Meant to Be

December 3rd

Friday swim practice had absolutely wiped Ella out, they had a competition over the weekend and college coaches were likely to be in attendance so the coach had been especially tough on everyone. So when Bucky came up to her afterward with a look on his face that told her he wanted something, she had the urge to run in the opposite direction but barely had enough energy to drag herself to the car so she scrapped that plan.

"My mom wanted to know if you'd come over for dinner this weekend? I told her you invited me on holiday so she thought it was time to meet you," he said, a little nervous.

The first time he'd met Ella's parents it had been very casual, and it wasn't as the boy she was dating. He was worried Ella would be a little freaked out by the prospect. He wasn't entirely wrong.

"Sure," Ella replied hesitantly. "Just not tonight right?"

Bucky shook his head with a smile. "No, not tonight, I was thinking tomorrow, I can give you a lift back from the competition, you can stay over if you'd like," Bucky paused. "Let me rephrase, please stay over after."

Ella scrunched up her nose as she smiled. "I'd love that."

The next morning Ella and Steve were up early, they sat in the kitchen sharing a pot of coffee before either of them got ready for their swim meet. Ella made sure to pack a change of clothes for the evening with Bucky's family and they both headed off to school to get the coach.

They put their luggage in the storage compartment and Ella followed Steve onto the bus. Sam and Bucky were already there, and they'd claimed two sets of seats, one in front of the other. Steve took his place next to Sam, leaving the seat next to Bucky free for Ella.

The competition was just over an hour away. For the first part of the journey, Bucky and Ella turned in their seats so they could talk about the summer holiday. She and Steve filled the others in on what they usually got up to, getting everyone excited.

When that conversation drew to a close, Bucky offered Ella one of his headphones and she gladly accepted it. He put a playlist on shuffle as Ella dropped her head to his shoulder. She didn't go to sleep, although she was sure she would on the way home, she just rested her eyes.

Once they got there, they went their separate ways, Ella disappearing into the ladies' locker room with the rest of the girls' team. She was competing in three events, the first being the 200 freestyle relay. Ella was nervous, she couldn't stop fidgeting in the changing rooms as she waited for the other 3 girls on the team to get ready.

However, she was nervous for nothing. The team brought it home convincingly in first place, and Ella's day was off to the perfect start. She was already feeling better about her individual events.

While she waited for her next races she made sure to watch all of Steve, Bucky, and Sam's races, cheering them on with the rest of the team. They all did well, and the three of them ended the day with a win each. When Bucky had won his race, Ella had to resist the urge to run over and jump on him, instead settling for very excited squealing from the side of the pool.

Ella's second event was the 100 backstroke, and unsurprisingly that didn't bring her a second win of the day. She saw that one coming a mile off. But she still felt good about her time of a 59.23, it was under the 1 minute target she set herself. However, her third and final event was the 100 breaststroke. She was feeling very confident about her chances and with good reason, she came first and set a new state record. Not bad for a Saturday's work. She could feel the eyes of who she hoped were college coaches on her as she left the pool, she loved the pressure. She always had.

As soon as she could, she ran over to Bucky to celebrate.

"You're amazing," he grinned as he picked her up and spun her around in his arms, giving Ella a peck on the lips.