<<Delilah>>
I can't believe that I am sitting at a table eating dinner with the Avengers. I don't know what to say. They're all talking about their own things, and I'm kinda just here. I know who everyone is, but at the same time, I only know what you can find on the internet, so I don't really know them. I mean, I know Peter, but that's about it. It's weird to be sitting with so many people eating. It's a little like the lunch period at school, but different. These people actually matter.
I just sit at the table and eat silently. I'm sitting kind of in the middle of the table, so there are a few different conversations that I can hear. Sitting right across from me is Natasha Romanoff! I didn't realize who she was before, but now that I know who she is, I'm embarrassed about how I acted yesterday. She is talking with Dr. Bruce Banner, whom I have already met under not so nice circumstances, but it is what it is. He may not be a real doctor, but he knows more about medicine than any of the other Avengers, I guess. They seem to be having a casual conversation, but I don't want to eavesdrop because that's rude.
I'm sitting next to Peter on one side, and Ms. Maximoff on the other. They're both talking to whoever is on the other side of them, so it doesn't really seem like anyone is paying attention to me. I kinda like that feeling. Being ignored is something that I'm used to, but also is the only thing I really know. I don't know how to respond to attention. It's weird. The dinner is really good. I'm pretty sure Mrs. Potts made it. It's spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, and salad. This is probably the best meal I've ever had.
<<Tony>>
I look over at the kid, and she seems to be happy, but she hasn't said anything since we left the lab. I told Peter to sit next to her since they know each other, but he's talking with Barnes rather than with Delilah. Wanda is next to her as well, but she's talking with Barton. It almost seems like everyone is turned away from her, but she doesn't seem to mind. It may not have been my smartest move putting her in the middle of a dinner with the majority of the Avengers right after she had a panic attack.
She seems to be glancing around, but always ends quickly by looking down at her plate. I know that she recently got out of a situation, but I'm starting to realize how serious it might have been. The only way she has started a conversation had been by greeting me, but only acknowledging that I'm there. Not so much in a letting me know that she is there way. I think I'm going to try to look more into why she is going to be gone on Friday. She told Mr. Parent that she had to go to court, so I'll look up the schedule for that.
I look over at Delilah, and she is sitting, just looking at an empty plate. Everyone else has already finished, and some of them have gone to put their plates away. Delilah looks at them to see what they are doing, and it looks like she is about to get up, but she doesn't. I get up and go over to her.
"Hey," I say. "You okay?"
She looks up at me. "Yeah."
"I can take your plate if you're done."
"Its okay. I can go put it away. You don't have to."
"Delilah, you don't have to do everything. You are our guest. I can take your plate."
She doesn't argue this time. "Okay. Thank you."
I take her plate and put it in the dishwasher. I look back at her, and she is still sitting at the table, but now she's alone. There has to be something going through her head, right? She definitely isn't used to people doing something for her, but in my experience, people like that are excited when someone offers to do something. She almost defends herself like she has something to prove. I'm about to go over to her and start talking with her, but Pepper beats me to it.
<<Pepper>>
Delilah has been silent this whole dinner, and something just seems off. I was skeptical of her at first with the texts, but now that I see her, she needs something more than she is getting. I'm not sure what she needs exactly, but I want to help any way that I can. I go over to where she is sitting and sit next to her.
"How was dinner?" I ask.
"Very good. Thank you," she responds.
"If you're still hungry, there are some peanut butter cookies in the cabinet."
"No thank you."
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Um, sure. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Honey, we're not blind. We can see that there is something going on."
"Oh..."
"Is there anything we can help with?" I ask.
"No, sorry. No one can really help me with this one. All I can do is hope for the best."
I'm confused by this. What does she mean by "hope for the best?"
"What do you mean, honey?"
"Sorry, it's nothing. I-I, um, it kinda, er, just-just, slipped out. Um, I-I..."
I cut her off. "Honey, you don't need to apologize. Everyone here just wants what's best for you. It's okay to not be okay. Nothing is perfect. I just want you to know that if you ever need anything, you can always ask. Understand?"
She nods. "Yes ma'am."
"Please don't call me ma'am. It makes me feel old."
She smiles. I hope that she is starting to feel more comfortable with everything going on. She is such a sweet girl.
<<Delilah>>
"Um, may I go home? I have more homework than I would like and I want to get a head start," I ask.
Mrs. Potts turns back to me. "In a sec, Tony had something he wanted to talk to you about. Nothing bad, if you were wondering. For some reason a lot of people associate needing to talk with something bad."
I nod, and she calls over Mr. Stark.
"Hey, kid," he says. "Before you leave, I was wondering if you wanted to spend weekends here and help. You would have your own room and plenty of time for homework, if you need it. You could either just stay over Friday's and go home Sunday night so you can get to school, or you can go home Fridays and come back Saturday mornings. Or you don't have to come on weekends at all. The choice is yours."
I stare at him blankly. He wants me to come over on the weekends to help him, and stay the night?
"I would- I would love to," I say. "I will have to check with Ms. Nancy, but I will let you know tomorrow. Um, if she, um, if she says yes, I wouldn't be able to come this Friday. Something came up. If it's okay, I would come Saturday morning."
"No problem, kid. Uh, you can go home now if you want. I can get Happy."
"Thanks!"
"See you tomorrow kid."
<<Tony>>
This kid. She is so polite, but almost to her expense. I'm going to get Happy so she can go home. I would drive her, but I would probably have to fight Happy for that. He says that driving with her is peaceful. I get it. Having a normal conversation with her would be great if I could get her to talk about herself. Happy says that she always greets him and says thank you before leaving, but that's about it. I would kind of like to see her have a conversation with someone she is comfortable with to see what happens.
I head back to my lab only to remember that there's a blaster in there. I go over to the table where it lays and pick it up. I pull the last wire out, but it blasts again. Obviously I know how to handle that, but the kid was doomed no matter which wire she pulled. Of course Pepper rushes in because she thinks I hurt myself again, but I just look at her. Then we both look at the blaster.
"So, I guess this wasn't the best project I could have given her. Oops."
"Tony, I'm worried. She didn't say anything at dinner, and I feel like she didn't eat that much. Did you see how much food she took? That isn't enough for a growing kid."
"I know, Pep. I am too. She was terrified that I was going to be upset with her. When I was texting her as Mr. Parent, she said that she had to go to court, and now she told me that she won't be able to come on Friday because something came up. She thinks that I'm going to get upset at every little thing that goes wrong. A person doesn't just think that for no reason."
"Tony, what are we going to do? She can't know that we are the people she's been texting because she trusts them. I mean, she didn't tell you as yourself that she had a concussion, and then she passed out. She is so scared of messing up that she puts herself at risk."
"Pep, I'm going to try to figure out more, but I may only be able to do so much."
"I know."
<<Delilah>>
Mr. Web's Friends
Delilah
You guys aren't going to believe this!
Mr. Little
You got a normal amount of sleep?
Ms. Nat
You passed out again?
Mr. Green
You finally didn't pass out?
Mr. Arrow
You started a fire?
Ms. Scarlet
Did you injure yourself again?
Mr. Web
You didn't do anything and just wanted to see our reactions?
Delilah
Wow, okay.
No
No
Yes
Kinda
Sorta
Hurtful
I had dinner with THE FREAKING AVENGERS!
Mr. Old
That's great, kid.
Mr. Winter
How was it?
Mrs. Parent
What do you mean by kinda and sorta?
Delilah
It was amazing. I didn't really talk to anyone because
I didn't want to say the wrong thing or embarrass myself,
but I was in the same room as them.
Mrs. Parent
You didn't answer my question.
Delilah
Well, I was working on something for Mr. Stark,
but I got to a point where I didn't know which wire I had to pull
first, so I had to kinda guess. The thing I was working on was one
of his old blasters that hadn't been properly removed, so it was
still active. I pulled the wrong wire and it went off.
Mr. Bird
And the sorta injury?
Delilah
Well, I didn't really hurt myself, it was more of
just panic.
Mr. Hammer
Panic?
Mr. Web
Panic!
Mr. Arrow
At The Disco
Mr. Gem
Guys, stop fooling around.
Mr. Web
😥😥😥
Ms. Binary
You're fine.
Mr. Parent
How bad?
Ms. Nat
What do you mean?
Delilah
One of the worst ones.
Mr. Green
Is anyone else confused?
Mr. Winter
I am
Mr. Old
Me too
Mr. Little
Same
Ms. Nat
Unfortunately, yes.
Mr. Parent
You guys don't need to know.
Mrs. Parent
Well, you did text it to everyone in the group chat.
Ms. Scarlet
She's right.
<<Tony>>
Everyone looks over at me, probably expecting an explanation. Pepper already knows what's going on, but Mrs. Parent doesn't. So, for the time being, Mr. Parent can't say anything, but Tony can do what he wants.
"Look," I say. "She has panic attacks. Bad ones. Today, right before dinner, she had one. She doesn't really talk much in general, but when she's panicking, she rambles, then panics more because she's rambling."
"How long have you known?" Steve asks.
"She has had one everyday since she started here. She also texted Mr. Parent while she was having one before she started as an intern."
"Would this have anything to do with one of the many concerning things she has said in the group chat?" Clint asks.
"Kinda. It's a bit obvious that she has a history of abuse, even if she hasn't come right out and said it. Especially talking to her in person. She barely says anything, but when she does, there is almost always some kind of apology. She acts like she has something to prove. When I offered to take her plate after dinner, she basically defended herself before letting me take it."
Our phones go off.
Delilah
Hello? Did something happen? Sorry if I said something.
"See what I mean?"
Mr. Parent
No, kid. We just had to quickly take care of something.
Mr. Old
You didn't do anything wrong.
Delilah
All of you?
Mrs. Parent
Yup. It happens when we all work together.
Mr. Green
So, how's the rest of the internship?
Mr. Little
Yeah, has anything else happened that maybe didn't
almost kill you?
Delilah
I guess.
Mr. Arrow
And that thing was....
Delilah
Mr. Stark asked if I wanted to spend weekends at the
tower. I don't know, though.
Ms. Binary
What do you mean?
Ms. Nat
Shouldn't that be exciting?
Delilah
Yeah, and it is. I just don't know why Mr. Stark wants
me there for a longer period of time. Every time that I've
been in his lab, something happens.
Mr. Gem
Hasn't that only happened when he left, though?
Delilah
No, my first day I just passed out with him
right next to me.
Mr. Hammer
But you were alone the other two days?
Delilah
Well, yes, but I still should have known better.
Mr. Web
Why don't you do your homework and go to sleep?
That seems like a good idea.
Mr. Parent
Hey, speaking of which, you should be doing the same.
Mr. Web
Crap, gotta go.
Delilah
He isn't wrong. I'll talk to you guys later. Bye.
Everyone
Bye.
A/N: I hope you guys liked the chapter. I know that it has been a little while since I updated. My Wattpad has been weird and not letting me sync the changes that I make, so I had to redo some of it and wait to edit because of my devices being stupid. This may not be my longest chapter, but I hope it's okay.
Love you nerds
~A