𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 | 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐳

𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

There's a tiny amount of peace Sean receives when he lights a cigarette. He knows it's not good for him since Daniel complains about the smell every time, but then he craves the feeling of smoke in his lungs, and he's back to square one. Soon, Cherry started to come out when he needed a smoke, saying she liked the sounds of the forest. And then, the two started to share a single cigarette, not wanting to waste their pack. Now, he feels a tiny sense of peace and a small but also immense amount of anxiety when she comes out to smoke with him. He's not sure if it's good or bad.

He takes another deep breath, loving how the smoke fills his chest before exhaling. The smoke swirls around his head. It reminds him of the way the wind moves when Daniel moves things. He sometimes wonders why he wasn't lucky to have powers. Maybe he isn't trying hard enough. Looking over to his right, he spots a small rock deep in the snow.

"Maybe...?" he wonders aloud. He places his hand out in front of him, hoping, praying, he could do something, anything. After a moment or so he just feels like an idiot.

"Mi cariño~" he hears her say in a sing-songy voice. He drops his hand immediately, taking another puff of the cigarette. He hopes she didn't notice, but he knows she did. She always knew when he was doing something stupid. She waves her hand gently, and Sean gives her the cigarette without a word. She breathes in deeply, holding the smoke in her chest before exhaling. She leans her head back slightly, the joy evident on her face. "I just told him a little story so he could sleep."

"You know he's nine, right? Not a toddler."

"He needs to feel like one sometimes," she shrugs. "I feel it's nice to remind him that he's still a kid." She took another drag before handing the cigarette back to Sean.

"You're right, of course." She grins proudly at him.

"As always." He rolls his eyes. He inhales deeply, thinking of his following words before breathing out.

"You're okay with going to my grandparent's house?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" She waves for the cigarette, which Sean gives.

"I didn't tell you. I don't know. It's just...a lot at once." He watches her neck tense as she holds her breath, her jaw becoming more defined as well. Her lips puff out slightly when she exhales. He looks away before she spots him, hopefully.

"As long as you're okay, I'm okay. That's all that matters. Again, I don't really have anything to go back to, Sean."

"It's just-"

"Hey." He looks at her. "Shut up." She grins at him, Sean doing the same back to her. She smokes what's left of the cigarette before smashing it with her shoe in the snow. "I got a question for you, Sean-y boy."

"Shoot."

"If you could have any superpower, which one and why?" He rolls his eyes at her question, a soft laugh leaving his lips. Still, he gives himself a moment or two to wonder which one he would like best.

"Maybe speed or shapeshifting. Speed so that I wouldn't need a car, and shapeshifting just seems like it would help get out of situations." Cherry nods in agreement, but Sean can tell she's slightly off. "What about you, chiqui ?" She stares at him before looking down at her hands. She's quiet, too quiet. He glances at her face and down at her hands multiple times.

"Invisibility," she mutters. Her hands become a soft red. "So I can just disappear." He watches as her hands gradually become a brighter and brighter red. "I got something worse, I think." He can barely hear her words. It takes him some time to get over the shock.

"How... What is it?"

"I don't know. I don't want to know." She forces herself to take in a few deep breaths, and the color in her hands disappears after a while. She still stares at her hands like they're weapons. "When I was getting the fire ready to cook, I stuck my hand all the way into the flames. I didn't feel a thing. The cold doesn't hurt me. I'm..." she trails off, her eyes glossing over. "I'm a fucking freak."

"Cher, you're not a freak." He goes to grab her hands, only for her to pull away like she has the plague.

"I could hurt you." Despite her words, he places a hand on her knee. She flinches, afraid she could burn him.

"I'm okay. You won't hurt me or Daniel. You literally ran away with us. I was an asshole to you, yet you've had my back this whole time. You got a concussion because you stood up to that asshole for us. You're not going to hurt us. Okay?" She shakes her head softly, looking away. He places his free hand on her cheek, forcing her to look at him. She feels her heartbeat rise while her breathing up and disappears. It's just from the shock of learning she's a freak. Yeah, that's all. "Okay, Cherry?" She finally responds, giving the softest head nod. "Okay." He watches as a slight tint of red begins to brighten her face before he pulls his hands away. "We'll figure out your powers, okay?"

She stares at him momentarily before responding, words a bit slow. "I'm not sure I want to know."

"No offense, Cherry. But I would rather learn it than discover it, like we did with Daniel." She lets out a tired groan.

"The one time you're fucking right." He grins but doesn't tease her further.

"Would you like to try now? 'Cause I don't know when we'll have time later." She looks at him, her eyes screaming how exhausted she is, but she nods her head nonetheless. "Do you think you can control fire? Or do you think you're just a heated pillow?" She blows a raspberry at him. "Maybe try to pull a Johnny Storm?" She looks at him like he's stupid. "Well, do you have any better ideas?"

"You really think I can just snap my fingers, and I'll be able to make a fire?"

"Do you have a better idea?" he repeats. She rolls her eyes and groans. She snaps her fingers quickly.

"Nothing."

"Do it again."

 "Nothing."

 "Again."

"I'm going to hurt you." She continues snapping her fingers at a rapid pace still.

"Will you just try?"

"I am. Do you not hear my fingers snapping, or are you deaf? "

"Why are you mad?!"

"Because I'm snapping my fingers like a dumbass, and nothing is-" There's a flash of light before it disappears. They both stare at her hand, wondering if they saw what they saw. "Did I just-"

"Do it again." She pauses before snapping her finger again. The smallest of flames forms on the tip of her thumb. It's bright yellow and orange with hints of red and white flashing through it.

"I-" She's not sure what she wants to say. She finds it hard to breathe. She snaps her fingers again, leaving them in the dark. She looks at Sean, who is already staring at her with a look of shock and awe. She looks at her fingers, rubbing them together, before looking back at Sean. "Oh, fuck me."