Daughter of Stark #Wattys2017

Chapter 24: Odd One Out

Kennedy's journal

So this trip hasn't been as fun as it was supposed to be. Cuz these are all Peter's friends, and he's off doing stuff with them and he tries to include me but I'm the odd one out in this group. So i'm kinda just left to sit on the outskirts of what everyone else is doing and awkwardly pretend i'm having fun. But I mean, it's only day one, there's still time to have some fun. Meanwhile, Tony called me to update me on the court case, and this is absolutely ridiculous! apparently my mother used the whole blackout thing that happened last weekend against us, saying that we have dangerous unstable equipment in the tower and that it's not a safe environment for me! She even showed the news story as proof! When they asked Tony if he had untested equipment in the building, of course he had to say yes, because he's building new things all the time. He tried to tell them that all the proper safety measures are in place, and everything they do is up to code, and everyone working with the equipment is a professional scientist. He even told them that the man who caused the blackout has been fired, but they said that none of what he said mattered without seeing a safety inspection report. Pepper said she has one, she showed a copy of it on her computer but they said it 'wasn't valid' since it was from last year. Tony promised that if they gave him the time, he would have all the inspections done immediately and bring them in. The Judge agreed to give him a few days. This is all so stupid, can't everyone just leave me alone and let me live where I want. And of course all of the labs are up to code! He's freaking Tony Stark! He runs a multi million dollar company! And he has inspections done every year for goodness sake! I'm just tired of it all.

"Hey kennedy, we're gonna go fishing, are you coming?" Peter calls as he jogs past me with a fishing pole in hand.

"Yeah, wait up." I close my notebook and toss it back in the tent before rushing after him.

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Okay, I'm board, basically out of my brain, the last few days have been fine, and over all pretty fun. But now all the boys went off on some 'super tough hike' and all the girls stayed here to. . . talk about the boys I guess. And of course since I don't really know anyone, I can't really participate in the conversation. I occupied a little bit of time by texting with wanda, she sent me some selfies of her and Vision. You know I think its funny how smitten he is with her, even though he's technically an android. I don't really understand how he has, like, emotions and stuff, I should ask Tony more questions about him, but I guess Tony might not know, since it was really the infinity stone that brought him to life. So maybe I should just ask vision about it, but I don't want to offend him or anything by asking questions about him being a robot, wait can he get offended? Ugg, now i'm just confusing myself. Wait, my phone just buzzed, let me check that.

Tony just texted me and said the judge accepted the inspection reports and said that the scientific endeavors going on in the building would not factor into the final decision. That's great and all, but apparently my sly mother had another trick up her sleeves. She said that Tony being a member of the Avengers was a point of concern! She said I shouldn't be subjected to the high risk of losing another parent, or being a target to Tony's enemies. And past that she claimed that in her experience at the tower I was left home alone most of the day, which is stupid because Tony and Pepper are both still in the building that whole time, and I know how to get to them, and most of the other avengers are around all the time too! I asked Tony, what about the home study, shouldn't that cover like all these concerns, but he says it's not done processing so it's no help right now. All of us are starting to get nervous, it not looking to sure that we're gonna win anymore. I don't want to think about what will happen if she wins, why does she even want me back, none of it makes sense.

"-you Kennedy?" I look up at the sound of my name.

"What?" I ask, embarrassed that I didn't hear the question.

"I said, what about you, who's your crush?" One of the girls repeats.

"Oh, uh. . . I don't really have one I guess."

"Oh come on, you seem to be pretty sweet on Peter." Another girl comments, my face immediately heats up and I try to hide it by burying my face back in my notebook. But i'm not fast enough, so on comes a storm of giggles and questions.

"Hey, Michelle, you better watch out, it looks like you might have some competition for Peter." one of the girls states.  I turn to face Michelle in surprise. She makes no response and doesn't even look up from her notebook. I watch her skeptically, as I try my best to ignore the teasing of the other girls. Lucky for me the boys arrive and put an end to the talk of crushes.

Peter's POV

The Colorado trip comes to an end with us all piled back into the jet and heading home. Kennedy sits across from me, and I try my best to include her in the conversation I'm haveing with Michelle, but for the most part she stays silent, and every time I look over I am greeted with a strange look of. . . Jealousy maybe? I guess it must be weird being the only one who doesn't know everyone, I'll have to make it up to her when we get back.

"What's the first thing you're gonna do when you get back home Peter" Ned asks me, leaning over the back of the seat in front of me.

"Probably shower, being in the woods for a week is-" The cabin of the plane shakes suddenly, silencing me.

"What was that?" Kennedy asks, gripping the armrest of her seat.

"I don't know." I admit, probably just as white knuckled as her. I look around at everyone else, equally as startled as I am. The overhead speaker comes on and F.R.I.D.A.Y. announces,

"We are experiencing some engine failures, please prepare for emergency landing."

"What?" Kennedy asks with terror on her eyes. Chaos erupts among the other passengers, I take a deep breath and try to stay calm.

"Uh, okay, we just have to follow the safety protocol." My voice comes out more shaky than I intended, I wrack my brain, suddenly unable to remember a single airplane safety video I've ever watched. Kennedy looks just as frantic as I feel, but she manages to pull out the safety instruction sheet from the pocket of her seat, she looks over the page and quickly drops it, lowering her body into a bent position, which I now remember from all those videos, I immediately follow her actions. With my head tucked low I feel the plane rattle some more, but this time it doesn't stop, it only gets more and more intense, my ears pop as we lose altitude, and I'm praying with every ounce of my being that we are not in as much trouble as we think we are. I look up for a brief moment at Kennedy, and as I do we come to a sudden stop, I feel a massive force collide with my forehead and.........