Work Text:
“-and then I was like ‘oh my god Bucky, you are like, so funny’ and then he was like-”
You sighed loudly as Kayla continued blabbing, hoping your study partner would get the hint and stop reiterating her 3 second long interaction with James Buchanan Barnes, the school’s star quarterback and flirt.
“And then my friend Riya was like ‘oh my god Kay Kay, he’s literally flirting with you-”
“That’s great, Kayla, but could we back to the flashcards by any chance-”
“He’s just so goddamn hot!” She squealed as she brandished the stack of notecards around in the air, earning glares directed at both of you from a couple other studious students occupying the library’s tables.
You sunk down in your seat, pretending not to know the lululemon-clad girl in front of you who was basically buzzing with excitement. Of course, studying with Kayla would not have been your first choice, and you definitely weren’t her top pick either, but you two were each others’ only hope, considering the fact that the rest of the kids in your anatomy class were always either high, drunk, or both.
“It should be illegal to look that good,” she said as she looked off into the distance with glassy eyes and fanned herself. Her eyes lit up as she turned her eyes back to you and straightened up in her seat. “And guess what?”
You didn’t have time to guess before Kayla continued rambling on.
“My friend, Lynn, saw him at the gym shirtless the other day and took a picture,” She gushed as she pulled out her phone. “Wait, lemme show you. He looked so sweaty and delicious.”
You grimaced, reaching over to turn her phone off in the middle of her search. “I’m good, thanks.”
“Your loss.” Kayla snapped her gum obnoxiously before her eyes lit up again. “Oh, and guess what?”
You just grumbled in response.
“So you know how my friend’s brother is on the football team with Bucky, right?”
You had no idea who this friend was, much less who her brother was, but you nodded along with Kayla as you felt the headache creeping in.
“She told me that when he came over to her house during spring break to hang out with her brother, he snuck into her room and they both spent the entire night together.” Kayla’s eyes sparkled with a mix of envy and excitement. “In the room right next to her parents.”
You couldn’t stop the words that vomited from your mouth. “Bucky was at his parents’ house up in Brooklyn with Steve for the entirety of the break, Kayla.”
“Oh.” Kayla’s eyebrows furrowed, and you were glad she was more focused on the discrepancy in her friend’s story rather than your sudden burst of knowledge.
“Sorry,” you cleared your throat awkwardly. “I think your friend lied to you.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Kayla waved her hand with a blinding smile. “This is a good thing!”
You arched an eyebrow at her.
“I won’t be breaking girl code by dating Bucky now, since my friend never actually had anything with him!”
“Oh . . . okay?” Not like that would’ve stopped you anyways.
Her phone pinged, and she looked at it with a smile, standing up to collect her stuff (which was just her Starbucks drink and a singular highlighter). “Alright, I gotta head back to my apartment and get ready for my date tonight.”
“Oh?” Surely it couldn’t be with Bucky. Right?
"Wow, a date?" you replied, trying to sound nonchalant even as your curiosity piqued. "With who?"
Kayla grinned, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "With this guy I met at the gym last week. He's super cute and really into fitness, just like me!"
That was exactly what you were expecting her to say, but a weight was lifted off of your shoulders anyways.
“Have fun.” You smiled in relief.
“Thanks, babes.” She blew you a kiss. “This study sesh was so great. I learned a ton.”
As she sashayed away, you decided not to bring up the fact that she got through a grand total of exactly three flashcards.
With the shake of your head, you gathered your own belongings and headed out the library as quietly as possible, almost as if you were trying to compensate for the ruckus that Kayla had left behind.
As the cool spring wind breezed through your hair and birds chirped in the cherry blossom trees above you, your phone vibrated continuously in your pocket.
You struggled as you fished out the phone, mentally cursing out all the textbooks you decided to checkout. However, the slight frown on your face was replaced with a grin pulling at the corner of your lips as you brought your phone to your ear.
“Hey, baby.” The familiar low of his voice brought a chill up your spine. And it wasn’t from the wind.
“What do you want, Barnes.” You were certain he could hear the goofy smile on your face.
“Aw, you sound congested, doll.” He coddled you through the phone as you rolled your eyes. “Are you sick? Allergies?”
“I’m sick of hearing about you all day.” You emphasized with a smirk, after taking a moment to genuinely sneeze. Damn pollen.
“Well, can you really blame ‘em for talking about the most charming guy in town?” He laughed on his end of the line.
“Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that, Barnes.”
“What was dear Kayla telling you this time?”
“Just the usual. Something about you being shirtless and glistening in sweat at the gym.”
“Damn. I should start charging her for all the conversation material she’s getting out of me.”
You snorted, but little vines of jealousy stretched around your heart. “You should run your own little side hustle. You’d make thousands.”
“I like the sound of that. Maybe I’ll throw in some autographed headshots as well.”
“I can already picture the line of people stretched around the block.”
Bucky chuckled on the other end of the line, his laughter warm. "Hey, I'll have you know, I've got quite the fan club," he teased, his voice playful.
You couldn't help but smile, despite yourself. "Yeah, well, they clearly don't know how insufferable you are," you replied, your tone teasing.
There was a brief pause before Bucky spoke again, his tone turning more serious. "Hey, I miss you," he confessed softly, and you could hear the sincerity in his voice.
His words tugged at your heartstring. “I miss you too, Buck.”
He seemed to immediately notice the softening of your voice. “You got anywhere to be tonight? I’ll come by later with some pizza.”
“What-” You almost tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. “Barnes, are you crazy?”
“What?” You could imagine his innocent expression through the phone. “Am I not allowed to visit my girlfriend or something?”
Bucky visiting you wasn’t the problem. The problem was that you lived right between Faith Robinson and McKenzie Gonzalez, the biggest gossipers on campus, not to mention the nosiest neighbors. When one of them inevitably would see Bucky strut down the hall to your door in his tight henley with a box of pizza, the whole student body would hear the news before you could even open the door and let him in.
And having the entire school know about your relationship was the exact opposite of what Bucky wanted.
Right?
“Don’t be a smartass. You know exactly who I live by.”
“I don’t give a damn about who sees us anymore, baby. I just need to see you.”
You took a moment to process his words. You could imagine him holding his breath on his end of the line. “Oh.”
Really? The moment you’ve been secretly hoping for is here, and all you have to say is, ‘oh’?
“‘Oh’ in a bad way or ‘oh’ in a good way?” Bucky chuckled nervously.
The vines turned into butterflies and fluttered in your chest as you giggled. “‘Oh’ in a . . . surprised way, I guess,” you replied finally. “Yes. Yes, I would love for you to come over.”
Bucky breathed out into a cheeky grin. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
Neither of you were good with words, but you didn’t need them. You understood each other perfectly.