W A N D A x N A T A S H A - R E D

7. Don't leave

POV NATASHA

'Romanoff!' A Big Bang on the door.
'Romanoff!'
In shock I sit right up in my bed. In fighting position I stand up. My heart beats in my throat.

I swallow. Look around in the dark room.
'Romanoff?' I sigh in relief when I recognize the voice of Steve.
Irritated I walk towards the door. What must be so important to interrupt my sleep?

I look into the serious face of Rogers as I open the door. His jaw clenched. His eyes worried.
'I need your help.' He wears a tight white T-shirt, his hair is tousled.
'Wait, let me change.' I grab my jeans from the floor and put on a sweater.

'What's wrong?' I whisper when I fast walk with him through the hall.
'I was asleep. Heard noises, so I checked the corridors. Then I heard noises coming from the living room..'

I nod while I listen. 'I went looking. And I saw somebody sitting on the couch. I went inside and when I came closer, I recognized Wanda.'
I frown. 'What's she doing there in the middle of the night?'

'She just sits there. She doesn't say anything. I try to make contact with her.. but she doesn't respond.'
We're near to the living room when Steve says: 'I thought maybe you could help her.'
I frown. While my brain is still deciding whether I'am dreaming or awake.
'Why me?'
'You know why.' He says.

Together we walk into the living room. Careful I put one of the dim lights on. The room is quiet.
'Wanda?' Steve asks while he slowly walks towards the couch.
She sits on the couch. Her hands on her lap. Her eyes red as fire.

Always when I see those eyes, I feel intimidated. It sometimes feels like they take the real
Wanda away. Those eyes feel dark, almost evil.

'Maximoff? You can start talking now.' I say confidently. She can't just ignore us, on some point she has to talk to us.
'Wanda?' Steve tries again.
We're close to her now. So close that I could touch her knee if I wanted too.

She then widens her eyes. Tilts her head.
Steve looks at me worried. But I don't worry much. I don't know what's going on, but she won't hurt us. I know she won't.

'Maximoff..' I try again.
'Why don't you start using her real name?' Steve asks me.
'This is her real name.'
Steve almost rolls his eyes.
'You know what I mean.'

She then squeezes her eyes. 'Aah..' she says and she grabs her head.
'Wanda?' Steve asks.
I take a seat beside her. Without touching her I say: 'Wanda, I'am here. I'am Natasha. I'am here.' I say softly.

She then grabs her head again. She screams.
Her scream is loud. Painful. Her skin covered in red magic.
With widen eyes I look at Steve. I now start to worry. I was trained to kill, trained to knock my enemies down, trained to fight with every weapon I could find. But knowing how to help someone dissociative by magic.. I never had a training for that. Neither did Steve. As far as I know.

'What's going on with her?' Steve says while he comes closer.
'It seems like she isn't here. I doubt if she can hear us.'

'Wanda?' I try again.
Then I reach my hand out to touch her. I feel
How she grabs my wrist. How she squeezes it so hard that I have to prevent myself from screaming. And before I know it, I feel the wall against my back. I slide along the wall down to the ground.
'Aah..' I manage to release.