THE PHANTOM ๏ BUCKY BARNES

One Believer

It was a sunny day in Brooklyn, many people were out in the street having fun or celebrating the weekend. All expect two boys who sat in one's apartment, staring at a photograph of a girl they lost.

"We never got to say goodbye." Steve said somberly.

"We never saw her." Bucky didn't want to believe it. Once he heard they Daisy and Nathan were both hit by a car, he couldn't believe it. He called it grieving at first, but when the pastor didn't allow the casket to opened for either of the siblings, he and Steve grew suspicious.

Bucky was asked to carry the casket down the aisle. Steve would've done the same, but he was too small and no one wanted to risk a body falling out. Bucky wasn't sure if it was three other people carrying the casket, but the weight in the casket was light. Almost as if no one was in the casket.

"Maybe her face got hit." Steve suggested.

"There was a lock on the casket Steve, we all saw it." Bucky retaliated. "It doesn't feel right."

"Bucky...I know you both had a thing going on, but...she'd gone. No mater what we do, we can't bring her back. At least we could celebrate her birthday." Today was Daisy Lavigne's 20th birthday.
She was the youngest out of the group. Steve's birthday being on the 4th of July and Bucky's being a year before on the 10th of March, 1917. Daisy was born on the 7th of September 1918. Biologically, she was the baby of the group, but in every other aspect she more the middle child. All three of them were, all causing mischief and being complete rebels. The biggest thing anyone had done was when Daisy stole a jeep and got Bucky to drive it and made Steve tell him where to go.

Bucky sighed shakily and looked down, averting his eyes as he remembered the girl and all the moments they laughed.
"...Happy Birthday Dee."

A silence over came the apartment, just the sound of cars driving by or children running and playing. Bucky's fist clenched as his life with Daisy flashed before his eyes. Her smile, her laugh. Everything hitting him like a brick wall.

"She can't be gone!" Bucky snapped. "She- She was only 19! I saw her the day before! We both did! She's not gone!"

"Buck..." Steve didn't meet his friend's gaze.

"No! Listen to me, Steve! She's alive! I...I can feel it in my bones! She's somewhere, out there!" Bucky pointed towards the window, words flying out of his mouth before he was understand what he was saying. "She's not dead! She would never die, just like that! You know that! She was better than that! If she was killed, was couldn't she just walk it off!"

"Bucky, I-"

"She would've lived Steve! She would've lived to beat the crap out of the driver! Heck, she'd make us do it as well! She was too smart to die like that! We had plans! We had to plans to take on the world! We were all going to go to fucking Paris and throw bread crumbs at some stupid birds!" Bucky went on. "Nathan was with her! She would have the car was coming! You know how protective she is with him! For two years she never let either of us walk him home! She wasn't stupid! She was smart and she was brave, braver than both of us!"

"Bucky-"

"No! No! I'm not going to calm down! I'm not to sit down! They have her! Someone has her! I can't - I don't want to imagine what they are doing to her, but I know it's not good..." Bucky ran a hand through his hair, looking round the apartment, trying to find something his eyes could fixate on. "Hey...remember when we had that week long sleepover? She ran right into the wall and ended up staying for another two days? She had that big ol' black eye and she told everyone she won a fight with a bull?"

Steve sighed, smiling sadly at the memory. "She ran into the wall because you found something in her bag. Knowing you, I bet I knew what it was."

"We tried to make her laugh by putting on your mother's dresses. She got a camera from her birthday the year before and started to film us." Bucky sniffled, trying to keep him gaze away from Steve.

"She would only film the three of us. She called it 'our' camera, but she was the only one allowed to use it." Steve added, looking back at the photo of the girl. "We didn't listen to that rule, did we Buck?"

Bucky shook his head, feeling the lump in his throat and not wanting to admit it. Everywhere he looked, he could see the memories of Daisy. Her running around being a goofy-ball or her turning into a nurse when Steve got hit with asthma.

"I'm sorry, Bucky."