*Trigger Warning* Mention of a suicide attempt.
"Storm!" MJ says, appearing in my doorway, panting slightly. She glances quickly at Henry and then glances back at me. "Jesus, Storm." Ned and Peter appear right behind her with Milo. I bite one of my nails as they all come and sit down. MJ hugs me and sits down next to me, she immediately begins braiding my hair. I smile, she somehow knows it comforts me when she braids my hair.
"MJ bolted up here as soon as I told her" Peter says, he reaches forward from where I'm sitting and squeezes my hand. "I'm sorry we didn't notice how much you were struggling."
I glance down at my hands, unsure how to respond. I don't think I even realised how much I was struggling until I saw the gun in the forest, I think Florence was the turning point, but I don't think it would've taken much to push me off the edge.
"Is there anything we can do?" MJ asks, I don't know what I want or need so there isn't much anyone can do. All I really know is that I miss my friends and I can't forgive myself for bombing a building.
"You're already doing it" I say, knowing my friends want to support me through this and discuss it, rather just pretending it never happened, helps, and shows that they love and care for me. A large part of me wants to pretend I was never holding a gun to my head, but I know if one of my friends did something like this, then I wouldn't agree to act it like never happened.
"Florence wasn't right, Storm" Milo says hesitantly, sharing a look with Peter. I realise I'm biting one of my nails again, I glance down at my bedspread, not wanting to enter this discussion, I shouldn't have gone to Estella's farm. "It sucks that you've lost people, but none of it was your fault. Clover and Estella both loved you so much, and Scarlett died because she finally made a good choice, not because of you. I don't know what happened to Ashton, but I don't believe it was your fault at all." I see Henry tense, it's hard knowing our friends think Scarlett was ultimately a monster, but there isn't much I can say to prove otherwise, nobody cares about my good memories of her, they just focus on the crimes she committed.
"Scarlett made more than one good choice" Henry mumbles, glancing down at the ring around his neck. I wish Milo, Peter, MJ, and Ned had gotten to know the Scarlett that I knew, because she was amazing. I glance at Milo and shake my head slightly, this conversation won't have a good ending, Scarlett was our family.
"Name one good choice she made" Milo says, raising an eyebrow. Peter and Ned glance at each other and then look at MJ, Henry doesn't say anything for a few seconds, I know him well enough to know he's upset, but he isn't showing any emotion. "She kidnapped MJ and Clover, tried to kill Storm, and bombed a hospital." MJ glances down at the floor and Peter reaches over, grabbing her hand.
"You didn't know her, that wasn't all there was to her!" Henry snaps, he glances over at me. I sigh, what am I supposed to say? Scarlett did do those things and she did them by choice, she was aware of what she was doing.
"C'mon, guys, quit it" Ned says before Milo has a chance to respond. "We're here for Storm, not to argue." I feel like I have to defend Scarlett, she wasn't all bad. I spent five years with her before Peter kidnapped me, and I loved every second of it. Scarlett was truly my best friend from the first second we met, we just clicked together.
"She was different before I came here" I say quietly, I thought she was nicer than I was, I don't think that anymore, but I still love her. "She saved my life." My heart sinks as I realise if I'd shot myself, then Scarlett would've died for nothing. God, I'm so selfish.
"After she betrayed you and tried to kill you" MJ points out, I run a hand through my hair, not particularly wanting to remember Scarlett bashing my head in at the train station, I instinctively touch the back of my head, feeling where Bruce had to stitch up. I've wondered a million times what would've happened if Peter hadn't arrived when he did, I don't think Mystique really wanted Scarlett to kill me, I think she just wanted to know that Scarlett would obey her without hesitation, at least Charles said he'd invested too much in me to just kill me, so I'm assuming Mystique would have similar thoughts. Would Scarlett have let Mystique drag me back to the x-men and torture me until I was brainwashed?
"I'm sorry, I know you knew a different version of her" Milo says, glancing at Henry and then at me. I don't have the energy to be mad at anyone, I'm too busy being angry at myself.
"I know it's hard for you to understand because you didn't know her" Henry replies, sometimes I wonder if I truly knew all of Scarlett, I hope I did.
The door opens and I see Steve in the doorway. Henry glances at me and then glances at Steve, I can tell Henry is hesitant, waiting for Steve to say something mean. I don't think he will, I think Steve knows I'm on the avengers' side now, he seemed genuinely concerned in the forest.
"Can I speak to Storm?" Steve asks, it's more of an order than a question. Peter gives me a questioning look, I give him a small nod, showing him that it's ok for him to leave.
*Author's Note* Thoughts on Steve in this story?
YOU ARE READING
Beautiful Ruins
Action"Maybe there was a fleeting moment where I wanted to be a hero and believed I could be one, but the truth is I'm not, I won't ever be. My past does define me, it made me a villain" - Storm. Fifteen-year-old Storm is the daughter of Black Widow and I...
