Chapter 05

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  Days had passed, and everyone was growing aware that I seemed to be roaming the halls much more often. Sometimes it was to eavesdrop on whatever it was Tony, Bruce, and Peter were working on in the lab and sometimes it was just to check in on Peter Parker himself.

Despite my original assumptions, we've gotten rather close. He's told me about his high school, Midtown High School of Science and Technology, and his best friend, Ned Leeds. I told him that I didn't go to high school, rather that I'm homeschooled by Bruce Banner and Tony Stark. Therefore, since I can't leave the facility, I have no friends. The only 'friends' I was allowed to have were other Avengers. Wanda and Clint were probably the closest friends I had. 

"How do you do it?" Peter asked me one day, the two of us sitting in one of the back corners of Tony's lab. He was working on Chemistry homework and I was helping him with it.

"Do what?" I asked curiously, glancing over at him and arching an eyebrow. He placed his pen down on the table, placing his full attention on me.

"Like, I get it, Mr. Stark and Mr. Banner are geniuses, but they're not very great teachers. Believe me, I know. Like, they know what they're doing, but they have difficulty explaining it to anyone else. I'm amazed you can pick up on some of the information they give you. But also, you seem to have decent social skills for having been stuck with the Avengers your whole life," He explained, seeming almost embarrassed about what he was saying. Then again, he wasn't necessarily incorrect.

"Oh... Um, I don't know," I responded in a quiet tone of voice as he offered me a weak smile. I didn't reciprocate the gesture. Rather, I was still thinking through all of his previous claims.

After that, the two of us went silent and just focused on his homework. We both had so many questions for one another, but neither of us would speak. The tension was immense, but we continued to ignore it.

  The questioning and bold claims didn't stop there. Peter would always manage to bring something up that would end with me questioning many aspects of my life. And he always felt guilty immediately after asking them. Then he'd apologize.

A few days later, I ended up making my mom's life a bit more stressful. I have these moments where I can't stay stuck inside all day. I feel like a caged animal. And I have to get out of the house. And no one can know, otherwise they'll hunt me down and be annoying about it.

  I sat in my room, staring out the window and watching the sun set and darkness flood the world. I didn't waste much time, getting up and attiring myself in a black hoodie and leggings of the same color. Throwing on combat boots and pushing my hair back, I was now prepared to sneak out. Before leaving, however, I grabbed the small (F/C) throwing knife (that my mom had given me as a luck token) off my nightstand and stored it in my hoodie pocket.

  I slid out of my bedroom door, tip-toeing down the hallways and being especially careful when creeping past Tony's lab. Bruce and Tony's voice were muffled on the opposite side of the door, which resulted in me taking a mental note to be extra careful when I passed their window. My mom and Clint were in the kitchen, talking about Clint's family and their well-being. Once I passed that doorway, the only place I had to sneak around next was the training room, which contained: Steve, Bucky, Wanda, Sam, and Vision. I maneuvered around the training facility doorway, then I found myself right where I needed to be: the front door. 

Slipping out the front door, I kept quiet. Being spotted wasn't an option anymore. If one of them found me, I'd be in so much trouble. Especially since the incident with the Hulk only happened a couple of weeks ago.

I sprinted out into the yard, ducking back behind a row of bushes; my eyes began scanning the inside of the building through the windows. I watched Tony and Bruce converse in the lab, the two of them engrossed in a single screen and appearing to be arguing. That wasn't uncommon. Those two argue all the time. My mom and Clint were talking while eating food, probably still discussing their families or perhaps speaking of some future mission. Wanda, Bucky, Steve, Vision, and Sam were all still training.

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