3

Fully determined to confront Wanda later that day after your shift, you were surprised to find her crying upon arriving on your floor, sitting on the foot of the stairs like a lost child.

Her arms were wrapped around her legs as she buried her head in her knees, body wracking in soft sobs. The sight of her looked so sad that the noise complaint interrogation you were supposed to do was thrown out of the window, completely forgotten, completely forgiven.

"Hey, what's wrong?" you tried to console her, carefully approaching so as not to startle the brunette. The last thing you wanted was to be reported again as a creeper, who couldn't leave her neighbors alone and let them mind their own business.

When she noticed you, Wanda quickly wiped the tears from her face with her hands, shakily standing up from the floor.

"Nothing's wrong," she croaked out a reply as she turned her back at you. The brunette was being stubborn. You knew it should irritate you and make you give up on trying to be good, but you had spent your entire day having to use the stairs to get to your office, which was on 12th floor, just to avoid your persistent ex-girlfriend Yelena. So, Wanda ignoring you was just easy peasy.

She hurriedly slip through her door then clicked it shut, knowing you were following her. You walked towards her door and hesitated to knock. Would you risk getting another warning tomorrow?

You could hear her faint sniffling behind the door, figuring out she was still waiting for you to leave the hallway and enter your aparment. Mentally slapping yourself for sounding so forward, you offered, "I bought extra Chinese food takeout... If... If y-you want to join me in my apartment, you're welcome to..."

What you said made Wanda stop crying, as if she hadn't expected you stayed outside her door. Deciding to give her space, you then went to your own unit.

Once you entered your apartment and turned on the light switch, you let out a tired sigh as you stared at the empty room. You were used to living alone with no one waiting for you after work, for two years before you bumped into Yelena at some Halloween party one of Steve's friends hosted one time. You were wearing Ted's iconic Hanging Chad costume from your favorite series, and she was the only girl who guessed it right and even wrote her phone number on it. It was a mistake that you decided to send her a message the following day.

After changing into your most comfortable clothes, then turning on the television and hitting the Continue Watching on the How I Met Your Mother series icon, you spread the takeout order you brought on the center table in front of you.

Eating alone was underrated, even at restaurants. It would never get you embarrassed, there was nothing wrong with solitude and the peace that came with it. You would've had your dinner outside but Yelena kept on going to your favorite places to eat, knowing you'd surely be eating there. So you did what you had to do for the time being.

As you were about to swallow one fried dumpling into your mouth, there was a sudden knock on the door. You froze, face turning towards the doorway, wondering if it was from yours that you heard or it could be from your other neighbors'.

Another knock made its way to your ears and when you realized it was coming from your door, your chest constricted. The possibility of Wanda on the other side flashed through your head. No. It couldn't be her.

When you finally peered through the peephole, it was indeed Wanda, the girl next door, your crush next door, the one who reported you for being too loud. You immediately opened the offending barrier and saw the brunette with puffy eyes already dry and a forced smile on her face. She wrapped her arms around herself, making herself so small, you just wanted to hug her. "I... is.. is the o-offer still open?"

Remembering why she was there, you opened the door wider and gestured for her to enter. "Yes, Wanda... Of course... Please come in. You're welcome here anytime. I promise I'm not some serial killer or something..."

She let out a nervous chuckle as she cautiously stepped inside your apartment, eyes quickly scanning around the foreign place. "I like what you did with the bookshelf."

Then you followed her gaze on the makeshift bookshelf you made out of empty drawers you took from Steve's when he threw out his desk. You smiled, nodding back. "Yeah, I couldn't really let them go to waste, you know... Although, if I'd have the time, I'd also paint them something darker."

You then gestured for Wanda to sit on the couch as you headed towards the kitchen. "Please come sit. I'll get you some plate... do you watch How I Met Your Mother, too?" You pointed towards the television, which showed a paused episode where Lily broke up with Marshall to follow her dream of becoming an artist.

She shook her head as she finally took a seat on the couch. "What is it?"

You snorted as you walked back to the living room, placing additional dinnerware on the center table for her. "Only the best series there is other than Friends and The Big Bang Theory."

You sat beside her, giving her a reasonable space for her not to feel suffocated. Then you began as you gave her her plate, "Just take what you like from these, it's for sharing."

Then you picked up your remote, and pointed it at the appliance. "If you haven't seen it yet, I think it's best if we start from episode one, don't you think?"

Wanda gave you a genuine smile, nodding, as she helped herself with the food. Although, you couldn't tell if she wasn't hungry or she just didn't like Chinese food that much with the little portions she took. It made you think if she was there because of your offer of companionship and nothing else. You would have put more thoughts on it but when she started laughing, you lost your ability to think.

And throughout the series marathon, you realized that Wanda's laughter was the most beautiful sound you had ever heard in this world. That if you would go deaf and could only take one sound with you to remember forever, you'd choose her laugh and nothing else.

You and Wanda must had watched almost the entire season one until you noticed her head was resting on your shoulder. Figuring she might had fallen asleep, you were about to turn off the television until she murmured. "I'm still awake if you're wondering."

Your cheeks turned red at the realization that she was aware of how she was leaning against you. "Oh, sorry," you replied, placing the remote back on the table. "I thought you were sleeping."

"Do you just invite strangers into your apartment without doubts?" she asked you out of nowhere, the episode still playing in the background.

You swallowed a nervous lump in your throat. "Well, not always..."

"Crying ones, I guess...," she went on. "Do you think crying ones are less dangerous because they're vulnerable?"

You shrugged as you answered. "I just... I just know that I can trust you... and that you need someone right now... I... I know what it feels like when you get super sad yet you have no one to talk to... and I don't want to make you feel those things... well, at least tonight anyway."

There was silence after that, and you thought you had said the wrong thing. But she didn't leave. So you took it as a good sign.

When Wanda leaned closer, pressing her body closer to yours, you noticed she was cold so you grabbed the blanket within reach and covered yourselves with it.

To others, it looked like you two were cuddling on the sofa, watching a series together like what lovers would do. But you and Wanda were no more than new acquaintances. Hell, you were merely strangers hours ago.

You didn't even realize that your eyes were already drooping to a close, savoring how soft and comfortable the top of Wanda's head felt like as you leaned into her and how much you loved the smell of her hair, mentally taking note to ask her tomorrow the shampoo she uses so you'd be able to smell her anytime in a non-creepy way.

When you woke up the next morning, Wanda had already left your apartment. A smile crossed your face as you thought about what transpired last night, how it could be counted as a progress in your friendship. Regardless if it was just a small baby step, but it was still a progress.

Your phone beeped beside the couch, making you stumble from your position just to reach it. Disappointment filled you when you read the text message from Steve.

Date with Gamora. 7pm tonight at Bancone. Please don't be late, she already reserved a table for you two.

You groaned into the silent morning hours of Saturday, cursing at why Steve couldn't just leave your dating life alone.

Later that night, you reluctantly prepared yourself to be humiliated to the so-called date. Even when it wasn't really what you wanted in the first place, you never wanted to ditch Gamora alone and make her feel like she wasn't worthy to meet at least.

You were set to tell her that you were not ready yet. But you'd do it in a nice way she wouldn't get offended. You'd even offer to pay for the food, be the most gentlewoman you are, so she wouldn't take the date bad as it actually was.

As you finally stepped out of your apartment so as not to be late, you noticed Wanda's apartment door was open. She might had just come home, so you decided to leave her be. But then you heard thuds inside, making you stay rooted on your spot. Curiosity grew inside of you, heightening your anxiety to the extreme level.

If you were in a horror movie, you were sure you'd be the first one to end up dead, because instead of running towards the opposite direction, you were going to the way where you'd get yourself killed. You shook yourself silly, thinking Wanda could have just forgotten to lock her door.

When you were about to knock, the door flew slightly wider from the wind, making you see oranges scattered on the floor. You suddenly found yourself panting, figuring out something wrong must had happened.

The instinct in you to ensure Wanda was safe made you enter the threshold without knocking and tiptoed deeper into her dark apartment.

Your hand went to your pocket, ready to hit 911 the moment you would see something unusual. But you only stopped in your tracks.

The only dim light from the bathroom made you see Wanda pulling a lifeless body inside by the arms, leaving a blood trail on the floor.

Your soul had left your body. "Wanda-"

The sound made the brunette let go of the corpse and look at you, her face covered with blood.

It must had took you moments before your feet dragged you out of the room. But before you could even reach the door, something hard hit the back of your head, and then there was darkness.