A New Start

Chapter 22

The next morning, you were about to smash your snooze button on your phone, when you heard loud footsteps in your hallway and a crash trough your door. You looked up from your bed as you saw Nat come running in and jumped on your bed, causing you to shriek at seeing your best friend. 

"Good morning!" Nat said while lying down next to you. 

"Ugh" was your reply with one eye open. 

"Time to get up" 

Nat poked at you from the covers. 

"Nat, it's 8am, I don't have to be anywhere today, nor am I doing any training. Why are you here?" you asked while sitting up. 

"Can't I visit my best friend early in the morning?" Nat winked at you.

Just then, you heard Bucky's door open from across the hall then kept your eyes on the doorway. You saw him briefly glance at you, but he kept walking. 

He was wearing jeans and a hoodie, not workout gear but then you remembered him, and Steve have an early appointment at the costume shop so that's probably where he was headed. 

"What's gotten into him?" Nat asked while watching your disappointed face. 

"I have no idea" you looked down at your hands. 

Ever since the team came back from their weeklong mission, things with Bucky have been off. You had such an amazing time together; you weren't sure where this behaviour was coming from.

"What happened to you two while we were away?" Nat asked while snuggling herself into your covers. 

You may as well tell her you thought to yourself, she'll find out on her own as she always did plus, she didn't look like she was going to move anytime soon. You told her about the times you and Bucky spent during your meals, the bonfire and s'mores night, the dance, and the epic first kiss. 

You also told her about the times you helped Bucky with his nightmares and how when sleeping with him, you felt safe and that he told you you were the one who was helping him through his anxiety. You mentioned the times you were intimate with each other but didn't get into too many details, after all, you wanted to keep that part of your relationship private.

"Sounds like you and Barnes have a good thing going" she watched your face. 

"We do, did, I mean, I don't know anymore. He's been moody and distant lately. I am having trouble reading him. He doesn't really want to be around me as much as what I thought he did. He even thought Steve and I were a thing, or a past thing, or whatever you want to call it" you waved your hand in the air.

She snorted. 

"Well, let him be aloof and distant, you and I have some shopping to do today" she flipped off your covers from your body. 

"Nat, our appointment isn't until 2pm" you got up from your bed. 

"I know, but I thought we would go out for breakfast, do a bit of shopping before we went to the creepy costume store" she made her way to your door. 

"Well, that sounds like a better plan than nothing. I'll be ready to go in 15 minutes. I'll meet you downstairs"

"See you soon"

You made your way to the kitchen for a quick glass of juice and saw everyone gathering around. You didn't see Steve or Bucky, so you assumed they had already left. You saw Nat and the two of you took off to do some shopping. After your breakfast and shopping excursion, it was time for your appointment at the costume shop.

Nat was right, the costume store was a creepy one. It was old and smelled like moth balls. The store seemed like it went on forever, like there were rows upon rows of clothes, wigs, and accessories all hung up, waiting to be worn. The shop keeper knew who we were and had a few bags ready to give to us to try on. He was an older man with thick white hair and steel grey eyes. He was small in stature and had a slight limp when he walked.

Both you and Nat looked around the shop at the different dresses and costumes, touching and feeling the many fabrics as you looked around. Once you decided to see what was in the bags Morris had for the both of you, Nat shoved you into the changeroom to start trying on the clothes.

She handed you a pink and black dress that, quite frankly, you despised. You hated the colour pink and thought you felt like a flamingo in it, so you didn't even bother to show her. The next one was a red dress with a white polka dot print. You didn't mind it but thought there was something else that would be better than looking like Minnie Mouse for the party. 

"There's only one more in here, so you have to pick at least one of them" Nat shoved you the last dress through the curtain.

When you looked at the dress she handed you, it was a gorgeous sky blue and had a white flower design running throughout it. It felt soft on your skin, and you instantly knew it was going to be very comfortable when you wore it. It even had pockets in the front of it, cleverly hidden in a few pleats. You always appreciated a dress with pockets. 

As you held it up to you to look at in the mirror, the length came to just below your knee. The top of the dress had a collar and a slight v-neck to it, so it would still be modest. There were white buttons that buttoned down the front of it and a built-in white belt to tie in the waist that finished the look.

The shoes in the bag were black, shiny, and had a small heel to them with a strap that came over the top of your foot. Morris also threw in some stockings but you turned your nose up to them. 

"I am seriously not wearing those torture things" you said to Nat through the curtain as you examined the thick beige material. 

"Oh come on Livy, just wear them for the night, they're part of your costume so you have to" she gave you back the pair. 

"Ugh!" you groaned.

You threw the stockings down and put the dress on and examined yourself in the mirror before showing Nat. You liked the colour of the dress since blue was your favourite colour, and you knew it would work with your skin and hair colour. 

You came out to show Nat and she was smiling from ear to ear. 

"Wow Livy, that looks great on you" Nat motioned for you to turn around. 

You turned around to show her the entire dress and she whistled at you, causing you to blush. 

"Do you really think it'll be ok?" you asked while looking at yourself in the mirror. 

"I think it looks great" Nat grabbed her garment bag. 

Without thinking, you quickly sent Bucky a text message while Nat was in her changeroom. "

Hope you got what you needed at the costume shop :-)" you wrote. 

Bucky's reply was a simple "yes" and that was it. 

You scrunched your face up at the screen and quickly shoved your phone into your pocket feeling a little sad. 

What is his deal?

Nat insisted the shopkeeper get her a few more looks to choose from because she wasn't happy with what she had. Her era was 90's so she wanted to go in the grunge fashion category much to Morris' dismay. He had chosen a few baby doll looks with pastel pinks and shimmery pinks and blues, but Nat had her mind set on some flannel and ripped jeans with combat boots. She usually always looks flawless at parties in whatever dress she chooses so this will be on the other side of the spectrum with her look.

"If I would have known you were going in this direction, all you would have had to do was raid my closet Nat" you teased her while leaving the shop. 

"I know Liv, but I wanted to see what my options were here first. Plus, it was nice to get out and shop with you. Feels like forever since the last time we were out like this." 

You both linked your arms together and headed back to your car. You drove back to the compound talking about the party and wondering what everyone was going to wear and what they were going to look like.