Cyclone (Short Story)


"Don't worry, Mom. Bucky will be with me the whole time." Steve said as he tucked the newspapers into his shoes. They were a bit big for him, but adding the paper in the toe made them a lot easy to wear.

"I don't want to hear that you boys got into any trouble." She said, standing above him watching. A soft knock came from the door then was quietly opened. "Good morning, Bucky."

"Good morning." He greeted back, stepping in. He looked down, watching Steve jump to his feet. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." He smiled. He looked over his shoulder as they rushed out the door. "Bye, Mom!"

"Goodbye, boys." She said with a soft wave. She then rushed to the door, grabbing it and sticking her head out. "And behave boys. Steven, I don't want to hear about you and any fights!"

"Don't worry about it, Sarah. I'll keep a close eye on the kid. I won't let him do anything stupid." Bucky grinned, grabbing Steve and rubbing his knuckles into his skull.

Steve laughed, shoving him off then chased Bucky down the stairs. They raced to the train station, hoping to make it right on time. Thankfully, they arrived right as the train was pulling up.

xxx

When they arrived at Coney Island, it was clear that they weren't the only people who thought today would be a great day to spend at the boardwalk. Everyone had to shuffle through the crowd to get were they going.

"So, what are we going to do first?" Steve asked, following right behind Bucky.

"There's this sweet ride I wanna try out." Bucky said. "Daniel rode it last week and was bragging about it in school."

"What's it like?"

"It's really cool. It's got all these windy twists and turns and it goes super fast. You'd like it at night." Bucky said, gently hitting Steve's chest.

"Why's that?"

"At night they turn on the lights. They flash and brighten the whole boardwalk." Bucky smiled, talking with his hands.

"Too bad we won't get to see the lights. We're supposed to be back in time for supper." Steve said, with a soft sigh, looking around.

"Yeah." Bucky sighed, slightly frowning. "But hey, at least we can play the carnival games." He said, pointing to a few stands decorated with attractive noises and prizes.

"Step right up! See if you have what it takes to win a prize for your lovely date!" One of the vendor declared, showcasing the prizes behind him. "You two boys want to try and see if you can beat me and win one of these prizes?" He asked.

"You're on." Bucky said, pulling out some change and throwing it on the counter.

"Thank you, my boy." He smiled, taking the change. He looked over at Steve. "Would you like to play?"

Steve glanced over at Bucky then shrugged his shoulder. "I guess it won't hurt to try." He said, pulling out some money.

The vendor rolled each of them three baseballs. Bucky threw the first one, just barely missing the glass bottle. Steve followed his example, trying to mimic his movements but failed. They each took turns, getting closer and closer but never hitting a bottle.

"Ooo. So close." The vendor said, shaking his head. He held up three more baseballs. "Wanna try again?" He asked with a soft smirk.

Steve reached into his pockets, about to pull out more money when Bucky placed his arm across his chest. Bucky shook his head then looked back at the vendor. "No, thanks. We gotta get going."

"Why'd you stop me?" Steve asked once they were out of earshot from the vendor.

"The game's rigged. There's no way we were gonna win."

"We could have given it another shot. I wanted to try again."

"And waste our money?" Bucky scoffed. Steve slightly frowned, glancing towards the ground. Bucky let out a sigh, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "Look, all of the games here are rigged. They're just set up so you look like a fool and lose your money."

"Then why do they even have them if everyone knows they're rigged?"

"Because suckers like you try to prove them wrong." Bucky teased, messing up Steve's hair. Steve laughed, trying to push him off. "Here, I'll get you something actually worth your money."

"What?" Steve asked, his mood perking up.

"A nice, delicious snow cone on this hot summer day." Bucky said, leading him to the stand.

Steve scoffed. "This is actually worth my money?"

"Have you ever had a snow cone?"

Steve smiled, shaking his head.

"Then keep your mouth shut. They're fantastic." Bucky said, lightly slapping Steve's chest. Steve chuckled, ruffling his hair. When they got the counter, he reached into his pocket for his money, but Bucky stopped him.

"Buck, you didn't have to pay for me." Steve said as they got their snow cones and continued walking on the boardwalk.

"Whatever. Just eat your snow cone." Bucky said before shoveling a loaded scoop into his mouth. "The faster you eat it, the faster we can go on the Cyclone." He said between bites. "Damn, that's cold on your teeth."

"Almost like it's made of out ice shavings." Steve teased, earning a shove from Bucky. "So where is this stupid ride?"

Bucky scoffed. "It's not stupid. You're going to have the time of your life on it. You're going to be thanking me for it for years to come."

"Sure, sure." Steve nodded. "'Oh, Bucky! You're the best! Remember that time you took me on The Cyclone? Man, you're my hero!'"

"That's exactly what I'm expecting when we get off the ride." Bucky grinned as they tossed their cones into the trash and got in line. Thankfully, the line wasn't very long so the boys got on fairly quick.

"How fast does this thing go?" Steve asked as the lap bar was lowered.

"I don't know." Bucky shrugged. He look over at his pal, who was beginning to look a little pale. "What? Is Stevie getting the jitters?"

He laughed. "I feel like I'm going to throw up."

"You'll be fine." Bucky grinned as the ride began to ascend. Steve closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. The wind felt great from up above. Bucky elbowed him. "Look at how high we are."

"Hmm. I thought we'd be higher." Steve said, glancing over the side. He looked over at Bucky with a grin, raising his hands above his head. "No hands!"

"Steve, put your hands in the cart. You're so skinny you'll slip right out when we drop." Bucky said, pointing to the handlebar in the cart.

A smirk grew on Steve's face as he kept his hands in the air. "Make me."

Before Bucky had time to force Steve to hold onto the handlebar, the ride tipped and they plummeted to the ground. The boys screamed, both tightly gripping the handlebar. After the first drop, they couldn't stop laughing. They waved their hands in the air, letting the car whip them back and forth on every turn and drop.

When the cart finally came to a stop, Steve gripped the handlebar, his head spinning. Bucky slapped his shoulder. "Come on, Stevie. Let's get in line again."

"Yeah, yeah." Steve said, forcing himself out of the cart. He felt light headed as he followed Bucky back to the line.

Bucky looked back at him, furrowing his eyebrows. "Steve, you don't look so good." He said, noticing his now very pale face.

Steve held up a finger then rushed over to a garbage can. Bucky shook his head as Steve heaved up everything in his stomach. Once he was done, he leaned against the garbage can, his head still in there.

"Never buy me a cherry snow cone again." Steve said, his voice echoing inside.

"No problem." Bucky laughed, slapping his shoulder.

Steve peeked his head back out, wiping his mouth on the back of his sleeve. "Or anything cherry flavored for a long time. That snow cone was terrible the second time around."

"Deal. Let's get you home, punk." Bucky grinned, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leading him back to the station.

"Jerk." Steve chuckled.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?"

"Yeah, and I threw up?"

"This isn't payback, is it?"

"Now, why would I do that?"

The terrible these two must have gotten into as kids must be crazy. I can only imagine how crazy they drove their mothers.

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