Days had passed, and everyone was growing aware that I seemed to be roaming the halls much more often. Sometimes it was to eavesdrop on whatever it was Tony, Bruce, and Peter were working on in the lab and sometimes it was just to check in on Peter Parker himself.

Despite my original assumptions, we've gotten rather close. He's told me about his high school, Midtown High School of Science and Technology, and his best friend, Ned Leeds. I told him that I didn't go to high school, rather that I'm homeschooled by Bruce Banner and Tony Stark. Therefore, since I can't leave the facility, I have no friends. The only 'friends' I was allowed to have were other Avengers. Wanda and Clint were probably the closest friends I had. 

"How do you do it?" Peter asked me one day, the two of us sitting in one of the back corners of Tony's lab. He was working on Chemistry homework and I was helping him with it.

"Do what?" I asked curiously, glancing over at him and arching an eyebrow. He placed his pen down on the table, placing his full attention on me.

"Like, I get it, Mr. Stark and Mr. Banner are geniuses, but they're not very great teachers. Believe me, I know. Like, they know what they're doing, but they have difficulty explaining it to anyone else. I'm amazed you can pick up on some of the information they give you. But also, you seem to have decent social skills for having been stuck with the Avengers your whole life," He explained, seeming almost embarrassed about what he was saying. Then again, he wasn't necessarily incorrect.

"Oh... Um, I don't know," I responded in a quiet tone of voice as he offered me a weak smile. I didn't reciprocate the gesture. Rather, I was still thinking through all of his previous claims.

After that, the two of us went silent and just focused on his homework. We both had so many questions for one another, but neither of us would speak. The tension was immense, but we continued to ignore it.

  The questioning and bold claims didn't stop there. Peter would always manage to bring something up that would end with me questioning many aspects of my life. And he always felt guilty immediately after asking them. Then he'd apologize.

A few days later, I ended up making my mom's life a bit more stressful. I have these moments where I can't stay stuck inside all day. I feel like a caged animal. And I have to get out of the house. And no one can know, otherwise they'll hunt me down and be annoying about it.

  I sat in my room, staring out the window and watching the sun set and darkness flood the world. I didn't waste much time, getting up and attiring myself in a black hoodie and leggings of the same color. Throwing on combat boots and pushing my hair back, I was now prepared to sneak out. Before leaving, however, I grabbed the small (F/C) throwing knife (that my mom had given me as a luck token) off my nightstand and stored it in my hoodie pocket.

  I slid out of my bedroom door, tip-toeing down the hallways and being especially careful when creeping past Tony's lab. Bruce and Tony's voice were muffled on the opposite side of the door, which resulted in me taking a mental note to be extra careful when I passed their window. My mom and Clint were in the kitchen, talking about Clint's family and their well-being. Once I passed that doorway, the only place I had to sneak around next was the training room, which contained: Steve, Bucky, Wanda, Sam, and Vision. I maneuvered around the training facility doorway, then I found myself right where I needed to be: the front door. 

Slipping out the front door, I kept quiet. Being spotted wasn't an option anymore. If one of them found me, I'd be in so much trouble. Especially since the incident with the Hulk only happened a couple of weeks ago.

I sprinted out into the yard, ducking back behind a row of bushes; my eyes began scanning the inside of the building through the windows. I watched Tony and Bruce converse in the lab, the two of them engrossed in a single screen and appearing to be arguing. That wasn't uncommon. Those two argue all the time. My mom and Clint were talking while eating food, probably still discussing their families or perhaps speaking of some future mission. Wanda, Bucky, Steve, Vision, and Sam were all still training.

  Their fighting styles were intense. Steve was going against both Sam and Bucky. Apparently the two of them got in trouble during their last mission because they don't like working as a team. Therefore, they were working on teamwork today. Wanda was working with Vision, the two of them laughing as they trained.

"Who are we spying on?" A voice whispered next to me, making me jump and glance in the direction of the voice. Perched in the grass next to me, hiding behind the bushes as well, was the infamous Spider-Man.

  His attention was turned towards me, head tilted a slight bit. That's when I realized this wasn't a rhetorical question, rather he was expecting an answer from me.

"Um, everyone..." I mumbled quietly, my eyes quickly darting back towards the facility. Everyone was still where they previously had been.

"Why?" He asked, making me look back over at him. I began to analyze him.

  His voice was so familiar to me. But, somehow, I just couldn't place it. It's like that feeling when you know you know something, but you just can't think of the right word. It feels exactly like that. And it was infuriating.

"Because I'm leaving," I mumbled, not feeling in the mood to be questioned.

"Where are we going?" He pressed. Now he was asking too many questions. And it was getting annoying.

"No. 'We' aren't going anywhere. You're staying here," I growled, watching him shake his head in a stubborn manner.

"Yeah, you're hilarious. There's no way I'm letting you go off on your own," He spoke up as I arched an eyebrow at him.

"Oh? And why not?" I asked, my eyes going back to the lab. Tony and Bruce seemed to have moved their attention from the screen to something else. It appeared to be a microphone, the two of the speaking into it. Then I took a glance at the kitchen. My mother was missing from that scene.

"Because last time I found you on the street, Ironman had to come retrieve you," He pointed out as I gaped at him.

  Is he calling me weak? Is he actually telling me that I'm a liability? His attempts to convince me to let him follow weren't working. In fact, they were doing the exact opposite.

"Last time was very different from this time..." I seethed at the young superhero. He fell silent for a moment.

"At least tell me where you're going," He mumbled in a small tone of voice. My eyes narrowed down involuntarily.

"Yeah right. So I can have Spider-Man stalking me the whole night?" I accused as he exhaled a deep sigh. My eyes flashed back to the lab.

My mom was standing there now. She was spatting commands at the microphone as well. Her face seemed assertive and her body language was aggressive. Tony and Bruce had backed away, giving her space so she wouldn't get upset with them.

I was suddenly very aware of what was going on. My heart rate accelerated as I slowly turned my head to look at Spider-Man. A small wire was sticking out of the overlapping fabric of his suit and his mask.

  They're listening. They can hear us. He's working with them.

"I don't know who the hell you are... But get away from me..." I snarled. I scrambled to my feet, turning towards the tree line and taking off in a sprint.

  Could I outrun him? Definitely not. This kid had enhanced abilities and most definitely wouldn't have a hard time outrunning me. However, my emotions were running rampant through my brain and I just wanted to try to get away.

"No! (Y/N)!" The boy shouted from behind me. I kept running, my legs moving as quickly as they could. Then I felt something strange wrap around my waist, forcing me to come to a halt, then it began to pull me back towards the superhero. My eyes widened as I glanced down, seeing that it was the same webbing-like material that had restrained the Hulk in the town.

I had to think quick. Unfortunately, I wasn't left with too many options. But something did pop into my mind. Quickly, I stuffed my hands into my hoodie pocket and yanked out the (F/C) throwing knife. I severed the webbing, then went back to running.

"(Y/N)! Stop!" Spider-Man begged as I heard more footsteps chase after me.

Suddenly it wasn't just me and the spider-like hero. I knew that at least Bruce, Tony, and my mom were on our tail. But it could've been more. I wasn't sure. And I was too anxious to look back.

I'd ran for at least ten minutes, managing to get into the woods and began weaving around the trees. I took a glance back, noticing that I'd managed to lose everyone. My mind raced along with my heart as I finally stopped underneath an overpass, which the interstate ran under. I leaned against the cement wall, desperately attempting to fill my lungs with oxygen.

Cars passed quickly, lighting up the area around me. But only shortly. Despite being in a deserted area, the traffic going towards the city was still heavy.

I briefly glanced up at the moon, closing my eyes shortly after and listening to everything around me. Vehicles quickly driving past, crickets singing from somewhere off in the distance, Ironman's thrusters, the wind rushing around me, frogs croaking from a nearby pond, leaves rustling from the night breeze, my mom's shouting, and the occasional owl hoot.

I opened my eyes after catching my breath, only to find the infamous Spider-Man dangling upside down right in front of me. I jumped in surprise, my eyes wide, pushing myself back in order to get away from him. The only issue was that getting away from him meant pushing myself back into oncoming traffic.

"No! Hey!" He yelped, panic in his voice as he webbed around my waist again and pulled me towards him and out of the interstate. The eyes of his suit were opened wide and he seemed to be breathing heavily.

"Don't do dumb shit like that. It'll get you killed..." He breathed out. I felt anger take over me.

  He actually had the audacity to play hero with me again? I knew he was still in contact with Tony, Bruce, and my mom. However, just as I was thinking this, he pushed some of his fingers between his mask and suit. He pulled out a com-system and wires, then proceeded to place the wires and electronic equipment in my hands.

"I want to ask you questions. This time, I swear, it'll stay between us," He whispered as I looked down at the device in my hands. I threw it out into the interstate, staring at it until it got shattered to pieces.

"Why should I—"

"Because that was Banner and Stark. Not me," He promised as I looked down at my feet and exhaled a deep breath.

  I found myself looking up at him, observing his body language for a bit. Perhaps this was another trap that Bruce and Tony were hoping I fell into. But something about Spider-Man's voice made me doubt it. There had been a shift. He sounded more sincere and less like he was being told what to say. He sounded human.

He outstretched a hand towards me as I gave him a confused look. But he didn't retract his hand. Instead, he waited. Waited for me to accept the gesture. After a few silent minutes, I found my hand grabbing onto his. And that was it.

  He placed his feet down on the floor, helping me up on his back. I grabbed on securely, coiling my legs around his waist and my arms around his chest. He turned his head to look back at me.

"Hold on tight. And I hope you don't have a fear of flying. Or heights. Or anything along those lines," He explained as I felt my eyes widen. But before I could interject, he pulled his arm up and shot a web out from his wrist. I tightened my grip on him, knowing what was going to happen next.

Both of us began flying up towards the top of a tall pine tree. I squeaked in surprise, burying my head in his back as I felt the wind quickly blow around us. Then he shot the next web. And then we were swinging between the trees. After getting used to the feeling, it became freeing. Like a small taste of the freedom I've never had.

"You doing good?!" He asked as I let out a weak laugh and nodded quickly.

"Absolutely!" I replied, finding myself tilting my head backwards and greeting the stars. The whole galaxy hung over our heads, hints of purples and blues swirling around the stars.

  Everything about this moment made running away worth it. The wind whistling past my ears, the concept of being outside, tracing over every star that speckled the sky, and just the adrenaline rush of escaping. Even though I knew I would go back.

Suddenly, we were perched on top of a really tall pine tree. The two of us currently stood on a thick branch, which was at least one hundred feet off the ground. I gripped onto him tighter as I looked down at the fall I would take if I let go.

He sat me down on the branch as I looked around for Tony. When we noticed him flying around a long ways away, he looked back to me.

"This stays our secret. Understand?" He stated as I nodded, knowing that I definitely wasn't going to tell anyone about this. If I did, I knew I would be in more trouble than he would be in.

"Where are you going...? And why?" This time, his tone didn't sound as if he was attempting to be intimidating. He genuinely sounded confused and concerned as to why.

"I'm caged up like an animal. The only times I'm allowed to go outside is with someone else. And I can't leave the property. I can't take that. As to where I'm going... I don't know..." I whispered softly. I looked around at the woods that surrounded us, all the trees dancing in the wind.

"I don't know. I just dream of laying in a grassy field, basked in the warm sunlight. And I'm alone. I'm free..." I breathed out softly, my eyes locked on the woods and attempting to take it all in before I was forced back inside for a long time.

Silence loomed in the air.

"You have to sneak away to go outside? That doesn't seem fair... If they actually wanted what's best for you, they'd take you out to do stuff. That way, you're protected and enjoying your life," The way he formed his sentences so carefully seemed so familiar. Everything about him was familiar. But I still just couldn't place it.

"I've presented that idea. They don't believe me," I whispered as Spider-Man seemed to study me.

  He went quiet, almost as if he was thinking through some things within his mind. I pulled my attention away from him and back towards the wilderness.

"How about this... I think I might be able to convince someone to sneak out with you," He spoke as my eyes widened. I looked back towards him, feeling my heart rate accelerate. But then I felt myself deflate.

"Last time someone snuck out with me, he turned into the Hulk and almost killed me. And then Tony got upset," I murmured to him.

  He took this into consideration. Evaluating whether or not it was worth the risk. In the end, he simply shrugged, his eyes looking back at me.

"If you want to go, then I'll have someone waiting to go with you. It's up to you to decide whether or not it's worth it," He explained to me as I slowly nodded, feeling appreciation for the spider hero. Because he's giving me something that no one else has ever given me: a choice.

I offered the boy a smile, feeling a sense of gratitude for the option. Being given a choice was something that my mother and Tony never did. He exhaled a sigh, and I think he was smiling too. But I wasn't too sure.

"C'mon. Let's get you home for right now before your mother loses her mind," He pointed out as I nodded, knowing he was correct.

"Okay," I breathed out, climbing up on his back once again. And we began swinging back towards the facility.

  The wind was loud and comforting as we headed back home. I kept silent, my eyes finding their way back to the infinite abyss of stars. A sea full of many mysteries of which we may never know the answers to.

  Once we'd touched down, I looked over his shoulder, seeing my mom standing directly in front of us. And she looked anything but happy.