Copycat: The First Young Avenger.

False Start.

C.C. spend the rest of the day in a state of numbness.

Usually, lunch hour was the only moment in the day in which she saw all of her friends together, but she had French class with Betty and now she was talking to her like nothing had happened.

She didn't confront her then, because she'd been the only one that hadn't actively made fun of her. In any case, C.C. didn't know what she wanted to say, she was supposed to feel strongly about it, but she still hadn't decided what to feel.

She didn't even mention the incident to Wanda and Pietro, they would've told her to pay no mind to it, that those girls were probably jealous... but were they?

C.C. stared at her reflection in the mirror the next morning, she stared at her hair for a really long time and came to the conclusion that it was indeed messy and too long. The curls weren't as defined, just twisted and untouched, she couldn't remember the last time she'd tried to brush them.

Before putting on one of her favorite flowy skirts she looked at her legs and wondered if they were weird-looking. She didn't know what "normal" knees were supposed to look like. Instead of grabbing her usual boots, C.C. grabbed a box from under the bed and pulled out a pair of white converse that Pepper had bought for her in case she needed "a change in the routine". She didn't want a change in the routine, but she wondered if this would stop the rude comments about her appearance.

The shoes were uncomfortable, but not as much as the thought of looking like a madwoman. She kept brushing her hair with her fingers -she hadn't found a brush in her bathroom- and ironed the skirt hoping it looked prim and proper.

"Nice shoes," Happy pointed out. "What's the occasion?"

"All of the others were dirty," She shrugged. "Do they look okay with the rest of my clothes?"

"Yeah, they match well."

She looked ahead, feeling terribly stupid. "Do you think my hair is ugly?"

The man glanced at her sideways.

"I like how long and soft-looking it is- how do you manage to keep it without split ends?"

"I don't brush it," She answered. "Because it gets frizzy when I do... but maybe I should start brushing it... can I tell you a secret?"

"I'm all ears."

"I overheard some of my friends making fun of me in the bathroom," She sighed. "They didn't know I was there, and they didn't say anything too awful, but..."

"What did they say?"

C.C. narrated her story quickly, wanting to get it over with before arriving at school. Happy's frown grew as she continued, he parked a few blocks away from the building and looked at her gravely.

"Do you like these girls?"

"They're my friends," She shrugged. "Can't force them to change if they've always been like this, right?"

"That doesn't mean you should let them be disrespectful," He said. "It sounds like these girls may be with you for a reason that has nothing to do with friendship."

C.C. looked away with discomfort, she could see his point, but she'd never had to deal with something like this before, and to be honest, she wasn't sure she wanted to do it now.

"I think I'm embarrassed, 'cause they have a point. It's weird that I only wear dresses and skirts, and wide sweaters, and hoodies... to me it's routine, but they're not used to seeing a girl looking like a sack of potatoes..."

"Who said you look like that?" Happy asked. "You look nothing like it. Look at you."

He moved the rearview mirror so she could glimpse at her face.