Red Flag Race | Bucky Barnes

Chapter 1.

Lottie was pissed. Actually, furious was more appropriate. She brushed past people casually walking down the street but was too caught up in the worst email she had ever received to care. A few people looked at her quizzically as the heels of her boots clicked loudly against the concrete. She was holding her phone so tightly that her knuckles had turned white, a tiny bit tighter and the screen may have cracked.

She stomped up the steps to the Ballet Arts Centre, the crisp New York autumn air making her cheeks red, helping to portray her anger even more. She locked her phone, not wanting to catch a glimpse of the words she had already reread a hundred times.

The building was quiet, not many people hanging around on a Friday night. But Lottie knew that the person she wanted to see was still here. She was always here.

Lottie wound her way through the hallways, her pace getting quicker the closer she got to the company's choreographers offices. The last door on the left was slightly ajar, a sliver of light peeking through into the dark hall.

NATASHA ROMANOFF was engraved on the sign on the door. Lottie felt faintly calmer just from reading her name.

"What the fuck is this?" Lottie asked sternly as she swung the door open. Nat looked up, her eyes wide from shock, having not expected anyone to bother her at this time.

"What are you talking about?" Lottie walked fully into the room and flopped down in the chair across from Nat's desk. She unlocked her phone again and cringed at the subject line: Shield Racing Sponsorship.

"This stupid email that we got sent a couple of hours ago!" Nat tilted her head in question, turning to her laptop and switching it on. "Have you not seen it?"

"Nope, I've been in the studio working all afternoon." She shook her head. Nat put on her glasses as she clicked a few things, then leant in close to read the email that Lottie had practically memorised at this point.

Good Afternoon,
The NYC Ballet is privileged to welcome a new primary sponsor Shield Racing. Shield Racing is a professional auto-racing company that competes in a range of different competitions. Shield is most known for their Formula One and MotoGP teams.

Shield Racing has made a large donation for this upcoming season. In return, we will be promoting their approaching race season. Leading the sponsorship is MotoGP racer James Barnes. James will be the face of the sponsorship and will be working closely with our lead dancers.

Tomorrow morning at 9AM, all lead dancers in the company's upcoming performance of The Nutcracker are required to attend a meeting regarding their roles within the sponsorship and the upcoming dates for the social season. Usual rehearsals will begin at 10AM.

Kind Regards,
Bruce Banner
NYC Ballet Director

"Oh shit." Nat's face was a mix of surprise and disbelief. "I'm so sorry, Lots."

"I just don't understand why we're working with a motorcycle racing company. What the fuck does ballet have to do with motorbikes? And why the fuck does it have to be him?" Lottie pulled her feet up to rest on the edge of the chair, hugging her legs to her chest.

"Yeah, it's a bit random." Nat supplied, her voice a bit quieter, focusing back on reading the email again. "Wait, you're one of the leads though, you're gonna have to work with him."

"Fucking hell, Nat. Yes!" Lottie groaned, a light chuckle came out at her friend's slight idiocy.

Lottie and Nat had known each other for about 10 years now. Lottie's mother was Natasha's ballet teacher in their hometown before Nat moved to New York for college. Lottie was 12 when they met, Nat 16, and they had instantly developed a sister-like relationship.

Nat taught her about the hardships of being a teenager and listened to Lottie vent about her mother's teaching techniques. They were both sad when Nat moved away for college, but they made time to call each other every week to catch up.

The older Lottie got, the more her talking side of the conversation increased and the more dramatic the conversations became. They knew everything about each other. Every secret, every hope and dream, and every single ex-love.

That's why this email was so anger inducing for Lottie and Nat.

"I can't work with Bucky! I haven't seen him in like 8 years and I don't really plan on breaking that streak." Nat stood up from her seat and moved to sit on the arm of Lottie's chair. She draped across the back of it, Lottie automatically shifting back to lean on Nat, as she scratched at Lottie's head.

"He was literally arrested last week for another DUI! What good is this going to bring to the company?" Lottie asked rhetorically, already knowing that no good would come from this.

"I don't know, Lots. But it's obviously not going to be that impactful to you guys if I, the choreographer of the show, wasn't even notified. It's probably not going to affect rehearsals much, if at all, so that's good." Nat replied, she could practically feel the anger radiating off Lottie.

Natasha had always planned on becoming a professional dancer, and fortunately, she could say that she had achieved that goal. Unfortunately, after two seasons with the NYC Ballet, Nat had to retire as a dancer due to an ongoing injury. She didn't want to completely leave the ballet scene though, so she started to train as a choreographer and eventually Bruce hired her to choreograph some of the most important performances the company would do.

"It just sucks. Especially with the way everything ended. I've done such a good job at avoiding him these last few years and now I'm going to be forced to work with him? It's not fair. Why does the world hate me so much?"

"Lots, it's gonna be okay. You know that, right?" Natasha rubbed her arm and pressed a kiss to her head. Lottie's throat started going dry and her eyes started to well with tears, she didn't want to cry though. "He's not gonna hurt you again."

Lottie was reminded that she never got what she wanted, the memories of her youth flooding back. Her face hardened as she wiped a rogue tear, "He won't get the chance."

a/n:

a short chapter, i know, but this is just to introduce you to charlotte and is really just the starting point for the rest of the book! the next chapter will be from bucky's pov and is set back when they were younger. you'll understand the layout of the book soon :)