The past few months of school have been grinding along. The workload piled up and both Wanda and I were buried under work, and yet, amazingly she found the time to work on her writing. She was...amazingly resilient. In the few months that I've known her, Wanda had opened up like a flower in bloom and showed me a more confident version of herself. She was more open with her writing and even found a mentor to help her with her writing.

As the months passed, Wanda and I became closer. We weren't just roommates anymore, but friends, and I was glad to finally have someone like her outside of Bucky. But lately, whenever Wanda and I would hang out or talk, I felt...I don't even know; I couldn't describe it. I just felt...weird. She had this way with words that she always made me laugh, and her writing...oh my God. There were things that I felt when I read her works that I've never felt before. It was like she got me, understood everything that I felt and was able to put it on the page in a way that I never could.

She currently sat at her desk; computer open to different tabs of documents and she scrolled through each one, her eyes scanning across the lines of words. She let out a sigh and flipped to another different tab and looked it over, sighing again.

"Everything okay, Little Red?" I asked her, looking up from and pausing the episode of Family Guy that played on my computer. She looked over at me, blushing a little. I felt my face heat up at hearing the nickname I gave her. I always used it in my head, but never had the guts to say it out loud, and now it slipped out because of my carelessness. I mentally slapped myself. What the hell was I thinking? She probably thought I was a weirdo now who gave her weird nicknames.

"Yeah, it's just an applica—wait, what did you just say?" Wanda asked with a smile on her face and a darker blush on her cheeks. My face grew hotter and I felt nervous.

"Um...uh...God, I don't—um..."

"'Little Red?' Is that my nickname now?" She sent a smirk my way and raised her eyebrow in a playful manner.

"I mean, if you don't like it, I can probably come up with something better—"

"No! I—I love it," she said, cutting me off and hiding behind her hair, her deep scarlet blush peeking out from the strands of dark red hair. I grinned at her and looked down at my computer briefly. Then, she grabbed hers off her desk and carried it over as she moved to sit beside me on my bed. "Which one do you think I should submit?" she asked as she turned the computer towards me, letting me read through her different short stories.

They were all fantastic, and it was hard to choose one. Why did she have to make me choose one? I felt her green eyes watch me as I read her work. I couldn't choose one; I loved all of them. Each one was different but I loved the same things about them. I loved how she describes things and how they each create a beautiful mental picture. I loved her story-telling and her world building. I loved her character development. I loved the way she always watched me whenever I read her stories. I loved the way she hid her face and her blush in her hair when she was nervous or embarrassed. I loved the sound of her laugh. I loved...God what was I thinking? I couldn't think like this; Wanda's my friend, and she's the only one I've got. I can't ruin the one friendship I have because of whatever fleeting feeling of infatuation I have for her.

"So...what do you think? Which one should I pick?" she asked, playing with her rings. I handed her computer back to her and looked into her green eyes.

"I um...liked the mystery one. It's my favorite."

"That's my favorite one too," she said as she dropped her hand from her lap, lightly grazing my crossed thigh, a blush creeping up on her face, matching the heat that creeped up on mine. She finished the submission process, closed her computer, leaned back on my bed, resting her head against the wall. "Thanks Claire. For helping me. You're a good friend."

An aching pain spread through my chest and I frowned, but quickly got rid of it before she could see it and smiled.

"Thanks. You're a good friend too," I replied looking away. Did I...did I just see her look...sad? No, no it couldn't be that. I was just seeing wrong. Just a trick of the light or something.

○○○

Thank God that class is over! I've literally never been more bored in my whole life. Honestly, I hated math. It didn't help that I was really good at it, which only made the class seem even more tedious. Everything about this class is boring: the material, the students, the time, God. Even the professor was boring. I swear this guy has a multiple personality disorder in addition with anger issues. I packed up my stuff and slung my bag over my shoulders and left the room.

"Hey, wait!" a voice called out to me in the stairwell. I turned to see the very slim body of Natasha Romanoff running up behind me. Her short red hair bounced and glistened in the few rays of sunlight that streamed through the windows. She was wearing a red crop top and black skin-tight leggings. A smile was spread across her ruby red lips. She slowed to a stop in front of me, her black messenger bag hanging down against her hips, a large red hourglass like shape was painted on the flap.

"Oh hey Nat. What's up?" I asked, hitching my bag up on my shoulder more. Natasha's hand rested against the strap of her bag and rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically.

"Can you believe that class? I thought it would never end."

I scoffed. "Yeah. You know how hard it was for me to keep my eyes open? Dr. Banner really has it out for us, doesn't he?"

"I think he's just passionate. He's a good guy, though I will admit, he may not be the best teacher." Nat tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and waved me off. Her smile grew when Steve jogged up the stairs and stopped when he reached us.

"Privet detka (Hey baby)," he said, placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Privet detka." Natasha wrapped her arms around Steve's neck and pulled him close as she moved his lips to hers. "Ya skuchal po tebe (I missed you)."

"I missed you too." He kissed her again, and smirked when he pulled away. "Aren't you proud of me? I've been practicing."

Natasha chuckled and pinched his clean-shaven cheek and he closed his eyes at the contact.

"Of course I'm proud, moya lyubov' (my love)," she said. He pulled away kissed her once more on the cheek before he started to leave. "Lyublyu tebya (Love you)."

"Lyublyu tebya tozhe (Love you, too)," he called out to her as he went on his way to class. Natasha shook her head and giggled at his leaving form.

"He's such a dork. But I love him." Nat smiled at Steve's shrinking body dreamily and sighed heavily. I shook my head at her and pulled her along, leaving the building.

"So you really got him learning Russian?"

"No!" she exclaimed, giggling and patting my shoulder. "It was his idea. I'm just helping him when he needs it."

We walked down the leaf-covered street, basking in the autumn sunlight as we passed, and headed over to the library. We both had another class, but it wasn't for a while and neither of us felt like going back to our rooms. Placing our stuff down at a table near the back and away from other students, we sat down and sighed. Natasha took out her computer and began working on a paper while I looked over my planner, looking over my up-coming assignments.

"God, why do professors take it upon themselves to make my life a living hell?" I sighed, thrusting my head down on the wooden table on top of my planner. Natasha looked up at me and laughed.

"You have a lot of work?"

"Yeah...I have two papers due by the end of the week and an exam on Thursday," I groaned.

"I know what that feels like."

I groaned again and sat up, looking back over at my planner, mentally trying to organize my work schedule. If I start my English paper now, I could probably finish it tomorrow, which then I could start my History paper, and in between those, I can study for my math test on Friday. Ugghh...! I think I'm actually dying.

The doors in the front of the library opened, and the familiar red hair of Wanda rounded the corner and walked over to the reception desk. I didn't mean or try to stare at her as she walked behind the desk, sitting at the tall chair, but I couldn't turn away from her. Out of the corner of my eye, Natasha smirked at me and cleared her throat.

"Close your mouth, sweetie, you're starting to drool."

I snapped my head over to her and glared. She reached her hand up to her face and pointed to her chin. I wiped at my face and glared more as Nat's smirk grew.

"You know, most people consider staring to be rude. It also makes people uncomfortable," Nat said in a low suggestive voice.

"I wasn't staring," I fired back, "I was just...lost in thought."

Natasha hitched her eyebrow up, still smirking, and let out a laughing huff.

"Yeah. Okay, sure, babe. Whatever you say..."

"I mean it, Nat. I wasn't staring."

"And I believe you."

We were silent as we stared at each other, her ruby red smirk not going away. I huffed and looked down at my planner, reaching for my bag to pull out my English book and computer.

"She is cute, you know," she said under her breath.

○○○

We sat in the library for a while, working tirelessly on our endless list of assignments, and every so often, I would sneak a glance over in Wanda's direction. She continued to sit at the reference desk, reading a book and whenever a student came up with a question, she would close the book, push it aside, and smile brightly at them while helping them to the best of her ability.

I could feel Natasha's gray/green eyes burn into me whenever I looked over at the reference desk, silently judging me, though she never said anything. Wanda never caught me staring at her, and honestly, thank God! I already had Natasha condemning me, I didn't need Wanda joining in. After a few hours, Wanda gathered her stuff and left the desk and made her way over to our table. She stood in front of me and laid a gentle hand on my shoulder, catching my attention.

"Hey Claire, so I was about to head back to the room and order a pizza and was wondering if you wanted to some?" she asked in a gentle voice. A wave of heat spread over me and I felt the small beads of sweat form on my hairline and the back of my neck. Never did I imagine that I would like the sound of my name on her lips. The way her slight Eastern European accent rolled the "r" in my name just...did something to me. I...loved it. Wanda's cheeks flared up in a scarlet hue and she looked down and smiled, biting her lower lip.

I shook my head, bringing me back to reality and grinned at her. "Yeah. I would love some. Just let me know how much it is, and I'll pay you back."

"Don't worry about it," she said, waving me off, her blush still clearly evident. "It's my treat."

She smiled at me once more, waved to Natasha, and turned to leave. She took a few steps away from us before she looked back at me again.

"You want the usual?"

"Yeah, that's fine." She nodded and left.

I stayed in the library working for about another hour before I got the text from Wanda saying that the pizza had arrived. I gathered my stuff and said good-bye to Natasha before leaving the library and walking back to my dorm.

Opening the door, I immediately spotted Wanda sitting cross-legged on her bed, an open medium sized box of pizza sat in front of her with a small bottle of soda perched against her left knee. A similar sized box sat closed on my bed with a small Pepsi bottle sitting on it. A rerun episode of Family Guy played on my TV and I paused, watching it, trying to figure out what episode it was.

"I hope you don't mind—"

"Oh no, you're fine. I was just checking to see what episode it was."

Wanda smiled and picked up the remote, pressing the pause button to bring up the name of the episode and a brief synopsis. I laughed and walked further into the room, dropping my bookbag onto my desk chair and taking off my shoes.

"That's a good one," I said as I quickly got dressed into my pajamas and sat on my bed, opening up my pizza box. The greasy smell of pizza wafted into my nose and my stomach growled in response. It was then that I just realized that I hadn't really eaten anything all day. I picked up a slice and took a bite, the melted cheese stretching apart as I pulled the piece away with my teeth.

I groaned at the taste as my eyes rolled to the back of my head. "Jesus this is good." Wanda chuckled and dropped her half-eaten piece into her box and wiped her hands on a paper towel.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Thanks by the way. You didn't have to get me a whole pizza." She waved me off again and grabbed her piece again, taking another bite. We ate in a comfortable silence, neither one of us making a huge effort to talk. We just sat, ate, and watched the dumb cartoon that played.

"Since when do you watch this?" I asked her after a while. She looked over at me, licking her lips and swallowing before she answered.

"I haven't been watching long, but I saw you watching it, and it looked...mildly interesting."

I nodded my head and a took a sip of my soda, turning my eyes away from her pale unblemished face. My thoughts raged in my mind and my heart thumped loudly in my chest as Wanda's melodious laugh echoed in my ears, ringing in the deep crevices of my brain. Why the fuck was I acting like this? What was going on? What...changed? We were friends and we were fine, so...what happened? Did she feel this too? I don't even know what this was. It was like a...shift in the air or something? Things still seemed normal, but also different at the same time; she was friendly with me and we got closer each day, but something in me stirred and I saw her in a different light.

My heart fluttered whenever I heard her voice and my palms sweat when I saw her smile. Whenever I felt her touch me I went weak in the knees. The way her green eyes sparkled in the sunlight brightened up my day.

I could see her eyes move over at me from her side of the room, glancing back and forth between me, the TV, and her pizza. Her eyes would linger on me for only a second, and before I could meet her eyes and copy her movement, she would turn away, paying attention to the show on the TV. It was actually a little frustrating; why couldn't she just—I don't know—make a move? The air was becoming a little awkward now. I wanted to break the slight tension, only I didn't know how without making it worse by accidentally admitting my feelings (whatever they may be).

About two pizzas and an hour later, Wanda and I still shared fleeting glances at each other from across the room. Once, when our eyes connected accidentally, a light pink tint flushed in her cheeks and her eyes twinkled as she sent me a dorky smile. It was literally the cutest thing ever. God what is happening to me?

"Hey Claire?" Wanda's sweet and gentle voice said from across the room. I tossed my empty pizza box on top of my desk and turned to look at her. She sat in her bed, legs crossed under her, and her body turned to face me directly. She nibbled on her bottom lip and played with her rings while she had her head tilted downward as she looked between her lap and me. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah sure."

"It's kind of personal..."

"Wanda, you can ask me anything."

Wanda sighed and took a pause, twisting a simple silver band on her index finger around and around, even taking it off and putting it back on again a few times. She took in a deep breath and released it, trembling on the way out. Then, she looked over at me again.

"Okay. Well, call me crazy but, is it just me or did something...I don't know...change between us?"

I froze.

"Wh—What do you mean?" I bit the inside of my cheek. Was I not being as subtle as I thought? Did she notice me acting like a fucking weirdo? Could she somehow read my mind and see all the things that I thought about her when I saw her? I felt cold as her blush reddened, her eyes casting down to her lap, her fingers moving to play with a loose string from her sock.

"Well um...I don't know, to be honest. Something just feels different? Like a shift of some kind?"

"Wanda, I don't really know what you're getting at," I said, looking away from her and gazing back at the TV. Wanda was silent for a moment before I heard the shuffling sound of her getting off her bed. She crossed the room and took a seat on my bed next to me, crossing her legs like before. Her piercing green eyes locked with my blue ones and I was screaming on the inside. Her right hand was gently brushing against my knee and I wasn't sure if this was a purposeful thing or just where she decided to place her hand, but it killed me that she had no idea what she was doing to me.

"Claireareyougay?"

My face scrunched up in confusion. What did she just say? Did...did she have a stroke or something?

"What?"

She sighed. "Claire...areyougay?"

There it was again. What is happening here?

"Wanda, what the fuck are you saying?"

"CLAIRE ARE YOU GAY?!"

I froze again and my eyes widened. It was a mix of the shock of the question and the fear at the force in which she asked it. I shook my head after a moment and waved my hand in front of her face.

"Okay. There's a lot to unpack here and we don't have to unpack it all. First of all, we're right here; you don't have to yell—"

"But you weren't answering me..."

"I couldn't hear you. You were mumbling the whole time." Wanda pouted and crossed her arms. "Second of all, are you seriously asking me this? It's been literal months."

"You never said anything..."

"You never gave me the chance. I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't let me." I heard my voice raise slightly, and by the time I realized it, it was too late to stop it. Wanda looked down at the floor, frowning just the tiniest bit. My face and voice softened as I hesitantly brushed my hand against hers. "I'm sorry. I just...Yes. I'm gay. I'm an 18-year-old bisexual woman who has an almost unhealthy obsession with pizza, wolves, and—" I stopped myself. I almost told her I was obsessed with her. God, I'm such a creep. "Comedy. Those are the things I'm obsessed with. Pizza, wolves, and comedy." Nailed it!

Wanda giggled and flinched her hand, fully brushing it against mine, almost as if she was trying to hold it. I wished she would.

"Why...why do you ask?"

Wanda played with her rings again, once more nibbling on her bottom lip.

"Because...um...well you know about me, so...I don't—" she cut herself off. Her hands flailed as she tried to gesture the words that she wasn't saying and her face contorted more and more into uncertainty and frustration.

"I don't get what this," I flailed my hands, mocking her, "is. What are you trying to say?"

"Claire? How do you know when...you like someone?"

My mouth pressed in a thin line and I nodded my head. On the inside, I was...a little relieved, I guess. Partially because there was a hint, a chance that she felt something for me. But on the outside, on the outside I didn't know how to respond. She stared at me, waiting for an answer and I only looked down at her ringed fingers folded in her lap.

"I—I don't know if I know how to answer that," I told her honestly.

"Well...Claire...I think I like you," she said in a low voice, her face erupting in a deep scarlet blush, engulfing her entire face.

I couldn't breathe. What did she just say? What did she just say? What did she just say? What did she just say? What. Did. She. Just. Say???

"Wait, what did you just say?" I asked, probably looking like a fool. And sounding like one too, Jesus Christ!

"I like you, Claire. I have for a while I think, I've just been too scared to say anything in case you didn't feel the same way or if you weren't...you know."

I couldn't help the dorky grin that spread across my face at hearing her words. She...liked me? Genuinely liked me? Like, liked me liked me. I can't believe it. This has to be a trick or something. A dream perhaps? There's no way that this is real.

Wanda's green eyes continued to look at me, searching my face for any indication of my own thoughts and feelings. My heart pounded against my ribcage, screaming to be let out. My palms started to sweat and my whole body felt hot and sweaty. Wanda's chest rose and fell quicker than what seemed to be normal and her hands started to shake. I could hear her breathing quicken and tremble with each breath and concern flooded through me.

"Wanda, are you okay?"

She didn't answer me and got off the bed and started pacing the room. Her hands were fully shaking and her breathes were more shallow and shorter, coming out like a wheeze. In the light, I saw the tears streaming down her face that only increased with her erratic breathing. I jumped off the bed and moved over to her, grasping her by the shoulder to steady her in case she eventually passed out.

"Hey, are you okay? Tell me what's wrong?"

She continued to breathe heavily, fanning her hand in front of her face to stop the tears, but it only made it worse. Her body doubled over from the lack of adequate air, and I grabbed her arms and carefully lowered her to the floor, laying her down and resting her head in my lap. I didn't know what was happening, and it had me worried. Her hands gripped onto the sleeve of my shirt tightly, her knuckles turning white. My free hand ran through her auburn hair, carefully detangling the knots that had formed.

Eventually, she calmed down enough to steady her breathing and the tears stopped. A few minutes after, she let go of my sleeve. I continued to run my fingers through her hair, selfishly gaining pleasure from it, and also took my recently freed hand and rubbed her back. Her breathing had gone back to normal, only she would shudder after a few odd breaths, and she had stopped shaking.

"It's gonna be okay, Wanda. It's okay," I muttered to her as I continued to rub her back and play with her hair. It was softer than I imagined. She was softer than I imagine—not that I'm focused on that.

"Thank you," she mumbled, her voice low and drowsy. I looked down and saw her eyelids flutter as she fought to stay awake. I relaxed my tense face and smiled sweetly at her. She was just...so cute.

"It's no problem, Little Red."

My smile brightened when I saw a quick smile flash on her face. We sat like this for a few more minutes, me just enjoying the feeling of having Wanda lay in my lap and her still recovering from her...panic attack?

Not too long after—though too short for me—Wanda sat up, taking her head out of my lap. I suddenly felt cold at the lack of contact, though I tried to not let my disappointment show. She sent me a tired smile and placed her hand on my knee.

"Are you okay?" I asked her gently, afraid to set her off again. She just nodded and shook her head and leaned back against her bed.

I shuffled closer to her and looked down at my fingers, playing with them as my nerves set in. I so desperately wanted to tell Wanda how I felt and that I liked her too (probably longer than she liked me), but...I was too scared. I know how she felt, at this point that much was clear, it was just, what if things between us didn't work out? I never felt this strongly about another person as I did with her, and honestly, these feelings scared me. Wanda was sweet, kind, gentle, innocent, and I didn't want to wreak the sweet friendship we had; not to mention that she was my only friend.

I took a deep breath, mentally prepped myself for this strange endeavor, cleared my throat and said, "Wanda?"

She opened her eyes and looked over at me. "Hmm?"

I bit my lower lip and felt my nerves start to get the best of me. I wanted to do it, but I couldn't. Now wasn't the time. It didn't feel right; I didn't feel right. Wanda raised a brow at me, silently waiting for me to continue, though she sensed my hesitation and caressed my kneecap with her thumb. Oddly enough, the gesture was soothing, though I still couldn't get the necessary words out. I didn't want to turn away now and go back into the closet of my feelings, but...how could I just come out say how I felt? How could she do it?

I sighed and placed my hand on top of hers, catching her off guard a little, and did the only thing that I could think of. Quickly before I lost whatever burst of confidence I had, I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers. Wanda's eyes widened and for a moment she just sat frozen as our lips connected, erupting in a debilitating series of explosions and tingles and reverberated throughout my body. Wow! No kiss ever felt like that.

It only lasted a few seconds and when I pulled away, Wanda's face was as red as my hair and her eyes were still wide with surprise. Slowly she reached a hand up and touched her lips and stared at me. I looked away, feeling...ashamed. I moved too quickly. I went too fast. There was no way that she was ready for th—

Before I knew it, Wanda's lips were back on mine, kissing me with such a ferocity and hunger that I never expected from her. Her slender arms snaked around the back of my neck and she used the leverage to pull herself into my lap, wrapping her legs around my waist, straddling me. My hands instinctively moved to the backs of her thighs, carefully gripping the soft skin. Without thinking about it, my thumbs softly caressed her, enjoying the pleasant feel of her velvet like softness, which elicited a soft moan from her as she deepened the kiss. I smiled against her lips and pressed my thumbs deeper into the skin of her thighs as I felt her hands leave my neck and tangle themselves in my long curly locks, tugging slightly.

Eventually, we had to stop and break for air, and to my displeasure, Wanda broke the kiss and pulled away from me slightly, keeping her arms in my hair and her legs around my waist. Her cheeks were still red and her lips were a little swollen and she teasingly chewed on her bottom lip as she stared into my eyes. She let out a breathless chuckle and dipped her head down, breaking our eye contact and causing her hair to fall in front of her face like a curtain. I laughed a little and took a hand off her thigh and moved it up to carefully drape the fallen strands behind her ear.

She looked back up at me, an innocent smile plastered on her slightly swollen lips, her eyes sparkling with something new. My heart melted at the sight of this woman—this woman who I would die for—sitting in front of me.

"Did you do that for me or..."

I laughed and shook my head at her.

"Jesus Wanda Maximoff. You certainly are quite the oblivious person."

She raised a challenging brow at me while I laughed again and leaned in once more, planting a quick peck against her burning cheek.

"I like you, too."