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Yelena has always felt second best to her sister Natasha, which isn’t saying much when it’s only the two of them.
These feelings go way back, back to when they’d play in the jungle gym during recess. She remembers being nervous for her first day at school after their family moved. Natasha, the ever loving sister she is, held her hand the entire way to her classroom. Yelena was worried she wouldn’t make any friends and that everyone would think she was weird. Natasha had told her that making a friend would be easy, to smile and give them a compliment. Everyone likes compliments.
That day, Yelena made her first friend by doing just that. Yelena thought her sister might have gone overboard with her own advice. It seemed like everyone in Nat’s grade wanted to be her friend. They were always inviting her to play with them, and though sometimes Nat hung out with others, she tended to spend her time with Yelena and her best friend. Yelena couldn’t have been any happier, getting to play with her sister and best friend.
Then she began to notice how all her best friend could talk about was her sister. Yelena didn’t mind it too much. She admired her sister too. Maybe her friend just thought someone older hanging out with them was cool. It got old soon. Yelena grew tired of her friend only ever talking to Nat when she hung out with them.
Natasha’s only a year older, so she and Yelena spent most of their school years together. Throughout those years, Yelena made more friends and the same thing would happen. They’d lose interest in her and all their attention shifted over to Natasha.
Freshman year of high school was the worst. It wasn’t so bad at first, but then people noticed that Nat hung around her in the hallways a lot. Soon, everyone knew she was her sister. Yelena grew popular by association and she hated it. Most people referred to her as Nat’s sister. They would literally greet her like that. “Hey, Nat’s sister.”
Yelena goes about things differently now. When having to work with a classmate after school, she suggests the library or her partner’s house, never hers. Too many times, people have partnered up with her to come over to her house and she would end up doing most of the work because her partners would be distracted waiting for Natasha to show up.
She spent her lunch time in the corner of the library where no one would disturb her and never lingered in the halls. She learned guys liked to use that time to ask to put in a good word for them with her sister. Half the time they didn’t know her name.
Needless to say, she wasn’t one to make friends. She didn’t trust anyone who wanted to be her friend and when you came into her life, she trusted you less.
It was your first day here, having moved from out of state. You were nervous, worried you might not make friends seeing as it’s the middle of the school year and everyone would already have their close knit of friends. You weren’t sure you’d fit in anywhere.
You were wandering the halls looking for your next class when a blonde girl rushed past you in a hurry. In her rush, she didn’t notice a paper slip from in between her books. You did. You picked it up and chased after her. You tried calling her attention but you thought she couldn’t hear you.
Yelena thought you were just another person trying to get in with her sister. Having heard people try to call her attention without knowing her name happened so often she just ignored them now. You caught up to her, tapping on her shoulder, you said, “Excuse me. You dropped this.”
Yelena stopped and looked at the piece of paper in your hand.
“Oh. Thanks,” she muttered. You smiled at her and she gave you an awkward one back before turning to go. You stopped her from leaving, finding it the opportunity to ask where the classroom was. “Sorry, before you go-”
She sighed, interrupting you, “Let me guess. You want me to put in a good word with my sister.”
She looked annoyed and you joked, “Only if she’s as pretty as you.”
You immediately regretted saying that, embarrassed. She narrowed her eyes at you and you apologized. “Sorry, I don’t know why I said that. No, I’m sure your sister is nice, but I was hoping you could tell me where to find classroom F12?”
Her narrowed eyes never let up, but she told you where to go. You rush off, having been told you were on the wrong floor. “Thank you. See you around!”
And see you, she did, the very next period. Seeing her familiar face and empty seat by her, you sat next to her. She had her earphones in so you waved a hand in her peripheral vision. She took off an earbud and looked at you unimpressed.
“Hi, stranger!” you greeted her with a friendly smile. “Are you a junior too?”
“This is 11th grade English, so I must be,” she answered sarcastically, trying to get you to stop talking to her, but to her surprise you laughed. She gave you an odd look that you ignored, continuing to try to make conversation.
“What are you listening to?” you asked. She showed you her phone and your eyes lit up. “I love that song. Have you seen Ella Enchanted? Ending the movie with that song was awesome.”
You spent the rest of the class period talking about your favorite movies. Yelena actually contributed to the conversation after spending half the time looking at you curiously. You didn’t mind it though. The following days followed the same structure. You asked her what she was listening to and then you would turn that into a conversation.
Even though Yelena still didn’t trust you, she found it refreshing that not once did you bring up her sister. You would ask about Yelena only. You found Yelena interesting and funny. You would look for her during lunch but never saw her in the cafeteria. You sat with friends you made from other classes. Jane, Darcy, Scott, and Monica are really nice but sometimes it was hard to keep up with them. They’re incredibly smart, you had to stop them often to explain what they were saying, which they had no problem doing.
You asked Yelena one day where she spent her lunches. She was hesitant to answer but she did and every other day you would pop in the library to talk to her during lunch. You invited her to come have lunch with you in the cafeteria but she turned down your offer. Darcy invited you, Jane, Scott, and Monica over to her house to watch a movie. You asked if you could invite Yelena. With Darcy’s permission, you asked Yelena in class the next day.
“No, thanks.”
“Come on, Yelena,” you pleaded. “It’ll be fun! What else do you have to do tonight?”
“Homework,” she answered, to which you rolled your eyes.
“It’s Friday. You can do it tomorrow or like everyone else, the night before it’s due. Please. We never hang out outside of school. Come on.”
It took some begging, but she agreed and then she found herself tagging along to every movie night you and your friends had. Someone else hosted every week and then it was her turn.
“Hi, I’m Nat.”
This was the moment everything would change and go back to the way it’s always been, Yelena thought. You smiled at Natasha and introduced yourself. “So you’re Yelena’s sister! I’m Y/N. Nice to meet you.”
“What are you planning to do tonight?” Nat asked.
“We’re going to watch a movie. We’re waiting on the others. If you’re not doing anything, you can join in. Since Yelena’s hosting, she gets to pick the movie. Maybe you can convince her not to pick a horror movie,” you laughed, which Yelena understood to be a flirty kind of laugh, but it was actually nervous laughter. You really didn’t want to watch a scary movie.
To Yelena’s disappointment, Nat agreed to watch a movie with the group. It’s not that Yelena didn’t enjoy spending time with her sister, but she was finally getting comfortable within the group, not feeling like Nat’s sister but Yelena. She didn’t want that to change.
To your dismay, Natasha couldn’t convince Yelena to pick another genre. Everyone else arrived and introduced themselves to Nat. Soon everyone was sitting down with snacks ready to watch Insidious. No one sat next to Yelena knowing that spot was reserved for you. You two always sat next to each other sharing popcorn. Unfortunately, her sister didn’t know this and sat beside her.
You came back with the popcorn and seeing the only space for you was next to Natasha, you sat there, letting the sisters sit next to one another. You tried to act tough, not cowering or flinching when something would pop up on screen but you couldn’t any longer towards the second half of the movie. Something on the screen startled you and you reached for the hand next to you, thinking it was your friend’s hand.
You felt the person next to you look at you and you flushed in embarrassment, realizing it wasn’t Yelena’s hand you held. You pulled away, apologizing, but you did it again two more times until Nat smirked and offered you her arm to use for comfort. You held onto Natasha for the remainder of the movie.
Despite being the one to choose the movie, Yelena didn’t bother paying attention to it. Instead she sulked in her seat, eyes on you and Nat. That was supposed to be her you clung onto. That was the whole reason she picked a horror movie. She guessed you didn’t like them because you would never include them when you talked about movies you liked and you once vetoed a horror movie at another movie night.
By the third movie night, Yelena had realized that she was crushing on you. She decided then to figure out if she had a chance with you. The last movie night, she suggested playing some games after, a part of her plan to dig for information. Monica did the work for her, asking you if you had left anyone special when you moved. You dated some girl named Kate but you broke up because you were moving.
Yelena had decided then that maybe she had a chance and she would start off small to see if you might feel the same way she did. You spending the night cuddling into Nat’s arm was not what she had in mind. When the movie ended, you let Nat’s arm free. You didn’t want anyone to see. She chuckled, making you blush again. You didn’t want the group to think you were a scaredy cat.
Everyone got up to stretch. Seeing it was getting late, everyone called their ride and got ready to leave. You were the last to go. Your mom called saying she was outside. Yelena and Nat walked you to the door.
“Thanks for hosting, Yel.” You hugged her goodnight. You waved goodbye to her sister. “Nice meeting you, Nat. Thanks for the... arm?”
She chuckled, “Anytime.”
You give Yelena a parting smile. “See you, Monday!”
Natasha closed the door behind you. “Your friends are cool.”
“Yeah, you and Y/N seemed to get along,” Yelena mumbled, and Nat sensing some bite in her tone, asked, “Is that a bad thing? You seem mad.”
“Why would I be mad? I’m not mad,” Yelena denied.
“Really? Cause you were pouting throughout the movie.”
“No, I wasn’t,” Yelena insisted.
Natasha pursed her lips. “So you don’t mind if I get along with Y/N?”
Yelena shook her head. “I don’t care. Do what you want.”
Then she stormed off to her room where she proceeded to grab a pillow and scream into it. On Monday, Yelena assumed when you saw her, you would start asking about Natasha but to her surprise you didn’t. You continued to do what you normally do. You asked her what she was listening to and then tied that into something else. She found it weird and decided to bite the bullet.
She asked you what you thought about her sister. You answered honestly, “Your sister’s nice.”
“That’s it?” she asked.
“Um, No?” you didn’t know what Yelena was asking for. You honestly did not talk too much to Nat to get a sense of what she’s really like. You did your best to come up with something. “She was cool enough to let me use her as a pillow. That was kind of her.”
“That was very nice of her,” she agreed with you. “She’s very pretty, don’t you think?”
You didn’t know what Yelena was playing at. You weren’t sure whether you were meant to agree or disagree, but you weren’t going to lie either. You nod. “Sure, she is.”
“Sure?” Yelena looks irritated.
“I don’t know what you want me to say. I’m confused,” you admitted.
“Forget it.” She turned back to her work. Sensing the conversation was over, you turned to your work as well. The rest of the week went by like that. You would talk about something or another and Yelena would bring up her sister. On Friday, you reminded Yelena that you were hosting the movie that night.
“Should I tell Natasha?” she asked, disgruntled.
“Yeah, if you want,” you shrugged.
“Way to play it cool,” she murmured. You heard it but you decided to ignore the weird comment.
When Yelena arrived at your house, you hugged her in greeting and offered her a drink. “Monica and Jane are making popcorn. So we’re just waiting on Scott and Darcy.”
“Are you not gonna ask?” Yelena looked annoyed.
“Ask what?” You were confused. She just got there. You don’t know what she could have been annoyed by already.
“Why Nat isn’t here,” she explained like it was obvious.
“Oh! Sorry, I forgot,” you apologized. “I’m guessing she didn’t want to watch a movie?”
“She had plans.”
“Okay,” you accepted her answer easily and moved on. “So, Jane suggested a movie called Frequency but I have a feeling it’s going to confuse me-”
“She’s going to Tony Stark’s party,” Yelena adds.
“Jane? I think she changed her mind ‘cause she’s basically wearing her pajamas. I don’t think she plans to go like that,” you joked.
Yelena rolled her eyes. “No, Natasha.”
“That makes more sense. Well, I hope she has fun. I hear those parties are wild,” you commented. “Oh, hey! I found those sodas you were telling me about. I haven’t tried one yet, but I bought a whole pack. I thought we could all try them together. I want to see everyone’s reactions and if they are as good as you said they are.”
The doorbell rang and you told Yelena to go get something to drink while you went to get the door. As you expected it was Scott and Darcy, but to your surprise also Natasha, looking dressed for a different occasion. You welcomed them in and led them to the kitchen to grab drinks and snacks.
“Hey, look who else decided to join,” you told the girls in the kitchen. Nat waved at everyone. Yelena looked surprised.
“I thought you were going to a party,” Yelena said, sounding inconvenienced.
Natasha shrugged. “You’ve been to one Stark party, you’ve been to them all. I wanted a more lowkey kind of night. I hope you guys don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” you waved her off. You went to the refrigerator and pulled out the sodas you mentioned earlier. “I was just telling Yelena I bought these for us to try. She tells me they’re great. Let’s see if she’s right.”
You handed everyone a soda, smiling at Yelena as you passed her one. For some reason, she was frowning and you wondered why she’s been in a bad mood lately. Everyone popped open their soda. Scott took a giant gulp and then started choking.
“Oh, god. It’s so strong. It burns,” he described, making a face of pain, but he continued drinking the soda. “It’s delicious though.”
Everyone nodded in agreement and Yelena finally gave a smile. Then she noticed Nat talking to you, telling you something that makes you laugh and Yelena’s frown was back. Everyone grabbed their snacks and moved to the living room. You sat in the middle of the long sofa, both ends open for Yelena to pick. You looked at Yelena expectantly, but when she saw Nat sit on one side of you, she went to go sit next to Jane.
Everyone looked at her oddly, but she ignored them. Darcy who usually sits with Jane joined you on the couch. You chose to watch a shark movie. You enjoyed the movie but you think you might have enjoyed it more if you weren’t thinking about Yelena and her odd behavior the whole time. The movie ended and Jane declared that the bathroom break.
You all decided to watch another movie. Seeing the spot beside Yelena empty, you traded places with Jane hoping she wouldn’t mind. Although, Yelena looked like she did.
“What are you doing?” she asked, unamused.
“I’m sitting next to you, like I always do,” you replied.
“You didn’t last movie night,” she recalled. You didn’t know what was going on. It felt like you were getting in trouble.
“Because your sister was sitting next to you. I wasn’t going to tell her to move,” you reasoned, but Yelena scoffed, muttering, “As if you didn’t enjoy sitting next to her. ‘Oh thanks for your arm.’”
She added an extra giggle in there as if that was what you did. You definitely did not do that. It seemed like Yelena was trying to argue with you and you weren’t having it.
“Okay, what is up with you?” you called her out. Scott sensed an argument about to go down and he escorted everyone out of the living room to let you have your privacy. “Why are you mad at me? What did I do?”
“Nothing. You didn’t do anything,” she grumbled.
“Well, you’re clearly upset about something and it seems to have to do something with me and your sister. Why do you keep bringing her up, asking me questions, and then getting upset when I answer them?” you asked for clarification.
“Do you like my sister?” she asked abruptly.
“What? No. Yelena, I talked to her like twice,” you denied, but she didn’t seem to buy it, asking why you were so cozy with her sister. You divulged that you hated scary movies and that at that moment, you would have been cozy with Mr. Coulson, your and Yelena’s English teacher.
“I wanted to sit with you but I wasn’t going to make Nat move. I didn’t want her to think I was rude,” you claimed.
“Why would you care if she thought you were rude?” Yelena countered.
“Because I want her to like me.”
“Why do you want her to like you if you say you don’t like her?” Yelena raised her voice.
“Because she’s your sister,” you argued, feeling a headache coming on.
“Why does that matter?”
“Because I like you!” you snapped. That got Yelena to pause. “I want her to like me because she’s your sister and if anything ever happened between us, it would be awkward if your sister didn’t like me.”
“You like me?” You nodded.
“Not Nat?” You shook your head.
“As pretty and cool as your sister is, you’re the one I want. You, not Nat,” you emphasized. Yelena was still in disbelief and finding no other way to say it, you kissed her taking her by surprise but she caught on quickly and kissed you back much to your relief. It would have been awkward if after all that she didn’t feel the same.
“Are you guys done arguing? Ope. Yep. Sorry,” Scott slapped his hands over his eyes. Yelena blushed at getting caught and you just smiled. You told Scott he could open his eyes. Once you reassured him that you were all good, he called everyone back into the living room to continue on with movie night.
Nat threw a smirk Yelena’s way when she saw you two holding hands. It’s a great thing Yelena has two hands. One to hold yours and the other to flip her sister off when no one else is looking.