Endearment ▶️ Pietro Maximoff

Thirteen

Charlie

"Again, why am I doing this?" 

"Because you like him and because I said so!" 

Today was the first day of December and I was enjoying my holiday bonus, a week of doing nothing—I didn't know what to do with myself. It also happened to be the day I was finally going to go out with Pietro. Unfortunately, I was unable to avoid this like I'd hoped, now here I was fidgeting and wondering where it all went wrong. 

After the little party we had for Maira's birthday, I didn't see him until Friday afternoon at the cafe. I tried to bring up our bet but he was quick to change my mind, challenging me once again. And again, I was left wondering what on earth I'd done. It was supposed to a simple 'hey, I'm not going through with our bet' and instead turned into 'you'll be sorry you agreed to this!' in a span of minutes. God, he had an innate way of riling me up and making me lose my rationality. Needless to say, I was now going on a date with Pietro Maximoff and there was no calling it off. Shit. 

I was nervous, a little excited too but more importantly..kind of scared that I'd agreed on a date with the guy I wanted to steer clear of. I couldn't help but ask myself the same question relentlessly as I attempted to style my hair—why was I doing this when I made it very clear that I wanted to keep him away? Sure, he was kind of cute when he wanted to be, could be helpful when he felt like it and had a gorgeous face paired with a body that would put models to shame—wait, what? Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I stood up in complete horror as it dawned on me. I wore a black maxi dress with straps, something I didn't even own until a week ago. My eyes glimmered with something I couldn't recognise and lips trembled at the sudden realisation.

Oh, my god. I liked him. I actually liked him enough to make an effort to look good for once. I gasped, what was happening to me?

"Jesus, you're gonna burn your hair off like that!" Thea yelled, making me jump and drop the curling wand on my dressing table. I sat back down and twisted my fingers in nervousness, I felt like a deer caught in headlights.

"Here, let me do your hair before you give yourself bald patches." I didn't argue and let Thea do her thing, hopefully she would be able to make me look somewhat presentable. For him.

I groaned softly, staring at my reddened face and then covering my eyes with my palms. I felt like a teenager crushing on the school's golden boy and I hated it.

"I like him." 

I peeked a look at Thea through the mirror, she was smiling. I stared a little longer before she continued, curling my hair as she spoke. "I'm talking about Pietro. He's not like any other guys I've seen you with in the past—yes I'm talking about that douche and that douche alone!"

I exhaled sharply, not expecting her to say that. To be honest, I hadn't thought about him ever since we moved here. He was a..mistake. A nightmare I couldn't shake off sometimes. "I'm sorry..I shouldn't have said that." Thea whispered, guilt swirling in her eyes. I shook my head slightly, looking away. Thea placed the curling wand on the dressing table and kneeled beside me, holding my hands in hers. "I know you're scared, Charlie. I wish I could make it go away but I can't." Her voice wavered, "I wish I could have stopped it..I'm sorry."

"Thea, stop. It wasn't your fault." I whispered, voice trembling. I did not want her thinking it was her fault, it was mine and mine alone.

"Charlie..I just don't want you to pass up on this guy who's actually genuine. Please, can you give him a chance?"

Thea was more than just a sister to me, she was my best friend. Growing up, I spent most of my time with her, taking care of her and being there for her. Even though we had a 3-4 year age difference, she knew exactly how I felt about everything—but this whole situation with Pietro was overwhelming me and I know she could sense it too.

"I don't know how I feel about him, Thea." I confessed, "I like him but..he's so intense and it's hard keeping up with him."

"He's like a freaking puppy when he sees you, honestly it's so gross and adorable at the same time." Thea giggled, standing up again and resuming her work on my hair. Somehow, the image of Pietro acting like that made me smile a little. "There, all done."

I turned to look at myself in the mirror and my eyes widened in surprise as I stood up. I looked..different. I wasn't used to seeing myself dressed like this—like a girl. I wasn't necessarily a tomboy but I didn't dress up either, I was just boring and trying to get by. "You're actually really pretty when you want to be, Charles. No wonder he's crazy about you." Thea snickered and I slapped her arm in annoyance.

"He's waiting for you outside." Thea's voice echoed in my bedroom and I realised this was it. There was no going back from this. Taking a deep breath, I turned around and made my way towards the door, the only thing standing between us. "Okay, so don't forget to breathe." Thea teased from behind but I ignored her. With a shaky hand, I opened the door and my heart nearly jumped out of my mouth at the sight in front of me. Pietro stood on the other side of the door, like he was waiting for me. His eyes wandered all over and I stood there frozen as he continued to stare at me shamelessly, his mouth slightly ajar. If I wasn't a nervous mess before, I sure was now. His burning gaze left a fiery trail on my skin and I fiddled with the hem of my dress, unsure of what to do. 

I wanted to run back inside and hide under my bed—agreeing to go out with him was a terrible idea, he was too intense already and we hadn't even left the apartment. As if he could hear my inner dilemma, his scorching gaze caught mine and I gasped at the intensity in his beautiful eyes. My heart thundered rapidly against my rib cage and I averted my eyes, unable to keep up the intensity. Shit, shit. Abort mission. Abort mission!

"Okay, Pietro. You can stop staring at my sister like a starved man." Thea's obnoxious statement sent a rush of heat to my cheeks and I looked down in embarrassment. I heard him clear his throat and apologise, but I knew he wasn't.

"Curfew is not an issue but I expect my sister to be back by morning—not before that."

"Thea!" I squeaked, mortified to my core. I turned to glare at her but she just grinned suggestively. I turned to look at him and he looked amused himself, even entertaining that idea. "Don't worry, she will be back before you get a chance to file for a missing persons report." His deep voice startled me, an eyebrow raised in a teasing manner that earned a chuckle from Thea but did nothing to ease my discomfort. I was surrounded by the devils and I fell right into their trap.

"Shall we?" His husky voice against my ear made me jump, he was so close and then he wasn't. I gulped nervously, seeing him stand so close to me with his left hand reaching out to hold mine. I gathered my wits and any remaining courage I had left. "Let's go." I almost whispered, my shaky hand now within his grasp. He looked at me with a look I'd never seen before, and it made my stomach flip. This was going to be one long night.