"Como desées" Natasha started off in Spanish before finishing in Russian. "Лапушка."

"What does that mean?" Lainey asked curiously.

"Learn Russian." Natasha told her without missing a beat.

Lainey's jaw dropped as Natasha didn't pay her any mind. "Hmmph.'

Peter watched the two, trying so hard not to laugh at the way they were already getting on each other's nerves.

Oh yeah. He thought to himself as Lainey crossed her arms when Natasha kept speaking to her in Russian, knowing that there was no way the younger girl could possibly understand her.

These two were made for each other.

Chapter Six:

"Lainey, where are your crutches?" Steve asked the girl as he caught her roaming the common floor.

Lainey's head snapped in his direction as she stretched her arm out for a few jolly ranchers in a cabinet that she wasn't supposed to know about.

"In my room." She said simply, turning her attention back to the candy she was trying to snag.

The cabinet the jolly ranchers were in was too high for Lainey to reach, so she skillfully swung her good leg up on the counter while her hands gripped the bottom of the cabinet, and pulled herself up.

It was pretty risky, but she was really craving sweets.

"Lainey! What are you doing? Get down from there!'

And if Lainey didn't know any better, she would have thought that Steve had gone into cardiac arrest.

"Just a minute." Lainey's tongue stuck out of her mouth as she concentrated on putting the candy in her pocket without plummeting onto the kitchen floor. "I'm almost done. Just a few more."

But she didn't get a few more.

Steve lifted her onto his hip and closed the cabinet door.

Kill joy.

"Hey!"

"Don't 'Hey' me. You could've gotten hurt. You're not supposed to be climbing things and you're definitely not supposed to be walking around without your crutches." Steve spoke in what Lainey had decided to call his 'Dad Voice'.

She didn't know what having a father was like, but if she did have one, she thought that he'd sound just like Steve did in that moment.

"My leg feels a lot better. It doesn't even hurt! See?" Lainey moved her injured leg back and forth to prove her point. "It's been a long time since it broke. I can walk on it now."

It was true.

It had been about four weeks since her leg broke and it was healing pretty well, but Bruce still hadn't given Lainey the okay to walk around without crutches.

"Oh really? So if I tell Bruce what you've been doing, he'll be fine with it?" Steve raised an eyebrow.

"Well…...no. But I hate crutches! They hurt my arms and I don't need them! My leg doesn't hurt…...at least not really." Lainey fiddled with her nails to avoid Steve's gaze.

"Lainey, how is your foot going to get better if you keep aggravating it?"

"I don't know." Lainey shrugged as her head stayed low with a little shame.

"From now on, you need to stay off of that foot. Understand?"

There goes the 'Dad Voice" again.

"Well what if-"

"-Alayna."

Uh oh. Her full name.

She had to listen to him now.

"Yes." She sighed, not liking this one bit.

"Good. Now where did you come from?"

"My room."

Steve had to take in a deep breath to calm himself down.

She had just traveled up three floors and a few hallways to get to the kitchen.

With a broken leg!

"If it makes you feel any better, remember that I had to take the elevator to get up here." Lainey tried and failed.

Steve shook his head and carried her back to her room, gently placing her on her bed and handing her a book.

"I know it's hard to sit still, but it's only until your leg heals. Then you can run around and do whatever you want."

Okay, maybe not whatever, there were a lot of things he wasn't going to let Lainey do, but she didn't need to know that just yet.

They'd cross that bridge when they get to it.

"I see you two are getting acquainted."

Lainey couldn't help but giggle at the way Steve jumped nearly five feet in the air when he heard Natasha's voice behind him.

No matter how hard he tried to be aware of his surroundings, Natasha always took him by surprise.

"I wish you'd stop sneaking up on me like that Nat."

"I didn't sneak up on you. The door was open and I walked in." The redhead shrugged nonchalantly. "I came to talk to Lainey about something."

"I only went to the kitchen to get something to eat because I got hungry! See? And I didn't use my crutches because I wanted to get in and out!" Lainey couldn't help but blurt out, showing Natasha the colorful candy she had taken.

"That's not what I wanted to talk to you about, especially since I didn't know you've been walking around without your crutches." Natasha crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrows.

"…...Oh." Lainey cringed. "Well what did you wanna talk to me about then?"

She was hoping Natasha would forget all about her confession, which didn't seem likely.

"I enrolled you in school."

"Okay? So what?" Lainey urged, not really understanding why the woman was tip-toeing around the subject.

"It's a different school from where you used to go."

"Okay?"

"You're not at all upset by this?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"Nope." Lainey replied, popping the 'p'. "I like school. I always have…...since I surprised you and I'm not mad at you…...will you let-"

"-No."

"Oh come on! I only went to get something to eat!" Lainey whined pathetically.

Natasha had to fight to keep herself from laughing at the girl.

She looked hysterical.

In her small upset, she had sprawled herself out as much as she could and allowed her hair to fall in all directions.

She looked kind of adorable too.

"Which is exactly why I gave you that phone that's sitting on your dresser, which you don't use."

"Because technology is killing human interaction."

"That may be so, but you're still on bed rest until I say so."

Lainey let out a pitiful whine when she caught Natasha's smirk and got the urge to beam a pillow at the woman's face.

But then she thought about how many different ways Natasha could take that same pillow and kill her.

So she didn't.

Instead, she looked at Steve, who had been silent throughout the entire conversation, and gave him the sweetest puppy face she could imagine.

Her hazel green eyes met his blue ones, and he immediately started to melt.

"Be careful Steve." Natasha's voice had a playful ring to it. "She's manipulating you. You have to fight it."

Steve struggled under Lainey's gaze and tried to listen to his friend, but he couldn't help but feel for the girl.

She had been stuck using crutches for weeks and she had been on bed rest for quite a while.

What more could she possibly endure?

"Steve, you're a grown man."

Natasha was right.

He is a grown man and he should be able to hold his own against a child.

"Sorry Lainey." He gained control of himself after a long period of silence. "What Natasha says, goes."

Lainey whimpered and tears sprang to her eyes. "Does this mean that you don't want me to get better? You want me to stay in my bed forever? That would make me sad Steve. I think i might cry."

And on the inside, Lainey was grinning as wide as a Cheshire Cat.

She knew Steve was just eating this up and she was loving it.

"Oh cut the crap and eat your candy before I take it away and let you starve." Natasha rolled her eyes and pulled Steve away from the child. "If you have to leave the room, it better be with those crutches Alayna."

There goes her first name again.

Lainey swallowed a fearful lump in her throat and nodded as Natasha dragged Steve out of the room.

If it had been anyone else, Lainey wouldn't have listened.

But this was Natasha. The Black Widow. The spy who used to work for the KGB!

She would be crazy to disobey her.

So while giving her crutches a once over, she decided that she wouldn't step foot off of her bed without them.

It had been a few weeks since Lainey was caught moving around without her crutches, and her leg had almost completely healed.

She didn't need the stupid things anymore, but she had to wear a boot on her leg until it completely healed, which made it a little hard to walk, and the movement usually gave her a dull pain.

It was still better than hopping around on crutches.

Natasha and Bruce were still hovering over her as if she was some sort of porcelain doll that would break if they looked at her too hard, but she had more pressing matters to deal with.

School.

She had been pretty excited to start at a new school, but she was still nervous.

Every time she thought about it, the butterflies in her stomach came to life and multiplied to the point where she felt as if she would vomit.

Sweat would trickle down her neck and her face would flush to a dark pink as her thoughts ran away from her.

What if no one liked her?

What if no one wanted to talk to her?

What if she had eat lunch by herself?

What if the work was too hard?

What if she failed?

What if she failed because the teachers didn't like her?

"Are you ready?" Natasha snapped her out of her thoughts.

Lainey's head snapped towards her and her shoulders heaved up and down as she tried to calm her breathing.

There was nothing to be afraid of.

She was just worrying too much. She was definitely ready.

"Yes." She nodded her head and slung her back onto both of her slim shoulders.

The weight of the books was pushing her down, making it harder and harder to breathe.

She wasn't ready. She was definitely not ready.

But she couldn't let Natasha know that.

Not after she had told her that she wasn't at all alarmed by the fact that she had to go to school again.

What if she thought she was weak and insulted her for it?

Her mother always did.

Wow, these books were really crushing her!

It felt as if someone had pushed her onto the ground and was holding her there, waiting for her to surrender.

"Lainey." She felt gentle hands rubbing her arms, trying to calm her down before she went into a frenzy.

She had been so trapped in her own mind that she didn't notice that Natasha had been trying to calm her down for a few minutes.

"Can you tell me what you're thinking?" Natasha pulled the backpack off of Lainey's shoulders and placed it on the floor.

"N….No." The preteen hesitated.

She didn't want Natasha to think that she was some sort of baby. She had whined enough after they had helped her get away from her mother. She needed to grow up.

"I can see something's bothering you, but I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

"I'm fine. I promise." Lainey cleared her throat to get rid of the painful lump that had made its home there.

But it just wouldn't go away.

It hurt so much that it made her eyes water and her body clench.

"You are not fine. You're trembling малышка. Tell me what's wrong."

A fat tear rolled down Lainey's rosy cheek and her hand quickly wiped it away.

"I'm just cold." And before she could stop it, a sob escaped her throat, releasing the painful lump that had resided there.

Man she was pathetic.

She couldn't even go to school without making a fuss.

Maybe her mother was right about her.

She was definitely worthless and weak.

She needed to get a grip, she wasn't a baby anymore.

"I'm gonna miss…...my…...train." Lainey bit her lip to keep from crying out loud as she bent down to pick up her bag.

But Natasha stopped her and held her chin in her hand.

"You're not allowed to leave until you tell me what's going on."

And just like that, Lainey told Natasha the truth.

She couldn't help it. Natasha looked so concerned for her, that she felt really bad for not telling her sooner.

"I don't want…..." Lainey took a deep breath to steady her voice. "I don't want to go."

"Why not honey?"

"I don't know."

"You know…...I won't be upset if you tell me that you're nervous."

"I'm not…...What if something goes wrong? What if no one likes me?"

Natasha smiled fondly and brushed a stray hair from Lainey's face before reassuring her that everything would be okay. "What if someone does like you? Hmm? You won't know unless you go and find out for yourself."

The sound of children laughing and joking around met Lainey's ear as she stepped foot onto school grounds. There were so many different kids around that it made Lainey feel a little better because instead of sticking out like a sore thumb, she could blend in.

"Hi!"

Maybe not.

"Hi." Lainey looked at the person who greeted her.

It was a girl who was about her height, with green eyes and medium length blonde hair. She was carrying a purple backpack and wore a shirt of the same hue.

So Lainey could only assume that the girl's favorite color was purple.

"You're new here, right? You're entering the eighth grade?"

When Lainey nodded, the girl clapped her hands together and smiled so widely that Lainey thought she might burst.

"Oh good! My name's Claire, I think we're in the same class."

Lainey scrutinized the bubbly girl suspiciously, wondering how one person could be that happy so early in the morning. In fact, it almost annoyed her. It wasn't even nine o' clock and this girl was bouncing off the walls. What gives?

"I'm Lainey." The brunette politely introduced herself.

"It's great to meet you Lainey! I'm sure we'll be the best of friends!"

Lainey almost hurt herself, trying not to roll her eyes at Claire's enthusiasm. She was sure that if she was drinking something, she'd have spit it out. It was so sickening. Didn't this kid have anything to be upset about?

"Come on, I'll take you to the office." Claire smiled, linking arms with Lainey as she guided her through the school.

She was so getting back at Natasha for this.

She was going to replace her conditioner with water and baking soda.

And she was going to spray paint all of her catsuits red, like the hair on her-

"And here's the cafeteria. Most of us eat outside when the weather is nice, so we can be one with nature…..."

Lainey chose not to listen to anything else that Claire had to say. She just tuned her out and took a look at everything surrounding her. The hallways were wide enough so traffic wouldn't be a problem getting from class to class, and the building smelt like Clorox and bleach.

The office wasn't too far from the main entrance, so she didn't have to suffer through too much of Claire's rambling, because once they got there, Claire bid her goodbye and went on her way.

'Nobody willingly goes to the principal's office', is what she had told Lainey before skipping off in the opposite direction.

Literally skipping.

Lainey shuddered and pushed the glass door to the office open before making her way to the front desk, finding it necessary to stand on her toes to properly see over.

"May I help you dear?" A woman behind the counter asked gently, a soft tone in her eyes that made Lainey feel comfortable enough to speak with a little bit of confidence.

"Today's my first day and I was wondering if-"

"-Oh! You must be Lainey!" The woman smiled . "Here's your schedule. The only language class we have is Spanish, is that alright with you dear?"

"Actually, I speak Spanish…...and I'd rather not learn everything all over again."

"Perfectly understandable. You'll have a free period then. Let me take you to your room."

That was the high point of Lainey's day. It had to get better from here, didn't it?

Not really.

The whole day was a little boring for Lainey. The school's curriculum was pretty much a review for her and she didn't want to say anything for fear of someone thinking that she was rude.

So she sucked it up and did her work, finishing faster than anyone in the room, but pretending that she had been stumped by random questions on the page.

It wasn't ideal, but she could manage.

Besides, if she kept breezing through school like this, she would have more time for herself when she got home.

Maybe this isn't such a bad idea. She thought to herself as she kicked a small pebble across the sidewalk, waiting for Peter to get out of school.

The pebble bounced off of her rubbered canvas shoe and bounced a few feet to left, landing near a single crack in the sidewalk.

Step on a crack, break your mother's back. Lainey shrugged and hopped on the crack, landing on her good foot, before kicking the pebble again.

A small gust of wind caused her curly locks to blow into her face, making her look up from the ground to pull it away from her eyes.

And through her peripheral vision, Lainey could've sworn she saw someone staring at her. Her head snapped in the person's direction to see who it was, but when her eyes focused, she found no one.

Odd.

She couldn't help the sinking feeling she got in her stomach as the wind made the leftover leaves on the trees rustle and scatter the fallen ones across the ground. The conversations and laughter of the students and their parents who came to pick them up became distant, almost as if she was listening through the door with a glass cup. Their voices were muffled as her other senses sharpened, warning her of impending danger.

All of a sudden, the sky darkened and the clouds seemed to block out any source of light, making Lainey a little nervous.

But there was nothing to be nervous about.

She was safe.

I'm safe. She chanted in her head, not even realizing that Peter was making his way towards her.

And she definitely didn't notice him until he put a hand on her shoulder. Her reaction was not a pleasant one. She nearly jumped out of her skin and whirled around with a raised fist, ready to attack if need be.

In fact, her fist would've caught Peter in the stomach if he didn't catch it in his own.

"Lainey, it's just me!" The arachnid threw his hands up in surrender, after letting hers go.

Hearing his voice, Lainey stopped attacking him and allowed herself to relax once again.

Nothing could hurt her when Peter was around. She believed that with every fiber of her being. He'd never let anything bad happen to her if he could help it.

"Oh, sorry. You just caught me off guard." Was her response.

She was trying to convince herself that whatever she was feeling was just her mind overreacting, yet again. No one was going to hurt her, not again.

A/N: I'm back! This chapter has been sitting on my laptop for a while now, but I didn't post it because I started working on another one and I wanted to post them together, but I changed my mind. Let me know what you think! Lainey's life is about to go into a downward spiral and not even she knows it yet. Will the Avengers be able to help? Or will they be the cause of her misfortunes? *smirks*