Home

6

"Oh, Arthur! Stop it!" Mrs Hart laughed, swatting his hand as if he was joking around.

She was laughing.

Laughing whilst her husband choked to death in front of her.

It sent chills down Bucky's spine.

The entire situation had shifted. Just a few seconds ago, Bucky and y/n were stumbling through an uncomfortable dinner, acting with grace and respect in spite of the plan mix-up, but now everything had gone dark. Mr Hart had raised his voice, and his wife snapped.

There was a look in y/n's eyes that Bucky had never seen before. An indescribable darkness in the eyes that were usually filled with joy and excitement. A gripping anger. A distanced glare, void of any care or regret.

Ever since they arrived at Westview, y/n had never snapped. She'd never been angry. Hell, she'd never even raised her voice. They were Fred and Darlene. The perfect couple. The stars of the town. Two loveable characters that were even more adored behind closed-doors. A magical woman and a man with a metal arm trying to fit in, and doing it pretty well despite all the chaos going on in their day-to-day lives. It felt like they were the main characters in a sitcom.

Y/n had always been smiling. Always composed. Always good at problem-solving. But something had changed. Bucky couldn't even recognise her.

He almost felt as if he couldn't breathe as he watched everything play out in front of him. Frozen in place. Completely uneasy, and honestly a bit scared of the woman he adored. Mrs Hart's laughter just seemed to add to the scariness of the situation. Her husband was choking, completely unable to breathe and desperately tapping the table for help, yet nobody seemed to take any notice except for Bucky.

Well, y/n had noticed. She hadn't taken her eyes off of Mr Hart. But it didn't look like she was willing to help.

Bucky shifted in his seat, clearing his throat as he set his cutlery down. He was doing something, anything to get y/n's attention, but it wasn't working. Her gaze hadn't faltered for a second. Bucky wasn't even sure if she'd blinked. It was scary. But there was something that had put him on edge more than the current problem going on in front of him, and that was the laugh track.

He'd been hearing an audience laugh, make sad noises, and even 'aww' at sweet moments. It was terrifying in itself, but Bucky had decided to ignore it and blame the radio. But, instead of audience noises playing like he expected, it was complete silence. Complete radio silence. If it wasn't for Mr Hart wheezing, and Mrs Hart laughing, he would've been able to hear a pin drop. Everything just felt far more intense. Even the radio in the kitchen had stopped playing. It was almost as if they weren't in a sitcom episode anymore, and Bucky had never experienced that. He was getting used to the laugh track. But now there was nothing.

Nothing but the nightmarish look in his wife's eyes.

"Stop it, Arthur! Stop it!" Mrs Hart giggled. A bright, joyous smile remained on her face, acting as if her husband was the funniest person in the world. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes, yet her happy grin made it seem as if she was crying with laughter, not fear. "Stop." She repeated, tears rolling down her cheeks. It was so, so eerie.

Mr Hart continued to wheeze and splutter. His eyes were wide with terror, one hand grabbing at his throat whilst the other desperately tapped at the table. He needed help. He needed urgent help. His face had shifted from an angry red to a sickly blue, his body struggling from the complete lack of oxygen. Mr Hart's hand flapped at his wife, desperately trying to get his attention as he writhed and wheezed. But it was too late. He was starting to pass out from the lack of oxygen, causing him to fall back on his chair and crash to the ground.