Chapter 22

Whoosh!

A violent shiver passed through me as my eyes shot open in shock. I immediately jumped up and leaped a foot away. It was freezing cold! I looked down to see myself doused from head to toe in water. My shirt was completely see-through and there was already a new puddle of water forming where I stood. I looked up with wide eyes as I hugged myself in a feeble attempt to keep myself warm. More violent shivers traveled up my spine as I tried to keep my teeth from chattering. I looked around the room to find that I was still in the training room with everyone staring at me in concern. The only one who didn't seemed as concerned was Natasha. She was holding a bucket with an amused smile on her face.

I stared at her as I tried to figure out what happened. These fainting spells were happening way too often. I'm pretty sure I blacked out at least three times in the past two weeks. That is not normal. "Did I hit you too hard? You seem clueless." Natasha asked teasingly. I remembered with a scowl that Natasha knocked me out rather easily. Although seeing the red welt on her forehead made me feel a little better. A small laugh escaped my lips as I thought about the move I pulled. It was idiotic yet completely genius according to me. Who would've seen that coming? Definitely not Pietro. I slightly giggled as I thought about his stupid catch phrase. As soon as the giggle left my lips, my hands flew up to cover my mouth as I grimaced. Ugh I sounded like a lovesick ten year old. It was mortifying.

Unfortunately my eyes seemed to have a mind of their own as they flew up to meet Pietro's eyes. His blue eyes were sparkling with amusement as he watched my cheeks warm up in embarrassment. Wait a second. Sparkling? Since when did his eyes sparkle? I was just about to smack myself when the reason for my inner turmoil spoke up. "Shouldn't she be taken to the medic? There's a bruise on her jaw." Pietro asked. I nodded in agreement for the sole reason of escaping that place. I didn't realize what I was getting myself into.

"Fine. Pietro, take her to the medical wing. Everyone else will practice."

Pietro smirked mischievously at me before cracking his knuckles. I looked at him with a bewildered and slightly scared (though I'll never admit that) expression. What exactly did he have in mind? I almost considered asking to stay here. Especially after my weird thoughts. I didn't want anything to accidentally slip out off my mouth. I was snapped out of my thoughts by a warm feeling on my back and on the underside of my legs. I no longer felt the ground under me as I was carried bridal style towards the exit by Pietro. A light blush dusted my cheeks as I thought about the awkward position I was in. "Put me down! I'm perfectly capable of walking!" I protested after coming back to my senses. I was not going to be a damsel in distress. No matter how dizzy I was.

"Not happening, princess."

I huffed and glared at Pietro before giving up and just accepting the help. After that the long walk to the infirmary was filled with a silence that I didn't really mind. It was almost out of character since we were always bickering about something. It was a nice change. Although I knew Pietro hated silence, I just couldn't bring myself to do anything about it. I did nothing but just lay there soaking in the heat that was practically radiating from Pietro's body. A feeling of security and comfort washed over me like a tidal wave. It was a feeling I hadn't felt in a long time. I let out an involuntary sigh of content. Unfortunately the peace was broken by an irritated voice.

"What happened this time?"

I looked up to see the too familiar face of Dr. Anderson. He was giving me a disapproving look. I sheepishly grinned back at him and just shrugged in response to his question. He sighed in defeat and signaled Pietro to take me to a room down the hall. He set me down on the bed and took a few steps back to sit on a chair. I immediately missed the warmth. Another shiver went down my back which didn't go unnoticed by Pietro. He stared at me as if contemplating something before getting up and leaving. I scowled at his back as he left me here to freeze. I was kind of hurt that he didn't care that I was pretty much frozen to the bone but I immediately brushed the thought away. It shouldn't matter to me. At least that's what I repeated to myself like a mantra.

A sharp cringe-worthy giggle pierced through the silence hanging around me. My head snapped up looking for the source of the irritating sound. It was coming from outside the room and it was approaching fast. The door burst open as a young pretty nurse walked in backwards fluttering her eyes at the person on the other side of the door. I craned my neck to get a look at the person that captured the nurse's attention. She continued chattering with the mystery person who had yet to speak. As I sat there scrutinizing the annoyingly pretty nurse, my eyes fell upon the bundle of towels in her arms. I perked up immediately at the sight of the towels and cleared my throat rather rudely. I had bigger problems at that moment. I didn't give a rat's ass about manners when I was slowly turning into a human icicle.

The nurse glared at me before a sickly sweet smile spread across her face. Wow she was really trying to impress whoever was on the other side of that door. She strutted towards me trying to look all high and mighty. I hated her already. I know it's bad to judge a person from first impressions but I just couldn't help it. She had one of those faces.

"Hi! I'm Tanya! I heard that somebody needed towels."

Ignoring the fact that she was semi-baby talking me, I made a lunge for the towels and quickly created a blanket cocoon of bliss. I was finally dry and warm. I looked up to thank Tanya when Pietro came in.

Tanya visibly perked up. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and fluttered her eyes at Pietro. Classic flirting technique. An unpleasant feeling settled at the bottom of my stomach when I realized this. It quickly turned into a stab when Pietro politely smiled back at her. Was he actually falling for that act? I didn't get to ponder over it that long as Pietro turned to look at me. He gave me a once over before asking, "Are you feeling better?".

"Yeah," I answered glumly.

He gave me a concerned look but didn't say anything. Tanya glanced over at me before turning to Pietro, "Oh, she should be fine. By the looks of it she just has a few bruises. You don't need to worry."

Pietro thanked her with another smile before turning around to grab a chair to sit in. He pulled it towards the edge of my bed and sat. He surprisingly had no smart comment aimed at me. This just led me to become more irritated with him. What was wrong with me? Tanya also grabbed a chair and sat next to him. I looked at her with a confused expression. She saw this and cleared my confusion by saying, "I'm supposed to stay here with you until the Doc gets here."

Great.

For the next ten minutes I was stuck there on that bed listening to Tanya's incessant chatter and Pietro's occasional replies. He tried talking to me but Tanya's voice immediately cut in and brought the conversation to a halt. Ten minutes have never felt so long. It was sickening. I found myself praying to be released from this twisted version of hell. I don't know why I was so bothered by Tanya's presence. Never have I been so annoyed because of one person. When Dr. Anderson finally decided to grace us with his presence, I almost jumped in relief. Freedom!

Tanya looked up with slight disappointment. She quickly left after finding out from the doctor that no help was not needed. The examination barely lasted two minutes before Dr. Anderson told me that I had a few bruises and a slight concussion. The scolding that followed was much longer. Pietro sat in the room throughout the whole thing smiling amusedly. This just irritated me for some reason. As soon as Dr. Anderson gave me a bottle of pills and told me I could leave, I jumped to my feet and quickly rushed out of the room. I heard Pietro calling me but I didn't bother to turn around. I didn't really want to talk to him. I knew I was being unreasonable as he didn't even do anything but I couldn't help it.

I hated this feeling.

Tears blurred my vision when I realized with a start that I may have feelings for Pietro. After all we've been through, could I have developed a certain fondness for the silver haired idiot?

I hope not.

A/N

Hey guys! I'm really sorry for what may be the latest update the world has ever seen. I know I've been missing for a while but I have a reason. I lost all interest in this fanfiction a long while back because I didn't really know where to go with it. I got caught up in work and eventually writing this was just a distant thought that was pushed to the back of my head. I recently rediscovered this and decided that I should at least try to finish it. I'll try to update but I make no promises. My writing style also drastically changed but I'll try to write this in the same way as before. Again, I'm really sorry.

On a different note, how do you guys like this chapter? Do you think Adrianna's response was appropriate? How do you think Pietro will feel about being ignored?