a ghost's endeavour
by mynameisvaleria
*So I'm going to be going on vacation (finallyyy) for a few days and will not be bringing my computer so this will likely be the last update for at least 4 days or so!
2.
"You have a skateboard?" he asked, surprised.
Hayley shrugged, and picked it up, inspecting it. "It makes for easy transport on campus," she replied, "I got it before I met him, but I made up my mind to properly learn how to use it after. Anyhow, it's been pretty useful the past year."
He tried to keep his mouth shut about the items she had packed into a small suitcase after that, because everything that he had asked about somehow led her back to this ex-lover who clearly had (who still has) a large presence in her life.
"As I said," he rolled his eyes, "I exist to drive you places."
She laughed. "I'm actually starting to believe that, but then again, it's your pleasure," she teased. "Besides, what else do you have to do in your spare time anyway?"
"Save the world, maybe?"
"I thought that was your work."
"It's also a bit of a hobby."
"I can see that," she replied, and then patted him in the chest before she went to wheel her suitcase into the car that he had borrowed from Stark. Then she yelled back, "You know what? We should go for a spin in this, it's gorgeous!"
"You should thank Stark—he lent it to us."
"Yeah, I should, but I don't want to inflate his ego, you know?" she laughed, and then shook her head, "but really, I should."
Steve helped her load her luggage into the car, and started driving. "He said he wanted to meet you anyway," he said, frowning.
She laughed once again, and fiddled around with the radio to get it to her favourite radio station, then replied, "Well, tell him I'm willing to have lunch with him if he pays for it—because unless you haven't noticed by now I'm poor as shit and won't be able to afford his luxuries."
Steve was quiet for about five minutes as they drove, and Hayley was beginning to think that she had said something wrong. She was about to try and fix it when he broke the silence by saying, "So, where are we going, ma'am?"
Hayley rolled her eyes but let a smile show. "Wherever you're feeling, sir. I figured I've used you enough today," she grinned in a suggestive way, knowing that it would make him uncomfortable, "so, consider it my treat."
He flushed, but gathered himself enough to grumble, "Some treat this is."
. . .
They had gone to a country park and dinner afterwards, and he had just dropped her off at her dorm. Even though it was 9pm, when Steve offered to help her unpack, she did not disagree with him, and let him mostly watch her arrange her room accordingly.
He eyed the room at the far end of the flat. "Do you have someone living with you?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I have two other roommates but they're not back yet, meanwhile I decided to take summer term, being the nerd that I am. Do you mind helping me with the linings?"
He chuckled, and slipped the fitted linen onto the other end of the mattress easily as she struggled with her side. Normally, Steve would have offered to help, but despite the slight guilt that was biting at his gut, he amused himself instead by watching her struggle.
"Aren't you supposed to be a gentleman, Steve?" she rolled her eyes at the raised brow and the tug at the left side of his lip and finally managed to pull through.
"I apologise, I'll keep that in mind next time," he grinned, and replaced the covers onto her bed.
Stepping back, Steve glanced around the room and tried to gauge some more of her history from the surroundings. Hayley Song's room was extremely stylistic but also simplistic, not that it was unexpected. She had hung a dark coloured tapestry on the wall right next to her bed, and the wall above her desk she had littered with photos of friends and family. Alcohol bottles lined the top shelf, and ironically, plastic flowers poked out of some of them. A dying cactus plant stood on her desk, along with her cardboard initials that were painted black. Something drew his attention from the second shelf, and he looked up to see a jar titled "memories 2k12". There were tiny pieces of paper stuffed inside the jar, but there were very few of them and seemed to be scattered on the floor of the glass jar pitifully.
An inexplicable feeing crawled over him and he slowly started to reach for the jar, although knowing that this was some invisible line that he should not cross.
Then suddenly the jar was out of sight and reach.
"That's kind of private," she said, her voice sharper and harsher than she had intended. Seeing the brief hurt cross his blue eyes, she softened her tone and explained, "It's just… there are some things I don't like to talk about and I put them in there."
He shook his head. "I shouldn't have anyway, I don't know why I was so rude."
"Don't worry about it."
There was a slight pause, and Steve spoke up again. "Anyway, I should get going, it's—"
"—quite late, maybe you should stay instead. I mean, I have a mattress and everything, I just don't want you to drive home late at night," she interrupted. "Besides, we said we would finish season 2 of Sherlock and we never did."
He seemed to contemplate for a while and Hayley was about to take back her words until he nodded. "That sounds like a plan."
That night, they ended up watching Sherlock and falling asleep on the sofa together, and the next morning when Hayley woke up, she found herself still fully dressed in her own bed. Steve, she found, had passed out on the sofa himself, and only woke up when she was about to leave for class.
"Hey," he mumbled, just as she was putting on her shoes.
She smiled at him. "Hey, sorry to wake you. I have class right now but you can stay here if you want to. I'll see you later."
And before he could say anything at all, the door slammed shut.