A/N: I can't believe I actually got this done on time. I've actually been drowning in work all week long and 5 hours of sleep just doesn't cut it, apparently.

Alright! So the last chapter, we got to see some (hopefully) surprising action. I read your reviews and I loved your reactions! I really thought that I had made it too obvious and you guys had seen it coming, but, hey, I guess I had done better than I thought! Although, I had done the whole Ned getting hints about Adelaide and Tony just to divert your attention when he found out that she was the Blue Phantom. Just one of the tricks I had up my sleeve...Anyway, so this chapter is a little less climatic than the last one. To be honest, most of this chapter is just Adelaide sulking over the last chapter and trying to make up her mind. So, there's not much but it's important. I've actually been waiting to write the last scene of this chapter since even before Age of Ultron so I'm super excited about that even though I kind of got writer's block towards the end.

I have an idea for what I want in the next chapter and I would tell you my plans for this timeline, but I don't want to spoil this chapter so I guess I'll just tell you guys that in the next author's note just so we can be on the same page. I will say that the next chunk of this story is mainly gonna be like a hybrid of Dawn of Truth and the Spider-Man origin story.

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"Or what about Captain America?

Does he actually look old?"
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Adelaide grunted, throwing a punch. She was drenched in sweat, breathing hard. She wiped the sweat off of her forehead with her arm, shaking her head. Adelaide positioned her feet again, gritting her teeth as she eyed the punching bag.

"Так!" (So!)

Punch.

"ебаный!" (Fucking!)

Punch.

"глупый!" (Stupid!)

You're the Blue Phantom!

She growled, punching the punching bag so hard, she felt the vibration travel through her arm.

From Sokovia!

Adelaide spun around, hitting the bag again. Her entire body was burning with energy. She was seeing spots in her vision, yet all she could see was the punching bag in front of her.

My friend! A superhero!

She kicked the bag angrily, smashing it as it came swinging back. She swung her leg around, landing another hard kick on it. It swung backwards. When it came back, she began punching it as hard and fast as she could. She focused on the punches, the movement of her hands, the sweat rolling down her face.

You're the Blue Phantom! From Sokovia! My friend!

Adelaide growled angrily, throwing her last punch as hard as she could. Then she slumped over, leaning against the railing. She stared at the punching bag, seeing flashbacks of last night. How could she have been so fucking careless? She had one job. One fucking job.

Adelaide heard the door opening, but she didn't acknowledge it, knowing exactly who it was.

"Go away," she grumbled. Tony stepped over the rope, coming inside the ring. She glared at him and he just blinked in oblivion.

"что ты хочешь?" (What do you want?) she mumbled.

"Okay, you've been acting like a little demon ever since I picked you up last night. So shoot. Talk to me. Confess. Spill it. Spill the beans, kid." Adelaide sighed, picking her water bottle off the floor. She began to chug it, to avoid answering any questions. Tony rolled his eyes and then snatched the bottle out of the teenager's hand.

"Hey!" she shouted, wiping the water off her chin with her arm.

"What happened yesterday?" he asked sternly. Adelaide glared at him, turning around and grabbing the towel to wipe her face.

"Adie, come on," he said and she sighed.

"Nothing happened yesterday," she told him and then turned away again. Adelaide glanced at her phone, scrolling through. There were at least a 100 missed calls from both Peter and Ned. She frowned, turning her phone off.

"You're not half as good at lying as me," the billionaire said, stepping in front of her, "So quit stalling and tell me what happened." His voice was quiet, but he didn't sound angry. In fact, he sounded worried. Adelaide stared at the ground, swallowing. God, she felt like the biggest idiot in the world.

"I screwed up yesterday, okay?" she said and then turned around, stepping out of the ring. Tony grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"What'd you screw up this time? Please don't tell me it was my Maserati." She pulled her arm out his grip, glaring at him. Was he ever serious?

"It wasn't your Maserati," she grumbled. Adelaide tightened her jaw at the thought. She felt humiliated and she had no one to blame but herself.

"Did you kill a man? I mean, what? What is it? Just tell me." Adelaide sighed, rubbing her face. She suddenly realized how tired she was. She hadn't been able to sleep all night.

"I let my secret slip. Ned knows I'm the Blue Phantom," she said quietly. Tony didn't say anything for a while, making the teenager look up. To her surprise, he looked confused.

"That's it?" he asked and Adelaide felt her jaw dropping.

"That's it?!" she shouted, "Tony, he knows! Just because the whole world knows you're Iron Man doesn't mean I want the whole world to know I'm the Blue Phantom, okay?"

"What? No! Look, what I'm trying to say here is, do you trust this guy?" Adelaide closed her mouth, looking at him curiously. She tried to process his statement in her mind.

"What?" was all that came out.

"He's your friend. Do you trust him?" Adelaide considered it. Did she trust Ned? Yeah, of course, but on what level? Sure, she trusted him to not cheat off her test, but did she trust that he wouldn't tell her secret to everyone else? Could she?

"I...I don't know." Tony blinked at the teenager.

"Alright, look. Do you see him as the kind of guy to go around telling people your secret after seeing the way you reacted when he found out?" Adelaide considered his question. Ned wouldn't do that, would he?

"I don't think so?" Tony patted her shoulder.

"Problem solved. You should trust him," the billionaire said, looking proud of himself rather than the teenager, "I'm not as terrible at this as I thought."

"You're still pretty bad," she said and he rolled his eyes. Tony ruffled her hair and then stepped out of the ring, walking out of the workout room. Adelaide sat down, holding her head in her hands, sighing.

How was she even supposed to face him again?

Suddenly, her phone rang again and she picked it up, staring at the name. Letting out a breath, she pressed the green button, holding the phone up to her ear.

"Ada?! Oh my god, thank god you're okay. I was so worried that something happened to you and especially after you ran out like that without an explanation and it must have been at least a million times I've called you since last night, why weren't you answering my calls? May and Ben were so worried and I tried calling your aunt and then I realized I didn't have her number so I kept trying to reach you but you just wouldn't pick up. Do you have any idea how worried we all were? How much we tried to contact you? You could've just sent me a message telling me you're okay. Here I was redialing your phone number like an absolute idiot. I should have know you weren't going to pick up. You never tell me anything that's going on in your life, I should just stop bothering."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Adelaide asked, frowning.

"That's all you got from everything that I just said?" he asked, sounding exasperated.

"No, I heard the rest." There was silence for a moment.

"So?" he asked.

"So?" she repeated.

"Ada!"

"Okay, okay, fine. I'm sorry. You're right, I should've texted you. It's my fault, I'm sorry. I was just so angry that I couldn't think straight," she said before realizing her slip up.

"Why were you angry?" She sighed, cursing at herself. She was a screw up. She couldn't do one thing right. Not one.

"I...uh, stubbed my toe," she said, wincing. The first thing she could think of was that? Adelaide sighed.

"Um, what?"

"Look, Pete, that's not important. What I do want to know is what you mean by 'never tell you anything in my life'. I tell you stuff," she argued.

"Ada," he said sternly, "don't change the subject. What happened last night? Why were you angry?"

Because Ned found out that I was the Blue Phantom.

She scoffed to herself. If only it were that easy.

"Can we not talk about that? I don't really want to think about it," she said, hoping that would be enough. Her mind was blank — she couldn't think of a single lie that excused her behavior last night. Maybe she'd come up with something later, but right now she needed to steer clear of that topic. She heard Peter sighing.

"Fine. But don't think I've forgotten it."

"Thanks, Pete." The two were silent for a while, lost in their own thoughts. Adelaide's mind swirled with confusion. One moment, she felt as if she could tell Ned everything. Everything. About her memories, her strange abilities, even her parents. But then the next moment, she was closed again. She was unsure of herself. She knew she'd have to face him sometime. And he was bound to ask questions that she didn't have the answers to. In fact, today was supposed to be the best day of his life, he had said it himself. Tony was going to meet the two today, just like she had promised them. But now everything was a mess and Adelaide didn't know where to begin cleaning it up.

"Ada? You still there?" came Peter's voice.

"Yeah, I'm still here," she answered.

"I hate to bring this up now, but..." She sat up, suddenly alert.

Did Ned tell him everything? Of course he did, they were best friends. Oh God, now Peter knew too. How was she going to answer to both of them? Maybe she should just end the call right now and move away to Malibu. Then she'd never have to face either one of them again. But what about Tony and Pepper? And Happy? What would she do without them?

"We still have to finish that Chemistry project that's due Monday," he said and Adelaide let out a relieved breath, wanting to smack Peter Parker on the head for almost giving her a heart attack. He was lucky he wasn't standing next to her right now or she just might have hit him. She took a moment to catch her breath which had gone completely out of control.

"Do we have to do it today?" she asked. She wasn't in the mood for atom modeling after the incident last night. In fact, the only thing she was in the mood for was chocolates.

"It's due Monday, we have to finish it today."

"But –"

"What if I came over to your house?" he suddenly suggested. Adelaide's eyes grew wide. Her house? As in the Tower? The Stark Tower? She shook her head, blurting out yet another excuse.

"My um, aunt and uncle aren't home and I'm not allowed to have people over when they're not around," she lied. That wasn't a terrible lie. Although, it made her feel terrible. She was just spitting out lie after lie. Why did it have to be so complicated?

"Oh," he said, "Well, I guess you can come over to my house. Ben and May aren't home, but they won't mind. In fact, sometimes I think they love you more than me." He chuckled. Adelaide smiled. Peter was lucky to have an aunt and uncle who cared so much for him.

"It's because I'm more loveable," she teased.

"Yeah, right," he mumbled, "So are you coming over or am I going to have to do this all by myself? I gotta tell you though, I'm terrible at crafts." Peter knew she was in a good mood now, but the curiosity was killing him. He had to know what happened last night. Maybe he would be able to get her to tell while they were working on the project together. He doubted Ada would tell him anything until she wanted to, but it was worth a shot.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," she sighed.

"See ya."

Adelaide hung up the phone with a long sigh. Who knew keeping a secret could be so tiring?

-----

Knock, knock!

Adelaide dropped her hand, shoving it in her coat pocket. The weather kept getting colder, but the snow was yet to fall. It was constantly windy and the cold air always turned Adelaide's nose red like a traffic light. She hated getting stuck in the cold, but she couldn't complain. It was November in New York, it wasn't like it was going to be hot and sunny anytime soon.

She let out a breath, watching the small puff of air as she did. Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing Peter.

"Hey, come in," he said. She stepped inside, grateful for the warmth. The Parker residence wasn't big or extravagant, but it was cozy and Adelaide would take that over any sort of luxury any day. She pulled off her coat and hung on the coat rack by the door, rubbing her hands together. Even though she loved Ben and May, she was glad they weren't home. Otherwise, they would have asked a million questions. Peter eyed his friend with amusement as she shivered.

"Do you want me to turn up the heater?" he asked.

"No, thanks," she muttered. With a shrug, he began heading upstairs to his room and Adelaide followed behind. Suddenly, it struck her that Ned might still be here after their sleepover from last night. She panicked, almost missing the next step of the stairs. She stumbled, catching herself just in time by grabbing ahold of the railing. Peter turned around.

"Are you okay?" he asked curiously. She seemed very jumpy.

"No — Yeah, I'm fine. I just...is Ned still here?" she asked, hoping it wouldn't be too obvious. Luckily, Peter didn't seem to pick up on anything.

"No, he left hours ago. Said he was in a rush or something," he mumbled and then began walking again. Adelaide let out a breath, relieved. Peter opened the door, revealing a total mess inside. There were empty chips bags, empty cans of Coke, scattered popcorn...He chuckled.

"Sorry about the mess, I never got around to cleaning it after last night," he said and Adelaide nodded.

"I figured," she muttered.

"So...did you guys have fun?" she asked innocently. Peter nodded, clearing his desk of candy wrappers.

"We watched like, 7 movies and I don't think I can't even count how many bags of popcorn we ate," he said with a small laugh, looking around the room, "Actually, I think we can."

He began collecting the bags of popcorn around the room, counting aloud. Adelaide rolled her eyes, glancing around the room. So Ned didn't tell Peter. Maybe that was a good sign. She twisted her fingers together anxiously.

"Did...Was Ned acting...different?" she asked. Peter stopped, bent over as he was picking up another bag from under his bed. So his suspicious had been right. Something had happened between her and Ned and that's why she had run out like that. He stood up, clearing his throat.

"Now that you mention it, he was acting a bit jumpy..." Peter answered, "Did something happen between you two?"

Adelaide kept her face impassive, although she was frustratedly screaming on the inside. How had this all gotten so complicated?

"No, nothing," she answered. Peter sighed, shoving the popcorn bags in the trash.

"Ada, what's going on? You can tell me," he said, stepping closer. Adelaide shook her head.

"There's nothing to tell. Ned and I...we, um got into an argument, that's all," she said quickly. She swallowed, hoping he would buy that lie. He looked confused.

"Over what?" She racked her brain for yet another excuse.

"It was silly. He just said my catsuit looked, um...ridiculous and I got angry and...yeah," she said quietly. Peter began laughing.

"That's it?" he asked, "That's what this was all about?" She nodded weakly. She was beginning to hate lying to everyone. Especially her friends.

"Why don't you just call him?" Peter asked. He was suddenly in a much better mood, knowing there wasn't anything seriously wrong with his friend. Adelaide frowned, shrugging.

"I'll do that later. We have to finish the project now," she said, setting her bag down by the door, "I'll make a sketch of the model and you get the materials."

"Yes, ma'am," he mocked and then left the room to get the materials. Adelaide rolled her shoulders and sat down at the desk, pulling out her notebook and beginning to draw the sketch.

After a while, Peter came back with all the materials and they both worked together for the rest of the afternoon, avoiding the topic of last night. They finished as soon as it started to get dark outside and the wind died down a little. Adelaide helped him clean up the mess in his room and then they both collapsed on the chairs, worn out from all the Chemistry and crafts.

"You know," Peter said, staring at the ceiling fan, "you should call Ned. He probably feels terrible."

"Yeah?" Peter nodded.

"Ned will say sorry even if it wasn't his fault," Peter said with a small laugh, "Just call him, I'm sure he's dying to talk to you." Adelaide sighed, closing her eyes.

"Yeah, okay," she said.

-----

It was late. Tony and Pepper were long asleep, but sleep was rarer than gold for Adelaide. She was sitting on her bed, legs crossed, staring at the wall in front of her. Although, her mind was completely elsewhere, wandering.

She twisted the hem of her shirt around her hand, wondering if she should take Peter's advice. In fact, that's all she had been thinking about since she got home. Even though Peter only thought she and Ned were just having a silly argument, there was some sense to his words. If she knew anything about Ned, it was that he was probably dying to talk to her. Knowing how much he loved superheros, he was also probably dying to ask her a ton of questions. If anything, he was probably ready to burst from excitement and anticipation.

But Adelaide definitely was not. It wasn't easy for her to tell someone the whole truth. She had had a hard enough time telling the Avengers and they were the Avengers for crying out loud. This was Ned. Ned. One of her best friends. She should tell him, right? Besides, he already knew half of the truth already anyway. Albeit, it was totally her fault and she couldn't blame anyone but herself for the slip up, but it was too late to fix it now, even though she'd thought of a millions ways to do so. She had to focus on the present, the truth.

The truth was that Ned already knew and she couldn't avoid him forever. Adelaide sighed, falling back onto the bed. She turned her head to look at the clock on the wall. She was making it too complicated. It was Ned. She should just tell him. Even though it was one am. Adelaide reached for her phone before she could change her mind again and spend yet another hour in a dilemma.

She held up the phone to her ear, suddenly remembering that he was probably awake for the movie marathon on tv he was telling her about earlier this week. Adelaide closed her eyes, wanted him to pick up but also not wanting him to. Finally, she heard his familiar voice.

"Adelaide?" he said, sounding excited.

"Don't freak out on me," she injected quickly before he could start rambling her ear off.

"I-I wasn't going to freak out. My best friend is a superhero. She's the Blue Phantom who fights with the Avengers. Why would I freak out?" he said, his voice slightly shaky from