Lorna and Wanda sat in the window seat in the living room with their legs tucked under them, watching the snowfall outside with wide eyes. They were simply delighted by the amount of snow descending from the sky that was promptly picked up by the wind and whisked away. The only thing they were missing was some hot chocolate which Riley, their babysitter, was currently making for them in the kitchen.
Mrs. Maximoff had called a while ago to say that it was much too late for her to attempt to drive home in the snow and so it would be a big help if Riley could stay for the evening. News reports said the snowstorm would die down soon enough and the night would be peaceful so it would only be a couple of hours.
Riley entered the living room with two mugs of hot chocolate filled to the brim and set them down on the table. “How’s it looking out there?”
“There is so much snow!” Wanda whispered as she turned around, eyes widening comically.
Lorna turned too, spreading out her arms as far as they would go. “There’s this much snow!” She tried to spread them out even more but lost her balance and tumbled into the cushions behind her.
Wanda watched her little sister try to right herself among the cushions. “She’s being buried under all that pretend snow, Riley. That’s why she can’t get up.”
Riley watched all this with a bemused smile on her face. The two girls were adorable. She stepped forward and helped Lorna sit up straight until her legs were swinging from the seat.
A voice called out from behind Riley, “No hot chocolate for me?” Riley turned to see the eldest Maximoff sibling, Peter. He was the same age as Riley and went to the same high school as her. While they weren’t friends, Riley knew enough to know he was some kind of troublemaker. And that he was a mutant.
The second thing wasn’t common knowledge but Riley knew because she was a mutant too and that was her power - being able to sense other mutants. Which was how she knew that Lorna and Wanda were mutants too, though they didn’t know that yet. And with all three siblings being mutants? The very air seemed to be thrumming with power.
Drawing herself out of her thoughts, Riley noticed the slight smirk on his face. Narrowing her eyes, she responded, “Kitchen counter.”
She was sure she hadn’t blinked but quite suddenly, Peter was holding the steaming mug of hot chocolate in his hands. He watched her blink at him in confusion. “Teleportation? Is that your power?” she asked.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Who says I have powers?”
She cocked her head as she watched him drink out of the mug, his eyes never leaving hers. Okay, two can play at this game.
Casting a glance behind her to make sure Lorna and Wanda weren’t in any imminent trouble (they weren’t, they were very dutifully drinking their hot chocolate), she pointed at a flower vase. Peter raised his eyebrows quizzically. Stepping toward the vase, she used one finger to tip it over. Instead of falling, the very next second, it was upright and yet Peter appeared to not have moved at all.
“Telekinesis,” she guessed. Peter shrugged and she pouted. “All right then, keep your secrets.”
She left him to his hot chocolate and turned back to the girls. Wanda was examining a blanket on the sofa and Lorna was next to her, hopping on her toes, trying to figure out what her sister was doing.
“Something on your mind, Wanda?” Riley asked.
Wanda twisted her mouth as she stood with her hands on her hips and then said, “It’s cold out. We should make a blanket fort.”
Lorna caught on to the idea and began jumping in earnest. “YES! BLANKET FORT, BLANKET FORT.” She ran up to Peter, whose mug was now nowhere in sight, and motioned for him to pick up her. He rolled his eyes but Riley could tell he was enjoying it because he did as his sister asked. “Peter, can we please make a blanket fort?”
“I believe I’m not in charge,” he said, scrunching up his nose in mock distress.
Cute, thought Riley.
Lorna began wriggling. “Riley, pretty please.”
Riley laughed a little and then nodded her approval. Lorna wriggled herself right out of Peter’s arms and over to her sister. Wanda, who took her elder-sister role rather seriously, began instructing Lorna on the proper way of building a snow fort. Peter seemed disinclined to help in the blanket fort-making process, probably because he didn’t want to give away his powers, so Riley joined the girls.
Riley would have supposed that Peter would have left since he wasn’t helping but he didn’t abandon his post in the entryway. She could feel his eyes following her around the room as the three girls put together the blanket fort. Sometimes, just out of the corner of her eye, she would think she’d caught him smiling fondly at them but his features would rearrange into a bored look so quickly, she couldn’t be sure.
When it was finally done, Wanda and Lorna immediately crawled inside and let out whoops of joy, nestling into the cushions and munching on their snacks. Riley followed them in and came face-to-face with Peter. Frowning, she looked over her shoulder at the empty entryway and then back at Peter. He shot her a wide smile.
“You can stop time,” she tried.
He scoffed and turned to his sisters.
“I’ll just keep trying until I get it right,” Riley said, settling into a comfortable position. This time, she was sure she saw him smile out of the corner of her eye.
“We should play a board game! What about ‘Which Witch’?” asked Lorna, giggling and sneaking glances at her sister, who was sighing and shaking her head.
“She just wants to play that game because there is a character in it called Wanda the Wicked,” Peter explained to Riley.
“I’m not wicked,” huffed Wanda.
“It’s just a character, silly,” said Lorna, patting her sister’s shoulder softly.
“Oh, is that why you insist on being Glenda the Good?” Wanda said, a tad bit sullenly.
“Well, I can’t possibly be Ghoulish Gertie!”
“No,” Wanda sniffed. “I suppose you can’t.”
“Exactly!” said Lorna. “Only Peter can be Ghoulish Gertie.”
“Hey!” Peter protested. “You see this?” He pointed to his silver jacket. “This is the opposite of ghoulish.” He looked toward Riley for support.
She shrugged. “If you say so.”
“I see what this is,” Peter said, pointing at the three of them accusatorily. “You’re ganging up on me.”
“As if,” Riley said, scoffing. She motioned for Wanda to get the board game and soon, the four of them had their tokens racing across the board. Peter had just won when the doorbell rang. Each of them jumped. Wanda drew back the opening of the blanket fort and they discovered to their astonishment that night had fallen.
Riley headed to the door and opened it to find Mrs. Maximoff.
“Mummy!” Lorna raced by Riley, launching herself at her mother. Mrs. Maximoff had been holding several bags of groceries and Riley watched in horror as the bags began to tumble to the ground as Mrs. Maximoff hurried to catch her daughter. However, Riley had nothing to fear for a second later, Lorna was safely in her mother’s arms and all the bags had been deposited on the kitchen table.
Mrs. Maximoff tensed, realising suddenly that Riley had seen that display of mutant power. Her eyes widened and Riley held up her hands in a placatory manner. “It’s okay. I’m a mutant too.”
Mrs. Maximoff’s mouth made an ‘O’ shape, as did Lorna and Wanda’s. So that’s where they got it from. Peter was next to her suddenly, peering at her with an indescipherable expression on his face.
“Well,” said Mrs. Maximoff, clearing her throat. “I’ll put the girls to bed. Peter, why don’t you walk Riley home?”
Before Peter could protest, Riley spoke up. “That’s alright. I can walk home by myself.”
“Nonsense, darling,” said Mrs. Maximoff. “It’s cold and it’s dark out. We couldn’t possibly let you go alone.”
Riley shot her a small smile and began to pull on her jacket and muffler and gloves and cap. When she turned around, Peter had replaced his regular silver jacket for a thick, larger silver jacket. Riley pressed her lips together to trap the laugh bubbling up her throat. He motioned to the door and she stepped outside.
She walked down the steps, then turned around, watching as Wanda and Lorna waved to her from their bedroom window on the first floor. She waved back, smiling and then walked out onto the sidewalk. Peter walked next to her, his shoulder bunched up to his ears in the cold.
“So,” Peter said, “you’re a mutant, too?
“Yeah,” Riley said, nodding. “I can detect other mutants.”
“Ah, that’s how you knew,” he said.
Riley’s eyebrows inched up her forehead. “Yup. And it had nothing to do with the fact that you used your powers multiple times over the past few hours.”
He let out a short bark of laughter. “Okay, I will allow you one last guess.”
She thought for a moment. He’d refuted all the most likely guesses but she did have one last option left, though it was pretty far-fetched. “Sorcerer?”
“Nope,” Peter said, grinning widely now. “Super-speed.”
She halted. “Super-speed?”
“Yep. I’m just really fast.” He appeared a little apprehensive for a moment, as if he was afraid she would find the ability laughable.
“That is …” She searched for a word. “So cool!”
Peter’s cheeks dusted a light pink. “Eh, it’s not much.”
“Dude, I can just tell when someone is a mutant which is a super lame power. Super-speed is awesome!”
Peter laughed lightly, glad that she didn’t think it was boring. “Thanks. So, detect any other mutants lately?”
“Well, there are your sisters.”
It was Peter’s turn to come to a halt. “Wanda and Lorna?”
“The energy I’m getting off of them? Wow. They’re super powerful. And the chances that all three of you are powerful mutants? One or both of your parents must be mutants.”
“Well, my mom isn’t. And I don’t know who my dad is.”
Riley regretted saying anything. “I’m sorry.”
“Nah, it’s fine. So, does that mean that my dad is a super powerful mutant?”
“Probably, yeah,” Riley said.
“Cool!” Peter grinned.
They’d reached Riley’s house now and they bore identical expressions on their faces - they wished the walk had lasted a little longer. But, nervous as Peter was around other kids his age, especially pretty girls his age, he’d begun to step back, ready to offer up a goodbye and race home.
But Riley looked at her feet, then up at the sky and then at Peter and asked, “Hey, would you want to hang out sometime? Like, when I’m not babysitting your sisters.” Already losing courage, she began to step back too. “Unless, you don’t want to. Because, really, there’s no pressure.”
“I’d love to.” The words were out of Peter’s mouth before he could think them through.
Her eyes softened and that day, for the first time in what would soon become a habit, Peter slowed down time so he could remember that moment forever - Riley, standing under the glow from the lamp lights and with the soft falling snow in her hair, looking at him in a way so few people ever had, as if they believed he was worth something. And he knew in his bones that if she let him, he would never let her go.