Fixated

Edie walked through the gala with a permanent look of boredom. Her lips were slightly pouted whenever a champagne flute was not touching them. A distinct frown appeared on her lips when she realized almost all of her red lipstick was no longer on her lips, but rather on the crystal glass in front of her. Whatever, it gave her a chance to excuse herself from the infinitely dull party if even for a few moments.

Edie flounced to the bathroom, her red dress billowing behind her gracefully. It had been a present from her uncle, though he wouldn’t know about it unless he checked his bank statement. It was unlikely, but it had happened before.

She rolled the red tube along her lips and smeared them together before the mirror. She immediately regretted agreeing to be her roommate’s date to the stupid gala, even if it was a free trip to Germany. But he was having a difficult time coming out to his father and she wanted to be supportive. At least there was free champagne.

She smoothed her hands along her red chiffon dress and smiled. She loved the way it played to her curves and had a high enough slit so that it was sexy but not slutty. What a waste of a good dress on a bad occasion.

Edie glanced down at the dainty gold watch around her wrist and sighed happily. Soon her friend’s father would make his toast and she would be able to go back to the hotel and drink more there.

Since graduating a few months prior and moving to New York City, Edie’s life had become a never-ending party. Not that it wasn’t before, it just wasn’t as intense as partying in NYC. The city that never slept rarely allowed Edie to do so and she liked it that way.

Her green eyes scanned the room looking for Jan, her gloriously gay German roommate. She wanted to find them so they could book it as soon as his boring father finished talking. He was some important scientist. Edie couldn’t care less.

Edie’s eyes landed on Jan and she began to move forward, a false smile stretched on her lips. But her elbow accidentally bumped into a stranger, slightly spilling the liquid from his flute. She looked up to see a handsome stranger looking down at her.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry,” she gasped in a Brazillian accent. Even though she hadn’t lived in Brazil since she was little, Edie tended to thicken her accent to get something she wanted or to get out of trouble.

“My mistake, I assure you,” a gentle smile reassured. “May I inquire as to your name?” he asked in a soft accent.

“Edie,” she smiled and offered him her hand. Instead of shaking it, he turned her hand and gently raised it to his lips.

“Pleasure,” he said with a charming sideways smile. He kissed her hand softly and a slight blush rose to her cheeks. How continental.

Edie’s eyes ran over him curiously. His dark brown hair was unusually long, near his shoulders. Her eyes met his and she saw they were crystal blue. He was attractive and incredibly charming. And if Edie was being honest with herself, it would only take a few more glasses of champagne for him to be able to take her home.

“What brings you here on this fine evening, Miss Edie?” he asked.

“I came with a friend,” she shrugged. “And this evening is far from fine. It’s possibly the most boring party I’ve ever attended.”

“Not exciting enough for you?” he chuckled.

“Putting it mildly,” she scoffed.

“What if I could assure you things were about to get much more mischievous?” he smirked.

“I’d ask how,” she raised an amused eyebrow.

“You’re rather peculiar,” he commented, changing the subject.

“Not the first time I’ve heard that,” she shook her head but maintained eye contact. “You don’t seem so common yourself.”

“Hardly,” he chortled.

“So what brings you here?” Edie asked, genuinely curious.

“Oh, I have my eye on something,” he smirked to himself as if he had said something incredibly witty. “Though I have to admit my focus has waned slightly since bumping into you.”

“I’m sorry,” she apologized insincerely. “It was the red dress, wasn’t it?” she asked jokingly and they both laughed.

“Partly yes,” he grinned. “Until you looked up at me with those big green eyes,” he said more seriously. Their eyes connected and Edie wondered briefly if he was going to kiss her. She also wondered whether or not she wanted him to.

But before anything could happen he closed his eyes and sighed. “You’ll have to excuse me, Miss Edie, I have business to attend to,” he smiled. He took hold of her hand once more and raised it to his lips.

“You never told me your name,” she observed.

His eyes flickered back to hers with an amused smile. “You will know soon enough,” he answered mysteriously before walking away.

Edie watched as the mysterious and strangely charming stranger walked down the grand stone staircase. Suddenly, a scepter appeared in his hand and Edie’s eyes nearly fell out of her head as he knocked the hell out of the guards. He then shoved her roommate’s father on a stone table and shoved some kind of horrible device in his eye.

Edie gasped and clutched her chest as everyone fled from the room. She looked around from the balcony above and decided the smartest decision would be to stay put for the moment. She slipped her heels off and waited until she was sure everyone had fled safely and fled down the marble stairs silently.

Once she stepped off of the last step she broke out into a run straight for the man who was assaulting her roommate’s father. She launched herself towards him, feet first, planning on kicking him in the middle of the back with both of her feet. However, before she could hit him he disappeared.

Edie hit the table painfully, rolled off, and hit the floor with a loud groan. She was discombobulated and in quite a bit of pain. She looked down at her knee and saw that during her fall she must have caught a sharp edge because there was a deep gash running down her right leg.

“Fuck,” she muttered, “There goes my dress.”

“You’re a fiery one, aren’t you?” the stranger asked. Suddenly, there was a firm hand grasping Edie’s chin and she found herself glaring into his icy eyes.

“You have no idea,” she growled.

He grinned and chortled. “I must say I am very sorry about your leg,” his other hand ran over her injured leg gently. She lifted her leg to kick him away but his thumb dug into her cut and she cried out in pain.

“So sorry to leave you like this, but duty calls,” he smirked and kissed her cheek before leaving her on the ground in pain. Edie glared after him as he coolly exited the building. She had never wanted to hurt someone so much in her life.

Edie listened and heard screams and an explosion. She looked down at her injured knee and knew exactly what she had to do. She hobbled to a banner nearby and tore a long piece off of it, wrapping it around her leg carefully. She rolled her eyes when she realized she would soon need stitches.

By the time Edie managed to run outside, Captain America and Iron Man had apprehended the man. She saw Iron Man and her eyes bugged out of her head. He looked up at her and the mask pealed back to reveal Tony Stark’s shocked face.

“Edie?” he asked.

“Hey Uncle Tony,” she waved nervously.

“That’s you’re niece?” Captain America scoffed.

“Well this is interesting,” the stranger smirked from the ground and Tony’s blaster fired up as a warning.

“No comments from you, Reindeer Games,” he glared. “What the hell are you doing in Germany? And what happened to your leg?” he asked Edie.

“I came with Jan,” she answered. “And that happened because of him,” she pointed.

“Damn it, Eden. How hard is it to stay out of trouble?” Tony scolded.

“You—of all people—are seriously asking me that?” she rolled her eyes.

“You’re coming with us and getting medical attention and then I’m dropping you back off in New York before you hurt yourself further.” Edie rolled her eyes at her uncle’s comments but followed along. At least she’d get someone to stitch up her leg.