The MCU Civil War, and all events following after it, have been prolonged a decade after Age of Ultron in this series. Thank you for reading.

One month after Thor: The Dark World

Move and breathe as one with the music. It is the freedom of air, the grace of a swan. The heartbeat becoming what it hears. This is passion, this is beauty.

The lights are bright, they are warm, but beyond the light, it is dark. It is cold. Eyes are watching. Judging. Will the body lose its marriage to the music? Do not slip.

Her eyes are gentle, but they look with meaning. They lock to the wall for stability, for safety. Enclothed like a diamond-studded angel, she could spread her wings and fly. Every leap, precise, her strength becomes her passion. Passion and grace are the wings of her victory.

She is a swan, a beautiful being gliding across invisible waters. She looked to the heavens as the music wept. Her body now melts upon the floor. And as the cold seeps through the light, she is frozen. Remnants of her grace have left a flame within her frozen eyes. The promise of her burning passion may set the world on fire...

It is done. The music has left nothing but an echo melding into the hollow walls. In this moment, she can feel how fast her heart races, how strongly her body wants to tremble.

Her frozen body is liberated to move as every light is vanquished and she is free to slip away, unnoticed. So concludes the dance.

...

Retiring her ballet slippers to the small bag beside the chair, Jennica tried to breathe amidst the adrenaline. The dance was over, she was safe in the room behind the stage, but her body had not yet dissipated what made her heart race.

Other dancers around her delicately gathered up their things and packed them away into duffel bags. The various vanities were cluttered with hair supplies and makeup in contrast to Jennica's, who had kept hers spotless. A cluttered station would leave her with a clouded mind.

Despite this, Jennica had lost something amidst her belongings, and it terrified her. Her freedom from shallow breaths and anxiety was nowhere to be found, even when searching the drawers and on the floor. Paling, she rummaged around her brush, makeup and bobby pins. How could she have lost her locket?

"It fell off the edge as you rushed to get on stage."

Jennica turned to see Cammy. Her roommate. Her best friend. A small, wooden box rested in the palms of her pale hands.

"Is it still in there?"

Cammy nodded. "I checked four times out of fear that I would lose it. But I didn't trust it just sitting there, unguarded."

Taking the locket out of its nest, Cammy clasped the silver chain around Jennica's neck, watching as her friend adjusted its heavy charm.

It always felt like such a bondage to Jennica, a lifelong chain she could never break from. But the sweet relief it brought lifted the weight from her chest and oxygen swept into her opened lungs as color returned to her skin.

"You did wonderful out there." Cammy spoke, pulling the chair over from her vanity and sitting down, cross legged. "They let me watch from backstage and you danced beautifully. I think that's the best you've ever done it."

"Thank you." Jennica's voice was timid as her eyes remained fixed on her image through the mirror. Cammy's lips tugged into a frown.

"Jen... you're spacing out again."

"This is the worst I've felt being away from this locket in such a short amount of time." Jennica's gaze finally broke to look at Cammy, her brown eyes an open window into her soul. "I only went on for one dance. The end of the song was a blur."

"Does it help if I were to say I couldn't notice? The entire performance was beautiful. You were chosen to conclude the concert for a reason."

"I'm not even worried about the performance. I only hope there's nothing wrong with me."

"There's nothing wrong, you're just exhausted. Look at you! I've never seen you look so tired."

Cammy stood, standing behind Jennica's chair. She pulled out the hair tie and net, undoing the bun and letting the brown hair cascade. She then began to brush.

"You're going to make me even more sleepy." Jennica teased.

"Easy, just relax!" Carefully smoothing the frizz, she was careful not to ruin the natural waves. "You haven't taken a moment to rest all day. Stop pushing yourself."

It was true, but Jennica's innocent pride kept her from admitting so. Life was too short to rest and let the seconds scamper away. Time had always felt fleeting to her soul and had grown in intensity the older she became.

When reaching forward to tighten a loose bulb on the vanity mirror, her eyes caught sight of a vase filled with lush, red roses. A small card sat in front, reading her name. In the midst of her delirium, she had not noticed it before.

"Who gave me these?" She asked, grabbing the card and holding it closer to be sure she read it right. Cammy replied,

"My parents and I. We were all so sorry that yours couldn't come to the final concert."

"I'm sure it wasn't on purpose they didn't come. But they promised to be at the graduation ceremony this weekend. I know they'll be here for that."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, they told me yesterday over the phone." Jennica paused, smiling and leaning her head back to playfully look at her friend. "Thanks for the roses."

"Don't mention it, silly goose." Cammy pinched her nose. "Now go change so we can head back to the dorm. I'm tired."

"Good idea." Jennica stood up, immediately unzipping her white leotard. "Sleep sounds delightful right now."

After dressing and returning the ballet outfit, Jennica packed the rest of her things into her bag and followed Cammy out of the Performing Arts Center. The campus was rural and beautiful with the setting sun casting an orange glow. Its rays at this time were a sure sign of summer, along with the warm, south wind. Jennica would miss this college. The past four years had been her first taste of real freedom since living in a sheltered home across seas. She wasn't sure back then if she would know how to make a life for herself, but Cammy's support and the nature of college had given her hope and security to be her own person.

The dorms were on the edge of campus, and both Cammy and Jennica roomed together. Their sides of the room were perfectly distinguished, Cammy's side less than tidy and Jennica's side far too perfect to be owned by a college student. It was as if a line divided their halves, and that's how it remained all four years of their rooming together. Neither of them minded.

"Our last week together..." Cammy mumbled, tossing her duffel bag in the corner by her desk. "I don't think I'm ready to leave."

Jennica sat on the edge of her small bed. "I am."

"Hey, at least you have somewhere nice to go." Cammy went into the bathroom to wash her face, but she kept on talking. "I gotta meet up with my brother Jimmy in New York City." She paused to turn on the sink, scrub her face and pat it dry before continuing and coming back out. "It's not that I mind the city, but it's not like he has the most flattering apartment either. He just moved."

"It can't be any less flattering than what we've had the past four years."

There was a playful scoff. "You'd be surprised." Cammy took a seat on her desk chair.

The bed enticed Jennica to lay down, and so she did, but she reclined on her side and continued. "You'll survive. I believe that's what you told me the first day I felt that I wouldn't be able to handle dorm living."

"Okay, don't use my words against me!"

"But I survived, didn't I?" Jennica laughed.

"Yeah, but only because you had me and I had you. I won't... have that. You'll be going back to the UK after this weekend."

"You could always come visit me."

Cammy shrugged, swiping some red hair from her face. "That would be nice... but I don't think I'm leaving New York any time soon."

Words were lost in the conversation, their hearts and minds wanting to rest in the silence for realization on how soon this chapter was ending, how swiftly everything would change again. It terrified the both of them to pick up an entirely new volume and let destiny unfold when they had no grip on what their future would be. They allowed the path to be led by a whim of passion and passion alone. What a perplexing pair they made.

"I hope you figure out what's going on... with your locket, I mean." Cammy interrupted the silence.

Playing with the chain and grasping the large charm, Jennica gave a hopeful smile. "We'll see. I'll be taking it off as little as possible from now on."

"I think you should go see a doctor or something for this. You never go to one. Ever."

"Because I can't have them figuring out I'm not human. You're the only one who knows, besides my parents."

"Your adoptive parents who make you think that revealing who you really are is the worst thing imaginable!"

"All it takes is for one person to find out who will tell the wrong people."

"You told me and I'm fine! Sure, I freaked out a little, but I didn't think of you any less than before."

Eyes growing sincere, Jennica sat up again, her voice soft. "That's because you're the only Cammy Forgen who is my best friend. And I can't very well tell people who I am if I don't really know who I am."

"You're probably from a race of weird people that have to wear heart-shaped lockets to live and all they do is dance ballet and eat cake."

Jennica laughed, harder than Cammy expected her to, but it lifted both of their spirits. Maybe not much would change, at least not between them.

"Well," Jennica paused to catch her breath, "wherever I'm from, whoever I am, I am perfectly fine without knowing, as long as I live a healthy, prosperous life and help people along the way."

"I don't have any doubt that you'll fulfill all those things." Cammy stood up and then plopped on her bed, grabbing a nearby bag of pretzels. "Want one?"

Jennica lifted her hand to pass, but replied, "I may have to figure out this locket. My parents were always cautious of it, but I don't think it's out to harm me. I'm my happiest self when wearing it. And it could be because... wherever I'm from, this locket is from the same place." Her thoughts were near to drifting. "That's... the farthest I've gotten to finding an answer, but I'm alright with stopping there. I really am."

Swallowing her mouthful of pretzels, Cammy gave a little grin, her eyes finally growing heavy. "That's the greatest thing I've tried learning from you, Jennica. Contentment."