The party was beautiful, as I had expected it to be. The sea of people that stood before all of us were nearly endless; I was beginning to grow anxious as we were lead by Fury through the crowd. I stuck next to Bruce and Natasha, distancing myself from Tony as we entered. I tugged down the long, elegant navy blue dress that Fury had somehow managed to force me into; it seems that the blackmail would never end. Everyone clapped as we entered, cheering for us and chanting certain names of their favorite Avenger.
Good to see so many loyal fans here tonight.
We all separated, Tony shooting straight for the bar while the others went off to chat with possible friends and observe the ballroom. Loki could show up at any moment, and we had to be prepared when he did so that no one else got hurt in the long run. I stood alone on the edge of the dance floor, lips pursed as I observed the boring party around me. The people were doing the same boring slow dance; someone should try and spice things up around here!
I saw a girl across from me, her eyes focused on the couples. A frown was on her face as she watched the others; a certain longing was in her eyes. I smiled, travelling along the edge of the dance floor before approaching her. She looked up at me innocently, her eyes widening once she realized who I was.
"Would you like to dance?" I gave her a warm smile, hoping she would accept my offer. She looked me up and down for a second, her eyes scanning my face to see if I'd laugh and walk away from her.
"Girls don't usually dance together…" The girl averted her eyes from mine. "Isn't it weird?"
"Who cares?" I reached forward and grabbed her hand; she squeezed it back as I led her onto the dance floor. I could feel all the eyes in the room on me; the other couples migrated away from us so it seemed that we were the center of attention. Luckily, a faster paced song began to play as the attention spread to us. I grabbed onto the thing material of my dress, tearing it so that my legs were free to move. I tossed my shoes off with the ripped pieces of dress. Everyone around me gasped, especially as I tossed the dress into the crowd and grabbed the girls' hand.
We began to dance wildly across the room, my hand on her waist and holding up her other hand as we maneuvered across the dance floor. She was laughing, and I found myself laughing with her. A light feeling began to fill my heart as we continued to dance wildly; random cheers from the crowd could be heard. I glanced up, noting that most of the other Avengers had worked their way to the front of the crowd and were watching with mild amusement.
When the song ended, I released the girl, who by now had a wide smile on her face. I smiled as she flushed again, excusing herself and leaving the spotlight. I made my way back over to my group, who were all looking at me as though I'd grown a few heads. Tony was the only one who didn't seem to find what I had done amusing; he choked down another swig of alcohol before sending me a haughty smirk.
"You know, you're a lot prettier when you smile; dazzling, even." He commented off handedly. I felt my cheeks heat up, glaring at him before turning my back towards the rest of them. Fury was approaching me at an astonishing speed, and a smile made its way to my face when I realized how annoyed he looked. It couldn't mean good news for me, but it was good news for him, either. So I'd take that as a win-win situation.
"You're supposed to lay low and watch for Loki, not dance and make a fool of yourself!"
"Yeah, because Loki couldn't possibly figure out we're at a party called 'The Avengers Party' or anything, right?"
"You do anything you can to rebel, don't you?" He spat out, glaring hard at me with his one eye. I rolled my eyes, picking up the discarded pieces of dress that I had torn off and throwing it at him.
"That's what I think of your dress, and this stupid party."
"If she were you, she would've gone green a long time ago." Tony jokingly elbowed Banner, who managed a weak smile.
I brushed past Fury, finding myself lost in the crowd of people. I heard him call my name a few times, but I kept my head down low and my mouth shut. If I wanted to disappear, I was going to disappear, and there was nothing he could do about it but wait until I wanted to talk to him. This would be never if I was going to have my own way, but in my mother's case, I couldn't afford to completely piss him off.
After I was sure the coast was clear, I straightened myself out and strode over to the tall windows. I stared out into the night sky, sighing as I rested my head against the window. I wished I had gotten my shoes now; the rug was rubbing against my feet and causing an odd sensation. I didn't like not being able to feel the earth beneath my feet; it irritated me to feel vulnerable and without my powers.
The clicking of heels brought my attention back to reality; I glanced to the side to see a tall, long haired blonde walking out of the party. Her eyes immediately found mine; they were dark and intimidating. She sent an eerie smile my way, breezing past me as she stepped out of the balcony doors. She closed them with a click behind her, but not before she looked up at me and winked.
What was that all about?
The next intruder on my private time was none other than the Iron Man, Tony Stark. He walked out with the top buttons of his dress shirt undone, his sleeves pulled back, and a glass of alcohol in his hand. He had a smirk on his face; what else was new?
"Scotch." He held the glass towards me. "Want some?"
"I'm not old enough to drink!" I pushed his hand away. "Plus, I would drink regardless. I don't like anything that impairs my judgment."
"C'mon kid, I won't tell anyone. It'll make Fury more bearable." I took a second look at the drink, taking it and observing the liquid closely. There wasn't too much left in the tiny glass, so I wouldn't get intoxicated. At least, I don't think that's how it works. I looked at it suspiciously for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and knocking back the alcohol. Tony looked at me with wide eyes. "Well okay Charlie 40 hands, I believe you've never had a drink before."
"Shut up, I haven't." The drink tasted like something burnt and disgusting; looks like I'd learn my lesson. "I hate you."
"No you don't." Tony replied haughtily. "In fact, you find me attractive. You love me. Admit it."
"I will do no such thing." I scrunched up my face in faux disgust. "You're a terrible, terrible man Tony Stark."
"I bet I can change your mind by the end of the night."
"I think I'll pass on the offer, thanks." He chuckled.
"All women give in eventually to my charm. Only a matter of time before you do." Tony fixed his tie. "And do you want to know why I'll win this argument?"
"Do tell."
"Because I'm Iron Man." I couldn't stifle my laughter.
"Sorry, Tony, but I've got to say Iron Man isn't exactly my kind of hero."
"Oh, and who is?" His eyes narrowed, and he pretended to gasp and put on a surprised face. "Would your taste happen to lie in star spangled suits and the technologically challenged?"
"Your scotch glass is empty; I think you should go get it refilled." He looked at the glass, pretending to be surprised again.
"I understand, you've got to think over my offer again. I'll be back by the end of the night, oh, and just in case we don't get to talk again, you know where my room is." He winked at me before leaving me to be alone with my thoughts. The clicking of the balcony door drew my attention; the blonde haired beauty smiled as she passed me by, re-entering the party. I followed her this time around, suspicious of her motive.
She seemed to catch on to the fact I was following her; she smoothly disappeared into the crowd and I could no longer find her. I sighed in frustration, curious about whom this odd woman was but figured my search for now would be futile. I turned towards the bar, where Steve was standing with Tony and a pretty red haired girl. I could already smell trouble brewing from here. I walked over, looking at Steve curiously; he rolled his eyes and shook his head.
It looks like Tony was being himself again.
"Well." The girl smiled flirtatiously as she looked at Tony, perking out her breasts. I rolled my eyes; Steve seemed to understand my reaction. "I have something to admit though... I kind of have a boyfriend, but you're like, really attractive."
"Ah, yes, happens to the best of us." Tony shook his head. "I could've shown you my tower; however, you should probably head home to your boyfriend tonight instead."
"Well, it doesn't count if I don't want it to, right?"
"Excuse me?" The conversation was causing me to lose brain cells, and I couldn't keep quiet any longer. "What was that?"
"If I have a boyfriend and I kiss another guy, is it really considered cheating if he doesn't know about it?"
"If I punch you in the face with my left fist but I'm right handed, does it still count as me punching you in the face even though nobody saw?"
"What?" The red head scratched her head while Steve pulled me away, chuckling softly as he led me to a less populated part of the dining room.
"I can't stand people!" I exclaimed as soon as we were out of earshot. "How can anyone cheat on someone who loves them and would do anything for them? Isn't breaking up easier? And Tony! Doesn't he realize we're on a damn mission right now, to look for Loki in this party? Not flirt with some moronic redhead that doesn't know her left foot from her right hand?"
"Calm down." Steve sighed. "I can understand your frustration, but as long as we're here, we'll get it handled. Don't worry about Tony; you'll only stress yourself out." He forced a smile, placing his hand on my shoulder. "Let's survey the guests again, alright?" I did what he suggested and pushed Tony to the back of my mind; it did wonders for my building migraine.
"Wanna dance with me, Cap?" I smiled playfully up at him, catching him offguard.
"You wouldn't wanna dance with me." He looked away shyly. "I'd step all over you."
"Limber on the battlefield but not on the dance floor?" I teased, prodding his arm.
"Not just that…" He looked towards his feet, a frown placing itself on his face. "I have… bad memories with dancing."
"Then let's make good memories to replace the bad." I grabbed his hand, tugging the hero along with me into the middle of the dance floor. He looked skeptical at first, but as I wrapped my arms around his neck and placed his hands on my waist, he relaxed.
Something slow began to play, and once we stepped into rhythm, Steve seemed to be doing well. I kept a close eye on my feet, moving them whenever Steve stepped a bit too close to them. He apologized under his breath; he was concentrating pretty hard to keep his steps in line for me.
It felt nice to be this close to him, to feel his hands on my waist and his chest pressed against mine. I felt like Tony, thinking off all of these romantically odd things; a few months before I wouldn't have felt like this if Steve had touched me. Everything seemed to feel a bit different now, though, and being this close to him had a relaxing vibe to it. As long as he worked on his footwork, he could be a fantastic dancing partner.
He would be a fantastic partner in general.
A loud boom shook the room; our moment was over and panic began to ensue. People scattered around the room, finding loved ones and attempting to figure out what was going on. Steve tensed up, scanning the room for Loki or any other intruders. We spotted Natasha who was waving us over to the group; Steve grabbed my hand and together we pushed through the crowd to approach the group. Fury stood in the middle of us, his eyes looking over each of us.
He didn't have to use words to get his point across.
Loki had arrived, and it was time to get serious.