"Astrid!" Allison Stronghold called up to her daughter.

Since the death of Samuel, Allison and Astrid had struggled to adapt to his absence. To avoid being left in an empty home with nothing but memories whilst her daughter was at school or Steven and Josie's, Allison threw herself into work or nights out with her unmarried friends. Astrid spent more time at the library and more nights at her Aunt and Uncle's home so as to avoid being left alone with her mother.

A rift had developed between the two women and nothing could ever create a bridge long enough to bring them closer together. When they were forced to be in the same house, Astrid spent as much time as possible in the comfort of her bedroom and Allison was wherever there was wine.

A few days had passed since the night Will had discovered he had powers and whilst he had fulfilled Allison's wish to join them for dinner, Allison had ruined it with her disgust at the fact that Will was now also a Super. Before, Will had been Allison's favourite Stronghold. He was sweet, he was polite, he was caring but most importantly, he was normal. Since then, neither woman had spoken to each other after they had argued over Allison's behaviour so being summoned came as a shock to Astrid.

"What?" Astrid responded, sticking her head around the corner of the stairs.

"The Livingston's are coming over for dinner in an hour so I suggest you shower and put on something presentable." Allison said, eyeing the comfy sweatpants her daughter was currently wearing in disgust.

"Yes, Mother."

That signalled the end of the conversation as Astrid pulled her head back round the corner and towards her bedroom. Allison sighed as the door to her daughter's bedroom slammed shut and she was once again shut out. Shaking her head at her daughter's behaviour (because Allison believed she wasn't to blame), Allison continued cooking dinner and taking sips of the wine straight from the bottle.

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Despite the frequency of Livingston/Stronghold dinners, Lash was usually absent from these gatherings. Except tonight he had wanted to come – the first dinner he had ever wanted to go to – in the hopes that Astrid might also be in attendance.

Whilst Allison wanted to stay far away from anything that was related to Superheroes, she had become good friends with Elizabeth (Lash's normal mother) and so she was civil to Jackson for the sake of Elizabeth and Samuel. After all, Jackson had been Samuel's best friend and had looked after Allison and Astrid since he had passed.

Perching awkwardly on the edge of the sofa, the stretchy Hero waited for Astrid to make an appearance after Ms Stronghold had promised that she would be attending dinner that evening, she was just hiding in her bedroom.

Tipping slightly to the right, Lash knew that Astrid had seated herself but the indent of her butt was the biggest give away.

"Your ass leaves a nice imprint." Lash whispered to the area that he guessed Astrid's ear was.

Instead of a response, Lash felt a light pinch on his thigh and heard a soft chuckle when he hissed in pain. As Lash stood up to help Allison with the chair she was attempting to carry into the dining room, he felt a sharp tap on his ass and jumped. Staring at him with concern, Allison brushed the bizarre behaviour off and hurried to the bottom of the stairs.

"Yours isn't that bad, Stretch." Astrid whispered in his ear, cool breath sending a shiver racing down his spine. However, he still couldn't see her.

"Astrid, seriously, come down!" Allison yelled.

Finally making herself visible, Astrid appeared right behind her mother, causing her to joke when she finally spoke.

"Young lady, what have I said about you using your powers?"

"To use them when needed or if I'm in danger." Astrid recited.

"To use your healing powers when needed." Allison scoffed.

"That's not what you said." Astrid shot back.

Opening her mouth to argue back with her daughter, Allison remembered they had company when Jackson greeted Astrid enthusiastically, chuckling that she had her father's mischievous streak.

Picking the girl up in a hug, he commented that it had been far too long since he had seen her and he demanded she make an appearance at more dinners. Laughing at Jackson's antics, Astrid ignored the bittersweet emotions coursing through her. Usually at these dinners, her father and Jackson would tease her together so seeing Jackson brought back some of that joy but it was also a reminder of her father's absence.

Greeting Elizabeth, Astrid gave the woman a quick hug before the five of them began discussing how Lash and Astrid were getting on with school.

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Initially dinner had been an awkward affair because Astrid refused to look at Lash after she had instinctively smacked his ass in retaliation and he had been determined to find some way to get her to blush. When she refused to react to his teasing comments, he began ignoring anything she said to him to see if that would spark some other type of reaction. Unfortunately this had led to the pair of them arguing until they ended up laughing at themselves.

For the first time in years, the two of them got along with each other. Lash forgot about what he was expected to and how it would destroy all the positive connections in his life, and found himself feeling genuinely happy and carefree. Astrid had made him genuinely happy.

However, despite how well they were bonding, Astrid still flinched away from him any time he made sudden movements. If Heroes and Sidekicks were brought up, Astrid shuffled away from Lash slightly. No matter how hard he tried this year, nothing would erase the damage Lash had caused since the pair of them started Sky High. No matter how hard he tried, nothing would cure the damage he would cause, if everything went to plan, by the end of the year.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow." Lash said his farewell as his parents exited the Stronghold house.

"Unfortunately so." Astrid muttered under her breath as she closed the door.

No matter how friendly he acted outside of school, he was still her bully. The moment he was reunited with his partner-in-crime, he would go back to humiliating her. She had to remind herself to not fall for his act and get too close.

Lash grimaced as he heard Astrid bang her head against the door after what she had said. Running his hands through his hair, he wished he could go back and change the way he treated her. He hadn't known life would make him fall for her.

Buzzing in his pocket alerted him to a message that pulled his head out of the clouds and back to reality. It didn't matter what Astrid thought of him because the plan would soon be put into place and she would hate him regardless. Everyone would, even his own father.