My Ghost - B Barnes

01

5 years later - present day
*Tawny's bar - 11:32pm*

Only twenty eight minutes until I was able to clock out for the night, head home and crash for at least the next two days. I have been working twelve hour shifts for the last three nights, having only a maximum of five hours sleep per night and I am so drained - oh how I regret picking up overtime but God do I need the fucking money.

I am barely surviving.

The bar had started to slowly clear out and I was praying, honestly begging that we wouldn't have any arrogant drunks who like to stay right up until the last second that we closed our doors which is exactly what I have had for the last three nights.

I'd spent the last thirty minutes prepping the bar and all the stock for the night shift, wanting them to have as much as a smooth night as they possibly could've without having to worry about keeping the place clean.

I covered the table which sat in the furthest corner of the room in antibacterial spray, peeling the sticky beer-covered coasters from the table and throwing them into the soap filled bucket beside my feet. I wrapped my fingers around the edge of the table, leaning forward so I was able to clean the furthest end that I couldn't reach. 

"For fuck's sake- ew." I gagged, shaking my hand out at my side. I let out an irritated sigh, looking underneath the table as I met eyes with the longing string of still-warm chewing gum, my stomach churning at the sight.

Why are people such animals?

"What's up with you Lora?" I spun around, lowering my head with relief at the sight of Steve standing before me.

"I have told you several times, either Elora or Els, Lora is an elderly name- secondly, grab that bottle and spray my hand, now." I muttered, holding out my hand as Steve covered it in the disinfectant.

"Aren't you a hundred and five?" Steve mocked as he picked up the bucket from the floor and followed me to the bar. "Are you some kind of new profound germaphobe now Elora?"

"Shut up." I spat, pulling the bucket from his grasp and storing it underneath the counter as Steve sat on the barstool in front of me, watching as I pulled him a pint of grapefruit ballast point, his favourite. "And no, people are just fucking vultures."

"Are you not gonna ask me what I'm doing here Els?" Steve asked, causing me to tense.

"No- I'm just gonna keep telling myself that it's because I'm your best friend and you love me." I said giving him a sarcastic smile once I poured myself a vodka soda, very easy on the soda. I knew exactly why Steve was here, he never showed up unannounced.

"Els can you just listen-" I cut him off, I was never a fan of prancing around the point.

"No Steve, I cannot. I have lost track of the amount of times that I've not only told you, but the big man himself that I'm not fucking interested- it's been five years, I'd thought that you'd all have gotten over my leaving by now."

"Your leaving? I'd say that it was a little more dramatic then just a leaving Els." I turned my head to my left at the sound of a very warm, familiar husky voice.

Tony Stark was stood before me, a smile as bright as the sun across his face.

I ran around the bar, throwing my arms around his neck and wrapping him into my embrace. "I missed you too." Tony laughed as he took a seat next to Steve.

I made my way back behind the bar, taking note that I now have only nine minutes until I am able to clock out as I passed tony a single-malt scotch, on the rocks. "What are you doing here? You're not meant to back for at least another two months I thought?"

"You remembered?" Tony said, taking a small sip from his drink.

"Bit of a stupid question isn't it?" I said, shaking my head with sarcasm.

"Sorry, I just forget that I am one of your total of two friends." Tony smirked, pulling his glasses from his face and placing them into the breast pocket of his suit jacket.

I furrowed my brows as I lent against the bar, looking between Tony and Steve - they were never in the same room together unless they absolutely had to be. "What are you actually doing here Stark?"

"Oh- we're back on a second name basis are we, Monroe?" Tony raised his eyebrows.

I drank the rest of my drink, rolling my eyes. "You're both here together, that is not a coincidence- you're clearly here for the same reason that Steve is, and my answer is the same as always, no."

"You haven't even heard us out." Steve said, letting out an exhausted sigh.

"What part of no are you not getting? I gave everything up five years ago- you seemed to understand that pretty well." I said as I turned my attention to Tony.

"Well I thought that you'd be onto bigger and better things by now Elora, you've spent the last five years living in a shitty apartment and working as a bartender." Tony judged.

"You're not the only one-" I admitted, shrugging my shoulders. "It's just taking me a little longer to get there but it's better than facing death every single day- you guys might be okay with that but I realised that I am most certainly not."

"Oh come on Els, you're gonna sit and tell me that you honestly didn't enjoy all the media attention- that you didn't love the fame, that you didn't love being labelled a hero?" Tony questioned, twirling the tea-coloured liquid around in his glass.

You'd think that with Tony being the one who gave me that final push to get cleared that he'd actually give his full support but no, not even five months after I left he was begging me to come back - ever since then, his opinion over my clearance has been extremely mixed.

"What are you gonna do? I don't agree to your stupid little conundrum and you'll set big bad Bruce on me?" I muttered as I placed our empty glasses into the crate, ready for them to be taken to the back.

"All Fury wants is to talk too you Elora." Steve said as he grabbed a hold of my hand. "I wouldn't make you do something that you don't want to do."

I find that very hard to believe.

Tony rolled his eyes at Steve. "I however- would, I'm picking you up tomorrow morning, nine sharp so be prepared." I clenched my jaw as I ran my hands through my hair with frustration, watching Tony in spite as he left a generous tip of four hundred dollars on the counter.

"Listen Els, I-"

I held my hand out to stop Steve from continuing. "It's fine- I knew that I'd get dragged back in at some point, I'm lucky to have gotten at least five years of peace." I let out a breath of self reassurement as I gave the bar one last clean over and refilled the lime pot before I grabbed my jacket from below the counter and clocked myself out.

"Wait- where are you going?" Steve said, jumping up from the bar stool and following after me.

"I'm going home Steve, my shift has finished and I have been forced into a meeting with Fury."

"Elora-" I pushed past him and continued walking down the hallway, my hands meeting the heavy metal of the door as I was hit by a gush of cold wind.

All of a sudden, this felt like my last night of freedom for a very long time.