❝Oh, when you walk by every night
Talking sweet and looking fine
I get kinda hectic inside
baby, I'm so into you
Darling, if you only knew
all the things that flow through my mind.❞
Fantasy - Mariah Carey
Her eyelids snapped open as the car jolted into position in front of the large, stylish building. Her pencil and the tattered and damaged notepad dropped from her lap and ended up at her feet. She could hear the city's lively bustle and the hurried footsteps of people hurrying to work even before she opened the car door. She could smell the fresh, crisp air as she got out of the car, mixed with the grease from the burger she had eaten on the journey. Her boyfriend Liam met her at the car's hood as she approached it. He unlocked the trunk and began taking boxes out and carrying them inside the apartment building.
"Just pick up whatever you can and I'll do the rest" He called from the entrance.
She looked around before she picked anything up. This was far nicer than Vegas. A box labelled "microwave" could be seen when she peered inside the trunk. That can't possibly be that heavy. The box slid from her grasp as soon as she picked it up. But before it could reach the ground, it was picked up and clasped to a broad chest by a pair of hands. Her gaze followed the box and found a smiling face staring at her. He moved the box to his hip and extended a hand in her direction.
"Hi, I'm Steve. Steve Rogers. I'm assuming by all the boxes you're moving into the apartment down the hall from me"
She grasped his strong hand and shook it lightly as she smiled big at the blonde man.
"Yeah, me and my boyfriend are moving here together. I'm Olivia."
He grabbed the box with the other hand again and motioned to the entrance of the building. "I can help you carry this box up to your door, I'm going up anyway" He pointed to the trunk of the car with his head. "You can grab something else, maybe the box of pillows"
"Are you making fun of me, Rogers?" She teased. His eyes went wide and became a stuttering mess.
"God no, I meant... uh I wouldn't want you to get hurt holding something too big...not that your weak"
Olivia giggled which only confused him more. "I was joking, I knew what you meant"
A spark of relief flashed in his eyes as he sighed. He shrugged off the embarrassment and pointed once more at the complex's entrance. She entered the building after him, carrying a lighter package than the one before. She couldn't help but halt as soon as she walked into the lobby to take in the colorful decor and walls. As Olivia approached the elevator, her mouth dropped open in awe of the enormous area. Steve laughed at her demeanour.
"What, never been in an elevator before?"
"No, of course. Just not one like this."
His eyebrows scrunched together as he turned towards the buttons and pushed the 4th floor.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, the place I grew up wasn't as nice as this"
"Where did you grow up?"
"Vegas"
"Isn't that suppose to be really modern?"
"Not like this. What about you? Where did you grow up?"
"Brooklyn"
Her head whipped to face Steve with the same confused look he had before.
"Brooklyn? Would not have guessed that from your accent"
"No, my accent kinda faded the more I lived here"
The doors opened, revealing a long hallway with her boyfriend exiting her new apartment at the end. She exited the elevator and carried on their walk alongside Steve.
"How long have you lived in New York?" She asked as the elevator door shut behind them.
"Only 3 years"
Olivia and Steve arrived at her door and both dropped the boxes in front of Liam. Steve stretched his hand towards Liam.
"Hi, I'm assuming you're the boyfriend. I'm Steve."
Liam looked down at Steve's hand and hesitantly shook it. His eyes gazed back at Steve's face and smiled.
"Yeah, Liam. I see you've already met my girlfriend." He said to Steve with a hint of malice. Olivia's eyes jumped from Steve to Liam before Liam retracted his and placed both in his pockets. Steve cleared his throat and turned toward Olivia.
"Well, I'll leave you to unpack. Call me if you need any help, my apartment is that one right there." He pointed to the door just down the hall from hers. Olivia nodded her head.
"Tha..."
"We won't be needing any help, thank you" Liam interrupted Olivia whilst staring daggers at Steve.
Steve began walking down the hallway before stopping himself.
"Oh, I forgot to mention, Olivia. I have a roommate who you should meet."
Olivia looked at Liam before she even realised it and then turned back to Steve. "Yeah, that would be great" She could hear the scoff from the back of Liam's throat.
"Maybe when you're done getting all the boxes out of your car, you can come in for some lemonade"
"Thank you, Steve, we'd love to"
Following Steve's withdrawal to his apartment door, Liam put his arm around Olivia's shoulders and pulled her inside. With his foot, he slammed the door shut after picking up the boxes and dragging them through.
❀❀❀
As Liam set the hammer down on the coffee table and settled down on the couch, Olivia shut the door to the bedroom. When he spotted Olivia in the corridor, he beckoned for her to come over and join him. Olivia continued to stand in the corridor and observe Liam.
"Do you think we can take a break and go visit Steve?" She quietly asked.
She could see his eyes roll to the back of his head and then settle on the TV remote that was sitting on the coffee table, even from the hallway. As he picked up the remote and turned on the TV, he raised his feet and set them on the stained wooden table.
"Why don't we stay here and have a break? Sit and watch TV with me"
Olivia put some space between herself and Liam when moving over to the couch and sitting down. He pulled her toward him by grabbing her by the waist. They both stared at the TV box in front of them silently, until Olivia spoke up.
"We could go and have some lemonade and meet Steve's roommate, that would be nice. Don't you think?"
Liam bit his bottom lip and when he turned towards Olivia, she could see a hint of annoyance in his eyes.
"Why are you so adamant about going over there? It would be easier to stay here and not annoy them"
In all honesty, Olivia was frightened by the way he looked at her. Despite her desire to leave the apartment and see something other than the dull beige walls she had been staring at for the past three hours, she hesitated from pushing him.
"I just think it would be good to get out and meet the neighbours, and Steve seems really nice"
"If I say yes, are you gonna shut up about this?"
He spoke in a mocking tone that made Olivia feel insecure. Why was she feeling ashamed?
"Yes...I will" She reluctantly agreed.
Liam groaned and stood from the couch. He leaned over to the only box left on the floor and grabbed a denim jacket, throwing it in Olivia's direction. He began walking to the door but before opening the door, turned to Olivia who was still sitting on the couch.
"Wear that, I don't want you going into their apartment with your breasts hanging out in front of them"
He waited for Olivia to stand before opening the door. She promptly put the jacket on and stood up. While he grabbed the keys, she moved around to the door and stepped outside. Olivia glanced down at her outfit as Liam inserted the key into the door's keyhole. She was wearing sneakers and a yellow summer dress. The collar of the dress sat just above her mid-breast, and the fabric flowed down to her knee. Despite her confusion over what he deemed "hanging out," she chose not to question him. Olivia followed Liam as he approached Steve's door after putting the keys in his pockets. Within a split second of Liam's knocking on the door, Steve was holding it open and smiling brightly.
"Hey, I started to think you weren't going to come." Steve said whilst only making eye contact with Olivia.
"Sorry" Olivia's eyes bounce towards Liam before landing back at Steve's.
"Don't apologize, Little one. Glad you're here now. Come in, we have lemonade" He moved out of the way of the door and motioned towards the kitchen counter, where there was a jug of lemonade and 4 glass cups.
As Liam brought Olivia into the apartment, he seized her hand and gripped it firmly in his stronghold. Olivia's eyes immediately focused on the wall covered in various-sized pictures. The largest one was positioned in the display's centre. A younger Steve could be seen in the photo putting his arm around a young boy with brown hair and stormy blue eyes. Olivia found herself staring at the boy. His hair was fluffy and bouncy, and his skin looked silky smooth. His pearly white teeth pierced from his wide smile, and the tight black shirt he was wearing left little room for imagination. His eyes were what caught her attention the most. He firmly observed her with his large, blue eyes. She was ripped from her thoughts by the sound of Steve shouting down the hallway.
"Bucky!"
The boy from the picture entered the room as Olivia turned around. He looked older but otherwise the same as in the picture. His jawline looked worthy of breaking glass. Olivia watched as his pink, plump lips were being brushed by his tongue. He made eye contact with Olivia, raising his bushy eyebrows as she swallowed the saliva that had formed up in her mouth. He reached out his hand to Olivia.
"Hey, I'm Bucky. Nice to meet you"
Olivia shook herself out of her trance and shook his hand.
"Bucky? That's an odd name"
He chuckled and looked back into her eyes.
"It's a nickname, my real name is James"
"Which name do you prefer for me to call you?"
"Call me whatever you want"
Liam put his hand on Olivia's lower back and drew her out of her daze once more. Olivia reached for the lemonade he was holding in his hand when she realised she was still holding Bucky's hand. She thanked Liam and pulled her hand back to collect the cup. Liam pushed them both onto the L-shaped couch with his hand placed on her upper thigh. James and Steve followed suit.
"Where did you guys move from?" James asked.
As James spoke, Olivia could feel Liam's hold on her thigh tighten.
"Vegas" Liam answered.
Olivia sipped on the lemonade as Liam shifted closer to her if that was even possible. James straightened in his seat and made eye contact with Liam. The silence was deafening.
"What about you? Did you grow up in Brooklyn with Steve, James?" Olivia asked, talking through the silence.
"Yes. We grew up together" James's eyes softened when he looked at Olivia. He smiled at Olivia which she reciprocated without realising.
"What do you do for work?" Steve asked.
"Well, right now I work at my friends' flower shop."
"Right now?"
"It's a temporary job. I wanna be a writer."
"What do you want to write?"
"Novels. I love romance and fiction, I would love to write something along those lines."
"That's really cool. What about you, Liam is it?"
Liam's posture straightened as Steve asked him, almost as if he was offended Steve forgot his name.
"Yes, it's Liam."
"And what do you do for work, Liam?" James asked.
"I work at a database company, Hydra. Heard of it?" Liam questioned. If there was one thing to know about Liam, it is that he loves and is very proud of his job. In conversation, he always uses it to brag about how much money he makes and how successful he is. That was something Olivia didn't like about Liam. He didn't have to work to get where he was at Hydra, his dad owns the fucking business.
"Wow, Hydra! Yeah, everyone with ears in New York has heard of it. That's impressive, man." Steve congratulated.
"What do you guys do for work?" Olivia hesitated. She didn't know if Liam was done talking about his job, because he could go all day talking about it.
"I work at an art gallery, just down the road actually." smiled Steve.
"That explains the clean and pretty apartment." Olivia thought out loud.
"What? You think a man can't appreciate a little bit of pink?"
"Oh, no. That's not what I meant... it's nice, I like it..." stuttered Olivia.
"I'm just messing with you, tiny. Just playing you as you did with me."
Olivia laughed and sighed with relief. As she smiled, James caught her bright white teeth that hide behind her pink, beautiful lips. He stayed looking at her teeth when they caught her lips between them. He was ripped from his thoughts when Olivia spoke.
"What do you do, James?"
"Uh...gym. I'm a personal trainer at a gym."
"Which gym?"
"SHIELD"
Olivia and James made eye contact for what felt like the hundredth time. Olivia moved her head towards Liam when she felt him loosen his grip on her thigh and stand up.
"Where is the bathroom?" He asked.
"Uh... down the hall, first door on your left." Steve answered, slightly taken aback by his rough tone and direct ask.
Liam walked to the bathroom and as soon as he was gone, Olivia felt the tension in the room lift and conversation flew more easily.
"How long have you and he been dating?" James mumbled.
"A year"
"A year! And you're already moving in together across America?" Steve exclaimed.
"I know it was fast, but it felt right"
Before either of them could ask what she meant by 'felt', Olivia diverted the conversation quickly.
"I like your rings, James. And your tattoos, they really go with your whole..." Olivia paused, questioning how to say this.
"Bad boy style." Steve teased.
"Hey, I didn't say it!" Olivia giggled.
"Thanks though." James smiled at Olivia, once again.
Olivia's eyes travelled from his ring-riddled fingers to his left tattoo-covered arm. Tattoos were something that was attractive to Olivia. Liam had a few, but those scared her. His chest contained small skulls and knives, but in the middle was a snake with multiple heads. Liam walked out of the bathroom and stood behind James and Steve.
"I think it's time we get going, Olivia." barked Liam.
"We only just got here."
"Yes, but if we don't leave now we won't get anything done back home."
Olivia felt Steve and James's gaze but she didn't dare look anywhere other than Liam. She looked at his face and saw his tight expression and clenched jaw. He was angry.
"Yeah...yeah, I guess your right." Olivia stood up as did Steve and James. James took her empty cup from her hold and smiled down at her.
Olivia shifted over to Liam, whose hand instantly went on her lower back and walked her over to the door. Steve opened the door and held it open for them. Liam slightly shoved him and Olivia out the door but before they could start walking down the hall, Steve spoke up.
"It was nice to have you over, we should do it again sometime."
"Uh, yeah. That would be great." Olivia agreed. "Thanks for having us Steve" Olivia peeked back into the apartment and looked at James. "It was nice to meet you, James."
"It was nice to meet you too, Olivia." James smiled.
"Please call me Liv, Olivia just sounds weird."
"I like the name." James smirked.
Olivia's smile came before she could even stop it, but she didn't want to. Liam's hand moved from her lower back to her arm and pulled.
"We really should get going now." Liam didn't give them a chance to answer as he pulled Olivia down the hall and to their door.
Steve shut the door and turned to James.
"Told you she was nice." He teased.
"Yeah, but you didn't mention she was beautiful." James stated.
"Yeah, 'cause she's got a boyfriend and I know how you are."
"How I am?"
"Don't pretend like you don't know exactly what I'm talking about."
"Whatever, dude. You were right, she's really nice."
"Told you."
"But him..."
"Oh, yeah. No, I don't like him."
James laughed at his friend's unusual forwardness.
"And I know I'm not the only one who doesn't like him. You don't either."
"Yep, you hit it right on the nail there, buddy."