One Day Less || Bucky Barnes

One Day Less

Jacqueline Rogers has spent her whole life as one-third of an inseparable trio-her, her scrappy older brother Steve, and their best friend Bucky Barnes. They've weathered everything together: schoolyard bullies, scraped knees, and the long shadow of the Great Depression. But as they grow from children into teenagers, Jackie begins to see Bucky differently, and the easy friendship that once defined them starts to shift into something that makes her heart race.

While Steve dreams of enlisting and Bucky charms every girl in Brooklyn, Jackie finds herself caught between childhood and something far more complicated. She's always been just one of the boys, but now every shared glance with Bucky feels electric, every casual touch sends her world spinning. When he starts dating other girls, she tells herself she doesn't care-but her heart knows better.

As the world edges closer to war and the boys make plans that don't include her, Jackie must navigate the treacherous waters of first love, fierce loyalty, and the growing fear that everything she's ever known is about to change forever. Because when Bucky finally sees her as more than just Steve's little sister, it's at the exact moment when war threatens to tear their perfect world apart.

In those precious years between innocence and heartbreak, can three best friends survive the ultimate test-or will growing up mean losing everything that matters most?

"However long you live, I hope I exist one day less."

A story of first love, lasting friendship, and the bittersweet beauty of growing up in the shadow of war.

Inspired by Anson Seabra's, "One Day Less"