Small drops of rain pattered down on her head as she waited for Will's bus to arrive at school. Before she had successfully escaped from her house this morning, her mother had come thumping down the stairs and made Astrid promise to invite her cousin and parents for her dinner that night. Something about needing to see her 'favourite nephew' (her only nephew) and that they should come over at 6pm.

Unfortunately, as she stood there, Lash and Speed also made their way over to the buses. Smiling at Ron when the doors opened, Speed used his power to steal the driver's hat and hand it to Lash.

"If you're not going to respect me, at least respect the hat!" Ron exclaimed.

Scoffing at the pathetic display of authority Ron had attempted to exert, Lash threw the hat back to Speed, taunting the poor bus driver. Rolling her eyes at their immaturity, Astrid was about to use her invisibility to snatch it back when Will stood up.

"Give Ron his hat back." Will said, semi-politely.

"Sure thing. After all, you're the Sidekick." Lash smirked, catching it from Speed and dropping it into the muddy puddle before Ron and Will's feet. "We'll catch up with you later, Stronghold."

Chuckling at each other, the pair turned away from the group and managed to take two steps before another Stronghold Sidekick blocked their way.

"Move it, Blondie." Speed demanded, going to step around her.

Quickly, she stepped to the side, effectively blocking his way once more and smiled sweetly at the two bullies.

"That wasn't very nice of you. I think you should apologise."

Realising that this was her payback for him annoying her on the bus the other day, Lash tried not to chuckle at the pettiness of her revenge. Unfortunately, he was unable to hide his smile because it was something that he would do if the situation was reversed and his grin only encouraged Astrid further.

"Why the hell would we do that?" Speed scoffed.

"Well, you seem to think that people do something you don't like, they have to apologise for wronging you. Therefore, you should act as you expect others to treat you. Now apologise."

Speed's mouth dropped open at the audacity of the Sidekick and Lash's face was turning a concerning red colour as he forced himself not to laugh. No matter how many times they had aggravated Astrid over the years, she had never once taken it this far and it was amusing to see that her confidence from the first day was containing.

Pride flickered in his chest when strangled gasps escaped Speed's mouth instead of words and Lash realised that this girl was going to get him into serious trouble soon.

"Cat got your tongue? Okay then." Astrid's smile never once shifted from her face but mischief glittered in her blue eyes as she moved to the side and allowed them to pass. "Have a nice day."

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ ⁂☆⁂ ☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰

Sat with the Freshmen once again, Astrid and Natalia were enjoying their lunch as they waited for Will to make an appearance. Will still had to be invited for dinner this evening and even if he was busy tonight, Astrid knew she wouldn't be able to go home without the promise of him coming over at least one night this week.

"Hey, I saved you a pudding!" Ethan called out to Will when he spotted the brunet entering the cafeteria.

As usual, Speed took advantage of his powers and stole the treat from Ethan's hand, coming to a stop where Lash sat. Shaking her head in disgust at the display, Astrid turned back to her conversation with Natalia, unaware that Lash had been watching her reaction the entire time.

Snaking his arm through the cafeteria, Lash grabbed ahold of the younger Stronghold's leg and yanked. Stumbling over his own feet, Will's lunch spilled onto the table where Warren Peace was sat in solitude.

"Uh, sorry." Will stammered, feeling intimidated under Warren's heated glare.

"You will be." Warren threatened as he stood up.

"Let's not do this." Will plead as a crowd began to form around the pair knowing a fight was bound to break up.

"You think you can do whatever you want just because your name is Stronghold?" Warren growled, towering over the terrified boy.

"Look, I'm sorry my dad put your dad in jail but-."

"Nobody talks about my father," seethed Warren, eyes darkening in hate.

Before anybody could blink, Warren's hands were coated in fire and Will had only just managed to grab a lunch tray in defence before a fire ball was launched at him.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Speed and Lash started chanting, which prompted the rest of the school to begin encouraging the angry Hero.

Shaking her head at the boisterous duo, Astrid knew for a fact that they were to blame for the fight unfolding before her. Turning to the only teacher present, Layla begged Mr Boy to help in some way before Will became seriously harmed as Warren was far past reasoning. Sprinting out of the cafeteria, Mr Boy began yelling for Principal Powers.

The crowd continued chanting whilst Will tried to his hardest to avoid the fireballs being launched at him. Staring at the scene before her, helplessness washed over Astrid as she knew there was nothing she could to stop this. After all, she wasn't fireproof.

Clones of Penny shoved people out of the way so that the original Penny, accompanied by Gwen, could make their way to the front of the crowd and get the best view of the fight. Currently, Will was huddled under a cafeteria table whilst Warren climbed on top of it.

"Where are your sidekicks now, Sidekick?" Warren chuckled darkly, well aware of how screwed Will currently was.

"Right here!" One of them yelled, stepping forward.

Stepping forward so as to stop Zack from getting hurt, she was prevented when two striped arms pulled her back, just in time to avoid the fireball that zoomed past where she had just been stood.

"Leave. Them. Alone." Will demanded, standing up with the table on top of his hands.

Finally, Will had gotten his powers. Whispers rippled throughout the crowd as everyone came to the same realisation that Will did. Terror still seized Astrid's heart because her cousin was still in danger of getting hurt but she was grateful that he no longer had to worry about being a disappointment to his father.

Coming to terms with his newfound power, Will launched Warren through the wall. The continuous thudding sound indicated that Warren had smashed through more than just one.

"Now who tripped me?" Will said confidently.

The pressure from Astrid's midsection disappeared and Astrid turned around just in time to see Lash's body disappear towards the ceiling as he held himself off the ground, dangling from a bar attached to the top of the ceiling. Shaking her head at the flexible boy, Astrid giggled at his antics. A sound that warmed him a little bit.

All humour vanished when Warren returned. Finally, Principal Powers entered the cafeteria with a fire extinguisher in hand. Most students laughed when she sprayed Warren with it.

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ ⁂☆⁂ ☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰

"You're an idiot."

"It's not the first time you've told me but why? What have I done now?" Lash asked, sitting down next to her once more.

"So you weren't the one who tripped my cousin?" Astrid shot him a pointed look.

"Maybe I was. Maybe I wasn't," said Lash, feigning a look of innocence.

"Asshole." Astrid muttered but the smile on her face showed that she wasn't truly mad. "By the way, you can't look innocent despite how hard you're trying."

Comfortable silence fell over the two of them as Astrid stared at the passing city below them. A weight had lifted from Astrid as the anxiety she had felt at the beginning of the year dissipated. Will had finally gotten his powers so he didn't have to worry about him being bullied at school and knew he wouldn't feel the pressure from his father anymore. The only downside from today was that Will would now be placed in Hero class and she wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't forget about his friends.

"Seriously, are you going to be doing this every day?" Astrid questioned after some time had passed.

"Pardon?"

"This – sitting by me on the bus." Astrid gestured between the two of them. "Because I tend to sit by myself and I quite like sitting by myself."

"Well, not anymore. I'm your new seat buddy."

Letting out a deep sigh, Astrid knew she was in for a long year but she also didn't attempt to kick him out the seat anymore. Whilst neither of them spoke for the rest of the journey – enjoying the comfortable silence that the other's presence provided – they shot each other sideways glances when the other person wasn't looking.