Still Love You- a Peter Maximoff Series

Chapter Four: Heartbreak

School was finally settling into a regular rhythm. You had made a new best friend in the form of Michelle, the girl who sat next to you in English. She was very helpful in sharing information about both the school and the students, which had saved you from several unfortunate decisions in picking groups for projects. Unfortunately, Peter had also made a close friend- Cyndi. Despite his initial lack of interest in her, her constant efforts at making conversation had worn him down and they appeared to be growing closer. This would be fine, were it not for the fact that every time Peter talked to her, Cyndi would look over at you with a vicious smile as if to say 'Looks like he's more interested in me than you.'

It was on one sunny afternoon, every student sick of English and wanting nothing more than to escape the classroom and go spend time outside, that your English teacher finally announced a new project. Not a whole lot of teaching really happened in English, so projects were a common tool to shift the responsibility for understanding the book from the teacher to the students. "Oh, and you'll work on this project with your shoulder partner. No exceptions!" She announced this last bit amid grumbling from the rest of the class. You look excitedly at Michelle, then remember who's sitting next to Peter and turn back around just in time to see Cyndi gleefully putting her number into Peter's phone. Great. Michelle pats you on the back supportively. "Look, it'll only be like this for a few more weeks until the first quarter is over and the seating chart changes. Then you'll have nothing to worry about, right?" You nod in agreement, but you can still see the way Peter's hand lingered on Cyndi's when she was giving back his phone.

But after class, Peter still walks with you to and from school. He comes to your window when he needs help with homework like usual, and you come over to his house when his mom is out and you two need to take care of his younger sister. Everything seems fine, but you still feel like maybe Peter's a little more distant than he always has been, and maybe he and Cyndi are talking more together in class and in the hallways than they usually do. You try to distract yourself by spending more time with Michelle and throwing yourself into your classwork, but the only thing that seems to do is distance you from Peter even more. After one day, where you have to watch Cyndi practically lying on Peter, you drive to the middle of nowhere and sit on the back of your car, letting your powers go wild. As the waves of frequency leave your hands and fade out into the distance you feel a little better, but not a whole lot. Small doubts start entering your mind, like what if Peter just got back together with you because you were both mutants or what if Peter only got back together with you because he felt bad or, the worst one of all, what if Peter is only using you to make Cyndi interested in him. You end up lying awake at night letting these thoughts run through your head, and you wake up feeling even worse than you did before.

During one early morning before class, you find yourself sitting in the library with Michelle by your side. You can't help but turn to her with a sigh. "I don't know what to do about Peter. I feel like we haven't talked in a while other than the typical 'how was your day' nonsense, and he keeps spending all his time with Cyndi. He usually walks with me to school, but recently he's been walking much faster than usual so he can get to school more quickly. It's like he wants to hurry to school so he can get rid of me and go hang out with Cyndi." Michelle just smiles sympathetically. "She does this with every new guy in the school. She'll lose interest in a week or so and then you'll have Peter back to yourself. Besides, I have some news that'll make you happy." You look at her curiously. "What?" "Cyndi tripped going down the stairs and she broke her ankle." You laugh viciously. "Good! It's what she deserves." Michelle laughs too, a little shocked. "Y/N! That's so mean!" You just shove her playfully. "But am I wrong? No." Michelle rolls her eyes but nods in agreement.

However, Cyndi's broken ankle turns out to be more of a curse than a blessing. Peter, the gentleman that he is, insists on carrying Cyndi's books and walking with her to her classes every time. This is made especially bad when he tells you that he can't walk with you to and from school anymore, as he'll be helping Cyndi. "What?" You gape at him in astonishment. "She's hurt! If Michelle broke her ankle, you'd want to help her, right?" "Yeah, but..." You let the words trail off. Yeah, but she's not known for flirting with every boy in her vicinity. Yeah, but if I weren't sure that she's trying to steal you from me. "Great! I'll see you in class." With that, Peter walks away, and you're left staring after him.

When you slink sadly into your chair besides Michelle, she turns to you in surprise. "What's wrong, Y/N?" You sigh, putting your face in your hands. "Peter told me he's going to stop walking with me in the mornings and afternoons so he can walk with Cyndi instead. You know, because of the whole broken ankle thing." "No, really?" "Yeah." You let out a breath in sadness. "I just don't know what to do! It feels like every day he gets farther and farther away from being my boyfriend. I still love him, but I'm not sure he feels that way about me anymore." Michelle pulls you close comfortingly. "Look, if he's choosing Cyndi over you then he's just ridiculous. Also, if you want to do something about it, have you considered talking to him about it? He might not even know he's ignoring you!" You consider that for a while, then nod. "I'll talk about it to him after class. Thanks, Michelle. You're the best." She waves the compliment away. "We're friends. It's what we do."

You do your best to psych yourself up for the upcoming conversation, and by the time the bell rings to end the school day, you're feeling confident enough to stride over to Peter's desk and ask to talk to him in private. Peter nods, and you lead him away from your locker, saying "Look, I've been wanting to talk about this for a while." He nods, but adds "Sure. Love talking to you. But can we make this fast? I've got to make sure Cyndi gets home okay." You force a smile onto your face that you don't really feel. "Actually, it's about that. I feel like you haven't been paying a whole lot of attention to me, and that you've been blowing me off to spend time with Cyndi, and-" He cuts you off. "This is about Cyndi? Come on, Y/N, we're just friends." You sigh. "I know, but I want to spend time with you. I care about you, but it's like you're ignoring me to go hang out with her." "So what if I want to spend time with Cyndi? She's nice! We're friends!" You cross your arms. "No, she's flirting with you." Peter scoffs. "And so what? I can talk to whoever I want!" This is so not going the way you want it to go, so you do your best to salvage the conversation. "And that's fine, but as your girlfriend, I'm a little worried that-" He cuts you off again. "Oh, are you trying to protect me again? How did that work out the first time? Right, you broke my heart and didn't speak with me for a year." You take a step back in surprise. "Why are you bringing that up? I'm literally just asking for you to talk to me more than once per day!" Peter just rolls his eyes. "No, you're trying to control what I do. You know who doesn't do that? Cyndi. So if you'll excuse me, I am going to go walk her home." He tries to push past you, but you just stand in front of him again. "Peter! What is going on with you?" He looks you dead in the eyes. "Stop trying to control me. In fact, just stop talking to me at all." You freeze. Everything seems like it's in slow motion. "What?" "Stop talking to me. We're over." And with that, he walks away from you, back to Cyndi.

You feel like you're in a haze. Dazedly, you grab your things and head home. When you finally make it through your front door, you collapse on your bed and finally let out the tears that have been building up. Sobs rack your body, and you can't help but stare at the ceiling in regret. Peter doesn't want anything to do with you. And he doesn't love you anymore.