Escaping Maximoff

Would That I

I walked into the grocery store, the satisfying ring of the bell reminding me that, for once, I was the customer. The school outing to a field on the edge of the village was the cause for an emergency snack trip. I planned to grab as many sugary treats as I could to dull the pain of having to see Zach Davis again. I hoped the sugar rush could help with a quick getaway should I need one. I had been excited with the prospect of getting to sketch the rolling hills and flower-packed meadows, but that excitement turned to dread when we were told that photography students were coming as well.

I walked down the aisle, enjoying the cold air from the AC as I scanned the brightly coloured packets lining the shelves. Lost in thought,I turned around the corner and accidentally bumped into a certain redhead. I mumbled a quick apology as I picked up my Mars bar, desperate to buy more after Sam had raided my secret supply.

"Jeez, are you preparing for a zombie apocalypse or something?" Wanda laughed, eyeing the myriad of chocolates and candy in my shopping bag. Little did she know what I was going to face was worse than any brain-eating monster, although I concluded Zach would probably benefit from that, considering my 5-year-old cousin had a higher IQ than him. His dumb ass thought a mountain was a 'dead' volcano, which was funny since his dad literally owned one in Japan.

"Isn't the potions section that way?" I whispered, pointing to the opposite side of the store. "I heard they have a great sale on right now – baby hearts are thirty percent off."

She raised her eyebrows comically, feigning confusion, as a small smile broke out on her face, reflecting the light in my eyes. She took a step closer and leaned down so she was at the same height as me, lowering her voice as she spoke, "Why would I need to buy one when I can just take yours?"

Wanda laughed at the 'offended' look on my face. Standing back up to her full height, she took a packet of Milka chocolate off the shelf and handed it to me. "Try this; you'll never be able to go back to your disgusting American chocolate again," She promised, sealing her attempt to convince me with a small wink. I looked down at the bar, unsure that it could fulfil the high expectations it had been given. After debating for a second, I shrugged and dropped it into the shopping basket, now full to the brim with snacks.

"You better be right about this, Maximoff; this is a life or death situation here," I joked, meeting her eyes which held nothing but sincerity.

"Oh, I promise you, expect nothing less than perfection," she said, taking a Milka bar of her own to show me how serious she was.

We walked up to the cashier together – a guy who was a few years older than me and had been working here slightly longer than Sam and I. He greeted us with a wide smile, giving us his full attention.

"Hello y/n, Elizabeth." He nodded to Wanda. I turned to her, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion at the greeting.

"Who the hell's Elizabeth?" I grumbled to no one in particular, only loud enough for the woman next to me to hear. She glared at me in response before turning back to face the boy, a sweet smile plastered on her face as he continued the conversation.

"How are you settling in?" He asked, leaning across the counter. My frown deepened at the action, realising it wasn't a mistake; he had deliberately called her by another name. I guessed I shouldn't have been surprised that she used an alias. After, all I don't really think the rest of the village would be too happy to discover we were harbouring a wanted criminal. She was lucky that the only Avengers fan on the mountain was my best friend.

"Well if you ever need any groceries, you know who to come to," He said, finishing up the conversation with a joking dig at my professional abilities and glancing at me with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Yeah, you wish," I snorted, dumping my mountain of chocolates and sweet treats onto the counter. Wanda rolled her eyes at the sight, mumbling something about kids not eating proper food these days. "What was that Elizabeth?" I turned to meet her eyes with a mischievous grin, enjoying this little nickname of hers. It sounded so normal, so...unlike her. She shook her head, already done with me after the short interaction.

I could feel her gaze on me as she waited for me to finish. I supposed she wanted to say a proper goodbye, which I was slightly surprised by, not to say I wasn't enjoying this new side of Wanda.

"That is not real food," she said as we left the shop.

"Well I can eat it, can't I?" I challenged, taking one glance at her bag of vegetables and pulling a disgusted face. As more of a fruit kind of girl, the mere sight of a mushroom sent shivers down my spine.

Realizing we were headed in different directions, and that I still needed to get a pep talk from Sam, I stopped walking and turned to her. "Bye Elizabeth," I said, smirking knowingly as I used her new name.

"Bye y/n." she rolled her eyes and turned to walk away, but not before I could see the smile on her face widen. I guessed she was glad to finally not have someone to cautiously look out for.

I looked down at my bag of snacks and sighed. I figured that, at least if I got my face bashed in the next day, I'd die with a full stomach.