★彡[ ᴀ ɴᴇᴡ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ? ]彡★

Isabelle tried to grab her apartment keys out of her pocket while trying to balance her shopping bags hooked in her arms at the same time. After successfully managing to pull them out, she threw her door open triumphantly which slammed against the wall with a thud.

Locking her door, she began to put the shopping bags on the counter top in the kitchen before pullings things out of the bags to put in the fridge which was completely empty. It was a miracle that she actually managed to drag her tired self to go grocery shopping after three sleepless nights of studying to keep up with her grades.

Isabelle then excitedly placed a large frozen pizza on the counter top which was her dinner that night. She turned the oven on and put the pizza in. It was peaceful for a while as she began slicing cucumbers and lettuce for her salad, humming to herself. 

But the quiet didn't last long. A hard thud was heard from the outside, making Izzy roll her eyes. It was probably those stray cats again. Yet, curiosity got the better of her, as it normally did, and she walked towards the window. 

Isabelle's eyebrows furrowed in surprise as she glanced out the window. It really wasn't what she was expecting. She thought the stray cats might've been fighting again, but it wasn't. It was a girl. An exhausted girl at that. She was slumped against the wall, her clothes covered in blood and not moving.

Isabelle looked up and down the alley, and could see someone emerging from the dark and that settled her decision. Isabelle didn't want to look back out in the alley and see a dead body. Not if she could help it.

The dark-haired female took the stairs, running out of the lobby and towards the back alley where she could see a man dressed in all black hovering over the girl's exhausted body, aiming his gun at her with his back facing towards her. 

Biting her lip, Isabelle gave herself little time to hesitate, grabbing a broken metal rod lying on the ground beside her before charging forward. She slammed the rod against his head with all her might, watching as he collapsed to the ground with a groan, buying her some time.

Isabelle grinned down at the blonde girl, who's face changed into one of confusion. She reached down to try and haul the blonde up, struggling slightly under her weight. 

"Come on, help me out a little here," Isabelle grumbled. "He's going to wake up soon, and I don't want to die tonight."

The blonde's cold sapphire eyes glared into her own hazel ones, before allowing Isabelle to help her to her feet and lead her out of the alleyway and away from the man. As soon as they were out of sight, the blonde ripped her arm out of Isabelle's hand. 

"I had it under control. I didn't need your help." The blonde glared at Isabelle, her accent evident while the dark-haired female sneered at her tone, raising an eyebrow. 

"Wow, ungrateful much," Isabelle grumbled while the blonde scowled, an annoyed expression plastered across her face. "A 'thank you' would have been enough."

Isabelle rolled her eyes before wandering back towards her house, leaving the annoyed blonde alone. Was common courtesy not well known? Isabelle heard the blonde sigh behind her before a hand grabbed the dark-haired female's arm to spin her back around.

"Thank you, happy?" The blonde asked.

Isabelle grinned sarcastically. "Absolutely." 

The blonde nodded before she began walking away, placing her gun back in her pocket which Isabelle hadn't noticed. The dark-haired female's eyebrows suddenly furrowed. It somehow felt like the dark-haired female had seen the blonde somewhere before, yet she couldn't place how.

"You seem familiar. Have we met before?"

The blonde-haired female halted in her steps, pausing before turning to her. "No, we haven't."

There was a tense silence between the two. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or maybe it was because Isabelle was intrigued by the blonde, but she decided maybe she could help her, and maybe be friends with her, not that she was in desperate need of one (yes, she really was).

"Do you want food?" Isabelle offered.

Isabelle's mind was screaming stranger danger but she decided to ignore it. The stranger seemed like she could use some food, and Izzy wanted to be generous.

The blonde looked up at her, raising an eyebrow at her words. Moments ago, the dark-haired female was being slightly snarky with her, and now she was offering her food.

"What?" The blonde blinked.

Isabelle sighed, before glancing back at her apartment building. "I've got some pizza in the oven at home, if it hasn't already burnt. Do you want some?"

 The blonde still looked conflicted while Isabelle added, "There's way more than I can eat alone."

That wasn't entirely true. Isabelle could definitely eat the whole pizza in one sitting, but the blonde didn't need to know that. Reluctantly, the blonde nodded her head before following the dark-haired female back up to her home.

Neither of them said much as they walked together. Opening her door, Isabelle let the blonde in to sit on the couch as she pulled the slightly crispy pizza from the oven before beginning to cut it into slices. 

"What's your name?" The blonde asked.

Isabelle turned around at her voice, finally being able to see the blonde in proper lighting as she spoke to her. She had left her vest and bag on the couch, and was now leaning against her fridge, watching her with those piercing sapphire eyes of hers, that seemed too ethereal to exist.

"Isabelle Grayson. I'm 21. You?" She replied before asking, holding her hand out to the blonde girl. 

The blonde paused before sending Isabelle a small nod and accepted her hand, shaking it gently but with a firm hold. "Yelena Belova. I'm also 21."

Isabelle grinned, glad to at least know the blonde's name and age. She could only hope that Yelena wasn't a serial killer or something. That wouldn't be good.

"Well, the plates are over there, Yelena." Isabelle pointed out.

The slightly shorter blonde nodded before grabbing two plates out for her and some cutlery that she had located in a drawer. Yelena waited for her to serve out the food, before sitting down opposite to Isabelle at the table. 

"Thanks." The dark-haired female grinned at her. "Dig in!"

Yelena seemed to pause for a moment, looking out the window, as if something were going to appear, before cautiously beginning to eat. Isabelle watched her carefully before devouring her own pizza slices and eating her salad. 

"Was it okay?" Isabelle asked.

Yelena glanced up, nodding as the dark-haired female glanced at the clock for the time. Isabelle really wanted to get to bed early since she was sleep deprived for days, but at the same time, she wasn't exactly comfortable leaving Yelena alone in her home. 

"If you want, you can have a shower? Get the dirt out of your hair and freshen up," Isabelle offered. "I have some spare clothes you can borrow."

Yelena raised an eyebrow at her. "Is that alright?"

"No," Isabelle replied seriously before grinning. "Yeah, of course it is! I wouldn't have offered if it wasn't. I'm just gonna clean up until then and then watch some stuff."

Yelena nodded before allowing Isabelle to show her where the shower, towels and the spare clothes were for her to clean up. The blonde nodded in understanding before closing the bathroom door.

The dark-haired female left the room and returned to where her TV was set up, putting on Star Wars and plopping herself on the couch, waiting for Yelena to emerge. Maybe then, they could talk about everything.