For the Love of a Patriot || 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 ✔️ [#wattys 2018]

3 | Sentimental

"Where the hell were you?" Roxanne hissed at me as soon as I hurriedly and quietly took the seat beside her. "Carlisle has been on edge waiting for you!" She hush yelled in order to not disturb the class we were sitting in on.

I cringed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's not like it was my intention to get here late, I had some..." I tilted my head awkwardly. "Altercations."

Roxy gave a sort of pained, uncaring expression. "I love you and all, but I kinda don't care. We were supposed to meet him during his break, but since you got here late, the professor had another class. We have to wait for another," she looked down at her digital step-tracking watch and back up. "Twelve minutes until he's free again. It seemed important, Rache, I'm tellin' you. I've never seen the guy pace so hard." We watched quietly as the older silver-haired man waved his hands, explaining some sort of law by Einstein to his class.

Hank Carlisle was and always had been my mentor. When I first started my studies when I was eighteen-- I was currently a linguist and translator, and I studied ancient languages-- he was the one who helped me understand the basics and then the difficulties of it all. Through it all...he was kind of like a father to me. A second one, anyway. After I moved to D.C. for college and my other job, we still kept in touch.

"Think we've made a breakthrough?" I asked, quietly, not taking my eyes off of Carlisle and watching rather than listening to his barely audible words.

"Surely. That's all that man even thinks about nowadays." Roxy shrugged before looking at me. "Why were you late, anyway?"

I looked at her and raised my eyebrow, amused. "Oh so now you care?"

The woman with a short blonde pixie cut rolled her greenish blue eyes. "I mean I have nothing else to do besides eat and I can't even do that so I have no choice to care, now." She said.

I grinned. "Understandable logic. I had--well caused an accident at Starbucks today and made a new friend."

Her face was skeptical. "Since when does Rachel Bennett make friends?"

"Since the time I met you. I'm capable of making friends, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Who was this friend anyway? Was it a guy?" She nearly gasped and her voice lowered. "Was he hot?"

I smiled. "Yes to both questions. Hot may be an understatement, though. I would insert a pun about my seemingly scalding coffee being splattered all over him, but that'd just make me hate myself."

Roxy scrunched up her nose. "You spilled coffee on him?" She asked.

"Yeah. But that's not even the kick of it. Half of it is who he was."

She shifted her body, curiously. "Oh yeah? Who was he?"

I paused and looked around before leaning in and saying it quietly.

I could swear I saw her face pale and her eyes widened. She snapped back and nearly screamed at the top of her lungs. "Captain America?!" She nearly screamed, making multiple students turn and scowl at her and shush her. I cringed and shushed her too. "Shut up, Roxanne!" I whispered, probably laughing, too. I was too caught up to notice.

"What the hell happened to you?" She hissed, now interested.

I grinned as I told her the whole story of how I spilled coffee on a guy and he ended up driving me to work.

By the time I had finished, she was just staring at me.

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you going to say something?"

My friend tilted her head. "So do all hot guys read the newspaper? I thought it was only the sentimental ones."

I laughed almost silently and shook my head. "I don't know, but he didn't seem sentimental."

She gave a knowing glance. "Yeah, he didn't seem sentimental."

I rolled my eyes with a smile and looked back at Carlisle who was beginning to dismiss his class.

"I think one sentimental guy is enough," I said, referring to Carlisle who sat down at his desk while the students rose and left.

She nodded in agreement. "Agreed."

•••

Saw Civil War on Thursday. Tearjerker. Crazy stuff man.