Another Cliché Love Story // S. Rogers & B. Barnes

three

Bucky

When the bell rang, dismissing the first period, Bucky let out a large breath.

"Oh gods, that was hell," he muttered to himself, leaning down to grab his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. Steve had left as soon as he could, stopping only to send a wave and a friendly smile to Bucky before exiting the room.

That simple gesture had made Bucky's heart jump.

Now stepping out of the classroom, Bucky looked down at his chest and glared at the place where his heart was.

You're a little bitch, you know that?

The heart only continued to beat at a rapid pace, occasionally skipping a beat or two. Bucky sighed.

He'd forgotten all about his hatred for chemistry over the summer, just like he'd managed to forget about Steve, and now both of them were rushing back and slapping him in the face. He didn't know if he would be able to make it through senior year at this rate.

Bucky moved through the sea of students, easily seeing over most of them. He recalled his schedule and let a smile break out on his face as he realized his next class was poetry.

Poetry made him...happy. Sure, he wrote some pretty depressing shit, but it made him feel free to express himself.

When he finally reached the classroom, his smile grew wider. The cozy atmosphere overwhelmed him in a good way, letting him know he was in a safe space. The twinkly lights made his eyelids droop, and the soft music playing from the speakers in the back made his shoulders relax.

"Hey, Mrs. Johansson," he said brightly, setting his books down on one of the desks in the front row, making his teacher jump from her position at the whiteboard. She whirled around, ready to curse out whoever just scared her, but when her eyes landed on Bucky, she smiled.

"Bucky! Jesus, it's been too long. How was your summer?" She asked politely, turning back to the board. Bucky paused, his mind flashing to dark nights between crusty motel sheets and against hot, sticky leather. His mouth opened and closed, and a dark red flushed up his neck.

"Fine," he finally responded. "How was yours?" He quickly asked, hoping she didn't notice how long it took him to answer.

Mrs. Johansson smiled as she turned around and Bucky smiled back, but she wasn't looking at him; she was staring out the window, looking like she was lost somewhere else.

"Well, Jack and I finally went on our honeymoon to Bali, and..." she sighed, settling into her chair and waving at the students starting to trickle into the classroom. "...it was amazing. It was so beautiful, everywhere, and we went snorkeling, and surfing, and...it was just great." Bucky grinned and sat back, pulling out his phone as it buzzed with an incoming text.

He wasn't surprised to see a text from the group chat of all his friends, and less surprised to see it was from Tasha. He looked up to see Mrs. Johansson still smiling with a far off look, like she was imagining she was still there.

"Sounds great, Mrs. Johansson," he offered, to which she blinked and waved him off, her lips pursing into a look of mock annoyance.

"Bucky, kid, I'm not that much older than you. I've told you to call me Scarlett. Mrs. Johansson makes me sound...old," she cringed at that, and Bucky laughed before turning his attention back down to his phone.

Tasha: um, is it just me, or did tony stark get hot???

Clint: Nope, just you.

Peter: yeah, he looks same as always