we all need that someone, who gets you like no one
knows right when you need them the most
we all need a soul to rely on, a shoulder to cry on
a friend through the highs and the lows
~~~~~
After being rescued from the red room in Russia by the SSR, Dottie Underwood was fostered by Ana and Edwin Jarvis in Manhattan. Starting a completely new life in a new country where everyone was speaking a language she could barely understand was terrifying to Dottie.
But it wasn't nearly as terrifying to her as the red room. Everything she endured, everything she was forced to do.... it haunted her. Battling PTSD, learning a complicated language, un-learning everything she ever knew, it was all just so hard.
Ana, who was the principal of her new school, tried everything to help her. English tutors, therapy, social outings, anything she could to help prepare her for school. Over the summer, she did very well. But it all changed when she started at Stark-Frost Academy. Physically speaking, the bullies were nothing compared to the red room. Mentally speaking? As much as she tried to hide it, the words cut deeper than the knives she used to throw.
And then she met Peggy Carter. Perfect grades, perfect family, perfect smile, perfect nose, perfect friends, perfect life. God, Dottie hated her. Peggy was everything that she knew she could never be. And that infuriated her.
So what will happen when Principal Jarvis enlists Peggy to help Dottie adjust to her new life? Will Dottie's jealousy towards Peggy drive a wedge in her path of redemption? Or will it only ignite the rising flame between them?
~~~~~
Modern Day Carterwood High School AU
Highest rank:
#8 in #carterwood
⚠️ TRIGGER WARNINGS ⚠️
Bullying, slurs (censored), PTSD episode, physical violence, small scene with animal dissection in a classroom
"Life is fifty wrong turns down a bumpy road. All you can hope is that you end up somewhere nice." - Punk 57
*I don't own any of the characters except the OCs.
Melanie Lovett was a former CIA Agent. She decided it wasn't in the cards for her to keep doing something that didn't bring her joy. She was recruited by Tony Stark, due to her exemplary credentials, to be Morgan's nanny. Melanie decided to take the job on because it was something different and new. She didn't know that's where she would meet James Buchanan Barnes. The man who loved bumping heads with her at any chance he got. The man who killed her father when she was thirteen years old. She hated him ... almost as much as she wanted him.
‼️ Sort of Dark!Bucky in the beginning so if you're not into that then this story might not be for you. ‼️
〰️
"Why would she be afraid of you?" Nat asked.
Something in her tone had changed but I didn't know what it was.
"I don't know. I just met her yesterday," I shrugged.
"Hm. Well ... I'm gonna go get suited up. See ya," she ran off.
What the hell? Some thing wasn't right. She was hiding something. Something about Melanie ... and I was going to find out. She was lying about something.
Violence was why I existed. It was who I was. To dominate and submit all those around me. I was a tool, a monster, an enforcer. I'd done it all because it's all I'd known. All I was taught. Somewhere inside I could still feel it. Even after getting the words out. That dark sinister part of me was still there. The caged soldier inside. Something about Melanie would make it come out. Maybe because she might've also had a caged animal inside. I itched to let it out. To let them play.
〰️
Tropes found in book:
Enemies to Lovers
Grumpy x Sunshine
Fake Dating
Bodyguard
He falls first. She falls harder.
⚠️ MATURE CONTENT: 18+ ⚠️
(Yes, there is smut)
Dual POV
❗️Trigger Warnings:❗️
- Language
- Abuse/mentions of past abuse
- Violence
- Drug refere