Member
Achronum
Zeus23
Lilpeepz
Antlers
Morose
Birdboy
NoriWasHere
teenangstlife
Three days ago, the new champions of Margaret Carter flew home, along with everyone else who had gone to watch them. Marlena was one such person. It was fun, for more than a few reasons. Among those reasons was the one where she immediately, without any preamble, snagged the number of a pretty blonde thing who just recently hit galaxy-wide fame. One April Kingston-Gray. The Waterbending hottie who seemed like her type from their brief interactions a few days ago.
Marlena was sitting in her dorm, having just sat a few tasks aside. There was this really cool top she’d been stitching together by hand since before her move across the country. She brought it and her DIY stuff with her, so she could finish it. It was noon, and she figured April would probably be up and about over in New Orleans by now, right? So she texted the girl.
April was indeed up. She was a relatively early riser among her family, and she was currently taking advantage of the quiet house to work on Christmas presents for everyone. She liked to make something for everyone, and this year she’d had the idea to make everyone stockings… a task she was horribly behind on. She was in her room on the bed, surrounded by yarn as her phone vibrated with a text - from Marlena.
She screeched.
She’d been beginning to think Marlena would never text her. And while she had been riding the high of victory after the contest, she’d come off of that emotional rush since then. She’d never gotten a you up? text before. She set her project aside, and stared at the phone screen, typing and deleting a series of messages before she settled on -
Marlena smirked.
April screamed and threw her phone across the room.
Marlena was asking her out?!
She had meant what she said to Leah and Sabine - that she wasn’t really ready to date anyone right now. She was still figuring things out after her visit to C.A.G.E., still working through the feelings that had landed her there in the first place. But the past few days, she’d felt so good. The rush of endorphins had quieted down from the contest victory, yes, but she hadn’t cried her eyes out or fallen apart in days! It felt like she’d been reborn - that she was a brand new person - and yes, she knew it could be a spot of mania, but at least mania felt fun if that was the case. She was tired of being sad and gloomy all the time.
April leapt up off the bed, kicking the yarn projects aside, and she retrieved her phone. Her thumbs twitched thoughtfully, before she shot back a reply.
She bit her lip, scrunching up her face as she stared at the message. Should she play it cutesy and tell Marlena that she needed to treat her like a princess? No, princess felt… felt gross. Prince maybe? A little bubble of excitement shot through her, one that she didn’t entirely know how to explain. Or maybe did she need to play things a little more hard to get, really let Marlena chase her, pursue her? She’d skipped through most of this stage with Leah and with Sabine, she’d put her foot in her mouth at the carnival in the worst possible way. Did she make Marlena work for it?
She groaned slightly, flopping on the floor of her room and staring up at the ceiling.
This wasn’t going to really go anywhere, though, so… maybe it was safe to play a little - to try out some new things.
Was it too much to immediately tell a hot girl she’d been in the psych ward and thus was relieved that she also didn’t want something permanent right now? Of course… she’d never been with anyone before. The idea of having casual sex was as scary as it was exciting. Ordinarily the idea of being present in her own body was disgusting, but the past few days… Things had changed following that conversation with Sabine. And an image had begun to take shape in her mind, one that she would need her brother’s help with, but one that she was becoming increasingly certain she wanted.
Marlena could work with that.
April frowned slightly as she read the message. Something about the treating pretty girls part of it bothered her - like an itchy, ill fitting sweater. The rest of it was fine - more than fine, really. No strings attached, no need to worry about being expected to put out. Just something fun and casual. She set the misgivings aside, and refocused on the buoyant feeling. This could be something good - something that she didn’t need to stress about, didn’t need to overanalyze. Just a person she could go and make out with, no feelings attached. And maybe do something more, if it felt right.
Would her dads let her pop on over to Margaret Carter over the break and get pizza with Marlena? Maybe if Dorian and Danni had been going too, but… She bit her lip, thinking back to the conversation she’d had with her Pops earlier. It’d been less than a month since the suicide attempt that had landed her in C.A.G.E. She wasn’t grounded, strictly speaking, but she wasn’t not grounded, either.
Marlena grinned. First weekend, no classes, and by then, she’d surely have a few more ideas for where they could go.
And then, April screamed. If the project needed to be finished in time for this date… was the project… for her??? It couldn’t be… right? Right???
A moment later, the unfinished fashion piece floated over to her as she hit the button to video call the girl. Her phone floated up and in front of her, as she used her powers to straighten it out.
”Sup. Take a look.”
It looked pretty simple. Solid black fabric sewn up in the shape of a shirt, with the front made in a wrapped pattern, coming up into a voluminous hood. It was pretty simple right now, no details worked into it yet.
April frantically threw a beanie onto her head to hide her hair as quickly as she could - she hadn’t been anticipating a video call, she wasn’t dressed particularly cute or anything, just wearing some jeans, a tank top, and a blue flannel. “Oh woah - you made that?? That’s so sick!!” April’s eyes were wide. She could crochet - but she was hopeless when it came to sewing and constructing clothes. The best she could do was make a pair of gloves or some socks - maaaybe a vest if she really pushed herself and stuck to a simple granny square design. “Is it going to be your hero costume?”
Marlena chuckled. ”Don’t think so. I didn’t know I’d need one by the time I started this. I’m from Brooklyn, and it gets a lot colder there than it does here in the winter. I was thinking I’d wear this when it snowed, to keep the wind and weather out while I’m skating. I had to put it on hold, so I’m picking it back up.”
April nodded. “Oh, Brooklyn - that’s so cool! Do you miss it? I bet New York is beautiful this time of year, with all the snow and all - I’ve been meaning to go ice skating, I need to find where I put my skates last…”
”I do miss it…” Being forced out of her home, sent all this way, and being told she had to flip her life upside down because she could move things with her mind sucked. She was meeting new people, sure, and that was always fun. But… It was rough.
”I think you’d like it there, though. Maybe one day you’ll be there, and I’ll show you around.” She smiled.
April’s heart fluttered. A trip to New York together? It sounded so romantic - and even though she wasn’t ready for a serious relationship, she still craved a pretty girl showing her around a big city, doting on her and acting like they were the last two people on Earth. “I’d love that! What are your favorite things to do there? Besides skating, obvi. I’ve always wanted to go in winter - maybe see the Thanksgiving parade or there’s the big tree, right? I think the last time I got to go was when Pa took us there for fashion week.”
”There’s an arcade still running, a few blocks from where I live. Or lived. I always did love going there and wasting a few hours on the games there. It’s a big tourist destination, but you can still find plenty of places to eat there that aren’t packed. Lots of hidden places where you’d have to know someone to even find them.”
Her smile faltered slightly as Marlena mentioned an arcade. “They don’t do any, like, virtual reality games, right?” she laughed somewhat nervously. “No Mario Party or Legend of Zelda stuff that’s bizarrely immersive?”
”They’ve got a few, but it’s the kinda place where you go for normal stuff. Like what you’d see at a carnival. Did those once or twice, but they’re not my thing.”
“Yeah I don’t - I’m not really into those things!” She tugged a bit on her hair. Carnival games seemed interesting, though. She wasn’t fully sure how that worked in an arcade. “Like the game with the rope ladder where it twists as you try to climb up it?”
”Yeah, it’s a big place. Lots of physical stuff too, there’s even a dodgeball area, you’d think they’d call it something other than an arcade. But nope.” Marlena shook her head. ”They insist it’s an arcade, because of all the old games there. They’ve got the original Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter… It’s fun.”
“People love calling weird things Arcade,” she agreed, before shifting again. A dodgeball arena? Old games? Dori would’ve loved it - he probably could’ve filmed hours of content there. “So, um, new topic,” she said abruptly. “Do you know what sort of classes you want to take at AA?”
Marlena made a pff sound. ”You know, that’s been rough. If I can get away with it, I definitely don’t want to take a bunch of fighting classes. I know I gotta pick something though. I’m gonna see what they’ll let me get away with, as soon as someone’s available.”
April tilted her head, a little curious. Marlena didn’t want to take fighting classes? She’d assumed that the other girl would be excited to train in her powers, to grow stronger and be able to protect people, to save lives. It occurred to her then that she’d never asked Marlena why she’d decided to come to Margaret Carter. Everyone had a different reason, and while most people wanted to be heroes, others wanted to be something hero-adjacent. “Do you not like fighting?” she asked. “Or are you wanting to be more a girl-in-the-chair sort of hero?”
”Don’t really want to be a hero. My old man found out I’m a mutant, I told him I didn’t want to be on the news for it. Rather just keep my life the way it was going, he felt different.”
Granted, it was working out so far. Marlena liked making friends and seeing new places. But she was dreading the whole… Vibe that came with places like this.
”Not a fan of having to rough people up, never been in that situation.”
April frowned, not really sure what to say to that. There were people at Margaret Carter who actively didn’t want to be a hero, but they usually had a horrible time. Some of the freshmen on the outskirts of her social circle had really struggled with it last semester, and none of them were coming back to school. “Well… It’s not all about beating people up, being a hero,” she ventured. “It’s about saving them, too - whether it’s from a Big Bad or a natural disaster. You don’t even have to be on the news - like, maybe you use your powers on a small scale, helping people in your community. Those people are heroes, too. My family’s Genosha diaspora and like… I dunno. I’d feel so shitty if I knew I could do something, even something small, to make someone’s life better and I didn’t do it. It becomes my fault then that people are hurting.”
Marlena leaned back while her phone stayed floating. Sure, she could save lives. But that mindset was the problem. Why did she have to be blamed for letting people get hurt, just because she was a mutant? Why did she have to be called a bad person for choosing not to get involved in disasters?
”Who said it’s your fault?” Marlena asked her. ”Sounds a little harsh, putting that on someone just because of their powers.”
April scrunched up her face, trying to think about how to explain this. She had a feeling referencing Spider-Man’s famous line wasn’t going to be super helpful here. And even if she were to answer that with great power came great responsibility, Marlena would still ask why - still ask why that had to be the case. “Maybe fault’s not the best word. But like… imagine your neighbor is starving, and you have extra food. If you don’t give them some of your food, you’re making a choice - and maybe you wanted to save that extra food for a rainy day, maybe it’s your favorite and you want to gorge a little bit on it, maybe you were starving two days ago and just got a stable supply of food, but… You’re still making a choice to not help your neighbor. You’re choosing to let them starve - and maybe someone else comes to help them, maybe your other neighbor brings them groceries, but if they don’t and you could have done something… I’d feel horrible. I’d feel shitty. Being a bystander is just siding with the bad guys.”
Marlena wanted to tell her why there were problems with that. Like the fact that doing those things she was describing had no bearing on superpowers. Anyone could share food, but did being a mutant, a sorcerer, inhuman or mutate mean they had to?
Marlena didn’t like that distinction. It just felt forced, being shoved into a box that was right for so many people her age, but not all of them.
”We’re gonna have to talk about this some other time,” Marlena decided. ”I need to get a few things done, didn’t mean to keep you for so long.”
“... Yeah, me too,” April agreed, a sudden pang of anxiety shooting through her. She’d definitely messed this conversation up. She liked Marlena, she did. They didn’t have to agree on everything. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to push you or make you uncomfortable. We don’t have to feel the same way about this. I just… never mind.” It would have sounded cheesy, saying that she’d hate to see Marlena leave Margaret Carter, when the two of them barely knew each other. Marlena was hot as shit, yes, but that was as deep as their connection had gone so far. “Um, text me whenever, yeah?”
”Sure will, still owe you a date.” She was smiling when her phone floated back into her hands. ”Soon, don’t you worry.”
She closed out the call, sat her phone back down and sighed. Yeah, that was gonna be rough to get into one of these days. Maybe she could get away with just one, possibly two classes that involved fighting. They’d definitely want her learning how to properly throw things at people with her powers.
The year hadn’t even properly started, though. Either it would be a good one or she’d make it one.
