Chapter Text
Four simple words, that's all there was on the neatly-folded lined paper that fell out of Bucky's locker when he opened it one day. He hastily refolded the paper and stuck it in his back pocket where it burned a hole in his pants the entire day at school. When he got home and his parents asked him how school was, he mumbled a “Good,” and rushed upstairs, ignoring his younger brothers’ requests to hang out and shut himself away in his room. Only then did he pull out the paper and read the words again.
Ur smile is cute
His stomach twisted up like a pretzel. A love letter! He’d heard that they were a thing, but he’d never had a girl look twice at him before. He stuffed the note deep in the back of his closet where his nosy parents and curious brothers wouldn’t find it.
U brighten my day
The next day there was another note. Again it was simple, but it made Bucky feel good. He felt like he should go to someone about this, though, but who? Not his parents, and his brothers wouldn’t understand. He’d love to ask Kristen about it, but he was so nervous about what his parents would think if they knew he was in contact with her. Plus she was a senior now and really busy. It could probably wait until things got serious.
Ur eyes r like beautiful emeralds
Another day, another note. When did he swallow those butterflies that were fluttering about in his stomach? Bucky wished he knew who was putting these notes in his locker, but the mystery really gave his secret admirer a certain air of mystery that he found alluring.
Ur hair is pretty
There was a whiff of something on the note: perfume? It smelled like roses and Bucky took his chance to secretly sniff the note whenever he could. It went with all the rest of the notes into the back of his closet.
I wish I had ur hair
This note was… a little odd, like did she (because of course his secret admirer had to be a girl – Bucky wasn’t gay! Being gay was a sin!) actually wish she had hair that looked like his? He’d imagined that she had long hair, but maybe she liked it short? Oh, or maybe she was just talking about wanting his red hair; a lot of people had told him they were envious of his red hair, so maybe that was it?
But then Bucky remembered his mom wistfully talking about her grandmother giving her grandfather a lock of her hair when they were dating, and had at one time even showed him the locket that he had kept it in. So maybe it wasn’t that weird. Maybe she was just old-fashioned or following traditional courting methods.
Yeah, that had to be it.
Can I have sum of ur hair?
See? This confirmed it. She was just being traditional. But Bucky wasn’t sure if he wanted to give away a lock of his hair without meeting his secret admirer beforehand. He decided that it was time to write a note back, though how would he deliver it? All the notes for him had been slipped into his locker while it was locked.
…Or maybe not? Maybe she was a rogue and was picking the lock. Bucky would have to start scoping out the female rogues for potential secret admirers.
It doesn’t hav 2 b from ur head
What a strange thing to say. Where else would the hair come from? His legs? Bucky was starting to feel weird about this and maybe he really should take time to approach Kristen about this.
Yeah.
He’d leave for school early tomorrow and try to catch her before class.
Giv me ur hair
Bucky’s blood ran cold. This note wasn’t in his locker. It was in his backpack and he had found it when he came home. The handwriting matched the other notes and it even smelled like the sweet perfume that his previous note smelled of, yet his wasn’t cute or romantic anymore. He shivered and cast Protection from Evil and Good on himself. Maybe talking to Kristen tomorrow morning wasn’t soon enough.
He squirmed at his desk, mostly from the discomfort of the note in his hands, but also because he had to pee. He glanced around his bedroom before deciding to answer nature’s call.
Bucky tiptoed into the bathroom. He could hear his parents and brothers downstairs, preparing dinner. He’d go down and join them once he was done; he could worry about doing his homework later. He closed the bathroom door behind him and went about his business. When he had finished washing up, he noticed something odd in the reflection of the mirror: there was something attached to the back of the bathroom door just behind him. He turned around and saw a note taped to the door. It was on lined paper.
I wasn’t asking