Taylor blew her nose, crumbled up the Kleenex, and tossed it in the general direction of the trash can, where it landed among the snowfall of tissues. She had slept for twelve hours, woken only once by her mother to make sure her daughter wasn't dead.

The storm in her head was gone, but her nose had been replaced with a faucet and no off valve. Under the tender administrations of her mother, it looked as if Taylor wasn't going to find her end from Death by Cold. She would live to see another day.

Around her were sprawled textbooks, notebooks, and any other items that would aid in her attempt at homework. She wore an oversized college sweatshirt, one that Weston had left behind one semester and which had conveniently found its way into Taylor's closet. As she finished up a math equation, a soft tap tap came.

"Yeah?" she answered with a rasp any jazz singer would sell their soul for.

Her mother opened the door and peered inside.

"Hey honey, you have a visitor?"

Taylor frowned, thinking of Weston but knowing he was probably at work. When her mother widened the gap, Taylor saw Dominic standing there. He stood a head taller than Taylor's mother and broader. One hand shoved into his pocket while the other holding a plastic bag.

"Dominic," Taylor's mother said. "I was just making tea for Taylor's throat, would you like me to make you a cup of something?"

"Uh...sure, thank you."

"Of course, dear."

As she left, Dominic watched her. When he faced Taylor there was a distant look in his eyes. Before she could make sense of it, he blinked and what had been there was hidden away. He surveyed the room, taking in the conflicting decorations and clutter.

In a former life, Taylor knew she would be embarrassed by it all, and maybe even feel self-conscious about how she looked in a faded sweatshirt, red nose, and hair piled on her head in a lopsided bun, but that life was gone. It had disappeared months ago.

"Your room looks different in the day," he said.

Taylor pulled the edges of her sleeves over her fingers.

"You mean uninspired?" she asked.

"Or messy."

Taylor gave a weak laugh which quickly turned into her lungs revolting. She covered her mouth and Dominic looked on unsure.

"I brought you your clothes," he said.

"Thanks," she said, sinking into her pillows.

He set the bag down by her bed, still uncertain about his presence there.

"I noticed that you put small magnets in your hood, why?"

"To keep it from falling backward. It's worked so far. What do you do?"

The question came out before she thought about whether that was an avenue they wanted to explore. Dominic shoved his free hand into his jean's pocket.

"I don't need that. There's no wind in the Time Stop and I don't usually run the risk of fights where someone would yank my hood back."

Taylor nodded and blew her nose. Dominic handed her her phone.

"Here, last night you said it was important."

Leaning forward, she accepted it.

"Thanks. It is."

"I'm impressed it survived your wet clothes."

"Well, I had a couple of puddle incidents so I got it a submarine for a case."

Dominic bobbed his head as if this was a simple fact. After a hesitate moment where neither of them knew how to proceed but felt the presence of the previous night hanging around them, Dominic spoke.

"Okay, are you going to explain to me why I experienced the strangest night I've ever had in my life?"

She cocked her head at him. "The strangest night? You're a prominent football player, hold a high position in high school society so you've probably never missed a party. Was last night really the strangest?"

It was Dominic's turn to regard her with skepticism.

"A girl teleported into my room soaking wet and I took her home then stopped time while carrying her to her room so I wasn't taken for a thief. Yeah, that was the strangest night."

There was no arguing with facts. She shifted her feet over, an invitation. Dominic sat on the edge of her bed, one leg bent while the other hung off the side. Before she could start, the door opened and her mother walked in carrying two, steaming cups.

"Here we are," she said, handing them over.

Taylor curled her fingers around the green ceramic mug, stealing the heat.

"Do you need anything else?" she asked.

"Nope," Taylor said.

"Okay, call if you need me."

As she went, she left the door wide open, a warning that lacked any form of subtly. It was unnecessary since Taylor couldn't imagine kissing someone with a nose that never gave up. Dominic sipped his tea and looked down at it, the distant look returning for a breath.

"What?" Taylor asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing. Just my mom likes this tea."

Again there was a door offered up with the statement, but Taylor had a feeling if she tried the handle she would find it locked.

"So are you going to tell me what happened?" he asked, diverting her thoughts. "Cause you gave me an answer last night but you also said some other weird stuff that I wasn't sure it was true."

"Like what?"

"You said you were tailing a bad guy, the phone was important with evidence, and that I smelled like a forest."

Taylor shrugged. "All three are true."

Dominic looked at her, waiting. For a heartbeat, Taylor debated. To tell him would mean changing the nature of their relationship. They would no longer be just names in each other's phones but something closer to friends. Though she wasn't sure that was what either of them wanted, she knew he deserved to know. After all, he had helped her when he didn't need to.

"Okay," she said.

Before she started, she glanced at the door pointedly. Understanding, Dominic moved his knee while she slid her feet towards him. The second they touched, the world turned immobile.

"The phone is full of evidence cause last night I tailed a member of a crime family named Vincent for my brother."

Dominic eyed her over the rim of his mug. "Is your brother a private eye of something?"

"He's a detective with the city police. One of the youngest."

"That means he's the one person who knows all about your ability and stuff."

Taylor let out a breath, realizing that this was going to be a much longer story.

"No, he doesn't."

Surprised, Dominic paused, the cup halfway to his lips.

Again they stood on a precipice, only it was Taylor's decision whether they take the leap. Before she could rethink the choice, she jumped.

"The way I got my abilities was after a car accident," she said. "My brother was driving. We were hit by someone who was texting and driving, but still, he blamed himself as if he could have done something to change it." Her forehead creased. "I'm guessing it wasn't easy to see me die."

Dominic choked on his tea, pressing his hand to his mouth.

"What?" he coughed out, eyes watering.

"Technically, my heart stopped for a full minute. The EMTs had to restart it."

"And that's-"

"Yeah, after that I got my ability." She gripped her mug, the memory a flash of grinding metal, the shriek of tires, shattering glass, and blackness. "I've done research and I still don't understand the connection between the two. Googling: 'car accident suddenly able to teleport reasons why' doesn't bring up a lot of answers."

Dominic nodded, knowing the same shock of not knowing what was going on and finding there was no way to get answers except by trial and error.

"That's why you never told him," he said.

Weston's concerned face popped into Taylor's mind, the way he surveyed her bruise, and refused to share the hard parts of his job with her.

"Yeah, I didn't want him to feel more guilty. There's nothing he could do to change this and I wouldn't want him to have to deal with the fact that after that I was permanently altered."

Frowning in thought, Dominic scratched the back of his neck. "Why work with him? Aren't you afraid he'll figure out who you are?"

"Every time, but..." she lifted a shoulder. "I don't have a lot of options. I want to help people but it's not like I can walk them into the police station. With my brother, I knew exactly what to say so he wouldn't freak out, but that he would also help me." 

Dominic drained his tea, giving himself a minute to take it all in.

"So last night..."

Taylor drank from her cup as if the memory of the numbing cold was too fresh for her.

"I got stuck on a fire escape cause it was the only clear view I had of Vincent."

"How long were you out there?"

"Sitting? About half an hour."

"Why?"

"Cause my brother asked me to."

The answer was immediate, saying everything about the connection between the two siblings.

In the space that followed her reply, the two of them regarded each other as questions bubbled to the surface of their minds. Already they had traveled down a road they hadn't ventured before.

A single question from Dominic about how she got into all of it could keep them edging along. But with his inquiry came the chance that she might take a step forward herself. Dominic rolled his shoulders, turning his gaze away from Taylor. Seeing his reluctance, she moved them back into neutral territory.

"I'm sorry about last night," she said. "I didn't mean to show up in your room."

Dominic relaxed, his secrets still his.

"It's fine. I didn't get the feeling that you were the type of person who wanted to murder me."

"Yeah, too much work."

When he cracked a smile, Taylor laughed. After a second, she stopped realizing that her lungs weren't burning with a cough. Following that was the blatant evidence that since she had been talking with Dominic in the Time Stop she had felt none of the cold symptoms. Dominic tilted his head, studying her.

"What?" he asked.

"I don't feel sick."

Dominic twirled his finger around.

"That's because of the Time Stop. Your body clock stops, or else I would be so much older than everyone by now."

Aware of how nice it felt not to have her nose running, Taylor snuggled into her sweatshirt.

"You should just stay here forever then." 

Dominic laughed, a deep, throaty sound.

"Actually, I should get going."

As he stood, the congestion in Taylor's chest and the dipping in her nose returned. She moaned and reached for a kleenex.

"Feel better." He dug his hand into his pocket and brought out a crumpled piece of paper. "Here's all the assignments for today."

Surprised, she took the wrinkled sheet. "We only have one class together."

He shrugged. "Yeah, but I know all your classes." When Taylor furrowed her brows in confusion, he chuckled. "You remember that I've watched you do homework for the past few days, right?"

The puzzlement cleared and she raised the paper in salute.

"Thanks." Before Dominic left, she stopped him. "I was planning to wash your clothes before I gave them back."

He backed out of the door. "Sounds good. Just bring them when you pick me up for school."

Taylor was eyeing the list of assignments when her mother came back into the room.

"He wasn't here very long," she said.

For a second, Taylor tried to make sense of why her mother wasn't aware of the time he had spent here then reminded herself, in reality, it had only been a minute.

"He had to get home," she said.

Her mother sat on the edge of the bed, making the mess of Taylor's books neat.

"He seems nice. I don't remember hearing about him."

Taylor wriggled into the blankets.

"It's cause we haven't known each other long. He helps me deal with homework during lunch."

Her mother brightened. "Oh really? Handsome and smart, just like your father."

At the mischievous glint in her mother's eyes, Taylor rolled her eyes and snatched another tissue. Suppressing a smile, her mother nestled the blankets around Taylor.

"You need to rest. I'll be back with some food later."

When she left, Taylor reached for the crumbled page, reading Dominic scribbled handwriting. Something about it helped lighten her mood. It was a small thing, but it meant she wasn't completely on her own.

She was on the verge of falling back asleep - hopefully remaining that way for three days - when her mother peeked into her room.

"Are you up for one more?" she asked.

Taylor rubbed her eyes, trying to understand what she meant.

"One more what?"

In answer, her mother stepped inside. Behind her stood Clint. Though he was almost as tall as Dominic he didn't carry the same presence, his manner quiet. Taylor pushed herself up, blinking at him. He hovered outside, waiting for an invitation.

"Come in," she said, the rasp back in her voice.

Her mother smirked at Taylor as she left and Taylor had the feeling these two visits would be the topic of dinners for the next month.

As Clint took in her room, she couldn't help feeling awkward about how she looked in a way she hadn't with Dominic. Though that was probably due to the fact he had already seen her soaking wet, passed out on a library floor, and drowning in his clothes.

"How's your head?" he asked.

Taylor reached up, feeling the bruise the table had left there. The day before felt like a weird dream and that was even before she had shown up rain soaked in a boy's room.

"Fine." She dropped her hand playing with the edge of her sleeve. "Why are you here?" she asked, remembering how they had left each other the day before.

Clint jammed his hands into his pockets.

"You weren't at school and when you didn't show up for training I wanted to check on you...and talk."

Taylor noticed how his jacket shifted on his strong shoulders as if he were trying to dispel some of the tension he felt. On Taylor's side, the fight was a vague scene.

"Okay," she said.

"Look..."

Clint dragged a hand through his hair, staring at the floor. He seemed so out of place and unsure that Taylor almost put him out of his misery, but she said nothing. When he raised his eyes, there was resolve in them.

"Yesterday, I was out of line and I'm sorry."

Taylor stared at him, curious about this guy who could vehemently argue the smallest thing but was able to admit to a mistake. At her silence, Clint hurried on.

"I had no right to come at you like I did. It's your life and it's yours to choose to do or not do something. I didn't like seeing you hurt, but again it's your choice."

"Thanks." She folded her arms. "I'm sorry about what I said. I don't know what happened and I shouldn't have thrown that in your face."

Clint nodded, gaze pinned on the ground. For a moment, Taylor wondered if he would was going to share, but when he looked at her there was a wall, but not one made out of anger, simply a necessity.

"If you still want to train, I will help you but I understand if you don't."

Taylor sighed, relieved that she didn't have to find someone else to help her.

"I do."

She blinked, her eyelids heavy. Noticing, Clint took a step back.

"I should let you rest," he said. "You seem tired."

What little energy Taylor had vanished, leaving her spent and wishing to sink into oblivion.

"Yeah," she murmured, curling into her blankets and closing her eyes. "Saving the world has that effect."

**********************************************************************

"Please be a secret door, please be a secret door. Yay."

(One of the best lines from the second Avengers movie!)

Alright Supers! Let's here it, what are our thoughts! Peace seems to have settled back around Taylor's life with the two boys, hopefully this lasts....🦹🏾🦸🏼‍♀️🦸🏽‍♂️

*plays dramatic music for effect*

Now completely off topic I have to tell you about my family's Magical but Temperamental cutting board.

So if you leave half a piece of fruit on our Magical but Temperamental cutting board, it will remain there until it dies!

But!!! (Here's where the magic comes in) if you leave that half of piece of fruit sliced up and on the cutting board it will quickly disappear! I know!! Magic!

Do you have a Magical but Temperamental cutting board like my family's? I'm curious.

Now! Coming back because of popular demand *drum roll*

Nonne scitis  (Latin) Fun Facts!: Van Diesel revives a special Groot edited script that tells him what Groot is actually saving.

Vote, comment, follow but only if you stand for fruit and Magical but Temperamental cutting boards.