The Daughter of Iron Man

Lost Trust

Generally if you're being watched, it takes a while for you to notice.

But after years of training with a former russian spy, I've learned to always know if I'm being hunted, or being watched regardless of how careful they are.

And I can confidently say, Peter Parker is terrible at it.

I've caught him watching me countless times. Usually he's peeking around corners, walking past me way more than necessary, etc. At first I thought I was just being paranoid, but after 2 weeks of this I know it's not just a coincidence.

Normally whenever I'm outside, I take the opportunity to enjoy the fresh air. But this time as I walked towards the front of the school, I couldn't focus on anything other than Peter, who was following 30 feet behind.

Ever since I approached him about the Stark Internship, he's been acting strange. He and his friend both panicked when I brought it up, so I figured I'd just caught them in a lie. But the longer I thought about it, the more I realized it's something much more than that, something he's hiding.

My dad approached me later that day, telling me that Peter's an exception to the September Grant. He tried to prove it to me with the certificate, but I wasn't so easily convinced.

I can tell when he's lying.

Not being able to take it anymore, I decided to put our friend Peter to the test to see just how far he would go.

I purposefully glanced over my shoulder, making it appear that I was making sure no one was following me to look suspicious. Then instead of continuing on the concrete path towards the school, I strayed to the leaf covered field, wandering 20 feet or so till I turned a corner, out of sight. Knowing he would follow, I used my precious few seconds to drop my backpack on the ground and hide against the brick wall, ready to finally confront him.

Not long after, the sound of dead leaves being crushed got louder as he got closer. The crunching was quiet, and I knew he was trying to be sneaky.

If I wasn't actively listening for him, I may not have noticed.

When he rounded the corner, I only saw him for a split second to confirm that it was him before I acted. I swung my leg up, pulling my heel back as hard as I could intending for it to collide with his diaphragm. When it hit something hard, I thought I succeeded.

Until I looked down.

To my shock my leg was held firmly in his grasp, stopping me inches before I would have hit my target. I stared at him in disbelief, my heart seeming to stop for a moment. We made eye contact, and he appeared to be just as confused as I was. Chills were sent up my spine, and I was suddenly able to feel the cold through my jacket.

His grip was almost bone crushing, though I didn't find it painful.

Natasha did this sort of thing with me all the time in training to help improve my balance. Because of it, I fell so many times though after a while, balance became second nature. So balance wasn't a problem even with one leg straight out to the side, but I couldn't explain why his grip was so much stronger than Nat's when he didn't even seem to be trying. But through all of that, there was one thing in particular that stuck out making me feel sick:

His reaction time was way too fast.

It all happened in a matter of seconds, though it felt like hours. When it finally clicked with Peter, he quickly let go of my leg and I allowed it to drop smoothly back to my side. But even though I may have appeared relaxed, I wasn't about to let my guard down.

Slowly, his cheeks flushed red and he began to fumble with his hands.

"I'm so sorry, I-"

"Why are you following me?" I cut him off, though I used a lighter voice to still try and be kind. Even if he has been following me everywhere, I can tell he's not a bad person and I don't want to be the reason he has a bad day.