Parasite *•.¸♡ 𝙏𝙤𝙣𝙮 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙠'𝙨 𝘿𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧 ♡¸.•*

Unexpected

Bucky looks to the girl with concern and fear. What had gotten her into this state? What happened? She is only slightly trembling, but it ceases once she meets his eyes.

Looking up into his eyes she can see that he isn't angry. This calms her exponentially. She sees concern and worry on his face. Perhaps since she isn't revealing the panic that is killing her from the inside he won't be upset or appalled by her. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" he asks. Despite him never showing or expressing emotions, he found himself showing all his concern, worry, and fear to this little girl drenched in her own sweat. She had a nightmare, he can tell. But what about?

Ariana nods her head in response. "Are you sure? You were screaming a lot," he continues.

"Did I wake you?" comes a raspy and tiny voice.

"No I was already awake, I had a nightmare too," he confesses.

She lets out a breath, "okay, I'm sorry to disturb you."

"There's no need to be sorry, love," he assures her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, it was just a silly nightmare," she giggles, despite the terror scratching and clawing at her insides to be released.

"Okay, if you're sure," he hesitantly responds. She shoots him a bright smile to cover her pain and anxiety. He stands up from kneeling at her side and turns to leave but turns his face back to the bed. "Would you like me to turn the lamp off?" he offers.

"No, that's okay," she says. He nods and turns back to the door, walking to exit the room. As soon as the door shuts she races to the bathroom, turns on the light, and releases her supper and the popcorn she had consumed.

Tears cloud her vision and she sits back. The stench makes her stomach churn. She rises to her feet and flushes the toilet. Pushing down the toilet seat, she sits on it with a thud and puts her head in her hands. Her heart is racing and her head is throbbing. Thoughts violently churn through her brain. Voices of past owners ring through her ears and she grabs the sides of her head to try and make it stop. Slowly she begins rocking herself with her hands clenching her hair.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y?" she breathes. She's not sure if this is going to work. If it will listen to her, if it will be able to do what she wants it to, but she figures there isn't much to lose, couldn't hurt to try right?

"Yes Miss Ariana?" the voice responds quietly.

"Could- could you make my room-" she takes a breath, struggling to keep breathing. "Sound- soundproof."

"Yes, I can do that. Miss Ariana, would you like me to alert Mr. Stark about your panic attack?"

"No!" she squeaks quickly. She can't disturb him, he would probably be incredibly furious with her for bothering him! He can't see her like this. No. He'll think she's weak, think she's a freak, think she's weird. He will definitely kick her out in no time.

"Is there anything I can do to assist you during your panic attacks Miss Ariana?" the voice asks.

"Just leave me alone and don't don't tell anyone," she pleads, breathing heavily.

"As you wish Miss Ariana."

The next morning, Ariana wakes up on the cold tile floor of her bathroom. Her head throbs. She stands up and goes into the shower. She can't get rid of this dead feeling. It is taken over her body. It is as if she's just watching her life through the passenger's seat.

Turning off the shower, she steps out and wraps her body in a white towel. Taking a deep breath, she walks into her closet and looks for something to wear. She chooses to wear a black long-sleeve turtleneck and a deep violet skirt that stops just above her knees.

Walking out to the common room, she sees Clint, Natasha, and Wanda talking by the coffee pot and Sam, Steve, and Bucky sitting on the couch. She walks over to the couch and quietly sits down on the adjacent couch to the three. She looks to Barnes trying to see if she can get his attention. She doesn't want him to tell anyone that she was screaming last night.

Sam, Bucky, and Steve continue their conversation, not noticing that Ariana joined them. Steve is the first to notice her after a few minutes, "good morning Ariana!"

"Morning," she smiles sweetly.

"How'd you sleep?" Steve asks.

Shit, did he tell them? She glances at Bucky before answering, "I slept alright."

Steve nods and continues talking to Sam. Bucky looks at Ariana who gestures for them to go talk somewhere private. Bucky gets the hint and stands up. They walk over near the bar and Ariana asks, "can you not tell anyone about last night?"

This concerns Bucky, "why not?"

"It's embarrassing, it usually doesn't happen," she lies. Bucky accepts her lie with a nod. He doesn't see her lie. She is glad that he doesn't realise that she is lying. She's become pretty good at lying over the years.