Sam: Meeting The Avengers (Book 2)

Date Disaster

  My shift felt like it lasted an eternity. Honestly, I was exhausted from work but the day wasn't over yet. I went back home and changed into something much nicer than my work uniform. It was a short, floral dress but nothing eccentric. To complement the dress, I wore some tan flats that I figured wouldn't hurt my feet too bad.
  When I finally peered over at the time, it was pretty late in the afternoon. So, after grabbing the necessities - my wallet, phone, and Titanium's bracelet - I headed to the living room. Before I could even reach the door, there were three knocks.
  Almost surprised, I turned the knob and swung the door open to reveal a sharp looking Ian. His smile complimented the casual, dark gray dress shirt that he was wearing along with some blue jeans. Even his eyes glowed with a stunning but easygoing gleam.
  "Gorgeous as always," Ian complimented with a familiar smirk.
  Hiding the blush, I shrugged, "Thanks. You do too, of course."
  His smile never faded as he held his hand out, "Shall we get going?"
  With a dip of my head, I took his warm hand and allowed him to lead me outside. His car came into view which was a familiar black car that wasn't too run down but wasn't brand new. A perfect car for a teenager. For a teenager, however, he kept his car pretty clean. When I sat down in the cushioned seat, I didn't have to move any junk. It was good to know he kept his car clean.
  It was also good to know that Ian was a safe driver. He took his time to drive to the movie theater while I leaned back in the seat and listened to the classic rock station he had it on. It kind of bugged me because then AC/DC started playing and all I could think about was Tony jamming to Guitar Hero. Note to self: kick Tony's coccyx at Guitar Hero. However, Tony was the last person I would want to think about while on a date with Ian. If anything, I should be thinking how awesome it was because this would be the first conversation in a week that we'd be talking privately without him listening.
  Eventually, the car stopped as Ian parked in front of the movie theater. Excited for the movie, I bolted out of the car and giddily bounced on my heels as I waited for Ian. Soon, he was by my side while he slipped his fingers between mine. As he held my hand, he led the way toward the theater.
  Breaking the silence, Ian lifted my left arm - which was connected to the hand that he was holding - and noted, "What's the bracelet?"
  So I peered down to realize that he noticed my Titanium call bracelet. When he reached out to touch it, I grabbed it with my other hand and slipped it on the other hand, "Nothing... Just a bracelet."
  Although, he didn't seem convinced as he inquired, "Just a bracelet, huh? Then why are you hiding it?" Before I could explain, Ian challenged, "Is it from some other guy?"
  I shot him a slight smirk but shook my head, "Don't worry about it. It's just from an old foster parent I had for a while." Which was definitely not a lie.
  "How come I've never noticed it before?" Ian wondered.
  "Wanna know the truth?" I pressed. Judging by the gleam in his eyes, he wanted to know the reasoning. So, I pointed out, "Oddly enough, because you're always on my right side." I always wore the bracelet on my left hand like a watch so it wouldn't get in the way when I was writing or doing anything with my dominant hand.
  This got a grin from him as he stated, "Well, yeah. I'm your right-hand man."
  "That was cheesy... Like, Hall-Mart cheesy," I teased but with a straight face to let him think I was being serious.
  "Yeah, yeah. Let's just go watch this movie," Ian mocked a mope.
  "We can't forget popcorn!" I exclaimed, now excited again.

-

  Hours passed and the movie eventually ended. So we trekked out of the theatre and outside into the night. There were a few clusters of people jogging out as well so we blended in well with the crowd. Our hands were connected as we continued through the parking lot to his car. The movie was so cool! It wasn't a romantic movie because neither of us were into that but instead it was a bad-ass, comical, action-packed film. Starring - of course - a hero. 
  As the movie buzzed around in my head, I finally couldn't hold back a grin and exclaimed, "That was awesome! I could go watch it again-... and again, and again!"
  "Well, now you know what to take your other boyfriends to see," Ian teased, shoving his elbow gently against me.
  Completely ignoring him, I admitted, "My favorite part was the costume." 
  Which got a chuckle from him as he quoted, "It's red so enemies can't see me bleed."
  I giggled as well at the thought of it because then my mind wandered to all of the hero outfits that the Avengers wore. Even my own.
  To interrupt my thoughts, Ian confessed, "I'm surprised that I liked it as much as I did. He didn't pretend to be a hero. Like he had to save everyone."
  "Well, that's because he wasn't a hero. Heroes at least try to save people," I pointed out as I peered over at him.
  Although, he didn't seem convinced as Ian argued, "Please, heroes don't save people."
  Shocked, I snapped, "What?!"
  Deciding to change the subject, slightly, Ian stated, "I would just hate to be them - someone like the Avengers. I mean, if they screw up and they get someone killed then that's on them and their conscience. I couldn't live with that." 
  Now even more surprised at how the conversation changed, my gaze turned to the ground. My eyes began to sting as thoughts swarmed my mind. A sigh slipped from my lips while I stated, "You have to do what you have to do. Do you think they can help it?"
  "Yes. I think their job should be stopping a catastrophe before it happens," Ian claimed.
  "They try! Why do you think Tony flew up into a giant alien wormhole to get rid of a nuke? To look cool? He almost died!" I screamed before I knew what I was saying.
  This caused Ian to widen his eyes as he inquired, "Woah, woah, 'Tony'?"
  A gasp escaped my lips as my eyes widened in shock. How could I have just said that? Why did it always have to go back to Tony? I always got defensive when it came to Stark and it just made me even more mad that it was coming from Ian. However, I had to try and save the situation so I corrected, "I mean Iron Man!... I'm sorry I just-..." I tried to think of an excuse but nothing came to mind.
  "I thought you hated the Avengers," Ian reminded me.
  "But-... I do! It's just-..." I stuttered. Well, I was really in a hole now. 
  "Sam, what's going on?" my boyfriend urged. 
  As my heart thumped in my chest, I was about to break down and have a panic attack. Finally, I gave up, "Okay, I lied! I don't hate the Avengers but you can't tell anyone!" It was Ian and I trusted him so I was at least going to tell him that much. 
  Completely confused at this point, Ian narrowed his eyebrows and inquired, "Why did you lie?"
  Well, I couldn't tell him that reason so I dug myself a deeper grave and lied, "Because of Landon... He joined the Avenger's hate club and I was worried about him so I joined to keep an eye on him. But if ANYONE finds out, Ian, then I'm toast. Please don't ever bring this up," I begged.
  "Okay, okay... I won't," Ian promised.
  With a sigh, I pleaded, "Please, just take me home."
  Finally, Ian didn't bring anything else up as he walked me to his car. When we both slipped in, I decided not to do or say anything else rather than staring out the window. As long as I didn't open my mouth, I couldn't ruin any more secrets. In guilt, I hid my face in my hand and thought about how much the Avengers - mostly Tony - were going to be so disappointed in me.
  Dreadfully, my boyfriend stopped in front of the house to let me out so I smiled one last time to assure him that everything was fine. After telling him goodnight, I bolted inside and traveled slower to my bedroom. Once in my room, I fell backward onto my bed and stared at the ceiling to think about how I should tell Tony. 
  A while passed before I got enough guts to pick up my phone and click on his contact. The phone rang for a few minutes and a huge part of me just hoped he wouldn't pick up. Alas, it died when the familiar voice sounded from the phone.
  "Yep?" Tony's voice was slightly cheerful but that was about to change.
  "Tony...?" I started but found my voice lost in a void of anxiety. 
  After a hum, he replied, "What's up?" 
  While I fidgeted with my covers, I tried to collect enough courage to outright say it, "I uh-... I-... I have to tell you something..."
  Still calm, Tony encouraged, "Okay." 
  Except, I was still slightly stalling as I bit my lip and admitted, "It's important..."
  With a sigh, Stark urged, "Just tell me, Sam. I'm pretty busy as it is."
  To challenge him, I wondered, "Oh, yeah? With what? Counting how many cars you don't need? Because I don't think even you could count that high." 
  There was a gruff grunt of annoyance as he stated, "No, I'm designing and remodeling a new building... Did you call just to insult me?"
  Maybe insulting him wasn't the best idea at a time like this but I couldn't help it. However, the stalling was up so I forced the words from my mouth like ripping off a band-aid, "I screwed up."
  Somehow, Tony could tell how stressed out and panicked I sounded because then he reassured me, "Don't worry, we all do at some point."
  "Tony... I mean, like, really bad," I mumbled as my face began to heat up with embarrassment.
  "Just tell me what you did. I'm sure it wasn't as bad as you make it out to be," Tony promised.
  I took in how calm he sounded now because I knew I was going to miss it when he started to scream at me. The main thing I was worried about was him being disappointed. I messed up and I didn't think I could make it right. So, finally, I explained, "I told Ian everything."
  There was an eerily long pause and I cringed at the thought of what he was going to say next, "... You did what?"
  A nervous gulp choked me up before I began to ramble, "Well, I actually didn't tell him everything. But I told him that I didn't actually hate you guys because he was saying so many things that I just couldn't help but defend you! I didn't mean to! Besides, it's Ian. He doesn't care that I don't despise you guys! I promise he won't tell anyone."
  "Why would you do that Sam?!" Tony's sharp voice made me flinch.
  "It slipped!" I defended. "Besides, I didn't tell him that I worked for you guys!"
  After another pause, Tony mumbled, "We need to pull you out..."
  "NO! Yes, I screwed up but we're so close, Tony! Just give me a week and I can figure out who is behind all of this! Please!" I begged.
  Haplessly, Stark continued to disagree, "Why? So you can tell someone else about our plan?" Before I could snap back, he confessed, "I'm not doing this against you, I'm doing this for you. If someone important DOES find out, then that might put you in danger. Hell, you could be screwed right now."
  "Tony-," I tried to butt in.
  Except, he continued, "This was a secret for your own safety! Not for ours."
  "I'M NOT QUITTING!" I shouted, unable to hold back my emotions.
  "I can't let you go back," Tony stated, firmly.
  However, I was just as tough, "You can't stop me."
  "Samantha!" Tony barked. Then I heard him pause to take a deep breath in order to calm down. The pause took longer than expected as I assumed he was thinking about his words carefully. "Fine," he finally gave in, "I'll let you go tomorrow but if I think anything is out of the ordinary then I'm pulling you."
  At first, I was going to thank the man for looking after me but my chest was too tight to let me say anything else other than, "I'm sorry... I know I messed up, I'm just-... I'm not as good of a spy as you think I am. I let you down."
  Finally, Tony's voice became reassuringly gentle, "Sam... You could never let me down. Honestly, you're doing a lot better than most experienced agents do. And like I said before, we all screw up." 
  "I'll make it right, I promise," I assured him. That was the truth. I was going to make it up to him by finding out who was working for Lesser and stop their plans of turning people against the Avengers.