Picking Up The Pieces

43. Christmas Maybe

   I stayed home for the rest of the day; Earl's instructions were to keep off my bad ankle so my powers could heal it properly. And since I couldn't teleport myself around the apartment, that meant I was hopping around on one foot like an idiot. About thirty minutes after school ended, there was a flurry of knocks on my door. Harley lifted her head drowsily from her bed, barking once before falling back asleep.

"Comi-" I started to shout before remembering the soundproof walls that had been installed. I was over in my room, so there was no way the person at the door could even hear me. "OCTAVIA, who is it?"

"Your friend Stacy Min. Shall I unlock the door for her?"

"Uh, yeah." The sound of the door opening and closing was soft, but the thump of a bag against the floor wasn't. I hopped out to my hallway and into the living room where I was barreled with a hug.

"You didn't stay home because you were drunk, right?" Stacy giggled as she let me go, giving me a grin before becoming serious. "Because I will kick your ass if you did."

"That's debatable," I murmured to myself before answering her question. "Not drunk, just a minor injury. Twisted my ankle."

"Oh my God! Why are you even standing?" Stacy gasped, pushing me in the direction of the couch. "Sit! Sit!"

"Okay, okay," I laughed, listening to her instructions. I raised my hands up in mock surrender and sat down. "You seem really happy. What happened?"

"Well, for one, I finished the Homecoming album," she said happily, moving out of my sight and in the direction of my kitchen. I heard the fridge open, and there was a few clinks of glass as she grabbed a drink. "Performance songs were chosen by the choir today, and Courtney finally chose her slow song solo."

"Really? She's been trying to decide ever since school started. What song?'

"Oh, some Adele song," Stacy shrugged, coming back and sitting next to me, holding her soda gingerly. "And no, she didn't tell us what it is. I bet she's still narrowing down her choices. Like, Adele has so many songs!"

"On the topic of 'so many,' care to explain that giant bag next to my backpack?" I pointed over at the navy oversized tote beside my school bag, dwarfing it in size. It definitely explained the loud noise I had heard when she entered my apartment. "Murder weapons?"

"As if," she chuckled. "At the bottom is your make up work, but the rest is some things I brought for you to try on." I glanced over at my best friend in confusion. "Homecoming dresses, stupid. I've made about six for you since we started planning."

"Do you even sleep?" I joked, my eyes widening at the number. "Jackets, Homecoming, homework-"

"I'm a solid 'B' student, but since I do so much it balances out. Anyways, we're avoiding the elephant in the room... where did you and Peter go last night? You both disappeared."

I fidgeted uncomfortably, trying to figure out how to answer the question. "He was embarrassed about the whole... Spider-Man thing last night," I answered somewhat truthfully. "The two of us just went home. And it's not like he lied; I even contacted the guy to ask if he was coming."

"And?" Stacy questioned, scooting closer to me. "What happened?"

"There was a fight last night between some people, and he had to check it out," I explained. "I came home to find one of Tony Stark's suits waiting for me, and I was filled in." I internally screamed at myself when I said that. Why would Tony Stark contact an intern?

"That's so cool," my friend sighed dreamily. "You have Tony Stark visiting you to check if you're okay. Is he like a father to you?" Well, duh, but I can't answer as Isabel. Only as Bella.

"Kind of, I guess," I shrugged meekly. "I mean, Mom and Dad aren't exactly around because of their... job and stuff, so he checks in a lot."

"And here I was bashing you about not playing the F, Marry, Kill game," Stacy shook her head at herself. "We really made you uncomfortable with that."

"Yeah, you did," I laughed, causing her to laugh with me. "Superheroes are just a weird subject for me." Stacy stayed quiet, and we sat in a comfortable silence before I saw her start to blush. "What?"

"After you and Peter left, I kind of hung out with Ned for most of the night," she said sheepishly." I gasped, taking one of the couch pillows and hitting her gently with it, earning a surprised yelp.

"And you didn't tell me?"

"I just remembered about it!" she defended herself with a grin.

"But you blushed," I rubbed in. "Do you like him or something?" Her face subtly turned a little pinker. "Stace!"

"He's a nice guy, alright?" she finally admitted with a giggle, her fingers running through her hair. "Flash is the one I really like, but Ned is so... sweet, and encouraging. Flash isn't like that."

"Well, I like Ned more than Flash," I grinned at her. "So, if you guys ever become a thing, I support it."

"Yeah, well I support Pella," she rolled her eyes, causing me to narrow mine.

"What?"

"Pella," she repeated. "Peter and Bella. It's a work - don't roll your eyes at me! It's a work in progress."

"That's the worst ship name you could have ever come up with," I shook my head at Stacy, giving a small smile. "So, so bad."

"Actually, Faith came up with it last night, but then again she was drunk so...." Stacy waved me down, irritated. "My love life can be discussed once you and Peter start going out, so keep that in mind."

____________________________________________________________

"And that's my update for my life on Earth," I sighed into Rocket's orb, holding it in my metal hand while running my fingers through my hair tiredly as I sat criss-crossed on my bed. My make up work laid a foot away, halfway finished. None of the Guardians had picked up, leaving me straight on a voicemail. "There are times in the day I wished I was back with you guys, doing random jobs to make money here and there... watching old Disney movies.... late night dancing."

I took a glance at Harley, who was still sleeping away the day. "I spend each day playing as somebody else," I said bitterly. "Once I'm allowed to reveal myself - if I'm allowed to reveal myself, I have a feeling I'm gonna lose a lot of friends. Yeah, I need to toughen up about that, but it still sucks."

Looking through the calendar on my phone, I couldn't help but smile. "In a few months I have a two week break for Christmas. I'll be off of my probation around then, so we could try out Rocket's transport hopper. Quill mentioned that Xandar has a similar holiday experience around that time, so we could hang out for a day or two. If that fits in your schedule or whatever. I'm gonna go and finish some stuff, so logging off for now. Love you guys."