Thank you to Harliquinn for beta reading and editing

/\/\/\

Skye was finishing packing her bag. She was excited; she was going to Iowa to hang out with the Bartons for a week.

Steve stood at her door and smiled. "You almost ready? Happy and the Quinjet are about ready to head out."

Skye zipped up her bag and picked it up off her bed. "Ready."

Steve took the bag from her and headed towards the waiting Jet.

"I know you know this but, I'm going to remind you. Behave and make sure you help out without being asked," Steve said.

Skye smiled and nodded. "I will."

"Good," Steve said.

When they got to the waiting jet, Happy took the bag from Steve and put it on the jet while Skye hugged her dad.

Steve hugged her. "Text me when you get there, please."

"I will," Skye said before the hug broke and she got on the jet and into her seat.

"Thanks, Happy, I would have taken her, but something came up that I have to be here for," Steve said.

"Not a problem," Happy said before getting on the jet again and closing the door. He got into the pilot seat and started towards the Barton farm.

About twenty minutes in Happy called out to Skye to sit up front with him.

Skye smiled and did so, moving to the co-pilot seat. "You going to let me fly?" she asked with a smirk.

Happy chuckled softly. "Not a chance. I just figured you would have a better view from up here."

Skye nodded and watched out the window. A couple of hours later they were landing on the Bartons' farm.

Lila saw the jet land and ran outside to greet her friend, with Laura coming out behind her.

Skye and Lila hugged.

Laura and Happy spoke for a moment before he grabbed Skye's bag and handed it to her.

Skye took her bag and smiled at Happy. "Thank you for bringing me."

"You're welcome," Happy said before he said bye to Laura and headed off.

Skye looked at Laura. "Hello, thank you for having me."

Laura smiled. "You're always welcome."

The two teenagers went inside and up to Lila's room, where Skye dropped her bag before they both went outside for a walk around the property. The last time Skye was there it had been too cold to do much outside, so Lila was showing her around this time.

Clint was practicing shooting at a target with his bow and arrows when he saw Lila and Skye walking toward the area, talking and laughing.

He smiled and waved a bit at them.

Both girls waved at him before continuing. Lila brought her over to a fenced-in area where there was a flock of chickens.

"Want to help me feed them and collect eggs?" Lila asked as she went into the coop.

"Sure," Skye said with a smile as she followed her into the coop.

Lila opened up a bucket of chicken feed and scooped up some of the feed with a metal scoop and started to feed them. Taking turns with Skye until they had given out enough feed for all of them.

While the chickens were busy eating Lila showed her where the eggs were. She grabbed a basket from a shelf in the coop and the two of them collected the couple dozen eggs there were.

"How many chickens in total are here?" Skye asked.

"Fifty," Lila said. "Half are egg laying, and the other half are for meat."

"That's cool," Skye said as she picked up the last egg.

The two of them left the coop and headed back toward the house.

"So, anything exciting for you this summer?" Skye asked

"Just the regular spending time with my friends and stuff around here," Lila said. "You?"

"Beach with my friends, and I ended up on my first mission with the team. It didn't go the way anyone wanted. And I got my DNA tested. It turns out my mother had some sort of abilities that show up in my DNA," Skye said.

"I thought you said your mother didn't have any abilities like that," Lila said.

"Because that's what my dad thought. She never told him about it," Skye said.

"That's…" Lila started.

"Confusing? Scary?" Skye asked.

"Yeah," Lila said. "You okay with it?"

"I don't know. I'm thinking if my mother didn't tell my dad that there was a reason, that this was all planned. And, maybe, it's why people are purposely trying to get to me, people who knew my mother and know something about these other abilities I might have," Skye said.

"No idea what they could be?" Lila asked.

"No, all I know about are the same as my dad has," Skye said.

Lila nodded. The two walked into the house. Lila put the basket of eggs on the counter before the girls went upstairs to Lila's room.

"Have you tried to figure out what they could be?" Lila asked.

"Well, before I knew who my dad was, I was working with Wanda, and we were able to figure out what I already know," Skye said. "Nothing else seemed to show up."

Lila nodded.

"I'm almost scared to figure it out, what if it's something harder for me to control?" Skye said

"Well, you will learn to just like you did with the abilities you already know you have," Lila said.

Skye let out a breath and nodded.

"I can't imagine how you are feeling. But I know you are a good person, and the Avengers will help you figure it all out," Lila said.

Skye nodded again. "But let's talk about something else."

The subject changed, and the girls just talked for hours until they were called down for dinner.

The girls went down and joined the other three.

"Thanks for collecting the eggs," Laura told the girls with a smile.

"Happy to help," Skye said with a smile.

The five of them ate.

"Can Skye and I go to the lake down the road tomorrow to swim?" Lila asked.

"Sure," Laura said.

"I wanna go, too!" Nate said.

Laura looked at Clint. She wasn't going to put the responsibility of a four-year-old in the water on Lila. "Can you go with him?"

Clint nodded and smiled at his younger son. "I'll go and take you."

"Yay!" Nate said.

"You're working tomorrow?" Clint asked Cooper.

"Yes," Cooper said.

They finished eating, and Skye started to help Clint clear the table.

The next day the girls got ready to head to the lake in the morning. They came downstairs and sat down at the table for breakfast. After they were done, they went back upstairs and grabbed their towels and such. When they came back down Laura held up a can of spray-on sunscreen.

Lila sighed but let her mom spray the sunscreen on her. When Laura was done with Lila, she looked at Skye, who didn't fight it either, and got the sunscreen sprayed on her. Laura then handed the can to Lila and looked at both girls. "Please reapply often."

Both girls said they would before heading out to walk down to the lake.

A couple hours later Clint came to the lake with Nate.

He smiled at the girls splashing each other and laughing.

Nate ran into the water to play with his sister and Skye. Clint quickly put down the stuff he was carrying before going in behind him.

They enjoyed a few hours in the water and by the lake before the four of them packed up their stuff and headed toward the house.

The next day Lila and Skye went to the mall, Lila had gotten her license earlier in the year and was able to borrow her mom's car, the two went into town and met up with a couple of Lila's friends. They were shopping in a clothing store and just having a good time. As they left the store the alarm went off, and the girls all looked at each other confused. Security came over and asked to see their bags, and they all willingly handed them over.

When they opened Skye's, they pulled out a scarf from the store her heart stopped. She hadn't put that in there.

"I-" she said trying to get words out.

"You need to come with me," the man said grabbing her arm.

Skye looked at Lila and her friends.

Lila looked stunned. She never thought Skye was the type to shoplift.

Skye was dragged by security towards the security office in the mall.

Lila took out her phone and called her house. Her dad answered, and Lila explained what had just happened.

Clint said he would be there shortly.

Skye sat down in the chair she was led to in the office, rubbing at her arm where the officer had grabbed her.

"I didn't put it in there," she managed to get out as she sat. She was visibly shaking.

"Mhm," the man said, not believing her for even a second as he took out her wallet from her purse to check for her name.

"I didn't," she said again.

"The only thing I want to hear from you is your parents' name and number," he said.

"My dad is in New York. I'm here visiting friends," she said.

"Fine, the name of your friend's parents and their number," he said.

She went into her phone and found the number and showed him. "I'm guessing my friend has called them though."

"I will just make sure," he said. He called the number and spoke to Laura, who explained that their daughter had called, and her husband was on the way.

The man hung up. "Clint Barton, isn't he Hawkeye?" he asked Skye.

Skye nodded a little.

When Clint got to the mall he went straight to security and was let into the room.

"I didn't put it in my bag," Skye said as soon as she saw him.

Clint let out a breath and looked at the security officer.

"Clint Barton. Skyler is here visiting with my family. What happened exactly?" he asked.

"Officer Flynn. Thank you for coming in, Mr. Barton. Skyler was coming out of a store, and the alarm went off. I went over to her and her friends and asked to see all their bags. When I looked into hers, I pulled out this scarf," he said pointing to the scarf that was now on his desk.

Clint nodded and looked at Skye. "You say you didn't put it there?"

"I didn't. I don't know how it got there," Skye said.

"Are there video cameras in the store that can prove she did it?" Clint asked looking back up at the officer.

Officer Flynn pulled up cameras from the store around the time. They saw Skye, Lila, and her friends go into the store and walk around on and off the view of cameras.

The area where the scarves were located was obscured. They could see the girls in the area, but they couldn't see anyone put anything in Skye's bag.

"You can't prove she was the one who put it in her bag," Clint said.

"It was in her bag, and the only people in that area are her and her three friends. So even if she didn't put it there, someone else did for her," Officer Flynn said.

"Well, you can't prove who it was, so you can't definitively say it is her," Clint said.

"True, if we were talking in a court of law, but that's not where we are. She was in the area it was taken from, it was in her bag, and she walked out of the store with it. I'm not going to get outside law enforcement involved, but she is banned from the mall for one year," Officer Flynn said.

Clint let out a breath and nodded. "Come on, Skye, let's go."

Skye got up and took her bag from the desk and left the room with Clint. Security made sure that she left the mall.

Outside Lila was waiting for them by the front door.

"Lila, where are your friends?" Clint asked.

"They are still in the mall," Lila said.

Clint nodded. "Well, I want you to head home. Skye will come with me."

Lila nodded.

Lila went to the vehicle she was driving, and Skye went with Clint to his.

Skye watched out her window in silence as they drove.

At a stop light, Clint spoke. "Skye, look at me."

Skye looked up at him.

"Did you put it in your bag?" Clint asked, looking at her in the eyes.

"No, I promise you I didn't, and I don't know how it got in there," Skye said.

"I believe you," Clint said as the light turned green, he started to drive again.

"You do?" Skye asked.

"Yes, I know when you're lying," Clint said.

"Are you going to tell my dad?" Skye asked.

"If you don't, yes," Clint said. "Because, regardless, he needs to know what happened."

Skye nodded. "I'm sorry this happened."

"It's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry you were in that situation," Clint said.

"Not your fault either," Skye said.

When they all got home, Clint sent Skye inside, he stopped Lila and sat with her on a swing at the front of the house.

"Did you see anyone put the scarf in her bag?" Clint asked.

"No," Lila said. "I would have stopped them or told Skye."

"I figured, but I needed to ask," Clint said.

Lila nodded.

"I saw security footage. It was you and Skye and your friends in that area, but you can't see anyone put it in her bag, and I know neither you nor Skye put it in her bag. It leaves your two friends, and I can't say I recognized them," Clint said.

"New friends," Lila said.

"Friends, you trust?" Clint asked.

Lila shrugged, "I know it was one of them, I just don't know which one. But the way they looked at each other when Skye was being dragged off, I don't think they liked her and wanted to cause problems. I didn't know they were going to do that. I didn't see them, but I know it was one of them."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Clint asked.

"I didn't have proof one way or the other," Lila said. "And I figured if Skye told you she didn't do it you'd believe her, and I was planning on telling you. I just didn't know how to help her other than call you," Lila told him.

Clint nodded.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Lila said.

"It's not your fault. I know you are almost an adult, so all I'm going to tell you about those friends is to be careful and know that the people you choose to spend your time with are the people you become like," Clint said.

"I'm not going to hang out with them anymore," Lila said. "Skye has been my friend longer, and they set her up. I don't want to spend time with people like that."

"I'm glad to hear that," Clint said.

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Are you okay?" Clint asked her.

Lila nodded.

"You can head inside," he told her.

Lila went inside and found Skye sitting on the air mattress in her room hugging her knees.

"I'm really sorry my so-called friends did this," Lila said.

Skye shrugged.

"I didn't see them do it nor did I ever imagine they would do something like that. I wouldn't have let it happen if I did," Lila said.

"I know, you're a good friend," Skye said.

"Are you okay?" Lila asked.

Skye nodded. "I just feel bad. I know they didn't like me, and that's why they did that, but they're your friends."

"Not anymore they are not," Lila said. "And how do you know they didn't like you?"

"I could tell," Skye said. "I'm pretty good a reading people."

Lila nodded.

Laura knocked on the bedroom door.

"Come in," Lila said.

Laura went in, "Hey, are you both okay?"

"I'm okay," Lila said. "Just pissed that two people I called friends did this."

Laura hugged her before looking at Skye. "You know this wasn't your fault, right?"

Skye nodded a little.

Laura sat down next to her and put an arm around her. "Skye, I'm so sorry you were in that situation."

Skye leaned her head against her and let a few tears fall. "I don't even know what I did that made them dislike me so much that they would set me up like that."

"I don't know, sweetheart. But I know you are one of the sweetest people I know. You have a big heart, and they are the ones who lost out on something here," Laura told her.

"Except I'm the one who looks like the criminal, because, even with Clint trying to fight for me, the stupid security guard still didn't believe I didn't do it," Skye said.

Laura nodded, "He didn't call outside law enforcement. So, maybe he did believe you, but he just couldn't prove it one way or the other and had to do something so his bosses don't get angry with him."

"I guess," Skye said.

"But know that I believe you, and so does Clint," Laura said.

Skye nodded.

"And so do I," Lila said.

Skye smiled a little. "And I appreciate that you all do."

They sat like that for a few more minutes until Skye pulled away slightly.

Laura let her go. "You ready to call your dad?"

"No," Skye said softly.

"Do you think he won't believe you?" Laura asked.

"I don't know if he will," Skye said.

"Well, I can assure him that you are telling the truth if he doubts it," Laura said.

Skye slowly nodded and took out her phone.

"Lila, go help your dad with dinner," Laura said, sending her out of the room.

Lila went, and Skye dialed her dad's number putting it on speaker.

Steve was sparing with Sam when his phone rang. They stopped for him to answer.

"Hi, Skye," Steve said.

"Hi, Dad," she said softly.

"What's wrong?" he asked, instantly knowing she was not okay.

"I went to the mall today with Lila and a couple of her friends met up with us. They didn't like me, but I just ignored that and tried to just enjoy hanging out with Lila. We were leaving a clothing store and the alarm went off. When security came over to us he looked in all our bags and found a scarf from the store in mine. I didn't put it there, but I was not believed. I was taken to the security office and Clint was called. He came, and we watched the security footage, but the area the scarf was in didn't have a very good view. You could see me and the three others in the area, but you couldn't see anyone put it in my bag. Lila says she knows one of the other two girls put it there, but she didn't see it. Either way, security banned me from the mall for a year because it was in my bag," Skye said.

Steve let out a breath.

"I'm here too, Steve, and Clint and I both know she isn't lying," Laura said.

"Skye, I believe you," Steve said.

"You do?" Skye asked.

"Yes, because I know you're a good kid, Skye," Steve said.

Skye let out a breath.

"You didn't think I would?" Steve asked.

"I didn't know if you would," Skye said.

"I do believe you. Are you okay?" Steve asked.

"I'm okay," Skye said.

"Are you sure?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," Skye said.

"She is a little shaken up by it, but she seems physically okay," Laura said.

"Okay," Steve said. "Thanks, Laura."

"Of course, and Clint and I are sorry she ended up in this situation here," Laura said.

"It's not your fault either. Who are these girls, though?" Steve asked.

"New friends of Lila's. Clint and I have never met them, but they will not be around Skye or Lila again. Lila realizes they aren't the kind of people she wants to be around after today," Laura said.

"Okay, well, Skye, don't worry about it. Just enjoy the rest of your time there, okay?" Steve asked.

"Okay," Skye said.

They all said their goodbyes and hung up.

The next day Laura took Lila and Nate into town for an appointment. Coop had gone to the beach with some friends.

Skye was sitting outside on the porch swing. Clint came out and saw her. "Come on. I'm going to show you something."

Skye got up and went with him to his set up of targets.

"You want to learn how to shoot with a bow?" he asked.

Skye smiled and responded with an excited "Yes!"

Clint grabbed his bow and taught her how to hold it. Once she had the right hold, he brought out the arrow and showed her how to point and shoot.

Skye took a few tries to get anywhere near the target.

"That's okay, it takes practice," Clint told her when he could see she was getting a little frustrated.

Skye let out a breath and tried again. But after a few more times she decided she was done trying and handed him the bow and walked away.

Clint put the bow down on a couple of wooden boxes he had sitting nearby and went after her. "Hey, it's not like you to give up on things so easily."

Skye shrugged.

"I can't help you if you don't talk to me," Clint said.

"Well, maybe I don't want or need your help," she snapped before going into the house and upstairs to Lila's room and curling up on the air mattress.

Clint decided to give her some time to calm down as he started to make lunch.

Not long after that Laura returned with Lila and Nate.

Nate started to tell his dad about how the appointment went. When he was done he ran off to play.

Clint looked at Lila. "Went well for you too?"

"Yup," Lila said as she grabbed a carrot stick from a plate on the counter where Clint was making lunch.

"Good," Clint said. "Lunch will be ready shortly."

Lila went off to find Skye.

"Things okay here?" Laura asked.

"I was teaching Skye how to shoot with a bow. She wasn't getting it and got frustrated. She gave up, and walked away. We both know that Skye isn't the type to just give up if something is hard, so I went after her to try and talk to her. She ended up snapping at me," Clint said.

Laura let out a breath. "Do you think she is still upset about what happened at the mall?"

"I think that might be part of it," Clint said.

Lila came downstairs, "Hey, Dad, where is Skye?"

"In your room, I think," Clint said.

"She's not there," Lila said.

"She must be somewhere in the house. She wouldn't have gotten past me to the door," Clint said.

Laura and Lila started to look for her.

Skye had managed to get out of the house without being heard while Clint had been distracted in another room and was walking around the property just getting some air and trying to calm down. She was feeling really overwhelmed. She had been managing everything okay, all the new information about her mother and everything, until after what happened at the mall the day before. It seemed that it pushed her over the edge and all she wanted to do now was scream and punch things. The last time she could remember feeling this way was in her last group home when her future was so unsure. Now she had a real home, real family, people who actually cared about her. She was visiting this amazing place, and she still felt angry and upset.

After they had searched the house and couldn't find her Clint went outside to see if he could see her before calling her phone. They could hear it ringing in Lila's bedroom. Skye had left her phone behind, not wanting to be found.

Clint looked at Laura. "I'm going to walk the property to see if I can find her. If she comes back, call me," he said, taking his phone before going.

Skye came upon the setup of targets and the bow and arrows laying on the box where Clint had left them. She picked up the bow and an arrow and tried to remember what Clint had taught her.

Clint saw her as he walked in that direction but stood back to see how she did.

Skye took a breath and tried to remember what Clint had told her, but she couldn't. Clint went over when she had seemingly decided not to shoot.

"Loosen your grip on the bow," he told her as he sent a text to Laura saying he had found her.

Skye looked up at him.

"Go on, loosen your grip, and try again," he said.

Skye did as he said and set the arrow in the bow.

"Take a breath, aim, and shoot," he said.

Skye did as he instructed and shot the arrow, hitting the edge of the target.

"Not bad," he said.

Skye chuckled. "You're being nice; you're a master at this."

"But I have had decades of practice," Clint said.

Skye nodded.

"Why did you leave the house without telling me?" Clint asked as he handed her another arrow.

"I don't know," Skye said, taking the arrow and setting it in the bow and taking her stance.

"Drop your elbow a bit," he told her.

Skye did and shoot. She missed the target and let out a sigh.

"I think you do know the reason," he said, handing her another arrow.

"I was just overwhelmed and needed air," Skye said.

"Okay, but that doesn't tell me why you didn't tell me you were leaving the house. I would have noticed or heard, unless you purposely left making sure I didn't see or hear," Clint said.

Skye pointed and shot the arrow, missing the target again.

"I find if I'm distracted I don't shoot as well as I could. So if you tell me what is going on, you might have an easier time," Clint said.

"I don't know what is going on exactly," she admitted. "I just feel so overwhelmed and don't even know why."

"You have a lot going on," Clint said.

"Yeah, but I was fine. til yesterday. What happened sucks, but I'm not in trouble. The people who matter believe me that I didn't do it," Skye said.

"Yes, this is true, but sometimes it's a small thing that will push a person over the edge of being able to handle the big things and not," Clint said.

Skye nodded slightly.

"But that still doesn't excuse you leaving the house without telling me, and you didn't take your phone. Did you do that on purpose, too?" Clint asked.

Skye nodded. "Sorry."

He handed her the final arrow on the box.

Skye took it and got into position and aimed, taking a breath before shooting and hitting the edge of the target.

Clint went and picked up all the arrows and placed them back down on the box.

"Put the bow down and come back inside. Lunch is ready," he said.

Skye did as she was told and followed him towards the house.

"Don't you ever leave the house without telling someone where you are going again, clear?" he asked as they approached the house.

"Clear," Skye said.

They went inside and sat down with the other three, who were already at the table, and they ate. After lunch, Skye quickly started to help clear the table. Laura started to fill the dishwasher while everyone else went to do something else.

"Skye, I know I've told you before but just wanted to remind you, if you need to talk about anything, I'm always available," Laura said.

Skye nodded. "I know, thank you."

When they were done in the kitchen Skye went and found Lila and Nate starting a movie, so she sat down with them.

Skye was up early the next morning. She went downstairs to get some orange juice from the fridge and sat in the living room while she drank it and scrolled through social media.

Cooper was the next one down. He started making coffee before going and sitting in the living room too.

"Good morning," he said.

"Morning," Skye said. Cooper was the Barton that Skye had spent the least amount of time with. Lila came down shortly after, dressed in her work uniform. It was the only day that week she had to work. She filled up a coffee tumbler with coffee and put the lid on before grabbing a granola bar and heading towards the door.

"I'm heading to work, see you later," she said to Skye and Cooper before going outside to a car to get to work.

"You ever been go-karting?" Cooper asked Skye.

"A couple of times, why?" Skye asked.

"I'm going with a couple of friends in town today. You can tag along if you'd like," Cooper told her.

Skye smiled a little. "sure if your sure your friends won't mind."

Cooper smiled and nodded. "My friends will be excited for the extra person. I'll be leaving at about ten."

"Okay," Skye said.

Soon Laura came down and started on breakfast, Skye got up and went to help her.

Once breakfast had been eaten and cleaned up Skye went to start getting ready.

"I'm taking Skye with me and my friends go-karting," Cooper told his parents.

"Okay," Laura said with a smile.

Cooper got ready as well before the two went out to his car and into town.

Skye met Cooper's friends, and they all had a good time. Skye noticed he and one of his female friends, Renee, seemed to be very close. Lila hadn't ever mentioned anything about him having a girlfriend, but she could tell even if they weren't yet they would be soon.

After a few hours go-karting the group went and grabbed lunch.

"Are you enjoying your time here?" Renee asked Skye.

"Yes," Skye said with a smile.

A little while later she and Cooper were driving back to the house.

They were pretty quiet, and Skye was getting more and more curious about Cooper's relationship with Renee. Almost like her mouth had a mind of its own she blurted out, "Are you and Renee dating?" Once she realized what she had asked, she slapped her hand on her mouth.

Cooper laughed.

"I'm so sorry, it's not of my business," Skye said quickly as she turned bright red.

"I don't mind the question," he said. "Yes, she is my girlfriend. If I hadn't wanted you to know, I would have been less obvious about it. I figured that Lila would have mentioned it so you knew anyway."

Skye shook her head., "I guess it just never came up."

Cooper nodded, and they pulled into the driveway. Once he parked and turned off the car Skye undid her seatbelt.

"Thanks for inviting me to tag along," Skye said.

"Not a problem," Cooper said They both went inside.

"Have a good time?" Clint asked from the couch in the living room where he and Laura were sitting.

"Yes," Skye said. She could instantly tell something was not right, that Clint and Laura were angry or upset about something.

"It was fun," Cooper said.

"Good," Laura said. "Skye, can you have a seat, please. We have your dad on the phone, too." She told her holding up her phone.

Skye sat and at this point, Cooper also could see something was wrong and quickly left the room.

"Hi, Dad, did I do something?" Skye asked.

"We're not sure. We have a couple of questions," Laura said.

"And if what has been said is true, you can expect that I will be coming to pick you up right away," Steve said.

Skye nodded a little. "o-okay."

"So, I spoke to Lila last night. She told me the name of the girls who were at the mall with you, and I recognized the last name of one of them. One of the kids in the same daycare as Nate has the same last name, so I had her parents' number. I felt it was my responsibility to make sure they knew what had happened at the mall," Laura started.

"Okay," Skye said slowly.

"I called and talked to her mother, I explained the situation, and she asked her daughter while I was on the phone if it was true and if she had set you up. She insisted that she didn't. But she also said it was possible that you simply were forgetting because you were evidently high on something," Laura continued.

Skye's heart stopped.

"Is it true?" Clint asked.

"No, I promise you it isn't," Skye said her voice cracking.

"Okay," Laura said.

"But we know that you have had an issue with that in the past. If you were, now is the time to speak up and be honest," Clint said.

"I promise you it's not. I have not touched that stuff since the last time I was caught. You can look in my stuff. I do not have any," Skye said.

"Okay, we believe you," Clint said.

"I believe you too, Skye," Steve said.

"Is there some way those girls could have known your past with drugs?" Laura asked.

"I didn't tell them. I don't know if Lila would have. I feel like she wouldn't, but I don't know," Skye said.

"I'll ask Lila when she is home from work. But like you, I doubt she would have told them," Laura said.

Skye nodded and looked defeated.

"Skye, are you okay?" Laura asked.

"I just. . . I don't know how I end up with people hating me so much that they do things like this," Skye said.

"It's because you have a big heart, and people can instantly tell you're a kind person. Unfortunately, that makes you an easy target," Laura said.

"So, what you're saying is I needed to turn into a bitch?" Skye asked.

"No," Steve, Laura, and Clint said at the same time.

Skye let out a sigh. "Well, I'm so tired of being the one who gets walked all over. If I'm nice and people can tell, then why don't they like me?"

"People who are unhappy with their lives will tear down the people who are happy with theirs," Clint said.

"My life is far from perfect," Skye said.

"You have a lot you are dealing with, but you don't let it make you mean to other people. You still remain the kind-hearted person you are. Some people don't know how to or want to do that. They just let their problems make them unkind," Laura told the girl.

Skye let out a breath and nodded.

"You keep being the kind, big-hearted young lady you are," Laura told her.

Skye smiled a little and nodded.

"I'm going to call that girl's mother again and make sure she knows that her daughter is lying. I'm also going find out the phone number for the other girl's mother and make sure she knows what happened, too," Laura said.

Skye shrugged. "You don't have to do that."

"Yes, I do. Because I won't let you come into my home and have some stupid girls who were supposed to be friends with my daughter telling lies on your name," Laura said.

Skye looked at Laura tears welling up in her eyes.

"What is it, Skye?" Laura asked.

"You don't just believe me, you're standing up for me," Skye said. The only other person who had done that for her before then had been her dad.

Laura went over to her and wrapped her in a hug. Skye leaned against her and took a deep breath as the tears fell.

"We will always defend you when you have done nothing wrong," Clint said.

Skye calmed down after a few minutes and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"You feel better now?" Laura asked.

Skye shrugged. "Just tired."

"Why don't you go rest, okay? We will call you for dinner," Clint said.

Skye went upstairs.

"Steve, we are sorry your daughter ended up with these girls and in this situation," Clint said.

"It's not your fault," Steve said. "I know you two would never have knowingly let her around people like that."

"I don't understand how Lila ended up being friends with people like that," Clint said. "How she missed the fact that they could be cruel like that."

"Mean girls aren't necessarily mean to everyone, especially people they like. They probably never were to her or in front of her," Laura said.

"I'm going to let you two go. Let me know what comes of this situation," Steve said.

They hung up and went about what they needed to do.

The last day Skye was at the Bartons' was uneventful. It was a rainy day, so they were stuck inside. Skye was quiet, but all six decided to play board games and spend the day together.

The next day Steve flew in early to get Skye. Skye finished packing up before going downstairs, where her dad was sitting at the table after Laura insisted that he stay for breakfast.

After breakfast, Skye said bye, thanking Clint and Laura for having her as Steve grabbed her bags for her.

Steve thanked the Bartons as well before the two of them got on the Quinjet and headed home.