Chasing Ghosts | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 120: But daddy, I love her

October 31, 2028

''Cheese!''

Maya rolled her eyes. ''Mom, just take the picture.'' She shuffled closer to Brooklyn, forcefully smiling at the phone Katya pointed at them.

Her thrifted wedding dress felt odd on her body. The huge puff sleeves tickled her cheeks and the long silk skirt kept touching the back of her legs as she stood on the porch steps. But she'd pick it over Brooklyn's bunny bodysuit any day. Her girlfriend put leggings and long sleeves under it to fight the cold, but the small, tight little thing was still too sexy for Maya's liking to be wearing out.

Not that she minded looking at it...

Cady and Regina. Regina and Cady. Mean Girls. Not only was it iconic, it was ironic as well. The popular girl and the girl nobody cared about until she started to hang out with the popular girl. The only difference was that Maya didn't want to be popular and fake. She was perfectly happy being the outsider with the weird parents, and Brooklyn wasn't set on changing that.

''You girls look so cute!'' Katya smiled excitedly as she took a hundred pictures, urging the girls even closer together. She was extremely dedicated to document every part of Maya's life. ''Take it in, Lyn. You won't see this again until you wife her up.''

''Mom!'' Maya exclaimed in horror, her face turning beet red. The wedding dress was suddenly really warm. "Oh, my god, we're leaving.''

Inelegantly, she grabbed the front of her skirt and stomped off, dragging Brooklyn with her to the car before Katya could say something else that mortified her. Of course, she had to mention marriage to her girlfriend of five months, who was seventeen.

''Okay!'' Katya called after them, enthusiastically waving with her hand high above her head. ''Have fun! Be careful!''

''Always!'' Brooklyn answered with a big grin.

Maya's skin burned, the dress on her body feeling so incredibly awkward that she wanted to tear it off. With a scowl on her face, she gathered the skirt of it in her arms and maneuvered herself into the driver's seat, fighting with the long hairs of her cheap black wig. It felt illegal to drive with a dress this big, but she had to get away from her mother and that situation, turning the music up high when she sped away.

Brooklyn casually hummed along to the tune, typing away on her phone, updating their friends on their departure. She was seemingly oblivious to the fuming girl in the seat next to her, the bunny ears on her headband touching the roof and bouncing with every bump in the road. Every time the movement caught Maya's eye, she had to fight off a smile at how ridiculous it looked.

Her embarrassment slowly started to fade away when she realized that Brooklyn wasn't going to bring up Katya's words. If she wanted to, she would have already. They were five minutes into the twenty-minute journey and not a word about marriage. Not even a teasing smile. She was just scrolling on her phone and watching the kids trick-and-treat outside.

Maya gradually relaxed in her seat, breathing out the air trapped in her lungs. Maybe she was being dramatic, but wearing this dress in front of her girlfriend—even if it was a costume—felt more meaningful than it should, some strange teaser of what their future may hold if they stayed together.

"Baby, you missed the turn."

And then there was that. The nicknames had gotten more frequent. She still wasn't used to them. Every single time, the butterflies in her stomach would soar, and her brain would freeze. They just sounded so good coming from Brooklyn's lips, like she cast a spell.

''Shit,'' Maya muttered, glancing at her GPS to see where FRIDAY redirected her, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

''You're distracted,'' Brooklyn noted. This was it. This was where she would bring up Katya's joke. Maya held her breath. ''Are you nervous about the party?''