Chapter 15: Study Break

Exams rolling around the corner proved to be a little distraction from the whole Steve ordeal. Steve still was avoiding Bucky, and for no apparent reason.

Angrily, Bucky dropped the photo album Steve had given him into the trash. It fell open, and there Steve was, staring back at him. His features were softer, his hair a little longer, but his eyes were the same.

Maybe Steve only gave Bucky this album to get rid of those pictures. He might've felt to guilty about throwing them away, but Bucky didn't share those same feelings.

A crumpled piece of paper lay in front of Bucky on his bed – a failed attempt of a history essay. He tossed the paper into the trash, too, and Steve was now cut out of the photo. A younger version of Bucky still remained, looking much the same, yet he had shorter hair.

At some point, Bucky and Steve had switched places, as far as their hair went. Steve had caught up with size and strength, a mystery of which Bucky still hadn't solved.

Seriously, how had Steve suddenly gotten so big and strong?

But Bucky really couldn't be thinking about Steve right now. His books were all laid out in front of him, yet they were unopened. Exams were still in a couple of weeks, but Bucky knew that if he didn't start studying now, he never would. Before he knew it, exams would be the next day and he'd be pulling an all-nighter. Just the usual.

With a sigh, Bucky opened up his biology book, but all the words were giving him a headache. Too much was going on at once. Steve. Studying. His future. Because yes, that was a thing. It was January, and he still hadn't given too much thought about postsecondary school. Most kids in his grade had already applied to several schools, including many of his friends.

Bucky still had no idea what he wanted to do, or where he was going.

He suggested taking a gap year to George, who had agreed that it was the best option if Bucky still didn't know what to do. "Better than choosing something you don't like, dropping out, and wasting all your, and our money," he had said.

Unfortunately, Winifred had overheard and heavily disagreed. Apparently, she had a 'friend' who took a gap year and never went back to school after that. Bucky had heard about this guy before. It was one of his mother's exes. According to her, this guy turned out to be loser. If Bucky didn't want to end up like him, then he had better continue his schooling.

Bucky had half a mind to pick something ridiculous and purposely flunk out. But that was awfully far to go just to make a point.

And again, Bucky was getting off track. He didn't really care about mitosis, something he had learned about in freaking tenth grade. It must have been engrained in his brain by now. He could perfectly recite everything that happened in every stage without skipping a beat.

But this genetics stuff? That was bullshit. And really, how much did he need to know about the nervous system? It wasn't like he wanted to be a doctor, or anything health related, in fact.

He felt his phone vibrate from under his leg, and nearly resisted the urge to check it. In the end, temptation won. It was a text from Natasha, asking him if he wanted to go out for ice cream.

Bucky scoffed, looking out the window to where it was snowing so much that he could hardly see the line of trees that were a few yards away. Leave it to Nat to suggest going out for ice cream in the middle of January, and in an actual snowstorm.

Sure, Bucky replied, because he was equally as crazy.

Natasha showed up not long after. In fact, it was so soon that Bucky had an inkling she was already on her way when she texted. Bucky would've had to go whether he said yes or not.

"So, where are we going to get ice cream?" Bucky asked as he slid into the passenger side.

"McDonalds," she said. "I said we should just get a huge tub from Target, but Clint said it would be better if we just went to McDonalds."

"And when do you ever listen to Clint?"

But Bucky wasn't really paying attention to her answer. He was more focused on the fact that she had mentioned Clint, which meant that he'd probably be there. This wasn't just a Bucky and Natasha thing, oh no. Bucky was pretty sure he knew where this was going.

Outside, the snow had slowed down enough that Bucky could actually see more than a few feet in front of him. But the roads weren't great, and Natasha's car slid every time they turned a corner.

He tried not to worry as Natasha pulled into a parking spot. He could be wrong, and Steve might not come at all. But he was pretty sure that everyone knew that something was off between him and Steve, and he wouldn't put it past Natasha to do something about it. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if she knew exactly what was going on, when even Bucky didn't.

Bucky and Natasha went inside, and as he expected, they definitely weren't the only ones there. Albeit, as far as Bucky could tell, Steve was absent. But he didn't allow himself to feel relief just yet. After all, him and Natasha were only just arriving, and Steve could still be coming.

The two headed over to where their friends had already taken up two tables. The group consisted of Clint, Vision, Wanda, Pietro, Peggy and Sharon. Bucky and Natasha arrived to fill up the second table, which they shared with Clint and Pietro.

"It's about time," Clint said. Natasha lightly punched his shoulder. Or maybe it wasn't so light. Clint winced, but he still stared at her as if she was his whole world. Bucky found himself feeling jealous, with Steve a thought in the back of his mind. He couldn't fathom a time or place in which Steve would ever look at him in that way.

And even when they were seated, Natasha leaned across the table to peck Clint on the lips. This is Natasha and Steve. Bucky did try to remind himself, but it seemed useless. The longer Steve went without talking to him, the more Steve seemed to be stuck in his mind. He was forever living with the reminder that Steve was only a thing of the past, even if for a little while the idea of a friendship danced in front of his face.

"Hey, Bucky?" Pietro said, snatching him away from his thoughts just like Steve and his friendship was snatched away by whatever ungodly forces.

Bucky looked up from where he was staring at his hands, only to find literally everyone in their group staring at him. His face suddenly felt very hot.

"You were somewhere else," Pietro said. "I was just saying that Wanda and I are going to order for everyone. What did you want?"

"Uh," Bucky thought for a moment. Did he really want ice cream? No. What did he really want? Steve. But okay, that was out of the question. "Just fries?"

"He said it like a question," Natasha said. "He's unsure. Get him a sundae. We came here for ice cream."

"Yeah, and we ended up at McDonalds," Bucky pointed out. "I want fries."

"Hey, man. I don't care what you get," Pietro said. "Fries it is."

He left with Wanda, who didn't look too thrilled about being stuck getting the food. Bucky wasn't sure how it was decided who would get the food, and he figured he must've missed that, too.

"Oh, and make those fries a large!" Bucky called out to Pietro and Wanda. Pietro only nodded in acknowledgement. Go big or go home, right?

They returned with three trays filled with junk food. Bucky raised a brow at Natasha when he noticed that he wasn't the only one to get fries. In fact, it seemed that her and Clint were the only ones who had ice cream on their minds, both getting chocolate sundaes.

For the first few minutes everyone was ravenous. Clearly, that's just what McDonalds fries did to a person. Most of them finished their food faster than what should have been humanly possible, as if they were all in a rush. But then they all just sat there, and the gossip began.

"Tony and Bruce are not getting back together," Wanda insisted after Pietro had said loudly enough for the town to hear that he was pretty sure the two were fooling around again. "And they never kissed, either."

Vision just sat beside her, nodding along. It was like he'd agree with everything she said, whether he even believed it or not.

"Don't believe everything Stacy says," Bucky said, siding with Wanda. It was Stacy, after all, who had said all those things about him after he hit Pierce with his bionic arm. That, and Rebecca hated her, and therefore Bucky did as well.

"But Tony and Pepper have been talking again," Sharon said. "Pepper says they're just friends, but I don't buy it."

"I asked Steve about it," Peggy said. "He hasn't really said anything."

"Steve's hardly said anything at all lately," Bucky said bitterly. Immediately, he had caught the attention of everyone at both tables. They all shared similar looks of curiosity. Everyone wanted to know what had happened between the two boys, and it was only a matter of time before someone broke down and asked.

"You and Steve used to be best friends, right?" Sharon asked, treading very carefully. There was that key word, used. It was obvious that the two weren't friends now, regardless of that fleeting moment in which they were actually hanging out.

"Uh, yeah," Bucky said, knowing it would be useless to lie when there were a few people at the table who remembered him from grade school. "I'm going to get a drink."

He really was thirsty, but it still was definitely a great excuse to step away for a few minutes. He had four other people shouting out orders to him, and how he'd manage to carry five drinks back, he didn't know. That was the least of his concerns.

Bucky had hoped that this study break would help keep his mind off Steve, especially after seeing that the blond boy was strangely absent from the scene. But being around his friends was only a bigger reminder of Steve. The only thing that coming here really provided was a break from biology. He hadn't even really started, and his brain was hurting. Was there a biological explanation for that?

He returned, thankfully with a drink tray. There were a few mutters of 'I should have helped', but it was obvious that no one was willing, otherwise they would have helped in the first place.

The second thing that Bucky noticed was a mood shift in the tables, most apparent in Peggy. She had her head down and her fries were left abandoned. Pietro was leaning across both tables to snatch one, but Wanda forcefully pushed him back.

"Uh. Did I miss something?" Bucky asked Sharon, who was looking at her sister with concern.

Sharon nodded her head toward a table in the back, where a few girls from their grade were seated. Bucky recognized one of them as Celia, whom he had done a history with assignment once before. It seemed that Celia was avoiding looking this was as well.

"They used to be best friends," Sharon explained, and Bucky immediately knew who she was talking about. It was obvious when Celia shared a similar reaction as Peggy did to seeing each other. Bucky wondered what had even happened between the two. Something big, probably.

"I guess we should head out," Wanda said. "We all have lots of studying."

But Bucky knew the majority hadn't even started their studying yet. He knew the reason why they were leaving when everyone kept glancing in Celia's direction as they walked out the door.

**

A/n: this is basically just a pointless filler chapter, sorry.

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