present

ALICE.

I flipped through a few pages of one of the magazines found in the pocket of the seat in front of me. Skymall, to be exact. A few weird items were in there, prompting me to ask myself if I ever did own one of them, how would I use it?

"See anything interesting?" Sebastian asked as he leaned over to see the Skymall magazine I was holding.

"I mean, if you consider a cloud shaped iPhone charger interesting, then yes," I replied.

He smiled and giggled in response. "Well, actually, Tori, I could have a great use for that," he replied with lifted eyebrows.

"Oh, really?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said nonchalantly as he shrugged his shoulders, clearly being sarcastic. "I gotta keep up with society, y'know? I gotta stay hip," he said.

I giggled and covered my mouth as I did so. "You do seem like a pretty hip guy, Sebastian. How ever do you do it?" I asked as I rested my chin on my palm.

He leaned back and cracked his back and then cracked his knuckles, preparing for whatever speech he was about to give. "Well," he began, "I drink Starbucks almost everyday. I try to drink the new drinks when they come out, but mainly I stick with iced coffees or whatever seems right with my mood. Also, I try to buy the coolest clothes, as you can probably tell," he said as he tugged on his Nike T-shirt and his baggy grey sweatpants of the same brand.

I couldn't help myself. I let out a laugh and had to cover my mouth to keep myself from laughing so loudly.

"What?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and a cocky grin. "It's true," he exclaimed rather loudly as he motioned up and down his body.

I shook my head and smiled. "I believe you," I murmured as I remained eye contact with him.

The two of us held eye contact for a few moments before I broke it, laughing awkwardly at the situation.

Sebastian coughed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Well, Tori," he began, causing me to meet his gaze once again. "What's your reason for being on a plane to Atlanta so early in the morning?"

"Well," I began, trying to think of a good lie to tell. "I'm visiting my cousin that lives out there," I lied.

He nodded his head and smiled. "That sounds like fun," he murmured.

"And why are you on a plane to Atlanta so early in the morning, Sebastian?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Work," he responded with a sigh.

"Some big, important meeting or something?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He looked at me for a few moments with slight shock written upon his face, left in awe. He shook his head and giggled a little as he responded, "You could say that."

I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked at him quizzically. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Shit. Shit. Shit.

My anxiety started to creep back. He probably is Austin's friend. I mean, who has to be in Atlanta that suddenly for 'work?' And he won't even give me a definite answer.

"It's not really anything too interesting," he said as he flashed me a smile. "It is a meeting of some sort."

"Who are you meeting?" I asked. I really needed to see if this guy, if his name even is Sebastian, is a friend of Austin. Because if he is- I am absolutely, undoubtedly fucked.

He raised an eyebrow, a smirk on his face. "Someone's nosy," he joked. I raised an eyebrow at him, a serious look on my face. He cleared his throat and continued, "Co-workers, obviously."

I rolled my eyes and shifted my gaze to the seat in front of me. "Ok," I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Hey," he began. "I'm sorry for being vague with my answers," he sighed, placing his hand gently on my bicep, causing me to practically jump out of my seat.

I pushed his hand off of me as I exclaimed, "What the hell?"

His face was wrought with worry and shock as he slightly recoiled back into his seat. "I-I'm sorry," he murmured.

I crossed my arms once again and grasped my elbows within my hands. The plane finally began to start taking off, and I was stuck sitting next to "Sebastian," if that's even his real name.

I wish I knew all of Austin's friends, but unfortunately, I never got the chance to meet all of them. He never wanted me to meet all of them. I only knew a few of his friends, such friends being Matt, Billy, and Kellan, just to name a few.

I continued to look out the window as the plane began to lift off of the ground. Sebastian and I sat in silence for the duration of the take-off, and it was peaceful. I watched the clouds go by and the city become smaller and smaller. One by one, buildings became morphed into one giant metropolis of lights and blackness. Humans were irrelevant. And soon, the metropolis of lights was irrelevant because all I could see was the dark clouds from the early morning sky.

I could see Sebastian's reflection in the window, and I couldn't tell if he was looking at me or if he was gazing out the window just as I was, but he looked sad- and scared. And he looked worried.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, meeting my gaze through the reflection of the window. I stared into his reflection for a few moments before I turned around to meet his person.

I sighed and pulled my legs up to my chest to the best of my ability. "It's ok," I mumbled, putting my face in my knees. I thought that maybe I should give him some kind of fake explanation as to why it bothered me so much, so I did. I shifted my legs to where my feet were planted on the ground. "It's just that," I began. "You and I are strangers, y'know? I just don't know who you are," I mumbled.

I could hear him sigh, and I turned to see him sitting there with his eyes closed, deep in thought. "I'm Sebastian Stan," he mumbled, opening his eyes. He shifted his gaze towards mine. "I'm an actor. I'm thirty-three years old, and I'm from Romania." He softly smiled at me, causing my lips to move up into the smallest smile.

"I'm," I began, not knowing if I should give him my real name. "I'm Alice," I sighed, holding my hand out to shake his.

He raised an eyebrow and cautiously took my hand in his. "I thought your name was Tori," he said as he shook my hand.

I released from the handshake and said, "I guess I'm an actor too."

He laughed and asked, "Why'd you give me a fake name in the first place?" He bit his lip as he awaited my response.

"Because, like I said," I began, before being interrupted by him.

"Because we're strangers," he finished, nodding his head like he understood. He rested his chin on his palm. "So, Alice," he began with a cocky grin. "What's your occupation, age, and where are you from?" He asked, referring to his answers from earlier.

I laughed before I answered. "I'm twenty-six years old. I'm jobless. And I'm from the United States of America," I said proudly, placing my hands on my hips to the best of my ability.

He threw his head back and laughed before continuing. "Jobless?" He looked at me with slight worry.

I huffed and replied, "Yeah." I shrugged. "It's not of any concern at the moment."

He nodded his head and gave me an approving look. "I salute you and envy you," he asserted.

I raised an eyebrow. "But aren't you an actor? Don't you enjoy your job?"

He shrugged. "Yes, but also no," he stated more like a question.

"Elaborate," I murmured.

He sighed. "I mean, depending on the movie, it's amazing," he declared. "But if it's a shitty movie or show, it's not really all that great."

I held open my mouth in awe. "You're a movie star?" I exclaimed.

He laughed. "Yeah," he said sheepishly while running his hand through his hair.

"What movies have you been in? Maybe I've seen them," I said, maybe a little too excitedly.

He giggled. "I hope you haven't seen all of them. Some of them are," he made a slicing motion with his hand at his throat.

I threw my head back and laughed. "Then what are you known for?" I asked.

He furrowed his eyebrows before responding. "Mainly I'm known for my role in the Marvel franchise," he stated. "I'm Bucky Barnes, Captain America's best friend, also known as the Winter Soldier."

My mouth was once again left open in awe. "No way," I murmured. "You're, like, hot shit."

It was his turn to throw his head back and laugh. "I mean, not really," he said with a soft smile. "Robert Downey Jr is hot shit," he said, making a bowing motion. "I'm just the psycho assassin with a metal arm who's best friends with a one hundred year old virgin."

I giggled and covered my mouth with my hand. "Now I wish I'd seen those movies," I exclaimed, throwing my head back against the seat.

"What?" He exclaimed, giving me a look of bewilderment. "You've never seen any of the Marvel movies? Or just the Captain America movies?"

I shook my head. "Never seen a Marvel movie," I sighed.

He threw his head back against the seat and sighed dramatically. "And to think, I thought you and I could be friends," he remarked. He shot me a cocky grin before asking. "Any specific reason that you're uncultured and haven't seen a single Marvel movie?"

Yes. Austin is the reason. He didn't like me going out or doing fun things. He liked to keep me locked away at home.

I shook my head. "I mean, I don't know. Just never really had the time," I remarked.

Sebastian shook his head. "You and I will be watching Marvel movies someday this week. It's gonna happen and you can't get out of it," he declared, pointing a finger at me.

I raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Oh, really?"

"Yes, really," he insisted, throwing in a smirk.

"Don't you have, like, acting to do?" I asked.

He laughed at my question. "Yes, and oddly enough it's for a Marvel movie which you probably haven't heard of," he sighed dramatically. I offered him a 'Try Me' look, to which he responded with, "It's for Captain America: Civil War."

I pointed my finger at him as I replied, "I actually have heard of it, for your information, so bite me."

He shook his head before offering me a soft smile. He ran a hand over his face before he murmured, "I like you."

I offered him a cocky grin as I responded, "I would say I like you too, but I'm sure you hear that from your fangirls and your girlfriend all the time, so I'm just gonna keep it to myself." I made a feat of locking my lips and throwing away the key, causing him to stifle a laugh.

He raised an eyebrow at me and smirked. "Who said I had a girlfriend?" He countered lowly.

"No one," I responded honestly. "But I was just making observations about you, and I figured you had a girlfriend."

"What kind of observations did you make?" He mumbled.

I responded with a smirk, "That you're a massive dork."

He giggled and held his face in his hands before responding. "You're not entirely wrong," he joked.

I smiled softly as I responded, "I know."

"And what about you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who's your special someone?"

I rolled my eyes and huffed. "Don't have one," I sighed, looking into my lap. I started to fiddle with the bracelet on my wrist. "Not anymore," I murmured.

He nodded his head and offered me a sad smile. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "Unless its a good thing?" He bit his lip.

I smiled softly at him as I replied, "It's a great thing."

Wow I haven't worked on this in a while but here's chapter 2