Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/11774052.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Captain_America_(Movies)
  Relationship:
      James_"Bucky"_Barnes/Steve_Rogers
  Character:
      Steve_Rogers, James_"Bucky"_Barnes, Sarah_Rogers, Natasha_Romanov_
      (Marvel), Clint_Barton, Peggy_Carter, Brock_Rumlow, Strike_Team_(Captain
      America_movies), Loki_(Marvel), Thor_(Marvel), Pietro_Maximoff, Wanda
      Maximoff, George_Barnes_(Marvel), Winifred_Barnes, Rebecca_Barnes
      Proctor, Original_Characters
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe_-_High_School, Alternate_Universe_-_No_Powers,
      Neighbors, asshole_bucky, Skinny!Steve, Bucky_Barnes_is_fucking_hot,
      Bucky_gets_in_trouble_a_lot, Skipping_Class, Smoking, Music, Need_a
      ride?, Unrequited_Crush, Crushes, Crush_at_First_Sight, Bullied_Steve
      Rogers, Lonely_Steve_Rogers, Shyness, Shy_Steve_Rogers, Artist_Steve
      Rogers, Straight_A_Student_Steve, Steve_is_so_adorable_awwww, Flirting,
      Awkward_Flirting, Drug_Use, References_to_Drugs, Marijuana
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-08-11 Updated: 2017-08-13 Chapters: 3/? Words: 3765
****** Give Your Heart When You Can ******
by HaleStormStilinski
Summary
     Steve Rogers is 16 and is a prodigy. Bucky Barnes is a 19 year old
     troublemaker who lives two houses down from Steve. After years of the
     two never speaking to each other, Bucky offers him rides to school
     and things change when it turns out the older man has a soft spot for
     Steve. If only his Ma would give them a chance.
Notes
     Title from If You Can Only See by Tonic. Love that song, just felt
     right. Oh and I LOVE how Seb looked in The Apparition, so he'll look
     like that and you all know how cutie patooty lil Stevie is sooo yeah
     :p.
See the end of the work for more notes
***** Chapter 1 *****
Chapter Summary
     Want a ride?
He's lived two houses down from Steve since Steve started the third grade. The
brunette was in the fourth, the blond thinks. They've never so much as uttered
a sentence towards one another, except Bucky catches him looking at him
sometimes, then Steve pretends he didn't or scurries away hoping he didn't see
him.
His name is James Barnes, but only goes by Bucky. He's nineteen years old,
still a Junior, and gets in trouble a lot. With school, he's a part time
attendee at best, or when he does show up, he's mostly in detention. 
By the time Steve finished his Junior year, thanks to skipping a grade or two,
he was fifteen. He'll be sixteen in a week and recently started his Senior
year. Everyone at school thinks he's some kind of freak since he's the top
student in all his classes, that his skipped two grades, and cause he's got a
list of health problems as long as his boney arm. He's become quite the popular
little guy for bullies and teasing. 
And today was like any other day. He got up, ate breakfast, took his morning
medications, got ready for school, and said bye to his Ma. It was a five minute
ride to school by car, but ten minutes for walking. And Steve liked walking, it
helped him clear his mind some before school would get dumped on him.
It was a little chilly today, which can be bad for an Asthmatic, but he was
always careful. He always had his inhaler with him and he wouldn't push himself
too hard. Plus a little exercise was good for him, even if it wasn't that much.
If only he could put on a little weight, and not be a ninety-five pound sack of
flesh stretched over bone.
But his metabolism is really high, so he can't gain anything. Which is why one
of the biggest rumors going around school and town is that he's anorexic, which
he's not, he eats like a horse. He just can't gain any weight. 
He walked put of the house and heard a car starting from his left and when he
looked over, he saw it was Bucky getting in his car. It was a black 2001 Honda
Accord LX Sedan that had a couple dents in it, tinted windows, TV, movie and
music decals and smelled faintly of pot and cigarette smoke, even though
Steve's never been inside it. He can smell it sometimes if he's walking and
Bucky drives by.
He started walking and failed to remember that Bucky was in his car and the car
was on, cause the car started backing up and almost hit him. But thankfully the
brunette saw him and slammed the brakes in time and about scared the shit out
of Steve.
"Jesus Fuck!" He could hear being yelled from the car. Uh oh. Suddenly the car
was put into a complete stop and the drivers side door was quickly opened
before his neighbor climbed out, and Steve was ready to run back to his house. 
He was tall, clearly in good shape and strong despite his smoking, tan skin,
full pouted lips that currently in a frown, and big blue eyes that reminded
Steve of a cloudy sky. He was wearing tight looking, ripped black jeans that
hugged long, strong legs, a worn Gorillaz band shirt, and a black and grey
stripped jacket with the stripes going horizontally. He also had a small but
even amount of eyeliner around his eyes.
He said "What the fuck kid?! What are you-Oh hey, it's you." And then smiled,
showing perfect, pearl white teeth. He said "Sorry 'bout that man, I forgot you
walk past here sometimes. Didn't mean to scare ya."
Steve remained frozen where he stood, still shaken by almost getting hit by his
car. He tried to say something, but nothing really came out. Finally he opened
his mouth and quietly said "N-No problem...Shoulda been watchin' where I was
goin'. Sorry."
The brunette waved his hand and said "Nah, don't be, it's cool. Hey, you wanna
ride to school or somethin'? Figured it could make up for me almost mowin' you
over."
In all the years they've lived near each other and never said one sentence to
each other, Bucky Barnes is offering him a ride to school. He flushed bright
red and said "I uh...N-No, 'M fine. Thanks."
Bucky said "Aww c'mon, it's cold out here, wouldn't want ya to get sick. Plus I
heard cold air can cause Asthma attacks, and that wouldn't be good."
How the Hell did he know I have Ashtma? The whole school, probably. He thought.
He really didn't want to get in the car, he was just fine walking, and Bucky
could be nice now but then be Ted Bundy once he's got Steve alone.
He pouted and said "C'mon man, I get lonely riding to school and back by
myself."
For some reason Steve just threw his rationality out of the window and before
he could stop himself, he said "Sure, thanks."
The older man smiled and said "Great! Hop in!"
Steve got to the passengers seat door and the minute he opened it, he got a
huge gust of air freshener that was trying to hide the smell of smoke. He
started coughing and the brunette said "Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I smoke in here
sometimes."
When the blond stopped coughing, he cleared his throat and said "Nope, you're
good." And got inside. The inside was a little messy, mainly in the backseat.
Books, paper, food wrappers, tin cans, water bottles, it needed a little
cleaning. The front was a little messy too, but not as bad as the back.
There was a Looney Toons Tweety Bird bobble head sitting on the dash, with
black 'X's' crossed over it's eyes and then lined with red. Hanging from the
rearview mirror was was a silver dreamcatcher necklace that had what looked to
be Jack Skellington fromThe Nightmare before Christmas in the center.
Bucky looked kept looking back as he fully pulled out of the driveway, rotating
before driving off. Ma if I don't make it back alive, know that I've always
loved you, and I'll have dad to keep my company. 
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Summary
     Awkward car ride. Conversation! :D.
Chapter Notes
     I just realized I accidentally put Steve as a child prodigy, meaning
     he would be 10 or under, then this would be extremely underage, and
     that is not the case so sorry xD.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
They didn't talk for the first couple of minutes. Steve rolled down his window
a little to let some fresh air in, and the brunette noticed before doing the
same with the rest of the windows.
He finally said "Sorry again for the smell...Couple friends of mine like to
smoke pot in here sometimes...And okay, me too, but I only do that when I'm
seriously stressed out. You ever try it?"
The blond looked at him with wide eyes and that's when it hit the brunette. He
said "Oh. Right. Asthma...Hey, I have a cousin who had some bad Asthma and he
smoked it for awhile and he said it was almost completely gone, last time I saw
him! Maybe it could work for you, huh?" Before playfully slapping his boney
chest.
Steve jumped and that's when the brunette asked "Wanna listen to the radio or
somethin'? Actually, I think I gotta CD in there right now if you wanna
listen."
Steve shrugged and quietly said "S-Sure." 
The brunette smirked and pressed a button on the radio, turning the volume up a
little. He must've had Nirvana's Nevermind album in, especially since Smells
Like Teen Spirit started playing.
The brunette grinned and said "Yeah! I fuckin' love this song! I've probably
listened to this a thousand times!" 
While the song was playing, Steve sat there helplessly, watching the older man
jam out, trying to match Kurt's voice, having steering wheel drum solo's, until
Bucky asked "You like this kinda stuff? You look more like a Classical or
Baroque kinda guy."
He was technically right about that, his Ma got a huge collection of records
from his Grandma before she died, and she plays them all the time. Everything
from Swing, to Classical, Baroque, stuff from the fifties all the way to the
late seventies. Then comes his Ma's records, he likes the music they got, but
he also likes some of the music now.
He said "Well kinda, but I like stuff like this too...I don't like any metal,
it scares me. I don't like rap, it's too degrading, and most pop, it's
annoying...But I like Nirvana."
The brunette nodded and said "Cool, cool.." 
Steve nodded and then realized they weren't heading towards the school. He
looked out the window before looking back at the older man. "Hey wait a
minute...We're not going to school?"
The brunette chuckled and asked "You just noticed? Yeah sorry, gotta stop and
get gas real quick, that okay?"
The blond nodded and said "Yeah, it's okay." The brunette nodded and pulled
into the nearest gas station and parked in front of one of the pumps. He shit
the car off and said "Be right back." Before getting out.
This was a bad idea. He's heard tons of rumors surrounding Bucky. That he was a
drug dealer, that he parties a lot, sleeps around, gets in a lot of fights. But
there was one that was true, once he had a screaming match with a couple of the
teachers, one of them being their sexist Chemistry teacher Miss Christman who
is sexist towards guys.
A girl was wearing a spaghetti strap crop top and a skirt that could xount as a
sort of mini skirt, which was against the dress code, and when they were in
class Miss Christman clearly saw what she was wearing, but didn't call her out
not once, but called Bucky out for having a couple small holes in his pants
that were on both knees, which were okay if they were at the knee and below.
She called him out on it, and they ended up screaming at each other and he
called her a sexist old cunt who needs to go fuck herself for the double
standard, before he stormed out. Steve has witnessed her being sexist, she had
done it to him once or twice. 
Now Steve thinks most of the dress code is stupid, mainly cause it's always the
girls that get the heat, he thinks anyone should wear what they want but still
try to stay within the dress code for school or work so they don't have to deal
with being ragged on, But he also thinks it's stupid for someone to get called
out for having small holes on their knees.
Then there was a time where he came to school either high or drunk and broke a
window. He almost got expelled for it, but it turned out it wasn't him that
broke it, but he got suspended for awhile.
His Ma sure doesn't really like him, mainly cause of the rumors, and Steve
hasn't ever talked to him so he couldn't really know how Bucky really is, but
he still feels nervous. He sat and watched as Bucky put gas in, quickly looking
away every time Bucky looked at him..
When he was done, he leaned down and looked at Steve through the window and
asked "I'm gonna go get somethin' you want anythin'? My treat." 
The blond shook his head and said "No, no, I'm fine. I ate breakfast, thank
you." 
The brunette said "Aww c'mon, I don't mind. You can get whatever you want,
you're so thin...Not that it's a bad thing, I think your body is fine, uh-" and
stopped when he realized what he said. The blond flushed again and the brunette
awkwardly scratched the back of his neck before saying "But uh, if you don't
want to, it's okay. Sorry."
The blond said "No, u-umm...You know what, yeah, I'll go with you...Thanks."
The older man smiled a little and asked "You sure? I mean if you're full,
you're full."
The younger man snorted and said "Please, with my metabolism, what I ate should
already be burned off by now. And I want to." 
Bucky smiled and they walked to the store, and Steve was surprised when Bucky
actually held the door open for him. And smiled when Steve thanked him. Steve
roamed the aisles trying to find something he would like, while Bucky was doing
the same. He got distracted while looking at some chips, he felt eyes on him,
and it felt very uncomfortable. 
He pretended not to notice and kept looking until he decided on a small bag of
Doritos, a cylindrical container of fruit, and a bottle of water. When he found
Bucky he had a Monster, some Hot Cheetos, and a pack of gum. He smiled at the
blond and said "Hey, you ready?...That's all you got?"
Steve shrugged and said "I don't eat much junk food. My Ma says it'll rot my
brain." 
The brunette shrugged and said "Whatever. C'mon." After Bucky paid for those,
along with a carton of cigarettes, they went back out to the car, got back in,
and then headed towards the school."
#
The day was going by quicker than he thought. He didn't have Bucky in any of
his classes, he's stayed in AP classes for years, but he wishes he got to have
normal classes. The only normality he gets is in the morning, in between
classes, lunch and after school.
It was lunch time, and Steve pulled his sack lunch from his backpack. His Ma
always worried about him eating any food the school served, she says it's
packed full of God knows what, and that he shouldn't eat it. 
He's glad his Ma is so concerned about him, but every once in awhile won't kill
him. He still has a very impressive IQ, and a GPA that's pushing up to a 5.0
and has gotten many awards for his hard work and now has Scholarship offers to
any school he wants after he graduates. He could do anything he set his mind
to, yet he felt like a freak.
It's not that he isn't happy that he could do possibly anything he wants with
his future, he just hates how much weight is on his shoulders, he feels like
he's suffocating. Ever since he was born he's felt so different. Then his dad
died, and being raised by a single mom, it wasn't easy.
But she taught him manners and he's never really gotten in trouble or grounded
before, he's a well behaved kid. But even though his body has a lot of
problems, his mom treats him as if he were glass threatening to break.
He loves his mother, more dearly than anything else in the world, but he wishes
she wouldn't treat him like that. He knows she worries and that it means she
really loves him, but he wants to feel normal for once in his life.
Chapter End Notes
     Sorry that the first chapter was short, the rest will be longer.
***** Chapter 3 *****
Chapter Summary
     Thanks. Wanna hang out?
Like any other day during lunch, Steve got to eat alone. He remembers in sixth
grade when he used to be friends with a girl from England. Her name was Peggy
Carter, and she became his best friend.
He developed a horrible crush on her but before he could confess his feelings,
she told him she had to move back to England. Three weeks later, she left and
he hasn't seen or heard from her since. 
While he ate his lunch in peace, as he usually did, Brock Rumlow suddenly
appeared on the seat right in front of him. Brock Rumlow is an asshole.
He's a racist, sexist, homophobic, narcissistic, manipulative pig who would
step on anyone to get whatever he wanted, and wouldn't have a shred of remorse
for doing so. He's toxic, and he's so glad he doesn't surround himself with the
likes of him. But he just so happens to be the one that likes to bully him the
most.
The pig smirked at him and said "Hey Stevie. How the hell are ya?"
Steve didn't answer him and just took a bite of his apple, while Brock
continued. "Hey, so are you and Bucky Barnes a thing?"
Steve almost choked on some apple and he asked "Excuse me?"
The other shrugged and said "Well, everyone's been talkin' about it. Rumor is
that you were seen gettin' out of Barnes' car before school started. You guys
fuckin' or what?"
Steve was about to answer, but then a different voice said "Oh yeah, every
chance we get. Had to be real quick this mornin', was runnin' late." When he
looked up, Bucky was standing right next to Steve on his left, smirking.
He sat down next to Steve, put his arm around d his waist and said "Hey Babe,
sorry 'm late, the line was fuckin' long." That's when the brunette leaned in
and kissed him on the cheek.
Steve was probably the deepest shade of red imaginable, but he decided to play
along. He swallowed and said "I-It's fine...How's uh, how's your day goin'?"
The brunette smiled and shrugged. "Eh, slow. But now that I get to see this
pretty face again, It just got a whole lot better." Then he turned to Brock and
said "Yo Rumlow, what's up man? You good?"
Brock chuckled and said "Yeah man, I'm good. Was just talkin' to my buddy Steve
here."
Bucky hummed and asked "Is that so? Hey Babe, is he botherin' you? Did you
forget that you were supposed come hang outside with me after you finished your
lunch?" 
The older man gave him a look and Steve pretended to have this new information
dawn on him. He said "Oh yeah! Aww, 'm sorry, Buck...I got so busy with
classes, it slipped my mind. Can we go now? Please?"
The brunette grinned and said "Course Baby, Let's go." He helped Steve gather
his stuff and he nodded over at Brock. "See ya man." 
Brock said "Yeah, see ya!" 
They turned and Bucky muttered "Jack-Off." Before walking out, his hand resting
on the small of the blonds back.
#
They sat outside the cafeteria in silence, sitting on some steps. Steve wanted
to say something, he kept thinking back to Bucky kissing him, touching him,
protecting him from Brock, but every time he opened his mouth, nothing could
come out.
After a few more moments of awkward silence, Bucky spoke up. "You okay?"
The blond nodded and said "Yeah...I'm used to him...Are you--Friends with him?"
The older man made a 'pfft' sound and said "Fuck no, Rumlows a bitch. I've gone
to some of his parties and shit, but I'd rather fuck my mom than actually be
friends with that loser."
Steve nodded and said "Oh...That's good, I guess.."
Bucky smiled a little and said "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable with all
that...Got a little too into character, I guess..."
The blond shook his head and said "Oh n-no, you're fine...Thanks for helpin'
me..."
The older man shrugged and said "S'no big deal...Hey, you wanna hang out or
somethin' after school? Or we could go now, if ya want, S'up to you."
Steve felt his cheeks get warm and he said "U-Umm...Sorry, I can't. I don't
wanna miss my last classes, and I got some homework later..."
The brunette chuckled and said "It's cool. Can I at least give you a ride back
home?"
The younger man nodded and said "Yeah, okay...Thanks."
The older man smiled and said "No problem."
#
After school ended, he waited outside the school for Bucky. He waited for
nearly thirty minutes before he spotted Bucky's car pulling up towards the
curb. The brunette honked the horn and Steve hurried and got into the
passengers seat. 
Nirvana wasn't playing anymore, Bucky must've switched back to the radio, and
some rap song was playing with the volume turned up. Bucky turned it down a
little and said "Sorry 'm late, had Gym last period and took a quick shower
after."
The blond nodded and said "It's okay." And Bucky started driving.
#
"So you're a Senior, right?" The older man asked as he drove. 
Steve nodded and said "Yeah, uh...I-I skipped two grades."
The brunette nodded and said "Wooow, impressive. So how old are you?"
The blond swallowed and said "I turn sixteen in a week." Which earned a
surprised look from the older man. 
"Holy shit, you're fifteen?? No way!" 
Steve nodded and said "I'm not joking...How old do you think I look?"
Bucky shrugged and said "Seventeen, eighteen. You don't look that young...But
damn, fifteen? That's crazy. Aren't you like, the smartest kid at school?"
The younger man shrugged and said "I dunno...There's plenty of smart kids
here."
The older man said "That maybe, but you're gonna be the Valedictorian when your
graduation rolls around."
The blond swallowed and said "You don't know that, It's early, there's plenty
of time for someone to snatch that title."
The brunette snorted and mumbled "Doubt it."
#
They were silent for the rest of the ride, until Bucky pulled into the driveway
of his own house. He put the car in park and killed the engine before Steve
said "Thanks again for the ride."
The older man nodded and smiled. "My pleasure...Everyday I just see you walkin'
to school, and I just think about givin' you rides and stuff. You don't got a
car?"
Steve shook his head no and said "No, but I've been savin' up for a while,
though. I haven't gotten my license yet, and my moms too busy to give me any
driving lessons, so..." Shrugging like it was no big deal.
The older man nodded and said "That's alright...Hell, I could give you lessons
sometime, if you want."
The blonds eyes widened and he said "Oh no, I couldn't ask you to do that-"
The brunette said "Oh don't be silly, it's cool with me, I don't care. 'M
fuckin' bored to death, need somethin' to do."
Steve hummed and said "Well...I'll think about it, okay?"
The older man nodded and smiled. "Cool. I'll pick you up tomorrow, okay?"
The blond said "Uh-"
"Be ready before seven. See ya tomorrow, Stevie." 
Steve nodded and smiled a little. He said "Okay...See ya." Before getting out
and shutting the door. He hugged his books to his chest and kept his head down
as he walked back to his house, feeling the brunettes eyes on him the whole
short journey to the front door. 
End Notes
     Okay so if anyone is wondering about the title and why I picked it
     from that song, is that the song was about the singer who met a girl
     and he really loved her and she loved him but his mom didn't approve
     of her and he was telling her he wished he could prove to her how
     much they love each other but she doesn't wanna listen, I think, so
     this is the same kinda scenario :)).
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