It was second period on Monday morning, halfway through the lesson, when something light hit the back of Ella's head, startling her. She swiveled on her chair, searching the floor for whatever had been thrown. It was a scrunched up ball of paper. She reached down and unfurled it. The word 'slut' was scribbled on it in huge capital letters.
She looked around the room and her eyes landed on the culprit. Max. He had a nasty smile plastered on his face. Next to him was Christian, head hanging in embarrassment. He had nothing to do with it.
She rolled her eyes, she had been hoping to at least make it to lunchtime before Friday night was brought up. But clearly, Jess had wasted no time telling people what she'd seen, or at least, what she assumed she'd seen. Little did she know that nothing else happened in Ella's bedroom. Ella tried not to let it bother her, just like last year when Max did a similar thing. Except for that piece of paper said 'prude' on it. Christian's friends found it hilarious that she had waited to sleep with him. It also ended up being more than just a piece of paper thrown at her in class, Christian's friends would whisper it in her ear when she stood near them, and when they got bored of that they would shout it across the room at parties. She wondered if she had that in store for her again. She probably did, if anything this might end up being worse.
She shrugged it off, folding up the smoothed out piece of paper and putting it into the back pocket of her jeans. She wasn't sure why she kept it.
Lunchtime was exactly what she was expecting. Stares across the cafeteria from Christian's friends while he pretended it wasn't happening. Spineless. However, the girls he was friends with had perked up. He was finally available. Ella thought it was sad. They'd all fancied him since high school started, but they only liked him because he was one of the hottest guys at school. They didn't care that he was genuinely nice, thoughtful and, for the most part, a good person. Although, Ella realized that as much as she had acknowledged those qualities in him, they hadn't made any difference to her.
As much as their behavior wasn't particularly bothering Ella, she was glad Bucky was elsewhere because she knew it would bother him. One of the things they'd talked about on Friday night was what people at school might say and Ella had never seen him look so guilty. They both assumed that if either of them were going to get any grief it would be her, unfortunately.
At the end of the day, Bucky and Ella made their way to their lockers to get their bags for swim practice. Ella was sorting out her books and trying to decide whether to tell Bucky about the note and the glaring looks when he joined her, but he didn't open his locker.
Instead, he reached his hand out for a handshake, "hi, I'm Bucky, nice to meet you, I know this is very forward of me, but I was wondering if I could take you out sometime?"
Ella gave him a confused side-eye.
"Did you hit your head?"
"Why do I bother?" He groaned, feigning annoyance "I was trying to be romantic. Seeing as this is how I'd have liked it to go the first time I met you"
"You're a romantic?" Ella gave him a shocked laugh.
Bucky rolled his eyes "when I'm allowed to be, yeah."
Ella grinned up at him, he reciprocated with a goofy smile.
"I'd love to go out with you," Ella finally replied to his earlier question. She couldn't ignore the butterflies in her stomach as she spoke.
"Friday after swim practice?" He offered.
Ella shook her head, "Friday but skip swim practice, I don't just want half an evening with you."
"Okay, sounds perfect," he smiled. "Leave it up to me."
With that they started walking to the pool, Bucky's hand reached into the back pocket of her jeans. The corridor was almost deserted now so there were no prying eyes and she didn't mind him being so brazen.
"I've wanted to do this for a long time," he said with a wink. However, he quickly stopped walking, realizing her pocket wasn't empty. He pulled out the piece of paper from earlier,
"What's this?" He asked, looking down at the crumpled paper before looking back up to Ella.
"Nothing," Ella said in a panic. Her tone gave away her lie. Before she could snatch it off him, he opened it and read it.
"Who did this?" He asked, his brows pinched together.
Ella grimaced, "one of Christian's friends. It's fine, really."
The look on Bucky's face told her that he definitely did not think it was fine.
"Bucky, it's nothing. I promise I am completely unbothered."
His eyes were still wary, he wasn't sure he entirely believed her, but he didn't press it.
"You have to tell me next time." He sounded protective, authoritative, Ella couldn't quite work out how that made her feel, but she knew she just became infinitely more attracted to him.
"Why? What are you going to do about it?" She teased.
Bucky wrapped his arm around Ella's shoulders and kissed her temple.
"Let's hope you don't have to find out." He joked in return. He crumpled up the piece of paper and threw it in the trash as they made their way to practice.
When they were done they walked out to their cars with Steve. The pair of them had filled him and their friends in on Saturday morning, although with Nat spotting them in the kitchen they'd already made a few assumptions about what happened. When Ella said they'd been upstairs in her bedroom, Steve's hands clapped over his ears as he loudly proclaimed he didn't want to know anything. Bucky was quick to banish the idea that anything more had happened.
However, as much as they'd convinced their friends, the rumour had made its way back to Steve. He'd quickly gone into protective bother mode and when Bucky told him about the note Steve's fists had clenched by his side. He wasn't an overly confrontational person, but he had been known to pick a fight. It was usually in Ella's defence and he'd been doing it since they were kids, however when puberty hit he grew half a foot over one summer and started hitting the gym, so people usually opted not to fight back when Steve called them out. That being said, Ella knew Christian's friends were too cocky to back down if Steve said anything, but for now she spared them from Steve's anger and said she didn't know who'd written it.
As they climbed into their car Steve issued a very quick but very sincere warning, "I'll hurt them if they do anything else."
"Well that makes two of you," Ella chuckled.
Steve let himself smile. He knew what Christian's friends had said and done to Ella before and he knew that Christian rarely stood up for her, so it was a relief to know Bucky wouldn't do the same.
A/N - just a short chapter today, but Ella and Bucky are finally going on a date!! (only took 12 chapters, oops)
You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net