The twins soon leave Bucky's house to get ready to leave for the courthouse.
Lizzie wears a knee length cream dress with cap sleeves and Steve dresses in slacks with a button up shirt and a tie.
"I can't do this Stevie," Lizzie says as she paces across the floor.
"Yes, you can and I'll be with you the whole times," Steve says.
In all honesty, Steve was quite worried as well. He hadn't seen Royce since before the incident and he didn't know how he would react to seeing him again.
"Promise?" Lizzie asks in a small voice.
"Always," Steve responds.
Luckily Sarah got the day off work so the three of them walk to the courthouse together. When they arrive, Bucky and his mother are already outside.
Bucky is dressed in a similar outfit to Steve but keeps trying to take off the tie while his mother swats his hands away.
"Long time no see," Bucky says with a smirk.
The kids all think that they were sneaky that morning and got together without their parents knowledge. However, the adults obviously knew but they allowed their kids to believe they were sly.
"We wanted to all be here to support you today, sweetie," Mrs. Barnes says.
"Thank you, Mrs. Barnes," Lizzie responds.
"Please, call me Winifred dear. I'm sorry my husband couldn't be here but he stayed home to take care of Rebecca. We thought that she might be a little young for this sort of thing," Winifred explains.
"Of course, that's very understandable. I know you probably also want to be with Bucky today as he is testifying as well," Sarah says.
Lizzie turns and faces Bucky.
"You're what?!" Lizzie yells.
"You really didn't expect me not to testify? I was the one who found you for goodness sake," Bucky says.
Lizzie scowls at him before turning and walking into the courthouse. Bucky runs after her and the rest of the group follows in after them.
Bucky catches up to Lizzie and grabs her elbow, effectively stopping her.
"Why are you so upset? Is it because I didn't tell you?" Bucky asks.
"That's definitely part of it but that's not the whole reason," Lizzie says angrily.
Bucky throws his arms up in exasperation. He never could understand girls.
"I'm mad because I don't want you to relive that. You try to hide it but I knew how much that day haunts you. I catch you staring at me sometimes and know that you're back to that warehouse. You're my best friend and I never want you to relive that. Especially not in a courtroom full of strangers," Lizzie says.
Bucky can't help but let out a small smile.
"So you're just mad because you're worried about me?" Bucky says.
"Yes," Lizzie responds shortly.
"Honestly, I think talking about it will be good for me. I've kept everything bottled up since the incident. Plus, it will all be worth it if he gets convicted," Bucky says.
The rest of the party catch up to them and the enter the courtroom together.
Lizzie sees Royce and grips Steve's hand tightly. Steve and Bucky both glare at the back of his head. He seems to be avoiding both their gazes. The last time he saw Bucky, he was getting punched in the face.
Opening statements are made and they begin to call up witnesses.
"The persecution would like to call James Buchanan Barnes to the stand," Lizzie's lawyer says.
Bucky walks to the witness stand and is sworn in.
"Mr. Barnes, can you please recount the sequence of events that occurred on November the 15th?," the lawyer asks.
"On the morning of the 15th I walked over to walk with my friend, Steve, to school like I normally do," Bucky says.
"Just to be clear, Steve is the brother of the victim?" The lawyer confirms.
Bucky hates the word victim. She is so much more than a victim, she is a survivor.
"Yes, Steve and Elizabeth are twins," Bucky says.
The lawyer had prepped him prior to his testimony and he told him to avoid calling her Ellie. He explained that Bucky already had a connection to Lizzie and that remaining detached may make Bucky seem like a more impartial witness to the jury.
"Please continue Mr. Barnes," the lawyer said.
"Steve was worried about Elizabeth because she always acted strange on the days Steve missed school so he asked me to keep an eye on her at school. I couldn't find her at school so I assumed that she stayed to look after Steve but when I returned to the Rogers' residence, she was nowhere to be found," Bucky says.
Bucky goes on to explain the hunt to track her down.
"I was walking down the abandoned warehouse area when I saw a pool of blood from the alley between two of the buildings," Bucky says.
Bucky has to take a deep breathe before continuing.
"I found her lying on the ground, bleeding out through her head. I ran to her and her skin was ice cold. I honestly thought she was already dead until I felt her pulse. I tried to keep her warm because she was just so cold. I was terrified to leave her alone but I knew she wouldn't survive without immediate medical attention. Luckily a car passed and I was able to get the driver to call an ambulance. Right before the ambulance arrived, she died," Bucky says.
He hears Lizzie gasp. He forgot that they chose to exclude that fact from Lizzie.
"What do you mean by she died?" The lawyer asks.
"She stopped breathing and her heart stopped. They got her heart started in the ambulance but she crashed again and they had to save her again," Bucky clarifies.
The lawyer smiles at him and nods his head.
"No further questions, your honor," the lawyer says.
"Would the defense like to cross-examine the witness?" The judge asks.
"Yes, it would," the defense lawyer says as he approaches Bucky.
"James, what is your exact relationship with the victim," the lawyer asks.
"She's my best friend's twin sister," Bucky responds.
He hates that he has to reduce his and Ellie's relationship to a connection through her brother once more but it was necessary.
"That's all there is to your relationship?" The lawyer adds.
"Objection! Relevance," Lizzie's lawyer says.
"Overruled, please answer the question James," the judge says.
"We don't have a relationship. She's just my friend's twin," he says.
Lizzie frowns at him but knows better to reveal Bucky.
"How were you allowed into the ambulance? As far as I know, only family is allowed to escort victims to the hospital," the lawyer asks.
Bucky knows the lawyer is attempting to discredit Bucky and his testimony.
"I did fib and tell the medic that I was family. The girl was dying for goodness sake. I'm not the kind of person how would let anyone die alone, especially not the person my best friend loves the most. Would you?" Bucky rebuttals.
The lawyer was thrown. He didn't think the boy was capable of such rhetoric. He was hoping that the personal questions would trip him up but he had one more trick up his sleeve.
"What is your relationship with the defendant?" the lawyer asks.
"We were friends, close friends. He's actually the reason I go by Bucky now. We were so close as kids that people figured out it was too confusing to call us both James," Bucky says.
"You would think that as a close friend, you would give him the benefit of the doubt. Could you describe the events that occurred on November the 17th?,"
the lawyer says.
"I was hanging out with my group of friends at school and James joined us and he had a black eye. He claimed he tripped in his garage but he sounded unsure and suspicious. For your information I did give him the benefit of the doubt. I then noticed that he had claw marks that were obviously human. I let my anger get the better of me when he confessed to me that he was the one who hurt her," he says.
"When you say you let your anger get the better of you, can you explain what that means?" He asks.
"After I heard him confess to hurting Elizabeth, I punched him," Bucky says.
"Punched him once?" The lawyer asks.
"No, several times," Bucky responds through gritted teeth.
"It seems to me that you had quite a strong reaction for someone who is just a sibling to a friend," the lawyer says.
"I don't like bullies. I personally think that if someone beats another person inches from their death, that would fit the definition of a bully. Wouldn't you agree?" Bucky says.
The lawyer doesn't like how the boy keeps turning it on him. He knows he won't get anymore out of him so he hopes that he at least planted a seed of doubt in the jurors' minds.
"No further questions, your honor" the lawyer concludes.
The judge dismisses Bucky and he returns to the seat next to Steve and his mother.
"The persecution calls Elizabeth Grace Rogers to the stand."