Later that day, Bucky headed home from school late. He had spent some time after with Steve and his friends, working mainly on the project. Bucky unlocked the door and stepped into his house, dropping his bag off by the front door. He hoped his father wouldn't be mad, but he probably would. Bucky made his way into the kitchen, hoping to not encounter his father.

Fortunately for Bucky, his father was not in the kitchen when Bucky got there. Just then, Bucky's phone rang and he hesitantly picked it up. "H-Hello?" He stammered out. "Hey Bucky. It...its Annette." Annette said. "Oh uh...hi Annette." Bucky said. "Can you hang out tonight? Steve is on a date with Nat and one thing leads to another" "S-Sure." Bucky nodded before feeling foolish, "Sounds uh...sounds like a good idea...but uh...I don't know where you live..." "We've lived across from each other for years" "Oh...my bad." Bucky said, his face flushing. Annette laughed softly, "It's okay. Come on over." "I'll be over soon." Bucky promised before hanging up and heading out, heading across the street to Annette's house. Annette greeted him at the door with a smile. "Come in." She said, ushering him inside. Bucky quietly stepped in, looking around the house in awe. "How did you meet Steve?"

"He's been my best friend since elementary...he was a really skinny, scrawny kid back then. Always picked on." Annette said, "I kicked a guy in the face who was picking on him." "Wait, Steve Rogers wasn't always the big, buff guy he is now?" Bucky asked. "Nope. Puberty did him real good." Annette said with a laugh, "Like. Real good." "Do you...do you have a crush on him?" Bucky asked. "Hell no." Annette said, "He's my best friend. He's like a brother." ("Oh." Bucky nodded. "Besides. Him and Natasha are so good for each other." Annette smiled, "So good for each other."

"So...so is everyone in your group dating each other?" Bucky asked. "Not everyone. Sam, Bruce, Pietro, and I are all single." Annette said with a shrug. "Oh...okay." Bucky nodded. "And we were all friends first before they all started dating each other." Annette said. "So...what would happen if anyone broke up?" Bucky asked. Annette shrugged, "It would get really awkward?" "You all seem really close." Bucky commented. "We are." Annette confirmed, "And you can join us too." "I don't really like people" "You just seem so lonely." Annette said softly, "At the very least, join us for lunch." "What if they don't like me?" Bucky asked quietly. "Bucky. We don't judge people or turn them away. You can join us." Annette said gently. "How do you know though?" Bucky asked. "We...all...lets just say that no one in our group is perfect. Everyone has their issues." Annette said. "For starters Pietro has anorexia. Clint, Skye, Leo, and Jemma all came from relatively broken homes, though they now live with Principal Coulson."

Bucky thought to something Annette said eariler" What do you mean Pietrio has anorexia?" "He rarely eats, and when he does it isn't much. He's very conscious about what he eats and how much he weighs. And only Wanda knows why." Annette explained. "Has he gotten help?" "I think nearly everyone in our group has seen Dr. Garner for their issues." Annette mused. Bucky thought about that, and knew what he had to do. He would talk to Garner. Not about his father, he couldn't, but about something else.

So the next day at school, Bucky headed to the counselor's office during his study period. "Dr. Garner?" "Come in." Garner said. "I uh...I wanted to talk to you." Bucky said hesitantly. "What about?" Garner motioned for Bucky to sit. Bucky slowly sat, "Uhm...when...when I eat, it all just comes back up." "You have a eating disorder" "I...I think so." Bucky mumbled. "You're not the only student with this problem" "I...I'm not?" Bucky said. "Pietro Maximoff has anorexia nervosa"

"Yeah that uh...that's what I heard." Bucky said, "And that most of his friends see you." "They do." Garner confirmed, "Their group is quite...they have their issues. But they are good students. We...we have a group session Tuesday's after school, you should join sometime.""That's something else I wanted to talk to you about, I don't liked talking to people"

"Why not? You seem like a nice boy, why do you not like talking to people?""I had a bad childhood" "What happened during it?" Garner asked concernedly. "People just shut me out, called me weird" Garner nodded, "Well...we're meeting today after school if you want to join. We don't always talk about their problems, sometimes they just do school work. Sometimes they just talk about issues that aren't their main problems."

"I...I'll think about it." Bucky sighed. Just then, the door opened and Pietro walked in before stopping, looking confused at the sight of Bucky there. Pietro frowned at the sight of Bucky but spoke to Garner. "I'm sorry for interrupting you Dr. Garner. I didn't know you had a patient here already." Pietro said. Bucky shook his head, "We were just finishing up."

Bucky stood and moved to leave when Garner stopped him. "James. Please think about coming today after school. I think it would really help you." Garner advised. Bucky nodded and left while Pietro took his seat and let out a sigh. "How are you doing Pietro?" Garner asked. "Not good" "When was the last time you ate?"

"Last week" Pietro mumbled. "Pietro. You are a growing boy. You need to eat every day." Garner said gently. "I try, I mean it...but it's hard" "I understand Pietro. But you're slowly killing yourself with this." Garner reached over and put his hand on Pietro's shoulder, "You have lunch soon, right?" Pietro nodded. "Have something to eat there. Even if it's just a salad, eat SOMETHING." Garner gently commanded, "You need the food in you." "How do you think Wanda feels when you do this?" "Probably not happy." Pietro mumbled. Garner nodded, "If you don't want to do this for yourself, do it for her." "I...I'll try." Pietro nodded.

"Good." Garner nodded, "And don't forget. We're meeting after school today." "Wouldn't ever forget." Pietro replied with a small smile.

Review!