INVISIBLE | P. PARKER

TWENTY

TWENTY;
FRIEND-ZONED

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CASSIE WASN'T IN THE MOOD FOR ANYTHING. After Bruce an the daily tests on her, she silently strode back to her room and locked herself inside.

She had been locked in since the previous day, when she and the twins arrived from the small city tour. Tony was beyond confused because of her sudden change of mood, even Peter, who was confused as to why she was avoiding him.

Pietro and Wanda stood in front of the door as they whispered and argued between each other about who should talk to the sad girl. They spent five minutes arguing, until Tony stepped out of his laboratory and caught the twins fighting in front of the locked door.

"What is going on here?" He frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh, nothing." Pietro shook his head rigorously. "Wanda was about to go inside to talk to little Cassie." He turned his face to meet his sister's glare.

"Me? You are the one who is supposed to talk to her!" The girl snapped, frowning at the tall boy.

"Can you two stop shrieking? I'll talk to her myself." Tony rolled his eyes, with his hand, he dismissed the twins and turned on his heels to glance at the closed door. "FRIDAY, can you please tell me if Cassie is in her room?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark." The feminine voice echoed in the hall, he exhaled deeply as he waited for her response. "Miss Harding is inside her room." She confirmed, making the man nod.

"Thanks, FRIDAY." He spoke and knocked the door with strength. "Cassie?"

"I'd like to be alone." She responded, making him roll his eyes.

"I see you're finally acting like a teenager." Tony tried to make her feel better, but her silence made the smirk to disappear from his features. "Can you open the door? There are some issues I'd like to hash out."

After a long silence, a smug smile appeared on Tony's features when he heard steps coming closer to the door. He fixed his shirt and waited for the girl to open. When she did, he frowned with confusion.

"You're not crying." He pointed.

"No shit, Sherlock." Cassie sarcastically replied, turning around to go back to her usual spot in the king size bed. "What do you need?"

"Okay, you are moping around. And I don't like when people are moping around." Tony said as he walked into the room and closed the door behind him.

"I'm not moping around." The brunette argued with a frown, she hugged the pillow and looked down at her fingers. The man exhaled deeply and sat next to her on the bed.

"Wanda explained me the situation with Spider-Boy." He began, turning his face to meet her gaze, but Cassie was looking down at her hands. Tony pursed his lips together. "That you've been friend-zoned."

"It's not funny." She snapped, hugging her pillow. The man exhaled deeply.

"You know, when I was in high school, I was the king of the friend-zone." He explained, making Cassie glance at him with an amused look in her brown eyes. "Don't look at me like that. Of course I'm telling you the truth."

"So?" She shrugged.

"I have to admit," Tony shifted on his seat. "I would never think you'd be in the friend-zone, that seems like Peter's place. Not yours."

"Well, not everything is what it seems." Cassie raised her eyebrows. "What makes me sad is that I actually thought something would happen between us." She truthfully said, exhaling deeply.

"Let me tell you something, kid. I know that you're sad. And I know that you think some boy with pretty eyes who makes you laugh until your stomach hurts is the answer. But he isn't the answer. Or the savior. Or the light at the end of the tunnel. He's just a boy with pretty eyes who makes you laugh until your stomach hurts. And I know that you want him to reach a hand to the floor and help you stand again, but he can't fix you. He's sad, too. He's looking for the answer. And newsflash: it isn't you. It isn't anybody." Cassie frowned, Tony caught the glimpse of tears forming in her eyelids. "Because people aren't going to teach you how to wake up even when it's hard, and how to feel life all the way to your gut without trying to throw it back up, and how to demand your own kindness. No, kid. That's something you have to figure out for yourself."

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"I know what is going to make you feel better." Wanda beamed as she barged into Cassie's room.

The cards she was playing with stopped floating and fell to the floor, making her groan loudly. Wanda half-smiled and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Right now, all I want is a hot shower." Cassie mumbled, putting the deck of cards aside and looking straight into Wanda's turquoise eyes. "And forget the fact that Peter Parker just friend-zoned me." The young woman laughed.

"Just get ready."

"Get ready for what?"

"Tony gave me his credit card to buy some clothes and make up." She explained, her thick accent echoed the room.

Cassie's frown deepened. "What for?"

"I'm going to give you a make-over."