Chapter 8
I looked to my side to see how far behind I was only to realize that all three of us were still together. None of us were even putting in that much effort, and that was clear due to the lack of heavy breathing. We were about to run around the second corner to finish the first lap when I noticed a large grin on Bucky’s face. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile like that before.
I didn’t even stop to think about why he might be smiling like that until he started to sprint. Steve noticed that he was falling behind and started to sprint as well, but something in me felt like this wasn’t just a part of the race. I sped up as well but stayed just behind the two. Steve was just behind Bucky when he suddenly slowed down and put his left arm out. The metal arm. Steve’s chest hit Bucky’s arm and, due to his incredibly fast speed, toppled over and rolled off into the grass.
Bucky started to chuckle and returned to a nice and easy pace. I ran up next to him and looked over at him to see him still smiling.
“What was that for?” I questioned while running with him.
He looked over to me and his smile faltered for only a second. “He needed a humbling experience. I wasn’t going to let him win this one.” He returned his gaze in front of him.
We were reaching the final stretch of the track and I decided to speed up. I don’t think Bucky was ready for me to speed up because he started to stumble to catch up. I smiled softly and I was only about one hundred feet away from the finish line.
I could hear people cheering as we got closer and I decided to go all out. I had never felt more free than in this moment. I could run anywhere as fast as I wanted. I felt that way until about ten feet away from the line. That was when I couldn’t hear Bucky’s steps behind me anymore.
My eyes widened as I felt a push on my back. Bucky had jumped and his arms wrapped around my torso. Suddenly I was also in the air and he was flipping us around so that he was closer to the finish line. I looked over my shoulder and he was still smiling. This was fun for him, so maybe I could have fun too.
I flipped my legs up and over my head and right as we made eye contact we started to fall. We both rolled over the finish line and everyone was still cheering. Once our momentum stopped I completely relaxed on my back. Bucky was laughing hard. His chest was right on mine and he had an arm on each side of me. He pushed himself up and was still laughing. He was so beautiful when he was smiling.
He lifted one of his arms and rolled over next to me. His laughing had ceased, but he still had a smile on his face. I sat up so that I could lean back on my palms. He started to get up and helped me up as well. Steve ran over to us and He and Bucky immediately started a conversation.
“That was a dirty trick you pulled, Buck.” Steve slapped his hand on Bucky’s back.
“I couldn’t let you have all the glory.” He smiled at his friend.
Sam ran up to me and wrapped me in a hug. He lifted me off the ground and jumped around in a circle.
“You did amazing! You almost won!”
“Technically I did win. Bucky just cheated twice.” I gave the man a pointed stare.
He gave me an amused shrug and went back to chatting with Steve. Everyone collectively decided that we should go inside, shower, and rest since every single one of us was exhausted.
I was finishing up in my room when I heard a knock on my door, and for the first time, I wasn’t absolutely pissed off at the presence of someone bothering me. I was towel-drying my hair when I opened up the door and saw Bucky. He had also just finished up in the shower. His hair was slightly damp and he had decided to put on a pair of shorts and a tank top. There was only one thing that was off.
“Where’s your arm?” I pointed to where it should be.
He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the socket. “Oh, yeah, I can’t put it on until like thirty minutes after I’m out of water. It’ll get damaged otherwise.”
“You know what that does make sense.” I opened the door and motioned for him to come in. “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to say that I really had fun today.” He walked in and I sat down on my bed.
“Well, I had fun today as well. The most fun I’ve had in a while.” I smiled and he sat down next to me.
“I just wanted to talk to you and clear some stuff up.”
“Like what?” I moved to face him.
“I know that I’ve been cold to you since you came here. I just didn’t know if I could trust you.” He paused for a moment. “I was also scared.”
“Scared of what?” His eyes left mine.
“Scared of someone like me. Scared that everything would come back, and what made it worse is that Steve was on my ass for a week. He kept telling me that I had to help you, but I was really scared.”
“What changed? I mean, you’re here now and I’m guessing no one told you to come.” His eyes met mine.
“You’re not like me. You’re better than me and I can tell.” His eyes relaxed.
“What do you mean?”
“You were so calm and carefree today, and I guess it rubbed off on me. I wouldn’t have been able to be like that so early on.” He smiled softly, which caused me to smile as well. “I don’t have to be scared because we are different. You aren’t a reminder, you’re just someone with the same experience.”
“So, in a way, I’ve actually helped you?” I cocked my head to one side.
He laughed lightly and shook his head. “I suppose you have. Thank you for today.” He started to get up.
“I really should be thanking you. Today, I felt normal.” I got up with him and headed to the door.
“I’m glad, Y/N. Now, let’s go get some lunch. I’m starving after that stupid race.” He laughed and turned the corner.
“You might want to put your arm on first.” I shut the door behind me.
He left to go put his arm on and I headed downstairs. Once I was down there, my mind felt completely calm. These people were my friends, I just had to put myself out there like I did today. Natasha still didn’t really talk to me, but everyone else seemed really happy that I was talking. Things are gonna be okay.