Escaping Maximoff

There Is a Light That Never Goes Out

"Got any plans for the holiday?" Sam asked, finding any excuse to pause his sit-ups. I crossed my arms over his knees and rested my head on my hands. I had barely made it to school before the bell rang, which, unfortunately for me, meant I was just in time for PE. The only good thing about the lesson was that it was mixed-gender – meaning I could just hang out with Sam the whole time. Despite the awful subject, I was in a considerably good mood, having started off my day with a visit to Wanda. The warm feeling from her tea still lingered in my stomach, and her sweet smile was forever etched in my brain.

"Nope," I replied with a shake of my head. "Apparently the weather is going to be awful."

Sam nodded. "Yeah I've heard that. I guess we'll finally have to finish Grey's Anatomy," he said, wiggling his eyebrows 'convincingly' at me. The blond didn't need to ask me twice. I loved that show, but it was just so damn long, and after Christina left, it wasn't the same.

"As long as you're providing the snacks and tissues," I joked, tapping his leg to encourage him to continue his sit-ups. He groaned in response, collapsing onto the floor, his face flushed red from the effort.

"You're killing me here, y/n," Sam gasped, flashing a pained smile as he playfully slapped my hand away from his ribs, fending off further torture.

"Does that mean I get your comic collection?" I asked with a grin.

"Shut up."

I laughed and rested my hand back on his knee, glancing across the gym to seeing another reason why PE wasn't so bad. Our school was pretty small, so they also mixed grades, meaning us juniors were grouped with the seniors – more importantly, with Victoria. She met my gaze and smiled, offering a small wave that made me blush, my grin growing wider at the action.

"Wow," Sam marvelled, pulling my attention from the black-haired girl who was standing with a small group of friends.

"What?" I questioned, confused by the way his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at me, his eyes piercing my soul. 

He shrugged.

"Sam?" I asked, trying (and failing) to hold back soft chuckles at the amused look on his face. He made a zipping motion with his fingers against his lips, biting his cheek to stop himself from blurting anything out.

"I've just gotta sit back and let it happen," he explained, fighting against my hands which, once again, aimed for his ribs. I rolled my eyes and gave up.

"I hate you."

"You love me," he challenged, pushing me away from his legs so he could sit normally without the threat of having to do more exercise. I relaxed next to Sam, shifting closer to him just in time to see a ball fly past my face and smack the wall behind me. The sound echoed around the hall, reverberating off concrete and returning to the perpetrator who stood awkwardly a few feet away. Sam jumped up, stepping in front of me to shield me from a very sheepish looking Zach Davis. "What the fuck is your problem man?" The blond shouted, clenching his hands into fists to prevent them from shaking.

The hall went silent.

"I'm sorry, I-it was an accident," he stuttered, meeting my eyes for a second before snapping them away. "Please believe me."

I wasn't sure who he was talking to at this point, but part of me had a feeling whoever it was, wasn't even in the room.

Sam faltered and rubbed the back of his neck, baffled by the boy's response. I picked up the ball and stood to join my best friend before throwing it to Zach, who barely managed to catch it, his hands fumbling with the material.

"Just watch where you throw the ball next time," I said, smirking slightly at his paled face and horrified expression. He nodded frantically, muttering a few more apologies; the words tumbled from his lips as he practically ran away. The hall erupted into a chorus of hushed discussions, all equally perplexed by Zach's behaviour.

"What the–"  I cut off Sam with a nudge, pulling him over to the bleachers. I wished I could tell him what happened, but I couldn't. It wasn't that Sam was bad at keeping secrets, or even that I thought telling him would put anyone in danger. To be honest, I just wanted to keep Wanda a secret for a while. My whole life I'd had to share everything with other people, whether it was my parents with their secret agency or my cereal with the twins, I didn't have anything that was just mine, except for Wanda. I was the only person in the Village who really knew who she was, and I liked the idea of keeping it that way, at least for the moment. I was going to be selfish.

So, I did my best to come up with some kind of excuse for Sam. It wasn't the best, but I could tell he somewhat bought it. He didn't press me any further, even when we were alone and walking home later that day.

All I wanted to do was go and tell Wanda how ridiculous Zach had looked that morning, laugh about his frantic apologies and ghostly complexion together, but I didn't want to overwhelm her with my presence. I didn't want to be a burden. Instead, I settled for saying a few words to my parents, looking up at the sky for the first time with happiness in my heart, feeling as though my life was finally changing for the better.