first sight, yeah, we love without reason
July 13th, 2024
As a med student, it's difficult to make time for yourself. Even more so when you need to make time for your family too. A couple weeks ago your parents rang and asked you to come over for your 4 weeks off during the summer. Reluctantly, you agreed. By the time you got there, you barely had time to say goodbye. Quick kisses to the forehead and haste hugs were made as you watched your parents get into their car. They would be going away for two weeks to the south of France. Funny how they forgot to mention that until you were already in the car.. Really, you should've been upset that your parents would choose to spend half your summer break in somewhere like Marseille but you're not. At this point you've grown used to their avoidant personalities. They made up for it at least, albeit with money that you don't care about, but they still tried. That's all that mattered.
After you waved your last goodbyes, you walked back inside and shut the door behind you. The sound of the lock clicking echoes through the foyer. God. You hadn't missed this place. Slumping against the back of the door, a heavy, exasperated sigh escaped you. The house felt cold and stupidly big. You were a single child. There was no need for a house this big. You made your way up the stairs, tracing your fingers along the banister. On the way here in your car - a white range rover that you got for your 16th birthday - your mother rang to tell you that they'd fixed your old room up for you. What you didn't expect, however, was for it to be completely re-done. The walls were the same baby blue colour but repainted to be more fresh and it was obvious that they'd done some mopping up. Your feet paced around the room before shrugging your bag off your shoulder. You approached your old bookshelf. It was full of stereotypical cringey teen romance, like twilight and fifty shades of gray. There wasn't even any dust on the shelves.
The rest of the day flew by pretty quick. When dinnertime came around and you grew hungry, you rummaged through the cupboards to find something you actually had the capability of cooking. You decided upon mac 'n' cheese. As you sat down with your plate and ate, memories of the countless dinners you spent alone at 13 while your parents went on business trips for days taunted you at the back of your mind. The food wasn't great, way better than your usual attempts though. Your childhood friend Yelena said she put hot sauce on hers. Maybe you should try that next time? Thinking about that, you should try messaging her. You kept contact but you weren't exactly still close since the last time you saw her was a few years ago. Shrugging away the thoughts, you stood up to wash the dishes.
You sat down on the couch and started scrolling through your phone. It was all the same boring posts. You were about to just turn your phone off and go to sleep when you remembered. Yelena. Fingers scanned over the keyboard as you thought about what to say. It shouldn't be awkward, you were friends still after all. Your fingers typed quickly then removed it all just as fast. heyyyy girl. No, of course not. Who says hey girl any more? You tried countless more messages before sucking it up and just sending a simple 'heyy'. Instead of staring at your phone for ages like a needy ex-boyfriend, you went to bed. Hopefully tomorrow would be more interesting.
If only you knew just how interesting things would get...
The sound of a blaring alarm woke you up. You turned it off and tried to go back to sleep. It was useless though when the birds sang and the sun seeped through your old curtains. Staring at the ceiling for a while longer before getting up, you groaned. Despite the blaring sunlight, the room still felt cold. You picked up a gray tank-top and a pair of jeans and got changed. The mirror didn't seem to reflect you. Of course, it did. Though it didn't seem like you. Heading downstairs to make breakfast, you let out a soft yawn. As you hobbled into the kitchen, the floorboards creaked. They were always like that which was weird to you. Your parents could afford a huge house and your fancy med school but still kept their creaky kitchen floorboards. The house was completely silent apart from the sound of the milk sloshing around in your bowl while you ate.
Rather than being a responsible adult, you chose to put your dishes on the side. Procrastination is key after all. There was still no answer from Yelena and you knew nobody. It only took a couple hours of watching TV and scrolling on your phone until you got bored: and then, like a gift from the gods, it appeared. The doorbell rang through the entire house. Perhaps it was Yelena? Or perhaps your parents came home early? You stood up off the couch and shrugged away your blanket. "Coming!" you called out as you rushed to the front door. The door opened to reveal a woman. It wasn't Yelena, or your parents. It was so much better. There stood a tall, ginger woman with bright blue eyes. She was wearing a red floral sun dress and her hair was tied up. You were convinced that she may have been the epitome of beauty.
"You must be (y/n)!", she grinned, "Your parents have told me so much about you". God even her voice was perfect.
Trying to fix your hair, you nodded along. "Did you want to come inside?"
"I'm alright, love. Thank you though." She shook her head politely and you could've sworn you saw her look you up and down. Her eyes flicked over her shoulder before pointing at her yard. "I'm so sorry to bother you but can you watch my sons? I just ran out of juice and i have guests over soon."
In all honesty, you had nothing better to do. Even if you did, why would you deny this random breathtaking woman whatever she wanted? So of course you said yes. When you were in her house she hastily introduced you to her sons before leaving. They were two twin boys about 16: Billy and Tommy. Most teenage boys now were anti-social and just plain old rude but these seemed different. While Tommy was more outgoing, he didn't seem like the type to be a show-off. On the other hand, Billy was more reserved. He did end up telling you about his boyfriend however so maybe he could be just as talkative as his brother when he wanted. The woman came back about 10 minutes later and thanked you more than enough times.
"It's really no worres, Ms..?" She had even walked you to your door. What a gentlewoman.
Offering you a sweet smile and a soft pat on the shoulder - one you may not have even noticed if you weren't so hyperaware of her - she spoke up, "Maximoff, but please, just call me Wanda."
Before you could say anything back to her, she had already disappeared off your porch leaving you with so much to think about. You stepped back into your house and locked the door behind you. Who was this random woman? Does she know your parents? There was so many questions that left no answers whatsoever. The only thing you did know what that she was a mother, your neighbour, and your exact type.