Deadly Love (Book 1)

1.4

September 15, 1935

Senior Year

"I'll see you later mama." Clara kissed her mom's cheek as she left the house, ready for a new school year. It was her last year before college and her last year of going to this dreadful school. "Hey doll." Clara smiled to herself and turned around. Bucky. He had grown fond of calling her 'doll' since she turned 17. "Hi Bucky." She wrapped her arms around the much taller man. "How are you doing today?" He asked her. They started walking towards the school. She knew what that meant. That meant, did you sleep well? Are the nightmares still haunting you? Ever since the incident with Jack, she couldn't bring herself to talk to anyone about it. Just Bucky. He was the only one that knew. He was the only one that knew about the nightmares too. Some nights when the nightmares were bad, she would walk over to Bucky's house. She would sleep better in his arms. "Fine." She answered half-heartedly. Bucky stopped in his tracks, making Clara sigh. "Don't do that to me Clara." She sighed and rubbed her temples. "I didn't get any sleep." She answered truthfully. "I'm scared Buck." Bucky grabbed a hold of her hand and held it tightly in his. "Don't be. I know for a fact that he won't lay a finger on you." He promised.

They had arrived at the school and Clara stared at it, her heart sinking. "You couldn't have just failed one class your senior year." She teased Bucky. Of course he couldn't have. He passed everything. All the time. He got everything he wanted, always. He even managed to capture the heart of one Clara Williams. But she would never admit it. Not aloud anyways. Her diary was a different story though. He laughed and kissed her forehead. He had no idea how much she loved it when he kissed her head. "Sorry doll, you'll have to manage without me and Steve this year." She sighed and looked back at the school. And then back at Bucky. She hugged him once more, tighter than ever and then walked into the school. Bucky watched her leave, missing her in his arms already but damn, did he love to watch her walk away.

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After the bell rang, Maria and Clara made their way to the local diner. Milkshakes after the first day of school was kind of their tradition. They hadn't even made it out the door before Jack had walked up to Clara. Maria didn't know what had gone on between them but she saw the fear in her friend's eyes and stood slightly in front of Clara, not letting Jack get anywhere closer to her. "What do you want?" Maria growled at him. Clara was too scared to say anything at all. Jack wore a smirk on his face the entire time, not letting Maria's sudden outburst affect him at all. Both Maria and Clara were not very outspoken girls but everyone knew that the girls would not let anything happen to the other without there being some sort of consequence. "I just want to speak to Clara Belle for a second." He winked at Clara who tried not to let him get to her. She was terrified of him but she didn't want him to know that. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to not be afraid anymore. Clara grabbed a hold of Maria's arm and tried to drag her away but Jack got in the way again. "God. Can't you just take no for an answer. She doesn't want to see you anymore Jack. Get over yourself." Maria yelled at him. Jack shook his head. "I don't think you fully understand what's going on little Maria." Maria was practically fuming. Jack had caused quite the scene and Clara was red from the attention. She had finally had enough. Enough of Jack's games and his sick sense of humor. She wanted nothing to do with him anymore. So she did what any rational person would do. She slapped him, hard, right across that pretty little face of his. "You're a piece of shit Jack. I hope you know that. What you did to me was and is unforgivable. I don't want anything to do with you ever again. And if you ever even breath in the same space as me ever again, I'll make sure to tell Bucky and I know that he would gladly beat the shit out of you." Jack's face was awestruck as both Maria and Clara pushed passed him, leaving everyone to laugh in his face. Afterall, he just got threatened by the nicest girl in school.

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The girls had made it to the diner without any problems from Jack. As they sat on the stool, the waitress came towards them smiling. Genovia went to school with them, and graduated last year. She was nice enough to them, I mean they weren't exactly best friends but they smiled to each other in the halls whenever they saw each other. "Hey dolls. The usuals again?" She asked them, not really giving them a chance to answer before she jotted down what they always ordered onto the notepad in her hands. The girls smiled at her as she winked at them both, walking away to get the girls their milkshakes.

They had sat there for almost an hour, just talking and laughing, just like the good ole' days. Jack was never brought up, and Clara was relieved for that. She didn't want to think about him and for once... since the incident, she felt really good. She couldn't remember a day where she had felt so carefree. As they said their thanks to Genovia, the girls made their way out of the diner, laughing and smiling. Clara glanced in the window of the diner, a bright yellow paper gaining attention. Suddenly, she stopped laughing, an idea coming to her head. She smiled to herself, running back inside. It said Help Needed! Now Hiring! So that's the day that Clara got her first job and favorite job.

October 24, 1935

The bell rang, meaning the door had just opened. Sighing, Clara glanced towards the clock wondering how many minutes she would have to work before her break. She had decided to ignore the bell and let someone else get it but Genovia walked by and nodded her head towards the front. "That's all yours." She told Clara, who sighed but jumped off the counter, grabbing her notepad from the other waitress. "Table 3." Genovia reminded her as she walked out from the back. A smile rose to her face as she saw who was at Table 3. One of her favorite people. She walked a little faster and a slight skip was added to her steps. "Well, if it isn't my favorite customer." She smiled at him. Bucky. He smiled back at her, as she sat right next to him. He gave her a weird side hug and she laughed. God, her laugh. He could listen to her laugh all day without getting tired of it. "And it's my favorite waitress." He kissed her cheek and she smiled wider. "How've you been Bucky? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever." She asked him. It's true, with her new job and the fact that it's her senior year, she had been juggling so much that she hadn't had much time to spend with friends. "I've been good doll. Just been working and taking care of Steve." She smiled at the last part. "He hasn't been in too much trouble lately, has he?" She asked him, fully knowing it was useless. Steve was always getting himself into trouble. Before Bucky got a chance to answer, a louder voice can from across the diner. "How can a man get some service over here?" He yelled. Clara sighed and looked to the kitchen where she saw most of the staff looking at her. "I guess that's me then." She tells Bucky standing up. "How much longer till your break?" Bucky asked her. "Almost an hour." She responds, glancing back at the clock quickly. "I can wait." He shrugs. "As long as I can get a milkshake." She smiles at him, shaking her head. "Of course." She kissed his cheek, before heading back into the kitchen.

As she walked away, she heard Bucky call after her. "Hey doll, tie your shoes." She looked down at her shoes, before realizing that she didn't have ties on her shoes. "I don't want you to fall for anyone else." He replied shortly after, making her laugh. She shook her head at the boy. He winked at her making her laugh again. She knew he was joking, but there was some truth behind his statement. She didn't think she could love anyone other than him and he didn't want her to. If only they knew that they were both hopelessly in love with each other.

It was like that almost everyday. Bucky would come in, throw around a pick up line or two, most of the time getting hit in the end. And then the two would walk home together after her shift was over. Everyday, Genovia would watch as the two flirted back and forth, neither realising how much the other loved them. And everyday her and Clara would have the same conversation. "You should see your smile when you see him. I swear, it's like you've just won a million dollars. Why can't you two just get married already?" Gen would say to her but Clara would just respond with, "We're just best friends Gen. He doesn't even like me like that." "Just friends my ass. I see the way you guys look at each other. There's no way you're just friends." And with that Gen would usually walk away, leaving Clara to herself.