chapter six ; leonor fini

"Does this look okay?" Maggie asked as she climbed into the pick up truck, a nervous expression on her face. Her father glanced over from the driver's seat, where he was reaching out the window to adjust the wing mirror. She wore a teal shirt that was tucked into a pair of denim jeans, pulled together by a black belt. In her arms was a denim jacket, to which he smiled at. 

"Double denim?" He asked, and she fiddled with the button on the overcoat. He patted her head, chuckling. "You look great, kiddo. Now, we need to head off if we wanna make it there on time."

Maggie sighed softly, beginning to fiddle with the stereo system, altering the volume of her dad's Creedence CD so that it filled the front seats comfortably. The teenager rested against the seat as the vehicle began moving down the street, towards what she thought would be her doom. It wasn't like she hated socialising, it was just that she wasn't very good at it. This was her father's boss she'd have to dine with, what if she messed up? Got her dad in trouble? The churning in her stomach hadn't stopped all day, and it only intensified when they pulled up outside one of the nicest houses she'd ever seen. 

"Wow," she whispered, leaning towards the windscreen as Edward parked the truck, her eyes wide in awe. "Nice place."

"I know, right?" Her dad chuckled, pulling the keys out and pushing them into the pocket of his jeans. He adjusted his glasses, having swapped his contacts for them, and straightened out his dress shirt. "Adrien does well for himself. C'mon kid, let's get inside."

Maggie swallowed nervously, before nodding and opening the door. She stepped out into the cold night air, wrapping her arms around herself and trailing after Edward, who marched enthusiastically towards the front door. Her heart was pounding and her chest felt tight, but she knew there was no backing out of it. 

About a moment after Edward knocked on the large door, it swung open to reveal a smiling face.

This must be Adrien, Maggie thought as she plastered a polite smile onto her lips. He was tall and had a wrinkled face -- not really what she had expected. His hair was balding and his smile was wide as he shook hands with her father. "Edward, glad you made it!"

"Thanks for inviting us," Edward grinned charmingly, his exhaustion hidden by his brilliant social skills. Maggie couldn't relate whatsoever, though she tried her best when she was gestured to. "This is my daughter, Magnolia."

"Magnolia, that's a nice name," Adrien said kindly, reaching to shake Maggie's hand as well, which she did without hesitance. She hoped her palm wasn't too clammy, as she had been wringing her hands since she left the apartment. She thanked him softly as she pulled away, watching anxiously as he stepped to the side and let them inside. "Please, come in."

"You have an amazing home, Adrien," Edward complimented, staring around the expensive house in astonishment, both him and Maggie taking in the lavish and modern furniture and artwork. Adrien waved his hand as if to modestly dismiss the comment, leading the Prince's into the kitchen, where a tall, dark haired lady was speaking to Liz, who was wearing a pretty blue dress and white heels. Maggie suddenly felt more insecure of what she was wearing at the sight of the Senior student. "Evening, Doris!"

"Ah, Edward!" The woman, Doris, exclaimed, rushing over to greet Maggie's dad with open arms. What she wasn't expecting was for the mother to embrace her as well, the interaction brief but friendly. "You must be Magnolia! Aren't you gorgeous?!"

"Thank you, Mrs Toomes," Maggie smiled shyly, and Doris dismissed the title with a grin. 

"Call me Doris, sweetheart," she responded, stepping back to the kitchen bench and picking up her oven gloves so that she could take out the casserole in the oven. "I'm so happy you two could make it, Adrien's been saying how great you've been doing in the job, Edward!"

"It's challenging work, but it's worth it," Edward smiled, accepting a low alcohol beer from Adrien, seeing as he was driving home later that night. "It's all thanks to you though, Adrien. I don't have enough words to tell you how much you've done for Maggie and I."

"Don't mention it," Adrien chuckled, shrugging modestly. "Liz, why don't you get Magnolia a drink while we set the table?"

"Sure," Liz smiled, pushing herself from where she was leaning against the bench, circling around her mother and going to the refrigerator. She glanced over at the fidgety Maggie, who inched forward slightly. "We've got lemonade, coke, apple juice, beer and water."

"Oh, uh, water's fine," Maggie said quietly, so Liz poured her the drink and handed it over with a charming smile. "Thanks."

Ten minutes later, the two families were seated around the large dinner table, the adults laughing about something Maggie hadn't been listening to. The food was incredible, and she was mostly focused on trying not to eat it too quickly. R.E.M played softly from the speaker system which she unconsciously tapped her foot to, recognising the tune of Nightswimming. 

"So, Magnolia, any plans for the future?" Doris asked warmly, a genuinely interested expression upon her face. Maggie froze slightly as she realised she was being addressed, and gripped her cutlery a little tighter as she looked up to see all eyes on her. 

Edward nudged her side as Maggie's lips seemed to move, but nothing came out. She straightened up slightly and shifted in her seat, clearing her throat. "Oh, uh, I was hoping to go into something in the arts? Possibly a restorer or a gallery curator."

"She's a brilliant artist, she's always got a pencil in her hand," Edward chuckled, and Maggie flushed slightly, shaking her head in a dismissive matter. 

"Maybe one day we'll see your work in one of the galleries," Adrien piped up, and there were hums of agreement around the table. Maggie chuckled bashfully and poked around at her dinner, not knowing what to say. 

"Maybe," she responded, plastering an awkward smile on her face.

"Are you going to the homecoming dance in a few weeks?" Doris continued to try and connect with the young girl. It was somewhat comforting, but at the same time, Maggie didn't like the spotlight. "Liz said you had signed up for the committee."

"Yeah, I did," Maggie nodded, her voice soft as she glanced over at the smiling Liz. "I think I might go, it sounds like a lot of fun."

"We have our first meeting this Wednesday," Liz spoke, a twinge of excitement in her voice. The future valedictorian clearly loved planning things, as it brought joy to both her and other people.  "I'm thinking a retro sort of theme, what do you think? I already have some note sin my binder upstairs."

"Well, if you two would like to be excused from the table, that's fine," Doris offered, her eyes flickering between the two teenagers. "Magnolia, would you like anything else to eat?"

"Oh, I'm fine, thank you," Maggie smiled, placing her fork back Into her almost empty bowl. Doris nodded, before nodding at Liz, giving her permission to leave. Liz stood up and reached across the table to pick up Maggie's bowl, smiling as she tilted her head in the direction of the door so that they could hang out. Maggie exhaled nervously and felt her dad squeeze her wrist encouragingly before she left. 

"You don't talk a whole lot, do you?" Liz noted as she placed the bowls in the dishwasher. It had been relatively silent between them, as Maggie didn't know what to say and Liz didn't feel the need to speak. Maggie shrugged, causing the senior to chuckle. "Why don't I show you the homecoming stuff? You could pitch in a few design ideas, you know, since your dad said you like art."

"Oh, uh, sure," Maggie nodded, trudging behind the taller girl as she was lead up the stairs. "You have a really nice place."

"Thanks, I'm having a party next week, you should come!" Liz offered, grinning over her shoulder as they entered her bedroom. It was incredibly large, and surprisingly tidy for someone as busy as her. Her desk had piles of notes on top and her walls were covered with various events for her extra curricular activities (as well as a large poster of Harry Styles). Everything was in place and perfect, though Maggie didn't expect anything less from the stellar student.

Liz trailed over to her bedside table, where a dark blue binder sat with a small amount of notes inside. The girl picked it up and opened it, dropping to the ground and crossing her legs as she did so. Maggie followed suit instead of awkwardly hanging around, tucking her feet away as she waited patiently for words to be spoken. 

"So, I drew up a couple of sketches for posters, what do you think?" Liz turned the binder around so that Maggie could see it, and it was a good start. A pencil was pushed into her line of sight and she hesitantly reached for it, not sure how to start. 

"These are really good," she said softly, tapping the pencil on her knee as she looked over them. "How many were you thinking of making?"

"Around fifteen," Liz responded, and Maggie gulped. "We're gonna need at least one in most of the halls, one in the cafeteria and another by the changing rooms. Do you have any more ideas?"

Maggie hummed softly and began to draw a sample banner, her mind beginning to tick like it always did. Soon, she was creating something that made a grin grow on Liz's face. It was fascinating, watching Maggie work -- it was clear this was what she was meant to do. The way the pencil flew across the paper effortlessly, and the concentrated on Maggie's face was enchanting, as if creating art calmed her completely.

"Magnolia, this is amazing!" Liz exclaimed as Maggie put the tool down, tilting her head to assess what she had done. Underneath the bold READY 4 HOMECOMING? were a series of flowers with crowns and tickets sticking out within them. Maggie planned for the poster to be a soft blue, the garden below a variety of greens and whites. Liz pointed to one of the prominent flowers. "What kind of flower is that?"

"It's me," Maggie smiled softly. "A magnolia. I'm not very good at drawing roses, and I've been doing these since I was a kid. I-Is it okay?"

"It's perfect," Liz nodded brightly, picking up the binder and looking closer at the fine detail. "You're amazing! I wish I could draw, but it was never really my thing. My dad still has all the old pictures I used to do of the Avengers, you know, after the alien attack? They were my heroes, I really loved Black Widow and Thor."

"What do you think about Spider-Man?" Maggie decided to ask, watching as Liz's smile grew. 

"I think he's great," she responded happily. "I've seen all the videos on YouTube and I just, ugh! I wonder what he looks like under the mask. Don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Maggie unconsciously began to pick at her frayed jeans, finding something to do with her hands without a pencil in them. "Maybe he's just a kid like us, wouldn't that be cool?"

"Totally! You know, if I were Spider-Man, I'd hate having to lie to my parents about going out all the time," Liz chuckled, closing the binder and placing it back on her bed. "And imagine all the work you'd have to do -- school, saving the world -- it seems like a handful."

Maggie nodded in agreement, feeling herself grow a little lighter as Liz continued to ramble on about Spider-Man and all the other heroes in New York. It made her job of being anti-social a whole lot easier. 

Only three more hours to go. 

★☆

really short and bad update but here we go!!! i'm sorry for taking so long to post again, but i really want to get maggie perfect, and usually that doesn't work unless i'm in the right moOoOod (i hate myself too) -- but maggie is so dear to me and i couldn't do her dirty :((

anyway, tell me what you thought and if it was bad or not lmao i love me some validation and feedback x