Yesssssss - I'm finally getting on a roll again! A huge thank you to anyone still reading this fic, and to everyone who has reviewed.
The hospital visit went by in an exhausted blur. After she'd given an explanation of her most recent beating, namely the part where her head smacked against the wall, they forced her to stay awake until it was certain that she did not have a concussion. Thankfully, she did not.
After the brief examination, an officer came in to get an initial statement from her. In her haze, she had shockingly little problem with bringing to light the abuse she'd been suffering for months. The only part that made her stumble was when the officer asked her if anything inappropriate had gone on between her and Papa.
At first, she'd been confused. Everything about laying one's hands on their child was inappropriate. Her mind suddenly flashed her with the night when Papa had disgustingly kissed her, and she knew what was being asked.
"No," she'd lied. "He just hit me." That cat wasn't ready to come out of the bag just yet.
More notes were taken, and then she was passed back to the doctors to compile an extensive list of past injuries, take some x-rays, and a catalogue of every bump and bruise on her body.
"Alright, Ms. Maximoff," one of the nurses gave her a sympathetic smile. "We're sorry to have poked and prodded you for so long - this stuff is just necessary for the case. Someone is here to pick you up, now."
Wanda rose from the chair she'd been slouched over in, timidly getting up to follow the nurse out to the waiting area.
She'd been expecting Janet to come for her, to ship her and Pietro off to whatever foster home was available, but instead was led over to where Ms. Foster was waiting.
"Wanda, honey," she stopped rubbing her hands together anxiously once she saw Wanda. A motherly hand reached out to rub her shoulder, and Wanda practically melted into it, reminded of how Mama used to comfort her.
"She is free to go, Ms. Foster," the nurse smiled.
"Alright," Ms. Foster smiled. "I'll be taking you home now, dear."
Wanda furrowed her brow. "To my house?" She hadn't thought that anyone would be sending her back to that place. But if Papa wasn't there, then she wasn't worried. Her and Pietro would be fine on their own - they'd practically been doing it for so long already.
"No, no," Jane's mother shook her head, guiding Wanda out of the hospital and towards the parked cars. "You'll be staying with us for a while, until things are settled. Your brother thought that you wouldn't mind that."
"Where will Pietro be staying?"
Ms. Foster scratched her chin. "Um, with a friend, I think. James Rhodes?"
She heaved a sigh of relief. At least for the time being, her and her twin weren't being shipped off to homes miles apart from each other.
She automatically hopped into the passenger side of the familiar grey van which radiated soccer mom energy.
Ms. Foster slid into the drivers' seat and turned towards Wanda before putting the keys in the ignition. "You're probably exhausted, and don't want to have to talk about it. Correct me if I'm wrong?"
Wanda shook her head, then nodded, then determined that this wasn't a yes or no question. "You're right."
Ms. Foster gave her a comforting smile, starting the engine. "Jane's been worried sick about you. I made her stay home, because she can be a bit overbearing at times. She cares too much about her friends for their own good," she flashed a wink in Wanda's direction.
Wanda half-smiled. That was sure true.
Not that she didn't appreciate her friend's great concern over her, but when she arrived back at the Fosters' home to Jane immediately wrapping her in a huge hug and pouring out questions, she was grateful that she'd hadn't been there when she first got out of the hospital.
"I'm alright," she said, hoping that the answer would suffice for at least a few of the rapid-fire questions.
Jane took a step back offering a small smile. "You're probably tired, huh? We have a guest room you can sleep in for now. Come on."
Wanda followed her friend down the hall towards the guest room she'd never seen before. Ordinarily when she slept over, they set up camp in the living room or squished everyone into Jane's room for the smaller gatherings.
"We don't really have a spare toothbrush or anything - sorry - but I put some pajamas on the bed for you. And a phone charger." Jane pushed open the door to a cozy-looking guest room.
Wanda mumbled her thanks. "I'm probably just going to crash, anyways."
Jane nodded in understanding. "Of course. I hope you sleep well, but if not you know where my room is. Wake me up any time, okay?"
Wanda smiled in return, got one last hug from her friend, and shut herself in the room.
She'd reached a new level of exhaustion, barely conscious of her motions as she changed into the pajamas that'd been set out and crawled into the nice bed. She plugged her phone into the charger, which easily reached where she lay in the bed. It was the first time she'd looked at it since all the drama went down, and she opened it to find a few missed texts from Pietro.
Pietro: Is everything good?
Pietro: They want to know if there's anyone we can stay with. Rhodey is letting me stay at his place. You're welcome too, but there's probs some other friend you want to stay with.
Pietro: Wandaaaaaa
Pietro: Did the doctors take your phone?
Pietro: I'm calling Jane's mom for u.
Pietro: You're staying with Jane.
Pietro: Text me when you can. I love you sis.
She sent him back a quick text to let him know that everything was good and she was safe at Jane's place. And that she loves him back, of course.
The very tiny portion of her brain that was still awake reminded her that she was supposed to call Bucky. A quick glance at the time showed that it was nearly one in the morning, and her fingers danced over the screen in uncertainty. It was late, but it wasn't like she hadn't called him at this time for various reasons before. She hit the call button.
He picked up after the first ring. "Wanda, hey. Are you okay?"
"Yes," she said. "I'm staying at Jane's."
There was an exhale on the other end. "That's good."
"Yeah," she agreed. There was a pause as neither of them knew quite what to say. A lot had happened since school gotten out last afternoon. "Thank you. For everything."
"I'm not entirely sure what you're thanking me for, doll, but you're welcome."
"For giving me the courage to do what I couldn't for so long."
"Honestly, I thought you might hate me for a while after today. I don't regret pushing you to get out of the situation, but I wasn't sure how you would feel about it."
She shook her head. "I couldn't hate you."
She could almost hear his smile on the other end. "That's a relief. You're too important."
"To me," was the implied ending of that sentiment, unsaid but still hanging in the air between them.
Wanda couldn't tell you whether or not any further words were exchanged, as the last thing she remembers is falling asleep.
She woke up the next morning, momentarily forgetting that her whole life had turned upside down in front of her very eyes. That feeling was short-lived as suddenly the memories from yesterday's events crashed over her in a tidal wave.
It took a moment to build up the willpower to shift out of her warm blanket cocoon before she could roll over to check her phone. When she did, she was surprised to find that the phone call with Bucky from last night was still going.
She held the phone against her ear. "Hello?"
No answer.
"Hello?"
A rough voice answered, "Oh, hey. 'Morning."
"Did you forget to hang up last night?" she smirked.
"Something like that. Sleep well?"
She had, actually. She still felt emotionally drained, but at least physically she didn't seem to be in danger of collapsing back into the bed at any moment. "You would know, since you've been listening all night."
"Like a stalker," he laughed.
"I should probably look into a restraining order."
His tired chuckle came through the phone before he groaned. "I have to get ready for school. I assume you won't be going today, so we'll talk later."
She said her goodbyes, and hung up after the several hours' long call. She got out of the bed and walked towards the bathroom next to her room. Looking in the mirror proved to be a challenge as the reflection stared back at her.
She'd really lost weight over the last few months. Jane was about her size, but her clothes hung off of her like they would on a child. There was bruising along her jaw and neck; her eyes missed their old sparkle. She looked pathetic.
Feeling small, she left the bathroom and walked down the hall until she found herself in the kitchen, where Ms. Foster nursed a cup of coffee while Jane ate some toast at the counter.
"Did you sleep well?" Ms. Foster was the first to notice her, but as soon as she spoke Jane's ears were perked.
"Yes, thanks," Wanda replied awkwardly. Jane was already dressed and ready for the day, whereas she had only just rolled out of bed.
Jane, like a telepath, said, "We thought it would be best if you took some time off from school."
That's what Bucky had thought earlier, too. Maybe there was some truth to it. "What about-"
"I'll bring you your school work." Jane assured.
"And what about everyone else?"
"What about them?" Jane asked patiently.
Wanda rubbed her hands together. "Do they know?"
"Not yet," Jane said. "Do you want me to tell them?"
"No," she gulped. "Not just yet, please. Could you tell them I'm sick for now?"
"No one else has to know until you want them to, Wanda. But they'll understand - I promise. I think you should talk to Bruce. He'll be able to sympathize with you in a way none of us can."
Wanda sighed in relief. "And Bucky. Bucky was there when it all… happened."
"I'll force him into an oath of silence," Jane promised. "I'm sure I have some blackmail on him somehow… Not that he'll need any, when it comes to you."
Wanda didn't have time to ask about the last bit as Ms. Foster was grabbing her keys and ushering her daughter towards the door. "You two will have plenty of time to chat later. I have to take Jane to school and then get to work. Wanda, help yourself to anything here. There's plenty of food in the kitchen - it's all for eating, so have whatever you want. I'm sure you know where the tv is. Have a good day off, honey. You deserve it."
Jane, to her mother's annoyance, halted her leaving to run and wrap Wanda in a hug. "We can talk later. I'm sorry about everything that's happened, but I'm glad you're here now!" She then turned around to bound out the door.
And so Wanda was left to herself in the large house.
Her day was spent mostly in blissful ignorance as she avoided thinking about the mess her life had become. The morning was spent showering, then raiding Jane's closet for fresh sweats and a long-sleeve shirt, and finally sitting down at one end of the large table to enjoy a bowl of cereal.
Then she moved into the living room to binge watch The Mandalorian, because the Fosters apparently had gotten Disney+.
Lunchtime rolled around, but she'd already eaten what she normally would have by this time in the day, so instead she opted to text her twin for a while. She learned that he was also taking the day off of school.
Jane must've spread around the lie that she was sick, as she received several texts from her friends concerned for her wellbeing. Bucky also asked how she was feeling, so she sent him a photo of baby Yoda in response.
Jane got home later in the afternoon, rambling on about the day, and excitedly dragging her up to her room for some girl time. In the late evening Ms. Foster got home and made a nice dinner, which they all sat down to at the table.
The rest of the school week passed by similarly, with Pietro coming over to visit her a few times. Once he learned about the Disney+ subscription, his visits became longer and even more frequent.
"Are you sure you're up for tonight? I can totally cancel. It can be just you and me again." Jane asked for the thousandth time.
"I'm fine, Jane," Wanda shook her head, laughing. "I'm going to have to face them at some point."
The upcoming night they were referring to was in fact this Friday night's Movie Night. Wanda had yet to see anyone besides Jane, Pietro, and Ms. Foster in the past few days, and the majority of her friends didn't know about the real reason behind her absences. But she planned to clear the air tonight.
"I'm just making sure," Jane defended her obsessive questioning. "You know we all love you, right?"
"Yes, I know. And I love you all, too."
"Good."
There was a knock at the door, signalling the first arrival. Jane quickly got up to let them in, and soon the house was filled with Darcy's bubbly voice.
"Wanda?! You're still alive! And look at you - you're early. You're never early." Darcy threw herself at the couch, landing in a strange, half-sideways position next to Wanda.
"Still alive," she confirmed. "And I could say the same for you."
"Yeah, well," Darcy waved her hand, "I got my Nana to drive me. She only hit three garbage cans on the way here, too."
Jane rolled her eyes. "I love your Nana, Darce, but she's a danger to society."
"Her brownies more than make up for it," Darcy said. Wanda hummed in agreement.
Twenty minutes later, everyone had arrived. They all seemed a bit surprised but certainly enthused that she was there, since she had been absent from school yet again.
"We have snacks, right?" Sam asked expectantly.
"Obviously," Tony held up two bags filled with goods. "Do you doubt me, Wilson?"
"All the time, man," Sam chuckled.
"So what are we watching?" As no one responded, Clint clapped his hands together loudly to get their attention. "Hey! What are we watching?"
Jane began, "We'll decide in a minute, but first…" she looked over to Wanda expectantly.
Suddenly nervous, Wanda stood up."I kinda have something to tell you guys." She looked around the room, suddenly regretting her decision to stand up. Thor and Tony were both crammed side-by-side in the reclining chair; Darcy was sprawled across a beanbag chair; Pepper, Jane, Clint, and Nat were perched in various positions on the couch; and Sam, Steve, Bruce, and Bucky were relaxing on the floor. It felt like she was towering over all of them, becoming the focal point of the room.
As her eyes met Bucky's, he gave her an encouraging smile.
"I've been lying for quite a while… I'm not really sure how to say it, so here goes nothing: my father has been abusing me physically and emotionally since the beginning of the school year. The truth finally came out on Monday and he's been arrested. So I'm staying with Jane until further notice."
She looked down at her hands through her whole announcement, and when she finally looked up she wished she hadn't. There were varying expressions of concern and anger - Bruce looked absolutely crushed, she noticed guiltily.
A few words of comfort and apology were offered, but it seemed that no one really knew what to say. Which was fine, because she didn't have any idea how to respond.
"I just… I hope this doesn't change anything," Wanda sighed. "I'm sorry for all the lying. It just felt like my only choice." Decidedly done with her major speaking role, she awkwardly looked for a place to sit, and ended up between Bruce and Bucky on the floor.
"It…" Tony began, treading lightly. "It definitely changes things. But I - we - don't think any less of you, of course."
"We should have figured it out," Natasha stated firmly.
Wanda chanced a glance at Bruce, who was clenching his jaw as he stared very intently at the floor. "I didn't want anyone to know," Wanda said.
"Still, we should've-"
Whatever Steve was going to say, it was cut off by Wanda. "Can we not talk about it anymore tonight? Please?"
"Of course," Jane said, nodding. "So, onto the movie choices…"
It took a few moments, but soon the intensity lingering in the air morphed mostly back into the usual ease amongst the group as they argued over what movies to watch. It was eventually decided that their first movie would be What We Do In The Shadows, followed by It, and then finally To All The Boys I've Loved Before so that they would be able to sleep afterwards.
What We Do In The Shadows proved to be hilarious. Wanda wasn't very interested in Twilight-esque vampire culture, but she definitely enjoyed the film, as did everyone else.
"If my life were a movie," Thor began, "I'd want it directed by Taika Waititi and no one else."
"Amen," Darcy agreed.
Their horror movie of choice, It, would certainly be giving Wanda nightmares. Okay; maybe not, but at the very least a newfound fear of clowns. The most uncomfortable part of the movie was surprisingly not any of the horrors created by Pennywise, but actually the part where it's revealed what a terrible father Beverly's dad is. Watching the scene mixed with the way she felt everyone's glances towards her put a bad taste in her mouth. She just knew that they were picturing her as Bev in that moment. It was almost a relief when the abuse switched back to clown scares.
To All The Boys was a delightfully cute movie, with the entire friend group divided over the attractiveness of Noah Centineo. Darcy and Sam co-captained the yes team, while Tony grumbled about him being overrated.
"We're all going to Spring Formal, right?" Clint asked as the credits rolled.
During the last movie, sleeping bags had been set up and everyone had more or less gravitated towards where they would be sleeping.
"Ugh," Darcy groaned. "I think not."
"I second that," Natasha called out.
"Third," said Bruce.
Wanda nodded her head, silently agreeing.
"Come on, you guys," Jane coaxed. "It'll be fun - I promise."
"It's going to be dumb. School dances are overrated, just like Noah Centininio," Natasha argued.
"I agree with everything but the last part," Darcy spoke.
Steve said, "We're all going, even if I have to drag you there myself, okay?"
"Why do you care so much?" Wanda asked curiously. In all the time she'd known Steve, she hadn't thought of him as a dance-loving person.
"Yeah, Stevie," Bucky smirked. "Why do you want to go?"
Steve put his hands over his face, mumbling something incoherent.
"I'm sorry - what?" Pepper asked, her brow quirked in amusement.
It was fun to watch Steve get flustered.
He finally spoke clearly enough for them all to hear, "Sharon asked me and I said yes. But I only like her as a friend. So I need you guys there to discourage anything more than strictly platonic."
"Why would you say yes, then?" Sam asked.
"I didn't want to say no!" Steve defended. "She asked me in front of her friends! And they were watching the whole thing go down like they would happily feed me to sharks if I said the wrong thing."
Wanda rolled her eyes. Pietro was one of Sharon's friends, and it was hard to picture him as very intimidating. Rhodey, maybe.
"There you have it," Jane said with a tone of finality. "We all have to go to the dance now. For Steve."
Darcy grumbled, "Fine. But if I can't find a dress with pockets, I'm not going."
Natasha laughed. "Dresses are ridiculously impractical. Where do you think I could find a bulletproof dress with pockets? Ebay?"
Clint supplied, "probably Etsy."
"You think things are going to get that intense at a Spring Formal?" Sam asked.
"It pays to be prepared," Darcy shrugged.
Wanda listened to them chattering about whatever weird stuff they thought up. Silently, she wondered whether or not she would still be here to even go to the formal. She didn't want to worry the others, but it was a fear of hers that any day now Janet would come knocking on the door to whisk her away from this place.
Snuggling deeper into her sleeping bag, she fell asleep wondering what her life would look like by the end of next week.
Loki's POV
One could tell that Titan's pub was a sketchy place to be solely on the fact that Loki was allowed to walk right in and sit at the bar without anyone even batting an eye. The bartender asked what he'd like to drink, and he said a coke.
"With…" the bartender prompted.
"Just a coke," Loki said.
"Boring kid," the bartender muttered under his breath but not inaudibly, grabbing a can and placing it in front of him. "If you're not here to get drunk, then what are you here for?"
Loki popped open the can. "I'm meeting someone," he replied shortly.
"A girl?" the pushy and obviously bored bartender pressed.
Loki shook his head.
"Stop bothering the boy, Sebastian," a deep voice grunted, taking the seat next to Loki but not looking at him.
Loki only spared a quick glance at the large man occupying the seat next to him. "Glaive," he acknowledged.
"Odinson," Glaive said, mockingly.
"Laufeyson, actually," he corrected.
Corvus Glaive only humphed. "Are you actually ready to join us now? Or are you still hanging on to your weaknesses?"
"I'm ready."
"What of your family?" Glaive questioned as two shots were placed in front of him.
Glaive didn't care about his family - he was just trying to see whether anyone would be trying to pull Loki back from the darkness once he embraced it. "Odin never cared about me. As for Frigga and Thor, I've disappointed them enough that they should've disowned me entirely by now."
There was the slightest of nods in approval. "And your so-called friends?"
Loki steeled himself. "They don't want anything to do with me."
Glaive gave a smirk, but said nothing in response.
Loki spoke again, "I'm all yours."
"He'll be happy to hear that," Glaive told him. The shot glasses were empty, and he roughly pushed himself off of the stool. "Come. We have work to do."
Loki got up slowly, following.
Sup, guys! 'Tis the end of this chapter, but there'll be more coming soon - never fear! As it's been so long since I started this fic, I haven't quite kept track of every little detail I've written! So, anyone to find a plot hole or continuity error will get a shoutout! I already have one that I know is in here, but it's not a super obvious one! Good luck :)
