The Red Star

Chapter 17

It was a nice, warm morning, and a soft breeze came into Jay's room through the open window. Jay sat up, confused as to why her alarm hadn't gone off yet. She threw the blankets off of her in a panic and in turn, fell off of her bed with a thud. However, when she looked at her clock, the alarm was off.

"Bucky must have turned it off." She thought.

She shrugged, glad for a training free day.

She stumbled into her clothes then brushed her hair out, trying to put it up. She threw on some eye liner and lipstick then headed out the door. She stepped out into the mild traffic of the hallway and yawned.

"Why the hell is everyone up so early on a Saturday??!!" Jay thought .

She shrugged again and continued down to the kitchen. As she made her way there, she saw Steve standing in the library holding a book in his hands and observing the cover.

"Morning Cap." Jay said with a smile as she stopped in the doorway.

"Oh." Steve said, caught off guard, " Good morning."

"You, uh, you doin ok? I heard about what happened the other day." Jay asked quietly.

"Um." Steve began, "I'm alright. I, uh, there was just a misunderstanding." He paused then said, " Is Crystal alright?"

"She was a bit confused. Kind of hurt."

Steve lowered his head and looked back up to her.

"Listen," Jay began, as she shut the door behind her, " If you really care about her, then tell her."

"It's complicated." Steve added.

"Steve. Just tell her. Would you rather see her with Johnny?"

"No!" Steve said, raising his voice a bit.

"Logan maybe?"

"Absolutely not." He ended, sounding frustrated.

"Then for Pete's Sake! Just tell her!" Jay said.

"But--"

"Promise me you'll tell her." Jay said.

Steve looked at her and she added, "Promise me."

"I promise." Steve said with a smile.

"Good." She opened the door saying, " Now comes the hard part of finding food here."

She left Steve and saw Crys talking to Charles and when Jay said good morning to them, Steve made his way into the kitchen. She was starving but she knew there would be nothing to eat, so she entered the kitchen mournfully and opened the fridge.

Jay took the last Mike's out of the fridge and popped off the lid. Logan was sitting at the table on the other side of the room with Steve across from him. They weren't talking very loud, but she didn't care what they were saying. The door opened on the side as she straightened out her light blue top with wide shouldered v neck that was form fitting and fringed with soft lace.

"Can i get in here?"

Bucky's voice startled her a moment then she looked up. He had gelled his hair back today,but let a few strands fall over his amazing jaw and sharp cheekbones. Jay was frozen for half a moment before realizing she was leaning against the door of the fridge.

"Oops." She said moving to the counter across from it.

"Your fine." Bucky replied, ducking into the fridge looking for a beer. That was when Jay took her time admiring his look in his sleeveless shirt. His metal arm didn't repulse her, on the contrary, she found it made him more attractive. She watched as the muscles in his back moved as he reached in for the beer. When he stood Jay quickly averted her eyes to the wall. Bucky opened his beer and took a sip before looking over Jay in her top, her jeans and bare feet and laslty her hair which she let down as a sign of giving up any hope of putting it up that day. She said it was ratty and she hated it, but Bucky found it cute and attractive. Jay could feel his eyes on her and she looked at him. He wasn't afraid to keep looking either.

"So?" She said, feeling her cheeks burn. "We're not training weekends i take it."

"No. I thought u could use a bit of a break." Bucky replied taking a sip of beer.

"Thank....you."Jay fumbled awkwardly. She blushed.and Bucky gave a wide and beautiful smile.

"You're welcome." He took a step forward and glanced at her shirt then up to her eyes saying, "My Blue."

With that he walked away and out the door.

Jay's knees turned to jelly and she practically collapsed. She followed him with her eyes and smiled. He was perfect . But then a dark feeling crept into her thoughts. How could she even pretend to love him when it just might get him killed? She looked forward at the fridge then back at Cap and Logan. At least Cap was finally going to tell Crys he had feelings for her. As long as Crys was happy, Jay would be too. It always made her happy to see others happy too. She felt a kick against her foot and she looked beside her to find Bucky standing there.

"Hey." She said with a smile.

"You alright?" He asked, " You seem to be out of it."

He dropped his empty bear bottle into the trash and then looked at her.

"Do you want to go get breakfast?" He asked timidly.

"Um. Sure." Jay replied.

Between both of them, there was something nagging at each oth their nerves. Bucky watched her slip her flip flops on and he smiled almost painfully. He wanted to tell her. But he couldn't possibly. He had the opportunity, but he didn't want to hurt her, plus he was finally going to spend some time alone with her and that idea alone made him smile.