# the way you look at me makes my body shaking.
“Wait. Are you saying you never kissed anyone?”
Turning around to face her bed and the boy sitting on it, Ava Stark was trying really hard to hide her smirk. Her hair were up in a messy bun, lips painted in a dark red and she had only applied mascara on her right lashes. Because the day was really hot, she had knotted her white shirt, part of her fancy high school’s uniform, letting the sun-kissed’s skin on her belly exposed. A piece of chair that Peter Parker was trying to avoid staring at; knowing it really would have been too weird. It didn’t matter how long he knew the young Stark -two years now- she was still intimidating him.
There was just something about her, something about her aura, her charisma, the way her eyes were shining and her overconfident attitude that was making everybody blink, completely lost. She was stunning.
“How is that even possible?”
Peter shook his head, trying to hide the blush on his cheeks.
“Well fighting bad guys and saving the city don’t let me much free time to date” he replied, a smirk on his face to mask his embarrassment.
This time, it was Ava’s turn to shake her head, letting even more strands of hair escaping from her loose bun. She quickly finished to apply mascara and turned again to face Peter.
“Still. You’re not always playing Spider-Boy in the street. Are you living in a cave or what? Don’t you ever go out ?”
“It’s Spider-Man” Peter replied, rolling his eyes “and can you please stop staring at me like that?”
“like what?”
“Like you just discover that aliens were invading New-York again.”
“Sorry” Ava whispered, her nose crinkling “I just don’t understand.”
Peter raised an eyebrow and Ava sighed. She sat on the edge of the bed, pushing away all of their school stuffs and facing him. They were both trying to study since 3 p.m but so far, Peter had only finished one of his five chemistry’s exercises and he was pretty sure Ava didn’t do anything at all. She was way more interested in his social life.
“You‘re smart. Like a genius smart level. You are kind and honest; always willing to help everyone. And you are handsome. I mean all this Spidey things definitely helped you getting abs but still” her voice pulled him from his thoughts. He blinked.
“You think I’m handsome ?”
Ava rolled her eyes.
“I’m not blind Parker” she smiled a little at the sight of his disbelief “you need to be more confident about yourself.”
“You say this as it was easy” he sighed and Ava, for some reason felt her heartbeat increase and her body shiver.
“It is” she shrugged “everything is about how you look on the outside. If you look confident and like you know what you’re doing, people will think it too. And then they’ll convince you. That’s how you feel powerful.”
“Is that what you’re doing ?” Peter frowned. He always thought Ava was that extra-confident girl, well aware of her attractive and blinding aura; this kind of girl who knew exactly how powerful she was towards others. But this little speech about appearances revealed a new aspect of her; insecure and soft. In a way, it was making her even more impressive.
“What do you think Parker ?”
“I...”
He didn’t really know what to say. This was Ava Stark for god sake. The Stark princess, the golden girl, as every tabloid was calling her. Daughter of Tony Stark; one of the most wealthy and powerful man in the world who just happened to also be one of its biggest heroes. But here she was, in front of him; a sparkle of fear in her shining green eyes. She suddenly looked much younger; like a child begging for love.
“I don’t have super spider powers” she winked and in a flash the little girl was gone “so tell me the truth Spidey. Are you afraid to kiss?”
“No!” Peter shouted “ I’m not afraid about kissing. It’s just... I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. What if I’m bad at it ? And i do everything wrong? I really like MJ but I just... I just don’t want to mess things up.”
“So you never kissed anyone and now you’re afraid that your first kiss with a girl you really like and want to impress will be ruined by inexperience and nervousness leaving both of you disappointed and frustrated which will then make everything between you two awkward and ruined your friendship eventually” Ava bit her lower lip, trying to understand her friend.
Peter opened his mouth to object but realized it was pretty well sum up so he just nodded.
“Okay we’re going to fix this.”
“Fix what ?”
“This” she gestured with her arms, pointing Peter’s entire body “your unbelievable lack of confidence”
And then, without warning, she approached him, readjusting herself on the bed, back perfectly right and legs crossed. She was wearing a denim skirt and Peter tried his best not to look at her lower body and focus on her face.
“Okay so before you kiss a girl, you need to make sure she understands what’s going on. And that she wants to be kissed”
“Hm. Okay...”
“That’s easy. You just have to look her lips. Build the tension a little bit.” And with that she let her eyes fall on his lips.
Peter immediately find himself look at her lips too and Ava smiled a little.
“If she stares back at your lips then you can make a move”
She stepped back a little and Peter felt suddenly colder.
“If you really want to be gentle, you can go first with a kiss on the cheek. Girls like that.“
“Do you ?” Peter smirked trying to break the tension a little bit.
She flashed him a bright smile and in one second she was really close again and Peter tried his best to breathe normally. One day this girl would kill him. That was for sure.
Ava didn’t really know what came up to her. Trying to teach Peter Parker how to kiss was not something she had ever imagined she would do. But here she was, feeling bold and fearless, leaning to put a cold hand on his right cheek and pressing her lips against Peter’s warm left one. She instantly felt like an electric current pass through her entire body.
Ok pull yourself up together Stark.
She could feel Peter’s blush without seeing it, which made her smile against his skin. Maybe she let her lips a little bit more than what was needed for the teaching lesson but it really wasn’t a big deal.
“If it’s the first time, it’s better if it is gentle. Slow. Honest.” She took a step back to undo her bun and her long brown hair suddenly fell on her shoulders. Peter tried not to blink but he couldn’t help but feel nervous about what he knew was coming next. This cheek kiss had already completely turned him upside down. So what would an actual kiss do to him?
“Wait. Don’t you have a date like right now?” Panic was taking control of his mouth and he realized too late that he shouldn’t have say that.
Ava raised an eyebrow.
“How do you know that?”
Peter blushed. True thing, he wasn’t supposed to know that she was meeting with a college student of NYU called Jake in half an hour. But Tony Stark was a powerful man with a lot of ennemies. And he was definitely not the kind of father who was ready to let her daughter live her life freely after what happened last Christmas. When Ava was kidnapped by a bunch of fanatic, haters of Stark Industries, Mr. Stark had completely lost it. Peter had never seen the man in such rage and fear. So after that, he made sure he knew exactly Ava was safe; wherever she was. Peter was pretty sure he had put a tracker on her at some point, and sometimes he would receive a text from Tony; asking him to check on his daughter during one of his patrol as Spider-Man. That’s how Peter knew she was supposed to see this guy that she met two days ago while she was at a frat party.
But she wasn’t suppose to know that he was spying on her.
“Well I don’t know, you look like you’re ready to go out and all” oh boy he was a terrible liar. He cleared his throat but Ava frowned her perfect eyebrows even more.
“My father asked you to watch me didn’t he?” She didn’t look really mad, more annoyed.
“Hm” he promised Mr Stark to keep it a secret between them but Ava was his friend. And that friendship was important to him. “Yeah. Yeah he did. But after what happened at Christmas...”
“Unbelievable” whispered Ava, closing briefly her eyes and she instinctively moved away from Peter.
“But you need to understand him!” Peter felt the urge to defend Mr. Stark “when those guys nearly killed you last Christmas he was really scared and now... now he just want to make sure you’re safe.”
“That doesn’t mean he can spy on me and come invade my privacy. I lived without him for 10 years and I was doing just fine” she fired back and Peter felt the guilt eating his stomach “but it doesn’t surprise me, coming from him. You helping him, though, that’s new.”
“I’m sorry Av. I’m just trying to check on you but I swear I’m not trying to listen to your conversations or anything. I just want to make sure that you are alive somewhere. Safe.”
“Why are you always taking his side?” Her voice was much lower now and Peter could tell that she wasn’t really mad at him but just genuinely curious. And sad.
“I don’t know. I guess he is the first person who actually believed in me. Believed I could do great things to help the world being a better place. He build me this amazing suit and he is always checking on me even if he’s acting like he doesn’t care...He is the closest I have to a father ya know? I... I just don’t want to disappoint him.”
“Well, welcome to my world” Ava shot him a tiny sad smile as she tried to ignore the sudden warm feeling in her stomach
“I’m sure your father is proud of you” Peter said softly and he felt the need to hug her tight but from where he was sitting it was impossible; and also he wasn’t sure how she would react “how could he not?”
Was she already that close when they started talking? Peter was suddenly very aware of her every moves. Her scent was hitting him every time he was breathing and from where he was he could see all the different shades of green and gold in her eyes. Something flashed in them; a sparkle he couldn’t quite place and then she just shook her head, the smell of her shampoo -strawberry- suddenly invading the air between them.
“You’re right. I do have a date. But we’re not done yet” she smiled avoiding the subject, as always when she was feeling too vulnerable; too exposed. Losing control. “I’m always late anyway. It’s a Stark gene. We like dramatic entrance.”
Peter let out a little laugh. It was indeed true.
“And by the way, I helped with the suit.”
Peter smiled, only half surprised. Of course she did.
Ava suddenly changed her position, knees on the bed and sitting on her heels.
“Let’s go back to your lesson Parker” she smiled brightly, hands on her knees “If you’re feeling nervous you just have to think about your safe place.”
“My what?”
“It’s a place in your mind where you feel completely at peace. It can be real or invented. It doesn’t really matter. The only thing that matters is that it makes you feel good. And happy” her voice was low and quiet but filled with an irresistible peaceful tone. Almost magical. “Now close your eyes.”
“Why? What are you going to do?”
“Just do it” Ava sighed “trust me.”
So Peter closed his eyes, heart racing in his chest faster than ever. He felt her getting closer; his spider senses suddenly alerted. She was so close that he felt brands of her hair caressing his cheeks.
“Now try to picture this place in your head. Somewhere you feel safe. Do you have it?”
Peter nodded. “Hm... Yeah. Yes.”
“Great. Now breathe out, breathe in. Around you there is peace only. Remember, it’s your place. Your private world. You are in control”
Peter nodded. He could perfectly see the bright green park in front of him; sun warm and welcoming. The air was smelling like fresh herb and coffee. But also like strawberry.
“Do you see it?” Her voice was just a whisper now and he could feel her hot breath on his face “do you feel the peace?”
“Hm. Hm.”
“No one can hurt you Peter” she repeated “do you feel it?”
“Yeah.”
And that was true. He felt at peace. Tough he didn’t really know if it was because of the picture in his head or the girl whispering against his skin. Voice made of steel but with sparkles of sunshine in it.
“Ok keep the feeling Parker” Ava smiled and came a little closer “and just let it guides you”
Again Peter felt her hand cupping his right cheek; the metal of her rings cold against his skin. Ava continued to move forward, eyes open, careful to be slow and gentle. Peter could feel her moving, her hair flying around his head, her thumb caressing his cheek, and he could almost feel her lips against his own. He knew she was close. He knew what was next, which, in a way, appeased him. But suddenly, Ava stopped all movement and he frowned. Why did she stop moving?
It felt like an eternity before she spoke again.
“Your instinct knows what to do Parker. Just listen” the whisper was a melody just on his lips and without really thinking about his actions Peter moved closer; breaking the tiny distance between them.
And in one second, his lips was on hers. A simple touch that electrified his mind, his body, everything. It felt natural when she kissed him back, her soft lips moving perfectly against his. It felt natural when he cupped her face too, caressing brands of her brown hair in the process. It felt natural when she grabbed the back of his head and pressed her body further against his. Kissing Ava Stark felt right.
On Ava’s mind, everything started to boil the second she felt Peter’s mouth on her. Eyes open and body aware she tried to stop her heartbeat from going faster but she had no control on the rush of adrenaline that hit her. Kissing Parker was making her feel things that she never felt in any of her previous kisses. Actually, she had never felt anything like that before; and the second she realized that, her brain screamed at her to step back. To stop everything and pretend like nothing happened. After all, it was just a lesson. No need to make it looks like it was something more. But when in a bold move, Peter put his other hand on her waist, millions of chills ran down her spine and she lost herself deeper in their kiss, closing her eyes and leaning even closer.
It was like being drunk on red wine and looking at blinding stars on a hot night of summer.
Intoxicating.
Ok Ava -finally her consciousness was waking up- you need to stop this. Now.
“Miss Stark? You have an entering call from your father”
Both teenagers froze as soon as F.R.I.D.A.Y’s electronic voice burst into the room but none of them broke the contact. It was like if their bodies were craving for one another. Slowly, Ava opened her eyes leaning back just enough to separate their lips but not too much so their noses were still touching. They were both out of breath and blushing (well thank god Peter still had his eyes closed so she could regain some control and pretend that she wasn’t affected), Ava‘s skin was burning and Peter’s lips were partly painted with
her red lipstick. Hot.
Damn it Stark. Pull yourself together.
“I...”
Brillant Ava. Really.
Peter finally opened his eyes, lost and confused.
“I have to...”
But the words died in Ava’s throat. She felt completely paralyzed.
“Ava ?” Tony Stark’s strong voice burst into the girl’s bedroom and although the call was just audio, both teenagers quickly moved away from each other.
“Shit” Ava mumbled rearranging her hair while Peter blinked several times, trying to process everything that just happened “Hey dad” she said, a little bit too enthusiastically and a big fake smile on her face even though her father couldn’t see her.
“Is everything okay kiddo?” And Ava could perfectly imagine her father’s concern frown upon his face “why didn’t you answer right away?”
“Hm.. I was in the shower. What’s up?”
“The meeting didn’t go as planned. I need to go see the investors and the new buildings myself” Tony sighed on the other side of the line “a shower in the middle of the afternoon? That’s weird.”
“Wait” Ava pulled her hair in a high ponytail, still refusing to look at Peter -she could still feel her heart beating insanely in her chest- ignoring her father’s statement “in Shanghai? Can’t you use FaceTime or Skype like normal people?”
“Being normal? What a crazy idea kid! I am Iron Man. Let’s them see a little glimpse of me, myself and I in person”
Ava rolled her eyes.
“I’m sure they’ll be very impressed dad” and she couldn’t help but take a look at Peter who were slightly smiling “when are you leaving?”
“Tonight. I have to grab some things at the tower before so I’ll see you there ok?”
“‘Sure.”
“I’ll ask Peter to come over for diner. I have a little something for him.”
Peter’s eyes light up. Ava’s heart beat faster.
“Ok. Cool.”
“I have to go sweetheart. See you tonight.”
“Bye dad.”
As soon as the call ended, the tension filled the room.
“Hm. I should probably go” Peter was avoiding her eyes and she was grateful for that because she wouldn’t be able to stand his stare. Not after having felt this fire through all her body and those stupid butterflies in her stomach.
What a fucking stereotype.
“Yeah and I am late so...”
“Right” and suddenly Peter looked up and here it came again, that burnt in her chest “you... you have...”
He pointed her lips and she quickly looked at herself in the mirror in front of her bed. Her lipstick was partially erased, her hair all messy and her cheeks flushed. She really looked like a mess.
“Hm. Thanks” she quickly got up and, carefully, took her initial position in front of the mirror. She tried to ignore the way his eyes lingered on her and calm her heartbeat.
This is nothing.
“I don’t think you should worry about kissing Parker” her voice was solid but her body was still shaking “you’re not going to ruin anything.”
Bescause she didn’t want him to know how much it affected her, she turned around as soon as she finished apply her dark red lipstick and shot him a bright smile. Peter’s cheeks were still a bit flushed and he had some red on his lips too.
“Well. Hm thanks for the lesson.”
“You’re very welcome” come on Ava, you can do this “I’m really late now. You can stay here to finish your homework if you want. I don’t mind.”
One more smile.
“See you Parker!”
And in one second she was gone. Peter blinked. His heart was beating like a drum and he couldn’t even breathe properly.
What the hell just happened?
Ava was walking as fast as she could. She needed to put physical distance between Peter and her. Something was burning in her chest and she hated the feeling.
What the fuck just happened?