Variation - W.M.

Chapter 8 - October 24, 2016

For most of the party, people I had never met or seen milled about, questioning if I was the new Avenger that Stark had been talking about. Each time I denied it I got flooded with more and more anxiety until I escaped to the sidelines, hiding in a particularly dim corner near the bar.

At some point, Wanda joined me in my corner, leaning against the wall a few feet away from me and letting out a heavy sigh. I glanced down at my pitifully empty glass before looking over at her. "Not a fan?"

The woman's eyes flitted over to me, a scowl settling itself onto her face. "Let me guess, 'your Wanda' loves these types of parties."

I blinked in surprise. "No, actually. She hates large crowds. She used to leave these things early." I bit my lip and looked down at the empty glass, running a finger up the side. "This is actually my first 'Tony Stark' party."

Wanda scoffed. "I find it hard to believe that your Stark differs from this one so drastically that he doesn't throw parties."

I chuckled emotionlessly and nodded. "You're right, he doesn't. Didn't." I let out a heavy breath and focused on the leftover amber liquid that lingered in the bottom of my glass, growing increasingly diluted by ice. "I didn't really have any desire to go to one."

"Why not?"

"Didn't like Stark" I shrugged, trying to blink away the memories that were trying to drown me.

"But you came to this one?"

I cleared my throat and nodded. "Can't really miss your own party, can you?"

I let my eyes wander around the room, catching sight of people that came with violent flashes attached, my gaze landing on Pietro. I flinched as the image of him popped up, slamming my glass down on the bar and shaking my head harshly.

I barely muttered a "I need to go" to Wanda before I took off, dodging through the people in the room, pressing my fingernails into my palm.

I didn't really know where I was going. I meant to go to the room I was staying in, I really did, but I passed the door and I kept walking, ending up in a room I had spent countless days in, whether it was with Wanda or waiting for her to come back from a mission.

But, I wasn't in my world.

The Wanda I knew was somewhere else with her husband and her kids in a hex she created. Not to mention the fact that she had no desire to see me.

I slid to the floor, tears pricking the corner of my eyes and causing the hallway around me to blur. I hated this world. Everything was so happy and good here and it further reminded me of everything that had gone wrong in my own world.

It was unfair for everyone here to be so...okay. But it was also unfair for me to think that. Unfair of me to somehow wish that everyone here had gone through the same things we had.

It was unfair of me to wish that Wanda had lost people, that Ultron had lifted a city in the sky and that everything would be the exact same. But I did wish that. How could I not. In this world, how could I hate this Tony if he never created Ultron. How could I not hate this Wanda for being so in control. For being so okay.

I pulled my knees to my chest and buried my head in my legs, letting tears drip down my bare skin.

I don't know how long I sat there; It could have been a couple minutes or a couple hours. All I know is that when someone came to check on me it was the last person I wanted to see.

"Are you okay?"

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and cleared my throat, pushing myself up using the wall. "I'm fine. You didn't have to come all the way here for me."

"I didn't, this is my room" she answered flatly and I felt myself deflate a little, any hope that this Wanda was like my best friend squashed.

At least there was something else to go to on the list. They had the same room.

"Right, my bad" I said shortly, sniffling loudly and nodding once before starting away from the room.

"I saw the memories" Wanda called after me and my stride faltered, my shoe scuffing the ground loudly. I stopped, waiting to see if she would say more. "Do you want to come in?

"For what reason?" I snapped, my head jerking around to face her.

"I don't know, to talk?"

I willed my body to take a step forward; head to my room and ignore the woman until I could go home. Every logical thought in my head screaming against it but to the illogical part of my heart, this was Wanda. This was the girl who I would watch movies with and listen to when she got upset. So I turned around and nodded, my voice betraying me.

"Sure, we can talk."