☑ THE SHADOW | Peter Maximoff

o n e - y e a r - a g o | f i v e

~ 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 ~

The next day, Peter was sitting between Scott and Jubilee, watching all of the students pass by through the seating area they found. Peter sighed, resting his leg on top of the coffee table so he could stare at his cast.

"Aya's been my friend for years," Jubilee said in a comforting tone.

He turned to her.

"She's been quiet, and she won't talk if she doesn't have to, but... she's never avoided someone like that before."

"I'm sure she just seriously forgot about something," Scott reassured from his other side, sending him a small smile.

The corners of Peter's lips sank. "I guess."

He toyed with the bottom of his shirt and sighed. All he could do was hope they were right.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Peter's gaze lifted at the sound of some kids screaming, but his eyes caught on the swift movement of the dark curls he couldn't stop thinking about. He sat up quickly, trying to see out the door to his right.

Aya walked into the main foyer with Jean by her side, her books clutched tightly to her chest. She had a small smile on her face as she laughed at something Jean said, sending a tiny flutter through his chest. They had to pause to let some kids pass in front of them, allowing Aya a couple seconds to look around.

Her eyes locked with his, and instantly her smile fell. He swallowed thickly, watching as she grabbed onto an oblivious Jean's arm and pulled her away quickly, giving him no time to even get up, let alone walk up to her.

His heart sank.

When he looked back over at Scott, the other mutant mirrored his frown and gave him a slightly hopeless expression.

The next few times he encountered Aya went almost the exact same way.

After he had stumbled upon her training in the simulation room and watched her move with an almost childish amazement, he had gone up to her and tried to tell her how awesome she was. She ducked away and turned invisible so he wouldn't be able to follow her.

At the lunch table, she walked around the perimeter of the room to avoid him and the rest of the group, who were sitting at the table in the middle of the room and trying to call her over.

In chemistry, she sat at the very front of the classroom, and when the bell rang, she darted out of the class.

Walking through the hall, she'd notice him standing there and deliberately turn around and bolt the other away.

It was impossible not to notice it. She was avoiding him like the plague, and his heart sank deeper and deeper every time she did it.

But why? Did he say something that offended her? Could she read minds? Maybe he thought something that offended her? He didn't think anyone could read his mind, since Charles had tried and said that his thoughts were moving too quickly for him to process them.

Maybe it was too much for him to ask her to heal his leg, like he had originally thought. Maybe it hurt her more than he realized, and he overstepped.

He needed to figure it out.

Luckily, Aya had almost completely finished healing his leg before she ran away. That combined with his speed healing allowed him to take off his cast the day after. He still had to be careful, but he could walk without the crutches, and that was a bonus.