"Where are you going?" Veronica asked, eyeing James every movement - exactly as she always did since then.

"Nowhere," he claimed, throwing his jacket over his shoulders.

"Right. I suppose the jacket is just because my room is so cold," the reply sounded. James stopped in his tracks, smiling slightly before turning to her. 

"Listen, love. I like your sass, you know I do, but keep it directed at someone else, will ya?" he asked, leaning towards her for a goodbye kiss. Involuntarily Veronica felt her head jerk back and a grimace appear on her face. Ignoring her reaction, James kissed her cheek before standing back up. "We'll work on that." 

Veronica didn't have a reply, and James shot her one last smile before leaving. The second he was out her bedroom door, she brought her knees up on the chair and hugged them. She didn't just hate him, she hated being with him. Every second he was around, she could feel herself losing more and more of not just her happiness, but her will, her opinions and her words. 

A knock sounded and she stood up from the chair, running her hands down her shirt to straighten out any wrinkle there might be.

"Yes?" 

The door opened and Pietro's head appeared in the doorway, looking at her carefully.

"I saw James leave," he said softly; "I wanted to... Check in on you, I suppose." He entered slowly before closing the door behind him. 

"I'm fine, Pietro, thanks," Veronica replied quickly. 

"I still don't understand why you're doing this," he told, taking a step closer to her.

"You don't have to. This is the best way," Veronica assured him with an emotionless face.

"I don't think it is, Vee-"

"Well, I'm not asking for opinions," she interrupted before taking a deep breath. "Listen. I caused a mess. Now I'm cleaning it up." 

"You didn't cause a mess, I caused a mess, I should be the one cleaning the mess!" he uttered desperately. 

A text alert sounded, and Veronica immediately recognized the specialised sound. Knowing he didn't like her not answering, she reluctantly pulled her phone from her back pocket and looked at the screen where a message had shown itself. 

James: On second thought, you want to come? I have someone who wants to meet you

Veronica licked her lips unsurely before typing in her reply.

Vee❤️: Do I have a choice?

James: You know what your choice xx 

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Veronica looked up at Pietro.

"I have to go," she told bluntly, leaning her wait on her left foot.

"Where?" 

"It doesn't matter where."

"It does matter, Veronica! Especially if it's with him,"  Pietro added; "Especially if it's dangerous." 

"It's not dangerous, it's going for a walk," she told, hoping that was all it would be. 

"I think you're forgetting who you're walking to," Pietro told flatly. Veronica scoffed at his tone. 

"I'll be in public. He can't do a thing. And neither can you, so step aside," she told.

"Veroni-" 

"Step. Aside." 

Pietro sent her one last look before stepping to the left.

"I don't like this," he told her as she passed him.

"You don't have to," Veronica said before leaving him in her room. Walking down the hall, she wiped the tears from her cheeks, and luckily so, as she ran into Tony the next second. 

"You going somewhere?" her father asked curiously.

"Yeah, just... Out," Veronica told.

"That sounds nice. Where are you going?" he asked, doing his best to be an interested father. 

"Not sure. I'm, uh, going with James," she admitted, looking down.

"Alright. Be home in time for dinner, will you?" Tony asked before starting walking again.

"What? Why? Since when do you care about that?" Veronica asked with raised eyebrows, looking after her father.

"I don't, it just sounds very dad to say," he told her as he left. 

"Right. What a good father you are," Veronica muttered as she left the building, another text popping onto her phone. Checking it, she saw nothing but an address sent from James' number. 

"Hey, Stark, have you seen Veronica?" Natasha asked as she passed Tony in the hallway; "I was thinking she might want to train a little with me." 

"She's not here, actually," Tony told briefly as he neared her. Natasha froze in her tracks before stepping in front of Tony, quickly stopping his quick pace. 

"What? She doesn't go out very often, where is she?" she asked, a bad feeling spreading in her stomach.

"Not sure, she just said she was meeting James. Listen, I gotta get to a meeting-"

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead," Natasha said absentmindedly while stepping aside. Glancing at Tony's back she picked up her phone and pressed the correct contact.

"Buna ziua, sunt Pietro," Pietro's voice sounded only after a few rings. Natasha rolled her eyes. 

"Putem face asta doar în engleza?" She suggested, leaning her shoulder against the wall. 

"Natasha?" Pietro asked, recognizing the voice; "Why are you calling me?" 

"I wanted to hear who you think will win the next Halloween heist," she said, her voice practically dripping with sarcasm.

"Really? Well, I think it likely that Amy-" 

"Pietro, I'm calling about Veronica," Natasha interrupted him.

"Ah.... That does make more sense," he admitted into the phone. 

"She's left. With James," Natasha told quickly.

"Yes, I know." 

"You let her go?" Natasha asked annoyed; "You do realise there's something going on, right? That she could be in danger?"

"She insisted I let her go, I had to respect her wishes," Pietro argued quietly. 

"Pietro... Where are you?" Natasha asked slowly. 

"Uh, uhm, the, in the car," he told unsurely; "Oh no, is that a tunnel?" 

"Pietro, I think we both know that I will gladly remove your spleen without anaesthetics. And don't worry, I know enough so that it'll heal and you live. I do, however, not know nearly enough for it to be done well. Tell me where you are," she ordered with a foolingly soft voice. 

"I'm not saying I'm following Veronica, but-"

"You're following Veronica?" Natasha interrupted. 

"I did not say that-" 

"But you are?" She interrupted again. Pietro was quiet for a second.

"Maybe..." 

"Well done," Natasha congratulated; "You'll make sure she's safe?" 

"I'll do my very best, whatever it takes," Pietro told honestly. Natasha smiled sadly.

"I know you will. Call me if things get out of hand."

"James?" Veronica's voice rang unsurely through the seemingly abandoned house. 

"Stark?" A voice asked before a guy entered the hallway from the door nearest to her. Veronica jumped back, already in a fighting position. The guy smiled wickedly, shaking his finger in front of her.

"No no no, none of that. You are exactly as promised, though. You'll do well," He complimented before turning around; "Come along." 

"Do what well?" She asked, not moving out of her spot.

"Anything you set your mind to, I suppose. Let's just hope your mind is in the right state," he added with another smile, equally fake; "This way, please." 

"I don't take orders from you," Veronica stated boldly, still not moving; "I'm only here because James told me to come." 

"I know he did, and he told me to show you to him when you got here. Are you gonna come or not?" he challenged. Veronica took a deep breath before walking after him through several empty rooms. Eventually, they reached double doors, both of them removed leaving just a big hole as an entrance to the room. Within it, two people sat; James, his elbows tensely resting on his knees and his legs spread and his counterpart, in another armchair. James' friend, Veronica assumed, had his legs crossed and was leant back in a relaxed position. His sand-coloured hair had a nice cut but was clearly untended to. 

"Ah, this must be the woman I've heard so much of. Veronica Stark," he greeted, not moving anything but his head to look at her. His voice was much lighter than Veronica would have guessed.

"Veronica, this is Tim," James introduced, standing up.

"Tim what?" Veronica asked, glancing between them.

"Just Tim will do," Tim replied; "sit down." 

Veronica didn't move a muscle, and Tim looked at James.

"Veronica, just sit down, please," he said softly. Veronica glanced at the guy she didn't trust in the slightest, who she felt could and would betray her at any moment, the guy she called her boyfriend, and realised something; he feared this man, this boy. 

She did as asked and took the armchair James had sat in - the only one unoccupied. 

"James has told me about you," Tim told her happily; "He made you sound so interesting, I just had to see for myself." 

"I'm not that interesting," Veronica told quietly, not daring to remove her eyes from the guy.

"No, I'll be honest, I don't really see it either, Veronica," he admitted, his good mood seemingly disappearing; "But, nonetheless, I have faith in the people around me. Just as the people around you have faith in you."

Veronica leaned back in the chair, trying to look as calm as he did. "So that's what this is about." 

"No, no, this isn't about anything. We're just hanging out, Veronica, gosh," he corrected her coldly before laughing hollowly; "Not everything happens for a reason. Sometimes things just... Happen, don't they?" 

Veronica didn't reply, she didn't even have a reply. She could not tell what this guy was about, but she felt certain it was nothing good. His constant change of mood and never-moving physique didn't just intimidate her, it didn't just scare her; it made something inside of her feel very, very wrong. 

"Anyway. I just wanted to meet you. Wanted to meet the girl my good friend James here calls his girlfriend," he told, suddenly seeming friendly again.

"You see, I'm a very good friend of James'," he continued when she didn't reply; "As close as family, you could say. And I wanted to meet you, and I think it's good that you met me. Met the kind of people James has on his side."  There was a barely hidden threat in his voice, and I faced his intense look defiantly.

"Yes. Maybe you'd like to meet the people on my side," she offered, making the smirk disappear from Tim's lips briefly before returning even bigger.

"Oh, yes. And I'm counting on meeting them, as well, I assure you."