Six months had passed since Pairing Day and the relationship between Astrid and Lash was slowly mending whilst Natalia and Speed were quickly forming a friendship. Schoolwork was coming in harder and heavier, keeping the Seniors plenty busy as they began learning how to work with their partners in order to fight crime. Gym lessons had increased for the Seniors only and more trials and challenges were being set up to specifically suit the combination of powers of the Super Pairs.

"I am covered in bruises." Natalia groaned as she and Astrid sat down at their usual table, trays of lunch in front of them. "Speed refused to listen to any direction I gave him."

"Ugh, Lash was the same. He just decided to do whatever he wanted. I can't say I blame him because these trials have everyone trying to prove themselves but they still need to listen to us." Astrid placed her hand on the freezing cold bottle of water, body burning from Gym.

"Hmm."

Laying face down on the bench, Natalia shook her head at Astrid's defence. These days any time she complained about Lash, she immediately said something nice about him and the mind reader knew (without having to use her powers) that it was because Astrid's heart was opening up to the stretchy Hero. Since the night she had had dinner with him and his parents, Astrid and Lash had been spending more and more time together without the excuse of work. All four of them had started spending some weekends together.

As if knowing they were being talked about, Speed and Lash joined the two girls at their usual table. No one knew when it had happened but the four of them sitting together had become a regular occurrence. Confused looks were still shot their way but gradually these lessened as the students of Sky High began accepting Speed and Lash once again. Since the start of Senior Year, they hadn't bullied a single person and even attempted to be kind and helpful to strangers.

"Aw, look at our girls. Was Gym too hard for you?" Lash teased, putting on a baby voice.

"I may be exhausted but I will still smash you in the face." Natalia threatened, sitting up to make room for Speed before leaning her weary head on his shoulder.

Without removing her head from the bottle, Astrid raised her hand so as to second that motion. Chuckling at the state of his Sidekick, Lash removed the bottle from beneath her and replaced it with his colder one.

"Oh, I love you. That one was too warm." Astrid moaned as the icy coldness hit her.

"Your head made it too warm."

To those watching the foursome, it looked as if they were two couples. Over at the Sophomore table, Will was vehemently denying the rumours that his cousin was sleeping with her Hero. Arguing that she would never be stupid enough to fall for a Villain, Will defended his cousin against those that were doubtful. Wrapped up in her own conversation with Speed, Natalia failed to overhear the words of Will Stronghold but if she had, she would've felt sorry for the oblivious Hero.

Each day, Lash tried to get closer to his Sidekick with his attempts to show her that he wanted to be worthy of her. Reminding herself that she couldn't fall for her Hero for fear of getting hurt again, Astrid kept enough distance between them that the boundary between friendship and feelings never blurred. With each step he tried to take closer, the wall was built a little stronger. She could feel her heart opening to him more and more each day and whilst she tried to close it, she was rendered powerless against the brown eyes that looked at her such adoration.

"Lash? Can I tell you something?" Astrid asked, turning to look at Lash with big doe eyes.

"Always," he responded as he lowered his head.

Leaning up slightly, the Stronghold girl reached for Lash's ear before taking a deep breath. Lips grazing the shell of his ear, she blew really hard, cackling when he jerked away from her.

"You're such a pain in the ass."

"You still fell for it though, Jerk."

"Because I trusted you."

"Trusted. You don't anymore?" Astrid jutted out of her bottom lip in a pout, wobbling it slightly for dramatic effect.

Lash glanced away as he resisted the strong desire to press his lips against her own. "Of course I do."

"Good because... I think I'm trusting you too." Astrid whispered softly before placing her head back on the bottle of water and saying no more.

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ ⁂☆⁂ ☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰

Music blasted through her earphones, loud enough that she missed the knock on her bedroom door as she concentrated on the drawing before her. Charcoal stained her hands as she hummed along to the words. Hearing the noise inside, the visitor pushed open the door and slipped inside.

Jumping when she felt a hand on her shoulder, Astrid spun around her fist raised. She might not have been strong enough to hurt her attacker but she refused to go down without a fight.

"Woah, killer!" Lash jumped back a step to avoid being punched in the face. "Calm down, it's just me."

"Lash!" What the fuck are you doing here? You could've texted." Astrid exclaimed.

"I did. You never responded."

Glancing down at her phone, she smiled sheepishly at the two messages and one missed call from Lash, a message from Speed and five from Natalia. Apparently she had been ignoring her phone for two hours.

"I came to ask for help on the homework. I've been procrastinating and now I've realised I don't know what I'm doing. Your mother said you were up here and that it was okay?"

"Yeah, well, my mother doesn't know anything."

"I'm sorry. I can go but you'll have to help me on the bus," grinned Lash.

"No, please stay. It'll be nice to have the company." Astrid pleaded when he turned to leave.

Whilst it was her decision to spend her time locker in her room away from her mother, Astrid was lonely. Having someone to talk to or watch films with would be nice but she knew she wouldn't last being in a room with her mother for more than five minutes at a time.

Occasionally, Allison would surprise her daughter with a day of sobriety and Astrid let herself hope that her mother had returned to her. They would go shopping or go to the cinema before enjoying a lunch together. That was when the day was ruined when Allison had drunk a bottle of wine by the end of it.

Excusing herself to wash her hands clean of charcoal, Lash sat down on her bed before glancing around her actual bedroom. At her Aunt and Uncle's, the room had been decorated the way she truly wanted it but here, the room was designed to keep her happy. Grey walls were decorated with yellow bees and sunflowers. Yellow paintings were hung on each wall and the bedding was a light grey decorated with yellow. Astrid's bedroom had been designed with the purpose of keeping her positive on particularly gloomy days.

Sitting next to her Hero with clean hands, she plucked the sheet out of his hands before asking which part was vexing him the most.

"Everything." Lash admitted, slightly embarrassed.

Twinkling laughter met his ears as she bent her head to read the first equation and he beamed at his achievement. His own stupidity had managed to make her giggle. Realising which sheet it was, she shuffled over to her desk to gather her own sheets before returning to help with the 25 equations, sitting closer than she previously had.

Once they had finally finished the sheet, Lash had made to leave until Astrid had shyly asked if he wanted to stay and watch a film. Despite the darkening sky outside, he hadn't hesitated to agree and the pair had snuggled down on her bed, a respectable distance between the two of them. Acutely aware of how close he was, Astrid felt her hand twitch when his own fell next to hers. All it would take was a single jump of her finger and they would be touching.

"I know it's been a while since we talked about this but I need you to know how fucking grateful I am that you're willing to be my friend." Lash said, killing the laughter between the two of them.

Pausing the movie, Astrid shuffled into a sitting position and turned to look at the boy who was now sporting a serious expression.

"I believe most people deserve a second chance. But I need you to tell me why you became a Villain. It's the only question you've refused to answer."

"I've avoided it because my reason sounds like a lame excuse and I didn't think you'd believe me. When Royal Pain approached me, I was still young and stupid. At first, she didn't truly explain what it is she wished to do but she made it sound like I was going to be able to help people that were oppressed. She made it sound that by helping her, I would be helping others. I didn't realise she meant Villains. By the time her true plan was revealed, Speed and I were in too deep. It was too late to tell other people what we had done and if we tried to protest, she'd have hurt our families and us. I was ashamed of what I'd done but it was too late to back out. I knew Homecoming would've ended my relationships with everyone but I accepted it. I had to take responsibility."

"You're right, that does sound lame." Astrid teased, unsure how to react to his explanation. "But, I believe you. Royal Pain tricked everyone for years so I can understand how she influenced you. I-I think I forgive you."

Astrid refused to look at him as she said the words, worried that once they were emitted, she was opening a gate she could never close again. After tonight, there would be no going back. Bestowing him with her forgiveness meant she had to stop pulling away from him. Forgiving him meant she had to open her heart to him. Looking at the nervous blonde, Lash couldn't help the tears in his eyes when she uttered the words he had longed to hear. Tilting her head, her eyes connected with his. The striped Hero hesitantly leant in before stopping, giving Astrid the chance to pull away.

When she didn't move, he took it as a positive sign and closed his eyes as he moved. As his lips connected with Astrid's, his heart thumped wildly in his chest. After the most minuscule moment of hesitation, Astrid returned the glass eagerly.

"That was- I'm so sorry if I overst-." Lash tried to stumble his way through an apology but was shut up when soft lips brushed against his once more.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Astrid pulled Lash closer as she deepened the kiss. Hands on her hips, he pulled his partner into his laps, grinning when a breathy moan escaped her mouth. A hand snaked into her soft curls as his tongue brushed against her own. As they pulled apart, Astrid rested her forehead against his, breath mingling together as the pair of them smiled giddily.