Arrows - Animo Sequel {Completed}

Chapter Two: Psychological Testing

Wow, so it's been a long time since I updated this. To be honest, I kind of forgot about it in the midst of all the other things I've been writing, including my novel for National Novel Writing Month (I won, by the way). But now it's December, the weather sucks, and I spend whatever time I'm not at school in fuzzy pajama pants, which is the perfect condition for writing. Anyway, you don't want to read this note anymore, so carry on with the story. Hope you love the chapter!

Chapter Two: Psychological Testing

Mo's P.O.V.

"No."

I blinked a few times and shook my head just slightly, immediately putting on a passive face like his words didn't just deal a minor blow to my heart. No? What does he mean, "no"? I thought we were friends when I left? "Good to see you too, sunshine," I said sarcastically, a small amount of my temper rising. "You'd think I'd get a warmer welcome after being away for almost a year." He just hummed in response. "What pole have you got stuck up your ass, Barton?"

His laughter was cold, just like everything about him as I was coming to notice. "No pole, Mo. Have you gotten taller?"

What the hell? "I have, actually," I said stiffly, lifting my chin a little. I'd grown, like, two inches in the past almost year. Given I was so short, I was quite proud of those two inches. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"You're not the only one that's changed," he said ominously, his blue eyes fixated on mine.

I refused to look away. "Obviously." My eyes flicked around his surroundings, taking in the chamber he was being kept in. "What're you in for, Ace?"

He smirked. "You don't know? Surely they told you." I shook my head, my brow furrowing when the smirk grew broader, more sinister, and more unwelcoming. "I attacked Natasha."

My eyes got wider. Everyone knew it was a death wish to antagonize Natasha, the infamous Black Widow. Obviously there was a reason the Russian was dubbed that. As one of her best friends, I would have thought Barton would know that - or he knew it and just didn't care. Judging by how he was behaving now, I took that as the most plausible explanation. I had to give Natasha props for not killing him, though, even in this state. "What did you do to her?"

He waved his hand in a passive way, still smirking. "Oh, don't worry yourself. It wasn't awful. Said a few mean things, nearly shot her with an arrow, the usual deal. She, obviously, took offense to it and tried to beat me up." He laughed again. "That didn't go over well. I think I broke her nose. I heard a snap, in any case." My eyes widened. "Oh, Mo, don't look so horrified. You broke her nose the first day of training, remember?"

I was surprised that he did. "I actually only gave her a bloody nose. The aliens tamper with your memory?"

The expression changed on his face to one of quiet contemplation. "They told you about that, did they?"

"Of course they did. Now, what are you willing to tell me?"

Barton promptly sat with his back against the far side of the chamber, crossing his legs and folding his arms across his chest, as far away from me as he could physically get. "I'm not willing to tell you anything."

I glanced over my shoulder the way I'd come. There was no one in the hall, no one in the observation deck off to the side. There were security cameras, sure, and there were probably people watching me have this conversation with Barton, but what was the chance that they'd stop me if I were to do something...dangerous? I didn't think it'd be dangerous. I could handle myself. So I stared directly at where I knew there was a camera and mouthed two words: "Trust me."