Free Fall [PETER PARKER]

SIX: ACCORDING TO YOU

chapter six

It was a quiet ride in the car as Ana was taken to the Avengers facility. Natasha was driving and Ana was sitting in the passenger's seat. The radio was playing some kind of oldies rock station, and the sleek interior of the car prohibited Ana from touching anything for the fear that she would ruin it. Any other moment and she would've been bursting with excitement over being in the same car as Black Widow. She was going to the freaking Avengers facility. That was where they lived, trained, and did everything. This was the coolest experience she could be going through, yet she couldn't find it in her to be happy about it. Under the circumstances they were in, she would've been mad at herself if she did feel any shred of excitement.

"So," Natasha began in an attempt to strike up a conversation and fill the void of silence in the car, "who's this Peter? That's his hoodie, isn't it?"

Ana fisted the material in her hands and inhaled the scent of Peter infused in it. "Yeah, it is." She said quietly. "He's just a friend."

Natasha chuckled, then smirked knowingly. She glanced over at Ana and raised her brows. "I don't think he thinks of you as just a friend. He got you a get well gift, and gave you his jacket." Ana just looked away and out the window, training her eyes at the buildings there were passing by. "Ok, I get it. You don't want to talk about boys. What about we talk about something else? You joined the Decathlon team, what made you want to do that?"

"It's the only thing my parents would let me do. A lot of my friends are on the team, I like it. It's fun." She stared down at her hands in her lap and shrugged. Natasha smiled but kept her eyes on the road. There was a million questions Ana wanted to ask her, but it was almost like there was a lump in her throat that was prohibiting her from asking them. The only one that she could form into words was the one that had been burning in the back of her mind ever since Natasha mentioned it. "So you guys have been watching me this whole time?" She asked.

Nodding her head, Natasha sighed. "Keeping an eye on you, yes. We do that with everyone we notice who has qualities in them to be an Avenger."

Ana turned her head to look at Natasha incredulously. "An Avenger?" Her? What else did this mean? That she had a future in being an Avenger if she went on track to be one? She had to admit, that was a little cool.

Her lips curling up into a smile, Natasha replied, "You might be surprised in what kind of things we see in you, Ana. You might not even be seeing it in yourself, but we definitely can. We saw it in Sokovia and we've been seeing it."

They thought she was Avengers material. She could be an Avenger. How was she not squealing with excitement right now? "So what exactly am I going to be doing at the compound?" She questioned curiously.

"First, we'll get you settled into your room. You're going to be neighbors with Wanda." Ana smiled slightly at that. She liked Wanda. They had a lot in common. "Training won't start for a few days, but when it does, we're just going to do a lot of practice with your powers to make sure you have full control of them."