Chapter Six

Wanda

Wanda didn't like that Pietro had more friends than she did. She felt like he was leaving her behind and he'd never talk to her again. Part of her young mind knew that was a silly thing to think about, but the more dominant part still worried. She knew Pietro thought she was crazy, but she wasn't. She just had bad dreams and thought she saw things that later went away. It wasn't her fault she saw them.

And Wanda really didn't want to mention what she saw at the psychiatrist's office. She could have sworn the doctor turned blue with red hair, but she decided not to tell anyone. It was bad enough they already thought she was crazy, even if they didn't come right out and say it. "Wanda, come on," Pietro whined. He grabbed his sister by the hand and dragged her out the door. "We're gonna be late!"

"So?" Wanda asked, letting her brother drag her along. "It's just basketball practice…" She didn't even want to go, but she had to. Django was at work so Marya had to take both of them. She knew she was going to be bored out of her mind.

"So stupid Evan's on the team too, and I wanna get there before him," Pietro answered. Wanda sighed. Of course it was about Evan. It was always about Evan. She missed her brother being her best friend. They would fight all the time about stupid stuff, and it hurt. She had started her fair share of fights, but that was beside the point. At least he still stood up for her when he saw someone picking on her.

"Fine," Wanda sighed. She decided she didn't like being three. She liked it better when all she had to do was play with her brother and stay home all day. She liked it better when she didn't have scary dreams every night and she didn't see things that weren't there but seemed like they were. It wasn't fair.

Wanda quickly decided basketball was as boring as she originally thought it would be. All the boys did was run back and forth with some stupid orange ball. It didn't make any sense in her mind. She was drawn from her thoughts when she heard a whistle. She looked up to see Evan on the ground with Pietro standing over him.

"He pushed me!" Evan shouted at the coach, one of the parents from the preschool.

"Did not!" Pietro argued.

The coach sighed and walked over to the two. "Did you push Evan down, Pietro?" he asked calmly. Pietro shook his head. "Are you sure about that?" Pietro nodded. The coach looked at them and thought for a moment, but decided it would be easier to drop it for the time being. If it happened again, he would talk to them.

"Is that the Pietro you were talking about earlier?" Wanda heard a woman ask Evan's mom. Wanda turned to look at them and quickly decided the woman was pretty with her dark skin and long, white hair.

Evan's mom nodded. "That's him," she sighed. "I don't know why he dislikes Evan so much. Aren't all kids supposed to be best friends at this age?"

"I wouldn't be able to tell you," the other woman laughed.

"Auntie O! Auntie O!" Evan shouted as he ran over to the white-haired woman. "Did you see? Did you see?"

"Yes Evan," the woman smiled. "That was a very nice shot."

Wanda looked back over at Pietro and watched him throw the ball down onto the floor. He wasn't watching the others, but rather glaring at Evan. He had gotten a basket before Pietro had. The other boys all crowded around Evan. "That was awesome!" one shouted.

"How did you do that?" another asked in awe.

Pietro still didn't move over to him. "Pietro," the coach said. "Go congratulate your teammate."

"Do I have to?" Pietro whined.

"Yes you have to," the coach answered.

Pietro huffed, but walked over anyway. "Good job," he managed to get out. The glare never left his face as he walked away from the group. He didn't want to be any more a part of it than he had to.

Wanda sighed and followed after her brother. "You did good too," she said, forgetting he didn't know she was behind him.

"No I didn't!" Pietro snapped as he turned around. "I didn't do anything!"

"But it's your first day," Wanda reminded him. She hated it when Pietro yelled at her. Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

"So? It's Evan's first day too," Pietro pointed out.

"You'll do better…" Wanda trailed off. Both twins tensed when they heard an argument coming from Marya and Vivian arguing.

"…Just a phase," Marya said. "He'll outgrow it. He probably doesn't even realize he's hurting Evan's feelings."

"But he is," Vivian pointed out. "And this little competitive streak of his isn't healthy, and you know it."

"Well what do you suggest?" Marya demanded, throwing her hands up into the air.

"I suggest you fix the problem," Vivian responded. "Come on, Evan. Your father's probably worried."

"I apologize about my sister," Evan's aunt said. "She's just frustrated over a few things we discussed earlier."

"I understand," Marya said quietly. "Everyone has bad days. I didn't know Evan had an aunt?"

"Yes," the woman smiled. "Ororo," she introduced.

"Well, we should probably head home," Marya smiled slightly. "Wanda, Pietro, come on," she called over to the twins.

"Come on," Wanda said. "Let's go home."

Pietro nodded and took her hand. "Yeah, let's go."