CHAPTER TWO
❝ the new girl ❞
LUCY'S SLUMBER WAS rudely interrupted by the sound of the front door slamming shut. The harsh bang followed by a muffled curse was the first thing that the eighteen-year-old could register as she rolled onto her back, yawning while attempting to rub the sleepiness from her eyes.
She had been living in the rundown Brooklyn apartment with her father for about a month at this point, but couldn't ever see herself calling it home.
Sure, the thrill of being in a new city intrigued the naturally curious teenager, but she was disappointed when she found that she was just as lonely as before.
Since she would be joining a new school halfway through twelfth grade, the blonde couldn't help but feel butterflies in her stomach at the fact that she would be known as the new girl.
Actually, screw butterflies. Nerves like these were angry bees invading her body.
Lucy threw her duvet cover off of her legs and stretched a bit before dragging her feet to the bathroom residing in the hall.
Surprisingly, there were two bathrooms in the small living space, one right outside of Lucy's room and the other connected to her father's bedroom. The bathroom that Lucy used was barely functioning, with a single sink, cracked toilet, and shower that had poor water pressure.
Her feet padded across the off-white tile, stopping when she reached the sink to look at herself in the mirror.
Insecurely, she started to practice her smile in the reflection while taking in some of her other features. The petite girl had a pale complexion with extremely airy freckles dotting her nose. When she smiled, only one of her cheeks was able to produce a dimple.
Lucy's platinum blonde curls spilled far past her shoulders as she slowly pulled out each strip of fabric that she had set in her hair the night prior.
After washing her face with some cold water, Lucy made her way back to her room where she could piece together the perfect outfit.
She settled for a long, pastel blue skirt that reached just below her kneecaps. Tucked into the shirt was a modest, button-up, white blouse. She threw a hefty cardigan over the top to combat the cool winter air.
Lucy stepped out of her bedroom and into the hallway, making her way to the kitchen. She released the shaky breath that she had been holding when she saw that her father was nowhere to be seen. The slam of the door that woke her up was probably him leaving for work.
Lucy never really had any close friends at her old school, too scared to let anyone in. She didn't know if she could handle any more rejection and hurt, so she didn't bother to risk having anyone to lose.
As she left, Lucy's stomach churned. Of course, the one time that she actually wanted to stay at the apartment, she couldn't.
───
George Washington High School.
Lucy was pale in the face, standing in front of her new school with her eyes glued to the sign. She clutched her books so tightly to her chest that her knuckles were turning white.
Standing alone in front of the steps made Lucy wish that she had just stayed in bed. Students were buzzing all around her, comfortably conversing with friends. Behind her was the school's football field, where people who she could assume were the popular kids were gathering and loudly laughing.
She clearly underestimated just how big the school was. A new wave of worry rushed through Lucy when she remembered that she had to find all of her classes in there.
After giving herself a small pep talk in her head, Lucy put on a brave face and walked through the school's grand doors. She headed towards the main office, which was thankfully right at the front of the school so that she could get her schedule before the first bell rang.
A teacher was kind enough to hold the door open for her once she reached the office. She flashed him a quick smile out of gratitude before slipping inside the room.
There were crowds of people scattered around the office. Several kids sat on the benches near the principal's door, somehow landing themselves in trouble before the day even began.
On the other side of the office, there were teachers who picked up their coffees and papers before rushing off to their own rooms, trying to beat the rush of students.
Lucy spotted a middle-aged woman sitting at the wooden desk in the middle of the room, deciding that she was most likely the one to talk to. The woman with curly brunette hair looked up to her and a welcoming smile filled her face, slightly relieving Lucy.
"Hiya honey! Need something?"
Lucy smiled back before responding, "Hi, it's my first day here, uh my name's Lucy Everhart?" What had meant to be a statement came out more like a question, courtesy of her nerves.
"Oh, Lucy! They told me you were comin'! Lemme grab your schedule, honey."
As the woman walked to the other side of the office to skim through a series of files, Lucy relaxed a bit. Maybe being a new student wouldn't be so bad.
She had been pretty successful in blending in with the crowd so far, honestly thinking that no other student had even noticed her presence yet. She certainly wasn't going to jinx herself, so she made sure to discreetly knock on the wood underneath the secretary's desk.
"Here, honey. All of your information for your classes and a few books are right here." The woman handed Lucy the stack and smiled. "You come right back here if you get lost or have any questions. I'm Mrs. Baker."
"Thank you so much, it was nice meeting you." Lucy, polite as ever, smiled once more at the secretary before taking a deep breath and walking out of the room, ready to take on the day.
Finding her classes should have been a piece of cake, right?
───
In another part of Brooklyn, Bucky Barnes was frantically running around the house that he shared with his younger sister and two parents. Somehow, the eighteen-year-old had managed to sleep in and almost miss school on the first day back from winter break.
Hopping on one foot, he was trying to get his black trousers on while simultaneously brushing his teeth. Conveniently enough, he slipped on a rogue sock laying on the wood floor and toppled to the ground.
"James? Is that you?" His mother, Winnifred Barnes, worriedly questioned her son.
"Yeah, Ma! I'm good!" Bucky yelled back after finally getting his pants on.
He pulled a white button-down shirt on, securing each button together before popping his collar out. Taking one last look in the mirror, he ruffled his own hair and flashed himself a smirk.
Bucky had the shit scared out of him when he opened his bedroom door and was greeted by his little sister on the other side.
"What's the matter, you gonna be late cause you were starin' in the mirror for too long?" Rebecca Barnes displayed the infamous Barnes smirk on her face as she taunted him.
She was more prepared for school than he was, wearing a blue dress and tight curls in her hair. Since the eleven-year-old was only in sixth grade, her school started a bit later than her older brother's.
Bucky glowered at the girl and playfully pushed her shoulder before walking down the hallway and into the living room. "Becca, I don't even have to stare in the mirror." He turned around and motioned to his head. "This perfect head of hair comes naturally."
Rebecca scoffed. "Yeah, because the ten pounds of hair gel you use is so natural."
George Barnes picked up the newspaper that laid on the counter and tucked it under his arm, using his free hand to grab the mug of coffee that Winnifred was kind enough to prepare for him. He gave his wife a loving kiss and sat at the dining table, sighing at his two children. "Is there ever going to be a day where you two don't wake up teasing each other?"
Bucky kissed his mother on the cheek as soon as he entered the kitchen. He frantically grabbed his books that sat on the table, no time to spare for an actual breakfast.
Winnifred smiled at her son as he was practically sprinting out of the door. "Have a good first day! Make sure Stevie stays out of trouble!"
───
As it turned out, finding her classes was not a piece of cake at all.
Lucy had been aimlessly walking around the school for what had felt like hours.
She stopped with a huff and blew a stray piece of hair from her face. Her old school was nowhere near this ginormous. In comparison, George Washington High made her feel like she had been dropped in the middle of a maze.
Picking up her pace again, Lucy's gaze fell back onto the piece of paper in her hands that listed all of her class numbers.
By now, the period had started long ago, leaving the hallways empty apart from the new girl. So even if she happened to build up the courage, she didn't even have the option to ask someone for help in finding her first-period class. Along with that, it would be humiliating going back to the office for help so soon after she had left.
Hell, she probably wouldn't even be able to find it.
Rounding a corner, Lucy's attention was still directed towards her schedule, clearly not expecting anyone to be on the other side.
Come on, where is Mrs. Sullivan's Science class—
Before she could finish her pleading thought, Lucy collided with a hard chest, knocking the papers and textbooks that were in her hands straight to the ground.
"Oh!"
Both she and the boy she rammed into were caught off guard and immediately kneeled down to pick up her books.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going and I'm late for class. I didn't even know you were around the corner."
Lucy was far too stressed to notice the familiar voice. "No, no it's okay. I was totally looking down at my schedule and not paying attention."
As both reached for the final book on the ground, the two students finally looked up to see who they were speaking to.
Lucy came face to face with Bucky, the boy that she spoke to in the diner about a month ago, meeting in the exact same predicament
Bucky was pleasantly surprised to see Lucy again. "Huh." He pointed at her with a grin on his face while the two were still kneeling down. "We've gotta stop meeting like this, Lucy."
Trying to stifle the surprise on her face, Lucy asked, "You remember my name?"
Bucky Barnes picked up her books and stood, putting a hand out for her to follow. The two locked hands and he gently pulled her up, waiting until she could flatten her skirt before handing her items back.
"Of course I do." Bucky stopped mid-sentence and stuck out a hand for her to shake. "But I feel like I never got to properly introduce myself. James Buchanan Barnes, a pleasure to meet you."
As Lucy stuffed her books into her left hand and took his with her right, Bucky observed the girl in front of him.
She wore a small, but contagious smile, the same one that Steve plastered on his face while the two boys were out in public. He could immediately tell that the girl was just as shy as his best friend, making him smile a bit wider.
"Nice to properly meet you, James." Bucky usually hated when anyone but his mother used his first name, but he didn't mind the way it rolled off of Lucy's tongue.
As the two finished shaking hands, Bucky continued the conversation, "Hey, what did I tell you? You can call me Bucky, all of my friends do."
"What, this is our second time runnin' into each other and we're already friends?" Lucy smirked a little, genuinely asking.
Bucky licked his lips before gesturing around himself. "Of course we are! I think that the world wants us to be. Why else would we keep bumpin' into each other like this?" He motioned between the two of them. "Besides, you said that you're new, right?"
Lucy courteously nodded, letting him continue to talk.
"Then you gotta have someone to show you around! Maybe I could help you find your classes? I'm already late enough for Science, so I'm sure that a little while longer won't hurt."
Lucy was stunned by Bucky's kindness toward her. He looked like a typical jock but proved the stereotype wrong by sparing some of his time for her.
"Oh, yeah that would be amazing." Lucy extended her schedule while thinking back on their conversation so far. "Wait, did you say Science?"
Bucky took Lucy's schedule and carefully read through it. "Yeah. Hey, we have Science and P.E. together. Mrs. Sullivan is a nice teacher, except for when I'm late..." He paused and visibly cringed. "Which means you really don't wanna walk in with me if you wanna make a good impression."
Lucy was unable to contain her smile at this point. "I mean, I could be your excuse for bein' late? I think that showing the new kid around is a good reason, right?"
She didn't have to tell Bucky twice. "We should probably get going before we miss the whole period." He motioned her to follow him and she did so without any hesitation. "Do you need any help carrying your books?"
Lucy gave a small shake of her head and smiled. "That's okay. Thank you again for helping me."
"Not a problem," Bucky reassured her as they walked down the hallway.
And for once, he thanked his lucky stars that he was running late.
AUTHOR'S NOTE!
here's part one of lucy's first day of school!
i love writing teenage bucky's charm so much.
anyways, i hope the story has hooked you all so far because it only gets better from here!
daily reminder to have a great day and take care of yourself!
<3 mal