A/N: I started to read This Lullaby again and I almost forgot how amazing of a writer Sarah Dessen is. I really love her books.

Also, HAVE YOU GUYS SEEN ALL THE BEW MOVIES MARVELS GONNA RELEASE. THOR 4 AND A WHOLE FREAKING SHOW WITH VIZ AND WANDA AHHHHHHHH. IM GONNA BE SO BROKE NEXT YEAR TRYING TO WATCH ALL THESE MOVIES ARSFJGRSDL

No time for reviews c uzmy l aptopdo esnthave wifi and my phone is glitching as ypu can see. :/

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"Run faster, Penis!"
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MOSCOW, RUSSIA
11:45 PM

It was raining in the capital of Russia.

Stubborn people were still cruising the streets despite the downpour. The homeless were scurrying for shelter. The streets were in gridlock as everyone rushed home all at once. Police sirens could be heard nearby and in the distance.

A peculiar man with an even more peculiar eye patch found himself standing in front of a small church in the big city. With a thin sweater and a cap over his head, he didn't turn many heads. Perhaps it was the rain that prevented people from stopping and studying the stranger standing stationary in front of the church, undisturbed by the rain.

Another man, much more hooded, approached the stranger to stand beside him. Clothed in black slacks and a sweater vest and accompanied with a cane, he didn't demand much attention either. Except, of course, now there were two peculiar men idly standing in front of a church in the pouring rain.

The older of the men, having seemed to realize this, took the first step forward towards the aging church door and his companion followed suit. Upon entering the church, they were greeted with silence and shelter from the rain.

They took a seat in the last row, the one closest to the door and they sat on either side of the aisle, keeping a distance between them. For a while, they enjoyed the silence which inevitably wouldn't last long as they knew. Unmoving in their seats, they simply stared ahead.

"You failed," the older man finally said.

"Failed wouldn't be the word I'd use," the other man replied with the corner of his lips tugging into a wicked smile of some kind.

"You had one job and you failed."

"Moscow," Graves noted with a smile, "Not the place I'd choose to be hiding from the world."

"Well I'm lucky you aren't choosing for me then," he remarked humorlessly, "The girl, Graves."

"She's fine," Graves replied, rolling his eyes. He pulled the soaking cap off of his head, holding it in his hands. Water from his short hair trailed down his neck.

"You scared her," he accused, "Trapped her in a fire."

"I rattled her cage and I knew she would find a way out," Graves shrugged, unaffected by the old man's cold demeanor, "You've done much worse."

Lukov ignored his comment.

"Your job was to keep an eye on her," Lukov said, finally turning to face him, "not get involved."

He hadn't aged significantly in the time since Graves had seen him last. Rather, the retired minister looked better than before. As anyone would suspect he would — he was so close to his triumph. Beady black eyes and jet black hair starkly contrasted his paper white skin. He looked sick and Graves knew better than anyone that Lukov was a sick and twisted man.

"Relax, Lukov. Rivers is fine," Graves reassured, resting his arm on the back of bench and crossing his legs casually. He pulled out a cigarette from his pants pocket which luckily hadn't gotten soaked in rain water like the rest of him and lit it up with a lighter. It had been a while since he had had a Russian cigarette. He preferred American, no doubt.

"You better hope she is. For your sake," Lukov said, leaning back in his seat. His cane sat peacefully beside him.

It's because of my knee. I need the damned thing when it rains, Graves remembered him saying. Lukov always made sure no one would forget that he wasn't old or weak — it was only the rain.

"I always worry about my sake," Graves grinned, letting out a puff of smoke.

"I know that you do," Lukov sighed, shaking and lowering his head, "She cannot know the truth until it's time." He said it as if he was protecting her. Which, he was. But Graves found it ironic that he was protecting her from the truth that he had created.

"It's been a year. How much more time do you need?" Graves scoffed, pulling his right foot up to rest on his knee.

"Это почти время," Lukov smiled wickedly, his old eyes alight with victory as he stared ahead, "It's almost time."

—————

Adelaide had only slept for 2 hours, but given that that had been the most sleep she had had in over a week, she wasn't about to complain.

She was currently sitting at the kitchen island with a strong cup of coffee in her hand. The teenager was in a much better mood, the billionaire noticed as he walked into the kitchen.

"Mornin'," Tony mumbled, giving Adelaide a strange look. Was that...a smile on her face?

"Good morning," Adelaide said cheerfully as Tony poured himself a cup of coffee, "Sleep alright?"

"You could say that," he shrugged, sitting on a stool across from her. He opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but he only stared at the teenager instead.

"What?" she asked.

"You look happy," he stated, narrowing his eyes. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"What, can't I look happy?" she asked, fighting off a smile.

"Seriously, what's going on?" he asked, leaning his elbows on the countertop. Adelaide shrugged.

"I just...am," she answered. Tony leaned back in his seat, putting his hands up.

"Okay, fine, don't tell me," he said, "But at least tell me why you're dressed so early."

"Why are you?" she asked.

"That's not fair – you have to answer at least one of my questions," he argued. Adelaide rolled her eyes again.

"I'm going...out," she answered vaguely.

"Out where? And – wait a minute, don't you have school?" he asked.

"Yes, I have school today."

"Then where are you going?" he asked as she stood up to put her cup in the sink. Adelaide avoided his gaze.

"Nowhere in particular," she answered.

"Okay, now I know for a fact that you are hiding something," he said and Adelaide sighed.

"Tony, please don't–"

"Why won't you tell me where you're going?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. He was standing up now too. Adelaide stared at the ground, feeling like a toddler abashed for stealing a crayon.

"I don't think you would want to know," she said quietly.

"I think I would," he argued and Adelaide knew that he wouldn't let her out of the house unless she told him. She pulled her lips in, taking a deep breath and looked up at him.

"Where are you going?" he asked again, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm going to see Pepper," she said. He stiffened.

"Oh," he blinked, looking away from her, "...Oh."

"If you don't want me to go, I won't–"

"No, no, you go," he said, clearing his throat as he stared at his cup of coffee sitting on the countertop, "I'll...I'll be fine."

He walked away before Adelaide could stop him, leaving her feeling terrible.

—————

Adelaide pressed the doorbell, feeling butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

The black double penthouse doors in front of her were huge and made of glass. Despite having lived in the Stark Tower, Adelaide felt out of place here. Everything was so...rich. Adelaide heard the familiar sound of heels clicking against the floor and then the luxurious doors opened.

Pepper was wearing a white blouse and a gray pencil skirt. She had her hair twisted into a bun and Adelaide noticed she had more makeup around her eyes than usual. She also noted that her eyes were slightly red.

"Hi," Adelaide breathed.

The woman immediately pulled her into a tight hug, burying her face into her shoulder. Adelaide did the same, wrapping her arms around her and breathing her in. It had only been a week, but it had felt so much longer.

"I missed you," Adelaide mumbled into her shoulder. Pepper closed her eyes, pulling the teenager closer in response. They both pulled away after a while, and looked at each other, breaking into a small laugh.

"You look tired," the woman noted once they had calmed down, "Come on, I'll make you some coffee."

Adelaide followed her inside the penthouse, looking around in awe. The first room by the door was the living room which was accompanied by a kitchen to its left. The right side led to a hallway and there was a staircase on the left, by the window, leading up to the second floor. The wall across from the entrance was made entirely of windows that looked over Manhattan. A massive, sparkling chandelier hung over the foyer.

"Have a seat," Pepper said, gesturing to the gray sofa. Adelaide took a seat, feeling slightly uncomfortable in the expensive setting. It's just Pepper, she reminded herself. The woman walked into the kitchen to make the teenager coffee, the familiar sound of her heels clicking against the floor filling the silence.

"How is school going?" Pepper asked as she started the coffee pot with a beep. Adelaide knew that they were both trying to avoid the inevitable topic for as long as possible.

"It's okay," she mumbled, turning in her seat on the sofa to better look into the kitchen, "I'm a little behind on the homework, though."

"Math?" Pepper asked with a knowing smile.

"I really suck at it," Adelaide half- heartedly defended, shrugging one shoulder.

"Why don't you just ask Peter for help?" Pepper asked and then she bit her lip but it was too late; the question had already been asked. The woman knew that he had let them down during the science fair.

"We haven't talked since the science fair," she said, turning away from the kitchen and staring at the Persian rug on the hardwood floor. The coffee maker beeped and Pepper poured the coffee into a mug and handed it to the teenager. She took a seat across from her, crossing her legs and smoothing her skirt.

"Has he tried to apologize?" Pepper asked. Adelaide got a weird feeling, watching her. Pepper felt so familiar, so much like home, but this setting was so...out of place. It was weird seeing Pepper call this her home when Adelaide had always associated the Stark Tower and Pepper both as her home. If she ignored reality, she could almost pretend that Pepper had her bags packed somewhere in this penthouse and was ready to come back to the Tower with her today. Hadn't a week been long enough?

"Yes," Adelaide answered, "A lot."

"Did he tell you why he wasn't at the science fair?"

"No," she grumbled, thinking back to the last time she had spoken to him at the bus circle, "Everytime I ask him, he doesn't answer. I want to forgive him, but..."

"It's frustrating when the people you trust hurt you," Pepper said quietly, watching the teenager for her reaction. Adelaide looked up, catching her eye.

"Is that why you left?" she asked, holding her breath.

"You understand, don't you?" Pepper asked, her voice laced with hope. Adelaide sighed, looking out the window. She rested her elbows on her knees and held her chin in her hands.

"I don't – I don't know what to think anymore," she said, lifting a shoulder, "Everything is just...falling apart."

"The best memories come from the worst of times," Pepper said gently and Adelaide knew she was right.

—————

Their new gym coach wasn't that new.

"Five laps! Make it quick! I don't want to miss my lunch time," Coach Stiles shouted and then he blew his whistle. Adelaide noticed his whistle was covered in powdered sugar and she cringed.

She couldn't say that she had missed him but he was definitely better than Graves.

"I can't decide who's worse," Ned said to her as they began running. Adelaide always ran a little behind so she could keep with Ned. Peter was running up ahead with some soccer players. She felt angry at him for not running with them but then she realized that he had no reason to think he was wanted around anymore. Adelaide quickly cut off the downwards spiral that was about to start in her thoughts. She had been through it a million times. She was mad with him and she wasn't going to forgive him until he told her where he had been no matter how bad she felt about it.

Besides, he had been acting strangely...happy today. Adelaide didn't know why but he had changed from his usual mopey self. She wondered what it could be.

"Yo Penis Parker, can you run any slower!" Flash suddenly shouted and his friends snickered.

"Flash, no talking while running!" Coach Stiles shouted, his mouth full of a powdered donut. What a surprise. "And...uh, what's your name, kid? Penis? Run faster, Penis!"

Peter rolled his eyes at his hideous nickname but pushed himself to run faster nonetheless. Ned and Adelaide shared a look.

"Coach Stiles," Ned told her, starting to run out of breath from the exercise, "He's definitely worse."

Adelaide glanced behind herself to see Flash catching up. He and his friends were one lap ahead of her and Ned.

"Hey Flash, your shoelaces are untied," she told him. She brought a tingle to her fingertips and used the light to make his shoelaces seem untied. On second thought, she lowered her eyes so no one would see them glowing.

Flash looked down at his untied shoelaces which really weren't untied and lost his balance, tripping over his own feet and falling flat on his face. Everyone laughed at him and Coach Stiles even cracked a powdery smile from the sidelines.

"Get up, kid!" he shouted and Flash groaned, pushing himself off of the floor.

"Nice one," Ned laughed.

"Thanks," Adelaide grinned. When she looked ahead again, she caught Peter looking back at her, a small smile on his face. Adelaide looked away, holding her smile until he turned away.

Maybe she was mad at him, but that didn't mean she didn't care.

—————

"Did you see the news about the Avengers in Nigeria?" Ned asked Peter.

Adelaide hadn't been listening to their conversation until now. She was sitting across from them at the cafeteria table, busy trying to finish her math homework before the bell rang. Mr. Hans had given her the rest of the day to finish it and she had to hand it in before she left school today or else he would force her to take tutoring which meant even more math.

"Yeah, it was strange," Peter remarked, glancing at her homework. She knew him well enough to know that he was itching to help her. "I don't know what they were doing there."

Adelaide had completely forgotten to call and ask Wanda about what had happened in Nigeria. She couldn't have been okay with everything. She would have to remember to call her as soon as possible.

"The government's getting pretty angry with them..." Ned said, glancing at her. She merely shrugged. For once, she had no idea what had been going on. All she knew was what she had seen in the news.

"I don't know," Peter said, "I don't think the Avengers would ever hurt people on purpose."

"Me neither, but 11 people did die on their watch," Ned argued, "The UN thinks they need to be put under control."

"I don't think they should," Peter said, "They've saved us so many times, I think the UN should trust them. What do you think, Ada?" Peter realized his mistake but he had already asked the question.

"Sorry –"

"I think you're both right," she said before she could stop herself.

"Y-You do?" Peter asked, surprised that she had even answered. And especially because she had agreed with him.

"Yeah," she answered and she forced herself to take a drink from her water bottle before her motormouth started to forgive him without her permission.

"Oh, c-cool," he said, clearing his throat. Suddenly, his face brightened. Adelaide watched him curiously as he dug into his backpack for something. She glanced at Ned curiously but he only shrugged.

"Here," Peter said, handing her a black duffel bag with a grin. Adelaide took it, shooting him a curious look.

"What's this?" she asked. His grin widened.

"Open it," he encouraged. Confused, Adelaide pulled open the zipper of the duffel bag, peering inside. Reaching in with her hand, she pulled out their hoverboard. For a moment, she just held it, staring at it. The little LED light switched on under the hoverboard, indicating that it was on and ready to fly.

"I'm really, really sorry about the science fair," Peter started. He was giving it one more shot. After having talked to her last night as Spider-Man, he realized how much he had missed her and he wanted to be able to talk to her as Peter, too. Maybe she wouldn't forgive him, but he would still be able to talk to her. And he was certain that she would forgive him with time.

"I know it's our group project, but...I want you to have it," he said, studying her face. She hadn't said anything in over a minute and he was starting to get worried.

"That's okay with you, right Ned?" Peter asked, hoping his best friend would say yes.

"Oh yeah," he answered, looking at it as if it were about to fly at him any moment, "I don't want to go anywhere near that Deathboard."

"Ada?" Peter asked after she hadn't said anything in a while.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

There were a lot of other things she wanted to say to him but she bit her tongue. Getting the hoverboard meant a lot, but there was still so much that she needed to know before she forgave him. The most important being where he had been the night of science fair. A small part of her wondered if she was overreacting, but she shook it off. It was one thing to stand them up on a movie night at Ned's house but it was another to not show up with their project the night that it mattered.

Peter waited for her to say something else but she didn't and Ned started up a new conversation to fill the awkward silence between them. For the remainder of their lunch period, Peter watched her as she silently did her math homework, hoping she would just say something.

—————

Logically, after having the same nightmares again and again, they should become less frightening. However, this was not the case for Adelaide.

She had managed to squeeze out 2 peaceful hours of sleep last night, but, tonight, she had not been as lucky. The teenager had fallen asleep in the billionaire's room again – more for his sake than hers – but, while he was sleeping soundly, she was breaking out in cold sweat. Again.

With a tired sigh, she padded into her room and jumped into the shower. The nightmares were seemingly getting worse – if that was even possible. She could physically feel the toll they were taking on her body. She didn't feel like eating, she was constantly tired: she felt as if she was literally living in a black hole.

She dragged herself back into her room, dripping all over the carpet but she was too tired to care and Pepper wasn't here to scold her about it. She pulled a hoodie and a pair of sweats on before tying up her hair and leaving the room.

As she began to look for her phone, she realized that maybe she could go out to the public swimming pool again tonight. Maybe Spider-Man would be there. Besides, after she had come home last night, she had realized that she had never actually thanked him for saving her life.

She found her phone which had slipped between the cushions on the couch and snuck outside the Tower, walking to the same building again. There was just something about taking a