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sleep deprivation never bothered me anyway or whatever elsa said, food for the soul, glitters faves ✨
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Published:
2020-07-27
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2023-02-26
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44/?
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Sea of Dark Stars

Summary:

After the Avengers free her from a HYDRA lab, the teenage daughter of Tony Stark decides to return to high school and finish her interrupted education. Wanting the anonymity that a smaller school can afford her, she enrolls as a sophomore at Forks High School, fully prepared for a perfectly normal couple of years. Due to meeting alien gods and giant green monsters, she's fairly sure that nothing new can surprise her anymore.
After all, how weird could a town called 'Forks' really be?

Notes:

This story takes place one year before Bella comes to Forks. It will follow the books/movies and feature plenty of characters from the Avengers.
The OC is the same as the one from my other fic, Healing Hearts, but this story is completely different and you won't be missing a thing if you haven't read it. As such, there are things about Evelyn that I've changed to fit this story here.
This will be an eventual OC/Jasper pairing, but it's gonna be a loooooong wait.
And here's a tiny little warning for language, because Evelyn is a little shit and she thoroughly enjoys the word 'fuck.' Expect it to pop up fairly regularly.
Enjoy!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: First Day at Forks High

Chapter Text

The lights were still out in her cell when the rumbling began.

 

She was instantly alert, springing up from her prone position into a crouch on the corner of her plain, bloodstained mattress.  A rumble reached her ears again, closer than before, and this time she could feel the vibrations through the walls.

 

Was the facility under attack?

 

Pressing herself into the wall, she gripped the edge of the tiny mattress and pulled it up, using it as a shield against whatever was coming.  Dressed only in the thin cotton tank and pants assigned to all of the prisoners who had come through this place, she didn’t have much protection.

 

Not that she needed it.

 

Something crashed through the wall in the hallway outside her cell and she tensed, ducking down under the mattress as she listened intently.  She could hear the sound of gunshots and shouting, and that tiny flicker of hope she’d kept suppressed for almost three years raged to life like a phoenix in her chest.  It was almost painful, that desperate desire to escape this place at last.

 

The jarring sound of metal against metal at her door made her flinch, still unable to make herself completely duck behind the mattress due to a desire to see what was coming.  If it was HYDRA, she would fight with everything she had to take them down and escape.  If it was someone else… anyone else, well…

 

They couldn’t be worse than the people here.

 

The heavy metal of her door suddenly dented inward, sparks flying around the frame as something wrenched and warped the material before it was shoved forward.  The barrier slammed down onto the ground, skidding across the floor until it nudged the edge of her mattress.  She watched with wide, cautious eyes as a figure strode forward.

 

It was heavily armored in sleek metal plating, backlit by an orange glow from the hallway behind it.  A pair of rectangular eyes were illuminated by a sharp blue light, and she nearly jumped when the faceplate suddenly slipped up to reveal an unmistakable visage.

 

What the hell was Tony Stark doing here?

 

His tense face softened when he saw her peeking out at him, and then his familiar features—he’d been a regular on the scandal channels her adoptive mother was obsessed with before HYDRA had taken her—morphed into a wide grin.

 

“Hey there.  You ready to blow this popsicle stand?”

 

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

February 14th, 2004

 

She fought the urge to bite her lip as the red brick building of Forks High School appeared on the horizon, knowing that her driver would scold her for it.  Dark eyes slipped sideways to examine the sultry redhead at the wheel, and she felt a frisson of frustration that her companion was already looking at her.  So much for subtlety. 

 

One perfectly arched brow rose as their eyes met, the only movement on her face, and Evelyn couldn’t stop her mouth from curling at the corners.  There was just something entertaining about the thought of Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, driving her to school.

 

“You nervous?” the redhead asked, a teasing lilt to her tone.

 

“A bit.  I imagine school hasn’t changed much since the last time I was in it.  But I have,” Evelyn replied, this time giving in and letting her teeth dig into her lower lip.  She had a feeling that it will be allowed today.

 

“You wanted this,” Natasha reminded her, and Evelyn nodded, taking a deep breath as she combed out a snarl from her sleek black hair.

 

“Yep.”

 

They were quiet as she navigated the morning traffic, and Evelyn quickly undid her seatbelt as the parking lot came into view.  Nervousness and excitement rose in her in equal measure, and she had to grip the strap of her bag tightly to keep from fidgeting.

 

“Probably could’ve picked a better day to start school though,” Natasha said nonchalantly, and Evelyn glanced at her with a furrowed brow.

 

“What?”

 

The redhead smirked, her green eyes flashing with mirth as they flickered across Evelyn’s face.

 

“Today is February 14th.”

 

Evelyn blinked once.  Twice.  And then felt her entire body slump as realization washed over her.

 

“Awe, fuck me,” she groaned, and the redhead gave an amused huff as the car came to a stop.  Evelyn scrambled to pull her black book bag over her shoulder, fighting against the rising anxiety of being the new kid on freaking Valentine’s Day.  She couldn’t believe that she hadn’t thought about the date and its corresponding holiday when she’d decided to start at Forks High School.

 

“Have a great day at school sweetie,” the redhead sang, her voice dripping in false-saccharinity.  Evelyn rolled her eyes as she opened the door and slipped out of the vehicle, doing her best not to grin at Natasha’s teasing.

 

“Thanks, Nat.  I’ll text you for pick-up.”

 

She shut the car door and turned to face her new school, fully aware of the myriad of eyes that gazed at her in curiosity and suspicion. 

 

At least she looked good.

 

It had taken an embarrassingly long time to pick out an outfit for her first day, and Natasha had ultimately made the decision for her when she’d rolled her eyes at the girl’s indecision and marched into her closet to choose her clothes.

 

The redhead had selected a pair of dark distressed jeans and a simple, classic black tank top under a leather jacket.  She wore her silver bracelet and the necklace with the tiny replica of Mjolnir that Thor had given her when she’d left the tower.  A pair of short heeled leather boots completed the outfit, and Natasha had told her that she looked like the kinda girl who was tough and mysterious.

 

A part of her was smugly pleased by the observation, and though she probably noticed—she was a super spy after all, and not much got past her—Natasha didn’t comment on it.  It was nice to feel like an actual teenager again.

 

Evelyn steeled herself as she strode purposefully towards the front office, doing her best to ignore the whispers about the ‘new girl.’  She had wanted the low-profile of a small, lesser known school, but the trade-off was that within this school, the lack of numbers meant that she stood out.  At least for the moment.

 

Forks was relatively behind when it came to technology, and it was for that reason that she came here.  She could essentially hide here in the cloud-covered town, while still being able to have a somewhat normal life.  After everything that had happened to her, finishing school was something that was important.  Especially because her father was the most intelligent man she knew.  And to be able to do it with relative anonymity was priceless.  Well, maybe not completely priceless.

 

Good thing her father had more money than God.

 

When she pushed through the glass doors, the lady in the front office gave her a rather harassed look before she’d even opened her mouth, and so Evelyn made sure to give her a winning smile as she leaned forward.  Best to endear herself to the authority here, no matter how much it rankled.

 

“Hi.  I’m Evelyn Smith.  It’s my first day here,” Evelyn told her, and the woman immediately shifted her features into something considerably warmer.

 

“Oh, yes, of course!  Chief Swan called ahead, let us know you were coming.  Just a moment.”

 

As she shuffled through a stack of papers, Evelyn couldn’t help but be thankful for Charlie Swan.  A cousin of Maria Hill, he had helped fill them in about the town and its inhabitants.  He had even recommended the plot of land for sale next to his own property that her father had ended up purchasing and building her house upon.  Not only that, but then he’d helped her to move in a few days ago, and watching the bright flush grow on his cheeks every time he’d been within fifteen feet of Natasha had been incredibly entertaining.

 

She couldn’t blame him.  Natasha was stunning.

 

“Here you go honey,” the secretary said, handing Evelyn a thin folder.  “Make sure all your teachers sign that sheet and turn it in to me at the end of the day.”

 

“I will.  Thanks.”

 

She exited the office, half her mind remaining aware enough to avoid running into anyone while she examined her schedule.

 

Evelyn Smith, Soph.

Period 1:  English

Period 2:  Algebra 2

Period 3:  World History

Lunch

Period 4:  Chemistry

Period 5:  Art

Period 6:  P.E.

 

She was more than a little excited about art and P.E.  Drawing and sketching had become a hobby of hers while she had adjusted to life at the tower, and she happened to be very good at it.  There had been some concern about taking a P.E. class considering her… enhancements, until it was discovered that she could turn them off and on at will.

 

It wasn’t difficult to navigate the pink and red decorated halls to her first class of the day, and it was with only a small spike of mortification that she discovered that she was one of the last ones to walk through the door into the English classroom.  Only her exceptional self-control kept her from freezing at the sudden silence and avid attention of her new classmates, and Evelyn strode forward and handed her sign-in sheet to the teacher, an older man with a aged, yet classy suit that looked rather out of place for the quality of school they were in.

 

“Ah, yes.  Miss Smith.  Go ahead and take a seat, there’s an open chair in the back,” Mr. Berty told her, tilting his chin towards the rear of the room.  She walked quickly to her desk, the only free one left in the room, and pulled her notebook and a pen out of her book bag as Mr. Berty began speaking again.

 

“Alright class, settle down.  I’m passing out this worksheet for you to complete with character evaluations for The Catcher in the Rye.  You have the entire class period to complete it on your own,” he snapped as a few of the students immediately began chattering to each other.  He handed the students in the first rows the worksheets to pass backwards, and Evelyn straightened as the girl in front of her shifted in her chair.

 

She was pretty, with long dark hair and cute purple rimmed glasses, and she gave Evelyn a small but genuine smile when she handed her the worksheet.

 

“Miss Smith, you are exempt from today’s assignment,” Mr. Berty announced, and Evelyn felt her cheeks warm at the muted outrage that rippled across the classroom.

 

“That’s okay, sir.  I’ve read the book,” Evelyn replied, and he gave her a surprised look but nodded.  Both Natasha and Bruce had a fairly impressive collection of literature, and her eidetic memory ensured that she was able to tear through books at an incredible pace.

 

She finished the assignment quickly, and spent the rest of the class period doodling on the back of the page while waiting for the bell.  Her next class, Algebra 2, quickly proved to be quite a bit under her skill level, as math was something that she naturally excelled at.  She had been seated next to the pretty, dark-haired girl again, who introduced herself as Angela, and Evelyn appreciated her quiet, friendly nature as they partnered on the day’s assignment.

 

Accepting Angela’s offer to sit by her at lunch, she went to her history class and found herself seated next to one of the prettiest boys she’d ever seen.  He was tall and lanky, built like a swimmer with long limbs a narrow frame in dark pants and a long-sleeved navy t-shirt.  His hair was a pretty, penny shade of bronze, and he had the smoothest looking pale skin, though that meant that the dark shadows beneath his eyes stood out more than they would on someone with a darker complexion.

 

His dark honey colored eyes flitted towards her as she sat beside him, and Evelyn offered the beautiful boy a tight smile as she laid her history book out on her desk.  She was aware of his gaze shifting to her almost constantly as the teacher, Mrs. Frost, began narrating about the French Revolution, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end at his attention.

 

Evelyn knew that she was the shiny new thing here at Forks High School, but there was something eerie about this boy in particular.  He made her hyperaware of herself in a way she had only been while fighting, her adrenaline rising in her veins and every sound magnified.  Reaching her limit, she tilted her head to the side and met his eyes, one brow raising in a mimicry of how Natasha had looked at her that morning in the car.

 

“Did you need something?” Evelyn drawled quietly, not keeping the sarcasm from her voice.  The boy inhaled slowly and straightened, his pinched features smoothing into something much more difficult to read.

 

“I’m sorry, I’m being rude.  My name is Edward Cullen,” he introduced, the musical quality of his voice washing over her.  There was something… different about the boy—Edward—something that made her want to shift away from him.  Evelyn turned her attention to her book as Frost instructed them to begin their reading and notetaking, though she was fully aware of his continued staring.

 

“I’m Evelyn,” she replied, not looking away from the text.  She was thankful that it was a designated quiet time and she was spared the need to talk to him again.  Evelyn felt a tiny stab of guilt at her indifference towards him, but there was just something off about Edward Cullen that she couldn’t put her finger on.

 

“Trust your instincts.  You have them for a reason.”

 

Natasha had told her this more than once when they’d spoken about what Evelyn should expect when she’d begun integrating herself in society again.  She didn’t trust a lot of people, but she trusted Natasha.

 

And there was something in her chest that told her not to trust this beautiful bronze-haired boy.