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Bailey Connors was looked down on my most people. Maybe it's because of the way she could handle herself [which wasn't very good.. usually resulting in an anxiety attack], or maybe because she was never known to solve her own problems and always had some type of assistance.

But Bailey Connors was look at as a misfit. Being abandoned by her parent when she was young to live on her own. The girl had just enough money to buy herself what she needed to survive, that buying things like clothes or shoes was on the bottom of her list.

School wasn't something she looked forward to either. Her classmates always finding some way to pick her out of the crowd.

In her mind, the only thing that's keeping her from ending it all.. was James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes. The brunette haired boy with the steel blue eyes was always there to protect her. He was a built kid, spending his free time in a gym boxing.

Then there was little Steven Grant Rogers. Her only other friend besides Bucky. Steve was the opposite of Bucky. A small fragile boy with loads of medical issues. But, he still managed to get himself wherever he shouldn't be.

As Bailey walked through the school building towards the exit, only one thing was on her mind. Who's going to say something today? She asked herself.

Luckily for her, she managed to get outside without being noticed. Or, at least messed with. She could feel the eyes on her, making her cheeks turn a rose color.

Just as she walked off of the school property, she heard her name. "Bailey, don't you leave without saying goodbye." One of the many jerks at school called out.

Every day, the boys at school would attempt to attack Bailey in some way. There was no reasoning for it, they just thought they were funny.

"Heh- that means get your ass back here Connors!" The same kid called out.

Bailey turned her head the slightest, brushing her blonde hair out of her eyes, just to see the kid who called out her name starting to run towards her. "Don't worry, no one will even care!" He said, watching as Bailey began to dart away.

The girl wasn't very fond of running, but found it most helpful when she's stuck in a situation. But, she couldn't help but wonder where Bucky, or even Steve, could be. Well, Steve would actually be home since his mother had just passed away this week, leaving him to be alone too.

"Connors!" The boy yelled once more, chasing Bailey all the way up the steps to her condo, but being met with a door slamming in his face. " get out of there!" He yelled, banging his hand against the door.

Bailey just locked the door and sat on her kitchen floor. Her legs aches from running, her head was pounding, she couldn't breathe, and the adrenaline that masked her pain was wearing away.

Thankfully for her, the banging on her door came to an end. But that didn't exactly help the fact that she couldn't breathe.  Neither did the fact that her door was now opening.

She thought that she would look up at the door to see the boy from school, the fiery look on his face when he would see her weak. But instead, she was met with a pair of steel blue eyes.

"Bailey, oh my god." Bucky said, kneeling down in front of her. He was sure to be gentle as his hand reached up to her face, but still want surprised when she flinched. "Bailey, I wouldn't hurt you. Ever." He reminded her.

Bailey just nodded, watching as Bucky stood up and filled a glass of water for her. "Just relax, Bail." He said, sitting down right next to her. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. Mr Adams needed me to finish my class work."

"Hm" she nodded, taking a sip of the water. "I just.. I-I.."

"Shh." He said, putting his arm around her shoulders. "You don't need to tell me. I already dealt with the kid."

Bailey looked up at Bucky confused. "W-wait. How'd you even get in..? I-I locked the door." she asked the brunette boy.

Bucky laughed a little bit and pulled out a key from his pocket. "You have me a spare key, remember?" He said with a small laugh, standing up from the ground. "Now come on. You've gotta get up, we are meeting Steve at the diner."

"Buck." Bailey said, "I don't have money for the diner. And I've got.. a lot of homework to get done."

Bucky sighed, looking at Bailey with a frown. "Come on, bail. You can do homework later and I'll even pay for you."

Bailey shook her head. "Bucky, go. I'll be fine here. I've got some food I can heat up anyways. I'll see you tomorrow." She said, standing up and nudging him out the door. "Now, don't leave Steve waiting."

Bucky sighed, but didn't want to argue with Bailey. He knew how much independence meant to her, but he also knew that she wouldn't eat if she was alone.

•••

About two hours later, Bailey was sat at her kitchen table while school work spread all around into piles. One pile was what she had finished, the other pile being what else needed to get done.

And let's just say, the pile of unfinished work was larger. Just another reason why school was her highest stress and anxiety area.

Bailey sat at her table, so focused on doing her homework, that she didn't even realize that Bucky and Steve had snuck in.

"Hey bail-" Bucky said from behind the girl, stopping once her elbow lodged into his stomach.

Bailey didn't know that it was Bucky at first, so she panicked and elbowed him. "Jesus buck." she said, jumping up and looking at the two boys. "Heard of knocking?!"

Bucky laughed a little bit, setting a white contained down on the table. "Sorry, we figured you'd be asleep." He said, "but we brought you food."

Bailey furrowed her eyebrows. "So you thought I was sleeping and brought me food?" She asked, "and I told you not to, buck."

Steve shrugged. "But you've gotta eat, Bailey." He said, his eyes shifting to the homework pile. "Jesus, what did you do? Get everyone's homework to do?"

"Anthony Martino." Bucky read off on one of the homework pages. "Nice to meet you Anthony." He said, putting the pager back down and crossing his arms. "Why are you doing other people's homework, Bailey?"

Bailey looked up at the two boys with a straight face, giving no response.

"Bailey."

"Fine." She said. "They said they would leave me alone if I did it."

Bucky scoffed, picking up the pages that had different names on them, and ripped them apart. "Don't let them push you around." He said. "When they bug your or bother you, find me. I can deal with them."

Bailey nodded, picking out the little bit of homework she had that was hers, and stuck it back into her bag. "They're going to-"

"I know." Bucky said. "I'll walk with you to school tomorrow. But promise me you'll eat this, ok?"

Bailey nodded once again, watching as Bucky and Steve left. A small smile perked onto her face as she opened the container. A couple of French fries and some chicken fingers were inside, along with some barbecue sauce.

You jerks..

✔️Don't Leave Me ||Bucky Barnes||Where stories live. Discover now