Autor's Note: I know I haven't touched this one in a while. This doesn't actually take place during an episode more like between them. We get a touch of rebellious Piper in this one. Also some angst. I own nothing!

20. A Break

Eddie glanced around the library, in all honesty he wasn't sure if she'd even be there but hey he could hope. He spotted the short brunette bob he was looking for at one of the tables farthest from the doors. Piper had her back to him but from the way she was curled in around her computer he could tell she was concentrating hard. He walked over to her and grabbed a book off the shelf as he got a good look at her for the first time in a week. She looked down in the dumps. There were dark bags under her eyes and he hadn't seen her smile since the disaster of the party. She had her headphones on and was fiddling with something on her computer in the dark corner of the library. Eddie set down his books on the other side of the table and Piper jumped pulling one of her headphones out of her ear. It was their free period and she could normally be found in one corner of the school or another avoiding Flash Thompson and reading but that didn't seem to be the case here. Eddie grinned at her headphones which had the purple arrow that had become associated with the ex-assassin turned Avenger Hawkeye.

"Those are cute, he your favorite?" Piper laughed quietly glancing down at her headphones.

"One of them yeah." Her smile was short and slightly forced. Eddie frowned trying to peek over her shoulder at what she was working on but she slipped the sleek black laptop closed before he could get a look at it. He shrugged.

"You ok Pipes? You've been off since the party." Piper stared down at her now closed laptop. In truth she was not ok. The feeling of being ripped out of her own head, trapped watching herself hurt her friends, even if she knew she wasn't in control it messed with her head. She and Clint were meeting up whenever they both had free time, he and Natasha were the only ones who really understood what that was like. But she couldn't exactly tell Eddie that.

"I'm working on a side project. Something for a friend." That was an outright lie. Truth be told she was trying to find a match for the voice that had rang from the symbiotes mind into hers using the Avengers files on known villains. Danny had confirmed that he'd heard another voice as well as the hissing spitting one of the symbiotes. The others couldn't remember much but none of them could figure out why only she and Danny had synced with what seemed to be Venom's memories. None of them were clear though. Muddled flashes were all she'd been able to discern. That and a voice echoing the same words through her head over and over again.

Distilled aggression. Pure Venom.

"Piper?" Piper glanced up and unclenched her fist. Her knuckles had been cracking and she hadn't even noticed. She shook her head in an attempt to clear it.

"Sorry I've just been distracted lately." Eddie nodded.

"Yeah I noticed. You're working too hard." Piper nodded and just managed to hold in a derisive snort. He had no idea how hard she was working these days. It was nuts how much she managed to do in one day these days. There was training with the team, school, solo Spidey time which almost didn't happen anymore as at least one member of the team decided it was an excellent time to tag along, then there was training at home, helping her dad and Uncle Bruce work on projects and her sudo therapy sessions with Uncle Clint and Auntie Tasha. Her plate was so full she hadn't had a chance to schedule movie night at her place. Eddie's frown deepened then a mischievous glint found its way into his eyes.

"I have an idea. Have you ever played hookey before Pipes?" Piper chuckled.

"You of all people should know I would never do that." Eddie's grin widened.

"Come on. It's our free period, no one's gonna miss us until next period and I know for a fact you are the biggest teacher's pet and they won't care if you miss one class." Piper laid her head on her laptop.

"Come on we both need a break from this place." Piper smiled and nodded stuffing her laptop into her bag.

"You're right, I could use a break." Eddie grinned and grabbed her hand leading her out of the school building both of them holding back laughter.

Harry was sitting in his Geometry class staring out the window when he spotted Eddie leading Piper out of the school building to where several cars and a single motorcycle were parked. Eddie pulled two helmets out of the saddle bags of the bike and handed one to Piper before settling her bag into the bag and zipping it closed. He pulled on his own helmet and Piper mounted the bike after him. They drove off into the afternoon sunlight of a beautiful spring day. Harry stared after them.

Felix Hardy was treating himself today. His successful heist had landed him enough of a haul to live comfortably for quite some time so he decided to go out and have a little fun today. For him that meant hitting Coney Island, like he and his father used to. He frowned at the thought. His father was still rotting in prison for what he'd done nearly four years ago. He shook off the bad memories and leaned on the railing that separated the amusement park from the river. There were two kids around his age leaning nearby, a tall blond boy built like a linebacker and a small bookish looking brunette. Having nothing better to do he listened to them talk.

"Seriously Eddie, I needed this. Next game's on me though." The blond smiled plucking a piece of cotton candy off of the large purple mass the girl was holding. His grin was stained purple when he smiled. She snorted a laugh and shivered slightly. The blond took off his black leather jacket and slung it around her shoulders. They were cute together Felix mused as they wandered away towards the carnival games. He smiled looking out over the river as the sun began to dip low on the horizon.

Piper took aim and lobbed the baseball into the precise center of the tower of bottles sending them all falling and spinning to the ground. She cheered and bounced as the man in the carnival stand shook his head clearly impressed.

"Well I gotta say it, you've got a good arm on you Miss. You ever considered playing baseball?" Piper shook her head as she picked out her prize from the top shelf. She ended up choosing a giant stuffed version of the Hulk that was nearly the length of her torso. Eddie laughed as she bounced back over to him, maybe all the sugar had been a bad idea but Piper was happy so he was happy. They made their way over to another game, this one was throwing darts at balloons. Piper was again much better than Eddie had expected her to be. She won a plastic version of Thor's hammer in this game and it seemed to amuse her to no ends.

"You really like the Avengers, don't you?" Piper nodded her smile turning slightly mischievous.

"You could say that." There was a ringing from Piper's pocket and Eddie took the large plus Hulk, which was heavier than he'd expected, to let Piper easily answer her phone. She looked at her caller ID first and swore under her breath before she answered.

"Uncle Steve! Oh, did the school call? No. I'm at Coney Island, with a friend. I'm glad you appreciate my honesty… You're mad at me. Oh, god not the disappointed voice, please. I needed a break." There was a pause. The phone on the other side seemed to have switched hands.

"Uncle B, listen… Yes. Yeah I know you never did anything like this…" Another long pause, Piper looked on the verge of laughter.

"Hey Uncle Clint. Yeah, I needed a break. I'm perfectly safe. Yes, I know Auntie Tasha and you were worried. I skipped class for the first time in sixteen years to go play at Coney Island with a friend. Am I bringing him home?" Piper looked over at Eddie and held in a laugh.

"I don't know if he's ready to meet the family Uncle Clint." Another pause. Piper paled slightly.

"Hey dad. Yeah… Yes, I know it's irresponsible… Seriously? Ok. Ok! No, we'll follow him. Yeah dad, love you too." Piper hung up the phone and turned to Eddie.

"So, my dad's insisting that he meet you." Eddie nodded. Piper had mentioned a few times being adopted after her Uncle Ben had died but she'd never been more specific than a passing mention. They headed towards the exit of the park and Piper spotted a black Audi waiting near the entrance.

"Wait here." She took the plush from him and rushed over to the nearly unmarked car. She dropped off the prizes she'd won in the backseat and the car waited to pull out of the lot until she was standing next to Eddie who was thoroughly confused now.

"I thought your dad wanted to meet me." Piper nodded.

"He does. Which is why we're heading to my place next. And be prepared this is gonna get weird fast." Eddie frowned but got onto his bike with Piper behind him, both wearing their helmets. Her directions led them to a hidden underground parking garage in the middle of Manhattan. She took off her helmet placing it on the back of the bike and holding out a hand.

"If you're not too freaked out we can keep going. If you're freaked out I'll make your excuses and you can go." Eddie shook his head. This was his best and oldest friend, just because her new family was odd didn't mean anything to him. So instead of running at the oddness of the situation and the nearly empty parking garage that they'd needed a code to enter, Eddie followed Piper to the doors of an elevator.