I am a New York woman born to rock you down
So want my lipstick all over your face
(Something), something, something about just knowing when it's right
So put your dreams up for Nebraska
For Nebraska, Nebraska, I love you

-Yoü and I; by Lady Gaga


"I'm not servicing you in this establishment."

That was a statement that was fairly common to Melanie's ears. She'd heard it hundreds, if not thousands, of times. It was a statement she'd grown used to, but it still angered her just the same.

"And I told you: I don't care," Melanie responded, her tone clipped. The pharmacy manager was glaring at her with his beady, little eyes. From the second Melanie stepped foot into his store, he'd been hassling her. Any other time, she would've been frightened at the thought of entering a white establishment, but when her mother got sick and was in desperate need of medication, things changed.

"Do you want me to call the police on you?" he barked, crossing his arms over his chest. Melanie knew the tactic he was using — he'd cross his arms and puff his chest out, as if trying to intimidate her. It didn't work. That technique had been used so many times it was pretty much useless.

"Go ahead," she snapped back. "I'm still getting this medicine."

The murmurs of other customers filled the store, becoming an unwanted background noise. For Melanie, it made her skin crawl, but she ignored it. She didn't have time to deal with the words of other people. Her main priority was her mother. Her mother's health had to improve.

The look on the manager's face changed in an instant. His face turned beat red and his eyes widened. Throwing his arms down, he opened his mouth to say something before being interrupted. This time, not by Melanie.

"I'll pay for it." The voice came from a young man, maybe around Melanie's age. It was a bit surprising, and very much uncalled for. No one ever went out of their way to help Melanie when it came to stubborn — and rather racist — store managers. Anyone else would've gladly looked away. Turning her head slightly, Melanie saw a decently dressed, teenage boy probably a year or two older than herself. His dark hair was slicked back, but there was a bit of defiance in his blue eyes. It was that defiance that really baffled Melanie. "How much for it?" he asked, looking at the manager; his expression was unblinking.

The manager stumbled over his words for a moment before giving out a price. Pulling a couple bucks out of his pocket, the young man threw it on the counter before looking at Melanie. There was a long pause between the two, seeming to add to the tension in the pharmacy.

Without another word, Melanie grabbed the medication and walked out of the store.*

...

"How're you feeling today, Ma?" Melanie asked. When she made it back to her apartment, that was when the relief set in. She wasn't in the public anymore, she wasn't dealing with people staring at her or whispering about her. In her apartment, Melanie could feel comfortable and more at ease. She could do what she did best once she was at home — take care of her sick mother. On top of watching her little brother, too.

Joni Salinas was laying in her bed, frail and pitiful. Her skin was yellowish in color, sunken in and withered.* Her hair had thinned out significantly, with sores appearing in various spots. Melanie could barely stand the way her mother looked, but she had to do her best to be the caretaker. Her half-brother, Oliver, was in no way capable of taking care of their mother. He was only three.

"Mel?" Joni rasped. Her eyes struggled to open, her breathing coming out in horrendous wheezes. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here, Ma." Carefully sitting on the edge of her mother's bed, Melanie gently placed her hand on top of her mother's. "I got your medicine. It's the painkillers."

Letting out a slight groan, Joni's fingers weakly clenched into fists. "Painkillers?" she grumbled.

"That's right."

"When did you go?"

"About an hour ago," Melanie responded, "after I put Oliver down for a nap."

Turning her head slightly, Joni blearily looked at her eldest daughter. She'd given birth to Melanie when she married her first husband. The couple had been very much in love, but after Melanie's father died, things started to change. Joni became a bit too reckless, going out with countless guys and earning quite the reputation. People in their old neighborhood looked at the Salinas family in disdain. By the time Melanie was thirteen, her mother was pregnant again. By the time Oliver was a year old, Joni's sickness came in.

"You look like your father," Joni groaned. "You've got his eyes. And his shaped mouth."

"You've told me that, Ma," Melanie said, her voice soft. "But I think I look more like you."

Letting out a wheezy laugh, Joni closed her eyes for a moment.

"Ma, you've gotta take your painkillers, okay?" Melanie pressed. "You won't be able to sleep if you don't take them."

"I'll be fine."

"No, you won't."

"Why are you taking care of me?"

"That's my job," Melanie said. "I'm your daughter, I'm supposed to take care of you."

Groaning, Joni shook her head. "That's my job," she rasped, her voice trembling. "I'm supposed to take care of you."

Giving her mother's hand a gentle squeeze, Melanie let out a soft sigh. Ever since she got sick, Joni was filled with so much regret. She started by apologizing profusely, claiming she failed as a mother. It didn't matter how often Melanie tried to reassure her mother, it wouldn't make much of a difference. Joni was convinced she ruined her daughter's life, and as a result, doomed Oliver, as well.

"You'll be better in no time, Ma," Melanie stated, trying to keep her voice firm. "I've almost got enough money to get a doctor in here. He'll be able to take care of you."

Joni's eyes opened just a crack, looking over at Melanie tearfully. "You deserved more than me," she whispered. "You deserved so much more than me."

Swallowing thickly, Melanie shook her head. "You're enough," she said. "You and Oliver are more than enough."

Removing her hand from her mother's Melanie opened the bottle of painkillers and poured two onto her hand. "I've got the medicine right here, Ma," she said. "All I need is for you to open your mouth."

Looking at her daughter with a small frown, Joni nodded. Slowly sitting up, with a pained groan escaping her mouth, a trembling hand took the painkillers from Melanie and carefully placed them in her mouth.

"Thank you," Melanie said. Helping her mother lay back down, the teen kissed Joni's forehead before leaving the room.

...

After leaving Joni's room, Melanie made her way over to Oliver's. The three and a half year old was still in his bed, but was wide awake. He was typically a quiet child, not making a big fuss out of things unless he really had to. Which, of course, was rare. Behavior wise, the worse Oliver ever got was throwing a temper tantrum in a grocery store because he couldn't get a candy bar. Melanie tried reasoning with him, but he wasn't having it. In the end, he still didn't get it.

"Hey, Ollie," Melanie cooed. Oliver's face lit up at the sight of his sister. Considering she was the one raising him, their bond was almost unbreakable. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Yeah!" Oliver exclaimed.

Gently scooping him out of the crib, Melanie held him against her hip as she waddled out of the room. Her half-brother was big, even at three. It was surprising, practically depressing, seeing him grow up so fast.

"Are you hungry, Ollie?"

With his arms wrapped around her neck, and his face buried under her chin, he nodded.

"Okay, sweetie," Melanie murmured. "Let's get you some food."

Sitting him in his highchair, she made sure he was secured before getting some baby food. The one thing Melanie was thankful for was how Oliver wasn't very picky. He'd eat anything that looked the teensiest bit edible.

Grabbing a box of cereal, Melanie took a bowl our of a cupboard and poured the cereal in. The look on Oliver's face was one of moderate enthusiasm. Cereal wasn't his favorite thing to eat, but he'd consume it nonetheless.

"I'm sorry, big guy," Melanie sighed. "We don't have much to go with this week."

Finances in the Salinas household was scarce. Melanie was working two jobs, on top of trying to go to school, and paying the apartment's rent and utilities. She was the only one who was keeping the family barely above water. Whatever money wasn't being used for bills or rent, Melanie would use for food, clothes, and medicine. Whatever was left from that would be put in the Savings Jar for Joni's doctor. It was very important that whatever change Melanie had be put aside. Even spare change found in the street was useful.

Melanie, however, found herself cutting back severely on what she used her money on. Food was cut back as a result, as much as it pained her to do so. She only managed to get a box of cereal, some fairly below-average looking fruits, and bread. Melanie was hoping to use the fruits for something, she just didn't know yet.

"Mama?" Oliver asked, placing some cereal in his mouth.

"You wanna see Mama later?" Melanie asked. The three year old nodded enthusiastically. In a way, it was almost heartbreaking, knowing Oliver was so eager to see his mother in such a deteriorated state. Joni's illness was in no way her fault, but there were parts of Melanie that wanted to shield her brother from their mother's frailty. Joni was starting to deteriorate at a faster rate, and if a doctor wasn't brought in immediately, then the siblings would be orphaned and possibly on the streets.

That's not gonna happen, Melanie thought. I won't let that happen.

From the moment Joni got sick, it became a deep rooted belief that she'd get better. The idea of her succumbing to the illness seemed almost impossible, even though it was very well happening. Joni Salinas was dying, slowly and painfully, in front of her children. No amount of painkillers would help slow it down; hell, it was probably helping the disease progress. For Melanie, though, she knew that the painkillers helped dull Joni's discomfort just a little, only enough to help her sleep for some time.

Looking over at Oliver, Melanie felt the backs of her eyes prickle with tears. She loved her brother dearly; she'd do anything to secure his well-being. That was her duty as his sister. Oliver wasn't old enough to understand what was happening. In his head, Joni would get better. In his head, nothing really mattered as long as he had his mother and sister. That was all he needed. For Melanie, she wanted to make sure he was comfortable, that he was healthy, and he had a future to look forward to. Living in a rundown apartment in the bad part of Brooklyn wasn't going to give him the life she wanted.

The whole reason the family moved to Brooklyn was to start over. But it felt like an even bigger disaster than before.

...

Bucky liked to pride himself in helping that girl out in the pharmacy. He saw her fierceness, her inability to back down. He admired her for that. Not only that, though, but Bucky could tell she was desperate. The way she argued with the pharmacy manager, the underlining urgency in her tone — he couldn't ignore that. That girl was in such desperate need to get that medication, he couldn't stand not helping her. Sure, it cost him a few bucks, but it was worth it in his eyes. Steve would have to understand why he didn't get any tissues, right? He had plenty already.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Bucky shook his head. Steve would understand, right? There was a dame in need of helping, and it wasn't right to just leave her in such a bad situation. Bucky had been taught to help people in need. He'd helped Steve when the bullies were going at him, that's how they became best friends. Maybe, in the near future, Bucky would get the opportunity to see that girl again. Maybe, in that moment, he'd be able to really get a good look at her.


(A/N):

I know, I know — it took too long for this to be posted. I planned on having it up sooner, but I got a bit sidetracked. Hopefully you guys can overlook that! Other than that, I'm hoping you guys can leave some constructive criticism where you think it's due. I didn't want to go overboard with information in the first chapter, since that can be a bit overwhelming. Also, this chapter probably isn't the best, either, so I'd like to apologize in advanced. Other than that, I'll leave it at that.

The MCU does not belong to me. All I own are my OCs, my subplots, and the bamboo plants in my room. If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, be sure to PM me or leave a review. I'll add them in as soon as possible.

This story will take place in the Captain America: The First Avenger time period, but before WWII. I'd say Steve & Bucky are teens during this time. I'll be sure to go into more detail on Melanie's backstory as the chapters progress, just so there's some development and whatnot.

And that's all I've got to say about that!

Be sure to leave random facts in the review section. It can be about things you've learned recently, or things you've known about for a while.

Blessed be,

Florida Mayers