As I tore open her case file, the door knob jiggled violently.

"Damn." I heard Fury growl from outside the room. "I forget where the damn key is for this door." I heard his footsteps fade, and went into panic mode. I folded the lab report to read later, and slipped it down my suit. The skintight thing I was wearing made it pretty difficult, but hopefully I wouldn't run into anybody on the way to my room. I carefully slipped out, being sure to lock it before slipping quickly down the hallway. At the junction that led to all of our rooms, I passed by a muttering Fury, who was on his way back to his office.

I slipped into my room, locking the door behind me and letting out a sigh of relief. I tossed the file onto my bed, quickly shifting over to the small bathroom that was attached to my room. I looked in the mirror, noting my tired face. I realized this is what my mother and Steve must've been talking about; I looked a lot worse than I had thought. I just need a goodnight's sleep, right?

Knocking on my door made me jump. I grabbed the file, neatly stuffing it into my pillow case. I pulled myself together, straightening out my attire before unlocking the door.

Steve stood there with a raised eyebrow.

"You lock your door now?" He asked curiously.

"Oh, no, I was just about to get changed and go down to the gym." He eyed my suspiciously, but nodded.

"I was going to walk you down there."

"Oh, alright! Let me change real quick and we can go." I smiled weakly at him, closing the door before he could say anything else. It made me blush to think that I'd almost forgotten about meeting with him; but it made my heart flutter to realize he'd come up to make sure I'd be coming. Did he really want to talk to me that bad?

Don't be an idiot! He was one of the nicest people I'd ever met; of course he'd be chivalrous like this. It was just in his nature to be kind and caring to all as long as their name wasn't Tony Stark. To think that I would be special in any sort of way… I was acting like a lovesick fangirl. I couldn't help it though.

The strong attraction I had towards him was something that was near impossible to ignore. I had the same amount of attraction towards Tony, he was a very good-looking man, but what threw off the strength in that case was his personality. Steve was everything I admired in a person; he was kind, temperate, and caring. He did things for the good of others; he placed others before himself. If it came down to it, I'm sure he'd sacrifice his life for Tony.

At first I had only known him as the iconic figure of World War II, the brave warrior that stood for the good of the people. Even I had a hard time believing that his good nature wasn't just for show, but I've been given the opportunity to explore his personality and I've realized it's true. The man is naturally… good.

And how many men can you really say that for?

I slipped into the sweatpants and white t-shirt, throwing my hair up before exiting the room. I normally wouldn't dress so casual around a guy I… admired. But Steve was different to me. It was comfortable to be around him, because it felt like I wouldn't be judged. I felt worse about not telling him what I was up to earlier, realizing he would've given me a chance to justify myself had I explained to him.

"You okay?" Steve's face lit up as I exited the room. I smiled back at him.

"I'm fine. Let's get to training."

I was ready to beat the frustration from love and secrets out on a poor punching bag. I was doing a good job of hiding any of my feelings, I never had been, and I could see Steve was trying to piece together what was bothering me. It'd be impossible for him to figure out unless he'd been secretly stalking me… Or talking to Agent Coulson.

Oh god.

"How did your trip to visit your mother go?" Steve asked randomly. I missed the punching bag as he asked me, losing my concentration and slipping forward. The man was fast, I had to give him that. He had caught me by the elbow, preventing me from having an embarrassing crash and keeping me standing. I blushed at the contact, pulling away quickly and trying to hide the anxiety that was slowly creeping up on me.

"It went as well as I thought it would." I went back to the punching bag that he was standing next to now, watching my every move. I kept myself focused this time, blocking out the sounds around me as I pushed myself harder and harder. As I was about to land a finishing punch on the bag, Steve's hand caught my fist and stopped it single handedly. I looked up at him curious, looking away from his intense stare.

"Something's wrong." He stated. "Tell me."

"It's nothing, Steve." I felt his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to face him.

"Why don't you trust me?" I could feel the tears welling up, the heavy feeling on my heart returning as I realized what a horrible reality I had been forced into. If my dad had just been a normal person, if my mom hadn't let me leave, if I was never forced to have these stupid powers, I'd be okay. I'd be at home, another normal person, and I'd know how to deal with my problems. I wouldn't be forced to come up with new ideas and have to think of new possibilities for my future. I wouldn't have to suffer through all this complete and utter bullshit!

I could be in the dark like the rest of the human race. I could be safe and sound in my home, going to school…

"What kind of idiot wants to be abnormal?" I stuttered out , immediately regretting my action. If I had kept quiet perhaps the tears wouldn't have come so easily. Steve stared at me, shocked for a moment. "Who would ask for this life? I want a normal one, I want a normal mom and dad who chastise me for coming home after dark and who hate the boyfriend I'm with but respect my decisions. I want a predictable, boring life where I know I'll die at a ripe old age. I want a life with no secrets, with no lies and deceit; I want to be normal."

The events afterward moved to fast for me to think; one minute I was standing alone, crying, and the next I was in the arms of iconic hero Captain America. His arms flexed as he pulled me closer, his hands resting firmly on my back. I felt more than embarrassed than before, wishing that I didn't feel as pathetic as I did. My body betrayed my mind, who said to be strong and to wipe away the tears; instead I leaned into his arms and enjoyed the new feeling of warmth.

"We should stop for the night…"Steve suggested. I shivered at feeling his warm breath on my ear; I had never been close to a guy before. I nodded, pushing away from him and avoiding his eyes. On the way back to our rooms, I could see the constant glances he sent my way. I wanted to drag him along with me for comfort after I read the dreadful file that was still waiting for me back in my room.

"You!" Fury's voice boomed through the hallway. "You stole one of my files!" Oh damn. Damn, damn, damn! How did he find out? Did I leave behind a hair follicle or something? Fury began to walk towards me, killing intent in his eyes before Steve held his arm out in front of me and blocked Fury's path.

"She wouldn't do that." I wanted to tell him he was wrong to defend, for I had taken one of the files, but his faith in me…

"Is that so? Then why is the file pertaining to her missing? Along with Elizabeth Hurley's?"

"I don't have those files!" I exclaimed. "Why would I want my own file and one of some girl I don't know?" Fury glared hard at me; it was obvious the trust issues between the two of us were never going to be solved. Not at this rate. He let out another threatening growl, turning to head back towards his office before stopping abruptly.

"Let me find out you were in my office, girl, and you may not live to see tomorrow." I inhaled sharply, looking down.

What he had said was not an empty threat.