I was so nervous. My knee was bouncing up and down as I watched the limo come to a stop.
"You'll be okay." Natasha assured me, placing her hand on my knee. "If you don't want to do this, you don't have to."
"I don't want to leave Clint alone."
She grinned a little and got out of the vehicle as the door was opened for her.
"You'll be okay." Wanda repeated what Natasha had said earlier as she got out of the vehicle behind Natasha.
"I'm heading straight to the bar." Maria told me.
"Good luck with Levi." I climbed out behind her. I was flooded suddenly by flashing cameras and a loud crowd of people.
Microphones were thrusted in my direction and people were asking me my name and taking over my personal space. Looking around for any familiar faces, I was met with an ocean of unfamiliar people, sounds and commotions.
"Shyla!" I heard a familiar voice. It was Clint. I smiled at the sight of him coming towards me. "You look scared." He held his arm out for me.
"I am. This is terrifying." I mumbled as I wrapped one arm around his and then put the opposite hand on the same arm. "I hate Natasha. I'm gonna kill her and Wanda for making me do this."
Clint only chuckled, which didn't make me feel any better.
"I'll kill you for laughing at me."
"I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing cause I never saw you as one to be intimidated by crowds and cameras."
"I've never been in a crowd, or around a camera that was good."
Clint nodded and fell silent as he led me into the building.
As we entered the place, Clint pulled me aside and turned me to face him so my back was to everyone else.
"You don't know me all that well and I don't know you either. But this is a party, you don't have to be uptight and hostile towards everyone. Just breath and enjoy yourself."
"I've never enjoyed myself." I said flatly.
"Then let this be the first." Clint took my hand and pulled me back into the main stream of everything. "You look beautiful, by the way."
I blushed at his words, looking down to the ground for a moment.
I was in a high waisted black skirt that had a slit on the side all the way up. The top was a fitting black long sleeve crop top that hung off my shoulders.
My silver hair was straightened and my makeup was perfection: smokey eye shadow and blood red lipstick.
My tattoos were visible through the slit in the skirt and the crop top, but that was okay.
As much as Natasha didn't want me to, I wore all my jewelry that I wore on a daily basis. This included all three diamond earrings on both ears, my silver ring on the ring finger on my left hand, a few other rings on my right hand, the choker necklace that had a pearl on it, a longer necklace that had a ying yang on it, my pentagram charm, and my wolf tooth necklace. Natasha didn't want me to wear all the rings and necklaces, but I never went a place without them.
"You don't look too bad either." I told Clint with an unconfident voice.
He gave me a smile and his warm blue eyes oddly comforted me.
"We're going to do pictures first."
"Great." I rolled my eyes. "Do I have to be in it?"
"Yeah."
"Kill me now."
"You're fine."
Levi was right behind us with Maria, and I was glad he was close by.
He gave me a smile and a thumbs up.
I half heartedly smiled back but then Clint tapped the back of my hand that was on his arm.
"Smile for the camera." He nodded to the biggest camera there.
I forced on a smile and tried to look friendly.
"Give us a kiss, guys!" Someone shouted and that got everyone chanting and cheering for a kiss between us.
My eyes found Natasha's, who was just a little ways ahead. She nodded, ushering me to give Clint a kiss.
"What do you say?" He asked me. "Wanna give them something to talk about?"
"I don't know."
"Only if you want." Clint told me. "If you don't, I get it."
I nodded my head softly, hesitant on meeting his gaze. His lips pressed a chaste kiss to mine.
I melted under his touch and felt something stir in my stomach, an unfamiliar feeling boiled under my skin.
I found myself kissing him back, my hands holding on to his firm bicep and his neck.
"Okay, guys. Keep it moving." Levi said, giving me a nudge on my back.
I blushed upon realizing that the kiss lasted longer than what it really needed to.
We were ushered to the next group.
My cheeks were undoubtedly flushed red as the cameras took pictures.
•*•*•
After pictures were done, we were able to move freely around the extremely large room.
I noticed that Natasha, Bruce, Vision, and Wanda were sitting at a table, so that's where I wanted to go.
"Excuse me. I'm going to go over to Natasha." I told Clint, slipping away from the people he was talking to.
Half way to Natasha and Wanda, I looked over my shoulder to find Clint watching me. I quickly looked back to my destination and saw that Natasha and Wanda were giggling like teenagers.
"I need a drink." I told them as I sat down across from the two couples, taking Natasha's glass of champagne and downing it.
"You don't seem to be doing too bad." Natasha hummed with a grin.
"I couldn't help but notice that you and Clint get along well." Wanda complimented, innocently smiling at me. "He seems to fancy you."
"I'm going to murder someone tonight." I took her glass and downed it too.
Luckily, a waitress with a platter was walking right behind me.
I took two glasses and handed one to Natasha for her to keep safe.
"You're stressing out way too much." She said.
"There are people here!" I whispered loudly, leaning across the table to her. "I do not know anyone, I do not care to know anyone. I don't like this."
"Perhaps it would be best for you to calm down before returning to Barton." Vision suggested.
"I agree." Wanda nodded. "Go to the bathroom and get yourself collected. You look like unprofessional drinking the way you are at an event like this. Wait until we get back to the Tower to drink like that."
"Here." Natasha handed me her little purse. "In case you need to fix anything."
I started mumbling Latin words under my breath as I got up and went to the bathroom after snatching the bag from her hatefully.
"She's so cute when she's flustered." I heard Natasha say.
•*•*•
After spending nearly ten minutes in the bathroom, I left the fancy toilets and looked around for someone to hang around.
I returned Natasha's bag to her but didn't stick around because she was talking to someone who looked important.
I felt out of place at the whole thing.
My tattoos and silver hair stood out in the crowd of normal people. I didn't like it and that was why I didn't like going places with crowds.
These people had families and homes and jobs and normal people stuff. I had none of that. They had wives and husbands and children, no doubt.
I found myself standing off to the side, the odd ball watching everyone and messing with strands of her hair.
A pair of hands found my hips and I looked over my shoulder to see it was Levi.
"You look great." He complimented. But when I didn't have anything to say back, he spoke again. "Did something happen?"
"No. I just.... I don't belong here, Levi. Why am I here?" I looked up into his brown eyes, a frown on my lips.
"Because me and Wanda and Natasha wanted you here. And Clint wants you here."
"He probably feels sorry for me."
"Why do you think that?"
"He's probably read my files when he had them. He pities me."
"I don't think so. But he's coming this way so turn that frown upside down." Levi gave me a kiss to the forehead before he left. Passing Clint, he gave him a nod and a friendly smile, to which Clint did the same.
"I've been lookin all over for you." Clint said as he approached me. "Tony wants to introduce you to his friend."
"I-I don't want to meet anyone, Clint." I shook my head, refusing to move from my position as he tried to tug me towards the crowd.
Clint looked to me, letting my hand drop from his.
"Do you really not want to be here?" He simply asked.
"I don't like the crowds. Maybe.... Maybe if it were tinier, I could do it, but.... there's so many people here." I whispered, my eyes gliding over the nearly three hundred people in the gigantic room.
"Do you want to go back to the Tower? We could get the after party started for Tony."
"I don't want to pull you away from this. I can just go sit at a table or something."
"And make me look like an ass for having my date sitting by herself? No way. Either we both leave or we both stay."
"We stay." I didn't want to make him leave. He looked like he was enjoying this. "Take me to Tony's friend."
"Are you sure? We don't—,"
"I appreciate you trying to make me feel better but it's not working so please just take me to wherever the hell you were going to take me before."
Clint watched me for a moment, an soft smile on his lips.
"You're a strange woman, Shyla."
"Thank you."
•*•*•
The party wasn't absolutely terrible. The food was good and that's what I was happy about.
I was currently sitting at a long rectangular table with Clint on one side and Levi on the other. We were all eating and talking and things were better now that everyone in the room was sitting down for the most part.
I didn't feel as claustrophobic and caged in. It was well past ten o'clock p.m. and we had been here for about three hours.
Sam had left a few minutes ago but now he was walking towards the table. He leaned down to Steve and whispered something in his ear. I read his lips and enhanced my hearing to listen.
"I saw him just now outside. But he's hiding."
I looked away to pretend I wasn't bargaining in on their conversation.
"Shyla? Wanda? Could I have you two step outside with me for a moment?" Steve asked as he stood to his feet.
My eyes found Wanda's before she looked to Steve and nodded.
"I'll be back." I told Clint and Levi.
•*•*•
"Bucky's too strong for me to handle myself." Steve told me and Wanda. We stood just outside of the building on the stairs.
"I can immobilize him and put him to sleep, if that's what you want." Wanda suggested.
"No, I just want to talk to him for a second."
"Who's Bucky?" I asked.
"The Winter Soldier." Steve replied with a sigh.
I could hear and feel the pain seeping out of him as he said that name.
"He's here?"
"Yes. I just need to talk to him and tell him that he can stay with—,"
"That means HYDRA is with him." I cut Steve off quickly, my stomach dropping. "Steve, HYDRA has been on his tail since he escaped. I-I can't let them find out I'm here. Once they do, they'll do everything they can to get me back. Levi is on their fucking kill list, Steve!"
"Shyla, calm down." Wanda told me, looking in the direction of the few others who were outside as well and watching us.
"Mind your own business." I snapped to them. My eyes found Steve's again and I spoke. "I spent a year with him in Serbia, Steve. He almost killed me on more than one occasion. I can't let him or HYDRA get to me."
"He's not who HYDRA made him to be. He was used—,"
"And he's not the only one." I whispered, stepping away from Steve. "I can't help you, I'm sorry."
"Please, Shyla, I'm begging you. You—,"
"Steve." Wanda said his name softly. Although her hand remained by her side, she pointed in the direction of the street.
Both of us looked to where she was pointing and saw a dark figure standing across the street.
"Shyla, please just immobilize him where he stands. Wanda will try to calm him down and I'm going to talk to him." Steve begged me quietly so the man wouldn't hear.
I nodded my head and let out a soft sigh.
As we all three turned to go towards the Winter Soldier, I could feel him start to panic.
Just as he was about to start running, I thrusted my hand out and stopped him.
As we got to the sidewalk across from the immobilized Soldier, a giant armored truck pulled up between us.
The doors were thrown open and people were shooting.
Wanda and I both threw our hands up on instinct, deflecting the bullets and preventing them from hitting any civilians and ourselves.
As the doors shut, I realized they had the Soldier.
I could feel panic and fright from the Soldier and Steve both.
The tires of the armored truck began to squeal as the driver hit the gas but I stopped the vehicle from moving.
Silver and red wisps danced around the tires as Wanda helped to pull the tires off of the truck while I held it in place.
Steve ran up to the immobilized truck and tried to pull the doors open.
He managed to do so and the people inside began to shoot.
I pulled three people from the truck and threw them against the brick wall of the bank we were in front of.
I began to recite a spell that would render them unconscious for twelve hours.
As Wanda put the other agents with the ones I was putting under a spell, Steve went into the vehicle to get Bucky.
Once I was finished with the spell, all the HYDRA agents present were asleep.
The Winter Soldier and Steve both emerged from the back of the truck.
The Soldier was watching me with wide eyes, like he was unsure of what I would do next. He looked like a wounded stray dog who didn't know who to trust.
"Dormi." I whispered under my breath.
He tried to fight the sleepiness at first, but eventually, he gave in and started to fall.
Steve caught him before he could hit the ground.
"I'm going to take him to the Tower." He said.
"I'll have Sam come out and help you." Wanda nodded her head, then looked to me. "We need to be getting back into the party."
I nodded my head too and fixed my hair as we climbed the stairs to the building. I returned to my seat beside Clint and Levi and watched as Sam excused himself before leaving.
"Is everything okay?" Clint asked me.
"Yeah." I nodded my head. "There's a few HYDRA agents outside sleeping and Steve's taking the Soldier back to the Tower."
"The police are on their way to pick up the HYDRA agents." Wanda told me, holding her phone in her hand.