Give Up Your Heart Left Broken

After finishing her extremely nutritious dinner, Aubree decided to call it a night. And she managed to get a couple of hours of sleep before some couple, probably drunk or strung out, woke her up with all of their yelling somewhere around one in the morning. Sighing softly, she sat up. She knew that she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep now. She'd always been a light sleeper, and if she was woken up, she could never manage to fall back asleep. So, she decided to head out. She had a feeling that she wasn't going to really get anywhere by staying here. She didn't exactly know where she was going from here, but she never really did. She took a quick shower and got dressed. Seeing that it was still pretty early, she decided to stop into the little diner she'd passed on her way into town for some coffee and an extremely early breakfast.

---

"In that case, I should probably get back to my run. Wouldn't want to keep you from your relaxing afternoon." Steve chuckled softly. He wasn't really sure if she'd meant for him to respond to what she had said. It sort of seemed like a part of an inner-monologue really, though she'd spoken aloud, so he'd responded. He was kind of surprised by her later words, though he was glad that she'd said it. He was kind of debating on how to go about ensuring that he'd see her again after today, though he didn't go with asking her out for coffee or anything like that. When he'd taken Natasha's advice and asked the girl across the hall, before learning that she worked for SHIELD, it hadn't exactly gone as he'd hoped it would. So, he'd been hoping for a different approach this time around. But she'd made the suggestion first, and he was sort of grateful that she had. "That would be great actually. And if you ever need someone to talk to again, I'd like to offer my assistance." Maybe he'd stick around here for a little while longer. He doubted that Bucky would want to be found anyway, and he knew that Sam would go with him whenever he wanted to leave. Maybe pushing all of that to the back burner for the time being would be a good idea.

James looked at the time and figured he'd get going that way less people would recognize him, not that they would haircut and glasses would help him some. He got up and gathered all his things and headed out, James checked his wallet, he should eat something before actually leaving. What was opened at 2 am, he wondered to himself, he kept walking until he found a diner that was opened,he then thought they did have 24 hour restaurants. Why anyone would want to get something at 3 am was beyond him but he was going to get some food before leaving. James walked right in and was greeted by a waitress who seemed tired, he nodded and took a seat at the small 'bar' area.

Evelyn smiled softly at Steve, "I wish I had that kind of commitment to keeping in shape, I'm far too lazy for that " she laughed shaking her head. Evelyn was debating on giving him her number, every time some random guy asked her on a date or asked for her number she'd turn them down. Always felt too guilty about dating because of Jake but with Steve she felt different, he was different and she had calmed her down earlier so that helped. She took out a pen and ripped some paper off her notebook that was in her bag, might as well go for it, not going to hurt me and it's not like he's going to think I'm desperate. He seems too polite for that. Evelyn quickly wrote her number and smiled at Steve, "you should give me a call sometime if you're bored and have nothing to do" she chuckled handing him the piece of paper.

Aubree sat in one of the booths in the diner, sipping her coffee and reading through the newspaper. It was yesterday's, still too early for that day's to be delivered, but it would have to do for the time-being. It was only a way for her to keep herself occupied for the next half an hour or so before she left town. She was reading the article that had been the headlining story, not at all surprised that it was about the same man she'd seen on the news the day before, when she heard the waitress greet someone. Who the hell was awake at this hour? Other than herself of course. Normally, the only people who frequented diners at this hour were truck drivers or drunks and junkies. She looked up from the paper, rolling her eyes slightly when she saw who it was. Was he following her or something?

---

Steve chuckled softly. "It's not so bad once you get into a routine." He told her. And running thirteen miles in under half an hour was pretty much nothing. He thought to himself. He was kind of surprised that she hadn't recognized him. Especially with everything that had been going on recently. He was sort of glad that she hadn't though. At least he didn't think that she'd recognized him. Maybe she had and she just hadn't deemed it necessary to say something about it. He was taken from his own thoughts when she handed him a slip of paper. Glancing down, her words registered in his head when he saw the seven digits scrawled out. "I definitely will." He grinned.

James took his seat and stared at the menu for a moment before ordering something he sighed softly and looked around, not many people around made sense to him. There were very few people present so when he noticed the girl from earlier he was a little confused. He thanked the waitress after she brought his coffee out and took a sip, he wasn't going to say anything to the girl, thought he did wonder why she would be in this place at such an early hour. He sighed softly as he read some newspaper that was lying on the counter, his face was scattered all over the place, mostly with the mask; he wanted the nightmare to be over. James felt someone's eyes burning at the back of his head, he figured she was staring at him again but he wasn't going to turn around.

Evelyn chuckled at his response, "Still it's takes some dedication for that, something I'm too busy to do" Evelyn wanted to says something about Steve looking familiar, she's seen his face before somewhere. She didn't want to creep him out or anything so she didn't say anything. Evelyn smiled, "I hope so, well, I won't keep you from your running anymore" she chuckled grabbing the bag on the floor. Evelyn waved at him before she started to walk. She sighed softly, it had been some day and it got better hopefully it would stay that way.

Aubree had assumed that she would be one of the only ones in the diner at this hour. It was ridiculously early. Most people were probably still sleeping, and some were probably just falling asleep. But clearly that wasn't the case. Clearly she wasn't the only one in this lovely establishment. She wondered what he was doing there. Why was he awake at such an early hour? There had to be a good reason. Something that had woken him up or was keeping him awake at night. Her eyes lingered on him for a few moments, his back facing her as he was seated at the counter, though she looked away soon after when the waitress brought over her food. She smiled and thanked the woman before politely asking for another cup of coffee.

---

"You're only as busy as you think you are." Steve said, shrugging his shoulders. He was sure that she was pretty busy though. He didn't know how many shifts she worked at the hospital or how long her shifts really were. He hardly knew her, but what he also knew was that, if you really wanted something, you needed to just go for it. The more you spend making excuses, the less time you have to attempt to achieve your goals. "I'll see you around, Evelyn." He offered her a smile, watching as she walked off for a few moments before he went back to what he'd been doing before he'd noticed her.

James was clearly being watched and he didn't care he just wondered why she was here so early. Leaving town? Insomnia perhaps? Whatever the reason they were both in the small restaurant because they couldn't sleep. James thanked the waitress when she brought his food and as he began eating, he would have random flashbacks of Steve, hydra and all this other stuff he didn't want to think about. He closed his eyes and began counting backwards quietly , sometimes it helped clear his mind of course other times they'd get worse. He had made sure to cover his mechanical arm well enough no one would notice so he ate with his other hand. Sometimes it felt weird having no arm but he had dealt with well enough,

Evelyn kept walking slowly sighing softly thinking about how her week was, she was glad she didn't have up work tomorrow. Double shifts got pretty bad and she would go without sleep for days sometimes.when arriving to her small apartment she walked in and dropped all her things and slipped off her shoes. Then walked to her bedroom where she removed her scrubs and slipped on some shorts and a tank top. Evelyn let her dark hair fall over her face as she walked to her mirror. She stared at the mirror Evelyn wasn't vain she didn't like looking at her face very often but she did enjoy the way her face looked. She grew sad once again but instead of curling up in a ball and start crying she shook head,. "No I can't keep torturing like this"

Aubree couldn't deny the fact that her curiosity had been peaked. She didn't know why, but for some reason she found herself wanting to know what his reason was for being in the small restaurant at such an early hour. She didn't know why she was so curious. She really didn't even know why she cared at all, but she did. Maybe it was because of the short interaction that they had had a couple of hours ago back at the motel. Maybe she wanted to know why he'd helped her when she told him that she didn't need it. Maybe she just wanted to know more about him in general. She didn't know her reasoning behind any of it. And she didn't know if she ever would. And she also didn't know if she'd ever get answers to all of her questions either. She turned her attention back to the food that had been placed in front of her and dug in. She wasn't exactly in a rush, she still didn't know where she was going from there, so she was taking her time. However, when she went to open another package of syrup, she always made sure that her pancakes were practically swimming in it, she realized that she didn't have anymore. Glancing around, she noticed the waitress was seated in one of the vacant booths near the register, clearly taking a rest. The woman appeared to be exhausted, and she didn't want to make her walk all the way across the restaurant to give her another package of syrup, so Aubree stood and decided to go to her. As she neared the counter, the waitress noticed her, and asked her if she needed anything. She politely asked for another thing of syrup before waiting near the counter for the woman to bring one to her from the back.

---

Steve continued with his run, losing count rather quickly of how many laps he had done in the few minutes it had been since he'd started. It was still sort of strange for him having something that had once been so difficult for him suddenly be so easy. It wasn't like he'd fully been able to get used to how he was post-serum seventy or so years back. He really hadn't had much time to do anything, so it all was still sort of new for him. That didn't mean that he wasn't slowly getting used to how simple and easy things like running were for him now. He often lost track of time when he was running, and he never really kept count of how many laps he did or how great of a distance he ran. Especially not when his thoughts were clouded over. And today they were. He found himself thinking back on what had been bothering him before he noticed Evelyn, who had managed to distract him for the time being. Bucky. He still didn't know what he was going to do about his friend. He was determined to get him to remember him at all costs, though he knew that it would be difficult to find his friend. He clearly wouldn't want to be found. Steve wasn't going to give up so easily, though he was thinking of staying where he was for a little while longer now.

James couldn't figure what thoughts were real and which were fake, he was used and manipulated into doing something he wasn't sure of. They promised him freedom and a better world but it seemed to be crumbling beneath him at this point. He turned his head slightly as he felt the someone walk past him, it was that girl from earlier, the stubborn one. He had to admit he admired her persistence any other person would have put more money in the machine or have walked away. He took another bite of his waffle as he heard the girl ask for more syrup, he wanted to say hi but that might have been a bad idea to begin with. She'd probably think he was some kind of weirdo, he chuckled at the thought. James cleared his throat and grabbed his cup of coffee and sipped on it before setting it down again, he had decided to come back to NYC after everything's calmed down. Maybe he would even look for Steve, it was possible, with time of course.

Evelyn took a seat in her bed and rubbed her face with her hands, so much running through her mind, Jake, work and the man she had talked to the past couple of hours. She wondered why he was so kind and seemed so familiar to her. Evelyn stood up and walked to the bathroom, she wasn't sure why she changed into clothes before taking her bath, distracted by everything she guessed. Evelyn got into the bath after minutes of thinking ad running hot water. She closed her eyes as she listened to soft music and enjoying the bath, one face kept coming to Evelyn's mind. It wasn't Jake, actually she hadn't thought about him ever since she met Steve, it was weird. Evelyn did tried dating a couple of times but it just never worked out, she either pushed them away or they pushed her too much but she gave up after four or five dates with different people.

Aubree was sort of tempted to say something to the guy, though she really didn't know what she would say if she did. She realized now that she'd kind of been a bit of a bitch, though she still wasn't willing to admit defeat, and she sort of felt bad now looking back on the whole situation. He'd only offered to help her out because she appeared to be having trouble. And, yes, maybe she had told him that she didn't need his help, and yeah, maybe he had helped her anyway, but she'd acted rather bitchy about the whole thing. And maybe, just maybe, she felt kind of bad now. Hearing someone chuckle, she glanced over, realizing rather quickly that it was him. Not that it could have been anyone else seeing as, other than the waitress and whoever was in the back cooking, they were the only ones within the establishment at the present time. "Laughing at me again?" She asked, though unlike last time, a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

---

Steve headed back to his apartment a little while later. He'd decided that he was definitely going to stick around for longer than he'd originally planned. Earlier, his only real goal was to find Bucky and go from there, but now, well, now he had a real reason to stay. He realized now that maybe was Natasha was right in trying to set him up on dates with those women. Maybe he needed a sense of normalcy in his life. It was probably easier said than done, but maybe he needed to put himself out there. Maybe he needed to go out on a couple of dates. Maybe he needed to start living for himself and not just for other people. And maybe he would start with Evelyn. He wasn't going to lie and say that he didn't want to see her again, because he knew that he did, and he knew that he would probably end up calling her some time soon.

James finished coffee and ordered a refill, he was going to need it if he didn't intend on sleeping for the rest of the day. He closed his eyes and yawned a couple of times before looking at his empty mug and looked up when the waitress started pouring some more. "Why are you up so early handsome?" she asked, he chuckled at her response. "Just passing through really, can't sleep, was woken up by a drunk couple, I'm assuming they were drunk, they kept slurring" he chuckled and took a sip. After a few moments had passed he looked over at the girl and shook his head, "not this time" he lied, he wasn't going to upset her again. "Just thinking about an old friend" while that was true, it wasn't why he was laughing. James seemed to be confused quite a lot lately and he could blame Hydra for that. "I never did catch your name by the way"

Evelyn finished her shower and quickly got dressed in her pajamas. Evelyn sat on her bed brushing her hair as she turned on her television and watched the news. She couldn't believe everything that was going on in New York, scary how the world had turned into since she was a child. Everything was simpler then, she hoped they would find all these people and place them behind bars. Her thoughts drifted back to Steve as she braided her long chocolate hair, he had stunning eyes, who are you kidding? all of him was perfect. She giggled at the thoughts, Evelyn hoped she would see him soon.

Aubree thanked the waitress when she came back out with some more syrup before turning back to the guy and waiting for his response. "Does that old friend have something to do with why you're up at such an ungodly hour?" She asked curiously. She figured that she would at least try to make some form of conversation with him. She honestly did feel bad for how she'd acted earlier. She shouldn't have been that way. She was just so used to doing things on her own, and she didn't always take too kindly to other people wanting to help her. "That probably has something to do with how I acted earlier...sorry about that by the way. I was kind of acting like a bitch." She admitted sheepishly. "Aubree. That's my name I mean."

---

Steve wasn't at all surprised to see the recent happenings of the city all over the news. It was probably the biggest thing that had happened there since the stunt Loki had pulled roughly two years ago. That was probably going to be the hardest part about all of this. Staying here longer than he'd originally planned. He was sure that all of this would be on the news for a while, and it was going to be strange seeing Bucky's face up there and in the papers. He knew it would all die down sooner or later, it had to at some point, and he figured that, sticking around for a little while longer wouldn't change things all that much. It would be just as difficult to find his friend later on as it would if he left tonight.

James looked at the girl closer, she was very stunning indeed, he didn't expect someone like her to be so feisty, he nodded in response. "You could say that, trying to figure out how to get back to my friend without over complicating things" he laughed softly. He rubbed the back of his neck when she apologized, "oh don't worry about it, I didn't mean to come off as a jackass by laughing at you, I really didn't mean to, oh that's a nice name" he smiled and thought about what he was going to tell her next, "name's James, or Bucky to my friends, weird name huh?" he laughed shaking his head. He thought about asking her why she was up so early, "so what brings you here so early? I think we should both me sleeping," he laughed.

Evelyn yawned and grabbed the picture of Jake that was sitting on her night stand, she touched it, 'I'm sorry, but I really have to move on, it's been almost two years and I'm sick of being lonely all the time. I miss you so much, every day but I hope you understand" she said quietly. She wanted to date again, go to the movies, picnics, she missed hugs and kisses and she wanted to feel loved again, someone to make her feel safe, she couldn't handle being alone. I wonder if he'll call. Probably not, he seems like the busy type. He also seems really nice, am I even his type? He probably goes after well built girls, I'm kind of all over the place. Stop. He's a nice guy... he'll call. Eventually.

Aubree hadn't really gotten the chance to get a good look at him until now. He had really nice eyes. Not that the rest of him didn't seem nice because it did. She couldn't exactly deny the fact that she found him attractive. "Maybe you shouldn't think about it so much. That usually leads to overthinking and overthinking usually leads to over complicating." She said. "And things are only as complicated as you make them." She added soon after, offering a small smile. "It's fine. I probably should have handled things differently anyway. I guess I was just in a pissy mood or something." She gave her shoulders a slight shrug. "Thanks, and well, it's nice to meet you. And I guess I should be thanking you for earlier. I probably would have stood there trying to figure out how to get that damn machine to give me that candy bar for a while." She laughed softly. "Bucky? Yeah, that is kind of weird, but I've heard weirder." She shrugged her shoulders once more. "I'm a light sleeper. There was a couple outside arguing that woke me up. I probably wouldn't have fallen back asleep, so I came here."

---

Steve knew that he was going to call Evelyn. He didn't know when he was going to call her though. He didn't want to call her too soon, but he didn't exactly know what would be considered too soon. Maybe he'd ask Sam. He would probably know, and maybe he could even get some advice or something. Because if there was one thing that hadn't changed in the last seventy years it was Steve's lack of experience with women. He was still sort of surprised with how comfortable, and not awkward, he'd acted earlier around Evelyn. It wasn't like him at all. Of course, he'd sort of gone back to how he normally would have acted towards the end, but he'd lasted pretty long without stumbling over his words, and so he saw that as a major accomplishment. Seeing as it was late, he'd head to bed soon and maybe stop in and talk to Sam the next day or something. See what he thought.

James nodded in agreement with what Aubree said, "that is very true" he walked over and took a seat next to her, "I hope you don't mind me sitting with you" he had already finished his food anyway, left a tip and everything. James looked at Aubree and nodded, "we're all allowed to have bad days so I understand, I've had my fair share of pissy moods" he chuckled, "it's nice meeting you too and no worries I'd be pretty pissed off if it had eaten my money too," he asked for another refill of coffee, "I could drink coffee for hours" he laughed, "i should probably stop, oh yeah that couple I'm pretty sure was drunk or something, I don't get why people think it's okay to wake others in the middle of the night" James looked at the time, "I suppose I should start heading out soon"

Evelyn put her phone on her charger and decided to go to bed, it was getting late and she needed sleep badly. She closed her eyes and curled up in a ball and began to drift to sleep, hopefully she'd be able to sleep and enjoy her day off the next day. Evelyn really needed to get out and make more friends, in a city like New York there was bound to be people like her, she'd give it a go for her own good, isolation was not a good thing.

Aubree smiled. "I don't mind at all." She assured him. She really didn't. She was beginning to find that she liked talking to him, and she didn't know why she'd been such a bitch a couple of hours ago. "I'm pretty sure everyone has." She laughed softly. She knew that that had only been one of many times throughout her life where she'd been in a pissy mood. Sometimes she didn't even know why she was so pissed off. She just was. "One of my friends back home is a total health freak. She constantly lectures me over how too much caffeine isn't good, and maybe she's right, but it doesn't stop me from drinking coffee every single day." She knew that caffeine could be just as addictive as any drug out there, but it kept her going, and it wasn't like she was one of those people who drank a whole pot's worth of it every single day. "Like you said, they were drunk. And even if they weren't, people don't really think about the well-being of others anymore." She said. "Where are you headed?"

---

The next day, Steve stopped by to get some advice from Sam. He could have easily called up Natasha too, however, he didn't exactly know where she'd gone off to, nor did he know if she was busy working or something along those lines. She hadn't exactly given him any details as to where she was going after everything that had happened. All he really knew was that she wasn't sticking around after giving him Bucky's file. So, he went and talked to Sam who he was sure could give him equally as helpful, and good, advice. And he was correct in thinking as such. Sam told him just to call Evelyn already if he wanted to call her. He was overthinking things and reading into it all way too much, so when he got back to his apartment after talking with his friend, he picked the slip of paper up off of the counter, and pulled out his phone, before just going for it. He stood there, anxiously waiting, and hoping that she would answer and that she wasn't at work or something.

James nodded and watched her for a moment he enjoyed talking to her. He watched as she talked about healthy and caffeine, he chuckled, "coffee is delicious I won't top drinking it ever" he rubbed the back of his head as he ordered a water. "Other than water I drink quite as often" he nodded and looked at her when she asked where he was headed. "Just passing by, I don't really have a destination right I just like traveling around the country" he took a sip of his water when it was brought to him. James looked at Aubree and smiled softly at her, "what about you? are you passing by as well or just up really early?" he asked out of curiosity, no one in the right mind would me up this early without reason.

Evelyn woke up rather early, sitting up she stretched her arms and got up to stretch her body, she wasn't sure what she was doing all day. Catch a movie perhaps or some shopping she did need more make up and other little stuff like shampoo and food maybe. Evelyn quickly got dressed after she had brushed her teeth and washed her face. It was a little puffy this morning she assumed from all the crying the day before. Evelyn felt like maybe it was a dream, meeting Steve almost didn't feel real she shook her head and went to do her hair. If he didn't call her she'd be okay though part of her wanted him to. As she went to make herself something to eat she could hear her phone ring she picked it up and looked at the number she hadn't recognized it, she answered anyway. "Hello?"

"That makes two of us." Aubree said, letting out a soft laugh. She figured that there were things that she could put into her body that were much worse than caffeine. "That's a habit I really need to get into. I definitely don't drink enough water." Not that that had ever been at the top of her list of number one priorities and everything, but that was besides the point. She still knew that she should probably drink more water. It wasn't that she didn't drink it. She just didn't drink enough of it. "A combination of both, I guess. I'm just passing through, but if it wasn't for that couple, I would probably still be sleeping right now." She hadn't planned on staying in town very long. She never knew how long she was going to stay in one place though, but she never stayed for more than a few weeks at a time, if that.

---

Steve had started to pace. He couldn't help being anxious and sort of nervous. It wasn't like he really ever did this sort of thing. He had never been good with this, asking a pretty girl out, or really just talking to one in the first place. Bucky had always been the one to make these sorts of arrangements. He figured it was about time that he start doing things like this himself though. Better late than never, right? "Evelyn? Hi it's um Steve." He said, mentally cursing himself for stumbling over his words. He didn't really know why he'd been fine with talking to her the day before, but now all of a sudden he wasn't. He assumed that it had something to do with the fact that he hadn't really thought about asking her out or anything like that until now.

James looked at Aubree and smiled, "yeah there are much worse things for your body than coffee, I'm sure you'll be fine" he reassured her as he set his cup down and thinking about his flashbacks. He didn't want to ruin the moment by having them run through his mind. "Likewise and more than likely they would have argued til God knows when, people certainly don't take into account others' needs," he thought out loud. He had considered just telling them to shut up then and there but he wasn't going to be rude by waking everyone else up. James looked at Aubree, "are you from around here?" he wanted to keep the conversation going so he had to find a way to get her talking. He was always good with the ladies unlike his friend who stumbled over his words, he still laughed when he remembered the 'fondue' incident; he couldn't believe Steve had actually said something like that.

Evelyn's heart raced when she heard his voice and her eyes suddenly twinkled, to think of it she hasn't been this excited over a man since Jake. "Oh, hi! I really wasn't expecting your call, I thought maybe you'd think I was crazy or something" she giggled softly. She poured herself some juice whilst trying to listen to Steve, her heart was pounding in her chest and butterflies were flying she shook her head, Evelyn felt like a school girl all over again and she mentally kicked herself. It's just a phone call, relax. It's not like he's going to ask you out on a date.

Aubree smiled. "Exactly." She said. With what people were putting into their bodies nowadays, caffeine was practically nothing. And it wasn't like she had a caffeine addiction or anything like that. She just liked her coffee. There wasn't anything wrong with that, right? "People don't care anymore. Most of them are only looking out for themselves. They could care less about the well-being of other people." It was kind of sad, but it was the truth. And she supposed that sometimes the truth hurt. She shook her head. "I'm from Chicago. What about you?" She didn't mind that they were keeping the conversation going. She liked talking to him, and it wasn't like she was in a rush to leave or anything like that.

---

Steve chuckled softly. "Why would you think that?" He asked curiously. The last thing he thought about Evelyn was that she was crazy. When he first say her, he assumed that something had upset her. That she was a fragile person. Broken even. Maybe she had a dark past, but he didn't think that she was crazy. And when he got to talking to her, and she told him what was bothering her, he still didn't think that she was crazy. He really wasn't someone who thought negatively about others. Especially when he didn't know them in the slightest. "How are you?"

James nodded Chicago was a huge city just like New York with lots of hopefuls with dreams that expand. Of course most of them don't really succeed but managed to join the army since he didn't have any other thing going for him. "Brooklyn." He responded and sighed softly "I needed a break from home" he laughed quietly. While getting away from Captain America. He didn't want to be found, Bucly didn't want to look at his best friend and see disappointment in his eyes. He turned his attention back to Aubree she was stunning, "I was in the army and I wanted to help people, I did my two rounds and decided I needed a break" he began talking.

Evelyn laughed softly, "because I seem to leave that impression on the people meet. If I wasn't so sad yesterday I would have said something stupid" she began rambling. "I'm very quirky sometimes and I say things that don't make sense or I embarrass myself. I'm an awkward sort of person" she confessed. Evelyn felt her cheeks grow red "I'm doing fine just cleaning up and trying to figure out what I'm doing today. How are you doing?"