Exhaling softly, Astrid attempted to ignore the bead of sweat sliding down the back of her neck as she raised her head towards the window that had been cracked open slightly. Sunshine shone through the window of the bus heating it until all of the students felt sticky from heat.

Seated in her usual spot on the bus, she placed her bag on the seat next to her – a sign that told people not to sit by her. So far, people had acknowledged that wish. Placing her earbuds in, she searched for the perfect song to drown out Penny Lent's irritating cheer. At lunch, the entire table was quietly humming the song so Natalia and Astrid had dramatically enacted a duet of it.

Frowning when her bag was squished up against her, she turned her head slightly to glare at the person who dared invade her personal space but upon seeing black and white stripes, she immediately turned back to glancing out the window. Snatching her bag away from him, she dumped it on the floor without bothering to acknowledge the boy sat next to her.

"I really missed you today. You weren't on the bus this morning and then you hid from me all day. It really hurt my feelings." Lash simpered, placing his hand on his heart in faux hurt.

Continuing to ignore him, Astrid rolled her eyes at his idiocy. Eyes narrowing, he reached over and sharply tugged on a lock of hair, smirking when she cried out in pain.

"You can't ignore me forever, Blondie. We live next door to each other." Lash continued, jabbing her in the side.

Since middle school, Lash and Astrid had been next-door neighbours but their only interactions had been when the Livingston's and the Stronghold's had dinner once a fortnight together. Jackson Livingston (Lash's father) and Samuel Stronghold were good friends when dressed as civilians. Neither of them had been aware that the other was a Superhero until their children realised they were on the same bus to Sky High.

After that, the dinners became more frequent but the attendance of the teenagers dwindled due to their constant bickering.

"Come on, Stronghold. All you need to do is apologise for tripping me and I'll leave you be."

Letting out a derisive snort at the blatant lie, she completely ignored the stretchy Hero hoping that he would soon get bored and move back to his usual seat at the very back of the bus. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and he spent the remainder of the journey continuously poking Astrid in the side, blowing in her ear and pulling her hair.

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Storming down the pathway, arms kept pulling her back each time she believed she had finally managed to escape his infuriating presence. Whilst she had managed to remain calm during the ride home, her patience was slowly wearing thin with the obnoxious Hero when his arms wrapped around her midsection.

The only reason she hadn't turned invisible and disappeared yet was because Lash lived right next door so escape was futile. Also, any time she thought about it because his arms had returned to normal size, there was a civilian looking at her.

"I'm still waiting for my apology, Blondie."

"Fine! You want an apology, huh? I'm so very sorry..." Astrid snapped, spinning around to look at him.. A smirk plastered his lips. "... That you grew up to be such an asshole."

Lash's smile dropped and he went to reach for her once more but they had reached the gate to her house and the street was empty. A muscle in his jaw ticked when he watched his hand go straight through her.

"See you tomorrow, Jerk." Astrid winked before disappearing inside her house.

Slamming the front door shut, Astrid leant against it and exhaled deeply. "Fuck," she whispered to herself when she realised what she had done.

I'm so dead tomorrow, she thought. There was no way she was getting away with tripping him and calling him an asshole. Standing up for herself and the Freshmen had filled her with a power but now that she was alone with nothing to do but overthink, she regretted the newfound confidence she had developed.

Smiling to himself as the platinum blonde curls faded from his view, Lash shook his head as he opened the gate to his front garden. Not that he would ever admit such a thing out loud, he actually admired the little Sidekick.

Not only had she chosen to be a Sidekick purely out of principle, she had managed to mask her extraordinary powers from teachers and she was strong enough to survive the loss of her Father. Life hadn't been kind to her but she was always cheerful and helpful to others.

When no one was around, he would catch himself watching the blonde and noticing the little things that other people might not notice.

It was only the first day of Junior Year and he found himself getting sucked into her personality and discovering there was more to her that met the eye. This year, she fought back and against his better judgement, he found himself liking that.

Entering his bedroom, he glanced at the book on Super weapons that sat on his desk and was reminded of the orders he had to follow. Now was not the time to get distracted by the niece of The Commander and Jetstream.

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Tossing and turning, her legs tangled in the bed sheets as she struggled to fight against the things she was seeing. Whilst all was calm and peaceful, inside her dream was pure chaos.

Royal Pain, the Villain that had remained hidden from the public for a while, had invaded the school and was shooting the terrified pupils with Steven Stronghold's most prized possession – the Pacifier.

When Astrid had finished her first week at Sky High, the Commander and her father had added her biometrics to the look of the Stronghold Secret Sanctum and informed her that it was their most sacred place. Once her father had passed, she had spent the majority of her time locked in the Sanctum surrounded by the achievements of Samuel Stronghold. The only rule had been let anyone in. However, in the dream, someone had broken into the Sanctum and stolen the Pacifier.

Unfortunately the dream didn't reveal what happened to those who were shot with the Pacifier. Students attempted to flee from the room but found their way blocked by Lash, Speed and multiple Penny's. The Superheroes had become the Villains – they hadn't even graduated yet.

Yelling as her Uncle disappeared, dream Astrid ran towards her Aunt so as to protect her. However, Royal Pain turned her attention towards the blonde and aimed the Pacifier at her chest.

Just before Royal Pain could shoot her, Lash called out her name in anguish, fighting against two Penny's as he attempted to get back into the room – to get back to her. Turning to glance at the boy with tears in his eyes, Astrid smiled sadly at him and then the world went black.

Gasping, Astrid felt her body flail uncontrollably as she scared herself awake. Throwing off the suffocating blankets, she checked that she was still alive and intact. Sliding across the room, she ripped open the curtains and stuck her head out of the window to gulp down the cold, crisp air. Glancing to the left, she stared at the window that belonged to Lash's room.

Unable to calm her nerves, Astrid stayed by the window even after her nose turned pink and her fingers froze. Knowing that dreams were nothing more than a figment of imagination, she still couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen this year, something evil.