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janesaridoll · 2 months

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I just finished this series in on go… can’t wait for the next part 🔥🔥

jealousy & flirtation • 4

FOUR: MR. BITTER

18+

After bringing your situationship with Bucky to an end, you soon meet his petty side - but surely you aren't jealous, are you?

Content Warning: Frat!Bucky x F!Reader, mature themes, jealous!reader, angst.

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Digging the spoon back into the tub, Bucky stuffs another bite of chocolate ice cream into his mouth. He's sprawled out on the couch, thick blanket covering his body while an old rom-com plays on the TV.

Meanwhile, Steve and Wanda watch from the doorway. Steve looks on with concern, while Wanda's gaze is more one of morbid curiosity. "He's been like this all week," Steve mumbles, shaking his head.

"That girl really did a number on him," Wanda says with a raised brow. "Why'd she end it, anyway?"

"No fucking idea," Steve replies. "Bucky won't tell me anything. Just that she didn't wanna see him anymore."

"You know I can hear you guys, right?" Bucky suddenly calls out from the couch, turning his head to them. "And the reason I didn't tell you anything is 'cause she didn't tell me anything."

"Huh?" Steve asks as he and Wanda walk into the room. "What do you mean?"

Bucky sinks lower into the couch with a shrug. "I don't wanna talk about it," He says lowly, keeping his eyes on his ice cream.

Wanda rests a knee on the end of the couch. "She didn't give you a reason?" She asks, tilting her head. "That's weird."

"I know," Bucky says bitterly, digging his spoon back into the tub before looking up at both of them. "I'd like to make it clear to you both that I am great in bed, before you make assumptions."

"We weren't assuming anything like that, Buck," Steve says with a soft chuckle, before that look of concern returns to his face. "I wanna talk to her-"

"Absolutely not!" Bucky exclaims. "She's gonna think I sent you to beg her to give me another chance- I'll be damned before I let her think I'm just moping around, hoping she comes back."

Sharing an awkward look, Wanda and Steve wordlessly decide amongst themselves not to point out the fact that Bucky is clearly moping around, hoping you come back.

"Alright, I won't," Steve swears, though he has no intention to keep that promise.

Somehow, Bucky's even hotter now that you've ended things.

He's left his hair a little scruffy and he's wearing the vintage, dark brown YSL hoodie you tried to steal from him multiple times. Not only that, but he's also visibly pissed off every time you meet his eyes - no sweet smile like usual, instead a clenched jaw and seemingly unbothered, blank stare.

And it's such a turn on.

"Hello?" You're nudged harshly, pulling you from your stalker-level staring.

"Huh?" You mumble, turning your face to Thor. "Oh. Sorry."

"You need to get a grip," He tells you sternly. "It was your choice to end it, so now you have to deal with it."

"Why are you being so mean?" You ask him, grabbing the kettle bell from the ground.

"I'm mean? You broke an innocent man's heart!" He retorts. "All because he's friends with a girl."

With a scoff, you glare at him. "You don't understand, T. It wasn't that he was friends with a girl, it's about..." You find it hard to explain it out loud, especially to someone who you know wouldn't see your point.

"You didn't even have an honest conversation with him about it," Thor goes on to say with his hands on his hips. "I'm very disappointed in you."

Doing your best to ignore the pang in your chest, you begin lifting the weight, using your pain as motivation. "It's complicated. I can't just tell the guy that I don't like his best friend - that would piss him off," You say, stealing another quick glance at Bucky who's running on a treadmill on the other side of the gym.

"Yeah, he'd be understandably pissed off because that isn't a valid reason to end it," Thor says curtly.

"She was putting me down in front of him," You tell him, exasperated. "Juniper didn't like that I was seeing him. He's never had a girlfriend, and there's a reason for that. Why would I put myself in a position where I could get hurt, just for a man?"

A gorgeous, funny, sweet man. Stop it.

You and Thor continue in the free weights section while you sneak glances up at Bucky. Eventually, you see him shake Steve's hand before he leaves the gym, and you feel a slight magnetic pull as you do your best not to follow him out.

Just as you put your kettle bell away, you feel a tap on your shoulder. Assuming it's Thor, you turn around with a raised brow, but you're taken aback when you see that it's not Thor.

"Steve?" You utter, confused. "What's up?"

He pulls out an airpod from his right ear before nodding backwards. "Spot me?"

Surprised that he's asking you, you slowly nod. "Sure," You reply, giving Thor a shrug as you follow Steve over to a bench.

He grabs a barbell and lays down on the bench while you stand behind him. For his first few reps, neither of you say a word, and you assume he honestly only wanted you to spot him - but once he hits 5 reps, he speaks up.

"Bucky told me what happened between you," He says bluntly, making your guts churn. "That was pretty cold of you, Y/N."

Wanting to be anywhere but here, you squirm where you stand. "Oh," Is all you say.

"I thought you guys were going well," Steve continues. "Things seemed good between you - what changed?"

Shaking your head, you feel yourself begin to panic. "I- I don't know what to tell you, Steve," You tell him honestly.

With a huff, he slams the barbell onto the ground and stands up, facing you with a glare. "How about the truth?" He says harshly.

"Everything okay here?" Thor interjects as he appears next to you, placing his hand firmly on your shoulder as he frowns at Steve. "Can I help you, Rogers?"

There's a tension between them you've never noticed before. Looking up at the glaring blond, you gently nudge his stomach. "It's okay, T," You say.

Unsatisfied, Thor continues concentrating his cold gaze on Steve. "If you have a problem, you can take it up with me," He says sternly.

"It's nothing to do with you, Odinson," Steve hits back at him, an equally weighted look of bitterness in his eyes.

"And Bucky's love life is anything to do with you?" Thor asks with a scoff. Though he made it clear to you that he disagreed with the way you ended things with Bucky, Thor will be damned if anyone else tries to take a shot at you.

"He's my best friend," Steve reminds him.

"And Y/N is mine," Thor replies. "You don't see me interrogating Barnes, do you?"

"Because he's not in the wrong here," Steve hisses, making you wince as he takes a step closer.

Thor subtly pulls you behind him while moving even closer to Steve. "Get off your high horse, Rogers. Who was in the wrong in freshman year?"

That throws you for a loop. "What?" You utter with a frown.

Steve lets out a laugh. "Wow. You're really gonna bring that shit back up? It was fucking years ago!"

"The principal is the same," Thor snaps. "None of us are saints. How is what you did to me any different to what Y/N did to Bucky?"

What Steve did to Thor?

With an eye roll, Steve pulls out his airpod from his pocket and sticks it back into his ear. "Get over it," He grumbles while storming off.

"I will when you will!" Thor calls out after him.

Once Steve's out of sight, you stare up at Thor, lips parted in shock. "Since fucking when were you and Steve Rogers a thing?" You ask him, utterly baffled.

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "It was nothing. Happened before you and I became friends, wasn't a big enough deal to mention," He says casually.

"And what, he broke your heart?" You ask as the two of you make your way to the exit.

"He wishes," Thor says bitterly. "It wasn't serious. Same as you and Barnes, to be honest. We hooked up a few times, then he ghosted me."

Processing that information as you leave the gym, you shake your head. Never in a million years would you have thought Thor had history with Steve, but now that you know, it does make complete sense. You even go so far as to think they would make an awfully attractive couple.

"Stop," He growls as you cross the road back onto campus. "I know what you're thinking."

"Thor, he is super hot," You say with a laugh. "I mean, if I were you, I'd forgive the whole ghosting thing."

Maybe you only feel that way because you'd like to think Bucky would be able to forgive you.

"Shut your trap," Thor says sternly. "It's obviously clear that our friendship groups should never collide. Only ends with someone getting hurt."

As you both make your way back to the apartment, you begin to understand why Thor was so disappointed in the way you treated Bucky - it's because that's the way he was treated by Steve. Dropped like he meant nothing, made to feel worthless. As if you could feel any more guilty.

"Stop thinking about it, sweetheart," Thor says with a much softer tone, recognizing the remorse on your face. "You did what was best for you. It's not like you completely ghosted him - you at least had a conversation with him. That's more than a lot of people can say. More than Steve could say, at least."

You try to agree with him, but you can't. The memory of the pure look of heartbreak on Bucky's face when you told him you didn't wanna see him anymore is etched onto your mind. Did you do the right thing, or is Thor just trying to make you feel better? You suddenly have the awful thought that you threw away your chance to have a beautiful relationship with Bucky. Would you have made a good couple? Could you have fallen in love with him, eventually? What if he was your soulmate?

Class has been awkward recently. For a brief period of time, it served as an arena for you and Bucky to eye-fuck each other while competing with one another for who could send the dirtiest text to make the other crack. And now, it's back to how it was before the night of the fateful party where you first slept with him - only worse, because now you're left with the memories of the tryst that was over all too soon.

Instead of shooting you coy winks and drawing dicks on your notebook whenever he walks by, Bucky's avoiding your gaze and acting as though you don't exist. It hurts, but you know you deserve it.

"This project is worth 15% of your overall grade, so please don't treat it like a free-for-all," Professor Linum says to the class. "You'll be in groups of four, and I expect the workload to be divided equally amongst you. This is about artistic and creative collaboration. Now, I gave you all a color as you walked in today. Each table has a sheet with one of those colors written on it - find the table with your assigned color and sit on it. These will be your groups."

A buzz breaks out as your classmates start making their way to their groups. You stand up and look for your color, walking to the other side of the room before you find the word Green and place your things on the table. As you do, you hear a deep voice grumble, "You've gotta be fucking kidding me."

Looking up, you see Bucky sitting on the opposite side of the table. Of course. Inwardly wincing, you sit down, wanting the ground to swallow you whole. Maria Hill is sitting next to Bucky and a few moments of awkward silence later, Grant Ward sits next to you.

"Everyone happy with their groups?" Professor Linum asks.

Nobody speaks up, but Bucky's lip twitches. You're half-surprised he isn't bothering to ask if he can change his group.

"Fantastic. Your task is simple," Professor Linum continues. "Pick an emotion - something complex. I don't want any happys or sads. Give me nostalgia. Bittersweet. Resignation. You have two minutes to discuss with your groups and come to a decision. No two groups can have the same emotion - the quicker you can decide on one, the higher your chances of bagging it."

The room bursts into a cacophony of conversations as everyone gets their ideas out. Though you appreciate art and love studying it, you've never been much of an artist yourself besides the odd piece here and there, so you don't really mind what your group settle on, so long as it's interesting.

"Jealousy," Maria is first to throw her suggestion out onto the table. "I mean, we are the Green group. It's only right."

"Nah, that's boring," Grant says with a face as though he's just smelt something bad. "I want something sad. Sad paintings always have the most to say."

"I disagree. I think pieces exploring sex are the most interesting," Maria counters, before giving Bucky a sly wink.

His face is blank for half a second, then he quickly breaks out into a smirk as he moves closer to her. "I'm inclined to agree," He replies in a sultry tone, one which makes your throat burn.

Is he seriously trying to make you jealous right now?

"Blue Team are the first to confirm their emotion!" Professor Linum announces suddenly. "They'll be creating art that explores the theme of jealousy."

"Aw, that sucks," Grant says, but he doesn't sound at all regretful as he leans forward with his hands clasped together. "Saudade."

The three of you look at him, equally confused looks on your faces as you silently ask him to elaborate.

"It's a Portuguese word that doesn't really have an English translation," He says, the look on his face telling you he's incredibly excited to be the one telling you this, though he's doing his best to act nonchalant. "It's a deep longing for something or someone, linked with nostalgia and melancholy. Like, a sense of emptiness, a longing for that which you've lost."

"...Right," Maria says with an unimpressed look on her face. "That sounds depressing as fuck."

Grant glares at her. "It is."

God, he's petty.

"How about resentment?" Bucky says, and you don't miss the quick glance he shoots your way.

"Time's up!" Linum calls out with a clap of his hands. "Green Team - you're the only ones who haven't yet decided. What's it gonna be?"

Grant's the first to speak up, much to Maria's dismay. "Saudade," He announces proudly, his chin up high.

Not surprised at his student's pretentious answer, Linum nods. "Fine," He approves bluntly. "Now you've all got your emotion, here comes the hard part - I want you, in your groups, to create a piece of art together which explores your chosen emotion. The medium is up to you. At the end of this semester, you'll each present your work to the class."

He continues explaining the stipulations while you sink in your seat, feeling utter dread at the thought of having to work with Bucky. It's bad enough that he hates you from afar, but speaking to him every week? This is going to be a nightmare.

"Bucky," You call him back when the class ends and everyone's filing out of the room. He almost looks as though he's about to continue walking away, but with a clenched jaw, he turns back to you.

"What?" He asks curtly, none of the usual softness or flirtation in his tone that you became used to. It's a jarring change.

You watch as a few more people leave, waiting for it to quieten down before you speak. "Are you mad at me?" You ask, doing your best to be firm but not harsh with your tone. It's a dumb question - of course he's mad at you for prematurely ending what could've been a fun relationship - but maybe you just want a reason to speak to him.

Bucky looks as though he wants to argue with you for a split second, but the emotion on his face quickly dissipates as he changes his mind. "I'm not mad," He utters coolly, a blank stare on his face.

If it was anyone else, you'd believe them, but you know better. He's punishing you for cutting him off by being distant, and you can't blame him for it. But damn if it doesn't hurt. "We can still be... civil," You go on to say, holding back a wince.

His face remains void of emotion as he replies, "Okay."

This sucks. You'd rather he yell at you - in fact, a part of you wants him to yell at you, just so he's at least putting some effort into this conversation. You want him to be angry because that would mean he cares. That would mean he still thinks about you the way you think about him, and as much as you're a terrible and selfish person for it, you want to be taking up space in his mind. As toxic as that sounds.

"Bucky," You say, bordering on whining as you take a step closer to him. "Don't be like this." Yell. Call me names. Say you hate me. Are you purposely being annoying to piss him off?

"What do you want from me?" He asks you, allowing a slight confusion to twitch at his brows. "You said it yourself: we're done."

Your chest pangs and you immediately regret ending it. If you knew it would feel like this, you never would have done it. Screw Juniper, let her try and sabotage things, it's not worth losing Bucky.

"I'm sorry," You find yourself saying, not knowing what else to say. "I didn't want to hurt you. But there's no need to flirt with other girls in front of me."

That earns another eyebrow twitch. "Flirt with other girls," He repeats flatly.

"Yes," You say, not caring how immature or downright crazy you sound. "That whole... thing with Maria. What, are you trying to make me jealous, or something?"

His brow flies up. "You're jealous?" He asks, not allowing his tone to give away how he's feeling.

"Of course not," You immediately answer. "But it's pretty obvious, what you're trying to do."

"I'm not trying to do anything," He corrects you bluntly. "Maria's a pretty girl. I'm a warm-blooded man. I'm within my rights to flirt with her."

You stare up at him, silently willing him to give up the aloof act. You don't deserve him to be nice to you, or give you any of his energy at all, but you want it so badly. You want him to understand, without you having to say it, that you didn't want to end things with him and you still want him just as much as you always have. It feels surreal to know that it's your fault the man you've been pining after for so many years isn't with you anymore. He wanted you, and you rejected him. God, you suck.

"There you are Jamie, I've been waiting for you for ages!" Juniper herself suddenly calls out as she swoops into the room. "What are you still doing in class? We agreed to meet at- oh." Her face drops when she sees you, and she stops a few tables away. Folding her arms across her chest, she narrows her eyes. "What's going on?"

"Sorry, Junie, I got held up," Bucky mutters, not even sparing you a final look as he turns and walks over to her. She shoots you a cold glare over his shoulder as if to say stay away before she links her arm with his and the two of them exit the room.

"This sucks," Yelena complains as she looks around the bar. It's a typical Friday night at Swirl. The place is packed with students and the music isn't too loud, but Yelena isn't talking about the bar itself. She's talking about your low mood. Her eyes focus back on you as she takes a sip of her Cosmo while you rest your head on your fist, your Pornstar Martini untouched. "You really liked him, huh?" She asks with a pained look. "I don't think I've ever seen you this messed up over a guy. Not even Tony."

You let out a huff of air, no energy to try and deny it. The truth is, you're more upset than you thought possible, and you were more attached to Bucky than you initially claimed. Though your time with him was short, he was everything you look for in a partner, and you're sorely missing the gap he's left in your life - a gap you yourself carved out. Idiot.

Your response is something between a grunt and a whine, and Yelena gives up with a sigh.

"You don't wanna dance?" Yelena asks, though she already knows the answer. "Don't wanna maybe talk to someone else? There's plenty more fish in the sea, you know. Fish that don't have possessive best friends."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Thor's glaring at the man who just paid for his drink. "What do you think you're doing?" He asks Steve, who pulls his phone away from the card reader with a casual look on his face.

"What? I can't buy an old friend a drink, now?" Steve asks, resting an arm on the bar as he looks Thor up and down.

"Old friend?" Thor repeats with a scoff. "Please."

Steve places a hand on his chest with a pout on his lips. "You wound me, baby," He says, moving closer to him. "I just wanna share a drink. Nothing more. Unless you want more."

Utterly baffled by Steve's audacity, Thor only narrows his eyes.

"If you want more, I can give you more," Steve continues with a playful smirk as he moves even closer, lowering his voice as much as he can to remain audible over the music. "I can give you a lot, big guy."

"Don't call me that - what the fuck is going on with you, Rogers?" Thor spits. "What's your angle?"

"No angle!" Steve claims, holding his hands up, his eyes wide. After a second, he relaxes again, resuming with the sultry look. "Talking to you the other day... it was nice. Made me think of old times."

With a dry laugh, Thor shakes his head. "You're a fucking dick, Rogers," He utters. "Thanks for the drink, but I'd rather have it alone."

"Where's the fun in that?" Steve asks, leaning against the bar while facing Thor, a mischievous look in his eyes. "If I recall correctly, you said I was the best you ever had."

Thor snorts. "Yeah, when I was 18," He points out bluntly. "Don't fool yourself into believing I still think about you, Rogers."

"Ouch," Steve mutters as the bartender slides across Thor's beer.

Glancing over at him, Thor raises a brow. "How, uh, how's Barnes doing?" He can't help but ask, knowing what a mess you are and wondering if Bucky's the same.

Steve shrugs, hand clasped around his own beer. "Not great. Your girl really fucked him over," He says. "No warning, no reason. Must've took a leaf out of my book."

Thor takes a long sip of beer, doing his best to keep quiet but unable to stop himself. "There was a reason," He finds himself saying. "Just one that Barnes wouldn't have accepted."

"What do you mean?" Steve asks with a frown. "What was it? I know it wouldn't have been anything Bucky did."

"It wasn't," Thor confirms before sighing. "You ever wonder how Juniper really feels about him?"

Taken aback by his mention of someone who Steve didn't think had anything to do with it, he furrows his brows together. "Uh... what?"

Thor takes another sip before elaborating. "It's clear she feels strongly about him. Everyone knows that," He states.

"Oh, yeah," Steve agrees with a nod. "They're best friends. So, what?"

"So, Juniper loves her best friend a little too much to allow him to ever have a normal relationship with another girl," Thor spills out, immediately regretting his words.

Steve is baffled, his eyes wide. "Did- did she tell Y/N to end it?" He asks, shocked.

"No, not explicitly," Thor clears up. "But it was made clear that she'd make it difficult for them to progress in any way. Y/N figured it wasn't worth the heartbreak, so she quit before things got too deep."

It takes Steve a few moments to process Thor's words. Though at first, he's confused, he slowly pieces it together and things begin to make a lot of sense. "Oh, shit," He whispers to himself. "Wren. She was right..."

"What?" It's Thor's turn to be confused.

Shaking his head, Steve meets his eyes. "Nothing, never mind. So, Y/N ended things with Bucky because of Juniper's... closeness to him?" He asks.

"Pretty much," Thor says with a shrug. He's said too much now so he may as well say it all. "She doesn't mind that his best friend is a girl, heck, I'm one of her best friends so that would be hypocritical. It's just that Juniper can be pretty obvious when she doesn't like someone, and I'm sure she's a big reason that Bucky's always single."

Steve drums his fingers on the counter, shaking his head. "Wow," He mumbles. "I didn't even... wow."

"You okay?" Thor asks before having another drink of his beer.

Nodding, Steve turns to him. "Yeah, I just... it sucks that it had to end like that. I mean, Bucky was really into her, and he was so much happier," He says wistfully. "As much as Juniper probably doesn't want him to, Bucky's always wanted a proper girlfriend. He's lonely, and he's always thought it's his fault he wasn't able to develop anything with anyone he dated. He takes it really personally when things end, you know? Deep down, he's a sensitive guy. And Y/N seems like a great girl. It's a shame..."

"If only we could get Juniper away from him long enough for them to reconcile and get together," Thor says with a sigh.

"If only..." Steve trails off before his eyes light up. "I mean, we could."

Frowning, Thor puts his beer down. "We could what?"

"Get them back together," Steve says brightly. "All we have to do is make sure Juniper doesn't get the chance to come between them."

"That's a pretty big task, Rogers," Thor says. "Who's to say Bucky will even forgive Y/N?"

"He's too into her to pass up the chance of getting back with her," Steve claims. "His ego is hurt right now, but if he knew how much she likes him and that the reason she ended things was 'cause of Juniper, he'd be more than willing to give things a second chance."

"What makes you think he'd believe Juniper was the reason? I mean, haven't they been best friends since they were born?" Thor asks incredulously.

Steve nods, a determined look growing on his face. "It won't be easy, but together, you and I can make him see her true colors," He says, giving Thor a smile. "What do you say? Prepared to do what it takes to make our best friends happy again?"

Reluctant to agree to spend time with Steve, Thor hesitates. But when he looks to the other side of the room and sees you hunched over your drink looking utterly distraught, he knows he can't sit back and let you remain hurt when he has the power to change that. Turning back to Steve, he shakes his outstretched hand. "Fine. Let's do it," He agrees. "But if you think this puts you in with a chance to get back into my pants, you're dead wrong, Rogers."

With a smirk, Steve tightens his grip on his hand. "Whatever you say, big guy."

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