SAFETY PIN

Chapter-9: Scared

"There is only one happiness in this life; to love, and to be loved"- Charles Dickens

(AMARA'S POV):

A week after Peter and I slept together on the couch, which resulted in a weird, but cute picture being sent in the Avengers' group chat, and Wanda calling us a 'sweet couple'. 

Of course, I had to tell MJ and Sophie, cause they were my best friends, which left us in the following mess during PE class.

"Come on, Ama, ask him out." Sophie was holding my legs while I was doing warm-ups, and MJ was reading a book, probably a Shakespearean tragedy, again. "Amara, you should ask him out, you know. He's a bit shy," MJ said.

"Dude! No! I've had enough of asking people out first. They always reject me! And then, there is the question of coming out to him, if I do at all. And I still need to tell Vi and Steve that I'm bisexual." I sighed.

"Why do you wanna tell Steve?" Sophie asked me, brows furrowed.
"He-He's like a father to me, Soph. I can't explain it. He just cares about me. And he makes me feel loved." I said, sadly. "He's also from another complete era, so I'm not sure whether or not he'll understand."

"Listen, Amara, as a lesbian, it's really difficult to come out. And then, people just say 'I know, and I've known forever'. It's much easier to express yourself and just be you when you're out. Like, look! Now I can kiss Seo-Jun in public without feeling insecure about myself!" She exclaimed, looking over her shoulder. In the corner of the room, a Korean girl stood at the bottom of a gym rope, waving out to Sophie, a bright smile on her face.

 "She's wearing a beanie while doing gym?!" MJ gasped.

"Hot, right? Anyways, back to the topic, you wear sweater vests and oversized shirts along with the tiniest of dresses and skirts that would have your weird dad rolling in the grave,  you paint, have a mini garden and are obsessed with bands, especially 5 Seconds of Summer. You scream bisexual." She casually said, counting on her fingertips.

"That's based on stereotypes! And I'm obsessed with one band, that's it! And it's not even an obsession, it's more like they're my soul brothers." I exclaimed.
"That's weird. And stop being so stereotypical. And if Steve cares about you, he'll understand. Besides, you have us." She pointed to herself and MJ.
"MJ's not queer," I said.
"No, but I am depressed and dress like emo Sherlock Holmes. Oh, and I'm also aroace, guys." She chimed, still reading her book.

"What?! You've never told us!"
"Yeah, that's cause you guys will make a big deal of it, and hug me like you're doing right now." We were wrapped around MJ, a big pile of girls in the middle of the gym floor, giggling.

"Fair point."
"Dude are we all queer now?!" Sophie asked.
"Fuck yeah!"
"Shut up, MJ! I'm not out yet!"

A few hours later after school, I was back at the Stark Tower to finish painting my MOMA piece. Peter had gone to visit his aunt and was going to return in a few minutes.

I would see him soon.

A small pit of excitement bubbled in my stomach, just thinking about it.

'You're obsessed.' The voice in my head sighed.
'What will you do when he doesn't accept you?' It taunted.
'You think you can have a boyfriend? You can barely call this room your home.'

"Hey, Amara!" Peter smiled, walking into the art studio connected to mine.
"The stairs are weirdly narrow" He laughed. He awkwardly walked through the door and hit his head on the wall.

I laughed loudly at his imprudence.
"The entire point of it is that nobody finds it"
"Anyways..." He walked around the room, fiddling with brushes, the occasional paint sticking to his fingers.

I felt weirdly lighter around him like all of my burdens had been lifted suddenly in his presence, but my mind kept on going in another direction.

I should probably start therapy again.

"Anyways, Pete, next week we leave for Oceanis.
The route is London, first. We stay there for a day, then we'll need to go to Dubai, a two-hour flight layover, and then Mumbai. And from there, we'll take a tunnel to the Arabian Seas, where we'll find Oceanis! " I exclaimed.

"Awesome! What's Oceanis?" He asked.
"Atlantis, but the modern name, basically. I just said Atlantis the first time so you knew what we were speaking of."

"Ohh, okay." He said, gleefully, rolling around in my swivel chair.
"How long will I have to be away from May?" He asked, stopping moving and giving me a concerned look.
"About three to four days, max. I'm trying to reduce the time, but seems unlikely. Tony will give May money and take care of her if anything happens to you. Stark Insurance. Oh, also the school will think we're helping Tony with something for the Stark Internship." I said.

"I'll start packing and making arrangements." He nodded, determined.
"Great."