Thank you to Harliquinn for beta editing!
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Skye went to school on Monday and did as she promised and spoke to the guidance counselor, Ms. Ellis. She told her about what had been going on.
"Who is this?" Ms. Ellis asked.
"I think her name is Carly," Skye said.
Ms. Ellis nodded.
"I don't know for sure there is an issue," Skye said.
"Well, I will make sure that a closer eye is kept on the interactions between the two of you. If there is an issue in the future, there will be a record of this conversation, okay?" Ms. Ellis said.
Skye nodded.
"I think it was smart for you to come to talk to me about it before anything more serious happens," Ms. Ellis said.
Skye let out a breath and nodded.
"Was that all you wanted to talk about?" Ms. Ellis asked.
Skye nodded, "Yes."
"Okay, well, you let me know if there are any more problems, and my door is always open," she said before letting her go to class.
Skye went to class and sat down next to Anna.
"Hey, how was your weekend?" Anna asked.
"It was okay, yours?" Skye asked.
"It was great," Anna said.
Skye smiled. "Good."
Soon class started.
At lunch, Skye sat at a table with her friends.
"So, when are we going to get to see some of those abilities of yours in use?" Lily asked.
Skye chuckled. "I don't know. I'm really not supposed to."
"Come on, you don't need to use anything that is going to hurt anyone," Lily said.
Skye took a breath.
"You mentioned enhanced senses right?" Lily said.
"Yes," Skye said.
"So hearing, you can hear things across the room?" Lily said.
"Yes, I could possibly do that," Skye said.
"And no one outside us has to know," Ivy said.
"True," Skye said slowly.
"So, the table of seniors across the room, what are they talking about?" Ivy asked.
Skye took a breath. She knew she really shouldn't do this, but she wasn't hurting anyone. Right? She tapped into her ability and tried to hear the table that had been requested. But there was too much noise in the room, and she couldn't do it.
She shook her head. "There is too much other noise in here, I can't."
Her friends nodded.
Skye didn't eat much after that. She felt guilty for even attempting it when she knew she really shouldn't.
The rest of the day she was pretty distracted. At the end of the day, she grabbed what she needed from her locker and headed out and got into the waiting car.
"Hey, Skye, how was your day?" Happy asked.
Skye shrugged.
"Did you have another run-in with that girl?" Happy asked.
"No, and I went to the guidance counselor about it," Skye said softly.
Happy nodded. "Good."
Skye nodded.
The ride was silent after that. As they were nearing the compound Happy looked in the rear-view mirror.
"You're pretty quiet today," Happy said.
Skye shrugged again. "I'm just tired."
Happy nodded.
When they got home, Skye went straight to her room. She dropped her bag and changed into comfortable clothes before heading outside to her thinking spot. She sat down and leaned against the wall.
She was sitting out there for a while before Steve came outside and sat next to her. "Did you talk to someone at your school about this other girl bullying you?"
"Yes, the guidance counselor," Skye said.
"Good," Steve said. "Anything you want to talk about?"
Skye let out a breath and nodded.
"I attempted to use my enhanced hearing in the cafeteria today," Skye said.
Steve nodded. "It didn't work?"
"I think there was too much noise, and I couldn't focus. Maybe, also, because I felt guilty for even trying," Skye said.
Steve nodded. "Both are possible reasons it might not work the way you wanted it to."
"You're really calm about this," Skye said.
"I already knew," Steve said.
Skye looked up at him.
"Two of your new friends, the twins, were talking about it, and their mother overheard. Their mother is someone I have interacted with in the past on Avenger business. She figured you probably weren't supposed to be using your abilities in school and felt the need to call me," Steve said.
"Oh, so when you came out here you already knew," Skye said.
Steve nodded.
"I'm sorry," Skye said.
"Why did you try?" Steve asked.
"Peer pressure," Skye said.
Steve nodded. "Well, I want you to think about it like this, your peers convinced you to do something you weren't supposed to do. You got busted and are in trouble. Are those peers in trouble?"
"Probably not," Skye said.
"So you had the biggest risk in doing what you did. I know it can be hard to say no, especially when you are new and trying to fit in. But what if you had accidentally tapped into an ability that you didn't intend to?" Steve asked.
"Someone could have ended up hurt," Skye said.
Steve nodded.
"How much trouble am I in?" Skye asked.
"If you can't be trusted to use your abilities responsibly. you aren't going to be allowed to train anymore, this time there is no training for two weeks. If you do this again, it will be much longer," Steve said.
Skye nodded a little.
"I am proud of you for being honest about it upfront," Steve said.
Skye smiled a little and nodded.
Steve put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close and kissed her head.
Skye leaned her head against his shoulder.
Steve smiled to himself. She was clearly getting more comfortable around him.
They stayed outside like that for a bit longer before they went inside for dinner and their evening routine.
