Hey everyone, I'm back!

To be completely honest, I had really high hopes for this book, but I'm really not moving along as quickly as I should be and I have a feeling that I'm losing people's interest. I might stop this book and work on others, I'm not really sure. Anyways, enjoy the chapter.

    "Sir," Bethany acknowledged, taking a seat in front of the S.H.I.E.L.D. director. He looked up from whatever files he was going through on his monitor, then returned the short greeting.

    "Agent. What's so important?"

     "There's this girl," Bethany began. "She umm... I believe her to have telekinetic gifts."

    "Does this girl happen to be Ashley Tanner, or should I say, Ashley Everglade?" Fury interjected, seemingly uninterested.

    "Yes...?" Bethany cautiously answered. "How did you know?"

    "No Agent, the question was, how did you not know? Did you know that the day you and your little adopted daughter decided to sightsee, there was a kid that fell into the ocean?"

    "Almost fell in," Bethany corrected, to which Fury shook his head.

    "So that is what she told you?"

    Bethany gave him a look of confusion. "I don't believe I follow..."

    "Look at this," he gestured for her to come over to his side of the desk. She obliged, then watched as he played a video on the monitor. "Here's the kid." Fury pointed to a toddler, then they both watched the kid slip through the rails and into the ocean. However, just as quickly, the toddler began to rise back up and over the railing.

    "But why doesn't that mean that the child has special abilities?"

    "Because," Fury explained, editing the video to where it gave them a view of Ashley, who was intermixed with the rest of the crowd. "Watch her, and watch her closely."

    Bethany leaned towards the monitor, studying every movement that Ashley made. Sure enough, she quickly noticed that the girl's fingers were twitching very specifically, and when Bethany moved her gaze over to the rising toddler, she began to notice something. Both the movement in Ashley's fingers and the toddler's position were in sync.

    "So she lied to me?" Bethany scoffed, leaning back from the computer and crossing her arms.

    "I wouldn't take it personally," Fury chuckled. "A girl like her is probably too scared to share it with anyone."

    "But what do we do from here? I mean, it isn't like she's a danger to society. Shoot, if anything, she's a little bit of help."

     "That's the point," Fury argued. "This world is getting more dangerous by the day. It is people like her that we need to have on our side, so they can protect the people when we can't."

    "So you want to put her on the Avengers initiative? A girl who is trying to find her way through the world, and is already plenty busy with school and her career? Good luck with that, Pirate," Bethany fired back incredulously.

    "Not yet." Fury shook his head. "But she'll need to go on the index. We need to make sure that we know where she is when the time comes."

    Bethany sighed, then paced from one end of the room to the other. A scowl spread across her face as she contemplated what little choice she had. She could either run with whatever Fury was asking of her, or she could go rogue and suffer the consequences.

    The brunette let out an exasperated sigh, dodging her glance between the windows and the Director. She finally committed to turning her body back to Fury. With a huff, she replied, "Fine, but we do things my way. If not, I will make sure that our new little asset will disappear off of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar just as quickly as it came on."

    "Is that a threat?" Fury scoffed, leaning back in his seat.

    "No," Bethany fired back sarcastically, "It's a date."

    Fury let out a chortle as he put his hands together. "You've got yourself a deal, Agent. Just remember that when the time comes, she will be needed. Our job is to protect the people, and we can't do that if you let your emotions are in the way."

    Bethany looked him dead in the eye, then boldly stated, "My emotions are never an issue." Then, she made her way out of the door with a new purpose in her stride.

±

    "Yo, Smokey?" A guy called out behind Ashley. She rolled her eyes in amusement, turning around in her Calculus seat to see Flash.

    "No nicknames besides Ash," she scolded him with a small wink. "What's that supposed to mean, anyway?"

    "A number of things," Flash chuckled. "Some of which I won't share because I value the dignity you would so easily strip away from me."

    "That's what I thought," Ashley fired back with a smirk, then faced the front again as she noticed that the teacher was beginning her lesson. However, before she could concentrate, someone from beside her leaned over and urgently whispered in her ear.

    "Why are you talking to Flash like that?"

    Ashley turned to see Peter, who seemed to have hints of confusion and concern in his features. "Because I can. What's it matter to you?"

    Peter stared at her in disbelief, turning to the blackboard to make sure he wasn't missing anything important for a half-second before looking back at her. "Are you crazy? That's Flash, the literal skeez of the grade who doesn't care about anyone but himself!"

    "And how would you know that?" Ashley argued, anger bubbling up in her. "He's a great guy, but of course you're too narrow-minded to notice that."

    Peter sighed in defeat and leaned away from Ashley, a scowl on his face. Flash had obviously said something to her, and knowing how understanding the girl tried to be, she probably bought every single word of it. He shook his head and mumbled under his breath, "And you're just too naive to see it."

    "Excuse me?" Ashley asked, obviously expecting him to repeat what he had just muttered.

    The teenager couldn't help but be a little bit shocked, given the fact that he had made sure his voice was plenty too low for her to hear, but he quickly shrugged it off as him suddenly becoming louder than he realized. "Nothing, just a math problem."

    Ashley gave him an unimpressed look, but she seems to look past it soon enough and focus on her school work. As Peter went ahead and began putting his pencil to work as well, he couldn't help but acknowledge the sinking feeling in his stomach. If he didn't do something to end this, he knew that the truth about Flash would hit Ashley's heart like a rock. To be honest, he had expected better from the quick-witted girl, but everyone has their weaknesses. And, apparently, dumb, ugly boys were hers.

    Why are you so bothered by this, anyway? Peter's conscience pestered him. His slightly-too-quick answer was because they were friends. Actual, real, good friends. However, the little self-taunting voice inside him brought up the idea of him liking the girl a little too much.

    "Nonsense," Peter whispered to himself. "She's just a friend. I would never do anything to screw that up."

    Are you sure about that?

    If Peter wasn't in a public setting, he would be utterly pulling his hair out of his head. What was wrong with being friends with a girl? I mean, to be honest, they made great friends. They were there for you and never hardcore made fun of you as most guys did.

    Besides, he would never let himself get down to Flash's level. Sure, for now, he was probably convincing Ashley that he just wanted to be friends, and she would buy it. But, knowing the idiotic jerk that Flash was, sooner or later he would pressure Ashley into being something more than that, ultimately taking advantage of her kindness and friendship. Yes, there was absolutely no freaking way that Peter would let himself be that much of a butt.

    Peter cracked a small victorious smile as there were no more little voices in his head bringing up the possibility of him liking Ashley like that. See, Peter thought triumphantly, I have control over my thoughts. Take that, dirtbag.

±

    "You wanna know something?" Liz asked Ashley with her usual, cheerful smile.

    Ashley sat down at the cafeteria table, sitting directly across from Liz and to the right of Betty. She straightened out her blouse and high-waisted shorts, then looked at Liz inquisitively. "Is this a 411 or some random fact about the neighbor's cat?"

    Liz shook her head at Ashley's feeble joke, then continued on. "You look a lot like some person I've seen before. Hold on, I've almost placed it."

    Ashley looked at the girl in both shock and excitement. Was it actually possible that Liz was about to tell her something about her past? Could one of her dreams finally come true? What if she really was right about to finally learn who she was?

    Suddenly realization sparked in Liz's eye as she noticed who. "That model, the one that works for American Eagle. Add some of those beautiful reverse-birthmark things and you'd practically be twins. Oh, and then the hair as well, of course."

    Ashley's eyes widened to the size of saucers at Liz's remark, but she forced herself to mask her shock. "Yeah, yeah. You're right, she's like totally my doppelgänger. I didn't realize she was that popular, though."

    Betty turned around and stared at her in confusion. "What rock do you live under, Ash?"

    "Apparently a big one." Everyone chuckled at this, but the discussion was soon shifted to a different topic. This was good news for Ashley, considering the fact that if her friends found out that she was lying to them they would probably be angry.

    Maybe I should tell Liz later, the teenager suggested to herself as she took a bite out of a sweet, red apple. She had quickly discovered that green apples were much to sour for her liking, so she and Bethany had begun to buy some Fujis and Galas.

    "Hey guys," Ashley suddenly began. "What are we doing for homecoming? Any parties... or...?"

    "Duh!" Liz laughed. "I always have a pre-party at my house. Gosh, I don't know what homecoming would be without it."

    "Her parties are bomb," Betty added, earning several 'mhms' from girls that were busy eating their lunch. "You should totally come."

    "Count me in," Ashley declared, eager to jump on an opportunity to spend time with her friends.

    "Day of homecoming, two hours before it starts. Only guys allowed are if they're your date. Other than that, just us gals getting ready," Liz explained with a grin.

    Ashley's eyes sparkled with excitement. She was so ready for this. Like seriously, not only was homecoming going to be her first party, but Liz's gathering was going to be her first pre-party too! She had to admit, these New-Yorkers must know how to have a good time.

    "School without homecoming," Betty hummed thoughtfully. "Yeah, I'd probably drop out. Homecoming is the only thing that makes this misery bearable."

    "Cheers to that," Liz agreed with a sarcastic eye roll, lifting up her fork that had a piece of chicken on it to mimic making a toast.

    She chuckled at the two girls' distaste of school work. To be fair, the work was far from easy and not exactly described as enjoyable, so she could understand their despise.

    For the rest of the lunch period, the girls continued to chatter about, but the topics were all of little importance. When the bells rang out through the halls, Ashley had to admit that she was slightly glad to get away from the boring talk.

    If it wasn't for her extra senses, Ashley wouldn't have even noticed the familiar persona that was coming up behind her. She closed her locker, then turned around to meet Flash.

    "Hey Ash," he greeted, leaning against a wall as the girl did the same with her locker.

    "Flash," she acknowledged.

    "So," he started, pausing as he tried to figure out what to say. "You uh... I dunno... wanna catch a movie after school today?"

    Ashley's eyes widened at his request, but she quickly ran through her schedule. From what she could remember, there wasn't anything going out today. "As... umm...a?"

    "Friends," he replied, sounding like he was more so assuring himself than Ashley. "Yeah, friends."

    At that moment, the one and only Peter Parker happened to pass by on his way to the next class. He gave Flash a long, hard glare, then said something in the form of a growl. "Right, friends."

    "What's it to you, d*ckwad?" Flash challenged, puffing up his chest and storming up to the brown-haired boy.

    "Flash," Ashley reprimanded, grabbing a hold of his arm and yanking him back. "No names, or else movies are called off."

    He gave Ashley pleading eyes, but upon seeing that she wasn't budging, he sighed. "Fine." However, before he ushered her away from Peter, he turned around and gave him a warning scowl. "Stay away from her Parker, or we'll have ourselves a bit of a problem."

    Peter rolled his eyes, but he eventually walked away. Having a run-in with Flash was something that he tried to avoid at all cost, because when they happened, it was never pretty. It did give him a little hope when Ashley stood up for him, so maybe he would be able to prove to her that Flash really was bad news.

    That's a big maybe.

±

    "Flash!" Ashley called out, causing the boy to turn around with an excited smile. "Beth said I could hang out with my friends after school. Something about her being caught up with work, y'know, the usual." She couldn't help but roll her eyes. While it was very probable that she was tangled up with work, Ashley had a good feeling it wasn't the job that she advertised to her.

    "Ay!" Flash cheered, giving her a high-five once she caught up to him. "So, watcha wanna watch?"

    "I don't really know what's out right now," Ashley admitted sheepishly. "But anything action sounds lit."

    "I bet you'd like Divergent," Flash hummed. "The theater is walking distance, so we should be good. Besides, it isn't like either of us can drive a car."

    Ashley chuckled at this and shook her head. "None the less even own a car."

    The walk there was overall pretty quiet. Flash was thinking about... well... whatever guys think about, and Ashley was busy thinking about what Bethany could be hiding from her. With each passing day, the teenager was growing more and more suspicious of the brunette. Her behavior was more than peculiar, as well as the fact that she knew Bethany wasn't clumsy enough to keep getting all of the bruises and cuts that would randomly appear. Besides, who just randomly knew tons of different forms of martial arts?

    "You're thinking," Flash noted. "You're staring off into space with that little frown. What's up?"

    "It's nothing," Ashley answered, though her tone was a lot less confident than her words. "Just Beth. I feel like she's hiding something from me."

    "I guess we all have our secrets," he turned and looked at her dead in the eye. "Like how you actually have white face markings."

    "Excuse me?" Ashley choked, turning to face the boy.

    "I know that you're that model," Flash hummed innocently, gesturing to a billboard that they were passing that was plastered with American Eagle ads. And, to her luck, it just so happened to be her face.

    "I've never met this girl in my life," Ashley declared.

    "It's so obvious," he chuckled. "It's you."

    "She's me," she conceded, looking down.

    "I'm kinda glad you covered it up though," Flash admitted, gesturing to her face and hair. "It's kinda odd. I don't think you would get very good attention from it."

    "You like me better with makeup on?" Ashley questioned, trying her best to conceal her anger. What kind of guy said that, friend or not?!

    "Not like that," Flash groaned.

    Ashley wanted so desperately to drag this out, but she let it go. Wasn't it better to encourage people to tell the truth? If what he was saying was actually true, then maybe she should listen. If guys liked her better when she looked more normal, then perhaps she should try covering up her markings more often. "Alright," Ashley muttered, trying her best to divert her attention from the teenager. "I'll keep that in mind, I guess."

    Flash looked at her with regret, then finally shuffled closer and bowed his head. "Sorry, Ash. I shouldn't have said that."

    Ashley looked up at him, then shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever."

    The two of them purchased their tickets and entered the theaters. Ashley insisted on paying for her movie ticket, so Flash eventually relented and settled on paying for their snacks. The boy settled down with Coke and some cotton candy next to Ashley, who had chosen Fanta (it wouldn't be a fanfic without it, y'all) and gummy worms. Then, in between the two, was a bucket of popcorn.

    "This might possibly be the most junk food I've seen at once," Ashley remarked with a small laugh. Bethany wasn't a die-hard dieting fan, but she did insist on mostly choosing healthier options. So, in all truth, Ashley was quite excited to devour all of the sugar and carbs that awaited her.

    Then, without much warning, the pre-movie ads switched over to the main attraction. Ashley watched with wide eyes as the movie played out before her like nothing she had ever seen. Her mind had told her of how amazing these video-type things were, but nothing that it said could ever prepare for what she was about to witness. The sound quality, the effects, the lines, shoot, even the actors and actresses themselves, was a combination that compared to nothing she had seen before.

    Much to Flash's dismay, Ashley didn't even flinch at any of the scares or the gory scenes. Instead, she continued being the brave and strong girl she was and continued watching the movie with nothing but pure interest.

    "Not even a frightened squeak or hiding behind my arm?" Flash scoffed, watching Ashley with a baffled look as she easily watched the rest of the plot fold out. She turned to her side just long enough to give him a knowing smirk, then continued watching the movie.

    Then, suddenly, it happened. Flash inwardly let out a breath of relief as their hands momentarily brushed against each other as they both reached for a bite of popcorn. Flash could've sworn that he saw faint red dust itself across the teenager's cheeks, but she quickly wiped it off and retracted her hand back to herself. Flash finished grabbing a couple of popped kernels, but all that he could focus on was the tingling sensation that was pulsing through the area that her hand had brushed up against.

    Her touch, Flash thought to himself with an inward smirk at his cliché-ness, it's electrifying. However, in all fairness, he wasn't exaggerating. The way that the soft skin on her hand touched that of his was enough to send shivers down his back. Of course, he knew that at the moment Ashley only saw them as friends, but he quietly hoped to himself that the day would come where they would be much more than that. And, when it did, he would be ready.

I hope I'm not the only one cringing at this. *Poor* Flash has no clue what is about to hit him.

ANYWAYS

There is going to be an exciting revelation in the next chapter and I'm curious to see how many people already guessed it.