The Grey Raven // Bucky X Oc (Discontinued For Now)

⠂Chapter 1⠐ |Bucky|

The downstairs door closes and I let out a slow breath I had been holding for a little while. "Relax," I mutter to myself, rolling my shoulders before turning to the living room. I flop down on the couch and find a movie to watch. Beetlejuice, which had been recommended to me by a store clerk that had randomly started talking to me. About halfway through the movie, which I'm not paying much attention to, I hear the downstairs door open and someone says something loudly, before it slams closed. I hear stomps come up the stairs and frown slightly, turning the volume down and turning to look at the door, just as Astrid comes in, glaring at the ground.

I stand slowly but she holds up a hand, telling me to wait. I watch her carefully as she takes her coat and shoes off and goes quickly down to her room. After a moment I sit down again, no longer paying any attention to the movie, waiting for her to come out of her room again. Finally, she does, having changed out of her dress into a pair of dark grey sweatpants and a slightly oversized t-shirt. I move over on the couch, lightly patting the spot next to me. She sits, pulling her knees up to her chest, and rests her chin on her knees, staring blankly at the TV.

I watch her for a moment. "What happened?" I ask finally, keeping my voice quiet.

"I need to wait for him to get a taxi before I can tell you that," she mutters, staring off into space. I anxiously wait another minute or two before she finally turns to look at me, resting her cheek on her knees. "He broke up with me," she says quickly, seeming to force the words out.

My entire body tenses. "He what?" I ask, my voice still quiet. I look quickly towards the door, but realize that he's gone by now. I look back and have a moment of realization. "You wanted him to get in that taxi, didn't you?" I mutter, my voice a monotone.

Astrid stares at me, her eyes going a bit wide. "Yes... But I may be rethinking my choices now," she mutters, her eyes scanning over my face.

I continue to stare at her for a few moments, regulating my breathing. "Did he say why?" I ask once I'm sure I have control of my voice again.

She shrugs, turning to face the TV again. "Just said he wasn't feeling it."

"I think there's more to it than that," I murmur, watching her closely for a reaction. I see her eyebrows pull together slightly.

She turns her head the other way for a moment, staring at the covered window. "He's scared of you," she mumbles, almost too quiet to hear.

I frown. "I never met him," I reply, confused.

"He saw you once when you were leaving the house... He saw enough to get spooked."

"You're telling me that a reason he broke up with you is because he found me... scary?"

"Intimidating," she corrects, turning to look at me again.

"Intimidating," I repeat.

She raises her eyebrows and gives me a skeptical look. "You do realize how intimidating you are to people, don't you?"

I shrug, looking at the TV. "I guess I didn't really think about it." I pause for a moment. "Though when I do think about it I remember that I was given supersoldier serum and trained to assassinate people..."

Astrid hears my voice flatten and sucks in a quick breath. I glance at her. "Sorry... I forgot again," she mutters, looking at her hands, which are resting on top of her, still, bent knees.

One side of my mouth pulls up slightly. "It's fine," I murmur, looking back at the TV. We both stare at the TV, neither of us actually paying any attention to the movie. My mind begins to wander, which is never a good thing, and I quickly shake myself out of it, looking around the room. Astrid's phone goes off, making me jump slightly.