On Monday, Lizzie and Bucky went to each of his teachers to explain the situation. Most of the teachers were accommodating, a couple of them went along with it once they heard other teachers were doing it, and the only hold out was Mr. Stevens.
Mr. Stevens was Bucky's algebra teacher but he was very strict. Lizzie knew that he would be the hardest to convince.
"Please, Mr. Stevens. You know I'm already taking pre-calculus. I could show him how to do this stuff in my sleep," Lizzie begs.
"I am not questioning your abilities Miss. Rogers. I am merely questioning Mr. Barnes' drive in this endeavor," Mr. Stevens says.
"I'll make sure he does his work, I promise," Lizzie says.
Bucky looks over at Lizzie with utter devotion in his eyes. He loves her even more when he sees her fighting so hard for him. She believes in him so much that she is willing to stick out her neck for him.
"Miss. Rogers, would you mind stepping out a moment so I can talk to Mr. Barnes alone," Mr. Stevens says.
Lizzie is getting hopeless. If they can't get Mr. Stevens on board, then everything falls apart. She knows that he won't listen to her argue anymore so she nods politely and leaves the room.
When the door shuts behind Lizzie, Mr. Stevens turns to Bucky.
"I'm going to be honest with you Mr. Barnes, I don't like you. I find you arrogant and lazy and if you were to come ask me to do this on your own, it would be an instant no," Mr. Stevens says.
"So you won't do it?" Bucky asks.
"I didn't say I wouldn't do it, I'm trying to get you to understand I'm not doing this for you,"
Mr. Stevens explains.
"Then what are you doing it for?" Bucky asks.
"I'm doing this for Miss. Rogers. She is one of the brightest students I've ever seen and for some reason, you have earned her devotion. I see the way you look at her and you just might be charming enough to convince her that you may you be a suitable choice for her. I will not have all her potential go to waste because you're not educated enough to support her. She'll change the world, you better hope you're fortunate enough to be by her side when she does," Mr. Stevens says.
"I'm already incredibly fortunate to be by her side now," Bucky says.
"I'm glad you're aware of your luck. Now you better go tell Miss. Rogers before she explodes from stress," Mr. Stevens says.
Bucky walks out of the room and tells her the news. She flings herself in his arms and he lifts her and spins her around.
"I told you, I can be very persuasive," Lizzie says when he puts her down.
"I never doubted you for a second, doll," Bucky says with a smile.
Bucky's 18th birthday quickly comes and goes. The trio end up back at Coney Island and there is a little too much flirting between Lizzie and Bucky in Steve's opinion. Steve is about to scream at Lizzie to make up her mind all ready because their hot and cold relationship is starting to drive him nuts.
The twins also gift Bucky yet another addition of "The Adventures of Bucky Barnes and The Rogers Twins" as is tradition.
He also receives a notebook from Lizzie of all her notes from the subjects he's taking.
The notes are extensive and highly detailed. He uses them to study on his lunch breaks when he starts his new job.
He thought it would be nice to have some extra time with Lizzie while she tutors him. He was hugely mistaken.
Lizzie doesn't put up with any of his shenanigans when she is trying to teach him. She has taken to slapping the back of his head when he doesn't pay attention to her lessons. It doesn't particularly hurt but it's annoying all the same.
To be fair, he is testing her a little bit. He likes winding her up.
However, it is all worth it when he gets an A on his first test. He doesn't remember when the last time he got an A was. Maybe it's his first one for all he knows.
What really makes it worth it is the look on Lizzie's face when he tells her. He can see how proud of him she is and all he wants is for her to keep looking at him like that for the rest of his life.
Lizzie is kept very busy tutoring Bucky and doing her own schoolwork which is the excuse she gives Riley for blowing him off so much. She feels bad but she feels even worse when she spends time with him. She knows that they are compatible but she feels guilty there isn't the same spark that she has with Bucky.
Lizzie works Bucky so hard that he is actually able to graduate a full month early.
"I'm so so proud of you Bucky," Lizzie says.
They are walking back from Bucky's house after their very last tutoring session. He is planning on taking his last final the next morning.
"It's all because of you Lizzie," Bucky says.
"If you didn't work as hard as you did, you wouldn't have succeeded. You're actually quite smart Bucky," Lizzie says.
"Don't sound so surprised," Bucky says.
"I've always known you are smart, you just needed to apply yourself," Lizzie says.
"Maybe I would've applied myself more if my teachers looked like you," Bucky flirts.
She rolls her eyes at him while he laughs.
When they arrive at the house, Steve is sitting on the porch. Lizzie can see that he has tears in his eyes. She runs towards him and he instantly clings onto her.
"It's mom," he sobs into her ear.
She pulls back to look at his face.
"What's wrong?" Lizzie asks in panic.
"She's really really sick. They won't even let me in to see her since she is contagious and I'm so easily sick," Steve explains.
"What is it?" Lizzie asks.
"Tuberculosis," Steve says.
"She can survive that," Lizzie says trying to convince herself more than Steve.
"Lizzie... you know that's not likely," Steve says.
"She's going to be okay, Steve. We can't afford to think anything else," Lizzie says.
"Okay, she'll be okay," Steve says.
Both of the twins cling to each other as Bucky watched on.
Bucky can only pray that Sarah gets better. She deserves to live a long life with her kids. Her kids deserve to have a mom who loves them. They don't deserve to be orphans at the tender age of 16.