You know, I've always had a certain dislike (okay, hatred) for Mondays. There's even a picture on Pinterest with Loki in it after he's been beaten up by the Hulk and it says, "I hate Mondays." Personally, I want to make the first day of the week a little bit better. If any of you are having a bad (or very boring) Monday, I hope this adds a little extra something to your day...or at least fills up five minutes of work. Hope you all like! By the way, thanks everyone for reviewing!

Chapter Thirty-Two

Steve

I had the urge to kick myself as she ran out of the room. What had I just done?

"Captain Rogers, should I send someone to clean up?" JARVIS was referring to the punching bag I had just demolished beyond repair.

It must have taken my silence as a yes because a robot-I believe Stark called it Dummy-quickly made its way over with a broom and dustpan. With nothing left to do, I headed out of the gym and up to my floor.

What were you thinking back there?

I face palmed.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. I should have known better than to act like that in front of her! And then when I looked at her, I would never forget her face. Her eyes had welled up with tears. She had run as fast as she could to keep me from seeing them, but I knew.

The past few weeks I had become someone else. I couldn't sleep, I didn't feel like eating, and I was constantly restless. If her face so much as flashed through my mind, the mere thought kept me up all night.

And it was all from one little hand touch.

How could something so small do this to me? You would think that after storming across battlefields in WWII, I would have been more distraught. But my hand touching hers, it had shaken up my whole world. But why?

You know why.

No. I wouldn't let it happen. I couldn't. Even if I had to continue on like this-shoving her away every chance I got, making myself miserable-I would do it. I couldn't let it happen. Not again.

Hannah

I don't know how long it had been since I had locked myself in my room. I had fallen asleep in the midst of crying and had woken up sometime after that. But my mind wasn't on the time.

I was wallowing in complete misery as my best friend lived in utter hatred of me. I wanted to forget about him. I wished I could have discarded every memory of him so that I wouldn't have to feel like this. But that only brought up the good times. The late pizza runs, the sleepovers with the twins and the early morning workouts. The fond memories only sent me into more hysterics.

It must have been a while since I had come out of my room because my aunt knocked on the door.

"Hannah?"

I sucked in a breath and tried to keep my voice steady.

"Yes?" I asked as calmly as possible, but I could hear the subtle waver in my voice. I hoped she couldn't.

"It's three in the afternoon. Are you okay?" I saw her jiggle the doorknob slightly, only to find it locked just like I had left it. "And why is your door locked?"

I didn't have a good answer for that. Sure, there were locks on the doors here, but there was never a good reason to use them. When I didn't answer, I heard a swift click and the door opened slowly. I hid myself under the covers to hide whatever tear stains had been left from my last session. She sat beside me on the bed and placed her hand on my back, rubbing it softly.

"It's Steve, isn't it?"

The simple question sent me back into tears. I buried my face in the pillows like I had the night before. I felt like baby, but I didn't care. Everything Steve was doing was undeserved and cruel.

"I don't know what I did." I choked out in-between sobs.

"You didn't do anything." She replied gently.

Then what's wrong?

"He hates me. He absolutely hates me."

"I promise it's not you." But I heard the waiver in her voice. She was wondering what had set him off, and she probably had the same feeling that I did that I was the main problem.

After a few minutes of silence, I felt her quickly and silently lift herself off the bed and leave the room, pulling the door shut behind her, leaving me to ponder my thoughts in misery.

Steve

I woke up to the sound of a door slam. I jerked myself up out of bed (as if I had actually been sleeping the night before, which I hadn't.) The thought of Hannah's face when she had left me alone down in the gym haunted me every time I closed my eyes.

I found that my door had not been slammed, but practically ripped off its hinges and lying flat on the floor. And standing in the doorway was my worst nightmare; a red-headed woman with her eyes blazing like wildfire. If looks could kill, I'd be stone cold.

"Get up." She barked. "We need to talk."

I quickly jumped out of bed and cautiously approached her. Although easily a foot taller than her, I was no fool. She could take me out in nothing flat. And that looked exactly like what she was about to do.

"What's wrong with you?" She glared at me with a fury that I couldn't describe.

"What?" I faked my obliviousness.

"How dare you hurt her like that." She took a step towards me, unfolding her arms and pointing at me with blatant accusation. I quickly took a step back. "You've made her feel terrible the past few weeks and all you can do is lie and say you know nothing about it?" She had me backed up to the wall now.

"I don't want to talk about it." I gave her the most honest answer I could without revealing anything.

"That excuse won't fly with me, Steve." She warned. "I put up with enough childish antics at home, and I will not stand by and watch as you continue to hurt my niece."

"I'm doing this so that no one gets hurt." I glared at her now, the anger rising up inside of me.

"You mean you." She retorted.

That's when I realized it.

"How long have you known?"

"A while." She answered.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I had hoped you would figure it out on your own."

"You know he would never let it happen."

"I can persuade him."

"He'd kill me."

"Not if I stop him."

I took in a large breath, thinking. I only had two options; lie or tell the truth. With a lie, I could avoid my feelings. With the truth...

You can't let this happen. Not again. Remember the pain?

The memories of the past hit me with an icy blast. I had suffered and lost in all my years on this earth. When I had woken up in New York City in the new millennium, life had been so empty. I had lost my past and it had deeply affected my future. There had even been a point that I didn't want to continue living anymore. And then life changed.

Keep fighting. It's the only way.

My tough soldier mentality was persistent, but this war was starting to wear on my already battered heart.

"Sort it out with Hannah, or else I'll be back. And I won't be alone next time." She walked out, leaving me alone to my troubling thoughts.

Thank you all for reading! Have a MAGNIFICENT, MARVELOUS Monday!