From the Shadows | PETER PARKER [2]

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Eloise chews her thumb nail as she paces outside the apartment building. It's 7:30 in the morning and the chilly air raises goosebumps over Eloise's bare arms. She didn't even think about grabbing a jacket but now, standing outside in the cold, she's regretting it.

It's a Tuesday so she should be on her way to school; however, the events of last night shook her to her core. There's no way she'd be able to go to school and pretend to be a normal, functioning human being. That's why Bucky's on his way over. Once Eloise got ahold of him, she couldn't stop the images of killing her own parents out of her head. Despite being fully awake, she still felt the slightest urge to take the knife and enter Mr. and Mrs. Jones's bedroom. It terrifies her. Over the phone Bucky tried to get her to calm down and breathe. Once she wasn't hyperventilating anymore, he told her that it's okay—that she just hit a bump in her healing process. But how is almost murdering your parents in the middle of the night okay?

Bucky knew that Eloise shouldn't have been alone the rest of the night, so he told her to get Peter, knowing the kid was just next door and would be incredibly understanding. When the two hung up the phone after Bucky said he would come over the next morning, Eloise cleaned up her bloody mess. She cleaned the knife and put it away. She wrapped the cut on her palm and scrubbed off the blood that she dripped onto the floor. Once she was done she should have gotten Peter.

But she didn't.

A rusty dark green truck rolls up to the curb. Eloise watches Bucky through the windows as he puts the vehicle in park before looking up at her. He gives her a tight smile.

Eloise lets out a deep breath and gets into the passenger side. The truck provides a barrier from the crisp spring breeze as the heater expels warmer air. Bucky puts the car in drive and glances at Eloise.

"Is it too hot in here?" Bucky asks.

Eloise tucks a stray hair behind her ear and looks out the window. "It's fine."

There isn't a lot of talking during the majority of the ride. It's no secret that Eloise barely got a wink of sleep that night, so when she leans her head against the window and closes her eyes, Bucky tries to avoid the potholes the best he can.

Thirty minutes pass and Bucky finally pulls up to the Avengers Headquarters. He doesn't wake Eloise up until he parks and turns the truck off. She flinches when he gently nudges her shoulder.

Eloise sighs and rubs her heavy eyes. "Sorry," she apologizes, groggy.

Bucky gets out of the truck and rounds to her side. He opens the door for her. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

She slips out of the truck. Bucky shuts the door behind her and shoves his hands into his jacket pockets as the two walk up the sidewalk to the front doors of the facility.

"I'm not that hungry," Eloise replies quietly. How could she still have an appetite after last night? If Eloise ate anything she think she'd barf.

Bucky opens the front door and holds it as she slips past him. Once inside, the pair walks through the facility to get to the common room. There are two couches and three chairs with a coffee table in front of both couches, and at the front of the room is a large, sleek, flat-screen TV. It probably costs more than Eloise's apartment. Although it isn't her first time in the facility, she is still on edge in the room. She feels so out of place and feels like she's intruding. Tony Stark for crying out loud basically owns the place. Her last time with him, she tried to kill the billionaire. How would he react knowing that she's back in the building?