Author's Note: Yes, yes. I know how long it's been. Long story short, I went on vacation and then moved away to college.

On the way home we encountered a very large puddle. It had been storming all day (woop-woop!) and the sidewalk had lots of weird ways to get flooded—something that I had never particularly been able to understand. I sighed heavily as I stood at the edge of the puddle with one of my "brothers" on either side.

Before I could do anything, Thor handed his crimson backpack to Steve, bent down, and threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "I shall assist thee, my lady!" he exclaimed dramatically while I kicked my legs. Without further ado he marched straight through the makeshift pond.

"Put me down!" I shouted. Steve cackled as he skirted around the edge of the water to not get his sneakers too wet.

When we finally reached the other side, he set me down. I gave him a hug.

"Thanks. But never do that again."

Steve passed Thor his backpack. "Nice job, but I would have done this." His arm snaked around my waist and with a quick swoop he took me into his arms. Instinctively I wrapped one arm around his shoulders, trying not to shriek.

"Ah! Yes! I see what you are thinking!" Thor said loudly.

Steve snickered. "Here, catch." Thor put his arms out. My stomach dropped, my arm slipped, and I was airborne for about two seconds before landing in Thor's hold.

"Would you two cut it out?! I'm not a ragdoll!" I snapped.

"But this is fun, Quincy!" Steve complained sarcastically.

"I hate you two right now," I muttered.

At that moment Maximoff ran past us.

"Hey Pietro!" Steve shouted. The silvery-haired junior slowed down and turned to look at us. "Wanna help us annoy the heck out of our sister?" Maximoff grinned, shrugged, nodded, and jogged over to us. I was too busy glaring at Thor I didn't notice he'd mouthed catch to my math buddy and thrown me at Pietro until wind blew my hair around my head. That little—! I thought threateningly, abruptly cut off by being caught.

"Why are you guys throwing me around?!" I demanded.

"Because it's fun and we have nothing else better to do on the way home!" Steve remarked as Pietro started carrying me away. I flailed my limbs uselessly, trying to get him to put me down. Thor and Steve were laughing from somewhere behind me. I could hear their footsteps keeping pace.

"Would you put me down?" I asked.

Maximoff's strong shoulders shrugged. "Nah. I think this is funny," he commented.

I sighed heavily and let my head hang backward, hair falling into empty space. It was one of the few days I hadn't worn it in a braid, leaving a curtain of brown, slightly tinted with red, hanging in open space. "What is wrong with you boys?" I grumbled.

I didn't realize Pietro knew where I lived until he dropped me into Thor's arms on our doorstep. "There you go! Enjoy the doll! She's most compliant!" he joked.

"Bite me!" I snapped as he cackled and ran off to presumably go find his sister. Steve waved to Thor and I as he went into the home next door.

"Quinn… you're just too fun to have a little fun with because you're so… pragmatic!" Thor marched me into the house and to the living room.

I rolled my eyes as he let me go and I crashed into the couch ungracefully. "Mom! We're home!" I shouted. "And sorry we're a little late! We ran into a puddle and Thor and Steve thought it'd be a good time to mess with me!"

"You didn't get too wet did you?"

"No! Thor carried me over it and then Steve had to one-up him!" I called. I could hear my mother laughing.

"Well as long as you two are okay!"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay. I'm going to go do my homework. Talk to you later Thor." I stood from the couch and headed towards the stairs. Thor chucked a pillow at my head. "Hey!" I protested.

"Don't be a spoilsport Quinn!" he exclaimed exasperatedly.

"I'll be whatever I wanna be," I retorted, hurling the pillow back, using it as a distraction to run up the stairs and slide into my room before he could throw something else at me. Once I was in my room I opened the window and went out to sit on the roof, taking my homework with me. It was good weather, despite the overcast of threatening rain, and the breeze felt good. Playful even. I did my Calc and Physics homework quietly for about an hour. When I was done I put my homework away inside and went back out. I sighed with relief and just laid back on the shingles, relaxing all my tense muscles.

I must have fallen asleep or dozed off because the next thing I knew someone was throwing pebbles at me. "Quinn! Psst!" a voice hissed. I sat up.

It was dark outside. Nighttime. On the front lawn, a familiar outline was waiting in the shadows.

It was Steve. Thor slipped out of his window next to me and jumped off the roof to the lawn, seeming not to notice me at all. "What's going on?" I whispered. Steve just winked and Thor put his arms up, beckoning me down.

"C'mon, we'll catch you!"

"What's going on?!" I repeated, more forcefully.

"You'll see!" Steve hissed. "Come on!" I edged to the lip of the roof and closed my eyes. "Trust me! Trust us!" I sighed and pushed off.

Two sets of powerful arms closed around me, keeping me several feet off the ground.

Adrenaline from that brief bout of fear rushed through my bloodstream. I kept my eyes squeezed shut as the boys put me down on solid ground. Thor wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Let's go, Quinn! This'll be great!"

"What's happening?!" I asked.

"Tony's throwing a party and he's invited all of us!"

"Including me?" I retorted sarcastically.

"Apparently. He told us both to 'bring the girl'," Steve said. We started sneaking off toward the Stark mansion at the top of the hill on the outermost edge of town.

"Great."

"Your sarcasm is overwhelming," Steve muttered.

"That's kinda the point," I remarked.

At that moment, Sam Wilson—Steve's football buddy—and Pietro bolted past us. "On your left!" they called at the same time, somewhat quietly. That was Steve's usual call when they were out running and he'd lap one (he was faster than Sam but nowhere near as fast as Pietro). Steve hissed and ran after them while I stayed behind with Thor.

The boys ran all the way to the party while Thor and I just chatted. I was looking forward to seeing what crazy scheme Tony had cooked up so late at night. Sure we didn't get along too well, but I enjoyed watching both his successes and his failures. They were both equally interesting.

When we finally caught up with Steve, Sam, and Pietro, they were practically swimming in punch over at the drinks table. Particularly Pietro. He seemed to get drained of energy faster than anyone else I'd ever met. His metabolism must have run at almost inhuman speeds to get him exhausted so quickly after physical activity. I mean, the guy ran a nearly three-minute mile (impressive—especially given I had no physical skills whatsoever) and collapsed the second he stopped moving.

"Hey, Quintessence! Wassup?" Tony exclaimed when we passed him. I rolled my eyes, grabbed Thor's wrist, and kept walking.

End Note: So, I was on Pinterest and Tumblr and a lot of posts there made me want to write a certain character... so mystery-person will be appearing in this Part! Woohoo!

Thanks for reading!

~Cass

PS, I love storms/rain.