Title: Mine

Author: I Am Marvel Girl
Rating: T
Warnings: Mentions of child abuse.
Summary: When Maria Hill decided to attend NYU, she never expected it would lead her to a new life with the man of her dreams. (Steve/Maria AU)
Disclaimer: I do not own The Avengers. I got the title and a lot of the plot from Taylor Swift's song of the same name.
Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this chapter and I look forward to hearing what you think of it. :)

Eighteen-year-old Maria Hill walked into a quiet little diner in Brooklyn, her long, dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. It was about ten in the morning and she was fresh off the bus from Chicago. In fact, she still had her suitcase with her. Rolling it along behind her, she walked over to the corner booth and sat down, being certain to move her suitcase close to her leg. Everything she owned was in it and she'd rather it not get lost or stolen.

"Hello, welcome to the Williamsburg Diner. Can I get you anything?" She looked up to see a cute guy looking down at her. He had big blue eyes and blond hair and was also quite muscular. God, he's cute. Stop it, just order something. She looked up at the menu board for a minute and then decided.

"I'll have a Coke and a cheeseburger, please," she said, attempting to smile. She hated her smile but, for some reason, this guy made her want to. She hoped he thought she was pretty, although she highly doubted he would. He looked like something straight out of a magazine and she, well, she didn't.

"Yes ma'am," he said, smiling back. She couldn't be sure but she could've sworn that he blushed before he turned to walk away. Why would he blush? Just because I smiled at him? Yeah right. I'm being an idiot. He could get any girl he wanted.

Maria finally took a good look around the room. There were very few people inside. There was an elderly couple seated next to the large windows in the front and two men seated at the counter. Other than that, it was empty.

Sighing, Maria pulled out her map of the New York Subway System and figured out that, in order to get to NYU, she'd need to take the N train. She wasn't sure how she'd ended up here, to be honest. Probably took the wrong train.

She heard a bell chime and saw the cute waiter walk over to the order window. As he walked over to her table, he smiled. "A cheeseburger and fries and a Coke," he said, placing her food and drink in front of her.

"Thanks," she said softly, smiling back at him. "My name's Maria, by the way."

"I'm Steve," he replied. "So are you from around here?"

"No," she said. "I'm from Chicago, actually. I'm going to NYU but, somehow, I managed to end up in Brooklyn instead of Manhattan. Just to be clear, from here, if I want to get to NYU, I take the N train, right?"

"Yeah, that should take you right to NYU. I'm actually a student there, too. What are you studying?"

"I'm not exactly sure yet. Figured I'd take a few required courses and research some careers before making my choice. I just needed to get away from home."

"Won't your folks miss you," he asked, looking curious.

"It's just my dad. And he probably won't," she said. Seeing the look on his face she added, "Don't feel bad, I won't miss him either. We don't exactly get along."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said softly. The bell above the door chimed and he looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, I've gotta go."

She ate her food in silence and felt better having something on her stomach. She was secretly happy as Steve made his way back to her table. "Would you like anything else, Maria?"

"Just the check, please. I've got to be going."

"Be right up," he replied. He returned a few moments later with two slips of paper. He handed both to her and said, "Your total is $7.00." She handed him a ten and he walked away to get her change. She looked at the slips of paper in her hand. One was her bill but on the other was Steve's name and number along with the words, I'd love to see you again. She tucked the second slip into her wallet behind her ID and pulled out a slip of paper of her own. She wrote down her name and number and slipped out of the diner and made her way to the nearest subway entrance, still not believing that a guy like him would even give a girl like her the time of day.