Hey everyone! A bit of a shorter chapter this time, but I wanted to update again and this was really all I had planned for this chapter anyway.
I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter, and that this chapter is just as good! I promise to try to make Chapter 3 longer!
Enjoy everyone!
Chapter 2: Ultron
You had just gotten back the results of your AP Physics final—which you aced—and you were sitting on your bed with Claire when your phone rang. The two of you had been coming up with ideas for celebrating passing your final (finals, in her case), and you reached behind you to the large window seat that functioned as your headboard to get your cell. You smiled happily when you saw the caller ID, and hit answer.
"Hi dad!" you said cheerfully, and your dad laughed from the other end.
"Hey, Miracle. How's it going?" Clint asked.
"Pretty great! I aced my Physics final! I got the best grade in the class," you told him excitedly, and laughed when you saw Claire roll her eyes at you playfully. "Claire passed all of her finals with flying colors, as well. We were just trying to come up with a way to celebrate."
"Well have fun, but not too much fun. No boys, and tell Aunt Laura where you're going if you leave," your dad instructed, and you rolled your eyes.
"Dad, I can take care of myself. I'm eighteen," you reminded him, and he sighed.
"I know, (y/n). I know. It's just hard to think that in a few months, you'll be moving out and facing the world on your own," he said sadly, and you exhaled.
"I know, Dad. So, how'd the mission go? It should have ended by now, right?" you asked hopefully, and there was a pause.
"It ended. It was, successful. A few unexpected bumps, but your mother and I are both fine," he assured her, and she smiled.
"So you're coming home?" you said excitedly, and there was another pause, longer this time.
"We can't yet. Tony created a metal death machine called Ultron that hates the Avengers. We have to deal with him before we can come home," he said, regret filling his tone, and you felt all of the excitement you'd had from acing your final to your parents being home in time for graduation drain out of you as you visibly deflated. Claire frowned at you, her blue eyes filling with concern.
"But you promised! Graduation is only a couple of days away," you told him sadly, unable to help the slight whine that came out with your words. He sighed.
"(Y/n), we haven't broken our promise yet. We're still going to try and make it in time. We just have to deal with this one little thing before we can get there," Clint said gently, trying to calm you down. You tried to swallow around the lump in your throat, not wanting him to know how upset you were when he was so busy.
"Fine. Do you promise you'll make it?" you asked once you could speak again.
"You know I can't promise for sure. But my promise to try still stands," he said, and you practically growled in frustration.
"Do or do not. There is no try," you sassed into the phone, irritation obvious as you quoted the Star Wars line your parents had used so many times as you grew older and were learning to control of your powers. Claire's eyes widened, having never heard you use that tone with your parents before, and your dad sighed loudly enough that your best friend heard from where she was sitting across from you. You knew he was probably pinching the bridge of his nose, the way he usually did when he was struggling to be patient, and part of you felt bad for driving him crazy about this. A much bigger part of you, however, knew you had a right to be irritated that he might not make it home in time for graduation.
"(Y/n), I can't promise for sure that your mother and I will be there. But I can promise that we will do our best to make it," he reasoned, and you sighed, closing your eyes.
"Okay. Just, keep me posted? And stay safe," you told him, and he chuckled quietly.
"That I can promise. I have to go. I'll call you later," he promised. "I love you."
"I love you too. Tell mom I said hi and be safe," you instructed, and he laughed.
"Will do," was the last thing you heard before your iPhone beeped to indicate the call had ended. You set the phone back down on the window seat behind your pillows and dropped your head into your hands, trying to calm down. Claire scooted over to you and rubbed your back, making sure to keep her hand above your shoulder blades. You leaned into her and she draped her arm around your shoulders, rubbing your arm soothingly until you had regained your composure.
"They'll make it, (y/n). They always do. They might be late or injured, but they always make it to the important things," Claire reminded you, and you nodded, smiling a little.
"Thanks, Claire. Now, how about we go celebrate at Menchie's, and then go to the mall?" you suggest, wanting to change the subject, and she laughed.
"Now you sound like you. Let's go!" Claire cheered, and you laughed as the two of you grabbed your purses and phones before leaving the house.
You were wandering through the mall, enjoying your frozen yogurt and browsing shops, though you really didn't plan on buying anything. A gasp from Claire made you stop in your tracks, senses going on high alert until you realized she was just looking in the window of one of your favorite shops.
"Oh, Mira, they released the new items!" she squealed, entering the store and leaving you to follow with a sigh. She was already shopping eagerly, and you noticed she had a black dress in her hands with a lace neckline.
"What'd you find?" you asked, nodding towards the dress, and she smiled.
"This would be perfect for you for graduation!" she exclaimed, and thrust the dress in your hands before guiding you to the dressing rooms. Your stomach sunk when you realized the dress was backless.
"Claire, you know I can't wear this," you said uneasily, and she hummed before closing the dressing room door, waiting outside.
"Just try it! You'll be wearing the graduation gown anyway!" she called, and you sighed, knowing she wouldn't let you out until you put it on.
You changed into it quickly, noticing that it had built-in cups to make up for not being able to wear a bra with it. From the front, you had to admit the dress was beautiful, though the flowing skirt was shorter than you would prefer for graduation, and accentuated your waist. But the back was completely open. The lace buttoned closed at the base of your neck, and there was a large cutout that went around your shoulder blades and skimmed your sides, coming back together at your tailbone with a short zipper. You tried to get over your unease at the open back and opened the door to let Claire in, noticing that she had grabbed a pair of black, knee-high leather boots in your size.
"You look amazing!" your best friend said with a gasp, ignoring how you bit your lip, and handed you the boots. "I figured you would like these, even if they didn't go with the dress, but I actually think they're perfect."
"Claire…" you warned, taking the boots and slipping them on. You had to admit they went well with the dress, but you couldn't buy the dress. "You know I can't buy this."
"Then I'll buy it for you. Think of it as an early graduation present. And I won't make you wear it to graduation if you really don't want to, but you look fabulous in it so I think you should have it," she said with a soft smile, and you sighed.
"I'll probably never wear it, you know that, right?" you asked.
"Of course I know, Mira. But you'll definitely never wear it if you don't own it. What do you think of the boots?" she asked, and you smiled slightly at her reasoning before looking at your feet.
"They're perfect with the dress, and they fit perfectly too. I'm going to get them," you decided, and she cheered.
"Perfect! Now change out of it so we can keep shopping!" Claire said with a little dance as she walked out of the room, and you couldn't help but laugh at your best friend as you changed.
When you walked out of the room, Claire took the dress while you kept the boots, and you shopped a little longer. Claire found a jeweled, red rose hair clip to wear with her mother's dress at graduation that you made her let you buy, since she was buying the dress for you. It wasn't near as much as the dress, but Claire had said to just let the difference go since you always offered to drive everywhere and almost always paid for Starbucks in the mornings, and all of that combined was worth like three dresses. You discreetly slid a sparkling red sash into your pile and bought that too, figuring you would surprise her with it graduation day.
The two of you shopped for the rest of the afternoon, and you found a dress that you actually could wear to graduation. It was a gold dress with a high neckline and completely covered back, no sleeves, and was fitted in the bodice and had a flowing skirt that ended just above your knees. You already had the perfect heels to wear with it at home, and you knew exactly what jewelry you would wear with it. You paid for the dress, and finally you and Claire drove back to your house. Since school had ended and graduation was in two days, her parents let her spend the night with you. You watched the news, looking for any stories on the Avengers, and your jaw dropped when you turned on one of the local news channels.
"Oh my gods," Claire said, stunned, and you turned up the volume.
"…city is devastated after the Hulk and Iron Man fight…" a news reporter said before you muted the TV, watching soundless images of a massive Iron Man suit battling with the Hulk in the middle of a city. It seriously looked like Stark was trying to kill his teammate. You couldn't breathe. Your parents were there somewhere, and if Banner had Hulked out in the middle of a city, something was seriously wrong.
"Hey, I'm sure they're fine. Your parents usually try to stay out of the news feed anyway. They are spies, after all," Claire tried to calm you down, but you had stopped listening.
You were furiously spinning your ring, trying to focus your powers enough to locate your parents. An indigo glow began to shine around your body, growing steadily brighter until you found them. They were on a quinjet somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean with four other people who must be the other Avengers. You couldn't get a read on their auras from so far away, so you couldn't tell who was who and if everyone was okay, but the general vibes from the jet was not good. Everyone was alive and at least relatively unscathed, at least, so you could relax. You were still too wound up to try to communicate with your parents mentally, and you had a gut feeling that it wouldn't be appreciated, anyway. With a sigh, you stopped spinning your ring and relaxed your powers, breaking the connection.
"They're fine. They're flying over the Atlantic, but they're moving so quickly that I can't pin down exactly where," you told your best friend softly, and she smiled gently at you.
"See, (y/n)? They're fine. They'll make it home," Claire said, before taking the remote from you. "Now, go make some popcorn and I'll find a movie to watch."
"Someone's bossy," you teased, and she stuck her tongue out at you before you went to make popcorn. When you came back in, Now You See Me was just starting, and you grinned. It was one of your favorite movies, and Claire knew that.
You sat down next to her with a giant bowl of popcorn to enjoy the film, but you kept glancing at your phone, waiting for a call to say your parents were ok. The movie ended, and Claire had fallen asleep, but you stayed awake, anxiously holding your phone. You finally passed out around 3:00 a.m., after checking to see where your parents were for what must have been the tenth time since the movie ended. They had flown into American air space half an hour earlier, and yet the call you were eagerly awaiting never came.
So? What did you think? What's going on with the Reader? And have you guys figured out who Claire is yet? (I'll give you a hint: pay attention to the names you know from her family! She's not from a Marvel family.) If you haven't, you'll find out in the next chapter.
Also if you want to know what the front of the black dress looks like, tell me in your review and send me an email. I created an email for you guys to use for this specific reason, and it's my pen name (desertsnowqueen) *at* aol *dot* com! (By the way, I may not see the email if you don't leave a review telling me you're going to message me.)
Coming up: the Reader graduates from high school!
Snowflakes of love and fun to you all! ~Des
