What's up guys?! So I created this story because I wanted to read a really good high school AU story and couldn't find too many. I cautioning advance because I will not be able to update very soon. It took me a long time to type this first chapter and the second chapter is almost as long. (I've never written this much for one chapter!) Anyways, I hope you guys will enjoy this. These first couple chapters we won't see FitzSimmons or May but come chapter 3 or 4 they will become more regular. I think that's about all i needed to inform you guys on. So, read on, enjoy, and please do leave a review. I would like to know what you guys thought.
XxxxXXxxxNKOTBxxxXXxxxX
New Kid on The Block
Chapter 1: The First Day
"Alright Sweetie, here's a copy of your schedule, a map of the school, the lunch menu, and your locker information. Would you like someone to escort you to your class?" Mrs. Bond asked sweetly in a thick southern drawl.
"No thank you, I'll be fine." Skye replied shouldering her backpack and taking the papers Mrs. Bond placed on the counter space in front of her. Skye looked up to the rail thin counselor wearing her Clark Kent glasses and forced a small smile her way before turning away to walk out the door.
She looked over her schedule again and tried to remember the classes Mrs. Bond had told her she would have. She knew the counselor had said it was a red day and not white but now it was trying to remember which numbers went with which days. Was it 1,2,4,6 on red or 1,3,5,7? She figured her best bet was to go to her first class and ask the teacher. Her first class of the day was Art I with Mrs. Willis. Oh the joy of being a transferred junior, getting stuck in a freshman class. Skye pushed a brown lock out of her face and looked down at her map to figure out where room E104 was. A few wrong turns later and Skye found herself in the right spot which had been 500ft. down the hall from where she started. She took a deep breath and summoned the courage to knock on the door, trying to appear more confident than she felt. The door opened and a student appeared.
"I'm looking for Mrs. Willis?"
"She's at her desk." The student replied going to sit back down.
Skye walked in and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and walked up to the teacher's desk knowing every eye was on her, unfortunately. "Um, hi. I'm Skye, I'm the new student here." She said tentatively, watching as the young brunette teacher jumped up from her chair excitedly.
"Oh yay! Hi, I'm Mrs. Willis; I'm so looking forward to you being in my class. Let's find a spot for you. Oh it looks like there's an empty seat right over there." She said with a bright smile, pointing to the boy that had opened the door for her. "Aaron, can you move your stuff so Skye can sit there. Thank you."
He wordlessly moved his stuff and Skye went to sit down hesitantly. She observed how the two black girls looked at her curious. Mrs. Willis came back over and set a crisp and clean sketchbook down in front of her before she'd had a chance to utter a word.
"Everyone is working on drawing their most favorite moment, so you can get started."
"Thanks." She replied giving her teacher a smile.
"So you're the new girl?" The darker skinned girl that sat across from her said in a tone Skye couldn't quite identify.
"Breianna, don't be rude."
"I wasn't being rude! Aaron was I being rude?"
"A little bit." The boy replied. He had short brunette hair spiked up and was wearing blue jeans, a black Nirvana tee, and a plain navy blue sweat shirt. His eyes were a deep hazel color that withheld deeper emotion.
Breianna had her hair back in braids and had on a PINK shirt. She wore glasses and her chocolate orbs contained laughter and mischief. "Whatever forget y'all. I wasn't being rude Ariel. I was just asking her a question."
Ariel wore glasses too but with more makeup that was in dark hues, but worked in contrasting her light brown skin and highlighted brown up-do.
"I'm Skye." She said before they could talk anymore.
"Ooh. Skye, that's a pretty name. I want to name my daughter that. My stupid ass pregnant sister better not think of taking that name from me or I will Sharkeisha her dark as hell ass." Breianna ranted. Ariel and Aaron laughed at her antics.
"Sorry, Breianna is usually this weird." Ariel apologized with a smile.
"I'm not weird. My mom says I have personality and that I'm unique." Ariel and Aaron laughed again.
"That's a nice way of saying you're weird." Aaron said as he laughed.
"Aaron don't come for me when I didn't send for you. You can exit out door number 104B into the closet or 22 and go outside. Do you think I'm weird Skye?" Breianna asked.
"I think everyone is a little weird." Skye replied timidly.
"Thank you! You know what, I like you Skye." Skye smiled and re-tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
The rest of art passed by in a flash and after asking her art classmates she went to find her second period. Functions Analytical Trigonometry or FAT as the students referred to it. Room F208 with Mrs. McGrath. The classroom was almost directly above her art classroom and luckily she had been able to find it without going in circles. She went up to the teacher and explained who she was. Mrs. McGrath responded with a similar enthusiasm to that of Mrs. Willis'. She was placed at the back of the column in the corner of the room and was glad she could fade into the background. When she got settled in a girl came running into class just as the bell rung.
"That's twice this week Maria."
"I know, I'm sorry Mrs. McGrath." The girl apologized sincerely.
"Let's not make a habit of this." Mrs. McGrath replied letting the girl off and allowing her to walk to her desk.
"I won't." Maria replied walking up to the empty seat in front of Skye. "Oh hey, you must be the new girl. I'm Maria Hill."
"Skye, just Skye."
"No last name?" Maria intrigued curiously.
"Nope."
"That's different." Maria said surprised.
"Yeah." Skye replied with a smile.
"Ms. Hill, eyes and body facing front please."
"Sorry." Maria replied turning back around with a slight red color in her cheeks.
Skye smiled at Maria knowing she couldn't see it and thought to herself, 'I think I'm going to like it here.'
At the end of the hour and a half in FAT at the release of the bell, Maria turned around and began talking to her again. "What class do you have next?"
"Uhhh", Skye looked to her schedule and tried to make sense of all the numbers and names. "A.P. U.S. History."
"Oh, A-PUSH, do you have Bedford or Fox?" Maria said in recognition.
Skye looked over her schedule again and answered, "Bedford."
"Darn, he's an awesome teacher though, I'll walk you there and see you at lunch." Maria volunteered kindly.
Skye was taken slightly aback by Maria's kindness but didn't protest. Skye grabbed her things and followed Maria until they reached Mr. Bedford's almost a hundred feet down the hall from her art class.
"Alright well I'll see you later. Have fun!" Maria smiled and waved before disappearing right, around he corner.
Skye walked up to the jolly looking, white hair and bearded man she could only guess was the teacher. "Hi, um I'm Skye, your new student."
"Oh, hi. Let's find you a seat. Phil, is that seat beside you empty?"
"Uh…yeah! It is." He answered after thinking for a moment.
"Alright, Skye, you can sit right there." Mr. Bedford said pointing to the empty desk beside the boy who answered.
"Thank you." Skye replied automatically. Mr. Bedford was a big guy who looked almost like Santa with his white hair and beard and the glasses he wore as well as his stature. He had kind, smiling, mischievous eyes that reminded Skye of one of the kids in the orphanage.
She went to sit down beside Phil who smiled kindly at her. He was athletically built and had brown hair combed off to one side. He looked like the one of the more popular kids who would win Homecoming King but was kind and nice to everyone.
"Hey. I'm Phillip Coulson, but everyone just calls me Phil." He introduced with a smile.
"Nice to meet you Phil, I'm Skye."
"Interesting name. You're going to love this class. Mr. Bedford tells the weirdest, funniest stories and he acts like a kid all the time." Skye smiled in response to Phil's grin. "So how do you like your classes so far?"
"They're okay, I've met some nice people." Skye said.
"That's good. Do you have anyone to sit with at lunch?" He asked curiously.
"Actually I do, Maria." She replied
"Hill?" Phil inquired.
Skye nodded. "You know her?"
"Yeah, ex- girlfriend, current best friend. We sit together at lunch."
"Wow! Really?! You guys are best friends after breaking up?" Skye asked shocked that such stories really existed.
"Yeah. So it looks like I'll be seeing you at lunch too."
"When is lunch?" She asked red going to her cheeks, embarrassed that she didn't even know the first thing all students made sure to memorize.
"In the middle of class. We have B lunch since we're a history class so we go at 10:47."
"Oh that's in like half an hour." She said half surprised and excited.
"Yup. A bell is gonna dismiss us. Only thing that annoying bell is good for." Phil said with a chuckle.
"That bell is pretty bothersome." Skye replied.
"Yeah, and I've listened to it for nearly three years." Phil said with an easy laugh setting Skye more at ease around him.
"Alright class, get out your notes from last class on the Civil War and we'll pick right back up." Mr. Bedford announced loudly with an excited smile.
Phil slipped Skye a piece of paper and smiled. "Thanks." Skye mouthed as Mr. Bedford began his slideshow lecture on the battles of the Civil War.
When the bell for lunch rang Skye followed Phil into the sub line. She was about to scoop a cup of vegetables onto her tray when a voice from behind stopped her.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Get the carrots, not the tomatoes. And you should get the ham sub, not the chicken teriyaki…just fyi." The boy looked to be about the same age as her and was at least three inches taller.
He had gorgeous black hair that was a neat mess and he had biceps bulging out of his shirt. Needless to say he was very easy on the eyes, especially since his deep chocolate orbs were so enthralling. He had a grin on his lips and as she looked him over she could practically see his six-pack through the shirt. She did as the hot stranger advised and grabbed a ham sub and carrots with chocolate milk before paying and following Phil. She looked back once at the mysterious stranger who grinned and winked.
"Hey, I see you met phillipé."Maria teased with a grin. Phil rolled his eyes and sat next to Maria at the round table. Skye's confusion was clearly written on her face as she sat down, because Maria then proceeded to explain the nickname. "When we were dating he almost always wanted to got to a Mexican restaurant so eventually I started calling him Phillipé and it kinda just stuck."
"Just to clarify, I don't like it." Phil interjected before biting into his chicken teriyaki sub.
Skye smiled and tentatively bit into her carrots as Maria whispered in her ear, "Yes he does." loud enough for him to hear. Phil just rolled his eyes with a scoff and continued eating his sub before pausing and staring at the sub. He spit out the chicken and swallowed numerous gulps of water.
"Ugh, God. I think this chicken is bad." Skye's memory was triggered and she saw the stranger in her head advising her against chicken.
"Did you see the guy who was in line behind me Phil?" Skye asked curiously. Phil shook his head no as he filled his mouth with the taste of graham cracker covered bananas.
"Why don't you try describing him." Maria suggested as she spooned some mac n' cheese into her mouth.
"Okay. Um tall, white, black hair, nice eyes, chiseled features, I think he has a six-pack, he's really hot." Skye described a little distracted by the image in her mind.
"Grant Ward." Phil and Maria said in unison.
"He's this school's football jock slash mysterious bad boy with a savior complex." Phil explained.
"He only goes by his last name, doesn't let anyone call him Grant. One guy made the mistake and next time someone saw him he was sporting a nice shiner." Maria added tag-teaming with Phil.
"Oh." Skye responded simply, not expecting their answers. "He warned me not to get the chicken teriyaki before I got it."
Phil and Maria gave each other a look Skye couldn't decipher before turning back to look at her. "What?" Skye inquired not liking things to be kept from her.
"He normally doesn't talk to new kids, or other people except for his football team and the cheerleaders which of course includes his slutty girlfriend who's cheating on him." Maria informed disgusted by the girl.
"Who's his girlfriend?" Skye asked wondering what the backstory was with Maria and the girl.
"Kylie Nethercutt." Phil said after a bite of banana. "Ultimate diva, cheerleading captain, senior, preppy, snooty, rude, what Maria said, and really hot."
"Yeah. And a backstabbing liar. We used to be close in middle school. Then she came to high school and changed into the…female dog that she is." Maria spoke bitterly with an angry glint in her eyes.
Two other people came over to the table and sat down across from Skye. "Oh hey, a new girl. What's your name?" The boy said with a grin.
"Guys this is Skye. Skye, meet Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff, the longest official couple in this school." Phil introduced with a smile. Clint grinned and extended a hand to Skye.
"Nice to meet you Skye."
"You too." Skye replied with a small smile.
Natasha just waved and gave a small smile before sitting down beside Clint. "So newbie, you busy tonight?" Clint asked before taking a bite of his pizza.
"Umm, no, not really." She replied hesitantly.
"Great! There's a party tonight at my house and you're invited. You'll be able to meet some more people." Clint said excitedly.
"Thanks for the offer but uh, parties aren't exactly my scene." Skye said nervously, remembering what had happened last time.
"Uh uh, no way you're backing out Skye. You have to come!" Maria insisted.
"Come on guys, let her be." Phil said backing up Skye. She shot Phil a look she hoped he interpreted as thank you. "But if you change your mind and want to come, here's my number. Just call me and I'll pick you up." Taking out a pen and piece of paper from thin air and scribbling his number down before passing it to Skye.
"Thanks." She replied with a tight-lipped smile.
A half hour breezed by and Skye soon found herself back in class taking notes. It wasn't long after that she began packing up at the bell's command.
"Where you headed off to next?" Phil asked.
"Mr. Howard's class." She answered.
"Oh, you're outside in the trailers. Remember where we sat in the big open space at lunch?"
"The commons?" Skye asked hoping she had used the right term.
"Yeah. Well all you need to do is keep walking till you reach the end of that hall and then you go outside and take a right and his is the fourth trailer." Phil directed.
"Thanks Phil." Skye said genuinely grateful.
"You're welcome. Oh, and remember, call me if you want a ride tonight."
"Alright. Will do. Bye." Skye said with a dismissive wave picking up her backpack and slinging it over her right shoulder. She weaved in and out of slow walkers in the main hallway hurriedly trying to make it to class. She was walking up the steps of the trailer when the bell rang and Mr. Howard was there to greet her.
"You look new." He said. Skye turned red and nodded.
"Um, yeah…first day here." She replied embarrassed.
"Well, welcome. Come on inside and I'll find a seat for you." He said with a warm smile and motion of his arm. Skye scanned all the people in her English class and recognized only one person. It was the stranger, Grant Ward. "Let's see here. It looks like there is an open seat by my desk down there." Which of course just had to be the seat right in front of him. "Ward move your stuff. Oh, I'm sorry, I never caught your name." He apologized.
"Skye." She answered quietly.
"Everyone this is Skye, she's new here so don't be yourselves and scare her away."
"Awww, come on Mr. Humdinger, that's the fun in being here." Ward teased with a grin.
Mr. Howard pointed at Ward and gave him a playful threatening look. Ward complied and moved his backpack from the desk. Skye made her way over to her new seat, her heart pounding in her chest. She made eye contact with Ward and blushed seeing the smile he was giving her. She just wanted to fly under the radar and not be noticed by anyone, especially him. She didn't need the drama in her life. She sat down and tried to calm her racing heart. She hoped he wouldn't speak to her. That's when she felt a tap on her shoulder and by force of habit she turned around.
There he was smiling at her. "Hey rookie. Wait…didn't I see you earlier?" He questioned struck by a sense of déjà vu after seeing her.
"Ummm…"She said nervously.
"I did! You were the one in front of me at lunch. Judging by the fact you're not looking sick I take it you got the ham.?" He asked. Skye nodded unable to speak. He was hot and apparently not someone she should get involved with. "You don't speak much do you, Rookie?"
"My name is Skye, not Rookie." She finally managed to say with more sass than she was intending.
"Oohh, feisty under that shy skin. I like it. The name's Ward, just Ward."
"Okay Bond." Skye couldn't help but say with a smirk. Ward just grinned.
"Ward, stop harassing Skye." Mr. Howard said firmly from across the trailer.
"I wasn't." He defended, holding up his hands as a sign of innocence. "So Rookie, where ya from?" He asked when Mr. Howard had diverted his attention elsewhere.
"My mother's womb." She replied sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. Ward grinned and laughed.
"I like you. You know…when you're not in your shy shell." Ward commented.
"And I'm sure I'd like you if you weren't so cocky and arrogant." Skye retorted.
"Whoa there Rookie, put your dukes down. I'm just trying to be nice."
"From what I've heard you shouldn't be talking to me. You don't associate yourself with new kids." She defended icily.
"Not all of them have such a pretty face and fierce personality." Ward said smoothly.
"Wow. My first day here and I'm already being hit on. Thanks but no thanks. I know for a fact you've got a girlfriend and I don't need that type of drama in my life again." Skye said putting him down and in his place.
"Ohhh. Again huh? Tried the whole bad girl scene before?" Ward asked intrigued.
"Look if you must know he had told me he had broken it off with her when in reality he hadn't. When she found out…school became unbearable so that's why I'm here. And I'm not interested in having anymore relationships, least of all with you." Skye said not fully knowing why she had even told him that much.
"Sorry. But, you never know what could happen. It is high school after all." He said in a much softer and more real tone than he'd been using before.
"Alright class, let's pick up where we were last time. Previously in 'The Crucible'…Abigail had just gone to see Proctor and tried to seduce him but he rejected her. We'll pick up at the line he rejects her. I need my proctor and Abigail at the front to act. Make sure you grab your props from the TARDIS closet." Mr. Howard instructed pointing to two of the students in the middle of the trailer. "Ward, please share your copy with Skye."
"Sure thing." Ward said with a grin and wink pulling his desk right beside Skye's. She rolled her eyes and focused on the book trying to find the line they were reading from.
It wasn't until the end of the day an hour and a half later at 2pm that Ward spoke to her again and Skye was grateful for the silence. "You coming to the football game tonight?" He asked nonchalantly.
"Um why?" She asked with a furrowed brow of confusion.
"So you can see me play, maybe. I am the starting wide receiver. Most touchdowns this year." He said proudly.
"Actually, I was already invited somewhere tonight, sorry. Maybe some other time. You know, whenever you're not trying to hit on me." She said with a sarcastic smile.
Ward laughed. "Touché Rookie. See ya' round." Skye gave a small smile and nodded walking out the door. She found the transfer student bus with some help from one of the teachers outside and walked on the bus sitting in the first seat to avoid people. She put in her earbuds and scrolled through the phone one of the ladies at orphanage had been kind enough to give her, until finally selecting a song. She let One Republic's "Counting Stars" drown out all the noise surrounding her and turned up the volume almost all the way. She stared out the window and watched until forty-five minutes later the bus stopped as far as it could take her before she got up and walked a mile and a half to her job at the library, down the street from the orphanage. It was her only form of self-sufficient income and it was the only place she could escape to and simultaneously get paid. It was one of the few places she actually had friends; one of them being the head librarian, Ms. Bourell.
"So Skye how was your first day?" The librarian asked excitedly.
"It was pretty good I guess, I met a couple people. One of them invited me to a party tonight but I haven't really decided if I should go or not. Oh, and then one of the more popular guys, Ward, he kept hitting on me in English and asked me to come to his football game." Skye informed as she pinned on her nametag.
"Oh." Ms. Bourell said in a tone Skye knew to be disapproving.
"Don't worry, I said no. I'm not looking for any more trouble. Besides, he has a girlfriend."
"Good for you. Can you go put this cart of books back please, Skye?"
"Sure Ms. B." Skye said happily.
As she began putting books back on the shelves she replayed the day over and over in her head and found herself debating whether or not she should go to the party. On the one hand going would mean meeting new people but on the other hand it could also mean lots of potential drama. It wasn't until she'd put all the books back that she finally decided to give Phil a call and let him know her answer. She dug the piece of paper out of her backpack and entered the number into her cell. It rang a couple times before he finally answered.
"Phil Coulson speaking."
"Hey Phil! It's Skye." She said trying to seem upbeat.
"Hey! What's up?"
"Think I could get that ride tonight?" She asked nervously, hoping it didn't put him out.
"Absolutely. I'm glad you re-considered." He said happily. His joyous tone could be perceived through the phone and brought a smile to Skye's lips.
"There's just a slight complication. I live like twelve miles from the school." She said hoping he wouldn't change his answer.
"That's no problem. Just give me the address and I'll come pick you up."
"Really? Thank you. Um can you pick me up at the seven eleven on the corner of Madison and Brooke avenue?" She asked. It was exactly two blocks from the orphanage and it was right by a rich housing development so he wouldn't know and just would assume she was rich.
"Um okay, yeah. I'll pick you up at seven."
"Great, see you then." Skye replied cheerily hanging up the phone. She looked at the time on her phone, 4:30. She still had half an hour left until she could clock out. It'd take twenty minutes to walk back to the orphanage and then she'd be just in time to eat dinner with some time left over to try and figure out something to wear.
Seven rolled around and Skye was standing outside of 7-11 in the only party-ish type dress she owned. It was a cute pink dress with thick enough straps to cover her bra, and long enough to cover most of her thighs. It was ruffled on the bottom with some folds. She wore sparkly pink flats with her curled hair and lightly done make-up. Just as soon as she did a time check on her phone a car pulled up and the window rolled down.
"Hop in." Phil said unlocking and pushing the door open for Skye.
"Thanks." Skye said as climbed into the old, blue Ford, mustang and buckled up.
"You look nice." Phil admired in a way that only acknowledged her beauty, the way an older brother would acknowledge it.
"Thanks, so does your car."
"1967 Ford Mustang. Birthday slash Christmas present from my parents. It used to be Dad's old car then mom gave it to me after Dad passed away and I was old enough."
"Oh I'm sorry about your dad. It's a really cool car."
"It's okay. It's been a few years. So, how come you had me pick you up here and not at your house?" He questioned.
Skye swallowed and gave her rehearsed excuse, "I needed to come here to pick up snacks for my dad later. Besides, I didn't want to subject you to mom's interrogation."
"Ah thanks for saving me the trouble then." He grinned and Skye smiled.
"So where is the party being held again?" Skye inquired.
"Clint's house. It's a post football game celebration party." Skye's stomach sank as Phil said football.
"So, all the football players are gonna be there?" She asked trying not to sound intimidated.
"Yup." He said focused on the road. Skye suddenly felt like she'd made the wrong call saying yes. She didn't want to be within a mile of Grant Ward. She just hoped he wouldn't be able to find her amidst the crowd. By the time they arrived the party was already in full swing. Alcohol was being passed around, a game of beer pong was underway, and a game of truth or dare was being played in the living room. Phil helped her navigate through the rowdy bunch and down into the basement where his friends were waiting.
"Hey Newbie! You made it!" Clint Barton said happily while holding Natasha's hand. They all seemed to be playing a board game that looked a lot like LIFE from where Skye stood on the stairs.
"You guys made it just in time." Natasha spoke.
"We were just about to start." Maria added on.
"Cool. What are we playing?" Phil asked walking over to them.
"Life." All three spoke as one.
"Fun. Put me at college." Phil called out
"What about you Newbie?" Clint asked.
"Career or college?" Maria asked.
"I'll go with career." Skye answered taking a seat at the table between Natasha and Maria.
"Alright. Let's spin and see who's going first." Clint ordered rubbing his hands together excitedly.
Once it had been determined that Skye was starting out as a police officer making 50k and was going last, she excused herself to head upstairs and get a drink and some snacks. She hoped that she'd be able to just slip in and back out of the party easily enough but she should have known her dress was going to get her noticed.
"So is this why you couldn't come see me play tonight?"
Skye internally smacked her head but carried on pretending as though she hadn't heard him. I mean the music certainly was loud enough for that to be a viable excuse. She continued on pouring a cup of raspberry lemonade.
"Hey Rookie, I know you can hear me!" He shouted louder, his voice catching other people's attention.
Skye continued to try and ignore him and proceeded to put some chips and salsa on a plate, but despite her best efforts he tapped her on the shoulder. She pretended to be startled and flinched before whirling around and saying, "Oh, I didn't see you there."
"Nice try." Ward spoke with a grin. "I saw you flinch as soon as I spoke." He crossed his arms and his voice changed to taunting. " You know, if I didn't know any better I'd say that you're trying to avoid me."
"Don't flatter yourself." Skye replied with a scoff, crossing her arms.
"Then why didn't you answer me?" He countered getting closer to her with his own arms crossed.
"Because I'm in the middle of a game and didn't want to waste time talking like I am right now." She answered haughtily.
"Wow. Chill Rookie. If I were playing a game with you I'd wait all night."
"Does every conversation we have have to include you hitting on me? It seems to me like you're just a robot who doesn't have any real feelings and being rude and cocky is your only setting." Skye bit at him annoyed.
"You don't even know me." He said with an even, cool tone, anger hidden.
"I doubt anyone really knows who you truly are. You always wear a mask that you think people will like; well guess what, I don't and I'm not interested, period." She grabbed her drink and plate and stormed off leaving Ward standing there shocked and unsure what to do.
She had pushed all the right buttons and no one else he'd ever known even knew where his buttons were. He watched her leave wondering how she'd been able to leave him speechless for the first time in his life. This new girl intrigued him and if he wanted to know her at all he knew he had to apologize before she left. For a moment he had completely forgotten about why he'd even walked into the kitchen until his girlfriend walked in asking him what was taking so long.
Skye made her way into the basement and by the time they had finished their game of LIFE she had almost completely forgotten about her encounter with Ward.
"Who's up for some Just Dance 2014?" Clint asked excitedly with a cocky grin. "Or are you all too scared to challenge…the master."
"I'll take you on Clint." Skye said confidently pushing herself up from the floor and taking a wii remote.
"Alright Newbie. Just because I'm nice I'll let you choose the song." Clint replied with a smirk and crack of his neck.
"Thanks." Skye said sweetly with a fake smile as she scrolled through the songs until she came to the one she wanted. At the orphanage they had the same game and all the kids always asked her to play. She'd become the reigning champion amongst everyone there.
"Follow The Leader? You sure you want to do this one? It is ranked as hard." Clint said cautioning her.
"Are you chickening out on me?" Skye quipped with a raised eyebrow. He stiffened and cracked his knuckles in response.
"Psssh. No. I was just giving you a friendly warning. Alright Newbie, let's see what you got." He said confident.
Everyone else moved closer to the TV and sat down on the couch ready to see the battle between Skye and Clint.
From beginning to end Skye was in the lead and was getting into the song. Clint was good, just not good enough to beat her. Even after numerous rematches to different songs Clint still kept taking runner up to Skye.
"Looks like you're not the master anymore Clint." Natasha teased from her spot on the couch.
"Hey! She cheated! She's played it before!" He protested indignantly trying to defend his honor.
"Oh please." Phil said with a scoff. "She whooped your butt ten ways to Sunday fair and square." He grinned and winked at Skye who smiled in turn.
"Give it up Clint. You've been served.'' Maria added with a proud smirk of her own.
"Oh yeah? Well I can still beat the rest of you all day erry day." He spoke with his chest puffed.
"But not me. So get used to it." Skye boasted with a proud grin and hand on her hip. She yawned and shook her head trying to shake off the tiredness.
Phil looked at the time displayed by the hands on his watch and had to do a double take. Surely it wasn't that late already. His watch read 11:23. "Hey guys, Skye and I are gonna bounce. It's almost eleven thirty and her house is a ways away and I gotta be home by one." Phil said getting up.
"Alright man, later. Thanks for hanging." Clint said hugging Phil and patting him on the back.
"And as for you Newbie, we'll have another re-match next time your over." He said to Skye hugging her as well.
"What so I can beat you again?" She replied with a smirk and laugh feeling like one of the group as he hugged her. "Thanks for inviting me. I had a lot of fun."
"Anytime Newbie. You're one of us now. So someone messes with you they get all of us." Clint said proudly.
Skye's heart fluttered. She'd never had anyone say that to her before and it made her feel like she actually belonged somewhere.
"I'm glad you came. I'll see you Monday." Maria said with a smile and hug.
"Absolutely." Skye replied with a smile of her own.
"It was nice meeting you again. Oh and thank you for whooping his ass and crushing his ego." Natasha spoke with a hint of a smile on her lips.
"You too, and anytime."
Skye and Phil headed upstairs ready to go home. "I'll meet you in the car. I'm gonna get a drink of water from the kitchen real quick." Skye said heading off into the kitchen.
"Alright." He answered as he weaved through the noisy crowd.
She was half-way through filling her cup with water from the sink when someone tapped her shoulder. Startled, she dropped the cup and it fell into the sink spilling the water down the drain. She spun around ready to chew out whoever had tapped her when she saw him and scoffed annoyed.
"You really don't know how to take a hint, do you?" She asked angrily. Did this guy not know boundaries?
"I just wanted to apologize, for earlier, and for just all of today really." Ward spoke softly shuffling his feet with his hands balled into fists within his jean pockets.
"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" She asked taken aback.
"You were right. Nobody know who I really am because if they knew the real me, they wouldn't like me." He said, eyes downcast.
"Why are you telling me this?" She questioned icily.
"I'm not really sure. You just…you intrigue me. You pushed all my buttons when know one else knows where to look for them. And…I knew I couldn't ask to start over if I didn't apologize." He said hoping his cheeks weren't as red as they felt.
"Um…wow." She spoke not really sure what to say. His whole change in demeanor had taken her by surprise.
"So…can we?" He asked with a glimmer of hope shining in his eyes?
"Can we what?"
"Start over." He answered.
"Depends." Skye countered.
"On what?" He asked removing his hands from his pockets.
"What you want to start over as." Skye replied her arms crossed to her chest.
Ward smiled. It was the first authentic, genuine smile she'd seen from him. "Friends."
Skye smiled and uncrossed her arms extending out a hand. "Hi. I'm Skye."
Ward extended his own hand and shook hers with a grin. "Grant Ward. But you can call me Ward."
"Okay Ward, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too Skye." He replied unable to wipe the happy grin from his face.
"So Rookie, do you have a last name?"
"Nope." She replied with a grin. "Well Robot, it was nice to meet you but my ride is waiting for me outside." Skye began to walk away but Ward reached out and grabbed her hand before she was fully out of reach.
"Wait! Before you go can I…um…can I get your number?" He asked nervously hoping he wouldn't be rejected.
For a moment Skye debated whether or not she should. She looked around the kitchen and grabbed a pen then proceeded to take his hand and scribble her number legibly.
"Now I really do have to go."
"Alright, I guess I'll text you later."
"Okay. Bye Robot." She dismissed with a smile and wave.
"Bye Rookie." He replied with a grin.
"What took so long?" Phil inquired when she finally got in the car.
"I ran into Ward again." Skye answered without any key indication of how she actually felt about that."
"Oh. Say no more." Phil replied with a smile putting the car in drive.
When they reached the 7-11 a half hour later, Skye looked at Coulson and said, "Thanks. I had a lot of fun tonight."
"Wait. Let me drop you off at your house. It's late and I don't like the way those guys already eye-ing you." Phil spoke protectively.
"I'll be fine. It's a five minute walk." Skye said sounding confident but inside she was starting to get nervous and it wasn't because of the guys.
"That I could reduce and increase your safety."
"Really Phil, I'm fine." Skye said screaming internally for him to just drop the topic and let her out of the car.
"Sorry Skye but I can't drop you off her." He answered locking the door as she tried to get out.
"Phil please, just let me get out." She spoke on the verge of tears. She hated how she got emotional so quick.
"I can't. It's not safe for you. Just tell me which one of these fancy houses is yours and I'll-"
"I don't have a home!" She shouted and the tears burst forward. "I'm an orphan okay! I don't have a home, I don't have a family, I don't belong anywhere! I'm all alone at the orphanage." She cried. The tears were flowing in heavy streams now as all her emotions of the day crashed. Phil felt his heart break for this girl in front of him that he'd only known twelve hours. He put his hand on top of hers and rubbed it with his thumb not knowing what else he should do.
"Skye, you don't have to feel ashamed of that. Is that why you had me pick you up here? So I wouldn't find out?" He asked softly. Skye just nodded wiping away the tears trying not to smear her mascara. "Being an orphan isn't something you have to hide Skye, not from me anyway. Ridiculous as this may sound considering I've only known you for like a day, you already feel like my little sister." He said with a reassuring smile. "Maybe that's just who I am."
Skye leaned over the middle and embraced Phil in a hug and she began sobbing again. She felt so touched by his kind words. "I don't want to be alone. It hurts whenever people talk about how wonderful their mom and dad are, and I don't even have any relatives. No uncles, aunts, distant cousins, nothing. I'm just…alone. Not even my parents wanted me." She sobbed.
"Well, you can consider me you official, non-blood related, big brother who'll do anything to protect you, okay?" He asked feeling moved to compassion. She nodded against his shoulder and just clutched him tighter.
"Thank you." She sniffled.
"Anytime." Phil replied with a small smile. "Now let me get you back home." Skye detached herself and wiped her eyes with her palms. "There are napkins in the glove compartment."
"Thanks." She said grabbing a bunch and blowing her nose and wiping away the mascara and tears.
"Now where do I drop you off at?"
"Two blocks down. Just keep going straight." She replied.
"This'll be our secret, alright? I won't tell anyone, I promise." Phil said holding up a hand as he stopped outside the orphanage.
"Thank you again, for everything…bro." She said liking the foreign word on her tongue. Phil grinned and nodded.
"Anytime…sis. I'll see you Monday, or sooner."
"Bye." Skye replied with a smile. She waved as he drove off and walked up the steps with a sniffle. When Matt the security guard saw here he looped at his watch and said, "Little late for you isn't it? Curfew was six minutes ago."
"Yeah. I'm sorry. I was out with an amazing friend." Skye spoke with a smile and flutter in her heart.
"Mmmhhmmm. You can tell me all about it tomorrow in exchange for me not mentioning you were late."
"Deal." Skye said high-fiving Matt. She yawned and Matt smiled.
"Goodnight Ms. Skye."
"Goodnight Matt." She mimicked as she walked up the stairs quietly and made her way to her room being careful not to wake anyone.
As she lay in her bed nearly twenty minutes and lots of make-up remover later, before closing her eyes to sleep she reflected on her first day and thought, 'not too shabby for a first day'. She checked her phone to be sure it was on silent and saw that she had two new messages. One was from Phil.
Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite sis.
"We create our own demons"-anon-
She smiled then went to click on the unknown number. The text read,
Night Rookie. Nice meeting you.
#HitSquadIsLife
She grinned and locked the screen before turning on her side and closing her eyes. She was out in seconds.
XxxxXXxxxNKOTBxxxXXxxxX
Alright so click that review button. I need to hear some feedback and I know you guys just get lazy but please do tell me something. Whether you liked it, didn't, too OOC for you, some things that you liked that I did differently. Let me know! I'll update this as soon as I can and my other story I'm hoping to update tomorrow.