Giftless

Chapter 26

"Kat, are you sure?" Loki asked. Again. He and Tony were taking you in Tony's car to Claire's party. It wasn't that far away and you had your own car, but the overprotective males in your life wanted to make sure you arrived safely. They insisted that they were going to drive you there and back to keep you safe.

Overprotective males.

"I'm sure, Loki. You weren't invited. I can't just go inviting people to an event I'm a guest at," you reminded them. There were social rules you had to follow. "And this is the first party I've been invited to legitimately since my parents died. I'm not skipping it. I'm letting you guys drop me off and pick me back up. I have my dagger sheath and my cell phone," you added grumpily. You understood the need for caution, but this seemed overkill. You were never going to be invited to another party if you were seen as such a freak going to this one. "And The Harlequin has been quiet for weeks. There've barely been any petty thieves for you guys to deal with," you knew that both he and Tony were overprotective, but this was a human birthday party. Besides, they were patrolling the area tonight. you were sure if you so much as raised your voice they would be banging the door down.

Tony stopped in front of the house in question. You climbed out of the car, straightened the skirt on your sundress, and went up to the door with Loki and Tony watching from the car. You were let in immediately by Claire.

"You made it!" she exclaimed more excitedly than you were expecting. She looked past you and waved to Loki and Tony in Tony's car and dragged you into the house. "Just in time too, the pizza just got here," she led you into the room where the rest of the party guests were gathered. You were surprised that about half of the kids here were some of the most popular in the school. The group was split in two and you took a spot with the less popular kids. It was where you belonged after all. You were famous, not popular.

You ate pizza with your classmates and played a silly card game that was excessively dirty for a card came. They even played Superhero Musical and this group sang along too. It felt almost like home with the supers. You found out that Claire's parents were out of town and didn't know she was having so many people over. She asked you all to be careful so she didn't get in trouble. You could understand that sentiment. You would be dead if you had a party while the Avengers were off on a mission.

The teens offered you beer and other alcohol, but you declined. You didn't drink and wasn't about to start here, especially not with Tony and Loki on alert for requests for help. No one teased you or anything for it, which you were surprised about. They just accepted your decision. Especially when you reminded them that Ironman was picking you up later. They didn't want to upset him or Loki.

Part of the way through the evening, one of the guys gathered up a bunch of people's red solo cups to refill pop and beer for everyone. You took your cup back from him when he came back to the table with a thanks. It was your turn to choose the winning card in the game so you were a bit distracted. You drank your pop while you debated the cards in front of you. It tasted a little off, like it had gone flat or something. You didn't give it much thought as you were being pressured to make a decision. You finally chose one and everyone laughed at your decision and agreed with your choice for winner.

You relaxed around the group, feeling giddy and nearly drunk off of their fun and emotions. It took you too long to realize that the drunk feeling was wrong. You shouldn't be woozy, shouldn't be drunk. You'd only been drinking pop all evening.

Maybe it was just the heat of so many people all in one room.

Maybe.

You excused yourself and stood, heading from the room to get some air, to try to clear your head. You needed your head clear. You hadn't realized how bad you were until you stood. Until you tried to walk from the room without letting the others know there was something wrong.