And They Were Roommates (STEVE ROGERS X OC)

Chapter Sixteen

Pushing herself past the crowd of people in the mall, Taylor released a string of curse words. Christmas was around the corner, and she needed to get everyone presents, as she completely forgot about it, even though she planned on buying everything ahead. The mall was packed with people, the stores were raided by crazy men and women who needed to get that piece of toy for their kids if they didn't want them to go nuts.

Usually, she liked Christmas, it wasn't her favorite but wasn't something she disliked either. She and Tony used to spend them together each year, then when Maddy came along, they always made sure to provide her with the best Christmas ever from fake snow to a big pile of presents and stunning decorations everywhere. It was fine the first couple of times, but the stress Taylor felt during those times definitely got the better of her then, and it was starting to bring her mood down now.

She headed to the electronics store first to buy a polaroid camera for Lilian, as she had been obsessed with them for a while. The line was huge, and she had to be squished by a man and a woman when someone pushed her from the back, trying to get to the desk faster. As if a little pushing would have changed anything. Taylor pondered accidentally stepping on the person's foot the next time they pushed her, but she didn't get the chance as another cashier appeared and she quickly got in line with them instead.

After getting the camera, she wanted to go to the toy store to get something nice for Maddy, but she saw through the glass that two moms were having a fit over some kind of action figure, screaming at the other violently, so she just kind of noped out of there and went to the lingerie store instead, where things were a bit tamer.

She knew the moment she set her eyes on the store that she needed to get something for Deborah there, as her friend was notorious for buying embarrassing gifts for her friends, ranging from sex toys to some sexy lingerie, so Taylor needed to get back at her.

Choosing the most revealing lace matching set from the whole store, she smirked to herself, sending Lily a quick picture to let her know what she was planning. After receiving a handful of smirking emojis, Taylor went to pay for them after grabbing a pair of thongs for herself too.

Her next stop was one of the clothing shops where she saw a band t-shirt displayed on a mannequin, namely an AC/DC one, a.k.a. the perfect addition to Tony's collection. She bought a pair with different designs, knowing that Tony was going to wear both of them until they couldn't be worn anymore.

After finding a magnetic wristband – she hoped to solve Tony's never-ending "where did that damn screw go" dilemma – in one of the stores, she finally collected her courage to enter the toy store. It was still full of hectic moms and dads, but she made sure to go to the emptiest aisles, where a couple of plushies still remained on the shelves, untouched. She chose a dinosaur and a dog one, then moved to the puzzle aisle to choose something complex for the little genius. 3D puzzles were perfect decorations, but the important thing was Maddy struggling to finish it.

When Taylor finally got rid of the flirting clerk at the jewelry shop, she stood at the railing, looking down at the bustling people below her. She still needed to find a gift for Steve, as she wasn't quite sure what she could get for him. She wanted to get him something useful, but special, something that would make him happy. But she couldn't just choose something random in order to do that. If she wanted to outdo herself, she needed to think outside of the box...

Suddenly, Taylor's head shot up, an idea coming to her that she never even considered. It needed some stealth, some secrecy, and the nerve to actually break into his room like a weird person. Just overall rather achievable things.

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Taylor waited in her room, sitting on her bed, acting like she was reading a book just in case Steve came inside. She only had the book open in her hand though, and it might have even been upside down, but she was too focused to care. She listened in deadly silence to her roommate's footsteps, knowing that he was just leaving his room. Dropping the book on her bed, she jumped to her feet and hurried over to her door, opening it just slightly to see him start descending the stairs. Knowing this was her only opportunity to seize the notebook in his room, she bolted out of the room with the most silent steps imaginable.