Chapter Text
~1933, Age 15~
The books fell from Everly's hands as she was thrown backwards into a wall.
"What'd you just say to me?" A boy with brown hair towered above her. He swept a stray strand from his face before pinning her against the bricks and shoving an accusing finger in her face. Two shorter boys stood behind him, each whispering to the other. Their cackling echoed through the alley like a pair of hyenas.
Everly hesitated for a moment listening to the quickening pace of her heart pounding in her ears. She pondered her answer and watched amusedly as the tallest boy grew angry. She knew every button to push as this was far from their first encounter.
"I said, 'go screw yourself.'" She grinned, spitting at him. He quickly withdrew his hand from her chest and frantically wiped the saliva from his face. Everly took this as her opportunity to escape, though she didn't make it far before being yanked backwards when a hand latched onto her hair.
Both of her wrists were pinned against the wall by the two shorter boys and she yelped in pain. Just one of the boys she may have been able to deal with, but being restrained by both proved to be more difficult.
In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to be curled up in the safety of her warm bed, or anywhere far from that cold, dark alley.
Her original attacker slowly composed himself, standing up straighter as if to prove his strength, and turned back to face Everly. She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips upon seeing how red and irritated his eye had become.
"You think this is funny?" He scoffed rubbing his eye with the palm of his hand.
"I really do."
Before she even realized what had happened, she fell to the ground as a fist collided with her face. Her cheek instantly began to throb, black spots dancing in her vision. The punch had caught her off guard, and hurt just about as much as she'd thought receiving a punch to the jaw would. She shook her head, as if the sting of the hit could simply be shaken away like a dog ridding itself of water. Much to her dismay, the action only succeeded in making her dizzy.
Everly mustered all the strength she had and tried to pull herself to her feet. A swift kick to the ribs sent her tumbling back to the cool concrete.
Her attackers towered above her, laughing at her desperate attempts to fill her lungs with air. Her mind cried out for oxygen, though each intake of breath sent a searing hot pain tearing through her chest. She rolled on her side coughing, her face so close to the boots of the boys that the smell of old leather filled her nose.
"I guess it is pretty funny." The tallest boy chuckled, Yanking her from her spot the ground.
Every inch of her wanted to cry. Her eyes burned with tears threatening to spill over, but she wouldn't allow them to fall. She'd sooner lose an arm then give them the satisfaction of seeing her break.
Everly knew that she didn't stand a chance against the three boys. Any strength remaining was dwindling quickly, so she did the one thing she could think of - she closed her eyes. That's what children do when they're scared isn't it? They close their eyes as if that will keep them safe from the monster lurking in the closet or beneath the bed. Sadly, she knew that wasn't how the real world worked. While the monsters were still very much there, they took the shape of ordinary people. It was only a matter of time before they showed their true colors.
A grunt followed by the clanging of tin falling to the ground met Everly's ears as the fist gripping her shirt loosened so slightly she thought she'd imagined it.
"Don't you guys have anywhere better to be?"
Everly's eyes flew open and she followed the new voice to its source. Where the alley met the street stood a scrawny boy who looked to be about her age. His clothes hung loosely from his body, making him appear even smaller. She glanced to her right to see the dented lid of a tin trash can laying on the ground beside the tallest attacker, who hissed as he rubbed his forehead in pain.
The mystery man stepped farther into the alleyway, raising his fists to cover his face in a fighting stance. Everly could now make out his ocean blue eyes and smoothed blonde hair. His gaze flickered to her momentarily before becoming fixated on the three boys.
"Let her go."
He was ready for a fight. And he was surely going to get one. Everly couldn't help but wonder why he decided to intervene in the first place. Many a time she'd watched as strangers passed, turning a blind eye to the events unfolding in the alley. But not him.
She watched helplessly, only able to manage the smallest of movements as her 'savior' was beaten to a pulp. Each punch he threw was caught effortlessly by one of the two boys fighting him. This was a fight he would not win, and it seemed that everyone present was aware of this; everyone but him that is.
He was knocked to the ground countless times, only to claw his way back to his feet, regaining his fighting stance. Eventually she began to notice his head sagging as his chest heaved for air. Blood trickled down his nose and he let out a shaky breath, waiting for someone to make the next move.
Everly could tell he was growing exhausted, and rightfully so. She had to hand it to the beanpole, he put up quite a fight. Certainly more of a fight than she had offered.
The tallest boy grabbed the frail blonde by the arm, folding it behind his back and running him face first into the wall beside Everly. She cringed as his body made contact with the rough bricks. Seeing the boy this up-close revealed the bruises forming all across his face. A few stray beads of sweat ran down his face, mixing with the blood of various cuts and scrapes that scattered his cheeks.
"I can do this all day." The bloody, beaten boy spat, grinning to the best of his ability despite his smooshed face. A pang of guilt settled deep in Everly's chest as she couldn't help but feel responsible for his worsening state.
He really couldn't do this all day.
A loud thud made Everly flinch in her captor's grasp as the tallest bully fell to the pavement. There stood another boy, perhaps a year or two older than herself. His brown hair sprawled across his face in a messy manner, though he didn't seem to mind. His hands gripped one of Everly's books which he had used to thump the boy over the head.
The boy holding Everly looked from their 'leader' to the newest member of the party and loosened his grip just enough for Everly to knee him down below. He crumpled into a ball and fell to the ground writhing in pain. The final bully stared in awe at the state of his pals before spinning on his heel and fleeing out of fear of being subject to the same fate.
Not long after, the boy who'd received a knee to the gonads began crawling away, slowly rising to his feet before running off. Everly smirked at the slight limp in his step. She almost felt bad. Almost.
And then there was one. He brought his hand up to the back of his head where he'd been whacked, pulling himself off the ground and managing a fighting stance. His shoulders sagged and his breathing was rugged, it was obvious that he was in no condition for another fight.
"You should probably just go."
Everly's ears were met with the pounding of feet against the pavement as the boy fled the scene.
She slowly began gathering her books from the ground, wiping splattered mud from the pages. She was sure to get in trouble at school. The brunette held out the final book to her, which she took hesitantly, as if it would attack should she get too close.
"Always finding trouble aren't we, Steve?" The brunette held out his hand to help his friend up before folding his arms across his chest. It seemed this wasn't the first time he'd stepped in to save the day, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last given the seemingly selfless nature of his friend.
"Apparently I'm not the only one." Steve replied, turning to face Everly as he wiped the blood from beneath his nose. He winced in pain with each move he made.
It took her a moment to realize both boys were staring at her expecting an explanation as to how she ended up in this predicament. There was the slightest shred of sympathy evident in their eyes. They realized this had become somewhat of a regular occurrence for her. She felt her face redden and averted her eyes from them both, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Has nobody taught you that it's rude to stare?" She mumbled, wiping at the mud on her skirt, only to smudge it farther.
"I was expecting something more along the lines of 'thank you for saving my life, how ever can I repay you?'" Steve's friend blurted, holding both hands over his heart and fluttering his eyelashes mockingly. Everly sent him a glare, though she knew a thank you was the least she could offer.
"Thanks." She said half-heartedly.
"What's your name? I don't think I've seen you around here before." Steve Questioned, sending Everly a lopsided smile and cocking his head to the side.
"Well then you haven't been paying much attention I suppose," She retorted. "Everly," She held out a hand for Steve to shake. He stared at her outstretched arm as if the concept of a handshake was entirely foreign to him.
Everly's eyes widened slightly as she wiggled her fingers impatiently. "You're supposed to shake it."
Steve shot his arm out, returning the gesture. "Uh, I'm Steve," he stuttered holding a hand to his chest before jutting out a thumb at his friend. "And this is Bucky." Bucky faked a grin, one that stopped just before reaching his eyes.
A veil of silence fell upon the trio, none of them knowing where to take the conversation from there.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Steve finally spoke, reaching his hand out to touch her bruised cheek, but pulling away just before his fingers brushed her skin.
"I'm pretty sure you took the brunt of it." Everly chuckled, ignoring the wave of pain it sent through her chest. If she was this sore, she couldn't even begin to imagine how Steve felt, nor did she want to.
"Damn right he did." Bucky interrupted, draping his arm across Steve's shoulders. He pointed his finger at Everly and narrowed his eyes, smirking. "You owe him, Evelyn." Steve elbowed him in the side, sending him a glare.
"Everly."