someone." Ryland replied as he lounged across a leather sofa. "I don't like this one, the leather is uncomfortable and my head slides every time I lay down." Ryland demonstrated his problem by laying on his side. Almost as soon as he was settled his head started to slip down the arm rest as his mop of hair aided the leather in pushing him off.
"The couch is your choice, you'll be the one sleeping on it when I'm pissed." Anya replied sarcastically but with a sweet smile.
"So why else don't guys like saying they like me?" Dahlia asked as she followed Ryland to a different couch which he sat on then stood up immediately.
"Definitely not that one." he declared before moving on to a red one. "There's a million reasons why. Maybe they're just scared of rejection or maybe they think you're unapproachable- being a celebrity kid and all- or maybe they're scared their friends will give them shit about it or maybe they aren't ready for a relationship so they're holding off on saying anything until they are or maybe they don't even know they like you- guys can be stupid like that- or maybe there are sixteen different guys at your school right now each biding their time before they ask you out."
"You're not particularly helping." Anya said to Ryland as she joined him on the red couch. "Oh I like this one. It'll go great with the color scheme too."
"Well then we'll get it." Ryland replied with a smile before turning his attention back to Dahlia. "What I'm trying to say is...boys don't make a whole lot of sense, but you shouldn't rule us out entirely. I mean don't think guys don't like you just because none of them have said so in a while. Chances are there's a kid sitting in the back row of one of your classes with a huge crush on you."
"But if not," Anya added on. "that's okay too. Because high school is just one part of your life and you have plenty life left to live. You'll meet a great guy eventually, whether he's the creep at the back of the class, or someone completely different. You'll get to your happily ever after at some point."
Dahlia heaved a sigh and fell onto the red couch they'd just abandoned. "But what am I supposed to do in the meantime?" she complained, sliding into a half sitting half laying down type position. "Oh wow this is nice, you should definitely get this one."
"In the meantime," Ryland replied, offering her a hand up so they could go look at dining room tables. "you work on you. Work on your believes and your thoughts and your opinions and your passions. Work on who you are as an individual so that when you eventually becomes we you'll still have your own personality. You don't want to be one of those girls that's completely void of a personality without her boyfriend. You want to be able to stand on your own but chose to let someone else help you."
Dahlia thought about that for a long few minutes as she walked under Ryland's arm through rows and rows of tables and chairs. "I don't know how to do that." Dahlia admitted softly as Ryland steered them around square tables and round tables and rectangle tables and oval tables and even a table that looked like an octagon.
"You read books," Ryland said. "to grow your vocabulary and understanding of people and actions and life in general. You watch movies and TV shows to find your fantasies and indulge in vicarious swordplay. You go to museums to cultivate your inner artist that sees colors and shapes rather than just things. You listen to music to find the melodies that make you happiest- because music says a lot about someone. You walk through the boroughs in the middle of the afternoon and listen to what people are saying, sometimes joining in on conversations. You expand yourself by letting other things in."
Finally Dahlia had to stop walking, she couldn't think and talk and walk at the same time or she was going to bump into something her concentration was all over the place. So she found a long rectangular dark oak table and sat down. "But what if..." she started to say slowly as Ryland sat across from her. Out of the corner of her eye Dahlia noticed Anya stepping backwards to give them some space. "what if...what if letting other things in...what if letting other people in...hurts?"
Dahlia's words hung there between them for a minute as Ryland though about how to respond. "That's okay." he finally said softly. "It's okay to be scared, we all are. Certain things will always scare you, Lia, even when you're in a relationship. Hell, relationships themselves can still scare you when you're in one. Ask Ace how scared I am every damn day because she'll tell you I'm like a little boy when it comes to her and I. Nothing scares me more. And that's okay. It's okay to be scared and to not know what you're doing, that's how we learn. That's how we learn our limits and strengths and our power and the things that scare us most show us what to do next. You gotta do the thing that scares you, Dahlia, you have to or else you'll go your whole life wondering...what if."
"I'm already wondering what if." Dahlia said softly, completely unaware that her eyes had watered up until a tear slipped down her cheek. She immediately caught it and brushed it away, refusing to shed anymore but they kept coming. "I'm genuinely scared no one will ever love me. But I'm also genuinely scared I'll never properly be able to love someone else. I'm scared I'll end up alone and that it'll be my fault, that I'll drive him away. I just want someone to show up and...make it easier."
Ryland smiled sympathetically even as he said, "That will never happen. Cause that's not what it's all about." Dahlia shot him a look that spoke volumes as to her incomprehension so he tried rewording it. "Being with the right guy isn't about life suddenly getting easier. It's about the hard times being more worthwhile. If you're in it with the right person then the mountains become the most rewarding to climb. Because the harder the times the better the end result. If you're with the right guy he'll be there when you drop off the other side of that cliff and when you land in his arms it'll be better than anything before. Sure, you could find a guy that makes things easy and you can walk along the straight and narrow path. But you don't want that. You want someone who's gonna grab your hand and help you conquer the hills and valleys of life. You don't want easy. You just want a partner through the hard stuff."
That was it. Now she was really crying. She couldn't hide it either so she just dropped her face into her hands and tried to be at least reasonably quiet and not disrupt the other patrons at the store. She couldn't even manage a proper response but Ryland waited out her tears anyway.
Then when she was done crying he added, "You are a beautiful, smart, challenging, frustrating, fun, dynamic and hard-to-say-no-to woman. And there is a man somewhere in this universe that is of equal worth just waiting to find you. Don't give up on him, but in the meantime focus on you. I promise everything will work out just fine, you just have to give it time."
"How can you make a promise like that?" Dahlia asked as she desperately tried to reign in her emotions and clear the tears off her cheeks.
"Because no one deserves their happily ever after like you do."
Author's Note: So one thing I want to do is make chapters like this one that center around one character and their background. This is Dahlia's, explaining a little of what she's been through and why she feels the way she does. I hope to do one for all the kids- Irina, the twins, even Robby. So let me know in the reviews if you think that's a good idea and if you liked this chapter enough to want more :)
As always you can check out my Polyvore (samitballi. polyvore. com) for a set from this chapter titled Dahlia that isn't quite an outfit, more a hodgepodge of things that remind me/represent Dahlia's personality :)
Thanks!