Chapter 8
The halls of this school can be long and lonely or peaceful and still. On the good days, I would trail behind my so-called friends hoping a wormhole would swallow me up. On the bad days, I walk these halls alone trying to keep my head above the water flooding in from my surroundings.
I guess that first day was one of the in-between ones. I was trying to keep my head above the water and I was lagging behind. But I was at a party thrown by some boy, who apparently went to Midtown, I had never met. To throw me even more off my game this party was unlike any party I had been to before. There were booze-filled teenagers making bad decisions and dancing to the music which would normally make their ears bleed.
I was standing in a corner long abandoned by the three girls who had dragged me here. Alone. Until a girl wearing a cardigan over her shirt and jeans walked towards me. Her hair was in a messy bun atop her head. In her hands, she held two pieces of toast smothered by peanut butter.
"Peace offering between two wallflowers," The girl had said as she handed me one of the pieces of toast, not even asking if I was allergic to peanuts or anything, just offering me toast and a party. Where had she gotten toast?
"Ummm... Thanks!? What's your name? I'm Gwen," I shout back over the music taking the piece of toast from her outstretched hand and studying her.
"You can call me MJ. All of these losers know me as Michelle though," She shrugged her shoulders, relaxing her body language. She trusts me? Where do you go to school? Not to pry but I just haven't seen you around before or anything."
"Sousa's School for Exceptional Girls. Though I've found most of them are very ordinary and dimwits who drag girls to parties when they'd rather be sleeping or crying. They also thought I would socialize with a bunch of drunken lunatics who are all smart but have no clue about anything to do with hardship or real-world knowledge."
"Can I ask what hardship you've faced?"
"Sure do you want to go outside? I can walk you home while we talk?"
"What are you 12? But thanks and sure let's get away from all these hormonal teens."
"For the record, I'm 13 and plenty. When I was 2 my parents were killed in front of my eyes. Then I was adopted when my siblings weren't and had to go to a British boarding school, not as fun as movies make it out to be. Then my brother died before I could see him again just over a year ago. My sister seems to want nothing to do with me. She's also on the run from the law and dating a 'cop', which is very complicated. I have wings from an experiment done by the government when they released the tarogen into the air a few months ago. Ohhh! And I have to have a panic button with me at all times. And my teachers are all terrified of me because I accidentally nearly killed one of them today and it was my first day. So yeah a lot of weird and hardship, also I lied my name isn't Gwen it's Yulia. I just got told to tell everyone my name was Gwen by my sister's terrifying friends."
"Fun. My parents don't care about me and my aunt and uncle were murdered if it makes you feel any better. They were killed by this girl because they had something to do with a secret agency and she killed them with a poison no one could identify till recently," My eyes went wide when I heard this. MJ, oh no it makes sense now, Michelle Jones, they were her aunt and uncle. Me and Katrina's final mission was to kill them. Shit.
"That's fun? I guess," I say not sure how to respond without giving up any more information than I had to.
"Wait you said you were from England So have you ever experienced a 7/11 midnight snack?"
"No, because I've never been out this late," I lied through my teeth as if it were second nature. Which to be fair it was.
"Then come on we're doing one now. For you of course," Shae stated Grabbing my hand and leading me into the sight of the security cameras which I was sure followed me like a tentacle of HYDRA.
"OK! Grab chocolate and a drink. That's all we need."
I was overwhelmed by both her kindness and the amount of choice I had been bombarded with since leaving my past in the... well past. They taught me to only focus on the mission in hand but now my mission was to live a normal teenage life. That was the one mission I was never prepared for and now it's my only one I was terrified of that all too true fact.
What I would give for a different mission right now. Something dangerous. Something fun. Something that involves death and destruction. But, for now, at least, that's not going to happen unless I run back to the people that raised me and face the punishment for disobeying them.
No. I can't. It's not worth it.
So instead I grabbed a random chocolate bar and a drink I had seen people drink all around the world and never really wanted to try. MJ walked up to the counter with me. I instinctively went for my pocket. I then remembered I had been forced into the dark blue dress that Sharon had insisted I buy. So I went to reach for the bag on my back only to come in contact with another hand.
Instinct took over. My hand grabbed the wrist-twisting it to an almost dangerous angle. Twisting my body so I could see the persons face. As soon as I saw the bleach blonde hair, glistening green eyes and classic smirch of my only living best friend, Ruby Hale, I let go not wanting to hurt her more.
"Ruby!" I say excitement obvious in my voice. I knew there were only 2 people she cared about that weren't her and I was the only one breathing and alive.
"Hey, little angel. How are you?" She asked with a smile dancing over her lips as she handed the cashier the money me and MJ owed him before linking arms with me motioning to her hand for my drink.
"Good. I've been settling in here. Saw my sister. Very awkward. Kat died. How about you? How are the Rockys treating you? " I tell her before realizing I needed to introduce her and MJ. "This is Michelle by the way. She's a 'wallflower' like us." I told her using the high school jargon language we had to use on a few missions before.
"The Rockys are mountains and suck. But I'm you know normal? It also nice to meet you, Michelle. I'm Ruby, Yulia's girlfriend and childhood best friend," Ruby said placing her hand in front of her to shake MJ's hand.
"Hi. Do you still want to walk with me or catch up with your girlfriend?" MJ asked me as she shook Ruby's hand.
"First she's not my girlfriend, even though if I had to date anyone it would be her because I'm ace and IDK. Second, I'll still walk with you then I'll catch up with Ruby as we walk back to my school."
"Sounds Like a plan."
We walked and talked for about 20 minutes with MJ before dropping her off and me giving her my number. Then me and Ruby raced back to my new school along the way stopping on a bridge to throw some flowers off in respect for Katrina.
"So this is the hell hole of a school they have you in now. You should just come to HYDRA prep with me," Ruby says as she takes her usual spot on my bed as I removed my shoes, jacket and bag.
"Again I ran away because they killed Kat. Also, whatcha mean?" I said as I flopped down onto my bed face first, as per usual.
"Didn't you hear? Some of the Avengers stormed the place and destroyed it but took all signs of you and Kat, including her body," Ruby said slightly shocked she needed to tell me something for once.
"So, how come you're in New York?"
"I'm meant to be killing you but I also thought a little bit of teenage rebellion was in order. So... you get to live. Of course, Yulia has to die but 'Gwen' can live," She said making her hands do that weird shaking thing people call jazz hands even though they have nothing to do with jazz.
"Yay!" I retorted sarcastically. "So you staying the night or going to find someone else to kill and scar so it looks like they had wings you removed? Because you can have a feather if you need to sell it more."
"I love you! And a feather could be useful. I also got you hair dye so you can look different. Well blonde but different."
"Pluck the feather then can you help me with the hair dye?"
"We really are sisters."
We both laughed at the thought of what the would-be like if HYDRA's daughters were really sisters by blood. While we were laughing Ruby pulled out one of my feathers surprised when I only grimaced, unlike last time.
"Hir," She just started getting up and began moving to my bathroom.
"No offence Ruby but are you sure you read the label right because this looks more like Natasha Romanoff hair instead of Jennifer Lawrence. Not that I'm complaining, red is a lovely colour but ah it's not blonde like you said," I say looking in my mirror. I had gone from Danerys Targarian to Sansa Stark in a matter of hours.
"You can still Rock your classic ponytail or Danny braids if you want," She said looking through her phone trying to catfish this girl into a date with death.
"Can you please braid my it then and I'll catfish while you do?"
"Sure," She shrugged her shoulders.
After breakfast with one of Ruby's headphones in she braided my hair and went on her 'date' leaving me to fend for myself at school. And blend in. A task that's harder than killing the black widow herself. And trust me that's really hard.
Last time I tried she walked away without a scratch, but with a deafened teammate. Ohhh what fun Budapest was. But I can't think about that right now or I would be doomed in this school.