CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT;
the first building blocks of chaos!

"DO YOU NOT TRUST ME?" Peter whispers in her ear, the night and the stars in his voice.

Beneath his gaze, Amala writhes. Her body is charring under toffee eyes and she finds herself melting into the sheets.

"I do," she breaths out. "I do."

Peter hums close to her ear. "Then why are you so tense, Amala?"

Her body shivers despite how hot she feels. Her core burns like the flame of a thousand suns but when he opens his mouth, it freezes over.

"You make me nervous." She confesses softly, her hands clutching the duvet like it's her last lifeline.

Soft, gloved hands come to tangle in her hair, gliding smoothly into her curls. They dance at the base of her neck, then brush up under her jaw, before they settle at her lips. A single finger taps once and Amala's mouth parts. The gloved finger traces the pattern of her Cupid's bow, leaving a bundle of nerves in its wake.

"I make you nervous?" Peter pries, voice dripping with honey.

Amala can barely keep her thoughts steady, let alone form an answer.

She tries to say "yes" but she suspects a hum comes out instead.

In the place of a reply, all she hears is a soft chuckle before gentle lips touch the base of her collarbone.

"Oh, God," she murmurs, body alight with desire.

Peter starts kissing her softly, kindly. He takes his time, letting his lips drag against every inch of Amala's skin; top to bottom, right to left.

She lets out a shaky sigh.

In a desperate attempt at grounding herself, Amala grasps Peter's arm and sinks her fingers into the material of his suit.

"Off," she commands desperately. "Suit. Off."

Feather-light lips detach from her skin and form a smile. "Okay,"

He rises from the bed, taking that bite of cold air with him.

Peter presses a button on his chest and the entire suit deflates. It almost slides off of him, ending up as a mess of colored fabric at his feet.

Amala's heart riots.

Peter looks at her and for a moment, everything around them goes quiet.

Any trace of desire dulls in Amala's mind; now is not the time for it.

They share a look of pure adoration. It's such a foreign feeling, to care this much. To yearn for someone this much. What does this say about them? What are they? What title can they occupy when they share looks the way the stars and the sky gaze at each other?

"I love you," Peter whispers.

The world stops. "What?"

"I love you, Amala." He repeats. "I really love you."

Her heart catches at the base of her throat. Momentarily, swallowing becomes a hard task.

"Really?" She questions in disbelief, rising from the bed.

All Peter does is nod, meeting her at the base of the bed.

Amala looks up into his eyes, her hands tangled on her crossed legs. "Do you really love me?" She asks, leaning into him.

Peter presses his now bare hand to her cheek. "Just like the moon loved the earth."

Amala's chest soars.

Loud ringing rattles Amala awake.

Turn. It. Off, her mind urges.

With a set of limbs tangled in snow-white sheets, Amala struggles to get rid of the noise. She haphazardly slams the nightstand with her palm a couple times, until her fingers brush her vibrating phone.

Staring at the bright screen, only one thing is legible: the time.

6:01 a.m. blinks back at her.

She groans.

Not even looking at who's calling, she picks up.

"What." She mumbles, eyes still closed.

Across the phone, Akira screams. "Amala! What the fuck are you doing?"

"'M sleeping," she murmurs.

"Get up! Get up!" Her best friend shrieks.

Amala tsks in reply. "No."

Groaning, Akira stays silent for a moment before saying, "if you don't get up right now, we'll leave you here."

"I don't care," Amala replies carelessly.

God, she just wants to go back to sleep.

"Amala, we're going to London. Now."

Sitting upright, Amala seems to sober up from her slumber immediately.

"What?" She questions. "Aren't we going home tonight?"

"We were. Stupid travel company called and said we still have one more stop. They said it was a 'sorry' for all the mishaps this week." Akira recites. "Wait, did you not know until now?"

Amala clicks her tongue.

Amala sounds confused. "What were you doing last night?"

Without missing a beat, Amala says, "your mother."

"Fuck you," Akira laughs.

Amala rubs her face. "You love me. So when's the flight?"

"In two hours."

Two hours later, Amala and the rest of the class land in London.

It's almost nine in the morning and the sun is mostly covered by the clouds, making it an ugly shade of gray.

For the entire duration of the flight, Amala couldn't shake this unsettling feeling that rattled in her bones. It was quiet and it lingered deep within her, but it's presence was too prominent to ignore. She's unsure what the actual feeling is, but she suspects it's something akin to dread; a feeling she's very familiar with.

Akira taps her shoulder as they wait for the rest of the class to collect their bags. "Mala? Are you okay?"

Amala studies her best friend. "I don't know," she confides. "Something isn't right."

Akira deflates slightly. "I'm glad you said something. I feel the same."

"This is the weirdest summer trip ever. I don't understand why we're not back home yet." Amala muses.

"Yeah," supplies Akira. "They keep extending it. It's not right."

"I know," Amala agrees. "I know."

"I mean, two monster attacks and we're still promenading across Europe? That's kind of fucked up."

"Tell me about it." Amala chuckles. "My mom and dad are seconds away from flying me back home themselves."

"Mine, too."

As if taking the words right out of Amala's mouth, Sam Martin says, "Is no one else going to acknowledge how crazy this is?"

"Oh, yeah, I get it," Mr. Dell acknowledges. "There's been nothing scientific about this science tour at all."

"No, no, no. I'm talking about Peter." He exclaims.

Amala's eyes widen and she taps out any background noise in favor of listening to Sam.

"Has no one here noticed how shady he is?" He addresses loudly when no one seems to be paying attention. "Because I saw him in the back room of a rest stop with some woman in his underwear! And, he's always sneaking away like back at the opera, huh?" He continues, hands flailing at his sides. "Now he's suddenly off the trip with his family in Berlin? Is no one here interested in the truth?"

Amala's hearts clatters to the base of her stomach.

This is not good.

Besides her, Ned and Akira share a look of confusion.

Ned is about to say something before Amala presses a hand to his elbow and squeezes; she can handle this.

"The truth?" Amala questions, her voice quivering slightly. "What is this, a true crime documentary?"

Sam looks at her and for a moment. Shock and confusion flash across his expression, then sadness.

He laughs bitterly. "Very funny, Amala. But seriously-"

"Well, the truth," she explains as she makes bunny ears at the final word. "is subjective. So, technically speaking, Peter isn't here to tell his truth, is he now?"

"No, but-"

"But what?" Accuses Amala, eyes narrowing. "What about you, Sam?

Sam sputters. "What about me? Amala, I-"

"Why do you think it's okay to take pictures of people in the bathroom?"

The color drains out of his already pale face.

"Yeah, dude, what's that about?" Flash says smugly, desperate for some drama as his shiny iPhone points towards Sam.

Sam furiously shakes his head. "No, no, no. It wasn't like that - it was... uh - I was trying to take a-"

"Okay," Mr. Harrington beckons, ultimately silencing the conversation. "Let's just put all this craziness behind us and have a nice, peaceful afternoon."

Silence blankets the class.

Mr. Harrington sighs. "'Sounds great, Mr. Harrington!' Said the class."

As quiet chatter starts again, Amala and Sam share a single look. The question of what could have been floats between them and the raven finds herself mirroring his melancholy expression. This seems to be end of what never started between the pair. For a reason obvious to most, Amala finds herself not caring.

"Okay, I have no idea what the fuck just happened or why you're suddenly defending Peter again, but you absolutely bodied Sam." Akira praises as she hops onto the double decker bus.

Amala giggles quietly and a dust of pink praise settles on her cheeks.

As they fully load on the bus, Amala takes a second to assess all that's happened so far.

Peter is with Nick Fury and he's fine — hopefully. They're in London instead of New York. Sam is suspicious about Peter. Something is not okay about this.

The raven juggles the four points, going back and forth to try and piece them together.

There's no use in worrying about Peter, he can fend for himself. The unexpected detour in London is surprising but probably related to Nick Fury and their Elemental escapade. Sam is not something to worry over; he has no proof, anyways. The unsettling feeling, though... that's something to be concerned about.

Amala should trust her gut instinct, and she is. But her gut feeling means nothing without tangible evidence. She has none at the moment.

Until then, she supposes she should just enjoy their tour across London. After all, it is her summer vacation.

Just as she's about to sit down besides Akira, Ned grabs the hem of her sleeve and tugs her onward.

Confused, she stands up and follows him to the front of the bus.

She decides to speak first, thinking Ned has a similar idea of what's to come.

"Something isn't right. I can feel it." She says quiet enough to be heard by Ned, alone.

A beat behind her, Ned says, "you're an FOC now!"

When Amala casts a perplexed glance his way, he adds, "Friend of Spider-man." 

Amala nods, lips pursed and fighting a goofy smile. "Right. That's cool."

Ned gleams his teeth, ignoring what she previously said. "Yup. And you have to remember, just stay calm."

"I'm being perfectly calm," Amala responds. "I'm just saying something- what the fuck?"

Just as she says that, a loud strike sounds through London. To her left, a building envelops into a cloud of coal-colored smoke. She's not sure what the actual damage looks like, considering it's a figment made by illusions, but it appears big.

"That's not good." She murmurs to herself.

"But it's fake," Ned addresses. "There's nothing to worry about."

Amala gives him an unconvincing look. No, there is everything to worry about.

Momentary silence blankets them until another strike rackets the bus off its wheels. Above, dark clouds cast an eerie gloom around them and a gush of wind becomes prominent.

Goosebumps scatter against Amala's skin, due to the cold and the situation itself.

Ned lets out a shriek that quickly gets swallowed by yet another strike.

So much for staying calm, she thinks, though her thoughts die quickly.

A recognizable but equally unearthing chill runs through her; dread. Always returning and never foreign, the feeling is something Amala has become accustomed to. It's a long-distance friend, at this point.

The sound of Chrissy McKay asking: "what did the bus driver say?" snaps Amala away from her thoughts and towards the class.

She watches as her peers stagger against the bus, clutching their bags.

"The bus driver's gone!" Mr. Harrington nearly screeches, panic wrapped in his voice.

Chaos breaks.

Everyone on the bus gets swallowed by vocal signs of fear, shouting over each other as they process the news.

Akira almost trips into Amala when she hear this.

"What the fuck?" Akira shouts against the loud wind. "What's happening?"

Amala grabs her best friend and steadies her. "I don't know! I think it's another monster attack!" She replies with alarm.

Akira's mouth gapes. "Again?"

All the raven can do is nod with the largest frown on her face.

"So - I mean - what is it this time?" Akira asks into Amala's ear. "Water, fire... wind- is it wind? Is that even a thing?"

"Air." Amala exclaims far to quietly for the amount of noise around them.

Akira seems to hear her just fine though because a large shade of worry colors her face.

Amala turns away only to hear Mr. Harrington still shouting the students.

"It's okay!" He reassures. "Mr. Dell and I have it under control!"

Without missing a beat, Mr. Dell points two accusatory fingers towards his co-worker. "Oh, no, no. Don't drag me into this, Rogers!"

"I'm doing my best, Julius!" He yells back.

Mr. Harrington opens his mouth to say more but the burst of a large wave behind him directs the attention away.

A huge ripple of water towers against the railing of the bus, actively blocking anything behind it. It's more than several meters tall and it's stark whiteness mixes with its droplets to temporarily disarm Amala's vision.

Shrieks mix with the sound of cascading water as people all across the screen run in various directions.

"Oh, my God." Mr. Harrington mouths. "Get off the bus!"

In seconds, the entire vehicle shakes as everyone is desperate to get out. It feels like a stampede, navigating the final steps before hitting the concrete.

Once they're finally out, Amala's mind runs into overdrive.

She surveys her surroundings as best as she can.

The streets aren't any better. If anything, they're way worse. People are stepping over each other as they hurry to take shelter. Trash cans and other miscellaneous items fly above her, carried by the intense wind.

Amala momentarily panics. What else can she do?

This is the third life-threatening event she's experienced this month. The fourth this year. And while she may be familiar to the feeling of panic and fear, it doesn't make it any less consuming.

When does it end? She thinks bitterly.

She has no time to answer her own question as the sound of something loud frightens her.

To her right, the double decker bus they were in just moments ago, gets swept away by the large gust of wind. In a matter of seconds, the once intact vehicle splits into two as a lightning strike casts the sky with a deep blue glow.

With her eyes still trained to the bus, Amala's chest threatens to cut her circulation off. Her throat feels dry and stuffed with cotton.

A grim thought dawns on her: even with the help of a hero, what are the odds they make it out alive this time?

— END OF CHAPTER 28 —

[ note ]

* closes little black and
white clicky-thingy used
in movies * and scene !!!

hope you enjoy 28 as much
as i enjoyed writing it :) 29,
30 coming super soon !!!

lots of love and thanks,

pearl <3