Chasing Ghosts | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 106: Lavender Haze

Technically, Maya is not old enough to drive in the state of New York (she has to be 16) but for the sake of the story, we're ignoring that :)

March 5, 2028

Maya

Maya loved being at Camila's house. Her grandparents were immigrants from Mexico, and so their fiery, Latino attitudes had been passed down the generations. It meant a lot of Spanish yelling, and absolute chaos if the whole family was home; the complete opposite from Maya's own house, where everything was quiet and peaceful.

That's why she liked it so much. In small doses, that is, because Camila's mom kept offering her food, and her older sister and younger brother knew no boundaries. They included her in everything, smothered her in hospitality, and had said the phrase, ''any friend of Camila's is a member of the family'', more often than Maya could count.

She could best describe it as a warm bath. Nice for a while, until the pressure of the water made her tight-chested and she needed to get out. Usually, that happened after dinner, because they always put down an extra plate without asking and made her eat with them.

Her V8 engine rumbled lowly as it rolled onto the driveway of the suburban home. When Maya told Katya that she wanted a classic car instead of a brand-new Audi, the brunette nearly had a heart attack. Her hand had shot to her chest while Natasha gripped her shoulder to stabilize her, grinning as she did so.

But in the end, the 1968 Mustang convertible made sense for her. Maya was an old soul. And Katya had made peace with the fact. For now.

With one last, deep breath, Maya pulled her keys from the contact and got out, swinging her overnight bag over her shoulder and shaking her curls out of her face. Natasha helped her style them, spending an hour after school washing and diffusing until they fell in tight, even spirals around her head. She never had her hair loose, and it felt unusual, odd, but if she wanted to look nice for a certain blonde tonight, it's what she would deal with.

Yes, she had made more effort than usual. She even put on some lip gloss and applied an extra coat of mascara, but nobody needed to know that.

''You're here! Come in, come in. We were waiting for you.'' The excitement for her party had made Camila more hyper than usual, causing Maya to nearly stumble as she got pulled into the house. She was early to help set up, but it seemed most of it was already done, balloons and flag lines hanging everywhere. Music played from a speaker she couldn't spot so quickly. ''Your hair looks so nice! You should wear it loose more often.''

''It's annoying. Keeps getting in my face.'' Maya kicked off her shoes and threw her overnight bag down by the stairs, flipping her hair out of the way for what felt like the millionth time tonight, as if it wanted to emphasize her point. When she looked up, Camila had already disappeared from the hallway, too restless to wait. It made her chuckle as she followed suit, glad she remembered to put on non-embarrassing socks. ''Did your family already leave?''

''Yep!'' Camila called from the... kitchen? How fast was this girl? ''It's just you, me, and–''

''Me.'' Harper popped up from behind the refrigerator door with what looked like a bowl of dip in her hands, kicking the door shut with her foot. Her easy smile had Maya smiling too. It was too contagious.

''Hey!'' To her absolute delight, Harper wore the pants she bought for her. ''You look really nice.''

Harper opened her mouth to respond, but Camila didn't give her time to.

''No time to talk! Loads to do. Vamos! Let's get moving!'' She clapped her hands and once again raced off somewhere, stomping down the basement staircase. Probably to get more snacks.