Heir to Jotunheim | ✔

Chapter Six

Cleopatra was perched on the wall when I arrived at the arboretum. I began worrying that I was too late, but when I quickly checked the time on my phone, I saw I was technically still five minutes early.

"Been waiting long?" I asked as I got closer.

She jumped, cheeks flushing a little as smiled at me. "I thought I would be late so I left a little earlier than normal." She looked around for a second, seeing the birds pecking at the ground before flying back to their trees, then grinned up at me. "Where do you want to go?"

I shrugged, tucking my hands back into my jacket pockets. It was September, and the weather was holding onto the last heat of the summer. Cleopatra seemed not to have noticed the faint breath of wind that picked up the handful of leaves that had already fallen from the trees, as she only wore a long checked shirt over a vest top and leggings. "It was you who asked me out remember?"

She rolled her eyes at my teasing, and pushed herself away from the wall. "I recall it was you who wanted to see me." She commented, and began leading the twenty minute walk that led to the upmarket side of town.

"You'll admit you missed me in your own time." I nudged her shoulder playfully, and smiled as she sent a fake grimace my way.

"Yeah well, you already admitted it." She mumbled, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.

We followed the road, as the houses began growing larger with sprawling gardens surrounding them. We passed a few children on bikes, and several adults wearing pressed suits marching across their drives to the expensive cars in their driveways.

"I always wanted to live here when I was little." Cleopatra suddenly spoke up. "Dad would take me on walks down to the beach, and I'd dream of having a room on the top floor of one of these swanky houses."

I bit my lip, unsure of whether to tell her I lived in a house similar to these, but on the other side of town. "Where about do you live?" I asked.

"On one of the estates about ten minutes from school." She tucked her hair behind her ear, glancing up at me before speaking. "It was just me and Dad and he doesn't have the money to live here. But, to be fair, I don't know anyone who does."

I nodded, deciding to keep quiet about my home. If, or when, she visited me there, she would see it for herself.

Her cheeks were a flushed pink when I looked down, her eyes darting from my face back to the road. I realised a little too late she'd been watching me as I'd been thinking, and I felt my own cheeks heat up a little too.

"Have you lived here long?"

"Yeah, we moved from a bungalow to a bigger house when I was about five, but we've not left the county." I explained, scratching the back of my head. "I nearly moved away though."

She tilted her head to the side, questioning me. "Where would you have gone?" Her voice was gentle.

"My Uncle To-" I cut myself off, aware of how people reacted whenever the Avengers were mentioned, even if they were my family. "My Uncle said I could live with him, and go to school over in New York."

She blew through her cheeks, chuckling a little. "You turned New York down?"

"I couldn't leave my Mum." I admitted, holding my head a little higher. I felt defensive when talking about any member of my family, and that included my mother. "I knew it would hurt her too much if I moved away."

"But you've got other siblings right? I mean there's like, five of-" She stopped abruptly, cutting herself off as we reached a set of traffic lights.