Above the group, stars twinkled in the clear dark sky and the full moon shone brightly on the pale beach. A hundred or so metres in front of them waves crashed like thunder onto the sand and foamed towards them in a great rush, always stopping short by quite a distance. The air was cold and still. Around the edges of the beach, where the group's cars were parked, thick snow covered the sand.

In the middle of their group, a large fire crackled and popped, the flames licked skywards, wild, bright and providing much-needed warmth. Around the fire about a dozen people were sprawled on and under warm blankets and sleeping bags smiles on their faces as they snacked on roasted marshmallows and drank hot cocoa from thermos's that they held close to their bodies for warmth.

Tony Stark pulled the blankets he was covered in off, rose to his feet and took a log from the pile of driftwood they'd collected and placed it on the fire. His efforts sent up a flurry of sparks as the new log crushed the embers beneath the flames with a satisfying crunch. He stood in the orange glow for a few moments, appreciating the heat, before he stepped outside of the circle of happy faces and entwined bodies and headed down the cold beach toward the roaring waves.

It was mid-January at Rockaway Beach, near New York City, in 2019. It had been a cold but manageable winter, and it looked to continue that way for the rest of the season.

Tony was 17 years old and tomorrow he and the rest of his friends and classmates would go back to school in NY, and he would begin his last year of high school. Despite the school he attended being very prestigious and advanced, Tony had always longed to finish high school so he could go to MIT and fulfil his destiny as the worlds next billionaire/genius. He had looked forward to being a Senior, and up until a month ago, he'd been dying to get back into furthering his study.

Tony pulled his hood up and shivered a little as he walked through the brisk air down to the edge of the water where his girlfriend Pepper Potts was standing and looking out across the tumultuous ocean.

"Hey Pep." He said softly as he reached her wrapped his arms around her figure from behind. Pepper smiled and leaned into him, appreciating his body warmth through the layers of coats and jackets she was wearing and the familiar sensation of him holding her.

"What're you doing down here in the cold?" He asked, attempting a light tone to hide the melancholy feeling that was creating a pit in his stomach.

"Trying not to psych myself out before I go tomorrow." Pepper admitted, her tone kept carefully unemotional. She already felt enough guilt for leaving Tony, she didn't want to make him have to comfort her over going when she was the one who was leaving.

"You'll be fine, you've spent the last six weeks packing and preparing with more strategic planning than the military uses." Tony joked and set his chin on her shoulder and before pressing a kiss to her cold cheek. "You're going to go over there and stun the entire population of France with your astonishing beauty and stunning intellect."

"Mais tu vas me manquer." Pepper said quietly, gazing out at the ocean as she blinked back tears before they spilt onto her cheeks. Tony didn't speak a word of French, so she felt safe expressing that she'd miss him in her second language. She stood still in his arms for a few moments more before she managed to turn and around kiss him gently.

"Thank you, you are the most supportive future billionaire/genius in the state."

"In the country you mean." Tony corrected between kisses, enjoying these last moments with his girlfriend of two years before she flew away to Europe for six months.

"Whatever you say." Pepper conceded. She gave him another kiss and then took his hand in hers and squeezed it. None of the adults in her life thought their teen romance should even factor into her life decisions, but when she'd been accepted into a high-end international exchange student program her first thought was how much she wanted to be with Tony. She'd spent most of the winter break going back and forth, trying to decide. Eventually, with the full support of her boyfriend, she had chosen to go. And now it was her last night before she went and though she did not regret her choice, her excitement for the beginning of this new part of her life was tinged with sorrow.

Tony, much to his credit, had been a champion cheerleader for her to go and seize this opportunity. But inside the whole idea terrified him. His mother had been dead for so long he barely remembered her, and his father was constantly away on business. He was a cold man and father anyway, and though Tony had more money than he could ever use, love was something he had a considerable lack of. And that was why Pepper was so important. That was why the idea of going to his empty home each night without her bore down on Tony like the crashing waves in front of him at the beach.

Pepper had given him some of that love he so desperately craved, and now she was leaving. And though he was happy for her, and he'd done a great job of showing that, hidden away inside all he could think about was how alone he was going to be. They had agreed they would stay together, it was only six months they'd told themselves, they could have a long distance relationship for that time. Both Tony and Pepper wanted it to work, they both planned to work desperately to keep it working until she came back because neither wanted to end their relationship any time soon.

They strolled along the waters edge under the moonlight, hand in hand as each of them contemplated their imminent futures apart in companionable silence with nothing but the sound of the waves to keep them company.

Higher up on the beach Tony and Pepper's friends and classmates were sitting around the fire, talking and laughing in the warmth. In reality, it was more of Pepper's friends than Tony's. Tony was smart, and his wit, looks and money made him popular, but he didn't much like the jocks who took up most of the space in the popular circles. Pepper, on the other hand, was the schools head cheerleader and she thrived amongst the sports teams and all of their popularity. She herself was probably the most well-liked girl in school, but it wasn't a position she took much notice of.

Set around the fire were a few of the school's offence players for the football team. Their captain and quarterback, Steve Rogers, sat amongst his friends and looked over his shoulder at Tony walking down the beach with a critical eye.

Steve did not like Tony at all, things were very frosty between them. Steve had been born into a poor working class family and worked his way up through sport and received an elite scholarship to attend their school. He was a polite, well-mannered 17-year-old who'd been raised by a religious and simply family. He worked hard for everything he had, and the team meant everything to him. He didn't like how flashy and cocky Tony was, he didn't like his fancy car brought with his father's money or his fancy clothes brought with the same. He didn't like Tony's sarcasm, juvenile insults or his use of crass language.

Steve believed in earning what you had, drove a pickup truck and dressed in hand-me-down jeans and shirts. He only tolerated Tony because he was Pepper's boyfriend and she was on the cheerleading squad, so he saw her often and they were casual friends.

Steve's two closest friends were both on the football team with him. Bucky Barnes left guard, and Sam Wilson left tackle, were seated on either side of him and were roasting marshmallows. Sam had a pretty girl Steve didn't know well sitting beside him giggling at his jokes, and Bucky sat alone, his own blue-hued gaze following Steve's.

"What're we looking at?" Bucky asked his friend eventually, his tone barely suppressing his amusement.

"I didn't think you'd find the safety of our classmate funny." Steve reproached Bucky, his gaze flicking to his friend sternly before returning to see if Tony and Pepper were still walking.

"If you're trying to protect Pepper Pott's virtue, I reckon it's a bit late for that." Bucky replied with a wolfish grin and chomped down on another marshmallow.

"Don't be vulgar." Steve said, annoyed at the jokes his friend was making at Pepper's, their who cheered for them at every game they'd played since they were Freshman, expense.

"Sorry, geez." Bucky held his hands up in mock surrender. "I was only joking."

Across the fire from the football players sat a mixture of the school's jocks. Nebula Black, a tall willowy girl, with pale skin, closely cropped blue hair and a glass eye sat beside her close friend Natasha Romanoff, and Natasha's best friend, Clint Barton.

Both Nebula and Natasha were on the school track and swim teams, and both attended kickboxing and fencing outside of school. Clint was on the football team, he played centre, but his main love was archery. Natasha had flaming red hair and porcelain skin, and Clint sported a fierce looking down-hawk with faded sides. They were both tough despite being good looking, as was Nebula, and they were amongst those that only the dumbest student would mess with. The girls sat together, watching with scepticism as Clint attempted to eat the 13 marshmallows he'd roasted together on a stick all at once.

"That is beyond disgusting." Natasha commented, her disdainful tone cracking Nebula up to the point that she almost choked on the cocoa she'd been drinking.

"Oh my god, don't kill me before I graduate please." Nebula gasped amidst her laughter, pretending to slap her friend as she caught her breath. Her enjoyment abided substantially when she noticed her sister watching her with an unreadable expression. She shrunk in on herself, going quiet as she always did whenever she felt judged by her sister. Natasha noticed the self-conscious reaction in her friend and shot a nasty look in the direction Nebula was avoiding before putting a comforting arm around her.

Nebula's sister, Gamora, sat further away from them with her best friend Valkyrie Scrapper, who was commonly referred to just as Scrapper due to the many, many fights she'd gotten into as a child. She looked away from her sister silently, turning back to her friends and pushing her family troubles aside.

Gamora had naturally black hair that was dyed subtle shades of red and magenta at the ends, green eyes and dark brown skin. She and Nebula were an oddity, they were non-identical twins born with a rare appearance difference. Gamora was dark skinned like their African-American parents, and Nebula was pale skinned. The latter girls' dark brown eyes and naturally brown hair proved she didn't suffer from albinism, she was just a random genetic occurrence. They had become somewhat famous in the state as children after their parents sold their story to various gossip magazines without a thought for their children's privacy or dignity.

Growing up with the attention had caused a rift between the twins and their parents, and eventually between the sisters themselves. As it was, they were barely on speaking terms.

Scrapper (Valkyrie) was of Polynesian descent and her long curly dark hair framed her stunning face and ample bosom well. She herself had deep almond skin and glittering dark eyes. She and Gamora attended karate lessons outside of school and were on the school swim and wrestling teams. Both girls were strong, but Valkyrie, in particular, had notable muscles to compliment the curves and swerves of her body.

Beside Gamora, Thor, the football team's fullback, sat with his long pale blonde hair and short beard glinting in the firelight. He was tall and muscular like the rest of his teammates, but there was something extra imposing and eye-catching about him thanks to his Norwegian heritage. He was named after a Norse god, as were his siblings, and he certainly looked the part. Though young he could already grow a beard in a matter of weeks, much to most of the male population of the school's jealousy, and he had a deep and commanding voice that most of the boys and girls at school found incredibly sexy.

It was impossible not to notice his deep and rumbling laugh roll across the beach when Scrapper laid one of her witty jokes on their small group and he and Gamora erupted into uproarious laughter.

Thor enjoyed his time with the two girls, his best friend, Korg Stone was still away in New Zealand, his home country, and wouldn't return until later in the week. Though Thor was handsome, popular and a tad arrogant, he did not enjoy either the vulgar antics of most of the boys on his team nor the straight-laced attitude of his captain, Steve. Thor liked having a good time, life was a party to him, and because of this, he was more of a lone wolf than a lot of his teammates.

Scrapper and Gamora he liked, he did robotics class with them and Korg, and the four of them had become the closest thing to a squad Thor had ever been in.

Despite the different groups and the various animosities between them, the atmosphere in the cold night around the crackling fire was a good one, and most were having a good time.

Everyone was about to begin their Senior year together along with all of their classmates who were elsewhere on their last night of holidays. And their time around the fire served as both a farewell to the previous year and welcoming beacon for the year's adventures to come.