CHAPTER ELEVEN:
SILLY LITTLE CRUSH

WHEN SHE ARRIVED ON EARTH, her last thought was that she was ever going to fall for a human such as James Buchanan Barnes, also known as the man that Celeste was supposed to be protecting. But she had, and boy was she in trouble because of it. Now, she wouldn't say she was in love with him or anything, but it was definitely a strong connection she had to him, that made her absolutely terrified when he told he he had received his orders.

She had been the first one he had told, and even though that factor put a smile on her face, Celeste was still absolutely terrified for him. Because she wasn't going to be able to stand by his side twenty-four-seven, and she wasn't going to be able to protect him when he was so far away. She had to blend in, she had to make everyone believe that she was from earth and not from the heavens up above.

And even though she had been doing good in that department so far, the desire to tell Evelyn and Steve who she really was was absolutely killing her. It always seemed on the tip of her tongue, ready to spit the words out at any given moment. But she would always bite her tongue, smile, and nod along with whatever conversation was taking place. So, maybe it was the pent up frustration, or the pent up worry that caused her to be extra harsh to the soldiers she was training that day. Either way, she didn't know, nor did she care, all she knew was that she had slowly started to become one of the most intimidating trainers to roam the camp grounds―︎and that was saying a lot.

Pulling her hair from its high ponytail, the blonde softly sighed and glanced up when Colonel Phillips passed by, complimenting her on her training skills to which she thanked him before grabbing her coat and draping it over her arm, making her way towards Evelyn Rogers and Peggy Carter who were currently talking with one another, immediately making a smirk grow on Celeste's face.

     "You ready?" Celeste finally decided to speak, causing the two women to turn and look at her. Celeste offered Peggy a small smile to which the brunette returned before her eyes moved back over to Evelyn.

     "Yep." Evelyn nodded, making her way towards Celeste before turning her head to look at Peggy. "See you tomorrow?"

     "Bright and early." Peggy assured before watching as the two walked away.

As they walked in a comfortable silence, the inability to distract herself with training the soldiers immediately caused the worry to flood through her head once more. She frowned, gnawing on the inside of her cheek, and furrowing her eyebrows as if she were trying to find a way to stop the worry from coming. Evelyn glanced at the angel, noticing all of these factors and pausing for a moment before she decided to speak up.

      "Celeste, is everything alright?"

     "Hm?" Celeste blinked, snapping herself from her trance before turning her head to look at Evelyn. "Oh, yes, everything's great."

     "You're getting better at your sarcasm." Evelyn scoffed. "Come on, what's going on in that head of yours?"

     "It's just. . ." The angel sighed, closing her eyes before opening them once more. "Bucky got his orders today. That's why he wants to meet up. Tonight's his last night, and he's leaving tomorrow." And I can't protect him, and it's making me absolutely terrified, she thought.

     "And you're worried." Evelyn quickly caught on and Celeste nodded her head.

     "I know that he can take care of himself. I know that, I do. And I know he doesn't need me to protect him, but I can't help but to wish that I was there by his side to protect him from any harm that could possibly come to him." Celeste answered, shaking her head. There it was again, the desire to let the knowledge of her being an angel slip from her lips.

     "But isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" Evelyn questioned, cocking her head slightly. "Not that you can't take care of yourself, because my God you can. But, isn't he supposed to be the one worried sick over protecting you? Isn't that why he's doing this? To help stop the people that could hurt you? To hurt us?"

     "Well, someone like me has no choice but to worry about his safety."

     "Someone like you?" Evelyn frowned, furrowing her eyebrows. Celeste closed her eyes, realizing the words that had slipped from her mouth. Maybe this was the time to tell Evelyn. It was the perfect opportunity. And though she so desperately wanted to tell the blonde, she had a feeling that her secret would be found out on its own, and she decided she would just let it play out.

     "Yeah. A girl who is worried about her silly little crush." Celeste rolled her eyes at her own words.

     "Her silly little crush." Evelyn mocked. causing Celeste to narrow her eyes at the woman. "You two have known one another for a few months, right? And yet neither of you have admitted your feelings for one another, and Steve and I are quite literally about to go crazy and lock you two into a room together so that something happens."

     "I can't like him, Eve." Celeste softly sighed, shaking her head.

     "But why not?" Evelyn stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look at her, making Celeste do the same thing only hesitantly. "You two are so good for one another."

     "It's against the rules." Celeste snapped, frustrated with the situation she had put herself in. She calmed her voice. "It's against my beliefs."

     "What beliefs? The belief that you don't deserve to be loved? Listen, I'm the most insecure person in our little group, you are not allowed to take that title from me."

     "That's because you're―︎"

     "Don't finish that sentence." Evelyn quickly cut her off. Celeste just rose an eyebrow at her, shaking her head. She knew that Evelyn didn't want to admit that her interest in guys was nonexistent, knowing that if she did it would make her different and it would make her an outcast. The Rogers twin sighed before nodding her head, "Come on, we don't want to be late." Celeste pursed her lips for a moment before nodding in response before hooking her arm with Evelyn's, walking forward as they headed towards the place in which they were supposed to meet up with Steve and Bucky.