Yeah so, I'm not sure about this but.. yeah. I'm not used to the whole under pressure to update thing but I love reviews :)
So.. review :) Do it..
About the whole update deadline thing, ill update once a week or so.
If you have any questions just ask me.
Oh yeah and their meeting got a little rushed but, hey, I tried.
Okay..
Chapter Two-Steve Rogers.
Her father's room was a lot like hers apart from the wall colour and the neatness. Although Elena's clothes were strung around her room like she'd thrown them in the air and left them where they landed, her room would still be neater than her fathers.
It was as if a tornado had been through his room with all different notes stuck everywhere and the clothes and bed covers laying all over the place, she even though she saw some of that 'pudding in a minute slowly moulding on the floor in the corner.
Elena knew that Howard Stark was really a busy man, but would it kill him to clean up once in a while, she was surprised the dishes had been done, although he might have just been eating that pudding stuff which didn't really need plates.
She had to watch her step as she hoped over clothes to get to his closet and was almost knocked over by all of the clothing that fell out of it.
She picked out a simple pair of beige trousers and a blue buttoned shirt and a large coat which would hide her not-so-big chest which wouldn't be hidden with the small shirt.
Putting them on made her feel silly, the pants were too long and so were the sleeves so she had to resort to rolling them up and it made her look stupid, but he shrugged it off when she realised that it was just a trip to the store.
Putting on her father's clumpy shoes were even more difficult since her feet were far too small and she had to wear five pairs of socks for her to be able to walk, although she wouldn't be able to run.
After putting her hair up and placing on a hat, she deemed herself ready and picked up her wallet, leaving out the back door and was happy to find her old escape route through a hole covered by bushes in the security fence.
She used to use it to sneak out and she noticed with a giggle that her father still did not know about it, it he did he would flip out.
Getting through the hole wasn't hard per say, but she had to make sure there wasn't any dirt stains on her knees once she dragged herself through it, looking around like a criminal when she emerged on the other side.
The streets of New York were generally the same as they always had been, she just hoped that the convenience store was still where it was the last time she went there a year ago otherwise she was going to have to ask around, and that risked being caught.
She couldn't exactly imitate a man very well.
The streets weren't exactly pristine but she guessed she was used to the nightlife of Chicago and not used to the daytime of New York.
Finding the convenience store where it rightfully should be Elena inwardly smiled and headed in, keeping her head down to hide her face and hoped the register lady didn't find her shady.
Nervous at the thought, she took a quick glance at the register to see that it was just Maggie who she'd known for years and wished that she didn't have to be in disguise so she would be able to talk with her and see how she was doing now.
But alas, she chose fame.
Elena made quick work of the store and only got a few things, Eggs, Milk, Flour, fruit, vegetables and a lollipop for later when she felt like one.
She was in and out of the store with a record timing of ten minutes, almost eleven but still faster than she ever had before.
During her excited and proud moment she didn't realise how fast she was walking or just who was in front of her and in the next second she had collided with someone and her bags were knocked onto the ground, along with her.
By some miracle her hat managed to stay on and the street was pretty deserted so she didn't have to worry about unnecessary attention to herself before she looked over to the poor guy she bashed into.
He was small, so small she was sure he may have just been a scrawny teenager, his hair was a light blonde and he had pretty blue eyes that glittered. It was a pity he was so tiny, he was quite handsome and could have had a good carrier in the show business.
Elena remembered she was in a disguise and quickly averted her eyes to her fallen bag which had bits and pieces strewn across the flat road and made to pick them up.
The boy, after picking himself up was quick to apologise and started to help her pick up her fallen groceries, which to her amazement, were still intact and not dirty.
Once the two stood up she realised the boy was almost smaller than her 5'3" but it was hard to tell when she had to keep her head down when he was only about two feet away.
"Look I'm really sorry about that, did you want some money for new groceries'-" Elena stopped him mid-sentence with her hand and shook her head no, clearing her throat to try to make it deeper and said "It's fine, it was my mistake" with a smile she hoped he could see without seeing her whole face.
It was silent for a few tense moments in which the two had effectively picked up all of her groceries and they had thankfully stayed intact, though the silence still remained for a moment and Elena anxiously shifted her weight on both legs.
Elena was getting nervous, she really hoped that if he did recognise her that he wasn't a fan, but she couldn't be sure.
The boy stuck out his hand with a smile, "I'm Steve" the boy said, Elena looked at the boy's hand slightly confused for a second and then felt rather stupid when she realised he was doing the universal prelude to a handshake. She was used to men taking her hand and kissing it without her permission, she decided that she much preferred this.
Elena took his hand and shook it as hard as she could, which apparently wasn't much considering this small guy didn't so much as flinch.
And his hand was softer than hers.
She vaguely wondered if he used product and if so, where he got it from, it really worked for him.
"I'm Ele-" She covered up with a cough and cleared her throat at her mistake "I'm er- Elijah"
'Damn it' she thought, 'she was already sounding suspicious'
Elena glanced around but to her relief no one had come down this block anyway and this boy seemed harmless, she decided to indulge him in a conversation, intending to prove the girls in Chicago that she totally had social skills.
Steve smiled at her again and Elena found herself grinning back, damn this kid was infectious.
"Uh, so what brings you out here today?" Elena asked and berated herself internally, how lame did that sound? And if not lame, it sounded as if she was trying to come onto him, how weird would that be?
She was expecting him to cough awkwardly or just walk away but to her surprise the boy, Steve, she corrected herself, merely shrugged casually, "I'm just going to meet up Bucky." he stated.
Elena felt like cheering, he didn't sound uncomfortable at all, maybe she wasn't so terrible after all. But after that she realised that she had no idea what this guy was actually talking about.
This in mind, she tried to think of something cool and boyish to say but all that came out was, "Bucky? A friend of yours?" she asked and choked when she sounded more girly than she had before and Steve seemed to catch on, frowning at her and she raced for an explanation.
"I- uh, haven't finished puberty yet..." was the best she could come up with.
She waited for the disbelief but was shocked to see that her little sentence had caused this 'Steve' to laugh hysterically.
He had doubled over and was patting his knee and everything.
Elena awkwardly joined in on the laugh but she didn't see what was so funny. Oh no, maybe he caught on, oh gosh this was embarrassing, Elena Faye saying something like that? She was going to be laughing-stock of-
A pat on the back brought her out of her out of her thoughts and she saw another bright smile gracing his features again, "I know the feeling" he assured and Elena let out a breath she'd had no idea she had been holding, "I was twenty when my pitch finally died down as well".
With that, Elena laughed along with him but as a car came down the street she remembered she had to get home, what if her dad had come home and missed her? In her new-found panic, Elena scrambled for a quick apology, "oh Jeez, I'm sorry but I'm kind of in a hurry?" she spoke, already making a move to leave and Steve looked a little hurt, she realised she might have offended him and was quick to remedy it, "My dad will be waiting for me and the poor man can't cook so.."
Steve looked grateful at the explanation and was back to the smile in no time, and then jumped up like he had just remembered something "oh hey, I'm a bit early so want some company?"
Now that sounded a bit too flirty but with his expression, she retreated with that thought, the poor guy looked a little lonely and she decided that it wouldn't hurt.
"Yeah, why not?" she said, and her smile brightened when he took one of her bags for her and they were off, her house was quite a bit away and she warned him but he shrugged it off.
"So, Bucky's a friend?" She asked again, he gave her a look that looked suspicious at why she was asking about him but then widened his eyes, "Oh that's right, I told you I was meeting him. Yeah, we grew up together and he has just been accepted into the army, were going to the bar tonight" he said, she realised he must have forgotten that he told her about Bucky and agreed that it might have been strange for a moment.
Steve also put a small emphasis on 'accepted', a small indication that he had been trying to be 'accepted' for a while now.
Pushing that aside, Elena jogged her memory for bars in New York and could only think of one, Tony's, which she happened to know the bartender. It was a nice enough place for a drink and just big enough to dance in too, if you went for that type of thing when you went out, but Elena could honestly say that she had never 'accepted' a dance before in her life.
Or a drink, but that was another story in itself.
Elena looked over at Steve again, "So you want to be in the army huh?" She asked bluntly, keeping her full face obscured but was able to see the darker tone his eyes took, no longer cheerful and free.
Steve put his free hand in his pockets, his other hand occupied by her bag of groceries, and hung his head slightly.
"You catch on pretty quick" he said, his tone of voice lowering a bit as if he was ashamed, of what Elena had no clue and his blue eyes refusing to look at her.
Or him. Gosh this was confusing.
It was obvious that Steve wasn't exactly 'Soldier Material' but that wasn't to say that he wouldn't be good at something else.
Maybe he was smart and could strategize or something, but they denied him and to Elena that seemed unfair.
"I'd like to think that I'm pretty perceptive" She retorted, attempting to lift his spirits and it seemed to do the job a little, but it was then she noticed just how far they'd walked.
The two fell silent after that, it wasn't exactly an awkward silence but there was still tension, neither of them really knew each other did they. And even dressed up as a boy Elena had to be careful right?
Shaking her head suddenly Elena Berated herself, this man seemed like a genuine person and she shouldn't be so suspicious about every person that she meets.
They were already about half-way home and Elena realised she couldn't go into her secret hiding spot with him watching her. How weird would that look?
A small man sneaking into the Stark residence, yeah, that would be great.
Elena turned to him, pointing at a random alley with a small smile partly obscured by her hat.
"That's my place" Elena choked out with how low she was trying to make her voice, Steve looked a little disappointed but still held a little smile.
"I don't suppose I'll see you again huh?" Steve said, causing Elena to raise an eyebrow.
What was he talking about?
"I mean, you're enrolling for the army too right? I bet you'd get in too" Steve trailed off.
Oh. That's right. He probably wanted to be in the army.
No wonder he wanted to be friends with her, she looked more petite than he did and there was more of a chance that she wouldn't be able to get into the army too.
The poor guy probably had his best friend leaving soon and wanted to see if he could get one friend to stay behind with him.
Well Elena wanted to be that friend.
"Nope, I'm as useless as they come." Elena announced before politely reliving him off her groceries and walking down the alley.
Steve's head looked up in hope, His blue eyes sparkling so bright it was blinding.
She stopped and turned to regard him again,
"Say, can I meet with you tonight? At this bar, we can plan how to get into the army together?"
Steve's smile grew even wider if possible and nodded with finality.
"We'll be at the Jukebox Castle, see you there" he said and waved, taking off the other way, looking so distracted that he didn't even notice her walking back out of the alley and back towards her house.
Inwardly, Elena was glad about the situation.
Despite the awkwardness and the random encounter she honestly believed that she handled that very well all things considered, not only did she make a friend without telling them her identity she also increased her acting skills and could successfully pull off impersonating a man.
A pubescent man but she was going to pretend she did a better job than she really did.
Turning the corner Elena noticed her house, fenced off with Stark assured security which had a gaping hole in it which would cause Howard to freak.
Crawling under the hole clumsily with the groceries in each hand and trying to balance them so none of the contents fell out, she made it through without a scratch or a rip in her clothes and felt as if she'd completed some sort of mission.
She had better skills than a super-spy.
Walking over to her backdoor she noticed the sun's rays were dying down, considering she woke up later than she would've usually due to her unnecessary exercise yesterday, (the thought making her grumble at her father's forgetfulness) she decided that today had been a good day and sauntered into her kitchen with a swagger that didn't usually come.
Placing the bags of groceries on the kitchen counter she realized that the cupboards were all open.
Which would be fine except that she distinctly remembered closing them.
Hard.
In frustration.
The sound of footsteps on the floor above her caused her pupils to dilate and the hairs on her arms stand up in fear.
A shiver went down her spine as she realized how vulnerable she was standing in the kitchen in too big shoes at 5'3" and nothing to protect herself with.
Elena's eyes scanned the room in terror and stopped on a signed baseball bat sitting on the top of the fireplace in the living room.
Howard had been so smug when he brought it home bragging that it was signed by some famous base-baller, (of who's name Elena had since forgotten) and hung it up with such pride it was as if his son had won the Nobel prize or something.
Elena felt that this was an appropriate enough situation that her father would forgive her for taking his prized bat from its monument and using it in self-defense.
Reaching up to retrieve it she gathered just how cliché this must have looked and she noticed she looked like some dumb pretty actress running from the villain in the shows she performed for.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she pulled a little too hard on the end and the hard wooden bat made a loud bang as it collided with the hardwood floor.
Elena flinched as if he had been hit herself and could've done it too since she had just informed the baddie of her presence and whereabouts.
Elena raced to hide in the linen cupboard underneath the stairs and waited the tense and horrifying moments of the slow, agonizing footsteps making their way down the stairs.
Elena began praying every god and director she knew for strength.
Was she really going to be able to beat this guy?
How tall was he?
How big was he?
What if he had a gun?
But nothing mattered when the doorknob rattled and the door flew open faster than she knew was possible.
In a moments panic Elena brought the bat down with such force a wrestler would be proud of her and hit the man coming through the doorway with a loud battle cry and her eyes closed.
This was life and death right?
Review Please! It makes me smile. Seriously, even if you just say, "update please" I love it.