Unrequited

It was that dreaded time of year again...wedding season.

It was a period of at least three or four months when everyone you know seemed exponentially happier than you, whether they were the ones getting married or not.

Honestly, you weren't sure which was more to blame for your completely ridiculous expectations in romance: Disney or those stupid cheesy rom-coms that you couldn't stop yourself from watching on Netflix or the Hallmark Channel.

It didn't really matter how you felt about wedding season though. Your best friend Wanda was getting married to her longtime boyfriend, Vis, and you had already agreed to be her maid of honor. You'd be there on her big day to support her and help her and be happy for her no matter what.

What you didn't realize at the time, though, was that the little 'no matter what' promise came with a heavy price.

For the better part of three years, you'd been so utterly, tragically in love with someone. He was kind and smart, handsome and funny...he was the real deal. His name was James Barnes, though everyone called him Bucky. The two of you met through friends and instantly hit it off, with smiles and laughter and a warm hug goodbye before you parted ways.

To be fair, you hadn't thought much about the encounter later that night.

It wasn't until two or three days later that it really hit you. You caught yourself grinning at the memory of him, remembering what it was like to have his arms around you even briefly, and that's when you knew you were already smitten. He began to occupy your thoughts and sometimes even made his way into your dreams, and you wanted to get to know him better.

The trouble was, he was already seeing someone.

He'd been with her for years already, and it seemed unlikely that they would be breaking up anytime soon.

He was happy with someone else, and the truth of the situation started to slowly tear away at you piece by piece until you stopped hanging out with him altogether for your own sake.

It wasn't that you didn't want him to be happy, it's just...why couldn't it be with you?

He was going to be at Wanda's wedding with his girlfriend, and you couldn't avoid them forever.

—

"It was just the timing," Wanda declared over mimosas the morning of the rehearsal. You had taken her out for bestie brunch before everything became really hectic. "Timing is everything, right?"

You polished off your second glass before setting it down, motioning to the waiter for another. "Timing? As in, 'why couldn't I have met him a few years earlier before she got to him' kind of timing?"

"Yeah." She shrugged as she picked up her fork to tear into her omelet. "She got to him first. She was in the right place at the right time, and she went for it. There's nothing you can do about it."

"Don't remind me," you grumbled, glancing around. The waiter brought you another mimosa and you thanked him as Wanda pulled something out of her bag.

"What's that?" you asked, nodding at the document before taking another generous sip. "Wedding stuff?"

"The seating chart." She unfurled the paper and set it down on the table, using the salt and pepper shakers as paperweights. "I want you to know, Y/N, that I tried my best to push Bucky and his girlfriend into a corner behind Vis' neighbors, but in the end it just didn't make sense. All of our mutual friends are on the left side here."

You watched as she pointed to a front row table. Thankfully, you were going to be at the right side of the head table. You'd be able to see him but only if you made the effort to look. "At least it's the opposite side from me, right?"