Heloooooo

Hope you like it...

~Songs~

American Pie- Don McLean

Mrs. All American- Five Seconds of Summer

Edit: lokidottir

Thanks for reading!

Chapter Thirteen

~Thea's POV~

I head into the small kitchenette across from my bedroom's hallway (the same one with Kyle's and Max's rooms too) to grab lunch and find Thor talking with Darcy right outside it. They apparently don't notice my presence before I stick my head out onto the city veranda, holding two slices of bread in my mouth and a jars of condiments in my hands. 

"Hey there Thea!" exclaims Darcy with a grin. "What's up?" 

I can't exactly reply, because my mouth has two slices of bread hanging out of it. I manage to get the bread on a plate, then say, "I'm going to the store with Kyle after lunch. Do you want anything?" 

"Nah," says Darcy, "Not unless he wants to make me some salmon or something. I've never had his cooking, is it any good?" 

I don't want to compliment Kyle, but it wouldn't be polite to lie about his culinary abilities. "Yeah, he's okay." 

"Thea, I set a letter from Leah on your nightstand," Thor says. "If you want send a reply to her, give it to me before dinner; Loki and I are traveling there for the night."

Apparently, when Kyle said 'everyone' would be here for dinner, he didn't mean Thor or Loki. 

"Okay thanks," I say, balancing my ingredients and heading back into the kitchen. I'm just finishing up making my sandwich when Jack comes in, huffing.

"Kyle won't let me go into the city," he pouts, sitting down on the barstool. "Now I'm cooped up in here all day."

"Nobody told you that you had to play hooky," I point out as I put the sliced ham back inside the refrigerator. "And besides, imagine what I've been doing all week. Doubly besides, isn't Clint training with you after lunch?" 

"Yeah," Jack begins to juggle two apples from the bowl in front of him, "That's true, I suppose. Still, it would be cool to go into the city."

"Jack, you live here." 

He sticks his tongue out at me, "You know what I mean."

"I got beat up this morning, it's only fair that it's your turn," I say. 

"Make me a sandwich, won't you, Thea?"

I throw a banana at his head, which misses him, but even more unfortunately hits Max in the arm as he heads into the kitchen. He glances at me mildly, "I don't think Tony would like it if you waste his produce." 

"I'm going to the grocery store," I say. 

He raises an eyebrow, "With Ky? How about you and him try not to destroy Manhattan, how does that sound?"

"Do you want anything?" asks Jack, "Thea's taking orders."

"I am not."

"Nope, I'm good," says Max. "And Thea, I think Loki is with you tonight." 

I groan (Jack shoots me an apologetic look), then say, "Wait, I thought he's going to Asgard tonight." 

"No," says Max, looking slightly confused, "I think the two of them are going there briefly after dinner though."

"Can I request a change in room-mate?" I ask with all the dignity I have left.

Max looks at me, amused, "No, but I'm pretty sure you're going to be fine. Just try not to pick any fights."

"You do realize that ninety percent of the time, he's the one who provokes me?"

"What did I tell you about ignoring provocation?" asks Max, flicking my arm. He seems to be a lot less mad at me than a week ago. 

"You also said to defend myself." 

Max shakes his head at me, and that's when Kyle enters the room, clad (again) in only a towel. "Kyle!" I exclaim, "Could you stop it?! I don't want to see you naked!" 

"I'm not naked," says Kyle, and then wiggles his eyebrows at me, "But I mean, I could be."

"You are absolutely disgusting." I pronounce. 

"Make me a sandwich, Thea," he taunts.

I throw an apple at him, and it hits his forehead. Right above the spot where I had bruised him earlier.

"Geez, Thea," says Kyle, glowering, "Stop throwing food, it's unladylike." 

"It's also unladylike to give people black eyes," I say to him sweetly, "But I don't have a problem with that." 

Jack laughs as I hop on the barstool next to him. "She's got you there, cuz." 

"What are you even doing here?" I demand. "I thought you were in a hurry."

"I am. But I'm telling you that you need to give the sandwich to Jack, because you and I are eating out."

"Why are we doing that?" I ask as Jack eagerly grabs my sandwich.

"Because I said so." 

"But I just made it! And look how pretty it looks!" 

"I hope you realize that it's just a sandwich."

"I hope you realize that I don't care," I reply.

Kyle eventually saunters off with an apple- the same one I had thrown at him- and a warning that I better not eat a bite of that sandwich (to prove a point I take a bite out of it but give the rest to Jack) and I slouch against the barstool. 

I spend about twenty or so minutes chatting with Jack. He tells me about his lacrosse team, which apparently is very good, as is he ("I made varsity as a freshman" he says proudly). Eventually, I acknowledge the fact that I need to get ready soon. Wishing Jack good luck with Clint, I head into my room to shower. 

The hot water feels heavenly on my sore muscles and I spend so long in the shower that I only have about twenty minutes to get dressed and dry my hair. 

It's relatively sunny outside, and because I just got out of a steaming shower, I change into some shorts and grab a crop top with a huge smiley-face on it. By the time I dry and straighten my hair, put on makeup, and put on my high-tops, I'm five minutes late. I also have to still write Leah's letter to her and read it, but I decide to do it when I get back; Kyle and I should return with plenty of time before Thor goes to Asgard. 

In the foyer, Kyle takes one look at my crop top and short-shorts and points at me, "Upstairs. Change. Now." 

"What?" I wail. "Darcy and I got this shirt!" 

"I don't care. You are not going to be seen with me in public like that," says Kyle firmly, "Now go change and be back down in two minutes." 

"You're not the boss of me!" 

"And you are fourteen years old, not twenty-one. Now would you go get changed Thea?" 

I give him a dirty look and flounce from the room. 

"And stop huffing like the Big Bad Wolf!" he yells after me. 

I take my time getting changed and am still re-brushing my hair ten minutes later when Kyle pokes his head in my room. "Okay, now you're just deliberately pissing me off." 

"Yes I am."

He snatches the brush from me and pushes me out of my door, ignoring my protests. "We're leaving now, missy." 

Five minutes later, I find myself in the SUV. "Why are we even driving? We're in the city in the first place." 

"You're being very demanding, and it's sorta starting to bother me," says Kyle as he guns the engine and speeds out of Stark tower. "And we're making more than one stop." 

"How many stops?"

"How about you just relax and let me handle the driving?" He squints at me, "You haven't even been to driver's ed yet have you?"

"I was going to, but there was the slight problem of aliens destroying my apartment and my life in general," I say morbidly. 

"Your birthday's in what, October? What day?"

"The thirteenth." 

"Well..." Kyle does the math in his hand, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "Then on April 13th, you can. As in: a week or so." 

"I know that," I say.

"Maybe we should have a happy half-birthday party," teases Kyle. "I could make a cake."

"No. No parties." I state. "None at all."

"Okay, how about your actual birthday?"

"That's six months away." 

He gives me a look, then changes the subject, "How's school going?"

"Kyle, I've been here for two weeks. Ergo, I haven't been in school."

"Thea, it would be fantastic if you could use logic for once in your life." Kyle briefly checks the traffic before turning onto another hectic street in New York. "I was talking generally. Like how do you like school?"

"I hate it, and you know it." 

"Okay then, Miss Smarty, why do you hate it?" 

I hesitate before answering, "Because people treat me different." 

"Different, how?"

"Hey, I like this song," I say, turning the dial on the radio so that 'Troublemaker' by Olly Murs begins to echo through the car. 

Kyle reaches over and turns it back down. "Don't change the subject. Different how?" 

I huff, "Just different. I wouldn't expect you to understand the complications of a teenage girl's high school life." 

"You're really hard to talk to, you know that?" Kyle says patronizingly. 

"I've been told that." 

"C'mon, you've placed me in mortal peril once again, could you at least talk to me about school? You owe me."

"You're trying to guilt me."

"Is it working?"

"Absolutely not." I reach over and turn up the radio again, just as Flo Rida begins to rap. 

"You do realize that Max would kill me if he knew I let you listen to this bullcrap, right?" 

I raise an eyebrow, "Yeah, but you're not Max."

Kyle smirks, drumming his fingers in time to the wheel, "No, I am not." 

*

Kyle takes me to a small building near West 44th Street, which is populated by a lot of people. "Now I realize that you're a native New Yorker, so I imagine you're a pro at this." 

"What is it?" I ask. 

Kyle stares at me as we walk across the grass, past lots of tables. "You've lived in New York City your whole life and you've never been to the Shake Shack?" 

"...No?" I say hesitantly. 

"Thea, I only come to New York once or twice a year and I always come here." 

"Well..." I can't think of a snippy response besides, "Good for you." 

Kyle, shaking his head, nods me into the line, which snakes around tables and trees alike. Apparently, the Shake Shack is extraordinarily popular. "This might take a while." 

"No kidding." 

"Thea, hon," Kyle throws his arm around me, dramatically sighing, "You need to realize the simple pleasures of life. I mean look at it this way. You're in New York City on a gorgeous day, about to eat some of the best cheeseburgers in existence, and accompanied by a heartbreaking stud." he gestures to himself and smirks when I groan, "How much better could it get?" 

"You brag too much," I say, poking Kyle in the arm. 

He pokes me back, "And you complain too much."

"I do not."

"Do so." 

"I do not."

"So what are you going to get for your first time to the world famous Shake Shack?"

I smirk because I know that I won that debate. Score. "I don't know, I've never been here." 

"I know that." Kyle grabs a tiny menu from one of the small compartments along the side of the line. "Use this. It might or might not help you decide."

I stick my tongue out at him and then look at the menu. "Um...I don't know."

"Better hurry up," says Kyle in a sing-song voice as we inch up the line.

"Well what are you getting?" 

"The SmokeShack," says Kyle, stretching his arms over his forehead and then winking at a couple college-aged girls. "As usual." 

"Stop ogling over girls," I say as they giggle and toss their hair before strutting off, "It's really annoying." 

"I can't help it that I'm such a babe magnet." says Kyle, watching the girls as they leave through appreciative eyes. "It's a burden I must bear." 

"Ugh." I glance at the menu. "I'm getting a ShackBurger." 

"You're so boring."

"And you're so..." I try to think of a word that fits and become frustrated when I can't. "You're just so you."

"Well that's a compliment," says Kyle, once again throwing his arms over my shoulder so that he's leaning all his weight on me. 

"Kyle! Get off, you're too heavy!" 

"Ah, no, if I'm annoying you than all the better," he says in my ear. "By the way, are you ticklish?"

"That's the most random question in the world." I say. "And can I get a milkshake?"

"Ooo..." says Kyle, leaning around my shoulder. "You are, aren't you?" 

"No," I say quickly, "I was just-Kyle stop!" I squeal as Kyle begins to tickle my sides, "Kyle," I beg between laughter, "Sto-o-o-o-p!" 

He's laughing too, enjoying my torture, but finally, he stops. Leaning down to kiss my cheek, he says, "And yes, you can have a milkshake."

*

After we eat- Kyle makes me (truthfully) admit that Shake Shack has the best milkshakes in existence- we meander around 44th Street and then onto 43rd, where Kyle pushes me into the Food Emporium. 

"Soooo what are we getting?" I ask cheerfully, then raise my eyebrows as Kyle grabs a cart. "Why do you need a cart? We're just getting pie supplies, right?" 

"Wrong, actually. Stark asked me to pick up some stuff for dinner."

"Why is this dinner so special?" I demand. "Just because all of us except Thor and Loki are going to be there doesn't mean anything."

"When was the last time all of us ate together?"

I open my mouth and then shut it. 

"That's what I thought." says Kyle, wheeling the cart around a stack of cookbooks for sale (buy one, get $4 off). "And besides, we're going to be leaving for Asgard on Sunday, this might be the last time you get to sample my gourmet cooking for a while." 

Neither of us point out that this could be the last time we get to eat Kyle's food forever, but both of us are thinking it, and I stop complaining. 

"Apples," says Kyle, turning the cart so abruptly that the wheels catch my high tops. When I yelp, he says causally, "Sorry. Now turn left." 

It takes us almost five minutes to pick out the apples- Kyle is extraordinarily picky. I finally give up trying to give advice on produce and lean lazily on the cart. 

"How about these?" I ask as we (finally) leave the produce area and pass the bakery. I'm pointing towards a large box of fluffy, heavenly smelling donuts. 

"Thea, you just had a freaking milkshake, and may I remind you that I'm making pie tonight?"

"But they look good."

"Sucks for you, now walk quicker unless you want me to run over your heel again." 

We are near the meat department when Kyle says, "Thea, go grab me some of the natural, Harrison's nutmeg and cinnamon while I get the chicken, will you? It's down two isles." 

"Okay," I say, hoping I won't get lost in this huge store. I manage to find the spice isle (mainly because of the smell) and busy myself with looking for Harrison's natural nutmeg and cinnamon. 

It takes a few minutes, but I manage to locate the spices. 

When I turn around, I leap back so violently that I drop the canisters of nutmeg and cinnamon- thankfully, they're plastic and don't break. 

Videl is staring at me from the other end of the isle. Cross-armed, same vindictive, cool stare like a snake waiting patiently for its prey.

I blink, feeling myself go numb. When I look back, he's gone. 

I grab the canisters of nutmeg and cinnamon and run back to Kyle as fast as I can possibly go. He's not there anymore, and I feel panic set in. "Kyle!" I exclaim, turning around rapidly in circles, "Kyle, where are-"

"I'm right here, Thea." 

I whirl around. Kyle is just coming out from the wine isle.

"Sorry about that, but I needed to get some drinks. You okay? You look scared."

"Um. I'm good." I say, forcing my face into a cheerful smile.

He raises his eyebrows. "You sure?"

"I'm fine." I say, "Uh, I got the spices."

"Thanks," says Kyle, still giving me a suspicious look. I know it's suspicious, because Kyle Calen actually said 'thanks' to me.

*

By the time we get back in the car with the groceries, I'm feeling much better. I manage to convince myself that I had imagined Videl, just like I had done that night, because I'm paranoid. He's not in New York, I tell myself. And he's too weak to be moving.

I also have to give Kyle some credit for this. He very enthusiastically begins to sing 'American Pie', in the car, much to my protests. 

As Kyle keeps singing, I check my phone. I have a text from Jack. 

From: Jack

NEVER train with Clint when he hasn't gotten in a lot of fighting in, like, two weeks. 

I laugh. 

To: Jack

Sorry about that... I got a milkshake from ShakeShack. :) 

From: Jack

I hate you. don't talk to me. 

To: Jack

Okay.

From: Jack

Maybe okay will be our always. :)

To: Jack

shut up Jack

From: Jack

fiiiiiine

Kyle and I pull into Stark Tower around three thirty, and I help him get the groceries out. 

"Um Kyle?" I say as we begin the trek up to the big kitchen. I'm concentrating on not dropping the plastic bags.

"Ye- geez, Stark, you don't have to lord over me like a vulture." Sure enough, Tony has appeared, apparently to inspect the success of our errands. 

"Yeah, I guess this'll work," says Stark blandly. 

"Of course it is. What time's dinner again?"

"Seven. Don't be late." 

"What is it about you and being late?" I ask him as I push my grocery bags onto the steel counter. 

"I just don't like it. Be respectful, Thea." 

I make a face at him as he leaves. 

"What were you saying to me, Thea?" asks Kyle as he begins to take out the food.

"Oh," I say awkwardly. "Um."

"Don't be shy," he taunts. "That's not usually your speciality."

I roll my eyes, then hug him. He raises his eyebrows, "Well this isn't usually your speciality either." 

"I know why you took me out today," I say as he hugs me back. 

"Oh really? And why is that?" 

"Because you wanted me to have fun," I say with a smile. "And I did. So...um...thanks." 

He snorts, and after a couple minutes, he ruffles my hair, "You're not actually the worst company in the world, Thea."

I stick my tongue out at him. 

Then he smiles at me and adds gently, "But you're welcome." 

Hope you liked it! 

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Have a great day!

Three Tasks Fact: 

I wrote this chapter mainly to highlight Thea's and Kyle's relationship, which is naturally starting to get even stronger. I'm pretty sure they have a really awesome brother-sister relationship, a relationship that is a lot different than those Thea has with, say, Max, Natasha, and especially Loki. So just thought I'd point it out.  :D