August turned into September and the next thing Lila and Nat knew it was the first day of school.

Lila was in the seventh grade and Nat made sure she had everything she needed when it came to her supplies.

And she packed her a lunch.

She knew Lila was a straight A student so she hoped it would be a good day for her.

All things considering.

She felt out of her league currently.

Driving her to school… like a normal parent in suburbia.

Granted she was much younger than most of the parents she noticed.

She would have been 21 if Lila was hers…

She stopped that thought in her mind instantly.

Where did that come from?

Lila wasn't hers.

She still had Clint and Laura.

She was her niece and adoptive daughter only because Lila wanted to stay with her.

She shook her head no slightly before she drove up to the curb in her Audi SUV.

In a queue of other cars with all the other parents dropping off their kids.

Lila was in the passenger seat.

With her headphones on looking down at her iphone.

Dressed in a pair of jeans and her hoodie over a t shirt and plaid collared shirt.

Her brunette hair back up in its pony tail.

She was looking at her new school.

It was in the suburbs in Westchester and looked nice on the outside at least.

A large two story brick building with a landscaped yard and football, soccer, and baseball fields in the back.

She saw the teachers and administrators guiding everyone inside along the sidewalks.

"Well here we are…" Nat said while pulling up to the drop off point and putting the car in park.

The school itself was now grades 7-12 thanks to the snap.

"Have a good first day, Lila." she smiled at her.

"I'll try…" she promised with a nod.

The two reached over to hug each other tightly.

Not wanting to let go for a few moments.

"I'll be here at 2:10 okay?" Nat told her.

"Okay… bye Auntie Nat." Lila said and opened the door.

She stepped out to grab her book bag from the backseat as Nat watched her close the doors.

Lila began to walk away but she turned around to wave.

Nat smiled and waved back.

She watched Lila walk inside the school and drove away.


Lila headed inside, among the other students in the crowded hallway.

Some kids were happier than others.

Conversing with their friends while others were like her.

Frowning and trying to shrink away.

She always liked school but she felt uneasy.

She found her assigned locker, pushing between a boy and girl her aged to put her things away.

Taking off her headphones, she placed them in her bag but three kids walked up to the locker next to ger, talking excitedly.

"No, I swear I saw Black Widow!" one exclaimed excitedly.

Lila tensed.

"No, you didn't!" a boy argued.

"I did. She was in the car ahead of us! She was dropping off some girl!" he replied.

Lila swallowed the lump in her throat nervously.

"Black Widow doesn't have a kid. Does she? And if she did why would she be here?" the girl asked confused.

"I don't know. But she dropped off some girl. I swear! We need to figure out who she is!" one declared.

The other two agreed with nods while he slammed his locker.

Lila was still throughout that entire conversation and eyed them walking away.

Any confidence she had that day had been drained from her face.

She knew her dad had been keeping them and the farm a secret for a reason.

She should have known this was a possibility with Auntie Nat being in the public now and leading The Avengers.

She unpacked her bag but grabbed what she needed for her first class.

She closed her locker and walked down the hall to her homeroom.

She walked in, seeing it was nearly full and took a desk in the back corner by the wall of windows.

She pulled out her phone from her pocket and saw that Nat texted her.

"Have a great day! Love you!" with smile and heart emoji's at the end of the text.

She texted her back but the teacher walked in so she put her phone in her pocket.

"Okay everyone my name is Mrs. Freeman, I will be your homeroom teacher along with your history teacher. We shall begin with attendance…." Lila heard her go through a few students names beginning with A before her name was called.

She saw a few students whispering amongst each other when "Barton" was spoken loudly and shrank into her seat.

She looked around, seeing everyone staring back at her.

Seeing them piece together Barton and Black Widow.

Her dad and her partner.

The Avengers.

And that she must be her dad's kid.

"Lila Barton!" Freeman spoke loudly.

"Here…" she said quietly while raising her hand.

She watched her check her name off on the clipboard and glanced around the room.

Now she finally understood why her dad wanted them off the record.

The teacher silenced them with a shush but gave Lila a reassuring nod.

She noticed it and frowned, knowing she knew who she was.


The day dragged on slowly and it wasn't long before all of the students figured out who she was.

Some of confronted her after her English class which was second block.

She tried denying it but she was then bombarded with excited questions.

About her, her dad, The Avengers, did she know them?

And so on.

Nonstop and rudely.

She hated the attention.

She wasn't expecting this.

And that was only the positive attention.

She was confronted with angry kids.

The ones who either lost one or both parents and blamed the Avengers for what had happened… through her.

It wasn't fair.

She lost everything too!

She had friends at her old school in Missouri and was never bullied.

She just didn't know how to deal with it.

It was lunch now and she was trying to hide at the end of one of the long tables in the cafeteria.

Her packed lunch of a PBJ, an apple, chips and a water were in front of her but she had lost her appetite.

Ignoring the hushed conversations and gazes around her, she was browsing social media on her phone.

Looking down at the screen, texting one of her friends back in Missouri.

Two of them survived.

Two did not but she was here... all the way in New York.

She missed them.

Not realizing how much until she was all alone.

Being alone was a new thing for her but she didn't exactly want to interact with the other students though.

This year was going to be long.


The day dragged on slowly and Lila was in her last class.

Math.

She had her binder and textbook out while she watched the teacher explain the problems at the smartboard up front from the third row.

Everything almost seemed normal for her.

She learned to ignore the whispers or jabs from the others.

The bell rang thankfully and Lila shoved her things in her book bag, strapping it to her while she quickly to rush out of the classroom ahead of the others quickly.

She marched down the hall to the bathroom and headed for the line of sinks.

Slamming her bag down she stomped her foot at the long, frustrating day.

She turned on the sink and splashed some water on her face.

She heard talking and laughter from kids out in the hall.

Feeling relief from the cold water she twisted the faucet off and grip the sink.

Staring herself in the mirror, her brown eyes staring back at her.

They looked haunted now.

Wanting to get out of school before the hallways became more crowded she grabbed her back and rushed out.


Nat was waiting in her SUV by the curb for Lila.

She saw the yellow buses lined up to the side in the lot and the kids walking towards them.

The red lights flashing with the stop signs out.

The others heading towards their parents cars by her.

She was scanning the crowd for her in the driver seat but didn't see her.

She reached for her phone to text her but saw her walking through one of the double doors.

She saw her chatting with Kate with their phones out.

Lila carrying her hoodie on her arm.

It looked like they were exchanging numbers and she smiled, seeing Lila smile.

She watched her say goodbye to the older girl and the two waved at each other.

Lila headed towards the car and opened the door, throwing her bag in the backseat along with her hoodie.

"Hey Lila. How was your day?" she asked as she got in and bucked her seat belt.

Nat began to drive away and pulled out onto the four lane main road.

"Well… everyone knows who I am now…" she sighed and Nat frowned.

"I was afraid of this. How did they find out?" she asked.

"They saw you and figured out who you are. And the teachers know, obviously so yeah… the secret got out." Lila groaned, sinking into the back seat.

"I'm sorry Lila This was one of the reasons why your dad kept you guys a secret for so long." Nat explained.

"I understand that now, but two of my friends back home reached out to me at least so there's that at least." she said but felt her phone vibrate.

Nat watched her get distracted and smiled at the teenager with her phone before driving away and onto the main street.


Seeing the once lively main street she drove down so many times when she lived at the compound mostly abandoned.

The storefronts, restaurants and shops boarded up and she deduced they were looted and vandalized during the initial chaos.

Or simply abandoned with the windows smashed.

The lights turned green and she pulled through the intersection but spotted a large sign of Golden Arches.

Seeing it miraculously still open.

She turned to Lila and nudged her with her elbow, getting her attention who was still looking down at her phone.

"I don't know about you but I could really go for a Mcflurry right about now?" she offered while turning right into the drive thru.

Lila smiled and nodded.


After getting their ice cream, Nat parked the SUV into a spot.

The two eating from the cups with their spoons in a comfortable silence.

Lila looking at the row of hedges in front of her but she suddenly thought of something Nat told her when she first arrived at the compound.

"Auntie Nat…" she began slowly.

"Yeah, sweetheart?" Nat glanced over to her.

"Did you… uh… did you find your sister?" she asked quietly.

Nat failed to hide the discomfort and anguish on her face which Lila noticed.

"No, Lila I haven't. I just hope she didn't suffer." she said, stabbing the ice cream before scooping out a large chunk and ate a large scoop of it.

Closing her eyes to fight the tears that threatened to fall.

Lila placed her cup in the cupholder and reached over to embrace her.

Wrapping her arms around her, she noticed Nat stiffen slightly before her shoulders sagged.

Nat choked back a sob between her hitched breaths.

"I'm sorry." Lila said sadly.

The two shifted back into their seats.

"It's okay. I have you now." she said and the two smiled at each other before resuming eating their ice cream.

"Can you tell me about her?" Lila asked, getting her attention.

"About, my sister?" Nat asked surprised.

Lila nodded curiously and she smiled in return.

"Well… her name is Yelena…"