Chapter 2

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After she finished telling me about how John was so oblivious to the fact that Grace liked him, I interrupted her, "Amber, we can continue this later, but right now we're on a tour," I reminded her with a gesture to my classmates who were just chatting among themselves.

She laughed lightly, embarrassed to have forgotten. She cleared her throat as she turned to the class, "Alright class, our first stop will be the labs. Phones and any other recording devices will be left outside for security reasons. Before we get there, does anyone have any questions?"

A few people raised their hands, including Flash and MJ. Amber called on MJ first, "What is it like to work at Stark Industries?" MJ asked.

"Why didn't you ask Peter? He knows as well as I do," Amber said, sending her a confused look.

MJ shrugged, "I did ask Peter. He wouldn't tell me much of anything."

Amber shook her head, but there was an amused smile on her face. "I'm honestly not too surprised. The work that Peter does is highly confidential, much more than what we do down here," she said. "As for your question, being a tour guide here is like a dream come true. It's hard work, but I wouldn't want it any other way."

Once MJ was satisfied with her answer, she called on Flash. He smirked at me and I knew this wouldn't be good, "Why does Parker have full access, and how is he that high of a danger level? He can't even punch properly."

Amber's eyes narrowed, "And how would you know that, Mr. Thompson?"

Flash didn't notice the dangerous edge to her voice and continued. "It's not that hard to figure out," he scoffed.

Amber frowned and went to speak but the elevator doors opened, making me sigh in relief. That relief quickly disappeared when she said, "Friday, please answer Mr. Thompson's question. I need to check that all our more confidential information is put away."

Friday spoke as she walked off, "Of course, Amber. Mr. Parker is allowed full access in order to successfully do his job. As for his threat assessment, he is fully capable of protecting himself and others if they were to be attacked."

Flash didn't say anything, but it was clear that he didn't believe the AI.

Amber walked back into the room and gestured for us to follow her. As she led us into the lab, which was built for 20 people, she began explaining what each worktable specialized in and what they did.

I was upset to see that they were severely understaffed, but hoped that the others were just out sick.

Anna and Leo shared a table, quietly exchanging ideas and sharing blueprints. Occasionally, Leo would point at something on her paper, and she would adjust it, and vice versa.

At the next table, Lucy and Harry were working on coding a program, Lucy laughing at Harry's jokes, even though they were terrible. After that, Sadie and Carter. Sadie was tinkering with a project while Carter researched. There were a couple more tables, all working on various things.

Barry and Harrison were working on something with nanotechnology. Alice was working alone for the most part, but referred to Ed, who was working with Kate, when necessary.

After the lab, it was time for the museum. As we walked, I felt a tingling sensation on my neck and smoothly stepped to the side, not breaking stride. Clint dropped down from the vents, landing right where I would have been standing, had I not moved.

His smile told me exactly why he was there, and it only grew as everyone turned to face him, looking like they were going to pass out. He looked around and said, "Well, sorry to drop in like this," he paused and looked at me expectantly. I applauded his pun, though I had an unimpressed look on my face. He continued with a smug smile, "I heard there was a school tour, and I couldn't miss it. Tony rarely ever approves requests for free tours, especially for schools."

I frowned. Tony had known this whole time, he had even planned it? This was a problem. A big one. I ran my hand through my hair and, looking back at Clint, said, "Mr. Barton, how many people know?" I asked.

His smile turned more mischievous as he said, "Tony, Stephen, and Pepper." At least he didn't comment on me not calling him Uncle Clint as I usual do.

I sighed and stepped back to join my class. At least Tony was likely to be the only person to bother me. Clint turned and asked if anyone had any questions, and my class responded by bombarding him with a torrent of fast spoken, jumbled up words.

Finally, one question broke through. Cindy asked, "What is it like, living with the Avengers? What is the dynamic between the male and female members?"

I saw most of the class nodding in approval to the question, and turned to hear how Clint handled it.

He smiled kindly as he answered, "Well, the team is like family to me, so it isn't as different as you would think. As for the dynamic, basically, Natasha and Pepper are in charge. They're terrifying, so we don't mess with them too much."

"Are you and Black Widow dating?" a voice piped up from the back, but I couldn't tell who said it. 

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Thoughts?

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