After track practice, Pietro let himself into his house. He greeted his sister, who was reading a book on the couch in the living room.
"Hey, Wanda."
"Hey, Pie. Did you cheat at practice today?" she asked passively, not looking up from her book.
He smirked softly. "Only a little. Thanks for the support. Anyway, what's for dinner?"
She shrugged. "I haven't eaten, so maybe I could- Holy shit, go take a shower!" said wrinkled her nose.
"What? Did you say you wanted a hug?" he smirked and sauntered over to her, arms out like a zombie.
"If you take one more step, I will... I will... Ugh, just get the hell away!" she attempted to threaten, but was too distracted by his stench.
"C'meeeere!" he laughed.
She put her hand out and it glowed a vibrant red. Soon, Pietro's entire body was engulfed by the glow. "Stop."
He kept chuckling. "Okay, okay. Can you whip us something up while I take a shower?"
She nodded. "Yeah..." she paused for a moment then grabbed her cell phone. "Okay, so what kind of pizza do you want?"
"Pepperoni!"
"Kay," she said as she started tapping the numbers into her phone.
"Gee, thanks, sister. You're the best!" he smirked devilishly then leaned down to her, wrapping his orderous body around her in a bear hug.
"PIETRO!"
-
Monday morning, the twins walked together to school, as per usual. Wanda had a small latte in her hands from Starbucks, though the closest coffee shop is 10 miles away. Pietro always went for a coffee run for his sister.
The two conversed quietly, both still trying to rub the sleep out of their eyes. Wanda is always prompt and wakes up early to get ready for school, but despite his speed, Pietro is continuously late. His sister has to drag him out of bed and force him to get ready.
About fifty feet in front of them, Crystal got out of her sister's car. "Have a good day, Medusa. Bye!" she waved.
Pietro and Wanda noticed their new friend. The male twin instantly perked up. "Crystal! Hey!" He called.
She turned around and smiled. "Oh, hey guys! How are you?"
"Good," they answered in unison.
The three made small talk about how their weekend was as they trudged to the school. Wanda glared at her brother as she explained the events on Friday night. Crystal giggled and looked up at Pietro.
"That's so gross!" she said, still giggling. She was walking in between the twins, dividing them. "Man, if you did that to me, I'd light your ass on fire. Quite literally."
"I'll have to remember that. So, your mutation is that you can utilize fire?" he asked curiously.
She gave him a confused looked. "Mu... Mutation? I don't understand."
"You know, your mistaken genetics. They allow you to control fire?" Wanda chimes in.
"No, no! I'm an..." she opened the door to the school and found the hallways near empty. "Oh crap, I have to get to homeroom! I'll talk to you guys at lunch. Bye!" she waved and ran away.
The twins exchanged puzzled glances.
-
At lunch, Pietro and Wanda sat down at their seemingly reserved table and awaited their new friend for an explanation. Crystal eventually made her way in and sat down.
"I swear, everybody's fucking diseased around here..." she mumbled.
Pietro was taking a sip of his soda, which nearly came out of his nose hen he heard the new girl's comment. "What?!" He laughed hard as he cleaned himself up.
"These people! They're all hyped on... something. There's no explanation as to why they're always turning and running and shouting in the hallways!" she ranted.
The twins ate in silence for a moment. "You good?" Wanda asked after a while.
"Yeah... I guess. Thanks for listening. Or being on Ritalin."
Pietro smirked softly. "No meds here. So anyway... want to finish our conversation from earlier? About how you're apparently NOT a mutant?"
Crystal nodded then looked around, making sure nobody besides them was listening. Johnny Storm returned her glance for a brief moment and flashed a smile, but he soon turned back to his conversation. The new girl leaned closer to her friends.
"Alrighty, well... Where should I begin? I suppose I should start off saying that I am a member of the Inhuman race. My family... We value the Terrigen Mists, which when exposed to them at infancy, grant us powers. I am able to control all four elements, not just fire."
"Fascinating!" Wanda remarked.
"Holy shit! That's awesome," her brother said, studying the new girl as she spoke. He was beginning to notice a bright sparkle in her eyes, but he did his best not to get lost in them. He knew if his sister caught him giving googly eyes to a girl, he'd never hear the end of it.
After lunch, Pietro walked slowly with Crystal. It was unlike him to not rush to his classes, but he was willing to in order to spend more time alone with Crystal.
"So... Inhuman. That's really cool, honestly."
She smile softly. "Why thank you. And being a mutant must be cool as well, yes?" She asked.
He shook his head a little. "Mhm, not really. Sort of detested by humans."
"Oh please, you're preaching to the choir," she said and pushed him playfully. He hardly budged.
"Well, it seems we have many things in common..." he chuckled then looked at her.
"Yeah, I suppose we do," she said, not getting that he's trying to flirt with her. "Oh, okay good, Johnny's here. I'll see you after school or something. See ya," she smiled warmly at him before walking to her other friend.
Pietro's face fell as she left him. It was so natural for her; she floated from one person to the next. Of course, it was never her intention to hurt people's feelings. Her friendly personality made her so likable, so of course she was gaining friends. Crystal had a way of making the people feel as if they were the only person in the world. Her eyes would pierce deep into their soul, drawing out deep secrets they kept locked away. It made her trusting in one way, but manipulating in another.
From across the hallway, Wanda noticed her brother's downhearted mannerisms. She was so tempted to get inside his head and fill his mind with happy memories, but she was hesitant to toy with him. She was protective of her twin and did not want to see him get hurt by a girl, but also did not want to upset him. It was an silently agreement that she did not go inside his head.
Meanwhile, Crystal made small talk with Johnny. They casually conversed about the weather, but the new girl quickly grew bored of the meaningless chat. It was a little difficult speak with Johnny. The twins, Pietro and his wit especially, made conversations feel flowing and natural.
Crystal's mind wandered off to random topics, though her mouth was still moving. She thought about her old home... Lockjaw... Pietro's hair. She lingered on that topic a bit. She wondered if it was naturally white, or if he frequently dyed it. Either way, it looked extremely fluffy. Next time she saw him, she decided sternly, she would touch his hair.
"So, football game Friday?" Johnny smiled warmly at her.
"Mhm yeah," she mumbled quietly, still lost in thought.
"Cool, I'll give you my number..." he said the looked for a piece of paper that wasn't covered in notes. "Damn. Well, here," he said then grabbed a pen. He wrote his digits on her arm.
She jumped a little, coming back to realization when he felt the cool, felt tip hit her skin. "Oh! Uh, thanks. I'll text you later then," she said then sat down. She continued to zone in and out of reality during the class period.
After school, Crystal found her way to the boy's locker room and waited outside. Pietro came out soon after and instantly saw her. "Oh hey. Were you, um, waiting for me?"
She nodded. "Yep... Hey, can I ask you something?" she asked quietly as she moved toward him slowly.
He felt his cheeks heat up. His heart was racing. This was it, he told him. She DID like him and now she was going to ask him out. He braced himself for a possible kiss and put down his track bag. "G-Go ahead, Crystal."
"Can I feel your hair?"
He paused for a couple seconds. "...What?"
"Okay, okay, I know it's weird, but hear me out. I like your hair. And i'm super curious. Is it fluffy like I think? Is it actually damaged from dye? I have to know."
He stood there silently in awe.
Crystal took that as a "go ahead" and stood right up against him. She got up on her tippy-toes, their faces centimeters apart, and she extended one of her arms. Carefully, she stroked his locks.
"Wow, it IS fluffy!"
He blinked.
She got down from her tippy toes then backed away. She smiled warmly and waved cutely, using only her four fingers. "I gotta go, Pietro. Have fun at track!"
The male twin stood completely still, something he would have otherwise thought of as impossible. He saw the number written on across her forearm. Eventually, he swallowed hard and slung his track bag over his shoulder, beginning his walk to the school's stadium for practice.
"I've known her for, what, a grand total of five days? I hardly know her. And she hardly knows me. Why the fuck did I ever think she would be spontaneously into me?" he thought, keeping his head down.
As he passed the AP computer science classroom, Wanda noticed her brother. "He's going to be late... He's being so sluggish. God, I hope Crystal didn't hurt him..." she thought.
"Hey, can you pass me the blue pliers, Wanda?" her teacher, Dr. Hank Pym, asked her.
"R-Right. Sorry," she said and handed them to him.
Hank clipped a tiny wire. "There..." he mumbled to himself before looking up at his class, who all agreed to stay after and work on the groundbreaking project. "Class, I believe we have finished. Behold..." he trailed off as he tightened a few screws, securing the face plate. "The Vision!"