Deal With It

The Downfall of Wanda Maximoff

Wanda tried to be quiet as she walked down the familiar stairs of her home. Natasha was peacefully asleep upstairs in Wanda's bed, which was still a fact she was trying to grasp even though it happened fairly frequently. Natasha and Wanda had sleepovers almost every weekend since they became such close friends. They had always slept in the same bed during these sleepovers, but only recently had Wanda's brain started short-circuiting with the close proximity. She had tried to rid herself of all the feelings that stirred whenever Natasha was just a bit too close. Wanda knew that her feelings didn't have a single chance of being returned. However, no matter how hard she tried to suppress them, they would not budge. It felt like Wanda was stuck in a game she could never win. No matter what move Wanda made, she would always end up being the one who suffered. If she confessed, Natasha would never see her the same again and their entire relationship would fall apart. But if Wanda kept all of her feelings to herself, she was worried she'd crumble underneath all of the pressure. Wanda decided that keeping everything to herself was the only plausible solution and that if she tried hard enough, she could just forget about the feelings.

"Hey, what are you doing up this early?" Natasha asked, sleep tainting her words. Wanda froze and quickly turned off the spicket.

"I was just getting some water," Wanda turned around to face the redhead, a slight blush painting her face- she looks so pretty like this. Wanda shook her head in an attempt to clear it of all the thoughts of her friend clouding her mind. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

Natasha let out a soft laugh, "No, don't worry. I did want to ask you a question, though." Wanda felt panic immediately flood all of her senses. "What if she knows? Did someone figure it out and tell her? Is this the end of our friendship? I'm not ready to lose her yet..." Wanda couldn't stop these thoughts from coming to the forefront of her mind.

"Yeah, um what's up?" was all Wanda could come up with while her brain was telling her to get the hell out of there and never look back. Natasha put her chin in her hand and twirled her hair looking as innocent as she possibly could, without realizing the heart attack she was going to give Wanda.

"I was just wondering if you've been okay lately? You seem really distracted." Wanda swallowed and tried her best not to look as worried as she felt. Natasha reached out across the counter in an attempt to hold Wanda's hand, but Wanda quickly picked up her water to avoid the contact. "And jumpy." Natasha added with a slight frown, although Wanda didn't notice. "Are you sure you're getting enough sleep?" Concern plagued Natasha's face as she awaited Wanda's answer.

"Yeah, of course! I'm fine." Wanda hoped her voice wasn't as meek as it sounded in her head.

Natasha looked at Wanda skeptically as she asked "Are you sure? You know, you can always tell me anything. I won't ever judge you. You're my best friend." There was that word Wanda had come to hate- friend. It only reminded her of the fact that she would never be anything more than a friend to Natasha. Wanda hated feeling helpless, yet that was all she felt right now.

"I don't know what you want me to say." Wanda answered. She took the seat next to Natasha and looked into her eyes. This time, when Natasha reached for her hand, Wanda didn't pull away.

"I want you to tell me the truth. I just want to know what's been bothering you. You've seemed... a little distant lately." The next time Natasha spoke, Wanda could barely hear it. "I can't tell if you're only avoiding me," she admitted.

Wanda enclosed Natasha in a hug, trying hard not to cry. "It isn't you." Wanda reassured her. "It's me"

Natasha pulled back so that she could see Wanda's face. "What do you mean, 'it's you'?"

"Can we just drop this for now?" Wanda pleaded. She did not want to make an elaborate excuse as to why she was acting like this. It would only lead to more lies and spin her into even more of a mess.