Oh So Long
Yelena Belova was a morning person.
5:50am
The bright screen glared back at Yelena as she turned off her alarm and sat up while rubbing her eyes. She let out a yawn before getting up and shuffling to the restroom.
She was a morning bird, always the first one up in her household and never missing a step in her morning routine. It was always this way whether it was a school day or not. Today it was Monday, the first day of the week, and Yelena was already wanting it to be over.
The light under the crack of the bathroom door located right across from her room being the only source of light in the hallway. The sound of Alexei’s snoring could be heard bouncing off the walls as Yelena exited the bathroom after finishing her facial routine and quietly walking downstairs to the kitchen.
The 17 year old had just finished cooking up some scrambled eggs when she heard footsteps and nails coming down the stairs. Turning off the stove, she grabbed a plate before placing the eggs on them.
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
Her mom kissed her cheek as she started to brew coffee next to her.
“ ‘morning.” Yelena grabbed some toast and placed it in the toaster.
“Did you sleep at all?”
“Yes.”
Yelena felt a wet snout nuzzling against her leg. The blonde looked down and was met with her akita’s blue eyes looking back at her pleadingly.
“Getting less than 4 hours of sleep is not enough, Yelena.” Melina tutted disapprovingly.
Yelena huffed in response.
“I’m a junior in high school, Mama. We don’t get more than 5 hours of sleep.” Yelena bent down to give her dog scratches, denying her any snacks early in the day.
“No child of mine is going to grow if you are not getting the sleep you need.” Melina shook her head as she headed to the fridge.
“No child of yours will become successful if we do not study,” Yelena countered, grabbing her toast and cutting it half.
Melina just waved off the comment and took her coffee to her favorite seat in the whole house.
“Is it for AP Literature?” Settling down in the living room cradling her mug.
Yelena shook her head.
“AP Calculus.”
“I do not understand the American school system. Is it not wrong to have exams on Mondays? It is the first day of the week!” Melina furrowed her eyebrows, gesturing wildly with her free hand.
“It should be illegal.” Yelena nodded in agreement as she poured herself coffee, black, no creamer or sugar.
Melina let out a long exhale before shaking her head, “I am not worried about you anyways. You will do good.”
“Thank you, Mama.” The teenager took a seat at the dining table before digging into her breakfast silently.
The mother and daughter enjoyed each other’s presence, the only sound heard being from Yelena’s fork tapping the plate and Melina’s jittery foot taps.
6:40am
By the time it had hit 6:40am, Yelena found herself dressing for school, going for light washed blue baggy jeans and a mustard yellow sweatshirt. Quickly, she applied some light makeup, concealer, lip gloss, and finished it off with winged eyeliner. Deciding she was just going to leave her hair down, she topped it off with her signature olive green headphones and hung it around her neck.
Shrugging her backpack on her shoulder she headed out her room and bumped into her older sister, Natasha, who was scratching her stomach sleepily.
“Watch it!”
“You were the one who bumped into me,” Yelena shot back.
“Whatever,” Natasha observed her ready-to-go sister, “Do you need a ride?”
Yelena looked at her sister who was still dressed in her sleepwear. Long pajama pants with little spiders on them matched with a deep red tank top.
“No,” Yelena shook her head, “Kate is going to pick me up.”
Natasha raised an eyebrow at that.
“Are you sure? That girl doesn’t know what it means to be on time.”
“Natalia, you are barely ready yourself.” Yelena gestured to her sister who looked down with a frown.
“I can get ready fast,” Natasha defended herself while the blonde rolled her eyes.
“Sure. Anyways, Kate will be here. She knows I have an exam today.” Yelena likes to study in the library an hour before classes start when there is an exam the very day. Even if the exam is not until later in the afternoon, it was important for her to utilize that extra time in last-minute studying.
“Oh shit that’s right. Bruce was talking about the exam last night. Good luck sestra.” Natasha clasped her sister on the shoulder before heading towards the bathroom to get ready herself.
Yelena scrunched her nose as she got a whiff of her sister’s morning breath before heading back downstairs to be greeted by an adorable sight.
At the center of the living room was her mother who was still sitting in her chair watching as her akita, Fanny, was receiving love from another being. The tall brunette cooed in a baby-voice, ‘Bishop’ in large letters written on the back of her jacket peeking out from the girl’s long wavy hair.
“Who’s the cutest girl in the entire world? You are! Yes you are,” The girl scratched Fanny behind her ear who panted happily at the attention.
“If he was here, Lucky would be jealous, Kate Bishop.”
Yelena smiled amusedly at the blue-eyed girl who jumped up at the sound of her name, the letters ‘WV’ on her letterman jacket now in Yelena’s line of sight.
Kate Bishop revealed the box of pastries she had been holding to the blonde with a bright smile.
“Hi Yelena!” Kate greeted as she nodded towards her hand, “I got you guys some pastries.”
Yelena eyed her favorite cheese rolls and gratefully snatched two of them from Kate.
“Thank you, Kate Bishop.” Yelena bit into the roll and bit back a moan.
“Of course! It’s exam day so of course that means it’s pastry day as well!” Kate exclaimed as she watched Yelena walk to the kitchen to grab a thermal cup.
“Would you like your lemon scone, Mama Melina?” Kate inquired as she opened the pastry box, presenting the rest of the pastries.
“No thank you darling. I’ll wait for Alexei to wake up so we can eat breakfast together.” Melina sent her daughter’s best friend a smile, “But thank you. I am sure Alexei will appreciate you getting his favorite as well.”
“Of course!” Kate beamed as she followed Yelena to the kitchen and sat at the island table, watching Yelena prepare her coffee.
“Will your sister come down to get her pastry?”
Yelena tightened the cup lid before standing beside Kate with her cheese rolls in hand.
“She is getting ready.” Was all Yelena said before the devil herself walked downstairs in her cheerleader uniform. Her backpack was thrown over her shoulder bouncing with each step.
Natasha slid next to her sister and perked up at the sight of her favorite pastry.
“Is that my favorite pastry?” Natasha snatched up the scone not wasting time waiting for an answer.
“Yep! Cranberry orange scone as always,” Kate proudly presented as the cheerleader hummed in delight.
“I knew you were my favorite.” Natasha grinned as she turned her attention to her sister, “And see? I can get ready on time.”
Yelena rolled her eyes just as Kate put out an offer.
“Do you want to just ride with us? I mean, I just cleaned my car yesterday so it’s squeaky clean!” Kate fidgeted with her carabiner hooked on her left side of her pants.
“You know what, Bishop? I’ll gladly take you up on that offer. I can just ride with Jane back home after practice.” Natasha ignored her sister’s signs of protests as she gladly followed Kate out to her car.
Yelena frowned but followed after, even speeding up to beat her sister and found her rightful spot at the passenger’s seat.
“Connect?” Kate was already clicking on her car’s screen ready to connect Yelena’s bluetooth so she can play music.
‘Where Is My Mind’ by the Pixies started playing as Kate pulled out of the driveway, Natasha striking up a conversation with the driver as they made their way to school.
“So Kate, are you ready for the game this Friday?”
Natasha sat in the middle seat and leaned on her sister’s headrest.
“Yeah! We’re playing against Kree High so we have this in the bag.”
Natasha whistled.
“Bishop’s confident!”
Kate shrugged as she braked at the stoplight.
“They haven’t had a good team in awhile or a good coach. They’re kind of a mess to be honest,” Kate explained as she turned the volume slightly higher, aware of Yelena’s tapping to the rhythm on the console.
“Can I have a bite?” Kate turned around to look at Yelena who had begun to finish her last cheese roll.
“Ha! Yelena sharing her favorite pas-“ Natasha shut herself up quickly as Yelena leaned forward to feed Kate as she focused on driving.
“Thank you, Lena.” Kate said with her mouth full, Yelena barely catching the crumbs that fell from the jock’s mouth.
“You are disgusting, Kate Bishop.” Yelena shook her head as she finished the rest of it before washing it down with her black coffee.
“You both are disgusting.” Natasha muttered to herself as she leaned back in her seat and sighed in relief when she spotted the familiar high school sign.
They had arrived at WestView High School.
➳ ⧗
“I’ll catch up with you guys later. I got to meet Pietro real quick!” Kate waved at the sisters before jogging towards the school doors, the sisters taking their time as they walked side by side.
“Do you want to wait for me and ride with Jane back home?” Natasha questioned as she took a swig of water.
Yelena declined the offer.
“I will wait for Kate.”
Natasha hummed as she put her water bottle back in her backpack.
“Oh yeah, it’s Mac and Cheese Monday.” Natasha nodded in understanding as Yelena nodded in acknowledgement.
The Shostakov/Vostokoff household liked to house special dinner days quite often. Tuesdays were Taco Tuesday, Wednesdays were Waffles Wednesdays, Thursdays were Tri-tip Thursdays, and Saturdays were Beef Stroganoff Saturdays. They have a neatly made calendar made by Melina, on when these special days occurred and it just so happened that this week included Mac and Cheese Monday and Tri-tip Thursdays. Melina and Alexei have graciously extended the invitation to Kate who loves to come over whenever she can. With football practices and the upcoming game, Kate’s appetite is larger than usual so she will gladly join Alexei in becoming the human vacuum to help finish the food.
Just before they reach the doors, Yelena spotted a red head heading towards the same direction and waved.
“Hey, Wands” Yelena greeted as the sisters slowed down a bit until Wanda caught up. She held the door open for her sister and friend.
“Hey, Yel.” Wanda said back before stepping back to let Natasha go first.
“Hey Wanda,” Natasha greeted as well, gladly going first through the door.
“Hi Natasha,” Wanda blushed as she hurriedly followed through behind Natasha, ignoring the exasperated look on her friend’s face.
“Did Pietro rush out on you too?” Natasha glanced behind her at Wanda who nodded shyly.
“Kate drove you guys?”
The two sisters nodded as they stopped in front of their lockers. Wanda and Yelena’s lockers were right next to each other’s while Natasha’s was a little farther up across from them.
“Do you know what they are meeting up for?” Natasha inquired as she started to put a few textbooks from her backpack into her locker.
“No. Pietro did not say anything, but I would guess it’s football related.” Wanda shrugged as she checked her appearance in the mirror, combing her fingers through her hair subconsciously.
“What the-”
Yelena looked down as a folded piece of paper fell gracefully down to her feet. She stared at it blankly before turning her attention back to the inside of her locker and putting her own textbooks away.
“Yel, you dropped something.” Wanda bent down to pick up the piece of paper, not hesitating to examine the item. It was a slightly creased envelope closed with a wax green seal.
“That is not mine. I do not know where it came from.” Yelena frowned as she watched Wanda examine it in fascination.
“What do you got there, Max?” Natasha appeared out of nowhere as the three of them started to crowd around the envelope. Wanda blushed again at the feeling of the senior’s eyes on her.
“This fell out of your sister’s locker. But she said it’s not hers.”
Natasha’s eyes lit up before commanding,
“Open it!”
Wanda looked at Yelena for permission and the latter just shrugged. She carefully opened the envelope, making sure not to ruin the wax seal much to Natasha’s impatience (“Why are you so careful?” “It’s pretty I don’t want to ruin it”), and took out a folded piece of lined paper.
“All of that just to use College Ruled lined paper?” Natasha snorted but was just as intrigued as the other two were about the content inside of it.
Yelena frowned at the whole situation, though she would be lying if she said she wasn’t curious, it was probably just something that she had accidentally snagged in one of her books last week. Turning her attention back to her locker to make sure she had the correct notebooks to study with, she comes to a halt at the sound of her sister’s obnoxious laughing and Wanda’s giggling.
“What?” Yelena commanded as the two redheads had their attention still on the letter.
“Oh Sestra, you have yourself an admirer.” Natasha sing-songed as she clapped her hands in amusement.
Yelena frowned even harder at that and snatched the letter from her friend, taking in the messy handwriting.
Your eyes, two pools of green so rare,
A sight beyond what words compare,
They hold the secrets that no one can see,
with fireflies that dance so effortlessly.
With glasses on, you read with grace,
A beautiful smile upon your face,
In those moments, time stands still,
And all the world bends to your will.
Your beauty, like a whispered song,
Has held my heart for oh so long,
In silence, let these lines convey,
The way I feel for you each day.
- Yours
It was left unsigned yet Yelena just knew it was an intentional move. Her breath hitched as her eyes scanned the poem line by line. She shook her head profusely before shoving the letter into Wanda’s chest who let out a little ‘hmph’.
“That’s not for me.”
“It was in your locker.” Natasha retorted as she grabbed the letter from Wanda and held it up, “Plus it sounds like it’s about you.”
“I’m not the only person who has green eyes.” Yelena argued back as she accidentally slammed her locker causing Wanda and Natasha to jump, “Maybe I picked it up with my book on accident last week I don’t know.”
“It fell out when you opened your locker right?” Natasha looked at Wanda who nodded in confirmation for the blonde, “Someone definitely slipped it into your locker then.”
“Maybe they got the wrong locker.”
Yelena had already begun to walk down the hallway towards the library, the two redheads easily catching up.
“MJ does not have green eyes.” Wanda blurted out mentioning their other friend who was Yelena’s other locker neighbor.
“You do,” Yelena fired back, “Maybe it was for you.”
Wanda’s mouth opened wide but no words came out.
“Yelena! Why is it so hard to believe that you may have a secret admirer?” Natasha demanded as she stopped in front of her sister making her halt in place. Luckily, it was still early in the morning and not many students were at school yet, not that it mattered, the head cheerleader of WestView could get away with blocking the hallway if she wanted to.
Yelena just stared at her sister with an unimpressed look and made an effort to walk around her just to be stopped by a hand on her chest.
“Come on, Yelena,” Natasha dragged the ‘a’ in her sister’s name, almost whining as she demanded to know why she was being so stubborn.
“Because who would possibly be into me?” Yelena raised her voice, annoyed at the pushing from the two girls. The blonde adjusted the headphones around her neck uncomfortably trying not to make eye contact with Wanda and Natasha who were staring at her with those eyes that made her want to crawl under a rock and hibernate.
Natasha’s eyes softened and reached forward but Yelena stepped back.
“I’m fine. That wasn’t a self-deprecating comment or anything. I am just saying..objectively no one knows who I am,” Yelena held up a finger when Natasha was about to protest.
“I am the younger sister of Natasha Romanoff, the head cheerleader of WestView. No one knows my name, but I’m fine with that. I like it that way, I’m not complaining. I’m just saying that there’s no one I can think of who could possibly be my ‘secret admirer.’ ” Yelena emphasized with hand quotations as she crossed her arms.
“You guys hang out with two people from the football team, people know who you guys are-” Natasha tried arguing but Yelena shook her head in disagreement.
“Yeah, as the irrelevant ones who hang out with WestView’s favorite quarterback and wide receiver, yes.” Yelena deadpanned as Natasha turned to Wanda who reluctantly nodded in agreement.
“It could be someone from one of your classes?” Wanda and Natasha exchanged looks as the cheerleader nodded in agreement.
Yelena just grunted at the idea but didn’t say anything. Natasha grinned in satisfaction, bumping shoulders with Wanda who grinned widely, the cheerleader had put the letter inside the envelope and was giving it back.
“I still do not think it’s for me.” Yelena grabbed it hesitantly.
“We’ll find out once you receive the next one.” Wanda added as the blonde huffed.
“If there will even be a next one.” Yelena mumbled to herself as she parted from the two girls and made her way into the library to study.
Finding a quiet corner at the corner near the Greek Mythology section, she sat down with the envelope staring right back at her on the table. She shook her head as she debated throwing it away, but decided against it as she stuffed it into one of her notebooks and started to get her books and study guide out.
Great, she has less time to study for her Calculus exam now.
➳ ⧗
Nothing more exciting happened for the rest of Yelena’s day. She attended class as usual, had lunch with her friends (she had given Wanda a look to not mention the letter, thankfully she didn’t), and had her calculus exam. Feeling good about it afterwards, she found herself at the bleachers, with her glasses on, drawing in her sketchbook while watching the football team practice. Around the field was a track where the cheerleading team was practicing with mats on the ground, her sister’s red hair gleaming in the bright sun.
Yelena only puts on her glasses when she sketches or is in class, they are large round ones that Natasha makes fun of but Kate loves. Her friend always touches the frame of them gently when they’re together and occasionally puts it on herself despite not being able to see with them.
For the most part, her attention was on her current sketch but she found herself occasionally glancing up when she heard Kate’s boisterous laughter, the quarterback finding time to fit in smiles and laughs with her teammates even during rigorous drills.
The quarterback had waved at her in the middle of practice at one point, her teammates, Sam and Scott mocking their quarterback as they waved back at her as well. Yelena just shook her head amusedly as she went back to her sketch.
Kate was the only girl on an all-boys football team for WestView High School. One wouldn’t think this was allowed, but when Coach Fury saw the current quarterback in action, he pulled a few strings and Kate has been the quarterback since her freshman year in high school.
The practice went on for a bit longer before Yelena saw them disappear into the locker rooms. She closed her sketchbook before placing it into her backpack, and waited for Kate at the entrance of the locker room.
Leaning against a pillar, she keeps her head down as most of the football team walks past her, her head only coming up when Kate finally comes out with their friend Pietro plus Steve, Sam, and Bucky around her.
“Hey Yelena!” Kate was the first one to acknowledge her as she pushed past her friends and hopped towards the blonde. She placed an arm around her shoulder and leaned against the pillar with her. The blonde flinched slightly as wet droplets fell onto her from the quarterback’s wet hair.
“Kate Bishop, you’re getting me all wet.” Yelena complained as she tried to wiggle out of Kate’s grip but failed as the brunette moved her hair to the side away from Yelena.
“That’s what she said,” Sam snickered as Bucky nudged him hard next to him.
“You’re disgusting.” Bucky murmured as he absentmindedly played with a football in his hand.
“You ready to head home?” Kate moved off the pillar, Yelena allowing herself to follow along, as the two girl’s headed towards Kate’s car. The boys following behind, their chatters lost in the air, as Yelena tried to focus on Kate’s voice rather than the warmth from Kate’s body heat .
“Yes. Are you still coming over?”
“Of course! I wouldn’t miss mac and cheese day,” Kate let go of Yelena so that she could grab her keys.
“Bye boys I’ll see you tomorrow at practice,” Kate waved goodbye to the guys who said bye in chorus, Pietro the loudest out of all of them.
“Bye Kate! Bye Yelena!” Pietro jumped on Steve’s back as the boys headed to their respective cars. Kate moved to the passenger’s seat to open the door for Yelena, bopping the frame of her glasses, before jogging back to get into the car herself.
“Have fun with your girlfriend!” Sam yelled, Yelena barely catching Kate giving him the middle finger before she turned to the blonde.
“Please ignore him, he’s an asshole.” Kate adjusted in her seat before turning to put on her seatbelt.
“How was your day?”
“Good.” Was all the blonde said as she connected her phone and selected her “The Greatest Showman” playlist.
“Just good?” Kate turned to look at Yelena. “How was your calculus exam?”
“It went well. There was only one problem on integrals so it was easier than Mr. Brown said it would be.” Yelena responded.
“Good.” Kate finally stopped fiddling with the AC and began to back up, placing her arm behind Yelena’s headrest as she reversed.
“Did anything else happen?”
Yelena cleared her throat before shrugging, “No, the rest of the day was fine.”
“Oh, okay.”
‘The Other Side’ filled in the silence as Yelena looked back at Kate when she realized the quarterback was tapping the wheel restlessly. She took a deep breath before speaking again.
“Actually,” Yelena began making the quarterback perk up, “I did receive something today?”
“What was it?” Kate turned left out of the school’s parking lot.
“It was strange. I received a letter in my locker.” Yelena stared at her backpack at her feet where she knew the letter was.
“A letter?”
“It was a poem.” Yelena looked at Kate, her eyes tracing her best friend’s jawline momentarily before looking away to stare out the window.
“Can I read it?” Kate looked back at her excitedly.
“No.” Yelena immediately said, making Kate pout.
“Why not?!”
“I do not think it’s actually for me.”
“Why do you think that?” Kate frowned as she switched lanes.
“It was a love poem,” Yelena thought of her words carefully. “I think someone misplaced it. It can’t be for me.”
“I can be the judge of that, let me read it.” Kate insisted as she pulled into Yelena’s residence.
“Maybe later. Let’s go.” Yelena jumped out of the car, not waiting for Kate, not that it mattered as the quarterback’s long legs caught up to her real quick. She quickly used her house key to open the front door as the girls began to remove their shoes.
“Mama, Daddy I’m home!” Yelena shouted, hearing Alexei’s loud voice in the living room.
“Hello sweetie. How was your exam?” Melina greeted from the stove as the girl’s appeared in the kitchen.
“Went very well”.
Yelena walked up to her mom and kissed her cheek. She heard Alexei’s booming voice one again,
“KATIE KATE!”
“ALEXEI!”
Melina and Yelena turned around to see Alexei and Kate performing their handshake they’ve had since Kate was nine years old.
“How’s my favorite daughter doing?” Alexei scooted from his spot on the couch as the quarterback jumped from behind to sit next to him.
“Hey!” Yelena gawked at her father but if Alexei heard her, he didn’t make any indication he did.
“Wonderful!” Kate cheerfully responded as Alexei offered a beer, “No thank you. I have to drive home.”
“Alexei, Kate is only 17.” Melina called out in a stern voice.
Alexei just made a weird noise in response but didn’t push it, “Are you and the boys ready for the game?”
Kate nodded as she started to go on a tangent about..sports things, the two now locked into a conversation while Yelena helped her mother set up the table.
“Is Natasha behind you guys?” Melina asked as she turned off the stove and let the cheesy dish rest for a bit.
“She rode with Jane, but she should be here soon.” Yelena put the bowl of vegetables on the table.
“How was your day?” Melina placed the sausage she had cut up to go with dinner.
“It was good. The exam went well,” Yelena repeated almost robotically.
“You never give me anything to work with, sweetie.” Melina shook her head, “How about lunch? How are your friends? I know how Kate is but how about Wanda? Peter? Sonya?”
Yelena opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and Natasha loudly making her entrance.
“I’M HOME BITCHES!”
“Language, Natasha.” Melina rolled her eyes as Natasha threw her back on the empty recliner and took her seat at the dinner table. Yelena stared at her sister with an unimpressed look, she seems to be giving her that look several times today. Her sister was in the same situation as Kate with her hair dripping wet from her quick shower after cheer practice.
“This looks deliciou- ow!” Natasha pouted, rubbing her hand after Melina had slapped it away from the sausage.
“Where are your manners? We eat together.” Melina firmly stated as she took the pot of mac and cheese and centered it at the table.
“Dinner is ready.” Melina called out yet the two by the living room continued their endless chatter.
She turned to look at Yelena with a hand on her hip.
“Get Kate and your father to come sit. It is time to eat.”
Yelena nodded as she walked towards the two and stopped behind the couch, the blonde’s presence not registered to the two lost in conversation.
“Daddy, stop talking sports with Kate Bishop. It is time to eat, you two. Mama is calling.” Alexei and Kate quickly followed behind Yelena, but continued their conversation to the table.
“..next game is an away game.” Kate sat next to Natasha right across from Yelena.
“We will be there, Kate Bishop! Don’t worry, we support you.” Alexei clapped his hands as he took his spot at the end of the table.
“Where will we be?” Melina questioned as she placed a diet coke in front of Alexei and a Dr. Pepper in front of Kate.
“The next game after we beat the Kree this Friday!” Kate grinned and thanked Melina for the soda can.
Melina, being the last one to sit at the table, nodded as she grabbed the sausage and started loading up Yelena’s plate.
“Yes, we will be there.”
“To support me too, right? Your actual daughter?” Natasha interjected, making Alexei laugh out loud.
“Of course!”
“Mama, I can put my own food on my plate.” Yelena whined as she watched her mom helplessly. Melina just hummed before moving on to do the same for Kate and Natasha.
“Thank you, Mama Melina!”
“Thanks Ma.”
Kate and Natasha both spoke in unison as they dug in without second thought.
“Athletes.” Yelena scrunched her face at the sight of the two gobbling up their food like it would disappear any second. The blonde accepted the bowl of mac and cheese gratefully from her mother as the dinner table sat in silence for a while, the only sound filling the room was the chewing and forks hitting the plate.
Once everyone had filled their stomachs up, Alexei and Kate were still going scraping the last bits while the other three drank their waters slowly.
“How was your day, Natasha?” Melina asked after a while.
“It was good. Carol finally asked out Valkyrie.” Natasha shared excitedly about her cheermates making Kate gasp loudly.
“No way! When did that happen?”
“Right after school and right before cheer practice. I had to deal with Carol making heart eyes with Valkyrie from the bleacher the entire time. She almost dropped Laura.” Natasha rolled her eyes with a little chuckle.
“Finally.” Kate shook her head as she took one last bite of mac and cheese.
“I’m not done,” Natasha obnoxiously cleared her throat, not wasting this opportunity to be the annoying big sister she was.
“And you’ll never guess who has a secret admirer.” Natasha sang out immediately locking eyes with a glaring blonde who straightened up her posture. Melina raised an eyebrow in interest as Natasha giggled to herself.
“Yelena..anything you want to share with the class?”
Yelena crossed her arms as she leaned back.
“Not really, no.”
“Yelena received a love letter from someone in her locker today.” Natasha responded without hesitation.
“You have a secret admirer, Yelena?” Yelena avoided making eye contact with her mom and kept glaring at her smirking sister.
“That’s not true! We do not know if it was for me.”
“I am not surprised my Yelena has a secret admirer! Look at her, she is gorgeous and smart. It makes sense.” Alexei nodded his head and he raised his fist on the table.
“No, no. Stop.” Yelena rubbed her temple tiredly.
“Why don’t you think it was for you?”
Yelena looked at Kate in surprise when she spoke up in a soft voice. Yelena almost missed what she said.
“Well, it did not specify who it was for, it could have been misplaced.” Yelena shrugged as Natasha scoffed.
“She believes that whoever it was put it in the wrong locker. Says maybe it could’ve been for Wanda.”
“It could have been!”
“I don’t think so.”
“What’s wrong with Wanda, Nat? Don't you think she can have a secret admirer?”
“Of course not! She is a beautiful girl-”
“Then wh-”
Melina raised her hand to stop her daughters from bickering any further and sighed.
“Let’s calm down you two please. You are giving me and your father a headache,” Melina rubbed her temple before continuing, “Maybe Yelena is right and it could have been a mistake. It is a possibility, sure.”
Yelena raised her hand with a small, ‘Ha!” in Natasha’s face.
“..but Natasha could be right too. Maybe it is truly for you Yelena and someone out there seems to take an interest in you.”
Natasha straightened up and smiled back widely.
“Ha!”
Yelena just leaned back and sulked in her seat.
“Why is the thought of someone liking you making you upset, sweetie?” Melina gently asked as she observed her daughter.
“I’m not upset, I just don’t understand who would do something like this.” Yelena picked at the loose string on her jeans.
Natasha snorted.
“You say it like you received a bomb and not a love confession.”
“Love confession is a bit of an exaggeration don’t you think?” Kate blurted out as she quickly added, “I mean Yelena didn’t show me the letter or anything but who would confess their love within the first letter you know?”
Natasha waved off the quarterback, “Yeah, yeah. Well they’re love poems. Anyways, not the point right now. You’ll see that I’m right when you receive the next letter.”
Yelena stared at her sister before narrowing her eyes.
“Do you know who it is?”
Natasha snorted again before dramatically leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed.
“I wish!”
“Whoever it is, I’m sure they only have good intentions,” Kate spoke out as she sipped on her Dr. Pepper, “They would be a lucky bastard to be able to be with someone like you.”
“Someone like me?” Yelena tried to relax her racing heart.
“We’ve been best friends since we were in elementary school, ‘Lena. I know you. Trust me, they’d be lucky.” Yelena tried not to think too deep into those words.
Of course her childhood friend, her best friend , would be obliged to say that.
That’s what they’re supposed to do.
It doesn’t mean anything else.
At least not the way Yelena wants it to mean.
The blonde cleared her throat before mustering up a small smile.
“Thank you, Kate Bishop.”
Holding eye contact with each other, Kate just smiled back before turning to look at the rest of the family.
“So...anyone have room for dessert?”
➳ ⧗
Earlier that day
The quarterback’s black hair smacked her in the face as she moved quickly to her destination. The letterman jacket proved to be too hot to wear today as the fabric stuck to her skin uncomfortably. Her car keys clanking and shoes squeaking, preventing her from completing her goal quietly.
The girl had swung her backpack over her shoulder so it was in front of her, allowing her easy access to its front pocket. Taking out the item, she stood in front of the locker glancing at the doors making sure she didn't spot blonde or red hair before slipping it into the locker through the slits. Making sure it didn’t somehow slip out of the locker, she skipped away with a smile as she made her way to the locker room where she knew her silver-haired teammate was waiting for her.
Your beauty, like a whispered song,
Has held my heart for oh so long..