CHAPTER TWELVE
( QUINN AND THE HORRIBLE DATE )
THE PIN THAT Jo was using to clip in a stray strand of blonde hair on Quinn's head poked and prodded it's way across her scalp, a whimper of pain leaving Quinn's lips with a hushing sound coming from Jo in response. "Honestly, you should be thanking me," Jo informs her, as she sprays hair spray onto Quinn's head. "I have your hair looking fab - beautiful if you will. If I wasn't around, you would've gone on your date in a ponytail or with your hair down."
"What's wrong with that?" Quinn questions defensively. Wearing her hair down or in a ponytail were her main choices of doing her hair, she didn't have time to dabble in making herself look good like Jo did. "Nothing," Jo replies, eyeing her hairline from the front. "Just a little dull," she shrugs as she begins toying with the front part of her hair.
Quinn frowns as Jo continues to tinker with her hair. She didn't have to go on this date, but she was doing Jo a solid and here she was insulting her. She watches Jo as she sticks her tongue out of the side of her mouth in concentration like a child. "There!" Jo announces while clapping her hands and standing upright. "I am a beauty genius. I should just become a stylist and leave my barista days behind," she flatters herself, earning a groan from Quinn as she stands up from her bed to look in the floor length mirror.
To her surprise, Jo hasn't sabotaged her looks at all. Her hair is in a braided up-do and her bangs a softly swept off to the side to frame her face. The makeup she had done herself complimented her hair and outfit pretty well for a day time date. She nods her head, as she scopes herself out in the mirror. "Not bad, Kapplin," Quinn compliments with a smile as Jo stands behind her with a beaming smile.
The front door rings which surprise both of them, Rudolph is up and barking from the living room. She can hear Josh telling Rudolph to stop barking before he calls out to Jo. "That's your man," Jo announces with a wink. Something about the phrase made Quinn start to feel anxious about the whole date, even though she technically didn't classify it as a date. "I'll be right back," Jo informs her, earning an absentminded nod from Quinn. "You're my proudest work," Jo says as she turns to exit the room.
The light in the room seems to illuminate her stature as she looks at herself nervously in the mirror. There's an underlying pit of anxiety and nervousness working its way throughout her body. She bites down on her lip and curses herself for feeling this way. She's been like this since she was a child. How could she not be when she was delivered the news about her brother?
She hears muffles of voices coming from the living room now, Rudolph going mad with whining. No doubt Maddox had finally entered the loft. She takes a deep breath as she looks at herself in the mirror once again. She reminds herself that she can do this, it's not even a date. She chants this mantra in her head as she turns to exit out into the living area.
That's when she sees him and becomes flustered with embarrassment. He hasn't brought her any flowers or chocolates like he's been saying he's going to, he's brought her a single pink balloon. His smile is wide as he sets his gaze upon her, she can clearly see the infatuation in her eyes along with the blush that was creeping up on his cheeks.
"Hey," he hums out in greeting. "Hey," she greets back, swaying from side to side out of sheer awkwardness. She mentally slaps herself for being this awkward but she couldn't help it, she did feel awkward. He pries his gaze away from her as he fumbles with the balloon in his grasp, making her chuckle. "I didn't get you flowers but I got you this," he states as he hands her the pink string attached to the balloon.
She takes it and looks at the gift in amusement. "Thanks," she says, her voice filled with uncertainty as she lets the balloon fly out of her hand to reach the ceiling. "I don't think that's allowed in museum's but, thank you for the gift." she tries to validate her actions, cursing her anxiety for creeping through.
She looks around him towards Jo, as she gives her a pleading look. Jo notices and grabs on to Josh's large hand and pulls him over to them. "You ready for the museum?" Jo's perky voice asks them. "Yes!" Quinn quickly agrees in a loud voice, taking everyone by surprise. Her eyes widen as she realizes what she's done - Jo doing the same. She clears her throat appropriately before saying, "Yes, we'd love to go."
Jo grabs ahold of Josh's hand once again and leads the way out of the door; Josh patting Rudolph on the head and telling him to be good. Maddox sticks out his hand for Quinn to take. Quinn stares at it momentarily dumbfounded. This is not a date, she has to remind herself.
Instead of taking his hand she hooks her arm around his and places her other hand on her hip. "Let's ride partner," she says in a southern accent gaining a confused look from Maddox. She wants to die at this point from how awkward she's being. "Uh..." Maddox stammers out. "Sure, let's go 'partner'," he replies as he escorts them out of the door.
Quinn looks to Jo once again out of embarrassment as she holds the door open for them. "What are you doing?" Jo mouths as they pass through the door going unnoticed by Maddox. "I don't know. Help me!" Quinn mouths back as she passes by once again going unnoticed by Maddox. They all stand outside of the elevator door, as Jo locks the door. She gives out a sigh of frustration as she passes by Quinn. She was going to ruin this date.
~ BOOK ONE: WINTER SOLDIER ~
"WELCOME TO THE Smithsonian Museum," the voice over the intercom echoed throughout the building. The crowds seemed to hum amongst themselves as they gazed up at the airplanes and satellites hanging for display from the ceiling. Quinn clung on to the side of the escalator tightly as they descended downwards towards the exhibit that displayed Steve. As foreseen, Jo had completely ignored her attempts to ask for help to spend time with Josh, leaving Quinn barely grasping on to a solid conversation with Maddox.
She looked at the scenery in the museum as they descended from the upper floor to the bottom, two column like flags stood on either side of the elevator donning Steve's face within his uniformed helmet, eyes deadpan looking into the distance - not looking like the ones she's grown accustomed to.
"So do you like Captain America?" Maddox asks her, trying his best to start a conversation. Quinn continues to gaze at the banners with Steve's face on them before she answered. "Yeah, I think he's great," she answers honestly as they step off of the escalator. She loses her balance for a moment but Maddox grabs on to her arm to help steady her. She smiles sheepishly as she thanks him. "I wonder if he's nice in person. I've thought about stopping him when we see him running. Never gained the courage to since he looks like he wants to be left alone," Maddox admits as they make their way over to the exhibit, displaying their tickets for the special displays.
Jo and Josh have abandoned them to have their own venture through the exhibit, Jo clinging on to Josh's hand like life support. Quinn shrugs her shoulder as they make their way into the exhibit. "Never met him," she lies. "But I figure he'd be nice," she adds as a guard lets them know to turn off their electronics and that there can be no photos or videos taken within the exhibit. Maddox hooks his arms around hers as they begin their way through the displays. Her heart seems to pitter in her chest at the action, and she's thankful that the area seems to be dim.
The first thing they come across is a black wall with an American flag waving on a television screen; the words "Welcome Back, Cap." in bold white letters across the top of it - a quote from the president once they found out Steve Rogers was alive. Quinn has a small smile on her face as she reads the writing underneath, it's funny to see the words 'scrawny' and 'frail' used to describe Steve. It's something she never pictured him as.
"A symbol to the nation, a hero to the world. The story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery, and sacrifice." A voice narrates from overhead, catching her off guard and making her flinch. Maddox chuckles as he squeezes her arm tighter to reassure her that she was fine. She gives him a frail smile as they continue to move through. Another wall displays a mural of Steve with his suit on, saluting. The saturation of the picture makes him look pinker than what he actually was.
As they enter the next room there's a sizable crowd gathering in the room. Her eyes scan for Jo and Josh but she can't see them over the sea of heads. Maddox shrugs his shoulders as he leans over to see where they're at as well, not able to find them. A kid runs in circles around them, causing Quinn to step closer to Maddox. She smiles sheepishly again once the kid leaves and apologizes for invading his space. She drops his arm as she tries to see what everyone is crowding over.
"Denied from enlistment due to poor health Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique, in the annals of American warfare. One that would transform him into the worlds first super soldier," The voice narrates as she makes her way slowly up to the front of the display. On the side of the wall, there's a picture of what looks to be Steve, he's smaller and skinnier but his eyes still held the same look that he usually gives her. They labeled the photo as 'Pre-Serum Steve' with his height and weight underneath the photo.
She lets out a low whistle as she checks it out. "Jesus, I weigh more than that," she gawks out quickly shutting her mouth as she mentally slaps herself. She didn't have to say that out loud. It makes Maddox laugh. "At least you don't weigh as much as he does after. Or you do and you don't look it," Maddox tries to lighten the mood with a joke as her eyes glaze over the 'post-serum Steve'; the Steve she knows and the one that looks the most familiar which tends to be shirtless in the photo they used.
She smiles between the two photos. There's a small display that kids are clamoring to get to, to measure themselves against 'pre-serum' and 'post-serum' Steve. Maddox grasps on to her hand as they move through the crowd to get to the next area. She immediately drops his hand as soon as the exit the crowd.
She peers over at the motorcycle that used to belong to him back in the day, along with a projection of an old movie that Steve appeared to star in. She bit down on her lip as she watched the terrible silent acting. She couldn't wait to use this as ammo the next time she saw him. "Hey," Maddox calls over to her as he stands in front of a display. Her brows raise in surprise as she looks at the mural of Steve and five other men, each with their outfits on display in front of the mural.
"Battle-tested, Captain America and his howling commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission, taking down Hydra - the nazi rogue science division." The voice informs them as she gazes at the outfits. "Do you think those are the exact outfits they wore?" Maddox questions as he leans over to her. She shrugs in response. "Maybe. At least St- Captain America's. They must've gotten it when they got him out of the ice. I don't know how it stayed intact after it was underwater. You'd think it would have water-damage or something," she rambles while looking at Steve's suit.
Her phone vibrates in her pocket, alarming her. She pats Maddox's arm and gives him a reassuring smile as she wanders off, trying to find a good place to check her phone. It was probably Jo asking her where she was. As she moved away from the crowds of people that were starting to gather around the outfits Quinn plucked the phone out of her pocket.
Her brows raise in surprise as she sees Steve's name pop up on the screen. She wastes no time in opening the text up, deep down she's actually proud of him for actually texting her instead of using some weird note passing maneuver. "Won't be able to make it to a lesson this week. Will be gone with Norris for a day or two on a mission. Can't tell. -Steve" the text reads. She rolls her eyes as she reads it, making a snorting sound as she notes that he actually put his name at the end as if he wouldn't know it's from him. "You got it, Cap," she responds quickly, placing her phone back into her pocket as she looks up at the display she's found herself at.
It's a memorial for someone, the picture of him and inscription is etched in glass as a white light illuminates the display. "Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers were inseparable on both the schoolyard and battlefield. Barnes is the only howling commando to give his life in service of this country." the voice says from overhead.
Quinn reads the inscriptions of their friendship and even looks down at a small monitor that displays black and white media footage of Steve and Bucky messing around during the time of the howling commandos. "Would you die for me?" Jo questions, slinging her arm around her shoulder, surprising Quinn as she drags her head down almost a foot. Jo and Josh have finally managed to come back for them after their abandonment.
"I am dying," Quinn notes pulling Jo away from Maddox and Josh. "This date is going horribly and you're not helping me," she scolds her, earning a sly smile from her roommate. "Are you kidding me? Quinn looks at how he looks at you," she tells her, grabbing her cheeks and forcing her to look over her shoulder. Maddox simply waves awkwardly with a small smile. "Any guy that I've been on dates with would've left ages ago, yet he's still here," she encourages Quinn, sweeping a strand of her hair back into her pinned up bangs.
"He likes you, Quinn. Give him a chance," Jo steps over towards Josh and Maddox, grabbing hold of Josh's hand and leading him away, giving Quinn a chance to actually speak with Maddox. She cautiously steps over to him, eyes looking down at her feet before looking up at him as he meets her halfway.
"I want to apologize about this whole thing," she speaks up. "I haven't been on a date in such a long time and it's kind of nerve-wracking," she admits with a nervous laugh. "It's okay to be nervous," Maddox informs her smiling, tilting her chin to look up at him. "It's the first date, and it's not over yet," he purrs. She smiles, as she gains enough confidence to intertwine her fingers with his.
As they make their round through the museum, their date comes to a halt as Jo's stomach begins to rumble, forcing everyone to get food at the small museum cafe. Jo hums excitedly as she digs into her noodles. Quinn ignores her friends' weird antics as she continues to hold on to Maddox's hand. Whatever she was feeling right - infatuated, smitten - she wanted to feel it all the time.
"So how did you guys like the exhibit?" Josh questions the pair across from him. Quinn shrugs her shoulders. "I liked it, I learned a lot," she answers. She peers curiously over to Maddox to see how he responds. "It was okay," he says with a low tone as he chews his sandwich. "Captain America isn't really my cup of tea. Not a big history buff. Not a big into the fact that he had to be tested in order to get his status. I think they made a mistake, they should've gotten someone who was already fit and see what they turned out to be. Probably like some big biff monster,"
"They chose St-," Quinn caught herself once again. "Captain America because he had a good heart. He can make rational decisions. Not like a jock would be able to do different. I just think he's intelligent enough and rash enough to have what was gifted to him,"
"Yeah but think of the possibilities if they gave that serum to a football player. Muscle upon muscle,"
"Do you think it's brawn that wins wars? It's brains, it's emotions,"
"It's brawn. We won the war from pure gun power. Look at the atomic bomb. We built it, used it, and now most of the world is scared of us,"
"And you're okay with that?" she argues, her voice incredulous. She watches as he nods his head with a large bite of his sandwich in his mouth. She rips her hand away from his as she packs up her lunch tray. She couldn't eat anymore, she felt sick to her stomach. "Quinn," Jo warns in a low voice. Quinn glares up at Jo, who is giving her one back. She knows what that look means. 'Don't make a scene'. She shakes her head and attempts to return to her normal self, agreeing with Maddox even though it killed her inside. She knew this date would go horribly wrong.