"babysitting?"

Maria rolled her eyes at Layla, "oh, so you can hear me."

the girl tightened her red ponytail, staring at her complexion in the bathroom mirror, "sounds boring. you're dads a dentist, can't he just, ya know, give you money whenever you want it?"

the brunette rolled her eyes again, "that isn't the point, i wanna start saving for rainy days, and Lorna's a sweet kid, i used to see her all the time in the park when i used to go with Carlos. they used to play together."

"That's weird."

"how?"

Layla shrugged, "Carlos is twelve, and Lorna? she's like... a baby."

"She's six."

"yeah, a baby." Layla old her, smearing gloss across her lips

The door to the bathroom slammed open, a young girl, maybe a freshman, running in and practically falling and locking herself in a stall. Both girls stared for a second until Daisy and Jenna ran in afterwards, frantically looking around the otherwise empty bathroom.

"Did some girl just run in here? Super bad teeth? kinda like a bunny?" Daisy grilled the two.

"No. That girl was in here before us." Layla told the Blonde, who grabbed Jenna's shoulder and pulled her out of the bathroom, presumably to look for the girl that was hiding in the stall.

"you can come out! they're gone." Maria knocked on the stall door, watching the girl timidly step out. her hair was messy, and her cheeks and nose were dusted red, along with the whites of her eyes.

Layla guided the girl with an arm around her shoulder, allowing her to lean against the sink, "what happened?" she asked gently, readjusting the girls skirt as it was slightly flipped up, when she noticed it was one of the Hockey player's little sisters.

"It's not important." she sniffled, pushing her glasses up, "thank you for helping me." With that, she walked out the bathroom, Layla and Maria watching confused beyond belief.

"Okay that was weird."

"ya think?"

___________

Maria walked into practice about ten minutes late. as per usual.

"Miss Perez! How thoughtful of you to join us!" Coach Cassie called out, like clockwork.

Maria sent her a bright smile, sauntering over to the group of cheerleaders circling Darren, her smile faltering when she saw the boy's expression, "what's happening?"

"Jack's just being a meathead again." Darren offered, shaking his head slightly, "just leave it be, girls."
"He wasn't just being a meathead, he called you a f-" Julie, one of Maria's fellow juniors and newbie on the team, cut herself off before she could say the word Darren had been called, "a very bad word!"

"Nice save." Daisy rolled her eyes at the girl, "but what are we gonna do about Jack?"

"nothing! it's not that big a deal, it's not even true." Darren defended himself.

a few of the girls looked at each other subtly. Darren, being the only boy on the cheer squad, faced a lot of ridicule. especially from the cocky football boys, like Jack and his larks. Maria placed a hand on the boys shoulder, "i know y'think nothing'll happen if you do anything, but a good punch in the jaw'll shut him right up."

"Maria, stop encouraging fighting." Coach Steven cut in, "all of you, start practising, Darren, come with us." he and Coach Cassie walked out with Darren, leaving the girls to practise whatever moves they were struggling with.

"Are we actually doing stuff or are we talking?" Jenna asked the group, not really being bothered about moving around a lot right now.
"talking. obviously." Daisy confirmed, a sharp tone in her voice.

"What happened earlier?"

"Yeah, who were you looking for?"

It was no secret that out of the four friends, Maria and Layla were the nicest. According to Layla, Daisy had been a bitch since elementary school. And when they all got to middle school, her and Jenna were huge bullies and picked on anyone they felt like. Layla was a cheerleader in middle school as well as now, and since the two wanted to be on the team, they never really messed with her. and so, the three became friends. and when Maria moved to Washington at the start of her freshman year, she joined the friend group too. But Daisy and Jenna managed to infect Maria with some of their cruelty.

"ugh," Jenna started, "you know Tom? on the hockey team?" The two were not sure who he was. but she continued anyway, "well, we've been talking for a really long time-"

something in Maria's mind clicked, "oh! Tom with the red hair?"

"Yeah, that's him. anyway, we've been talking for ages, right?" the two nodded their heads while Daisy listened intently, "and he's been walking this freshman to all her classes and he hugged her in the corridor. you've probably seen her, brown hair, glasses, kinda crooked teeth? contact lenses and a year with braces and she'd be super pretty, but they looked all close at lunch so naturally, i put her in her place." she smirked.

Maria and Layla shared a look, "hey, Jen?" Maria started, "was she wearing a skirt? pretty cute top?"

"Yeah, it was kinda cute, I guess. why?" she crossed her arms over her chest

"yeah, that's Tom's sister..."

____________

Practice had been eventful, to say the least. but now, Maria was strolling to Magda's house, fully ready to babysit. she had decided to wear a green plaid skirt, paired with a fitted t-shirt tucked into it and a pair of comfy white trainers, her usual gold bracelets draped over her wrist and ankle.

seeing the letter box reading, Maximoff, she skipped up the steps and knocked the door gently, adjusting her long, black hair in the glass before the door opened wide. "Maria! good to see you." the older woman greeted cheerfully.

"Good to see you too, Magda. sorry i'm a little early, i just thought i'd ask if there's any chores or anything you need help with while you're gone?" she stepped into the house, taking a deep breath and a heavenly scent made its way through her nose.

"oh, bless you, no we're all done here thanks, just dinner if that's still okay?"

"yeah, of course," they two walked into the kitchen, the amazing smell becoming stronger as she passed by the basement door, "she's not allergic to anything is she?" she asked, certain if she nearly killed her daughter, she wouldn't be babysitting again.

"no, she's an easy kid. not picky at all, just make sure she eats it all. her eyes can be bigger than her stomach.'' The two shared a laugh.

"have you sprayed an air freshener or something? it smells amazing in here." she couldn't help but ask, if she could get her hands on it, she'd spray it all day. a mix of some sort of woody smell and something she couldn't quite place.

she shook her head, laughing a little again, "oh no, Peter's just in the shower. his bedroom's the basement," Maria turned to the basement door, a little embarrassed, "i lucked out, my son actually cleans himself." The two laughed before they heard little footsteps padding the wooden floor, "watch out, she's a hugger." Magda mumbled quickly to the teenage girl.

Maris spun around quickly, seeing the little girl hugging her from about two feet below her, her head resting on the girl's stomach. she quickly hugged her back, "hi Lorna!"

"Hi Maria!" The girl seemed very excited to see her.

"Honey, I'm going now, give me a hug." Lorna let go and ran to her mom, who listed her off of the ground, "now, are you gonna be good for Maria?"

"yes momma." she snuggled herself into her shoulder, "i promise."

"good girl, and if you're super good, Maria might even let you have ice cream after dinner!" she tickled the girl's side, causing her to erupt in laughter. Magda put her down just as Peter walked out of his room, wearing baggy jeans and a hoodie, his grey hair slightly damp and fluffy. "I'm going now." Magda spoke to Peter much differently than she did Lorna, but she couldn't tell if it was because he was about ten years older or if she was mad at him.

"okay." he answered in the same tone of voice, not yet noicing the girl in his kitchen.

she lowered her voice so much, Maria wasn't sure if she was supposed to hear what was being said, but she did, "and if I get back to one more visit from the police, you will never step foot out of this house again. and no running." The last bit was even quieter, but Maria's ears still managed to pick it up.
Magda's face was bright again when she faced Maria once more, "Wanda went out about an hour ago so, erm, she might be back, maybe not. help yourself to anything, the fridge is stocked and my number for work is by the phone."

"got it." She smiled brightly, watching and Magda hugged Lorna one more time before walking out the door, not even giving Peter a second look.

It was quiet for a second before Lorna spoke up, "Peter, can I have a Twinkie now?" her voice was mischievous, along with the glint in her eyes.

Peter gave her an annoyed look, before turning and going back into the basement, "one sec." he grumbled, making Maria giggle slightly and turn to the little girl, "you being mean to your brother?"
Lorna leaned into her and whispered, "I learnt what blackmail is. it was on the TV."

"ah, I see you. what have you got on him." she crouched down so they could talk quieter.

"If I want the Twinkie, I can't tell you!"

Peter came up the stairs at that moment, "did i have to take this back downstairs?" he asked her, holding it by his head and far out of her reach.

"no! I didn't tell!" she jumped up, trying to grab the treat from his grasp as Maria giggled at the two. she was sure if the roles were reversed and Carlos was the older one, he'd do the same thing.

Peter let his arm drop down when he heard Maria's laugh. God, she sounded like an angel. He didn't believe in any sort of higher power in the sky, but he'd pray to one just to hear her laugh like that again. She seemed so much different with her uniform off and hair down. you could see the glow in her eyes better against the green of her shirt than her red cheer outfit, and the small, gold jewellery complimented her skin perfectly. It was almost like Jekyll and Hyde. a tormenting, mean girl inside the school's brick walls, and a sweet looking, giggling angel outside of them.
he shook his head slightly, "I- im gonna go to the skate park, but if Lorna says she wants one of these just go downstairs."

"she's got something good on you!" she laughed that same laugh again and he swore his ears had died and gone to heaven.

he had to clear the thoughts out of his mind. She was being sweet because she was in front of a little kid. He began to remember how cruel and tormenting she was at school. tripping people up, starting arguments, making fun of people. Sure, he was a trouble maker himself, but he never did it to hurt people. unlike her.

"Yeah, sure." His change in tone made Maria's eyebrows furrow a little.

"must be a sore spot for him." she thought.

"but i'll be at the skate park down the street so if anything happens and you don't wanna call my mom, just come tell me." he smiled and began to turn away, before a thought popped into his mind, "actually, if Wanda comes home, bring Lorna down with you."

she was a little confused, but she nodded her head, "okay, think i know where it is so... if i need you i'll find you."

he smiled again, crouching to get into a cupboard, seeing about four different skateboards, all slightly different.

"See you later Lorny." he mumbled to his sister when she hugged his leg tightly, "see you later." he offered Maria.

"Yeah, see you later." she smiled back at him, waving slightly and she bounced slightly on the heels of her shoes, which felt very, very strange to be wearing inside.

she watched intently as he left, Lorna still distracted with her Twinkie. Once he had stepped out of sight, quite suddenly around the corner, she glanced at the clock, seeing it reading 17:02
"Ready for dinner?"

__________

A pot filled with homemade mac and cheese and half of Cinderella later, the door rattling pulled Maria and Lorna from their movie. she assumed it would be Peter, but the girl who stepped into the house looked vaguely familiar, but still unplaceable. "Who are you?" she asked, voice scratchy and almost strained.

she smiled at the girl nevertheless, "i'm Maria. i'm babysitting Lorna,"

"You look different." she started, creeping Maria out quite a bit as she tried not to show it on her face, "since i last saw you."

of course. It was Wanda. she didn't see her very often, she normally went out at night or whenever Maria was in her room. she had also changed since they last interacted. It was a year prior, and she was helping her mom at the grocery store when she bumped into Wanda and Magda. even then, she didn't look too well. but her eye bags had grown darker and her face more pale and hollow.

"Yeah, you do as well actually. changed your hair?" she asked her, some of her anxiety released from her body.

"Yeah, it's lighter now." she messed with the nots around her cheeks, tucking them behind her ears.

"suits you," she told her, before remembering what Peter said to do if she came home, "i'd love to catch up a bit, but your bother said to bring Lorna down at six and it's," she looked at the clock on the wall, "quarter past now."

Wanda hummed out an amused laugh, "I know what Peter said," she began to make her way upstairs before raising her voice ever so slightly, just so Maria could hear her, "I know what everybody says!"

That was all the motivation she needed to grab Lorna a little cardigan to go over her outfit in case it got windy, realising she had forgotten to bring a jacket herself when she stepped out of the house. she couldn't help but be creeped out by Wanda. She knows what everyone says? Who comes out with stuff like that? She couldn't help but notice that Lorna seemed scared around her too, not missing the feeling of her hand clinging onto her own when Wanda made herself visible.

she shook her head at the thoughts. Lorna had no reason to be afraid of her big sister. right?

The two neared the skate park, after a bit of hunting since Maria had never even been near it before. It was a little noisy, mainly cheers when someone did something that looked more difficult than Maria could ever do (on hard ground or on ice) and the sound of the hard wheels of the boards hitting the cement. it was impressive to watch though, if she even attempted to step on one of those boards, she'd fall flat on her face.

She spotted Peter sitting on a bench about ten feet away, next to one guy who looked a bit too old to be hanging out with a highschooler.

"Peter!" Lorna called out, gaining her brother's attention and a smile.

"hey!" he shouted back just as enthusiastically, "you okay?" He walked over, leaving his board with the guy who wouldn't stop staring at Maria, and faced the older girl, asking her more than his little sister.

"oh, yeah. Wanda came home and you said to come here if she did. so..." she trailed off, feeling uncomfortable as the man behind Peter was still staring.

"Oh yeah, come sit over here if you want." he walked back over to where he was sitting before, sitting Lorna on his lap as Maria sat beside him, pulling her skirt down as she did , hoping tha boy would stop staring at her the way he was.

"Maria made me mac and cheese." she told her brother, fisting at some of his silver hair.

"really? what else did you do?" he asked, trying to get her hands out of his hair before she tore it all out.

"We watched the movie with the princess with the pumpkin." she rested her head on his shoulder, snuggling herself into her brother.

"wow, you've had a nice time then, huh?"

"the best time!"

Maria giggled slightly, almost making Peter's heart flutter. "she isn't as nice as she sounds" he thought, trying to get it into his head.

Peter would deny it until the day he died, but back in freshman year, he had an enormous crush on her. how couldn't he? It was back when she first joined the cheer team, he hadn't been to a single Maths class in the two weeks he had started at highschool, but the counsellor made him go. He sat at the back, talking to his friend from History when she walked it. He could remember it clearly as day, her black, curled ponytail bouncing slightly as she jogged with one of the older cheerleaders (who was clearly on the brink of tears) that had been held back a year. They both sat in front of him and his friend, Darren, as Maria comforted the girl while she cried quietly...

"Girls, why are we crying in my class?" the moody teacher asked, sighing in annoyance.

Maria was quick to shoot back while the girl continued to silently sob next to her, "probably because she's been held back a year and has to deal with you."

the teacher didn't care about her blatant disrespect, instead just rolling his eyes and beginning the lesson. Once he was turned around, Maria whipped around to face the two boys, whispering to them quietly, "sorry, can I borrow a pen? I left my stuff in my locker."

Peter reached into his pocket and gave her his spare, smiling slightly at her.

"Thanks, you're a lifesaver." she gave him the sweetest smile back, turning around when the girl beside her ran out of the room, "i'm not going after her now." she mumbled, writing the date in her book...

Maria's voice knocked him out of his train of thought, "she's super sweet." he hummed, not quite picking up what she was saying, "Lorna, i mean."

he laughed slightly, "yeah, she is." his little sister still cuddling herself against him.

"you skateboard?" The girl asked, hoping to carry on the conversation. when he nodded, she continued speaking, "it looks so hard, i'd fall off in a second."

Once again, Peter let out a laugh, "I still do. But don't you like ice skating or something? I'm sure that's harder."

"It's on solid ground, you're on a board."

"you're on ice!"

They both shared a laugh, effortlessly getting along. "My brother wants to learn to skateboard. We brought him some special shoes for his birthday last month and he hasn't stopped since."

"Is he any good?" Peter carried on.

"no, he's covered in bruises." Maria laughed at Carlos' expense.

"you should bring him here with you, we could help him." he spoke offhandedly, despite his thoughts, he couldn't help but want to spend time with her.

Maria was a little surprised at his offer, she couldn't imagine anyone in their right mind wanting to spend time with who she considered the most annoying person ever to exist, "seriously? I mean, he'd love it. he's wanted to come here for ages but he's just too nervous to mess up."

"Yeah, of course," Peter gestured to the older boy beside him, the same one who was staring at the girl, "Craig used to teach me when I was in middle school."

Maria thought for a minute, "when will you be here next?"

the silver haired boy shrugged slightly, "i'm here everyday to be honest, you babysitting tomorrow?"

she shook her head, "yeah, but Lorna's coming with me to practise. your mom's given my dad some money to give to my coach so she can have a go on the ice."

"I'm gonna be an ice princess!" the little girl called out excitedly.

Maria giggled again, sending butterflies to Peter's stomach, "yeah, you will be!" she turned back to the girl's brother, "how about Wednesday?"

"Sure, sounds good."

__________

"Carlos!" Maria practically sang as she entered the house, having remembered her key today, "I have a surprise for you!"

he walked out of the living room, "sup bitch."

"Kind as ever." the older sibling remarked offhandedly, "i have a surprise for you."

"I heard."

Maria rolled her eyes, "shut up, you'll love me for this." she told her moody brother, who impatiently awaited whatever she had for him, "you know how you suck at skateboarding and wanna learn at the park but you're too chicken to go alone."

"i mean i wouldn't use those words-"

"yeah, but everyone else would, so, you know how im babysitting Lorna down the street?" the boy nodded, "well, her brother Peter is always at the skate park and we were talking, and he said on wednesday if i bring you down with Lorna, him and his friends'll skate with you."

"seriously?" he asked excitedly, his mood having gone through a drastic change, "oh my god, you're the best sister ever!" He wrapped her in a tight hug, which she gladly returned.

when she went to pull away, he latched on tighter, causing Maria to grow worried, "hey," she spoke gently, "what's happening, bud?"

he continued to hold her tight, "mamá's in the kitchen, can we talk in my room?"

she could hear the wavering in his voice, "yeah, yeah of course." she pulled away from him, "i'm just gonna go say hi to her and i'll be up in a minute, okay?"

he nodded and ran up the stairs, while Maria headed into the kitchen, "¡Hola mamá! (hey mom!)" he called out, seeing her mother leaning over the counter, stirring something intently.

"hola cariño, ¿cómo estuvo el cuidado de los niños? (hi sweetie, how was babysitting?)" she answered back, not looking up from the metal pot.

"Buena gracias, (good thanks,)" she reached into the cupboards, searching for some snacks for her and Carlos, "Voy a hablar con Carlos sobre su mamá patinadora, ¿puedo llevar esto a su habitación? (I'm going to talk to Carlos about his skating mom, can I take this to his room?)"
"Claro cariño. te veo luego. (sure honey. see you later.)"

The girl ran up the stairs, carrying a sharing bag of Doritos and a bag of chocolate covered pretzels. Once she reached her little brother's room, she entered without knocking, "okay, what's going on?"

he was quiet for a moment, eyeing the food in her arms. she saw and tossed him the Doritos, which prompted him to talk, though his tone wasn't too happy, "thanks."

"Car, what's happened?" she questioned him again, hoping the answer wouldn't be too bad.

"When did people start making fun of you?"

"Who do I have to kill?"

"just- how old were you?" he asked a second time.

she took a deep breath, calming herself down slightly. She wasn't sure of the exact thing they were making fun of, but he could give it a good guess. "middle school. people didn't care in elementary, but when i went up, we all got older, people just... started seeing me different."

Carlos nodded his head slightly, opening the bag of Doritos and munching on one, "what did they say to you?"

Maria let out a humourless laugh, "anything they could. My skin looked dirty, I smelled funny, I didn't talk right. whatever they could think of."

"did you smell?"

"no, I didn't!" she shoved him slightly, stealing one of the Doritos.

"I thought you hate the Tangy Cheese ones."

"I do, I took it to annoy you." she dusted the orange crumbs off of her hands before opening her pretzels, "okay, who's making fun of you, what are they saying?"

"It's Daniel, Nathan and Gareth. They keep saying that their parents said we don't belong here, and we need to go back to Mexico."

"yeah, well, they're just jealous that their moms don't know how to flavour food. She boils chicken and is super careful with the pepper because it's just too spicy."

Carlos laughed at the fake voice she put on, impersonating Gareth's mom at the last block party. "But what do I do? they're getting everyone to say it."

"Are John and Charlie sticking up for you? Are you sticking up for you?" she asked, referring to his two best friends. He went quiet, choosing to munch on a few more Doritos. "I'll take that as a no." she let out a sigh, "it's Gareth Williams, Nathen Sutton and Daniel Riley, isn't it?"

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason, eat your Doritos, I'm taking these with me." Maria picked up the party bag of chocolate covered pretzels and walked out of his room, "love you!"