Wanda stood outside with Pietro in the cold. ” Why are we out here again?” Pietro asked as he ran in place to “keep warm ” as he said. Wanda rolled her eyes, ” Look we need to talk about the twins before Joanna and I leave.” Wanda saw her brother blushed as she spoke her friend’s name. Awww, he likes her. He should ask her to the dance. I hope Josh asks me. She exhaled and held his hand. ” Ask her. I think she would love it.” Pietro grinned in embarrassment as his sister read his thoughts. ” What if..” Wanda put her finger on his lips. ” She will. Trust me. We both have crushes on them….” She blushed at her own words before Joanna rushed out. ” Sorry, had to kiss Josh bye.” Pietro perked up, remembering his challenge, and ran inside. The girls giggled and head towards the busy city street.
The crisp autumn wind blew coarsely against their warm blushing cheeks. Joanna and Wanda weaved in and out of the sea of bundled bodies as they head towards the towering entrance of the mall. The city was bustling with life as whistles blew, horns honked and jackhammers roared at the construction site of the new office building. Joanna stopped at the doors, ” Is it always this lively on Earth?” ” Yeah pretty much. Holidays are the worst though.” Wanda grinned as they rushed inside the warm mall. Wanda grabbed a map and they pointed out the stores they needed to head to. ” First, Sephora for makeup. Then DSW for shoes, they are important and have great prices. Then Francesca’s has a great verity of dresses or Macy’s would work. Claire’s is great for accessories and jewelry.” Joanna nodded at her friend’s suggestions.
Wanda set off towards the makeup store and it was brightly lit and color ruled the walls. An attendant greeted them and they explained what they needed. Within 15 minutes they left with 1-2 bags of supplies. The mall crowd was thick as they pushed their way through. Joanna groaned, The mall back home had better traffic control then this. Wanda snorted as they entered Francesca’s. ” Oh. Those riding boots look nice with this dress!” Wanda held a azure one-shoulder dress with a long back to Joanna. ” Try it on!” Joanna nodded and with the boots and some jewelry, her outfit was completed. Wanda choose similar short boots with a full length red dress with a waterfall skirt. They giggled at their success.
” So what are your feelings towards Josh?” Joanna inquired as they sipped coffee walking back. Wanda swallowed and blushed bright red. ” Well….I um…He is..uh…” Joanna grinned, ” To be honest, I like your brother too. My heart rate goes up by 40.25% every time I see him.” Wanda laughed. ” Yeah ok. I have a crush on Josh. But do you think he’ll ask me to the dance? I’m the witch that everyone hates.” Joanna stopped Wanda and faced her. ” No you are the sweet girl that everyone loves. You remind me so much of a friend back home, but you are you Wanda. Of course Josh will ask you! I hope Pietro will ask me…” she finished looking down. They walked in silence towards the Tower and then grinned. Race you back Joanna? You bet Wanda! With that they took off until they burst through the doors, breathless and red cheeks from the cold air.
Finally, after another day for preparation, the night of the dance arrived. For morning light to the sunset, Wanda and Joanna had stayed in theirs room all day. Pietro a Dan Josh tried to knock, but they had set little “gift traps” for them as they dubbed the surprises. Josh and Pietro groaned outside their doors. ” Please!” they begged. ” No! You may not come in. Wait outside until it’s time to go!” Wanda and Joanna yelled back. The boys sighed as Thor and Clint led them to the game room to occupy them until 4:15.
Finally, the time arrived. The boys were standing in suits in front of the door waiting for the girls. Pietro had a navy suit with a sliver bow while Josh had a forest green suit with a red bow tie. Pietro grinned, ” We sure fit our names into our suits.” Josh punched him in the arm and laughed. ” Total, jetzt wo sind die …..” he stopped as the girls came down the stairs. Wanda and Joanna had added their own touches to their outfits and had put their hair up in a Grecian braid, but with a few ornaments added. Wanda had a red smoky effect while Joanna had bolder colors to her makeup. The boys were stunned and didn’t move. Josh, hat do we do?!?! I don’t know! They are stunning! Ditto that.
Joanna and Wanda grinned, sensing they were nervous. ” Will you fine gentleman be so kind to escort us outside to our ride?” Joanna asked with a wave of her hand. Pietro stepped forward and took her hand, bowing. ” We would be delighted to guide you fair maidens to the dance.” He winked at Josh as Josh took Wanda’s slender hand. They planted a gentle kiss to their partner’s hand before leading them outside to the limo. Tony stood outside and got up from leaning on the wall when they came out. ” Took you long enough.” The twin sets rolled their eyes and went into the limo as they headed towards the dance.
They entered the brightly lit hallway which was crowed with teens their age. The room was loudly, but there was whispering once they came in. The music was blaring through the overhead speakers which made it hard to hear and the laser didn’t help their sight. Wanda groaned, I think we should talk like this for a while. Joanna nodded while scanning the room for a safe corner for them. I agree. This is just crazy, parties at Xander Academy were much more formal. Well, they had fun moments too. Josh laughed as a energetic song started. He grabbed Wanda went onto the dance floor. ” Dance with me” he whispered and Wanda grinned. They began to dance and everyone gasped at them. Cheers and whistles filled the air as others joined in.
The party was a blast for the quartet. Dinner was a grand buffet and Joanna and Josh were introduced to American style food. Wanda and Pietro laughed at their friend’s amazement at the music and food. They thoroughly enjoyed it. The dances were crazy, but a few slow dances occurred as well. Josh stole a few dances with his sister as well as Wanda. Several girls came up to the Xanderian and Sokovian for fashion advice while the guys challenged Pietro and Josh to various games. However Pietro managed to sneak away with Joanna to the library while Josh fled with Wanda outside to the garden.
Pietro ran down the hall while holding onto Joanna’s hand. ” Slow down! Where are we going?” Joanna blurt out laughing. Her white plaited hair slimmed to shimmer in the light as they ran into the library and shut the doors. Pietro grinned, ” I thought you would like to get away for a bit and read.” He winked at her and tipped his black and white fedora towards her. Joanna scoffed. She flicked his forehead before slowly walking towards the shelves. She ran her fingers along the books, reading their titles until she came across a curious title. Pietro came up behind her and glanced at it. ” Welches Buch ist es?” ( What book is it?)
An Open Window 