Chapter 5
“What is he talking about?”
“Shush,”
“Does that not sound like gibberish to you?”
“Steve,” Darcy admonished. Darcy glanced at her side to see other classmates giving her odd looks. “You said you would be quiet.”
“Sorry, it’s just I don’t know how you can listen to this without falling asleep.”
“Steve,” She warned.
“All right, I’ll be quiet.”
Steve focused on his drawing while listening to Darcy’s teacher drone. Before him laid the beginnings of an ad he had been hired to draw but he could also see Darcy’s hand moving across a page or paper as she scribbled out notes. He studied her movements, admiring how beautiful her hand was before pulling out a fresh piece of paper. He focused more on Darcy’s hand, the star shaped ring on her pinky and the bracelets that moved on her wrist. He startled when Darcy started moving and her hand was taken away from his vision.
“What were you doing?” Darcy asked as soon as she was away from other students.
“Oh, uh nothing.” He tried shoving the paper aside but he knew Darcy had already seen it.
“Is that my hand?” She asked.
“Well, yeah. I just couldn’t focus on this ad and…it’s a rough draft…”
“I like it. You’re really talented, Steve.”
“Oh, thank you. I um…”
Steve was suddenly cut off when a strange guy was standing in front of Darcy. He had short cut hair and a muscular healthy frame that Steve envied.
“Oh, hey David.” Darcy said to the man.
“Hey, Darce. I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to grab some coffee and study for the test for Friday.”
“Sure, should I ask Kate and Thomas to join us?” She asked.
“Well I was kind of hoping it would be just the two of us.” The guy smiled.
Steve felt him stomach drop and his hand grip the pencil tighter. He hadn’t considered this possibility which had been completely stupid of him.
“Which night were you thinking of studying?” She asked instead.
“How about tonight?” The guy’s smile got brighter.
“Sorry, I got a date tonight. I’ll let you know if I can make it another night.” She brushed him off with a smile and continued on to her next class.
“You uh,” Steve coughed. “You have a date tonight?”
“Yep,” Darcy replied brightly. “You and I are going to watch a movie.”
“Darce…” He warned softly.
“Just trust me, Stevie.”
Later that night Darcy settled in her bed with her laptop in front of her. She waited till Diane let for dinner before loading up the movie.
“Okay, you comfortable?” Darcy asked.
Steve settled more onto his bed that he could. “Yeah, I guess so. Doesn’t this count as one of those things that I shouldn’t see?”
“Well, I did research on what was coming out in that time and decided that watching the Wizard of Oz shouldn’t alter the space time continuum.”
“Bucky and I just watched that last week!” Steve exclaimed. “It was a good one.”
Darcy smiled secretly. “Yeah, the beginning of cinematic classics.”
Darcy played the movie and sat back against her pillows. Even though Steve was there with her, making remarks about the evilness of the wicked witch, part of her wished that he was right there beside her.
“Is this really a date?” He whispered.
“I like to think it is. Kind of a happy medium, ya know?”
“I wish it felt more real.” He sighed.
“Me too,” Darcy ran a hand through her tangled hair. “Who says we can’t make this real?”
“Do you really want to be dating a guy who’s from a completely different time?” He asked skeptically.
“Hey, if anyone can make this work, it’s me. I once aced a class without even being there, so don’t underestimate my badassery.”
“And what about when I go off to war? What if me getting hurt means you get hurt?” He asked suddenly.
“You’re…”
“I’m trying again the day after tomorrow.”
“Again?” Darcy sputtered.
“I’m having some trouble getting in, that’s all.” He brushed it off.
“You’re more sick than you told me, aren’t you?” She asked softly.
“It’s nothing I can’t handle, Darcy. I’ve been dealing with stuff like this my whole life.”
“So you really think you’re okay to go off and fight in a warzone?” She asked skeptically.
“I can’t keep sitting by and letting people die when there’s something I could be doing, Darcy.”
“And what happens if you get killed, what then?” She yelled.
“The only thing I’m worried about is you getting hurt with your connection to me.”
“I don’t want you getting hurt, period!”
“It doesn’t matter, I’m already dead in your time!”
Darcy stilled as suddenly Steve started coughing violently. She watched as bent over and tried to control his breathing. She felt tears pool in her eyes and hastily wiped them away. She waited until he was breathing normally before speaking.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he rasped. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for us to start a fight.”
“They say it’s good to go ahead and get the first fight out of the way.” She replied lightly.
He let out a weak laugh. “You got to understand that I have to do this, Darcy. I can’t just stand by and watch.”
“I know,” She replied softly. “I just found you so I don’t want to lose you.”
“You’re not going to, I promise.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Steve.”
“But I can try to keep it.” He sighed heavily. “Some first date, huh?”
“Definitely one of the most interesting I’ve ever had.” She chuckled.
“Not the most interesting?”
She tsked. “Sorry, that goes to the guy who brought his sister with him on the first date.”
“A chaperone isn’t bad.”
“Not as a chaperone,” she corrected. “Like, she was part of the date.”
Steve choked. “Where do you meet these people?”
“Hey, I was sixteen! It was my first date ever!” She defended. “What was your first date?”
“Kind of like how they all go,” he shrugged. “Bucky and I was on this double date with these two girls. They both ended up liking him more.”
“Stupid girls,” she replied. “Do you mean that guy that came in the other night?”
“Yep, that’s my best bud. Has been since forever. Girls fall all over him.”
“Eh, he’s cute, but nothing on you.”
“Darcy, you don’t have to keep saying things like that. I know what I look like.”
“And? Look, I’ve dated really good looking guys who just ended up being shitty. I look for more than a good set of labs, Steve. You, you have a beautiful heart and mind. I like that a lot about you.”
“But we can never have anything, Darcy.” He reminded softly. “We can never be together like normal people.”
“I think you’re looking at this the wrong way.” She admonished. “We get to be closer than other people.”
“And what about the other stuff that matters? What happens when you meet a guy and you want to settle down? Do you really want me living in your head that whole time?”
“Look Steve, I don’t know how this is going to play out. Next month this connection could be severed. I would rather just take this one day at a time.”
Steve sighed. “You’re one heck of a gal, Darcy Lewis.”
“It’s a good thing you’re stuck with me, Steve Rogers.”