the bus ride back home is silent, not an awkward type of silence, but a comforting silence. Which is quite ironic considering that we are missing one person.
I sat next to Mara on the way back. She didn't really speak much and I didn't try to make a conversation.
I know I should be comforting her, but the problem is that I can't comfort people well. I find it awkward.
Mara and I shared the rest of the bag of lollies together. I passed some to Maddie, Pietro and Jay who are sitting next to and behind us. Mara scrolled through instagram and tiktok basically all of the time. I just listened to spotify through my AirPods.
I finished one of my playlists so I went to change it. During the minute of silence, I heard someone saying that I killed Tony. I look over and listen. Mara just scrolls pass the video, avoiding crying again.
I look at her with a promising look. "I didn't kill him" I confirm. She just nods and takes a purple snake from the lolly bag and bites the head off.
I'm sorry" I tell her while grabbing a snake and biting it's head off. Mara just nods again. If it wasn't for Tony's death, I would've thought she was being plain rude. But I understand. Tony was like my second father.
We pull into the Compound driveway. Cars are parked everywhere, all along the nature strip, all along the perfect green grass. I look over at Mara, she's putting her phone away and getting ready to get up.
Happy drives up the driveway, beeping the buses horn so people would move. But they don't. Do people not have any sympathy for privacy or respect because someone just died? Everyone gets out of the bus. Paparazzi swarm in, asking us questions.
I'm guessing there's around 200 people around me. I look over to Mara but she's stuck in her own crowd with a lot more people. They must be questioning her about Stark Industries.
People are reaching out for me, grabbing on to my shoulders and pulling my hair. "Please stop" I say to the disrespectful people. They continue doing it.
"Excuse me- I'm trying to get inside" I try squishing through the paparazzi but they push me back into the tight circle I was originally stuck in. I'm not claustrophobic, but that was squishy as. I felt sick.
"Did you really kill Tony?". "What was watching Tony die like?". "What we're Tony's last words?". The questions don't stop. I try flying up, but people have latched onto my bag and hair so tightly that I would either rip my hair out or take them in the air with me.
Some male reporter reaches out for me but instead touches my chest. Way to close to comfort. I look at him, he knows his screwed up.
"Excuse you?!" I yell at him and people start backing away. "What in your right mind thinks you can do that?". I grab my bag off my back and cover my chest with my bag.
I turn around and grab the person who was holding onto my hair and reach for their arm. I grab their arm and push them out the way.
"You can't do that! Your meant to protect us! Stop hurting us!" I hear voices yell at me for pushing the man out the way.
I turn my whole body around. "I can't? Why? Every single one of you guys are doing it to me? I'm sure they will be able to handle one person" I assure the crowd.
I walk away. Only a few people follow me but they soon get the idea that they should leave me alone. I walk up the gravel drive way, my feet kicking the rocks around me.
I see Jay and Pietro running up the driveway. The stop next to me and Pietro let's Jay down. They quickly catch their breath before speaking.
"What the fuck- that was so stressful" Jay complains.
