• Across The Stars •||• Peter Quill X Female Reader 2 •

Prologue

Warning: This chapter contains harassment and SA.

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I remember the moment everyone I knew realized that I wasn't... normal. The day before my dad was arrested. The day before I was abducted by Yondu and whisked away into space.
I blew my cover, I guess. Nobody knew I had powers before that day.

December, 1988

It was a normal day in the neighborhood park. Everyone was outside because we had gotten the first snow of that year. My dad had told me before I ran outside, "Be careful. You're different from the other kids, you know." He said that to me often. I didn't take it as much, seeing as nobody usually paid attention to me. My magical outbursts weren't often, and I always hid my wound when I got hurt until it was fully healed.

I began to walk, my boots happily crunching in the snow. The park was just around the block, and I had made that trip by myself a ton of times before without any trouble.

But this time was different.

I could even feel it at that moment. An eerie presence radiating behind me. It made me feel uneasy. I looked behind me. There was a boy, walking. Minding his business. Or so I thought. Still, I picked up the pace.

As I was halfway to the park, the tall boy began walking next to me on my right side. I brushed it off. A lot of kids were coming to the park. I glanced toward him. The tip of his nose was pink, and he had acne on his chin. That was the first thing I noticed about him. That, and the fact that he looked much older than me. Probably in his late teens. Then he flashed me a crooked-toothed smile.
It wasn't a very friendly one, I knew that. So I began walking faster. Fear began to build up inside of me. Before I could make any distance between us, he put himself in front of me.

"What's the rush?" he said in an eerie tone. I looked around. "I just wanna get to the park," I told him, avoiding his dark brown eyes. It was the truth. And the moment I said it, I felt like I shouldn't have. "Can I go?" I asked him snarkily. He bit his lower lip. "I just wanna take a good look at you first."

I felt sick. "I'm nine, you creep," I told him. I ducked away and continued walking.
I didn't even have to look back to know that he was following me. "Don't you have something better to do?" I called out, not looking behind me. I began to speed up. All I looked at was the ground, making sure I didn't slip on the ice puddles along the sidewalk. I've always been a fast runner, so I quickly made it to the park. I stopped for one minute to catch my breath before taking a step into the snow.

With a shaky exhale, I thought all was well. I ran around in the snow with a few kids. I saw a few parents sitting across us on some benches. But they were chatting with each other, only sparing a few glances to make sure their children were behaving.
A few more minutes passed. Me and this other girl, probably about seven, were tromping through the snow together. We didn't greet each other, but we kind of merged whatever games we were playing with each other. I chased her with a snowball in my hand while she ran away, happily squealing.

We played this game for a while until both of us were too tired to continue. We plopped down on the ground and stayed there. Until a woman called her name. "Jessica! Time to go!" The girl whined in protest, then sat up. She stood up and waved goodbye to me. I sat up and waved back to her. "Jessica!" she called again. "Coming, Mommy," she replied before bolting in the direction of her mom.
I stayed sat up, watching as the two reunited. They gave each other a big hug, and the mother kissed her daughter on the forehead.

My smile faded, as I thought of the thing I didn't have: a mom. My dad had told me that she died when I was just a baby. I don't remember anything about her, to this day. Don't get me wrong, my dad was a good father. I was just always so jealous of the other kids who had mothers. I had always felt left out because of it. 

I dusted myself off and stood up. I looked at the darkening sky, then at the playground where fewer kids were playing. It was about time to go home. Just as I picked up my foot to begin walking, a hand grabbed the hood of my coat and yanked me backward. Before I could get a good look at whoever did this, a pair of lips smashed into mine. Hard.

I tried to move away, but the grip held firm. A hand on the back of my head and my waist kept me still. I felt like I couldn't breathe. My eyes began to sting with tears. When the person finally pulled away, I saw his face. The boy from the street. I didn't know what to do, so I froze. "No," I whispered. "Stop." He licked his lips and unbuttoned the top button of my coat. I pushed his hands away, shaking with fear and anger. "Come on," he grinned. "It'll be over soon."

I turned around and tried calling out to any adults. "Help me! Help!" Quickly, he shut me up by clamping his sweaty hand over my mouth.
I attracted some attention, but everyone just looked around, not knowing where my cries for help were coming from. Then, he picked me up and started to walk away with me.

I moved my foot backward and kicked him right in the groin. He dropped me on the ground, staggering back in pain. "Leave me alone, you bastard," I hissed, scrambling to stand up. "What the hell was that for?!" He yelled at me as if I was the one who tried kidnapping him. He had a look of hate in his eyes that was like no other.

Suddenly, it all began to spill out. All of my fear and rage in the form of an orange glow in my eyes and hands. I felt the heat of it in my chest. I was all-powerful.
The boy stood up straight, and that's when I punched him in the stomach. "I said, don't touch me," I yelled at him as I charged. The moment my fist made contact with his body, he flew backward and limp. His body hit the ground, unconscious.

The sound of scattered gasping snapped me out of it, getting rid of the glow in my palms. I looked behind me to see many kids and adults surrounding the scene. A few ran over to him. Some hid their kids from the scene.
Fear welled up inside of me as everyone stared. They looked at me with just as much fear as I looked at them. I could see it in their eyes.

They thought I was a monster.

I swallowed thickly and ran away. I went the same way I came, crying and muttering all the curse words I knew under my breath.