saving lives in queens-avengers fanfic

Chapter 7

I trotted briskly to biology, where I dropped my things off and the headed to the restroom to bandage my arm, which was still bleeding. When I took the original bandage off, a reeking smell of rotting flesh wafted to my nostrils and I choked. The skin looked festered and bloody. I made a face and quickly wrapped up my arm again, not standing the sight. After doing that, I headed back to class. Peter was there already; the only other one. I eased myself into my new seat beside his and glanced at him quickly. He was staring determinedly at the board up ahead, even though it had nothing written on it yet. I fought the effort to laugh, though I had to respect the effort he was going through. I finally decide to break the ice. "Hey, I don't... you know, blame you for what she said... You know," I finished awkwardly. I instantly saw his shoulders relax and his face soften. "Yeah," he commented simply, then he smiled. I worked up the courage to say one more thing. "Oh, and, umm, thanks for the bandages..." Then he smiled at me, making eye contact, which, believe it or not, is a huge milestone. I finally got to see his full, chocolatey brown eyes. There were faint hints of gold along the edges, and I felt.... Warmer, somehow. As the class started to fill, I noticed a kid named... Err, I think his name... Ah, Nathan Warner. I noticed him, a., because he walked in late, and, b., because Nat was staring at him and practically drooling. He talked quietly with Mr. B for a few seconds, then took a seat beside Natalie. I guess she didn't have a partner yesterday. I rolled my eyes so hard it felt like they were going to fall out of their sockets. As soon as Benson told us to get started, I let my head drop to the desk. I was exhausted from yesterday, but it wasn't like I was trying to dump work on Peter. "You good?" he muttered, focusing on his laptop, logging into Google to get the assignment pulled up. I groaned in response. He chuckled. "I think I'm going to take a day off..." I murmured softly. He knew exactly what I meant. "Can't say the same," he said as he typed away. "I have work to do." As I listened to him, I pulled my sleep-ridden head off of my papers and looked around the classroom. Suddenly, my eyes met a pair of grey ones. Nathan was staring at my, trying to get me to flutter my eyelashes at him, like some other girl. I snorted, catching Peter's attention. His head snapped up and caught sight of Nathan. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw him glare at him. Not caring much, I turned away stubbornly and got to work.

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The cold November wind whipped at my skin as my convertible flew down the street to the apartment. I had gotten all of my homework done during class, and I felt like quitting my job at Steak 'n' Shake, because it was too stressful. So I didn't go to work that day. I figured later I would call the manager... I pulled next to the curb easily. I was getting pretty good at parking. I got out, my lanyard swinging in the wind. This morning I had made an effort to tidy up the apartment since today was the day the landlord checked to make sure it was up to code. (Whatever that means.) I walked briskly through the lobby to the elevator, but not before I saw someone striding towards me with a grim look on his face: the landlord. "Miss Carson," he announced. I took a deep breath in. Why would he talk to me? He motioned me to follow him into the empty cafeteria with disgusting green carpet flooring. "I'm afraid I have some bad news," he said in a low voice, that sounded vaguely depressed. I could feel blood pounding through my ears. "What is it?" I asked calmly. "I'm afraid you grandfather has...passed away." In that moment, everything went quiet. All I could hear was the blood pounding harshly against my skull. I sank to the ground. I felt my lips mouth, "No." I didn't hear a response, and the realization hit me: my beloved grandpa, my friend, my only family, was gone. I barely recognized the fact that I was screaming. Everything was in slow motion. I felt myself start to cry. I rocked back and forth on the floor. The pain overwhelmed me, punching me, boiling my gut. He was my only family. I was alone. There was no one left.

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After I was done sobbing, the landlord kindly explained to me that he would give me a month before he had to evict me from the apartment, since I was not a legal adult and therefore not liable to own an apartment. I went to my room and felt lost. I finally accepted that fact that he was old, and I should've prepared myself better. I also knew I wouldn't have a place to live, so I should think. But in the end, I ended up falling asleep on my bed, tears staining my face.