"ARE YOU SURE THAT'S EVERYTHING?"
Pepper has been pestering Eszter all day about whether she had everything she needed. Although the enhanced was very grateful for Pepper, she didn't need her babying her every second. The blonde woman was walking around her large home with Happy trailing behind her, carrying the suitcase and handbag for Eszter as they were about to head out. They were going to drop Eszter off at the school, but Pepper was a little nervous about letting the enhanced go; always worried for the girl, becoming like a mother to Eszter; Pepper has always been afraid to let the enhanced go out in a world that despises her.
Nevertheless, Pepper knew that today was a big day--even though Eszter had mentioned that the competition wasn't today, the woman was still excited for her. However, Eszter was most likely not going on the panel today, letting Michelle take her place as the enhanced hadn't been in the right state of mind; she didn't want to mess things up for the team, not after everything that's been happening. Luckily, Mr. Harrington had agreed, allowing Eszter to sit this one out.
Eszter rolls her eyes, dropping her phone onto her lap. "Yes, Pep. You literally made me a checklist of what I need," she grins playfully, shaking her head as the woman walks into the large living room.
Pepper's heels click under her feet, the sound echoes in the house. She had a Bluetooth earpiece, and the blue light was blinking. "No, Jerry, I wasn't talking to you. I don't care, cancel it," Pepper presses the button, hanging up. "Sorry about that. Are you ready?"
"Yeah," Eszter locks her phone, pushing herself from the couch and follow Pepper out of the house.
"Have you spoken to Tony?"
Eszter hadn't felt comfortable enough with talking about Tony, especially when it comes to Pepper; the enhanced hadn't mentioned much about Tony, nor did she like the idea of talking to Pepper about it because Eszter knew what the woman would say--don't be angry, Pepper would say, he misses you, too. But Pepper is aware of the fight between Eszter and Tony, one that leads to the dampener being attached around her neck once again; and of course, Pepper was just as upset, but she didn't like that her two favorite people are ignoring each other. Considering they're all living together, Pepper didn't want Eszter and Tony to slowly hate one another.
The enhanced clears her throat uncomfortably, climbing into the backseat with Pepper. Running her hands down the dark-colored skirt, resting her hands on her knees as she scrunched the cloth in her fists.
"Uh," Eszter stammers, stalling for a quick thought. There was no reason to explain herself. Eszter was pretty certain that Pepper knows she hadn't spoken to Tony. "No . . . I haven't."
Pepper frowns sadly. She misses how they used to be close at the beginning of their friendship and how they acted like father and daughter. Pepper loved the sight; it sprung some hope and a giddy feeling in the woman's chest, her heart swelling at the thought of Tony being a father to someone close to being their kid. And maybe this will spring up a new conversation for Pepper and Tony.
"I know you're angry with him, but you know why he did what he did," Pepper says with a soft tone, careful like she was walking on sharp glass.
"He lied to me," Eszter shifts, glancing at Pepper with absurdity. "Many times already. I can't forgive him for that."
Pepper pauses. "And that was wrong of him, but he didn't do it to hurt you, Eszter," the woman sighs, crushed that the two were continuing their silent treatment. "You know how Tony is, but he loves you like his own. I love you as my own."
Eszter looks at Pepper, heart-clenching at the mixed feelings. Just the mere fact that Pepper considers her as a daughter was . . . strange, maybe even good. Eszter hadn't had a mother since Iryna passed away at a young age. Even though Wanda posed at the girl's mother-figure, the eldest enhanced hadn't been the greatest as she was merely a kid herself. Still, Eszter felt loved by a parent that she hasn't felt in years.
"My sister was there."
Pepper frowns sympathetically. "I--I didn't know about that . . ."
It was obvious that it was tearing Eszter apart, hurting from the inside out. Tony hadn't told her about that, but now that Pepper does know, the woman couldn't ignore the guilt. No one deserves to go through that much trauma, especially not Eszter; the girl had gone through too much pain, and New York was supposed to be her safe spot. Nothing good seemed to be going through Eszter's favor, and whenever she does come across anything remotely close enough, something comes crashing down. Always wanting to ruin Eszter's happiness.
"Can we just get to the school? I don't wanna be late," Eszter grumbles, shutting everyone out.
Once Eszter gets to a certain low point of her life, the enhanced tends to deal with it independently, hating the feeling of being pitied. Eszter often closes people off, keeps to herself, and barely talks. Ever since the death of her parents, the enhanced has a hard time expressing herself. And with Wanda gone, Eszter most certainly doesn't like many people at the moment.
Pepper stares longingly at the Eszter's side profile, and she frowns sympathetically.
💜
Eszter slides on her yellow jacket as soon as Happy pulls into the school parking lot, finding a group of students beginning to form around the yellow bus. The enhanced pulls her hair out from beneath the jacket, keeping it on her back and out of her face. Happy pulls over near the bus, catching curious eyes as they watched a sleek car pull up to the side.
"Alright, have a good time. Kick some butt, or win some answers," Pepper beams.
Eszter chuckles. "I'm not going in today, but thanks," she nods in appreciation. The enhanced exit the car as she ignores the wandering eyes, knowing they were talking about Eszter and her personal driver. Happy closes the trunk and passes Eszter her bags. "Thanks, Happy."
"Don't go causing trouble," Happy points warningly.
"Yeah, yeah," she waves her hand dismissively, beckoning him to leave as quickly as possible.
Happy looks at Eszter sternly. "I mean it, kid."
Eszter nods once more, pressing her lips in a tight line. "I got it, Happy. I'll be good," she assures, taking her suitcase from Happy's grasp.
Turning away, the enhanced makes her way towards the group near the bus, noticing that they were all crowded together as they watched Happy and Pepper drive away. Luckily, their amusement no longer amused as they turn away and continue on their own conversations. However, a few people walked over and greeted Eszter.
To Eszter's surprise, Liz smiles at the enhanced, waving at her.
"Hey, Eszter."
"Hey."
"Eszter!" Ned greets, stepping away from the bus as he suddenly pulls Eszter into a hug.
Taken off-guard, Eszter smiles in confusion. Then, Abraham walks over and beams at the girl.
"Eszter, you look great," Abraham compliments.
"Thanks, Abe. You don't look bad yourself. I mean, your tie is amazing," Eszter gives the boy a thumbs up.
Abraham grins widely, patting his yellow jacket as he was pleased to hear the compliment from someone else; he already knew he looked good, but he wanted to hear someone else say it as well. It was a booster to his self-esteem. Abraham was dressed nicely, wanting to look highly sophisticated for nationals.
"Are we still sharing hotel rooms?" Cindy asks. "Because if not, I was hoping Sally and I could share."
They were all assigned with a roommate at the hotel in D.C., and Eszter was partnered with Cindy; acting like she wasn't offended, Eszter wasn't too upset. She supposed it had to be about the fact that Eszter is an enhanced person, making her a threat in Cindy's presence. Eszter doesn't blame Cindy for being afraid of her; if anything, she'd do the same thing if Eszter was in her position.
Reassuring the girl, Eszter smiles. "Yeah, I figured. Sally kind of texted me about it," Eszter bounces her brows knowingly, causing Cindy to smile shyly, blushing in embarrassment. However, Eszter doesn't let her hurt feelings get in the way. "Don't worry about it, Cindy. I already asked Michelle, and she's letting me stay with her."
"Good--I mean, not good-good, but . . . uh, yeah," Cindy sputters, giving a weak apology.
"Anyways," Liz glances away, dismissing the conversation as she gives a quick once over to her teammates. "Let's not forget that we have to practice on our way there, so I want full participation."
"Yeah, yeah," Flash dismisses. Eszter glances over Sally's shoulder when she sees Flash, crossing her arms as she watches as he walks forward. "Let's hurry up and get this over with."
"And we will, once Mr. Harrington calls it."
Abraham looks away from the group when he notices a familiar face hurrying after them. "Hey, it's Peter."
Eszter turns around as soon as she heard, meeting Peter's gaze as he musters an elaborate plan to get himself back on the team. However, once his gaze meets Liz's, it was like everything Peter had planned suddenly disappeared, evaporated from his mind from a single stare. Liz's stare was enough to leave Peter stuck in a trance.
"Guys . . ."
"Peter?" Liz frowns, wondering why he was here.
"Yeah," Peter huffs, out of breath. "I was hoping, maybe, I could rejoin the team."
That was his plan? Eszter thought. She nearly scoffed at how lame it was, being as blunt as he can be. Peter had all night to come up with something better than that, considering he was bailing on them once, and now, Peter showed up and asked to join again. However, Peter is a good guy, and he's smart, so there's no doubt that Mr. Harrington will deny Peter. Knowing their teacher, Eszter has a feeling that Mr. Harrington will allow Peter back on the team, unaware of the boy's true motives.
"No. No way," Flash moves past Cindy, narrowing his eyes at Peter as he strides over to the boy in distaste. Peter looks back at Flash with wide eyes, taking a few steps back as the boy follows his footsteps. "You can't quit on us, stroll up, and be welcomed back by everyone."
Eszter takes a step forward when she felt a strange instinct to protect Peter, but the enhanced stops herself instead. She didn't want to help Peter. She quite enjoyed how Peter was being intimidated by Flash; maybe it was a good awakening for Peter. And also, Eszter knows Flash wouldn't lay a hand on him.
When Mr. Harrington stepped out of the yellow bus, he smiles at the sight of Peter.
"Hey, welcome back, Peter," Eszter grins at how easy it was for Peter. She chuckles in her chest, shaking her head lightly. "Flash, you're back to first alternate."
Flash raises his brows in disbelief. "What?"
"He's taking your place."
Suddenly, Eszter lets out a short laugh, though she quickly covers it up from the strong look Flash gave her. Her hand shoots up to her lips, covering her mouth as she stifles her giggles, choking on the feeling as her shoulder shake. Flash rolls his eyes in annoyance, but Eszter found it amusing just as she.
"Uh, excuse me, can we go already? 'Cause I was hoping to get in some light protesting in front of one of the embassies before dinner, so," Michelle edges on.
"Protesting is patriotic. Let's get on the bus," Mr. Harrington beckons the students.
Eszter grabs her suitcase when Flash aggressively tosses his yellow jacket at Peter, who grabs it so suddenly. Lize grants the boy a small smile before following Eszter into the bus, the team trailing right behind them. Eszter takes a seat near the middle, placing her luggage in the seat by the window. Ned sits beside her, and when Peter makes his way into the bus, the enhanced half expected him to sit with them, but he ended up in the front. Eszter frown. She notices the way Liz smiled shyly at that.
It was a punch to the gut; that's what it was. Eszter hated that feeling.
Eszter's feelings for Peter continued to cloud her judgment, and it was starting to bother the enhanced the longer she stared at him. Finding a guy to like wasn't Eszter's biggest priority, but she never expected to ever like her best friend; out of every guy in the school, the enhanced would rather not grow feelings for Peter, fearing this exact moment. It wasn't a pleasant feeling to watch as your crush cares more about someone else, looking at another girl the same way Eszter looks at Peter.
Her heart clenches at the thought. The enhanced forces herself to ignore the feeling as she slouches back into her seat.
"Focus up, everyone. Our next topic of the moons of Saturn," Liz switches the index card, shuffling one to the back. Glancing up from her cards, Cindy rings her bell at lightning speed.
"The second law of thermodynamics," she spits out, feeling highly competitive.
Liz continues with her line of questions as everyone made sure to participate. Even Eszter calls out her own answers. Abraham called her out, jokingly, of course, saying that she couldn't participate without a bell; Eszter merely mocked in with an odd tone in her voice, causing a ripple of laughter. The two bickered back and forth in a playful manner until Liz accepted her answer, causing Eszter to poke her tongue out at Abraham.
Flash answers a question, but Abraham was quick to correct him. "Flash is wrong."
"Okay, let's focus," Liz puts the top card at the end. "Next one."
"Liz, don't overwork them," Mr. Harrington reminds the captain of the team, but she merely ignores him.
With another question, Peter was quick to answer. "Uh . . . strontium, barium, virbranium."
"Very good, Peter," Liz praises, though she was somewhat upset, the girl was glad he came back. "Glad to have you back."
Peter gawks like he was trapped, but the boy was ecstatic at the sign of approval from Liz. It made him feel rather giddy. "Glad to be back."
Suddenly, his phone began to buzz from his pocket, and Peter quickly fishes it out. Once he checks the caller ID, Peter is surprised to see Happy calling him. A photo of the man taking over his screen, the photo from back on the jet.
"What is the current standard unit of--"
"Can I take this real quick?" Peter asks, interrupting. Liz lifts her gaze from her cards and briefly at Peter; she nearly rolls her eyes at a new excuse. "I'll only be a second."
"Yeah. Fine," Liz dismisses before continuing.
Eszter frowns once she noticed Peter walking down the small aisle and his phone pressed against his ear as he finds privacy. The enhanced shuffles onto the edge of her seat, peeking around the chair as she watches Peter.
He chose a seat behind Ned's, keeping far from everyone else but still kept close to his friends. Then, Eszter glances back at Ned, seeing that the boy has the tracker out and already monitoring the dealers. It seems like the men hadn't left their base, most likely hiding out until things settle down for them; however, they made it easier for Peter to be able to take them all in.
"Happy, I gotta say, tracking me with permission is a complete violation of privacy."
Finding it ironic, Ned looks over to Peter's gaze before gesturing to the tracker that they've been following, and now, they're literally tailing the men. Quite hypocritical of Peter, considering they're tracking someone just as much as Happy is tracking Peter.
Eszter was amused at the thought, clearly thinking the same idea as Ned.
But Peter shakes his head, disagreeing. "That's different," he defends low away from the call, but Happy heard it. "Uh, nothing. Look, it's just the Academic Decathlon. It's not a big deal." Eszter spares Peter a glance before looking back at the tracker. After a short pause, Peter responds. "Okay, okay. Bye."
"What was that all about?" Eszter wonders, a little nosy.
"Uh, Happy . . . he was tracking me."
"How is he tracking you?" Suddenly, Eszter's eyes widen in realization. She touches the neckbrace. "Does that mean he's been tracking me, too?"
"What? No. I don't know. I just know Mr. Stark put a tracker in my suit, so Happy kind of checks up on where I am," Peter grumbles, much to his dismay.
Peter doesn't enjoy the feeling of being babysat like a child. Like a kid trying to learn how to bike, but Peter can't bike on his own, and instead, the training wheels are still on. However, they will have to do something about the tracker if Peter is going to find those bad guys.
"They're worried. You're not really the easiest to keep out of trouble."
"That's so not true," Peter defends.
"I mean, it's kind of true, Pete," Eszter shrugs, not regretting her words because the enhanced can definitely say her friend has a way of getting himself in some type of trouble.
Peter huffs in defeat, but he doesn't fight for his defense because he's pretty sure he has caused some trouble over time once he thought about it. Noting his silence, Eszter grins in triumph, chuckling to herself as she knew she was right.
Eszter shuffles as she nods her head to the tracker. "How is it that he's still at the same place?"
"Maybe he lives in the lair?" Ned guesses.
"That beats the purpose of it being a lair, doesn't it?" Eszter wonders.
"Guys, we need to focus here. Whatever they plan on doing, we need to act fact. When we get to the hotel, we'll check on the tracker and see if anything's changed."
"Okay, fine."