𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐌━︎━︎ W. Maximoff ✓︎

𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
CHESS

SALEM SAT IN HER ROOM, a chess board sitting in front of her as she narrowed her eyes at the board. If there was one thing that most people didn't know about Salem, that would have to be the love she had for chess. She didn't know why she liked it. It wasn't that interesting of a came. But maybe it was the thought of the pieces being named royalty. If she had a favorite piece of the board, it would have to be the knight or the rook-- which she preferred to call the castle because that's what it looked like. She often played chess with Natasha or Clint, and she absolutely hated playing it with Bruce or Tony, seeing as they would go all smart on her and say things that didn't register in her brain as English.

A knock came on her door, making the girl glance away from the game and towards the door. She furrowed her eyebrows before picking up the remote and pausing Grey's Anatomy that she had been playing as background noise. She tucked her hair behind her ear before standing up and making her way over to the door, pulling it open and raising an eyebrow in surprise when she saw Wanda standing there.

     "Wanda?" Salem questioned. "What's up?"

     "Nothing really." Wanda answered. She had prepared herself an excuse as to why she wanted to walk up to Salem's door. But now that Salem stood there in front of her, her mind seemed to go completely blank. Salem was still wearing pajama's, today having been a lazy day for the female. Her hair fell over her shoulders in beach waves and her face void of any make-up, making Wanda wondered why she didn't wear her natural look more often. She looked gorgeous without it, though she understood why it was there seeing the bags that were placed under her eyes from the years of sleepless nights and late missions.

     "Did you want something. . .?" Salem questioned, still looking at the woman with a raised eyebrow. Wanda had just been standing there, staring at the woman as she analyzed her. Wanda blinked, her cheeks heating up in slight embarrassment which made a smirk crawl onto Salem's face.

     "I didn't interrupt you, did I?" Wanda questioned. Salem glanced back towards her game of chess before looking back towards Wanda with a small smile on her face, shaking her head in response.

      "Only my one sided game of chess." Salem answered her. Wanda glanced over the woman's shoulder to see the game was indeed one sided with only the black pieces on the board and the whites were scattered around it as if she had been playing against herself. Which, she basically had been. She was just cheating and not playing how she usually did when she had an actually opponent that wasn't herself. Upon noticing Wanda's curious look, Salem seemed to brighten a little. "Do you play?"

     "No." Wanda simply answered before looking away from the game and towards Salem.

     "Would you like to learn?" Salem asked, stepping to the side as if to let Wanda in. The woman smiled gently before nodding her head and entering the room. Salem closed the door before walking over to the game, setting the pieces back into their original places as Wanda sat across from her. She grabbed the remote, changing it from her TV show to some soft background music so it wouldn't necessarily be all that quiet. She looked up at Wanda who was glancing at all of the pieces, wondering what it was that they did.

     Salem chuckled softly. "You look utterly confused."

     "Well, I know what the game is. And the concept. I just don't remember. . ." Wanda trailed off. Salem couldn't help but smile in excitement, Wanda watching as her eyes lit up.

     "Well, allow me to explain." Salem started. She started with the rook, explain its moves and what it does. She explained every single piece in so much detail that it was complicated to understand how long she truly spent her time playing the game. When Salem finished explaining, she was trying to catch her breath from how much she had spoken. Wanda had watched the girl with intrigued eyes, a soft smile was on her face the entire time she watched Salem explained the game that seemed so simple yet so complicated at the same time.

     "So. . . do you understand?" Salem asked, looking up towards Wanda for the first time since she had begun explaining. Wanda blinked, sitting up a little straighter once Salem's eyes were on her once again.

     "I believe so." Wanda answered.

     "Well, let's play, shall we?" Salem asked, a small smirk falling on her face. With that, the game began. Wanda and Salem played against each other, and Salem had to admit that Wanda was really good. They were neck to neck with one another before Salem cheered in victory. "Yes!" Wanda smiled at Salem's victory. "Wanda, I must say that you are a great opponent."

     "You as well, Salem."

     Salem looked at Wanda for a moment, not wanting her to leave now that the game was over. Salem bit her lip, glancing towards her television before glancing towards Wanda. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before smiling at the woman, a hopeful smile. "Do you maybe want to watch a movie or something?" Salem asked. Wanda looked up at her, surprised, which immediately sent Salem into a panic. "You don't have to if you don't want to. You probably have way more important things to do than hang out with me." She waved her head, letting out a slightly embarrassed chuckle. "You know what, forget I even asked."

     Salem started to reset the game for later when suddenly Wanda's hand was placed over top of hers, making her stop and look up at the woman. Wanda smiled at Salem before saying, "I'd like that."