Always You {Steve Rogers}

one

Aliza's POV

"That'll be $15.50, sweetheart."

The cab driver's gruff voice startled me and brought me out of the daydream and back into real life. The escape was good while it lasted. I peeled my head off the dirty window and started rummaging around in my purse for the money while still trying to avoid the obvious glances that he had been giving me throughout the whole journey. But now it wasn't glances. He had his arm displayed across the passenger seat and had turned to face me quite intently.

"Urm...one second, sorry. I'm not used to the dollars and stuff. Is this 50 cents?" I held up a silver coin that almost looked like a bottle cap but with some bird on it.

I truly wasn't used to all this new currency, especially since I grabbed a taxi to my new apartment as soon as I stepped out of the airport. And based on the circumstances that I was there in the first place, I didn't exactly have time to brush up on the place.

The hand that was rested on the wheel reached up to rub his chin that was covered by a messy beard. His eyes raked me up and down creepily and I sat there a little bit frozen at the forwardness and smirk on his lips.

"You know what lady? You must be new to the city, especially with that accent. Have this ride on me. Instead..." His smirk widened and I refrained from jumping out the door that second. "...Maybe I could get your number and I could show you around the city sometime? I got the car to do it."

Well, this is not awkward at all.

I did my best not to visibly cringe as my tongue swiped across my bottom lip. I lightly gnawed at it with an expression that I could only hope looked like remorse and not the discomfort I was really feeling. I managed to politely decline with the excuse that I didn't have a US phone number yet. Truth was, I didn't know if I was ready for all of that considering everything that had just transpired in the mess that is my life.

Again, I shook my head to rid myself of those thoughts and thanked the cab driver as he begrudgingly set an excessive amount of luggage on the sidewalk. I was uprooting my life and nothing could be left behind so I had to bring it all with me obviously.

Would I have survived without my complete set of Harry Potter movies?

Probably.

But did I want to?

That was a definite no.

After stuffing my purse into my handbag, I craned my neck up to look at my new apartment building.

It was...cute.

I mean, as cute as a building can be really. Honestly, I wasn't used to the whole living in apartments vibe. Like yeah, London has flats but I've always lived in a house. And when I say a house, I mean a house. That place was never a home for me. But that's all behind me now. I finally put myself first and while looking around at the unfamiliar street in this unfamiliar city, I couldn't help but feel like I could finally breath. But that comfort was quickly snatched away from me as I peered over my suitcases and reminded myself of the trek up to my apartment that was awaiting me.

'Okay, all those gym sessions need to come in use now.' I thought to myself. Although girls in high school had the time of their lives ridiculing me for it, I prided myself in being quite strong. I looked in the mirror and saw someone who had been taking self defence classes since she was 16, made almost daily visits to the gym for the past 2 years and yet still came home and washed dishes. But they all saw a freaky 'shemale' just because I could do a push up. Evidently, their insults were very creative.

I mean, it wasn't my fault they were weaker then the fake nails they had plastered across their fingers.

I couldn't help my snicker at my own lame joke before I took a deep breath and inwardly groaned at all the suitcases by my feet. My arm reached down but my fingertips barely skimmed the handle of the suitcase before the breath was completely knocked out of me. My whole body was violently smashed in to by another colliding with it and judging by the impact, that body had to have been made out of a brick wall. Before I could even register what was happening, my ass hit the floor with a slight thump and I just knew that was gonna hurt tomorrow.