Thirteen (Ten Years Old)

Middle school was unlike anything Emily had ever experienced before. Whereas elementary school had been full of kids who were being taught to respect adults and learn about all sorts of subjects, middle school began teaching kids other problem areas. Neither she nor McCoy were prepared for the brutality that would be middle school. They'd stuck with each other through thick and thin, but this was something entirely different.

The first thing Emily noticed was that the kids were halfway between being too short or too tall. There was no in between. Then there was the fact that many of them were too loud and obnoxious. Because she was taller than the average ten-year-old, some of the boys had begun flirting with her. They all seemed to think she was 'fair game' according to Jacob, McCoy's older cousin. With him being five years older, he'd already warned them that middle school wasn't a walk in the park. She began to understand what he meant by that after the way some of the kids treated her.

She was lucky to have her own group of friends. Pamela and Nancy had been sticking with her even through the last months of fourth grade. Though it hadn't been easy given the many instances she went through over those last few months, they somehow stuck with her through and through. McCoy was the only one who knew the truth behind those panic attacks. Anytime someone brought up the Kelvin or medical records that were passed on from that incident, she would freeze up and try making a break for it. She was grateful McCoy usually knew when to say something… he always seemed to know when something was bothering her, and the feelings were entirely mutual.

The first time she noticed their connection was back at the lake during their 'birthday' celebration. Emily hadn't mentioned it at the time because she was grateful to have someone like him as such a good friend. But as time went on and they got closer, she began to notice subtle things such as his thoughts becoming her own. When she first noticed that, he had been thinking of what horrors middle school would have. Or if he could join the basketball team. She almost smirked at the thought of pushing him into signing up for tryouts. He was tall enough that he could probably make the freshman team.

As for her, well, she'd already joined the gymnastics team. Doing so had given her lean, almost visible muscles that stood out like a sore thumb. Then to top things off, she'd finally signed up for the STEM program after one of their teachers suggested she take that step. She excelled in the science program, moving faster than anyone expected. The only downside to being so advanced was that other students had tried taking advantage of her. She was grateful Maria and Coulson taught her when to look for those who tried doing so. She'd quickly learned who she could and couldn't trust at the school. Though the outside world was an entirely different situation.

There were times throughout the weeks when she would disappear for days. Coulson was usually out on a mission during that time, leaving the McCoy's to keep an eye on her. It was usually around that time she would disappear, sometimes returning with new bruises and scars that were unexplainable. She was grateful the family hadn't questioned where she disappeared to. It wasn't as if she could explain those missing days even if she wanted to. Everything that happened within that time was usually a haze.

Still, nothing could have prepared her for the drama that went on in middle school. Emily quickly began to pick up on the ways some students enjoyed said drama. They would either instigate a fight or spread rumors about someone, leading to further problems down the road. The worst part of it was that the teachers had begun teaching students about puberty and what to expect out of it. A shudder ran through her as she recalled in vivid detail the horrors of sex-ed. The teachers had warned the students that something much more heavily detailed would be following in high school, with possibly bigger red flags and warnings to boot.

"I don't get why they feel it's necessary to teach kids so young about this mess," Coulson complained one day when she returned home. He was of course the first to find out about said classes because of the panic attack that followed. She'd never been more embarrassed or humiliated in her life. Things hadn't gotten much better since she and McCoy were placed in separate classes from the beginning of middle school. "They're not even teenagers."

"True, but the reason they're teaching these classes is because puberty usually hits around the age of eleven to thirteen," Maria pointed out with a knowing smirk.

Coulson didn't look any happier when he realized what that meant. Emily didn't want to admit that she was terrified of what would happen once she reached puberty. Maria had already reassured her that she would be there when that moment happened, because Coulson was still new to this world. Though the brunette didn't have children of her own, she'd experienced something similar in the past, and Emily found herself feeling grateful that they could share at least something in common.

She shook her head in amusement as she sat at the lunch table with Pamela and Nancy. As usual the three of them always sat together at lunch time. Talk at lunch time normally revolved around what they were taught the other day, or whatever rumors were flying around the grid. Emily was grateful she'd been left out of the rumor mill, but she knew it was only a matter of time before other students began talking about her unusual behavior and disappearances.

"You know, I heard Michael Davis has been planning to ask you out for a date," Nancy suddenly cut through the awkward silence that surrounded them.

"Michael Davis?" Pamela echoed in surprise. "Isn't he like, a senior or something?"

Emily jabbed a fork into her salad and pursed her lips. She'd quickly learned that when someone asked her out on a date, it usually meant they had homework that needed to be finished. She wasn't going to let someone take advantage of her.

"He can go fuck off for all I care," she snorted in response. Both girls just stared at her once more as if she'd grown wings. Swearing was almost unheard of by kids their age, but that didn't stop Emily from pushing the boundaries. She almost smirked as she imagined the look Coulson would give her if he heard any of it. "I'm not interested in boys."

"Really?" Nancy shared a knowing look with Pamela. "So you're saying you've never been interested in anyone?" When Emily rolled her eyes in annoyance, Nancy's smirk widened. "Not even Leo?"

The fork nearly snapped in half. Both Nancy and Pamela flinched when they realized the brute strength she was withholding. It took every ounce of self-control to regain her composure when she realized they were just teasing her. McCoy was and always would be a friend. She knew better than to think they could be anything more. He was too important to her to push around.

"Leonard is just a friend," she snapped. "That's how it has always been."

Neither girl argued with that logic. Nancy was terrified she'd pushed the golden-blond too far this time. But almost as quickly as the anger had seethed through her, it faded just as quickly. And that terrified her even more than the anger had. Pamela tried brushing the sudden tension off with a laugh, though she failed miserably when piercing dark brown eyes seemed to bore right through her.

"That's probably a good thing," Pamela tried making light of a bad situation. "Nancy here has had a crush on Leo for months now."

Emily rose an eyebrow in surprise as the black-haired girl's face turned a faint shade of pink. She'd always known about Nancy's crush on McCoy. While a part of her was surprised that Nancy hadn't been brave enough to ask him out, she was also relieved. She took a thoughtful bite out of her salad as she wondered how that would alter the group's dynamic.

"Too intimidated to ask him?" she asked curiously.

"More like too afraid of how he'll respond," Nancy let out a moan of annoyance. "I know Leo is amazing and great for someone his age, but… I'm not good enough for him."

No, you're not, a voice argued silently with her.

She was ready to say something else when a shadow fell over the table. Nancy smirked in amusement while Pamela shook her head in disbelief. After Emily's earlier reaction to Nancy's statement, Pamela was far more terrified of her than she would ever admit out loud. Emily scowled when she noticed who the shadow was.

Michael Davis was twice the size of an average middle school senior. He was also the known bully throughout campus. Emily usually made a point to avoid him whenever she could, either looking for excuses to slip away or joining McCoy when she spotted him in the hallway. Today was no different as Michael hovered over them and gave her a wide-toothed grin.

"Miss Coulson, would you mind if we walked to class together?" he asked nonchalantly.

Emily narrowed her eyes and looked at him with little interest. Though she realized this was a chance to humor him and put him in his place. She offered an innocent smile, proving just how dangerous she was as they walked to class together in silence. He was all talk as far as she could tell. About the only thing she noticed was the way his hand kept trying to wrap around her waist. About the only one who ever got away with that kind of behavior was McCoy, and that was purely out of comfort rather than whatever he intended.

"Did you know that my father knows how to kill someone fifty different ways?" she suddenly asked in the same nonchalant tone he had earlier. Michael suddenly stopped in his tracks when he realized what she was saying. She hardly ever spoke to anyone outside the circle of friends she'd gathered at school. And the first time she'd spoken to a stranger was when she left him shaking in his shoes. "He is rather infamous for being short-tempered when it comes to protecting me… and it isn't just him you would have to worry about."

Her eyes narrowed once more for full show; the lights had already begun to flicker on and off just as Michael backed away, hands up in the air as he realized she was the reason behind the power fluctuation. It only took a split second for him to turn and run, though not without McCoy standing nearby with a look of amusement sweeping across his face.

"Do I even wanna know what that was about?" he asked after reaching her.

"It was just some asshole trying to hit on me," she rolled her eyes in annoyance. McCoy rose an eyebrow in surprise when he realized what she meant by that. "I'm not interested in sex or whatever men have to offer… I've got too much to worry about anyways."

McCoy narrowed his eyes as he understood what she meant by that. He let out a sigh after realizing she was likely planning on moving on once she graduated from high school. Until then, the thought had never occurred to him what that would do to him.

"You mean you've got too much to worry about even with me?" he asked warily.

"I mean I want to focus on my studies and graduate early," she retorted. "It isn't as if I have real friends here anyways."

No sooner had the words left her mouth that she immediately regretted it. McCoy's jaw clenched when he realized what she was implying. Before she could fix the hole she'd dug herself into, he suddenly turned and left without another word, refusing to look her in the eye.

.

.

A week had passed since the incident in the hall with her and McCoy. They had since then been ignoring each other or avoiding each other. She was better at hiding her emotions around his family than they realized. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that McCoy made a point in suggesting she was wrong. He had been her friend... her best friend and quite possibly the only friend she could ever ask for. What surprised her and hurt the most was that his thoughts were no longer loud and clear like they had been. The silence told her everything she needed to know: Eventually he would move on and forget she existed.

She tried pushing the uneasy thoughts churning in the back of her mind. The more she thought about it, the more she began to realize this would become the perfect outlet towards her focus. She wanted nothing more than to move on and forget anything had happened between them. Yet all of the memories between them was something that couldn't be forgotten.

Another week of the silence had followed. The nightmares had slowly but surely begun to return, along with more disappearances. The less time she spent with his family, the easier it was to slip away unnoticed. She became increasingly aware of the fact that she was hiding behind a facade of emotions. Try as she might to hide it, Coulson would eventually see right through her act.

"We're going on a short trip to Malibu," he finally announced after noticing how much she had changed.

By the time week number three came around the corner, she and McCoy still hadn't reached out to one another. Emily knew the longer it took for them to reach out to one another, the harder it would be to make up for what happened between them. Unease crawled through her at the thought. She realized with a start that she didn't want to lose him. But forgiveness and moving on worked both ways. She was too damn stubborn to admit when she was wrong, and McCoy matched her stubbornness with ease.

Of course, things didn't get much better when they did finally arrive in Malibu. The city itself was unlike any city she had ever been to. It was mostly a beach town with huge looking mansions sprawling across the cliff's ledge. Coulson was paying a friend a personal visit. Or at least she suspected the stranger in question was a friend. Once she was able to figure out where everything was and how the building itself worked, it didn't take her long to register who's house they were visiting. Or for the stranger Coulson was visiting to meet her.

"So this is the little prodigy I've been hearing so much about?" the man, who she recognized immediately as Howard Stark, looked at her with renewed interest. "I have a son who's a bit older than you; I'm willing to bet he'd get along with you in an instant."

Emily rose an eyebrow in surprise at the way he seemed to speak so fondly of his son. Much like McCoy's father had, only there was also an edge to his voice. Emily pursed her lips together as she made her way down the hall leading to an adjacent room on the left. Her brow shot up when she saw an older kid sitting on a work bench with what appeared to be a robotic arm in one hand a tool kit sitting beside him.

"You know that thing would probably work better if you placed that upper gear on the grinder," she finally cut through the silence.

The kid jumped at the sound of her voice, but his eyes narrowed almost as quickly as he startled. He looked back at the piece that was missing to make the robotic arm move up and down. Almost as quickly as he was annoyed, he rose an eyebrow in surprise when he realized she was right.

"How did you…"

"Spent a lot of time on Starships for the first four years of my life," she explained with a shrug. "Science and technology were pretty much the norm for me. The engineering department tried fighting over what position I would have when I was old enough."

The kid merely rolled his eyes at the way she seemed to speak in an almost robotic tone. She knew she probably sounded like a smug idiot, but that didn't stop her from wanting to play the part. Emily watched him curiously as he did just that. Once the part was put into place, the arm seemed to move up and down with ease.

"Huh… you must be the kid dad was talking about the other day," he remarked. "So is he thinking of replacing me with you?"

That was enough for her to flinch visibly. She knew what Howard Stark was like from the press releases. He always seemed so stern and cold in the videos. Yet the moment he introduced himself, she knew it was just a facade. It was clear he cared about his son, despite the reports that were made from the media.

"Doubtful," she retorted and crossed her arms, "He'd have to get through Papa first."

"Tony Stark," the kid introduced himself after smirking in amusement.

"Emily Coulson," she returned the gesture.

.

.

The day she and Tony Stark became friends was the day the world stood still. Coulson would later regret dragging her along to meet him, because they seemed to fit each other both in personality and intelligence. Tony was the one who challenged her into hacking into the Pentagon's security database. She did so without hesitation, knowing full-well she would go out of her way to prove herself. She hacked into the database within seconds, impressing even Tony with what she was capable of.

They stayed in touch with each other after that, Tony promising to come up with new challenges while being grounded by Howard seconds later. Emily almost laughed at the thought of how that would happen with him being grounded. Though in truth, Tony was the first real friend to challenge her intelligence in a way she didn't anticipate. It felt good to have someone she could relate to… even with McCoy he did his best to blend in with everyone, either ignoring his own intelligence or showing that he was just like everyone else.

School of course was even worse the following week. Within a month she had begun to understand the meaning of 'social outcast'. Emily hadn't missed the fact that most of the kids would either give her dirty looks or start whispering whenever they thought she wasn't listening. The worst of it though was seeing the scathing look McCoy would give her. She flinched under those piercing eyes. She realized with a start that she couldn't handle the fact that they hadn't talked to each other in almost a month. Yet McCoy made no move to make things better or talk to her, despite the fact that their parents were still close friends and neighbors.

"I heard that she's good friends with Tony Stark," one of the kids had begun whispering when she walked past. Emily tried ignoring them when she realized what they were doing. "I guess that means she's the new school slut."

A shiver of rage crawled through her at the accusation and their cruel words. Not once had Tony tried making a move on her. She knew he was just as infamous as his father around girls his age, but he was terrified of invoking Coulson's wrath… along with his father's wrath. That didn't stop the rumors from spreading around like wildfire. And somehow she was at the center of said rumors.

"She's already enough of a freak; I'm glad she finally found someone who can fit in with her."

That hurt. Emily grimaced when she recognized Pamela's voice among those who accused her of being a 'freak', just like her father had once called her.

"It ain't as though she's looking for friends in the first place."

It was only until hearing McCoy say those words out loud that Emily found herself stopping in her tracks. She finally turned to face him, but the moment she did was when Pamela and the other kids started mocking her. All at once, her stomach twisted in a knot when she realized she would never fully belong. And the one person she had considered a friend was no better than the rest of them. Emily tore her gaze from them and ran before they could make things worse.

She didn't care where she went at that point. The pain of their words continued clawing away at her, leaving a painful reminder of just how different she was compared to everyone else. Even McCoy had eventually moved on and proven why she would never fit in anywhere. About the only place she would ever truly feel at home was the agency that took her in. And maybe it was better that way. Maybe then she would finally find a place she could call home.

.

.

McCoy let out a sigh of frustration as the bus finally pulled to the stop. After a long day of dealing with tests and quizzes, he was grateful to be back home and finally relax. He knew the same old routine would follow the next day, so he took whatever chances he had of his freedom. Though even that was short-lived when he thought of how that day had begun in the first place.

When he first heard rumors of Emily meeting up with Tony Stark, he wasn't sure what to make of it. He had been angry with her. He still was. They'd promised to be friends until the bitter end, and when she made that one comment about not needing friends, it hurt more than he wanted to admit out loud. So the next month had been spent avoiding her whenever he could.

It was only until seeing her that one afternoon in the lunch room that McCoy had begun to notice a real change in her. Before this mess, she had been more open to Pamela and Nancy. Now that both girls were avoiding her like she was the plague, it was clear she was more alone than ever. And for the first time since that morning, guilt stabbed him in the chest when he realized he'd played a large part in that. She was still his friend, despite what she or anyone else might have said. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew he would have to face her sooner or later.

"I'm surprised Emily hasn't been coming back with you."

McCoy winced at the sound of his mother's voice. He knew Coulson was likely off to who knew where. His parents were usually the ones who kept an eye on her when that brunette couldn't. And he hadn't been the first to notice she would disappear throughout the weeks Coulson wasn't around. He wasn't so foolish as to miss out on the fact that she was suffering from injuries whenever she returned, or how she shied away whenever someone tried approaching her. McCoy's jaw clenched as realization dawned on him. She was playing them all like fools.

He shook his head in frustration and finally began looking for her. It was late by the time he reached that decision. His mother had gotten so used to her random disappearances that she didn't seem bothered by it, though McCoy hadn't missed the fact that she called his father. He knew he would never hear the end of it if she had disappeared again. His hands balled into fists when he finally reached the lake where she normally hid. It was only until reaching said spot that McCoy finally spotted a familiar figure hunched over the water's edge.

The sight was enough for him to stop in his tracks. His heart nearly skipped a beat when he noticed her arms were wrapped around her legs, with her face buried into her arms. McCoy couldn't help but frown as he realized something was wrong. He knew Emily well enough to know that she tended to hide whatever she was feeling around the people who cared about her. That was one trait he quickly picked up on when they first met. So the moment he saw her actually crying was something he hadn't been prepared for.

"What are you doing here?"

McCoy flinched when she finally spoke for the first time in weeks. Her voice cracked as though she hadn't spoken to anyone in days. Yet that didn't stop him from trying to put on a brave face. He knew something needed to be done in order to make things right, even if it meant going against everything he believed in.

"I live here," he retorted after deciding to close the distance between them, though not without regretting his choice. It wasn't until he got close enough that he noticed the fresh blood staining the ground beneath her. "Emily—"

"Don't," she cut him off before he could get any closer. McCoy's jaw clenched when he realized what she was doing. "If you're here to tell me I'm not looking for friends, you can save your breath."

He flinched once again at the way she spoke. Her voice was filled with bitter resentment, along with something else that made his skin crawl with unease. When he got a better look at her, he realized with a start that the blood came from her, and it only took a split second for him to register why.

"Emily, what are you doing to yourself?"

He couldn't help but gape when he finally noticed the nicks and grooves covering her upturned wrists. Try as he might to hide it, the guilt from earlier suddenly came rushing back as understanding dawned on him. What terrified him more was the fact that she didn't try fighting him off like she normally would when he reached her.

"I keep having nightmares," she finally whispered. McCoy's heart sank when he realized what she meant by that. He'd known she still suffered from nightmares of the Kelvin attack. But he was becoming increasingly aware that suffered a great deal further than she admitted. "They all end the same way… the world falling apart, everything in ashes."

The more he heard, the deeper his heart sank as realization dawned on him. Her nightmares were too vivid to be just nightmares. There was something deeper going on that left his stomach churning with renewed anxiety. He suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace, ignoring the blood seeping through his clothing. He knew at that moment that she needed a friend now more than ever. He'd been nothing more than an ass for the last few months, and treating her as an outcast wasn't going to get them anywhere.

"I'm sorry, Em… I know I haven't exactly been there for you, but that doesn't mean you should be hurting yourself," he said quietly.

McCoy swallowed hard when she broke down into a quiet sob. It wasn't the first time he had seen her cry, but it was the first time he'd heard how broken she sounded. It was enough for his heart to wrench with pity. He knew in that moment that abandoning her was the worst thing he could have done. And he planned on making up for everything that happened between them.