The Scent Of You

Chapter 3.

(Wanda pov)

I can't get that look on her face out of my head. The look of confusion. That's not what I was aiming for. The spellbook clearly stated that the other person would react stronger to the smell, that they wouldn't want to leave your side, but that wasn't the case. She did have some kind of reaction to the smell but not the right one. So, I either did something wrong or it wasn't her hair. Either way, I have to try again. Not now though because first, I need to figure out in what kind of relation she stands to her roommate. It's been bothering me for a while and kept me up longer than I'd like to admit. The simple thought of her being in a relationship with someone else, that someone else gets to be with her, kiss her, touch her, drives me insane. I want to be the only one who does that and I will not back down until y/n is falling in love with me and will want to spend all her time with me.
Magic can give you a lot of things but it can't force love. It can make someone addicted to a smell that's attached to you and since the brain can't differentiate between the smell itself and the person, she'll think, she's attached to me. Once I got her to spend more time with me, I will woo her and make sure she'll fall for me. I don't want to force her to do anything with me that she doesn't want to, I'm not a monster. But I also won't let it go until I got what I want. And I don't care if it's obsessive or anything. I'm not only doing this for myself, I'm doing this for her. I will protect her from everything that might be a threat and I will take care of her in every way. There will be no reason for her to ever be scared again.
I shake my head and concentrate back on the task at hand. The door unlocks with a simple spell and I silently step into the apartment. It's not very big, just two small bedrooms, a kitchen with a dining table and a bathroom. I look into both bedrooms and know immediately, which one is y/n's. There are pictures set up that show her with friends or alone, probably on vacation somewhere. For a few seconds I allow myself to close my eyes and imagine what it would be like to share this space with her. Waiting here for her to come back from work. Welcome her with open arms and maybe a cooked dinner. Having a bubble bath ready for when her day was hard. But I'm not there yet, I need to put a little more effort into this until I can call her mine.
I glance around the room and search for the perfect spot to set up the tiny camera I bought. If I don't know what relation she has with her roommate, I might not be able to hold myself back much longer.
My jaw clenches and I get a sour taste in my mouth at the memory just a couple of minutes ago. I watched them leave the building together, holding hands like a goddamn couple! I could have exploded but I kept my calm as good as possible. At one point y/n looked into my direction and just for a split second we locked eyes. It didn't seem like she recognized me though. Even if she did, how would she know I'm following her? I could have been there coincidentally.
I followed them a little longer, just until I heard all I needed to know. She told her roommate about me but once again it wasn't what I hoped for. That's okay though, I'm still working on it. But god, I could have gone up to them and slap her roommate across the face. How dare she be so close to what's mine? Y/n can have friends, I don't care but I won't let them get this close to her.
I shake my head and take a deep breath to keep my calm. This won't help me with what I'm doing right now and I also want to be quick, in case they come back earlier than expected.
I find a good spot for the camera and set it up. On my phone I check if I can see everything and nod satisfied. I got a good overview of the room. The second camera will go into the kitchen. I'm assuming they spend quite some time here since it's the only community space they have. The thought that they're hanging around each other's rooms is just infuriating, so I push it away. I find a good spot for the camera and also manage to find one for the small microphone that I bought. If I want to keep track of the process of the potion, I need to know how she feels about me and what she says about our encounters. After another check of my phone, I am happy with the result and step back into her room. I pull out a little vile with an almost finished potion in it. The instructions in the spellbook were clear and I followed them closely, so the potion should be right. Maybe the hair just wasn't, so this is my second try.
Jackpot! She has a hairbrush in her room. I hurry over and plug a hair from it, adding it carefully to the potion before mixing it. I'm not quite sure what will happen when she smells the scent around her room but I'm willing to try everything that will get her attached to me faster.
I drop a tiny bit onto her hairbrush, her pillow and a shirt in her closet. That shouldn't make the smell too permanent but still noticeable. All that's left to do now is wait. But not in here because that would blow my covers.
I sneak out of the apartment and the building, looking up and down the street. There's no sight of them so far, so they must still be at the park. I really should start tracking her, that would make a lot of things easier.
The park isn't too far away from the building and since I don't meet them on the way, I suppose they are still walking around. Well, I'm lucky, they still are. Although, lucky might be a little too much said. They are sitting on a bench near the pond and y/n had her head leaned against Spencer's shoulder while their hands seem to be in her lap. Anger burns inside me and I have trouble thinking clearly right now. It's not like I can go up to them and tell them to stop acting like this. But I can make this situation a little uncomfortable for them.
I sneak into the bushes near the bench so I can watch them but they can't see me. My eyes are glued to y/n for a few seconds and how she laughs, tilting her head back a little. How can someone be this beautiful? But there's also the hot stinging of jealousy because I want to be the one who makes her laugh like that.
I glance around and decide to go with the easiest option. A grin spreads across my face when Spencer looks a little surprised and maybe confused. She rubs at her neck and looks behind her. She's saying something but I can't quite understand it. Their moment is disturbed and maybe I should let it be but I can't help myself. I look up and see a swarm of birds. Manipulating animals is a lot harder, especially when they are this far away but it's worth a try. I squint my eyes and focus on them before mumbling a spell and moving my fingers like the spellbook taught me. For a few seconds nothing happens but then I hear Spencer cursing and quickly look over there. She looks disgusted. There's a splotch of bird shit on her jacket. I have to stop myself from laughing when she looks up and curses the birds. Y/n has a wide grin on her face too, holding back a laugh. Warmth spreads inside me, this time I really was the reason she is laughing, even if it wasn't me directly.
Their time at the park seems cut short because Spencer shakes her head and says something before motioning back to the path they were coming from. I slowly back out of the bushes and cringe when a stick breaks beneath me. Y/n looks into my direction and I freeze. Her eyes dart over the bushes for a second but she doesn't seem to see me. I still hold my breath until Spencer tucks at her arm and nods towards the path. A part of me wants to slap her hand away but that would be way too obvious right now. Maybe I can show myself though. In a not weird way, of course. I follow a path that runs parallel to the one they are walking on and dab a bit of the tincture onto my neck, just to be sure. My steps get faster when I'm ready, so I can catch them. I make it look like an accident when our paths cross. Y/n's eyes dart to me and for a few seconds she seems to struggle to recognize me.
"What a coincidence." I say with my best fake smile. Coincidence, my ass. None of our meetings will ever be coincidental. But she doesn't need to know that, not yet and not ever.
"Yeah." She replies, still a little unsure.
"We met at the store earlier today." I help her and watch her face light up and she nods.
"Right. Peach yogurt." She hums and I smile a little bit. At least I left an impression. Now I only need that impression to stick with her for longer than a few minutes.
"Ohh, is this the- ouch." Spencer says and I nearly smirk at the small pinch y/n gave her roommate. I eye Spencer and raise my eyebrows, waiting for her to finish her sentence. I don't care what she has to say or if it makes her uncomfortable, that would be even better honestly, if it made her uncomfortable.
"You're the woman who made sure we don't just have strawberry yogurt." Spencer saves herself. Looks like she won't rat y/n out to me about the feelings that might be there, however confusing or unsure they may be. At least she isn't a rat, that's something.
"Looks like I am." I say, giving her a fake kind smile. After years of going to business meetings with Vision, I perfected that kind of smile. No one ever seemed suspicious about it, giving me every reason to believe that it's not giving any hint on how I actually feel.
"By the way, you got a little something on your jacket." I tell Spencer and watch her blush in embarrassment. What a great achievement! Y/n snorts and gets a nudge against her shoulder for that. To be fair, I would have laughed too if it was my friend.
"I think I got a tissue with me." I say and pull one out from the pocket of my coat. I don't mean to be unnecessarily nice to Spencer but I'll do anything to stay a little longer in y/n's presence. Spencer gives me a tight-lipped smile and thanks me for the tissue. I make sure to lean in just a little closer when I hand it to her. Maybe it will help to get the smell to y/n.
"We've got to go now." Spencer hooks her arm around y/n's again and pulls her with her. I give them a small, friendly wave as I watch after them. Yep, I definitely hate Spencer's guts. She has to go, or at least stay the fuck away from what belongs to me.
I'm more than pleased when y/n turns around to look at me curiously. There's something in her eyes but I can't exactly tell what it is. I suppose all that's left to do for me now, is go back home and watch over the cameras if there's something giving away whether or not the potion worked. Either way, I might want to lay low the next few days before it becomes too obvious that I'm following her. Well, not following, just making sure she gets everywhere safely.

A/N

This book's upload schedule will be on Sundays and Thursdays.