Every Breath You Take (James BarnesxOC)

One

Kseniya

I am the luckiest girl in the world.

Yet another $10 bill was seemingly tossed in my path, only partially hidden behind a trash can for me to find. There had been a $20 stuck to my doormat this morning. Being up $30 before I've even made it to work was always a good start.

One day – January 1st, to be exact – I'd been coming across money in the most random of ways. An unexpected refund in the mail, loose bills on my walks to work, a surprise bonus at work. Once, after a slow day with minimal tips at the café, a stranger dropped their money clip on the subway and when I returned it to them, they gave me a crisp $100 as a thank you.

It's not even the random money that makes me lucky. I'll go to get a coffee and breakfast burrito in the morning, and someone will have already paid for me, or the baristas will have made extras so I get my order for free, or they'll throw in a free croissant. When I'm running late, a cab will magically appear for me. After a long, grueling day at work, I'll come home and my neighbor will share her homemade salmon soup – she explained she lived alone and loved to share her Finnish recipes. I loved the salmon soup, but had to admit that I wasn't a fan of the blood dumpling soup. (It was the fact she used a heart that turned me off).

Once, when I accidentally spilled some mustard on one of my favorite shirts while at lunch with my dad, the server rushed over and apologized. I assured her it wasn't their fault, but they insisted that it was. The manager even came out and said they put too much mustard on the sandwich and because of that, they would pay for dry cleaning.

And when my roommate decided she was moving out last minute, a brilliant 1 bedroom opened in my dream location of New York City. I'd been complaining on the phone with my pop about where I was going to live when a real estate agent interrupted me and gave me his business card. Less than a week later, I had the keys to my new place. My ex-roommate nearly exploded with jealousy.

Today was looking up to be yet another fantastic day. It was the beginning of May, which meant the beginning of summer. It was the first day I could officially shed my heavy outer coat, and walk to work with my favorite oversized black jean jacket. I'd "accidentally" stolen it from an ex before I moved here. I'd lied and told him he'd left it in my car and didn't see it when I packed it with boxes.

It was the jerk's fault for saying he was going to move with me, then the day before we were supposed to leave admitting he never planned on going. Last I heard he's shacked up with a chick from high school.

I don't even keep in contact with anyone I went to school with. Except MJ. My ride-or-die. I'd have gone insane without her. She hadn't planned on moving to New York with me, until she heard what my ex did. When I went to leave the next morning after my break up, she'd rolled up with all her bags packed and asked if I had a playlist yet. I refused to let her abandon her life at home, but she admitted she had been accepted at Empire State University, a dream she'd had since she graduated from our local college a few years ago. Even though we had been coming up on our 30th birthdays later that year, she had been determined to go back to school.

Since I already had a roommate lined up for a two bedroom and MJ refused to share a room with me, she found the first available place and moved off my couch as soon as she could. As close as we were, MJ needed her own space. Her hair's curlier and crazier than mine, but she threatened to strangle me if she found any more of my hair in her clothes. And she would use those hairs to do it.

I love that crazy psycho.

The bell dinged upon my entrance to the coffee shop MJ and I worked at. We also worked part time at different places to keep up with the expenses of being able to live. New York was, in a word, expensive. Four nights a week I helped clean a local school. I used to also work at a gas station, but thanks to my rent controlled miracle apartment, and random money popping up, I was able to quit that weeks ago.