❛ Honesty only goes so far ❜

Andy had been dreading the day that Peter Parker had texted her for a long while. She had been sitting peacefully in her third-period class when her phone vibrated in her jeans pocket, and when she had pulled it out she had noticed the boy requesting them to finally start on their assignment for civics class. Of course, she agreed - reluctantly - as Tony had already drilled it into her mind that if she's attending a high school she has to at least try to succeed in it. He went on and on about how well he did in school, even winning a Robotics trophy for it, in which Andy replied that because he had no friends he was able to shine bright like a freaking diamond. That didn't take to well with the man who then threw a textbook at her and told her to learn how to not be a smart-ass, but that didn't phase the teenager who just threw a larger textbook back at him with the comment, "Learn who you're talking to."

Luckily, Rhodes had entered the room before murder happened and the fight ended with Melisande saying she had complete control over Tony because he did have a soft spot for teenagers that he treated as his own. However, that was one week ago. This was now, and Andy did not want to stay after-school in a library that smelled like moldy books and where the lights were dimmer than Eugene Thompson's future. But she didn't have a choice, she had to go talk to her 'friend' Peter Parker and research 'Spider-Man' while trying not to be a complete bitch. The hardest part would be acting like 'Little-Miss Sunshine' - as Sam had called her when she chucked three spoons at his head for making equation jokes.

Sure, Andy would have maybe, kind-of, sort of, on the edge, not really but really, liked a friend that wasn't Pappy or Delmar. But teenagers? That was a bit of a stretch. She considered Michelle, Peter, and Ned acquaintances, of course, maybe even Liz. But did she consider them friends? Michelle sure was a pessimist, but she did have some enjoyable comments towards the school-body that made Andy smile even a little. And Peter was sort of sweet, and maybe even cute. He always knew what to say and he knew when to say it, especially his jokes. And Ned - well, Ned was Ned. He was the one always joking about Peter and Andy going on dates and leaving him as the third-wheel, and that made Andy want to hang the guy by his shoelace from the Empire State Building. But he did have his moments, too. Like when Andy needed help adjusting to school, Ned was there. When Peter tripped down the stairs, Ned was the first to help him up but also make a joke on how graceful the fall was. But Andy didn't do friends, no way. She was in this for her parents, not people, and she needed to understand that.

Or maybe she needed to understand that. She had been told by Steve multiple times that it wouldn't kill her to have at least a little joy in her life and that making a friend would help her feel less lonely, but Andy didn't know how true that was. Come on, the guy lived in ice for half a century and then some, what could he possibly know about needing more friends? For goodness sake, he was an Avenger that had millions upon millions of teenagers drooling over his abs.

This exact thought brought a chuckle to Andy's lips as she walked through the library doors. She was met with instant depressing thoughts. She practically felt a book with mold grazing the pictures in her hands, and she could feel her energy slipping away as the dim lights seemed to mock her alter-ego of the nice, preppy school-girl. Even the librarian looked like she didn't give two seconds notice to anyone in the room. She was sitting at the circulation desk while playing Candy Crush on the school PC and an overflowing cart of unshelved books sat next to her. 

Andy snorted at the sight and continued on inside to search for Peter. She was surprised at how busy the place was. She noticed several study groups quizzing each other in the seating area, some even getting into heated arguments on politics and economic issues. There were other students who looked as if they were participating in a nap club and they each had their hoods pulled over their heads with their earbuds plugged in and their heads in the crooks of their elbows. It was after school, yet they chose to sleep on tabletops instead of their own beds, but it made the girl remember that some students were here on scholarships and others were just avoiding their annoying parents. 

Melisande almost gave up when she at first didn't spot Peter amongst the educated, the sleeping, and the worthless, but when she turned past a corner in the reference book section, she noticed the boy listening to his music and flipping through a biology textbook - the very one Tony threw at Andy a week earlier.

The teenager realized that since Peter was in fact here, she couldn't get out of this and just go converse with Pappy. She actually had to sit down and discuss the advantages and disadvantages to Spider-Man and what he's done for Queens. So with a glum expression and a newfound hate for her civics class, Andy trudged over to the private corner of the library and dropped her geometry book onto the table, making Peter snap up from where he was reading about biomes and habitats. 

He at first offered the girl a smile before pulling out his earbuds and closing the book so he could fully concentrate on the task at hand. Andy met his beam and grabbed her civics notebook while Peter did the same. It was awkward for moments, no one said anything and they both just looked around the library while waiting for the other to open their mouth, but Andy was stubborn, and she was going to wait for Peter.

And she didn't wait long because finally after two minutes her cleared his throat, "So, uh, I figured we could write our theses today and you know, our intro paragraphs since we don't really have the resources to do research and we still have a month and a half for that, but you know, whatever you want to do," he said, his voice trailing off at the last bit of his speech. Andy grinned and looked her partner straight in the eyes, "Yeah, well, school Wi-Fi is a joke, so that's fine with me," she shrugged before digging a pencil out of the deep dark caverns of the unexplored portions of her backpack and tossing it on top of her notebook.

Her statement enacted a laugh from the boy and he found himself opening his notebook while trying to be quieter for the others in the library. "I guess we should keep our voices down, huh?" he wondered, looking around at the people filling the media center walls. Andy narrowed her eyebrows and scoffed while observing her surroundings, "Yeah sure, we wouldn't want to wake the sleeping drug addicts or distract the heated arguments of the past election, now would we?" she joked, earning another laugh from the teenager. "Are you always like this?" he asked, leaning his chin on his hand as he carefully watched the girl with something he'd never felt before, mainly because the girl he was seeing now wasn't trying as hard to be something she wasn't, she was acting real.

Andy sighed and dropped her eyes to her notebook where she had scribbled down the point of the assignment, "That's a hard question to ask, you know. I wasn't like this six years ago, maybe not even three, but I guess you're seeing the real deal now. Is that okay?"

Peter smirked, "That's better than okay, I like honest."

"Honesty only goes so far," she replied. "I mean, you see me in the halls and I'm nice to people, or I try to be. But there are some people you just have to try harder with. Like Maya, for example."

Peter sighed and looked over his notes, "Yeah, Maya's something else, isn't she? Always so happy, acts like the world is full of rainbows and that rain clouds go away with a smile? Kind of gets irritating sometimes."

"Are you speaking from personal experience, or from observations?"

"I don't know, I guess... I mean, May is always so cheerful, she tries to see the best in everything, and I get it, I do. But when my uncle died, it kind of all tumbled downhill and it seemed like all those rainbows had been permanently replaced. But May... man, she got up one week later and started to bake, clean, read, write stories, and just all of this stuff and she seemed fine. It was like the rain clouds went away, and I just wanted to scream! But... I don't know, it wasn't right, it was frustrating."

"I know you think I probably don't get it, huh? I mean, look at me, I'm the new girl, my dad and I moved here from Mississippi, I'm friends with Pappy Joe, I work for Delmar, I go to a prestigious school, and people expect all these things from me," she said softly, "I get it, Peter, okay? All those things about me are just things, they aren't substance. Just know that, alright? Just know that even though you lost someone close to you, you're life doesn't have to be any different. They're still with you. And sure, sometimes that rain cloud just stays put and keeps on pouring, but the sun always comes out, and the longer you wish for rain, the longer it'll stay," she told him, feeling slightly disgusted with herself for saying something too cheesy and soft.

Peter's brown eyes met her's and he smiled wide. It was a smile that showed thankfulness and appreciation, and Andy beamed right back. Maybe, just maybe, a friend would do her some good. Peter Parker wasn't a burden, he made her feel something. She never had a friendship with a teenager, they seemed so cruel and callous, yet the boy across from her was different.

Whatever it was about him made her heart hurt. She felt like butterflies were floating around in her stomach and her cheeks would heat up every time he laughed that harmonious chuckle he had. She felt strange, ill even. Something was wrong with Andy Dubois, and she needed to tell someone.

•••

After rushing home from their study session at the library, Andy felt more confused than before. He had walked her to the train station and the entire walk she felt odd with the sudden urge to giggle at certain jokes and smile at cheesy quotes. Once the two-hour ride to Albany was over, the girl literally sprinted to the facility and quickly typed in the codes and went through security scans before bursting through the doors with her backpack nearly slipping off her shoulder because of how fast she was going.

She heard talking from the kitchen and smelled paprika so she knew it was almost dinner time, which would be the perfect opprotunity for her to see what was wrong with her. She figured the Avengers would know, as they often concerned themselves in health, so she dashed up the flights of stairs with the sound of laughter guiding her.

She had run into the room when all heads turned to her and stared at the out-of-breath teenager before ready to turn back around and start more conversations. But before they could do so, Andy tossed her backpack onto a chair in the sitting area and waltzed up to the counter to gain their attention, "I think something's wrong with me," she announced, gaining the full attention from the team. Sam was the first to react and placed a hand on her forehead, "Nope," he said, "Still hot-headed and annoying."

Andy rolled her eyes and slapped his hand away before looking at the rest of the team, "I was at the library with Peter and the weirdest thing happened. I would lose my breath from laughing sometimes, and then my cheeks would warm up, and then my stomach would churn with this really odd feeling. It was strange! Then Peter walked me home and I would just laugh at the stupidest jokes - like Sam stupid - for no reason!" she rambled, pacing back and forth while speaking.

She heard Wanda laugh, joined by Sam and Rhodey, however, Natasha and Steve kind of just sat there. Vision was confused. "Sounds like you have a crush," Wanda giggled, looking over at Sam who put his hands together to form a heart. "A crush? That's, like, when someone likes someone else, right? No, no, no, my dad told me never to get one of those," Andy said while shaking her head.

"Do it my way and just shoot him, that's how I learned," Nat shrugged while biting into an apple. Andy turned to her and scoffed while shaking her head and Steve pinched the bridge of his nose, "Nat, the answer is not always to shoot people."

"Hey, it got me through my entire life. And who knows, if you shot all those soldiers the first time then maybe you wouldn't have gotten stuck in ice," she retorted, earning a hard glare from the soldier. "Anyways," he muttered, "Your dad was right, don't get a crush. You're not allowed to," he told the teenager, making Wanda sigh and continue cooking.

"I don't think it's that easy. If it was then I wouldn't be in this situation," Melisande groaned, throwing her head back and closing her eyes. "Let the love doctor handle this," Sam grinned before cracking his knuckles and getting ready to open his mouth, "There's nothing to handle, she's not allowed to have a crush. No eye contact, no holding hands, no hugging, none of that," Steve interjected, pointing a warning finger at the teenager.

"Just shoot him, damn it," Nat complained. "I have a gun, and I can make it look like an accident."

Wanda raised an eyebrow and shook her head, "SHe is talking about shooting a teenage boy yet I am the one the government fears," she dryly chuckled in annoyance. "You got some weird voodoo thing going on," Sam argued. "You have bird wings," the girl snapped back, making Rhodey pat the man on the back and agree with Wanda before stepping out of the room. 

Andy got tired of their bickering so she wandered over to where Steve was sitting and dropped her forehead onto his shoulder with a whimper leaving her mouth, "I don't like this! Why can't I just hate him like I hate everyone else?"

"Aw, poor Melly, she's suffering with a first-world problem," Nat said while pouting her lips. Andy lifted her head and glared at the Russian, "Give me the gun."