Chapter 2
Darcy groaned as the alarm sounded off again. Maybe if she ignored it, she could transport herself into a universe where she didn’t have to get up at five am on a freakin’ Saturday! Darcy knew though if she didn'’ shut off the alarm soon then her roommate, Diane, would throw a pillow across the room and, well…the last time that had happened they had to buy a new lamp. Darcy still isn’t sure why she had to pay for half when it wasn’t even her fault when it broke!
With a growl, Darcy smacked her hand on the alarm and rolled off the bed. She let out a grunt as she landed on the floor but brushed herself off and went in pursuit of her work clothes. No need for a shower, she would just want one when she got off work. A pair of old jeans and a simple dark tshirt, she tied on her tennis shoes and grabbed her car keys. She kept the music up loud enough to wake her before she reached the small diner where she worked part time. If it wasn’t for the extra money she was pulling each week she would have quiet this job a while back ago. Jake, the owner gave her the stink eye and motioned towards the clock when she walked in. Darcy mentally rolled her eyes before walking to the kitchen. She nodded a hello to the head cook, Nicky, before donning on an apron. She had been working here long enough to know the drill. She would do prep work while Nicky did orders till all the prep work was caught up before helping Nicky.
Darcy drew up her knife and picked up a head of lettuce before chopping. She liked this job because sometimes it could be mindless. Well, except during the brunch rush. She swore there was a group of elderly men that would just sit there all day to eat through every meal. She took a deep breath and fought off a yawn. The day went as usual, breakfast having a bit of lull until they got so heavy that halfway through lunch Nicky was biting heads off. Once they were caught up on orders, Nicky left Darcy to clean while she took a smoke break. It was the sixteenth time that day that Darcy thought of quitting. She began cleaning off the counters and putting away containers when she felt it.
A sudden punch to the gut had Darcy dropping a crate of eggs and clutching her stomach. Another punch to her cheek had her flailing to the ground. She gasped for air, holding her cheek and looking around for her attacker, but the only people around were the waitresses staring at her through the window. She heard Jake yelling something about the eggs, but Darcy couldn’t hear him over the blinding pain.
What the hell just happened?
Steve spit out blood as he watched the man walk away from him. He groaned as he tried to stand up. Even though he would strongly deny it later, he wished Bucky wasn’t at work so he could have help getting home. Steve winced as he slowly stood and began his slow walk to his apartment. He could already feel the bruise forming along his cheek. As soon as he made the walk up to his home and slammed the door behind him, he cracked his jaw and let out a rough sigh. He forced down a glass of water and leaned against the counter.
His vision began to get a little fuzzy and he gave his head a gentle shake. One minute he was staring at the blank wall of his apartment and the next he was shifting. He recognized this feeling and willed it to stop.
“Not again,” he muttered to himself.
The vision cleared and he was staring at…cars? Cars he had never seen before. He was then looking down at hands on a steering wheel. Those weren’t his hands though…the nails were a bright red that were chipping away.
“Stupid, so fucking stupid!”
That. Was. Not. His voice.
The hands were banging against the wheel and he could feel it against his already bruised knuckles.
“Hey! Ow!” He yelled.
“What the hell?” The other voice said.
“What’s going on here?” Was Steve talking to himself. He groaned and closed his eyes, praying it would all go away.
“This is not my car…” The other voice said. “I’m going crazy.”
“Please go away,” Steve whispered violently.
He felt tears on his cheeks, but when he reached to wipe them away his cheeks were dry.
“Get out of my head,” the other voice said. “I’m not going to go insane. I’m not, I’m not.”
“Just stop, okay?” He yelled.
“I’m…I don’t know what to do!” She screamed. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Wait, wait! Just stop talking for a second!” Steve commanded.
The other person sniffed, but didn’t say a word.
Steve looked at his surroundings. It was like he was seeing two worlds, both his apartment and the other being this strange place.
“Are you real?” Steve asked quietly.
A choked laugh was his reply. “Yeah, I’m pretty damn real. I’m just going crazy. I blame college. They say it screws with your head.”
“If your real and I’m real…” Steve let the sentence drop.
She was quiet for a moment. “Then what the hell is happening?”
“I don’t know.” Steve kicked the floor and bit off a curse. “What’s your name?”
“Darcy, Darcy Lewis.”
“Nice name,” he noted. “I’m Steve Rogers.”
“Well Steve, I would kind of like to know why you’re in my head. Have I just finally cracked and…what in the world am I seeing?” She suddenly asked.
“Oh, um, I guess my home.”
“You don’t own a lot.” She remarked quietly.
Steve blushed at the statement. “Are you in a car?”
“Yeah, why?”
“It’s just…I’ve never seen a vehicle like that.”
“You’ve never seen a Honda?” She snorted. “I gotta look this up and see if my next trip is the looney bin.”
Steve was confused by the thing the was now looking down at. It was small and square that had pictures moving on it before she suddenly started typing her fingers on it.
“Hey, what’s that?” Steve asked curiously.
“Now you’re gonna tell me you’ve never seen an iPhone.” She said sarcastically.
“No, now what is it?”
“A cellphone, dude.”
“A what?”
Her fingers stopped moving and Steve was back to looking at cars out a window again. He felt her take a deep breath.
“Steve, if you’re going to tell me that not only I have a strange person in my head but also they’re from another time, I’m going straight to the hospital.”
“What do you mean another time?”
“Just agree with me that it’s 2010 and we can move on, ‘kay?”
Steve became rigid.
“Steve? You still there or am I sane again?”
“Don’t go to a hospital, but I can’t agree with you.” His muttered.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Darcy said slowly. “Nope, that’s it. I’m going to get my head checked.”
“No, look.” Steve insisted. “I’ve spent enough of my life being sick I don’t need to be told more.”
“So what am I supposed to do?”
“Maybe…I don’t know.”
Darcy sighed. “Okay, is there any way I can cut off this connection? I gotta get to my dorm and shower off my job.”
“I guess we can try.”
“And we’ll try again later just to see if it works or if this was a weird freak accident.” She planned.
“Okay, when?”
“Tonight. I’ll wait till my roommate leaves with her boyfriend.”
“Okay.” Steve agreed.
“Goodbye, Steve.”
“Goodbye, Darcy.”
He focused his attention on his apartment and the still burning pain in his cheek and the visions were gone. He couldn’t feel her hands tight on the wheel anymore and he couldn’t hear her in his head. Steve silently thanked God and wondered if he should talk to Bucky about this strange incident.