Evening Preparations – The Day of the Dance
"Hey! I'm not mean at all. Did Pietro say something about me again?" Wanda huffed, arms crossed, brow furrowed.
"If he keeps running his mouth, I'll cast a nose-itching jinx on him during the dance and make sure he humiliates himself in front of Kitty."
Even as she fumed, there was a trace of childishness in her anger. Pietro had a way of ruining the image she worked so hard to maintain in front of Mark.
"Oh? So Pietro has a thing for Kitty?" Mark arched an eyebrow, a flicker of amusement crossing his face. Kitty Pryde was four years older than Pietro, which only made the situation more entertaining.
Wanda sighed, throwing her brother under the bus without hesitation.
"Yeah. He even confessed to her. But Kitty said he was too young and turned him down on the spot."
After airing her grievance, she grabbed Mark's arm and gave it a small, desperate shake. "Mark, you have to help me tonight. If I mess up during the dance, Pietro will never let it go."
"Alright," Mark relented with a sigh. "But don't expect anything fancy. I'm not exactly a skilled dancer."
Wanda lit up instantly. A clear win.
"By the way," he added, running a hand through his hair,
"How's your power training going?"
"I can levitate objects up to a hundred pounds now!" she said proudly, chin lifted.
That gave Mark an idea. He turned toward her with a thoughtful look. "Try something for me. Not levitation. I want you to spread pressure across my body evenly, pressing downward. Like increasing gravity."
Wanda tilted her head, puzzled, but complied. Scarlet threads of chaotic energy shimmered from her palms and surrounded him. Mark's body dipped slightly under the weight.
"Huh. That actually feels pretty effective."
It was different from any weighted training he'd done before. Where typical resistance training worked his muscles, this pressure touched everything bones, lungs, organs, mimicking the gravitational compression he'd always hoped to simulate with specialized equipment.
"It's still not strong enough" he murmured. "But if I could enhance her chaos magic somehow... maybe with the Mind Scepter or a similar artifact... it could replicate a full gravitational training system."
The idea lodged itself firmly in his mind.
Still lost in thought, he looked up and said casually, "Since I'm helping you tonight... maybe you could return the favor?"
Wanda blinked. His tone had softened unexpectedly, and the way he rested his hands lightly on her shoulders made her heart skip. "Um... sure? What do you need?"
"Well, I was thinking you could come by at night for about an hour or so, and we—"
He didn't get to finish.
"No!" she blurted, cheeks suddenly flushed. "That's way too fast! I thought we'd maybe take a walk first or—"
Flick.
She flinched as he gently thumped her forehead.
"What are you imagining?" Mark asked dryly.
"I meant training. Like just now. You help me get stronger, and you improve your control. One hour a night. That's all."
"Oh... right..." Wanda mumbled. Her blush deepened, this time laced with disappointment. So much for romance. It was always about training with him. Training, strategy, focus.
Still, she nodded. "Fine. Deal."
As she turned to leave, she paused at the door and looked over her shoulder.
"Since you already agreed to be my partner... if anyone else asks"
"Relax," he replied with a wave.
"I'm not going anywhere before the dance. And I'm not interested in dancing with anyone else."
"Good," Wanda said with a small smile.
"If any girls ask, I'll just tell them you're already taken."
She walked off with a light bounce in her step.
But the moment she rounded the corner, a petite girl rushed up and blocked her way. "Well? Did your brother say yes? Will he be my partner for the dance?"
She was one of Wanda's classmates, smitten with the older, aloof student who trained on school grounds every day. Wanda, being his sister, seemed like the perfect bridge to a fairy-tale romance.
Wanda put on a look of regret. "I asked him, but he said he's focusing on mastering his powers and isn't interested in dating until after graduation. So… he asked me, his sister, to be his partner instead. I'm really sorry."(T/N: Evil)
The girl's face fell. "Oh... well, thanks anyway. Here's the lipstick I promised you."
She handed over a brand-new, high-end lip gloss, which Wanda pocketed without hesitation.
And she wasn't done yet.
Girl after girl stopped her in the hallway, all with the same hopeful question. One by one, Wanda gave the same carefully crafted excuse. In return, she collected an assortment of thank-you gifts, sweets, nail polish, even a limited-edition charm bracelet.
By the time she reached her room, her arms were full and her mood was smug. "You really think you can compete with me?"
Just as she was about to turn the knob, another boy stepped in her path. This one had messy dark hair and a nervous glint in his eye.
"Wanda… would you do me the honor of dancing with me tonight?"
Without missing a beat, Wanda raised her hand. Scarlet light flickered from her fingers.
"Scram."
The boy ran off.
It wasn't that she lacked admirers. Far from it, half the boys at school lined up for a glance from her. But in Wanda's eyes, they were all the same, immature, thoughtless, forgettable.
Mark was different.
He was focused. Talented. Unshakable. And even if they weren't related by blood, they had grown up together. Her feelings had grown in the quiet spaces between training sessions, fleeting glances, and shared silences.
If anyone was going to win Mark's heart, it would be her.
He might not care much about romance yet, but she wasn't about to let anyone else get close.
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Later that night, right at ten o'clock, Mark finished his magic training and changed into something more formal. Adjusting his collar and brushing off his sleeves, he stepped out into the hallway.
He wasn't thinking about the girls chasing after him.
He was thinking about the food.
The sizzling barbecue from the last bonfire, corn slathered in butter, and cinnamon pastries that melted in your mouth. The thought made him hum under his breath as he walked.
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Hey guys, I was playing with the idea of writing my own fan-fic, I've posted the first chapter on patreon, It's free and is going to stay that way unitll I feel like publishing it here on webnovel. it's based on DB one of my favorite animes. Please let me know what you think about it, what you think I should change and if you would like to see this published.
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patreon.com/Lonely_Translator
Chapter 57 on patreon
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