Middle School Heroes

Chapter 40 - Climbing Trees and Making Friends

After another night of barely sleeping, Skye went down for breakfast and found Rocket sitting at a table alone. They chatted pleasantly about the weather, space, Groot and pretty much anything that didn't involve the events of the past week. She was so grateful to him for treating her normally that she had to resist the urge to hug him when he excused himself to leave. He didn't really seem like the hugging type.

Very soon after he left, Natasha showed up to take his seat. Skye saw that Clint had come in with her, but he walked to a table across the room from them and sat by himself.

Natasha groaned when she saw Skye watching him. "Look, he's an idiot. I fully admit that. Maybe you should go snap him out of it."

Skye eyed her curiously. "And how am I supposed to do that, Nat? He kind of hates me, if you hadn't noticed. That was pretty evident even before I was kidnapped."

"You mean the dance thing with Ward? Oh no. He's over that. Trust me."

"You're his best friend can't you just punch him or something?"

"Believe me, I've thought about punching him a lot over the past week. He's been kind of insane. He's past listening to me at this point, but I think he'll listen to you."

Skye sighed. "Sure, if he was actually talking to me."

Natasha thought for a moment and Skye could tell that she was scheming. "Since they opened the woods back up, he's been spending most of his free time in those stupid trees. I bet that is exactly where he will go when he's done here. You could follow him."

Skye panicked a little. She hadn't even looked at the woods since she returned, let alone wandered alone in them. "Uhh......can't I catch him here in the dorm?"

She shook her head, seeming to sense Skye's panic. "No. It will be good for you to get back out there."

"He doesn't want to talk to me," Skye countered.

"Yes, he does. He thinks that you don't want to talk to him."

Skye looked dumfounded. "What? Why would he possibly think that?"

Natasha thought for a moment, but didn't answer Skye's question. "I can come with you until we find him, so you aren't alone in the woods. Okay?"

She shrugged. "Sure. I suppose." They cleared their table and wandered outside to wait. Sure enough, less than ten minutes after they got out there, the door flew open and Clint practically ran down to one of the little paths to the left of the empty volleyball court without even noticing them.

Natasha walked down to the path with her before Skye stopped her. "Why don't you go back and let me handle this from here? I can't imagine that this is going to end any way other than horribly as it is, and possibly with me in the medical wing with a broken limb because I've never climbed a tree in my life, but it will be even worse if he thinks this is some sort of an ambush."

Natasha turned and walked off silently, but Skye saw that she stopped just outside of the tree line and waited. She walked down the path, looked up into the trees as she went, and found Clint sitting high in one of the larger ones completely still like he was hoping that she wouldn't see him.

"You know, I've never actually climbed a tree before," she said, as she grabbed the lowest branch and pulled herself up. "I know. It's pretty sad really. I feel like I've been denied one of the great joys of childhood." She paused on a low branch trying to imagine the best way to go up further. She couldn't even see how he had gotten where he was, but she grabbed another branch in her reach and moved up. "At least now I can mark that off my list, I guess."