A/N:

I am sooooo incredibly upset! I tried out for a play and I didn't get in; not even a small part! And the worst part is I can't even help out in the crew! AAAAAAAAAHH *hyena noise*

Anyway, onwards with the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. I am currently too emotionally distressed (seriously that play meant a shitload to me!) to think of a good disclaimer.

6 months after the fall…

Leia hurried through the crowded halls of Manhattan High School, New York, with a rather large pile of books in her arms. Though this was her first year and school started only four days ago, Leia had memorized the school grounds. She memorized everything, after all. She dodged the occasional falling person and made her way casually around the group of girls who had been picking on her since they met. She found the way to her locker fairly easily, since it was down a hallway not many people went down, since not really anyone's last name started with an L or a B. Leia was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't notice the girl walking toward her, until they slammed into each other and fell.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" Said the rather stocky, large looking girl with brown hair.

"No you're not." Leia replied in a slightly smartass tone. She picked up her books and continued walking toward her locker. She unlocked it and put her books in, and was about to get the lunch Pepper packed her, when the large brown-haired girl who crashed into her earlier nearly slammed the locker door on her fingers. Leia looked defiantly into the other girl's eyes, green irises looking evil and mischievous, in a way that could make a bodybuilder cry for his mother. But this was a public high school, so her eyes didn't affect the larger girl much.

"Hey runt, I noticed you were standing alone, so I decided to make a new friend."

"She's not speaking in a grammatically correct way." Leia thought, but she knew better than to say it.

"What's your name, huh? Come on, talk. It can only get worse if you don't'"

Leia didn't say anything. She rarely ever did, after all. She noticed that the group of girls that had been picking on her earlier was slowly surrounding her and the brown-haired girl.

"Name's Clarisse. This here's Eva, Cameron, Elspeth, Francesca and Maddie. And we don't like your tone."

Clarisse shoved Leia into the lockers, making a clanging sound. Nobody would notice, since it was time for lunch, though. Eva, Francesca and Maddie each took turns kicking and punching her in the ribs and legs, but Leia never made a sound. There was a sound that sounded like a zipper on a backpack, and Cameron pulled out a baseball bat and started whacking her in the ribs. Leia curled into the fetal position, trying to get the least amount of damage inflicted upon her, but the girls only hit her harder, kicked with more force. After the next around eight hundred kicks, Leia lost consciousness.

"You alright?" Asked a blonde girl sitting to Leia's right. "I think you have like three broken ribs, but other than that, you should be fine."

Leia sat up and looked around. Her vision was a bit blurry and she almost fell backward. The girl caught her and propped her up against a pillow. Immediately her vision cleared, and she could see that the room she was in had a white ceiling with blue walls, and she and the girl were in a small room, with a bed – which she was on – and a chair – which the girl was on – was separated by a curtain which allowed them privacy.

"This is either the nurse's office or the hospital," Leia thought, "But I don't have anything hooked up to me so this should be the nurse's office."

"The nurse called your guardian to come get you. Apparently in two months, the paperwork will be finished and you'll be homeschooled." The girl said. "Those girls are usually so incredibly sweet," The blonde girl continued. "If they left, I don't know what would happen!"

Leia laughed. It was a beautiful laugh, that reminded you of incredible joy, and that got the girl laughing too.

"I'm Claire, by the way. Claire Barton." The girl said, holding out a hand.

"Leia." Said Leia, shaking the hand. "Leia Laufeysdöttir."

Claire looked confused. "Laufeysdöttir? What language does that come from?"

"Norse, I think. Where are we?"

"Oh, we're in the nurse's office. As I said, the nurse called your guardian to take you home."

At that moment, Pepper came half jogging into the room. "Leia, honey, you alright?" She asked, checking all over Leia's thin frame for any broken bones, then finding some gasped.

"I'm fine." Leia replied.

"If this is what you call fine, I'm going to have to get you to a hospital ASAP if you say you got a few scratches."

Leia laughed and stood up. She really did feel fine; it was like her broken bones had healed themselves while she had had a conversation with Claire. Claire stood up; ready to catch her if she stumbled, which she did. Pepper took Leia's hand and began leading her toward the door, supporting the lanky teen as she made her way out of the nurse's office.

"See you sometime, Leia!" Called Claire.

"Later, Claire!" Called Leia.

"So you made a new friend?" Asked Pepper on the way back to Avengers Tower.

"Yup." Said Leia.

"How did you two meet?" Asked Pepper.

"I got beat up and she took me to the nurse." Said Leia casually, as though that happened regularly.

Pepper sighed and turned her eyes back to the road. Leia was so much like Tony, it was a miracle they weren't father and daughter.

A/N:

Did you like? Please comment and help me feel better. I'm going to go back to crying about a stupid play.