Chapter Text
Juliette was still getting used to her new life. It was completely different from living in Sokovia. She'd been in the United States a couple times before, but it was when her mom was still alive, visiting friends. But being this far from her homeland made it easier to forget what happened to her family.
She had been sitting in a classroom, learning English. She was fourteen then. They were naming fruits. When they couldn't think of any more, their teacher named a couple extra ones, like a strawberry. I've never had a strawberry! Her peers cried out. Juliette had. Sokovia was a poor country, but her mother had connections and a steady income. She'd never asked how her mom earned that much by herself until she was older.
Another teacher had called for her, and when she grabbed her stuff, wary, she was sent home for an emergency. Juliette hadn't thought it was important. She was naive back then. Nothing had ever happened to make her scared of losing what she had. But when she saw her older brother's face, she knew it was serious. He was the happiest person she knew, and his face was stressed, dark. Before she knew it, he had packed her things, driven her to the airport, and told her to follow the man waiting for her at the gate.
They were dressed in black, men and women making sure she got to her destination. She sat on a plane a couple hours later, all alone. The flight attendants were extra nice to her. She saw on the little screen that she was flying to the United States. Juliette had panicked, and it took two flight attendants and the nice old lady next to her to calm her down. She was going to be okay, they told her.
When she was just settling in, chaos hit. Everybody who had disappeared five years ago suddenly returned. The Blip, the news reporters called it. She hadn't seen her brother or mother since then, and now it was more than three years later. Her mother was dead, and there had been no funeral.
There had been a battle. All the Avengers met up to fight Thanos and most survived. She had no idea what happened to her brother Marcus, if he managed to survive after he went to the battlefield. He was old enough to join them and fight. He must have gotten away when things got dangerous, he must have run. He was fast. She wouldn't get into how fast. She trusted he found shelter. She hoped he didn't have to see their mom die.
She drove herself crazy thinking about it. She had to focus on the present.
She tried to focus on the screen, her teacher explaining about her upcoming listening exam. She'd have to practice, her English was intermediate, and that was generous. But she would be fine. If worse came to worst, she could just read her friend Peter's mind.
He was a genius, and so she told him all the time. He was also gorgeous, but she would never say that to his face. Plus, her mom told her never to read anyone's mind unless it was an emergency. "You could always stumble across something you never wanted to see," she'd say.
And her mom was right. When she read Peter's mind during the biology test a couple months ago, she found him still depressed over his breakup with the Watson girl. He got an A on that test, though.
When she moved here, it all went super fast. Her mom's friends secured her a host, and told the family she was an exchange student from the Netherlands, that she would only stay for three years. Personally, she thought three years was a long time, but the family was very excited. They had been on the waitlist forever.
That's when she met Ana, their daughter. They hit it off instantly, perfectly compatible, and have been best friends since. She was a bit moody sometimes, but considerate. Ana was exactly what Juliette needed after the move.
Gosh, she was bored. It wasn't like she didn't like English, she loved school. It made her stand out a bit, but she always enjoyed going, doing her homework, et cetera. She just didn't like listening to a teacher yap about some verb tense. English was grammatically just difficult, and the class was on a native level. Juliette was an immigrant. If I can speak it, that's all that matters, she always thought.
So she was delighted when the bell rang and she could leave. Ana was already waiting outside the door. Juliette immediately knew who she was talking about when Ana started, "He looked at me." They both sighed, Jul out of exasperation and Ana with a smitten look on her face. She was talking about Wesley, her crush.
"Dude, just ask him out already," Juliette said. "You're in love, and I'm pretty sure he is too, so what can you lose?" She repeated, "Ask him out!"
Ana gasped. "I can't do that, Juliette! I'm pretty sure he likes me, and I like him, but what if it doesn't go well? What if he just wants fun? I don't just want fun!" She was whispering when she spoke, "I want to meet his parents! Take him to the prom! Go skydiving. Anything, really. As long as it's with him."
She sighed again. "You don't know he doesn't want that. That might be exactly what he wants."
But Ana just continued, "I bet his parents are nice people. Did you hear his mom is a dentist? She filled a cavity for Tracy, she told me."
While she kept chatting about Wesley and his beautiful dark hair, Juliette dozed off. She was bored again. She was restless, because there was so little for her to do. It didn't help that she had to suppress her power all day. Her mind drifted to her family. Her mom never told Juliette and her brother who their dad was.
It was for the better, she thought. They had so much fun in Sokovia. It was quite a wreck of a house, a safehouse, especially after what happened with Ultron in the capital. But the three of them were so close. Were. Now her chest was hurting again. She decided to focus on Ana.
"... of course, if he asked me out, it wouldn't all be so complicated," she complained.
Juliette stopped paying attention again, but this time she had a valid reason. Peter just walked in the hallway, and started moving towards the two of them. Her heart jumped a little, but she stayed still and quiet, trying to keep her cool. Ana seemed to notice, however, as she was now grinning viciously.
"I'm ignoring you now," Juliette said, turning her body away from the blonde-haired traitor. She hadn't admitted it to herself yet, but Peter made her uncomfortable, in a good way. He was tall and slim, but sometimes Juliette could see the muscles through his shirt when they were in gym class. It made her cheeks heat.
"Good to know," was all Ana could say, still grinning as Peter halted in front of them. He really was beautiful, she had to pull herself together.
"Hey Julie, Ana, what's up?" He spoke, taking in a breath, "I heard you guys are making the costumes for the Christmas show. Can I join you, please?" He sounded quite desperate. "I don't want to be paired up with random guys who will make me do everything, and I know how to sew."
While Juliette was actually thinking about his offer — they were already a group of four, having Tracy and her boyfriend Max, and they didn't really need another person — Ana practically jumped at the opportunity. She had been trying to pair them up for months, since Juliette had never even dated anyone since the move. She wasn't very picky, but she just wasn't looking.
"Yes! Yes, you absolutely can join us", Ana said, "Tracy and Max will probably cancel anyway, they're too busy making out and going on picnic dates." At least that much was true. They always canceled a couple hours before, it drove Juliette crazy.
Peter smiled, relieved. "Great. Do I need to bring anything, a sewing machine, fabric, or-", he tried, but Ana beat him to it.
"Nope, we've got everything. Just bring your pretty face and we'll be alright." She added a wink for some flair. He blushed a bit, nervous or shy, and Juliette suspected he didn't get much attention at school, or ever. Nerds barely ever do. She really didn't understand why.
"Alright, I'll be there. Just text me when and where we'll start", he said. His eyes lingered on Juliette for a bit, looking at her hair. It was brown, but getting redder by the day, like her mom had said it probably would. She had it down today, and the consequences were starting to show. The pretty curls she spent so much time on this morning were frizzy and tangled now.
They said their goodbyes and she waited until he turned the corner. Juliette screamed silently at Ana, "Why would you do that? Why do you have to do this to me?" She put her head in her hands.
Her friend was just laughing when she continued, "Now I have to see him! As long as I don't see him, I don't have to think about him, and you've screwed up my plan!" She groaned, saying, "Must you torture me?"
Her friend simply said, "You need someone to spend time with," and before Juliette could protest, she continued, "someone who is not me!" They did spend all their time together, and Juliette suspected this new request for privacy was likely a request for time to spend with Wesley. If Juliette was with her all day, Wesley might not ask Ana out, sadly.
"Fine, okay, I'll try to talk to him." She put emphasis on the word try. Her friend nodded thanks, seemingly excited. Juliette just hoped she wouldn't fall for Wes too hard. The last time and only time she fell for someone herself, she broke Juliette's heart. She would try again, but she wouldn't let that happen to Ana.
Plus, if Ana's heart would be broken, she'd have to deal with an extra moody Ana, because their rooms shared a hallway and she liked to barge into Juliette's room.
She headed to her next class, math, which she luckily didn't share with anyone. Ana went to her history class, dramatically waving at Jule as she left. Juliette snorted, then looked around to see if anyone heard her. No one.
A whole afternoon with Peter, it made her nervous. He could sew. That was nice.