That slow burn wait while it gets dark, bruising the sun.
I feel grown up with you in your car, I know it's dumb.
"Maria, this is Janie. She's Kelly's younger sister," Theresa introduced "You two are the same age."
"Hi," Maria said, Janie waving.
"How about you show Maria your room?" Kelly said, Janie nodding and leading Maria to her bedroom.
For about twenty minutes, Theresa and Kelly worked on her wedding plans, but then they were interrupted by Janie running into the room in tears.
"She pulled my pigtail!"
Maria followed in with a pout and a glare.
"Maria, why on earth did you do that?" Theresa demanded; this was out of character for Maria.
"She's a bitch."
"Maria Margaret Stark! You apologize right now!"
"… Sorry," Maria said, not sounding very sorry at all.
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
"Time for school."
A ten year old Maria groaned from under her covers; she didn't want to go.
"Can I stay home?"
Pepper sighed; she'd be tempted to say yes if Maria did something. All she would do is stay in bed all day, and the doctor said that Maria needed to go out.
"No."
Maria sighed and got out of bed; Pepper wouldn't change her mind.
It wasn't because of… She didn't want to go for a different reason than Pepper thought.
She went to an elite school in New York (it'd been decided that she needed to live in one place; Malibu or New York. She'd chosen the latter)
Maria had known from an early age that people would try to be her friend just because of her last name, but this was worse.
He was Justin Hammer's nephew… Or was it Norman Osborn's? Either way, he hated her.
He was always trying to get a rise out of her, but what he didn't know was that she'd heard it all before. She was a whore, her father was a creep, her mother figure had fucked her way to her job, and her actual mother had abandoned her because of her marks.
None of it hurt; it bounced right off.
But, the actions themselves annoyed her; she didn't like being harassed.
Just ignore it and it'll go away.
That'd been the principal's advice.
"If I had a father like yours, I'd die of embarrassment."
If I had a face like yours, I'd kill myself.
Maria took a deep breath and kept the retort to herself; she simply continued to walk through the school hallway. The day was almost over; she'd be home soon.
"Have you been taking notes from that PA on how you're ever going to get ahead in life?"
Have you been taking notes from your uncle on how to always be the second best?
"Has your sister called you recently or is she too busy abandoning you?"
Maria froze in the hallway, not seeing the sneering smile out of the boy; he'd finally gotten a reaction.
"Do you blame her? I would run off if you were my sister, too."
Maria dropped her bag on the ground, but the boy hadn't seen; too busy milking this.
"Or maybe she killed herself; understandable. I would if I was a Stark."
.
"Miss Stark, you need to tell me what happened."
"I'm exercising my fifth amendment rights until one of my guardians is present."
The principal took a long suffering sigh before the secretary knocked on the door.
"Sir, Miss Potts is here."
Crap.
If Dad was here, he'd laugh and throw some money at the problem. Pepper might actually let her be expelled.
And by the look on her face, she seemed like she wanted to.
The adults shook hands and Pepper took a seat beside Maria.
"As far as we know, Miss Stark punched him unprovoked. She hasn't said anything; she wanted to wait until you were here."
"Well?" Pepper asked, an eyebrow raised.
"He said that Theresa ran away because I'm her sister. And then he said she killed herself because she's a Stark."
It was dead silent for a moment.
"Miss Stark," The Principal said slowly "I understand that what he said was hurtful, but you shouldn't have resorted to violence."
"You made it clear that you weren't going to do anything about it when you told me to ignore it. I took matters into my own hands. Clearly that's the only way to get things done."
"Miss Stark-."
"Maria, go wait outside."
Pepper's voice cut through the Principal's easily; she was pissed.
Maria listened and went out into the waiting room, smiling slightly as the raised voices started.
She plopped down in one of the empty seats; a few seats away from the other inhabitant of the room, besides the secretary.
"What'd you do?"
Maria looked over at the other girl three seats away; she was looking at her questioningly.
"What'd you do?" Maria countered.
"I asked first."
Maria nodded slightly; she had a point.
"… I punched someone."
"I kicked someone."
It was quiet for a moment.
"Why'd you punch someone?" The girl asked.
"He made fun of my sister. Why'd you kick someone?"
"She made fun of my braids."
"Oh," Maria said, it was quiet again for a moment "She sounds like a real bitch."
The girl smiled widely, Maria returning it uncertainly.
"He sounds like a real jackass."
The two giggled slightly before the secretary coughed and sent them a disapproving look.
"Jade, Maria, watch your language."
"Yes, Ma'am."
After the secretary returned to work, the girl spoke again.
"Nice to meet you, Maria."
"Nice to meet you too, Jade."
We've both got a million bad habits to kick, not sleeping is one.
We're biting our nails, you're biting your lip, I'm biting my tongue.
It was at the end of the day and Maria was heading towards where Happy was waiting for her when she saw Jade sitting on a bench, chewing on her nails.
Maria headed over to her and hesitantly kicked her shoe.
"What?" Jade asked.
"Where're you're parents?"
"Um, my mom usually picks me up, but she's out of town… I'm sure my dad will be here soon." Jade didn't look so sure, though.
"You wanna ride?"
"Well, if he isn't home, then I won't be able to get in…" Jade pointed out.
"Um, I was planning to go see a movie since my parents are out. You could come."
Jade looked at her with wide eyes.
"Really?"
"Sure," Maria said with a shrug.
"Um, I'd need to call my dad," Jade said.
"Happy's gotta phone."
"Okay," Jade said with a grin.
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Maria never sat alone at lunch; she was always surrounded by the other richest kids in the school (everyone in the school was rich, just some more than others). She didn't mind them, honestly; they rarely forced her to join in the conversation, but she did feel a bit like a trophy. Like they were flaunting that they could sit with Tony Stark's kid.
Maria was digging into her mac and cheese when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Can I sit with you?" Jade asked, biting her lip.
"Yeah," Maria smiled, scooting over so Jade could sit next to her.
Jade took out her lunch before turning to Maria.
"Do you want my extra cookie?"
"Oh, yes. Please," Maria said, Jade handing her a chocolate chip cookie "Is this homemade?"
"Mhm, me and my Mom make them," Jade said, Maria taking a bite.
"They're really good. No one in my family ever makes cookies; they're all too busy," Maria said offhandedly.
"I could teach you how," Jade offered.
"Yeah?" Maria said with a hopeful smile.
"Sure."
People are talking, people are talking (ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh)
People are talking, people are talking
"Are we doing anything this weekend?"
"Nothing really. Pepper has some meetings, but Pepper always has some meetings. What is it?" Tony asked.
"Could I have a sleepover with my friend?"
Tony and Pepper exchanged a look; Maria hadn't mentioned any friends recently.
"Sure, Sweetheart; here?" Pepper asked.
"Yeah… Also, can you get this stuff?" Maria asked, passing Pepper a list "She's gonna teach me how to make cookies."
Raise a glass, 'cause I'm not done saying it.
They all wanna get rough, get away with it.
Let 'em talk 'cause we're dancing in this world alone, world alone, we're all alone.
It was late when Tony returned home; he was slightly drunk, but he wasn't that bad. He tried to keep things in moderation when he was around Maria.
But, something smelled delicious.
Tony followed the smell to the living room, where the entirety of their beddings was pulled onto the couch and two heads where sticking out of it slightly.
They were watching a horror movie, Tony realized; they probably shouldn't be.
But, he couldn't help himself.
"AHHH!"
As soon as Tony yelled, two higher pitched screeches joined in; both girls jumping a foot in the air.
"It's just me, it's just me," Tony reassured through his laughter, Maria pouting as she turned on the light "Sorry, couldn't resist. Who's your friend?"
"This is Jade," Maria said.
"Hi," Jade murmured.
"Hi, Jade," Tony said, turning back to Maria "What's that smell?"
"We made cookies," Maria said, holding up a plate "You want one?"
Tony took one of the cookies, taking a bite.
"Damn, this is good," Tony complimented before stopping "Don't tell Pepper I said that in front of you two."
Both girls giggled quietly and nodded.
"Alright, don't stay- oh, who am I kidding? Stay up as late as you want. Don't tell Pepper," Tony said.
"Okay, Dad."
All my fake friends and all of their noise, complain about work
They're studying business, I study the floor, and you haven't stopped smoking all night.
Maybe the Internet raised us, or maybe people are jerks.
Her dad was gone.
He'd left the country for a weapons presentation, but now…
This is just like with Theresa.
He's never coming back.
Maria couldn't even cry; she just sat with her knees pulled up to her chest.
Then, there was a knock on the door.
"Maria, there's someone here to see you," Pepper said gently.
Jade entered her bedroom; her eyes wide as she looked at Maria.
"I'll be right out here if you need me," Pepper said, shutting the door.
It was quiet for a moment.
"I saw on the news, so…" Jade bit her lip "I just thought you might want company… But, I can go if-."
Maria patted the spot next to her; Jade sitting on her bed.
"Do you wanna talk?" Jade asked, Maria shaking her head "Okay."
For some reason, having someone else physically with her pushed her emotions over.
Tears began to roll down her cheeks; Jade wrapping her arm around her shoulders.
"It's gonna be okay."
(People are talking, people are talking)
But not you
(People are talking, people are talking)
A pillow fort is what brought it about.
The two eleven year olds had built it for kicks and it was now quiet between the two of them.
"Do you wanna see my marks?"
Jade looked over with wide eyes.
"Um, yeah."
Maria sat up and looked Jade in the eye.
"You can't tell anyone."
"Yeah, I promise."
Maria slipped her bracelet off and held her wrist out for Jade to look at; looking away in slight embarrassment.
"They complement you," Jade said.
"Yeah," Maria said with a small smile.
"Can… Can you feel them right now?"
"Kind of, I can feel their presence. But, I can't feel their feelings."
"Do you feel their feelings a lot?"
"Sometimes, when I feel something that they get, then they respond… They love me a lot."
"Who do you think they are?"
"I dunno… I don't think they're famous or rich or anything like that."
"I bet… I bet they're super cool."
Maria smiled over at Jade, Jade returning it.
Raise a glass, 'cause I'm not done saying it.
They all wanna get rough, get away with it.
Let 'em talk 'cause we're dancing in this world alone, world alone, we're all alone.
"Are we gonna get in trouble?"
"Not if we don't get caught."
Jade sent Maria a sarcastic look as the two thirteen year olds descended the stairs. Maria punched in a code and the door opened.
"Miss Maria, are you sure-?"
"It's fine, Jarvis," Maria hissed before grabbing a remote to open a panel.
"Whoa."
The Iron Man suit.
"What're you two doing?"
Both of the girls jumped as Tony entered, an amused expression on his face.
"I was just showing Jade the suit," Maria said, smiling nervously.
"You could've asked," Tony pointed out.
"Didn't know where you were," Maria lied, Tony rolling his eyes.
"Um, Mr. Stark?"
"Yes, Jade?" Tony asked.
"How does it work?"
"Trying to sell my secrets?" Tony teased, Jade becoming embarrassed.
"Dad."
"Alright, alright, c'mere; I'll show you."
All the double-edged people and schemes.
They make a mess then go home and get clean.
You're my best friend, and we're dancing in a world alone, a world alone, we're all alone.
Maria sat in her bed; she'd finally come home from the hospital but she needed to stay in bed for a while.
"Maria," Pepper said, sticking her head in her room "Someone's here to see you."
Jade entered her bedroom and Pepper shut the door behind her.
It was quiet for a moment.
"I'm so sorry I didn't come see you sooner; they wouldn't let me in at the hospital and… Are you okay?" Jade said, slightly teary.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Maria promised before patting her bed, Jade sitting beside her.
"Does it hurt?"
"Sometimes… when I move," Maria said.
"Nobody will tell me… How bad was it?"
Maria looked to see if anyone was outside.
"Worse than they know… Jade… I died."
Jade looked at her with wide eyes.
"Nobody else…?"
"No."
"What…?" Jade stopped; she didn't want to ask.
"I was having picnic with… Theresa and then everything faded away and I was back."
It was quiet for a moment.
"Holy shit," Jade said quietly "Do you think that was actually Theresa?"
"I don't know."
It was quiet for a moment.
"Um, are they okay?"
Maria smiled.
"Yeah, they're relieved mostly."
Jade nodded before becoming contemplative and then turning to Maria.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, of course," Maria said, furrowing her brow.
"I mean… You saw Theresa. You're not going to try to go back, are you?" Jade asked.
Maria took Jade's hand.
"I'm not going back there for as long as I possibly can."
I know we're not everlasting
We're a train wreck waiting to happen
One day the blood won't flow so gladly
Pepper and Tony were out for some fundraiser and Jade was spending the night with Maria. It was the first time Jade slept over since the Battle of New York, and Maria was still healing. So, Maria was out by midnight, Jade soon following afterwards.
But, she was awoken at one in the morning by Maria, who was whimpering in her sleep.
Jade reached over and shook Maria, who jolted awake.
Maria pushed Jade away and walked off to the kitchen, Jade following after the trembling girl.
"Are you okay?" Jade asked.
"I'm fine," Maria muttered, taking a sip of water.
"Was it Loki?"
Maria slid down and sat on the ground with her back to some cabinets before nodding slightly.
"Do you wanna talk about it?"
It was quiet for a moment before Maria shook her head.
"Okay," Jade said "What would help?"
"… Can you turn the lights on?"
Jade moved, turning on the kitchen lights and the light in the hallway.
"Anything else?"
Maria shook her head.
"Okay."
Jade sat down next to Maria, the quiet girl leaning her head on her shoulder.
When Pepper and Tony returned home, they found the two girls fast asleep on the kitchen floor.
One day we'll all get still
(people are talking, people are talking)
(people are talking, people are talking)
Get still
Jade had her license.
"Hey, Maria!" Jade called, leaning so she was near the open passenger window "Need a ride?"
Maria walked up to the car, putting her hand on the door.
But then, the car pulled forward.
"Need a ride?" Jade asked once Maria had walked back up to the car.
Maria rolled her eyes and went to open the door, but Jade pulled forward again.
"Well, fuck you!"
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
People are talking, people are talking (ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh)
People are talking, people are talking
"God, I was an idiot," Jade muttered into her hands, Maria rubbing her back.
"No you weren't; he's the idiot," Maria said.
"Thanks," Jade sniffled.
"What'll make you feel better?" Maria asked "I can key his car. Or we can eat cookie dough. Or both."
"Nah… I just feel like I wasted all this time doing nothing with a guy who turned out to be an asshole," Jade said.
"… Do you wanna do something?" Maria asked "Maybe make up for it a little?"
"Like what?"
"Well… You know, the Met Gala is in three days."
Jade looked over at Maria.
"You're kidding."
Maria shrugged in response.
.
"Are you okay?" Maria asked.
"Nervous," Jade said, twisting her hands together as they drove.
"Don't be. You've got a gorgeous dress and one of the most infamous people in the world on your arm. What's there to be nervous of?"
Jade rolled her eyes and Maria grinned
"You're such an idiot."
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
"Do you still want to learn how to ride a motorcycle?"
Jade blinked a few times; it was a strange way to start a phone call.
"Um, yeah?"
"Cool, I've got someone willing to teach us. I'll text you the place."
.
When you get to the gate, just tell them your name.
That was a worrying text to receive.
It was also pretty weird when she seemed to pull into a military compound. It was empty, but there was a large area of concrete; Jade parking her car next to the one she knew belonged to Maria.
She hopped out of the car and headed to where she saw three motorcycles and Maria.
"Hey," Maria said, smiling.
"Hey, so, who's teaching us?"
"Me."
Jade's brain may have shorted out for a second there.
"You're Jade, right? Maria talks about you." He held his hand out, which Jade shook.
"You're…"
"You can call me Steve."
.
So, Captain America taught her how to ride a motorcycle.
He was quite a good teacher, too.
(He was also quite good at telling dirty jokes; who knew?).
After a couple of hours, Steve said he had to return to work and headed off.
"He likes you," Maria said with a smile.
"Yeah?" Jade said, raising an eyebrow "How can you tell?"
"He's nice to everybody. He's real with people he likes," Maria said, before beginning to tease "I can give you his phone number."
"Eh," Jade said, shrugging and smiling "Not really my type."
"True, you were always more of a Bucky girl growing up."
"Shut up."
People are talking, people are talking (ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh)
People are talking, people are talking
"Hello?" Jade asked, frowning; Tony called her.
"Hey, Jade, um, do you think you could come over to the tower… Maria needs you."
.
Theresa had called.
Maria was sitting with her legs pulled in like a child as she considered this information.
Theresa wasn't dead.
She'd called.
There was a knock on her door.
"Come in."
Maria attempted a smile as Jade entered her room.
"Your dad told me what happened," Jade said.
"Yep," Maria said, bracing herself for the 'I'm Sorry.'
"Fuck her."
Maria looked up in surprise, now reading the anger in Jade's face.
"She screws off for seven years and then she thinks that calling you is an okay thing to do? Fuck. Her." Jade was pissed "She's a real selfish bitch and I hope you know that she's the one who fucked up royally and not you."
And seven years' worth of anger was released.
"I can't tell if she enjoys playing head games or if she's too wrapped up in herself to realize that she's fucking over everybody around her."
"Damn straight," Jade said "Hopefully karma will kick into gear soon and make someone she relies on fuck off to god knows where."
"It'll only be fitting if she thinks they left because of her," Maria added, hopping up "And if she doesn't know if they're alive or dead."
"Hell, maybe they'll call her years later just to be in the center of the goddamn attention again!"
"Seriously, Fuck Her!"
Jade suddenly smiled.
"Feel better?"
"Well, now I'm just angry."
"That's better than falling into old habits."
Maria's lip twitched.
"Thanks."
"That's what I'm here for. Anyway, back to this bitch."
Raise a glass, 'cause I'm not done saying it.
They all wanna get rough, get away with it.
Let 'em talk 'cause we're dancing in this world alone, world alone, we're all alone.
Maria was back.
Jade was in a good mood; Maria had been traveling for a little while but now she was back. Jade rode to the lab, where Jarvis said she was, but was soon greeted by a worrying sight.
"Are you okay?"
Maria, Tony, and Dr. Banner all looked over, only the former smiling.
"She shouldn't be here," Dr. Banner said.
"It's fine; she won't tell," Maria said, smiling "C'mere."
Jade walked over to where Maria had her arm stuck full of needles that were attached to monitors.
"What's going on?"
"I'm fine," Maria started "I, um… I don't know how to explain this without visual aid."
Dr. Banner sighed before removing the needles in her arm, allowing her to move.
And Maria hoisted a work table over her head.
"Well, that's new."
All the double-edged people and schemes.
They make a mess then go home and get clean.
You're my best friend and we're dancing in a world alone, a world alone, we're all alone.
"I got in."
Maria squealed, jumping off of her seat and bear hugging Jade; which was a lot more painful nowadays.
"Not only that," Jade added "Full ride."
"You are amazing," Maria said, hopping up and down.
"I mean, I'll have to move, but you can come visit me, right?" Jade asked hopefully.
"Of course."
"Hey, have you heard back from any colleges yet?" Jade asked, Maria losing her enthusiasm and Jade sighing as she realized "You didn't apply."
"Jade…"
"You could've applied to MIT; they would've accepted you no matter what and then we could've gone to school together," Jade pointed out.
"It's not that I don't want to, Jade," Maria said "It's just… I'm not normal. I can't go to college right now. I can't even leave the house right now."
"… I wish things were different," Jade said "I wish the world was different."
"Well, at least I have you in my corner."
People are talking, people are talking
People are talking, people are talking
Class had been adjourned based on the fact the Avengers were fighting robots on a flying city.
The Avengers and Maria.
Jade felt sick.
On one hand, she didn't want to watch the news and see what was happening, on the other she needed to know if Maria was alright.
"It is difficult for us to tell if any of the Avengers have fallen, but it seems that they're all still up and fighting."
Jade was biting her nails.
It was a habit she thought she'd completely gotten rid of, but here she was; biting them like crazy.
It felt like years before the newscaster announced what Jade wanted to hear.
"The Avengers and civilians have all been vacated from the city and the city itself has been destroyed."
Jade took a deep breath; it was over.
"But, eyewitness reports say that two of the Avengers have been seen on stretchers; which Avengers and whether it is fatal or minor injuries is still unknown."
Oh, god.
"It's likely that the Avengers and civilians will be transported to St. Maria's Hospital in New York City, which is funded by Tony Stark."
Jade hopped up and grabbed her keys.
If she left now, she'd make it around the time the Avengers arrived.
People are talking, people are talking
People are talking, people are talking
"Miss, you can't come in here," A man in a suit said.
"But-."
"Yeah, sure; you're War Machine's cousin or something. Out."
Jade glared angrily up at the man, opening her mouth to say something that could get her hauled out of the hospital, when someone else cut in.
"Jade?"
"Steve," Jade said, breathing a sigh of relief and sending a vindictive look at the guy blocking her path.
"She's good," Steve said, waving Jade in.
"Is everyone alright?" Jade asked as she followed Steve through the hallways.
"Well, nobody stayed dead, so I'd say we did pretty good," Steve said.
"Stayed?"
"Maria will tell you; it's her story to tell, not anybody else's."
Finally they came to a door and Steve turned to face Jade.
"Listen. Maria is a little bit shaken up; go easy on her," Steve said, Jade nodding.
Steve knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" A muffled voice called.
"Jade's here."
Steve smiled and left as someone approached the door and opened it.
She looked tired and like she'd been through hell.
But…
It was still Maria.
Then Jade's eyes caught on what was behind her.
Two sleeping people cuddling each other, but the man had his arm out like not too long ago someone had been lying there.
Jade's eyes flickered to Maria's in question.
"Yeah."
Jade smiled widely, pulling Maria into a tight hug before letting up slightly as Maria hissed under her breath.
"Sorry."
"No, it's nice."
For a moment, the two women held each other, before they pulled back; Jade's hands on Maria's shoulders.
"I really thought I was going to lose you there."
"Never."
Let 'em talk