★彡[ ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴄʀᴀᴘ ]彡★

A few weeks had passed without any word from the Avengers gang, and Isabelle missed them terribly. She hated herself from snapping at them. She was just scared that the next time a mission goes wrong for and they end up beaten up at her door, she wouldn't be able to save them, and because of that, she didn't have the courage to apologise to them and continued to push them away.

At the moment, she was mentally scolding herself as she walked to her apartment from finishing one of her classes. As soon as she got home, she dropped her bag without a care of where it landed and trudged to the couch. 

She let herself fall onto her couch as she grabbed the TV remote that lay just within reach on her coffee table and switched on the television, hoping she could watch something before she tortured her brain with more studying.

The first image that flashed on the screen were one of the last people she wanted to see right now. Isabelle couldn't help but groan as the Avengers appeared, just shadowy silhouettes between the buildings in the dark. 

She didn't bother to listen to whatever story the brunette reporter was spouting this time. It wasn't like they wouldn't repeat it about a thousand times until they had something new to talk about.

Isabelle sighed tiredly and draped an arm over her eyes, doing her best to ignore the news. Not long after, she fell asleep, too tired from her day to fight it. She awoke later to the chipper voice of a woman in a commercial. 

Tiredly, she sat up and picked up her phone to look at the time. Apparently, she'd been asleep for about two hours. She didn't know whether she should be glad she got to nap for a bit or panic that she hadn't gotten any homework done. 

Just as Isabelle was considering attempting to get something done, she heard a sound come from her room. A sound much like the soft closing of a window. If asked later, she would adamantly deny having rushed to her room. 

Isabelle most definitely did not burst in with a feeling of hope and certainly wasn't disappointed when she found nothing out of place. Claiming otherwise would be ridiculous. With a slight frown, she walked over to the window and opened it. 

The cold wind blew her dark hair locks back as she leaned against the frame, sticking her head out to look around. There was nothing out of the ordinary. No shadows shifting in the dark night, trying to hide from her sight.

Nothing but a stray cat mewling in the distance and the faint sound of her neighbour's television. Sighing, Isabelle pulled back from the window before shutting it. She made sure to lock it before she turned and decided she didn't much feel like studying.

The next day, Isabelle decided to wait for Emma, Will and Eddie after their class was over, deciding to walk with them over to their dorm room.

"You look like crap." 

Isabelle shot a glare at Eddie, the one who had spoken, but it lacked the usual force she put behind it. Instead, it only served to prove Eddie's point that Isabelle wasn't feeling like herself.

"I'd say the same, but it wouldn't be new," she shot back at her friend. 

At least her snark was still there. Eddie only rolled his eyes, but the three seemed a bit relieved to hear their friend insult him. It was like a sign of Isabelle being fine. 

"Seriously though, what happened? Did you get fired or something?" Will asked as they made their way to his dorm room.

"No, everything's fine," Isabelle lied. "I just didn't get much sleep last night. A stray cat kept making noise right outside my window."

Of course, Isabelle was perfectly aware of why she really looked so bad, but she'd be damned if she ever admitted it. It was a good thing the three let the topic go after that. Isabelle didn't much feel like talking about her problems. 

Not that she could even if she wanted to. She could just imagine how that would go. 

Isabelle didn't think saying something like 'oh the reason I'm upset is because a couple of my friends that also happen to be freaking Avengers, haven't bothered me or showed up in the middle of the night with injuries for me to patch up and scold them for being reckless idiots' would go over too well.

At the very least, spending her evening with her friends helped her keep her mind off of her strange problems. 

That being said, she was all too glad when Eddie told her about a party which was more of a get together at one of their classmates' apartment, and decided that Isabelle needed a break. 

She wasn't about to argue with them because they were right. She most definitely needed a break. And for once, she was actually looking forward to the weekend so much so that she didn't dwell on how sad it was that she rarely had anything to get excited about. 

She definitely needed a social life, and Emma seemed to agree.

"You need a social life," she said bluntly as they ate at a cheap diner close to their college.

Isabelle rolled her eyes as she chewed the bite of greasy goodness that was her cheeseburger and swallowed before taking a sip of her cola.

"You've said that. Repeatedly. For the last two years," she reminded her friend.

"Well it's true, Izzy," Emaa said with a shrug. "You work too much. And you're always stressing over uni. You're gonna lose all your hair by the time you're thirty and I'm not gonna lie, I'll laugh, a lot." 

"For your information, not a single person in my family is bald," Isabelle stated. "Plus, working at a coffee shop is stressful." 

Mostly because Isabelle thought that quite a lot of people were idiots, at least when it came to their preference in drinks.

"I'm sure it is, Izzy," Emma said sarcastically. "Honestly, I still don't get why you don't ask your father for money. Your family is literally one of the most wealthy families I know of."

Isabelle sighed. "You know why I don't, Emma."

"So, you're going to the party tomorrow, right?" Her friend asked instead, trying to change the topic.

Isabelle thought about it for a moment. For the first time since she'd been told about it, she had her doubts about showing up. She knew it would be fun and knew she needed it, but she was wary about having to actually talk to people.

"Yeah, I guess I will," Isabelle finally said. 

Plus there would be free food and that was always a bonus. And by the time she bid goodbye to Emma and left, she was feeling better, even if she was tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep.

In fact, Isabelle was so tired that it took her a while to realise someone was following her. She was just about to reach the bus stop when she took notice of the odd feeling that made a chill run down her spine. 

It was an uncomfortable sensation, something that Isabelle hadn't felt before. For a moment, she thought she saw a shadow shifting as her gaze swept over it, but she told herself it was nothing. She turned as she stood at the bus stop, gazing around. 

The streets were calm, with just a couple of people walking by, most of them students. She could hear some guys laughing further up the street as they walked, probably heading home, and the streetlights chased away the dark, making the place seem less threatening. 

But Isabelle was still glad when the bus arrived.