new york city, new york

"THE PRESS IS going to have a field day with this, Y/N!"

Vita was pretty upset. Not exactly directed at me, though her frustrations stemmed from my actions from last night's outing with Sam.

"It wasn't planned, Vee," I insisted, my head in my hands. From across the room, leaning against the doorway, Aaron spoke up.

"Who cares? Tom was the one that messed up, and Y/N's allowed to see other people!" He argued for my sake, and Vita whirled around to face him.

"I know that, of course I do!" she groaned, before spinning back to look at me. "Listen, you know I support you no matter what, I'm just being realistic! Marvel's already mad their prize couple isn't—"

"Screw Marvel!" Elizabeth huffed, shaking her head. Aaron nodded in agreement.

Vita groaned again, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. "On a personal level, yes, fuck em', seriously. But this is your career we're talking about."

"She's entitled to her own life," Aaron countered, stepping towards Vita with a bit of ferver in his step.

Vita glared at him. "You think I don't know that? But it's my job as her assistant to keep her image clean and the MEDIA is going crazy over this!"

"So what?!" Aaron muttered, their argument continuing. Beside me, I felt the sofa shift and Elizabeth sit next to me. She leaned her head on my shoulder as her arm wrapped around me.

"I wish I wasn't famous," I whispered sadly, feeling a whole bout of emotions attacking me at once. I didn't want to feel bad about seeing Sam since it wasn't my intention, but of course I felt guilty.

Beside me, Lizzie held me within her arms and swayed slightly. Her lips pressed against my hair as she comforted me. "Oh, don't say that. You're exactly who you're supposed to be; and this— this drama? It's all gonna be okay, Y/N."

I sighed, trying to find some sort of peace within Lizzie's arms.  She stroked my hair and mumbled more words of comfort, only they were drowned out by Vita and Aaron's heated debate.  Moments later, their conversation was ceased as Vita's phone buzzed and she answered it with a frustrated huff.

"What?!" She paused, a look of worry creasing her brow as she realized who it was.  Her gaze flickered to me quickly before she took a more respectful tone. "Oh.  Sorry, Julio.  Yeah, just stressed."

Aaron leaned against the doorway, his arms crossed as he stayed quiet, letting Vita have peace for her phone call.  Beside me, Lizzie perked up a bit as we both listened to see what Julio was calling about.

"What!  No, Julio, she's not... Y/N needs more time," Vita was insisting, but based on her facial expression, her words meant nothing. "Can't we move it?  I don't know, next week?  Come on, Julio, work with me— ugh, okay, okay!  You're right.  Yeah, I'll tell her.  Thanks."

Ending the call, Vita swiveled towards me with hesitancy and chewed on the inside of her lip.

"What?" I muttered, too numb to care what the bad news was.

"Good Morning America, tomorrow.  I'm sorry, sis," she told me.

Aaron groaned, lightly thumping the wall with the side of his fist.  Vita glanced in his direction with a raised brow.

"I know, it sucks.  But you'll be there too— you and Liz," she said to him, giving me a tiny flicker of hope.

Lizzie suddenly maneuvered herself so she was facing me, her arms holding me in place by my shoulders. "Let's get drunk.  I'm serious."

Aaron stifled a laugh, shaking his head.  Vita only shrugged and cocked her head at me. "Mimosas?"

"It would take your mind off it," Lizzie pushed, her pretty lips splitting into a cute grin.

The absurdity of my situation did feel a bit laughable, and at this point nothing could make it worse.  My boyfriend was allegedly cheating on me, my ex was back in my life seemingly better than ever, and in less than 24 I had to face the media on America's biggest morning show.

A drink wouldn't hurt.

▪︎

"And today on this chilly morning, the Avengers take over time square!"

Good Morning America host Amy is chipper, even though it's not even 8am. I shivered slightly, due to the slight breeze and the nerves berating my system. Beside me, Liz patted my knee to show her support.

Around us, over a hundred fans roared; raising their costume shields and mjolnirs into the sky as they chanted and cheered.

The three of us sat across from our hosts, Amy and George, in a stage set in the middle of the big apple. I was in the middle, with Liz on my right and Aaron to my left. Vita and the other assistants had done a phenomenal job dressing the three of us in warm enough outfits that truly complimented each other.

Aaron, Y/N, and Liz.

"The premier of Captain America: Civil War only a few weeks away, we're here with three of our favorite superheroes!" George continued, smiling to show off his whitened teeth.

"Now they need no introduction, but, we'll introduce them all anyways," Amy said, and the three of us smiled and pursed our lips as we prepared for the cheers.

"The lovely Elizabeth Olsen, Wanda Maximoff!" Amy spoke, and the crowd roared with approval. A few roses even landed near our feet, and Elizabeth waved cheekily to the fans.

"And the power couple themselves, Mara and Pietro, played by the talented Y/F/N and Aaron Taylor-Johnson!" George finished, as I mentally cursed. Did he really have to introduce us with the whole "power couple" line? The last thing I wanted was to think about any romance. Still, I guess I'd rather focus on Mara and Pietro, not me and Tom.

The crowd cheered even louder, and I heard a few comments stand out from the rest.
"Y/N I love you!"
"Marry me!"
"Tom ain't shit!"

Everyone heard that last one, and I couldn't help but crack a smile. Quickly, I covered my amusement by clearing my throat.

"So, tell me," George said, glancing down every so often to read his notecards, "Other than Y/N; Elizabeth, you and Aaron are both relatively new to the Marvel movie world. How is it to be back with everyone?"

Elizabeth answered cheerfully, and humbly, as I would expect. "It's... truly, truly a blessing. I mean, I get to work with my best friends, everyday. Who else gets to do that?"

"And what about you, Aaron?" Amy prodded, "your character, Pietro, wasn't even supposed to return to this next movie, but fans demanded more. How does that make you feel?"

Beside me, Aaron smirked proudly with a chuckle. "I... must be doing something right, I guess."

The crowd laughed, and I smiled at him.

"It's— it's what Liz said," Aaron continued, looking towards us both, "everyday is just a blast to be working with such close friends. And to do the things we do, basically goofing off like children, playing these amazing heroes, it's so awesome."

"Now, Y/N," George said, turning attention to me, "You're one of the veterans of the franchise, you could say. You three talk of working everyday with your best friends, but in this movie, you're fighting against each other, correct? So how does it feel, to be fighting with the people you've worked with since the beginning?"

"Well..." I exhaled slightly, taking in the heavy question. "The plot is incredibly well-written, each team truly believes they're fighting for the "right" reasons... it's definitely different, and I can promise you this movie; it's a game-changer."

"Right, right," Aaron agreed, adding on to my answer fluidly. "Everybody's used to seeing the good and the bad fight each other, but this time, it's like, 'who do I cheer for? Who's gonna win?' And it really excites the audience."

Around us, the fans cheered in agreement.

"But, the drama, the fighting— that's all acting, on-screen stuff, right?" Amy prompted, and I felt my heart sunk. I knew where she was going with this.

"Right..." Elizabeth answered, her hand once again grazing my leg in silent support, "We're all very close. No bad blood between anyone."

George let out a nervous laugh, and furrowed his brows at me. "Really? I— well, I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable, but there's reported tension in the air—"

Aaron cleared his throat and puffed out his chest, trying to shut down their questions. "Really, it's nothing. Probably something we shouldn't discuss—"

"I mean, we're here to talk about the movie—" Elizabeth said, also trying to dispell the questions before they spiraled into drama.

Still, George wasn't having it. He smiled largely at me. "Alright, alright, just one question and we'll move on, the fans are dying to know—"

I couldn't help but scoff under my breath, "yeah, the fans—"

"—but, can you just clear up something for us; Y/N? Were you and Tom together, and what's your opinion on Nadia Parkes?"

Without missing a beat, I replied, "Who?"

George let out a relaxed exhale, excited I was beginning to answer. "Nadia Parkes."

I shrugged, faking naivety in possibly the most sassy way imaginable. "Who?"

I wasn't trying to give Nadia any more attention, and to be honest, the girl pissed me off. She wasn't as famous as I was, and I wasn't going to reward her with any more media traction.

Amy caught on to what I was doing, and sent me an approving nod. "Exactly what we thought."

"Moving on?" Aaron almost huffed, narrowing his eyes a bit at the hosts.

Amy grinned widely. "Of course, next, we want to touch on Mara and Pietro. Aaron, Y/N; your chemistry is unmatched. Is it continued in this movie?"

I stayed quiet. Aaron noticed, and answered for us. "For sure! Y/N and I, we're very close, and it's natural, you know? She's gorgeous, talented, I love working with her. Pietro feels the same about Mara, I would say."

A roar of "awwww's" echoed in the crowd. Amy gushed as well, and I reached over and patted Aaron's knee, and he squeezed my hand gently a few times before letting go.

George glanced at Elizabeth, "and what about you? Does Wanda and the Vision share a sort of Romeo and Juliet-esque plot?"

Elizabeth chuckled, tucking some hair behind her ear before answering sheepishly, "I don't know; guess you'll have to watch the movie to find out!"

"Indeed we will!" Amy cheered, looking now directly into the camera, "onto a never-before-seen clip of these three in action in Captain America: Civil War!"

▪︎
▪︎

TOM'S POV

(1) new message from Nadia

Nadia
Did you SEE what she said about me on GMA? after all this you're STILL defending her??? I can't.
Read 9:08AM

Tom
I thought I told you to delete my number.
Read 9:11AM

Nadia
I'm trying to take some sense into you.
She's being PETTY AS FUCK
Read 9:12AM

Tom
I don't blame her
Read 9:12AM

Nadia
literally who does she think she is?
why tf does she think she's better than me?
Read 9:16AM

Nadia
now you're leaving me on read?
come on Tom
Read 9:19AM

Tom
Delete my number, Nadia.
Read 9:19AM

Nadia
Move on from her, Tom. Clearly she's with Sam again, and you and I really have something.
Read 9:22AM

Tom
Stop.
She's not with Sam, and I'm not with you. We don't have anything, Nadia. We kissed ONCE.
YOU kissed me. I didn't even want to kiss you.
Read 9:22AM

Nadia
you're fucking lying
Read 9:23AM

Tom
No, I'm not.
You know I'm not.
Read 9:23AM

Nadia
I may have kissed you first, but you liked it.
Read 9:23AM

Tom
No, I didn't. I pushed you away.
You're ruining my life.
Read 9:23AM

Nadia
fuck you
Read 9:25AM

Tom
She is better than you, by the way.
Y/N is so much more than you'll ever be.
(!) Message Not Delivered.

All further messages to [Nadia] are pending.

▪︎
▪︎

VITA'S POV

(1) new message from Julio - Manager

Julio - Manager
Bad news, Vita.  I tried everything I could, but the Good Morning America segment really pushed things over the edge.  People are dying to know what's happening between Y/N and Tom.

Vita
You're acting very sus.  I'm nervous.

Julio - Manager
You should be.  We ALL should be.
The next scheduled interview is with James Corden on his Late Late Show in LA.

Vita
I thought we cancelled that one. Because Tom was supposed to do it WITH Y/N...
??
Please don't tell me what I think you're about to tell me.

Julio - Manager
Both Y/N and Tom are set to appear on the Late Late show in two days.
I sent your airline tickets to your email.

Vita
Oh my god...
She's not ready.
This is going to be a SHIT SHOW.

Julio - Manager
Have they spoken since he cheated?

Vita
No.

Julio - Manager.
Damn.
The only thing I could do was to get another star in there to be sort of a buffer between the two of them.  My hands are tied.  Please tell her I'm sorry.

Vita
I will.
Who else is appearing with them?

Julio - Manager
Anthony Mackie.

Vita
Thank god.
I'll get our bags packed.  Thank you for the heads up.

Julio - Manager
I'll see you in a few days.

Vita
You'll be there?

Julio - Manager
Yes.
Y/N's like a daughter.  She needs to know I'm in her corner on this one.

Vita
She does.
Thank you, Julio.

Julio - Manager
Travel safe. 
See you soon.
And Vita?

Vita
Yes?

Julio - Manager
Make sure the outfit she wears is a "revenge outfit".  One that will have Tom shaking in his little boots and regret ever looking at another woman.

Vita
Copy that.