[1] Just A Normal Girl | Avallone the Avenger

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Bruce looked up at my face, shocked, but quickly replaced it with his usual calmness. "Your wrong though. I can't tell you." He said quietly, more to himself than to me.
"What do you mean?" I asked him. He looked down. "Fury told me not to tell anyone. I wish I could, but if I did, he wouldn't let me come here anymore."
I sighed and said, "He wouldn't know though." Bruce shook his head. "He would. He has me on speaker." He stood up and walked to the door. I ran after him and grabbed his shirt sleeve. "Don't go Bruce! Please. It gets lonely here." I started to whimper. He looked at me sadly, and unclawed my hands from his shirt.
"I'm sorry Avallone, I have to go." He said, quietly and left me standing in the diner, alone. I sighed heavily and went back to the training room, making sure I took my knife with me.

~

Waking up, I slammed my hand down on the alarm clock and it stopped its buzzing. I rubbed my eyes and sighed, slipping on some casual clothes and walked into the kitchen.
I glanced at the clock and sighed. It read 2:30.
"I just love getting up early in the morning to bake." I said, sarcastically. If Tony was here he would say something much more witty and with way more sarcasm. If only he was here. I could use some cheering up.
I sighed and continued with my baking.

~

"Hey. How can I help ya?" I asked, grinning at a young man. He flashed a toothy smile and said, "Can I get one of those delicious looking muffins, and your number?" I giggled a little and took a muffin out of the tray.
I wrote my number on the brown bag before putting the muffin in. "Here ya go. Enjoy." I said, with a wink. He grinned again and walked over to a table where he could see me from.
"Avallone." A voice said, next to me. I turned and hugged Bruce. "Banner!" I half-yelled. He smiled and I poured him a coffee. "It's good to see you again. How are you?" I asked him, walking him to a table next to the other guy. "I've been good. But the others, well, not so much." I smiled sadly and turned around.
"Yes?" I asked the other guy. He had tapped my shoulder. He pointed his thumb at Bruce. "He ya boyfriend?" I laughed and replied, "No, that's just one of my best friends. I don't have a boyfriend."
I heard a snort behind me and I turned. Bruce was trying to hide a smile. "What?" I asked, getting a little frustrated. "You left three days ago and you already have a guy hitting on you! If only I could tell the others!"
"You wouldn't dare!" I said, striding up to him, grabbing the pen from behind my ear and threatening him with it. Last night must have flashed through his head because he held his hands up in surrender, "You're right. I wouldn't."
I laughed and replaced my pen. "Good. And if you did, I would know where to find ya." I walked behind the counter and his face paled and I fake reached for the knife.
"Avallone. You are in a diner, remember." Bruce said, wary of the other man. I nodded and put my hand on the counter top. "I know Brucie, this is my diner."
"You own this place? It's pretty amazing." The other guy said, looking around. "Thanks." I said, giving him a flirty smile. I could feel Bruce's eyes burning my back and I turned to him.
His eyes were trying to communicate something to me but I turned, ignoring him. I sat down at the other guy's table and said, "I didn't quite hear ya name?" He smirked and replied, "Bradley."
"And if you didn't catch mine between our banter, mine's Avallone." I said, smiling at him before disappearing into the back.
Normally, I wasn't a flirty person. But since I wouldn't be at the tower for a few months, why not have a little fun? A simple relationship is all I need right now. No drama, just something to get my mind off Stark tower.
I smoothed my outfit and walked back into the diner. But it was only Bruce sitting there. I sighed and started wiping the counter.
"What was that about Avallone?" He said, a tone of disappointment in his voice. "Look, since I won't be at Stark tower for a few months, I just need something or someone to help me forget about all that."
"Yeah, then you'll come back with no virginity." He retorted. I forgot I told him I was still a virgin. Like seriously, what normal twenty-six year old hasn't had sex? "I didn't mean anything like that!" I started to raise my voice.
"Avallone, this is serious. If the guys back at the tower, two people in particular, learned about this, they would freak." Bruce said, his voice filled with warning.
My mind stuck on 'two people in particular'. I knew he was meaning Steve and Tony, but my heart was screaming Loki's name. I grasped the counter, my balance slightly off.
"Avallone?!" He cried, running over to me. "Are you alright?" My breathing started to go all weird and my vision went black around the edges.
I heard Nick's voice call out from somewhere. "Is she alright? What happened?" Bruce answered quickly, "All of a sudden she grabbed the counter and then half collapsed onto it. I don't know what..." The rest of his voice faded away.
I fell unconscious.