Chapter 11
Steve was leaning against his locker and Pietro and Loki who were both standing by likely waiting for him and Clint. Clint joked "hey look Sam your boyfriends waiting for you"
Sam looked mortified and stated "I'm going to my locker, see you two later"
They both laughed as Sam spun around and headed off in the opposite direction to them. Clint questioned "is it just me or do they look seconds from fighting"
As they walked closer he could see what Clint was talking about. Loki and Pietro were both glaring at Steve who was glaring right back. He replied "they really do"
They might have walked slightly faster to get there quicker and prevent whatever the hell was about to happen. If Steve punched his friends he wasn't going to be happy. Him and Clint gave each other a look of concern and then stepped towards their lockers putting themselves between the three. As he opened his locker he could feel the tension in the air. No one said a word they were all clearly on edge. Clint was the one to finally break the silence when he asked "what did we miss"
He was sure Clint's lack of self preservation is what compelled him to speak and he kind of wished he hadn't decided to just dive head first into the issue. He could have at least tried to be subtle. Loki leveled his glare at Steve and replied "we were just having an enlightening conversation with Rogers"
He wasn't sure he liked the sound of it. What did the three of them have to talk about. Clint nodded "well do you want to enlighten us, I hate feeling left out"
Pietro seemed to be scared at the thought of relaying the conversation. Steve just looked annoyed and Loki was the complete opposite of Pietro looking as though he really wanted this conversation to happen. Loki smirked "Rogers why don't you share, you sure had a lot to say"
Steve seemed to be a bit caught out. Loki just looked smug. His body was just filled with worry. Steve glared "it's alright"
Loki's smirk grew and he stated "come on Rogers as Clint said, they are feeling left out"
He wasn't sure he liked where this conversation was going. Clint just seemed curious and Pietro looked worried. Steve stated "no really it's alright"
Loki shrugged "well I suppose you wouldn't mind if I shared then"
Steve looked just about ready to punch Loki square in the face. He just wanted to know what was going on. Steve stated "Buck let's go to class"
He still had to grab his book and was insanely curious about what Loki had to say. It seemed to be important. Plus Steve looked scared of what Loki was going to say and so he figured it was bad. Loki shook his head and stated no I don't think so Rogers, either you tell him or I'll tell him"
When Loki said him he looked directly at him and so it didn't take a genius to work out they were talking about him. What the hell had Steve said that Loki thought he needed to know. Steve didn't look anywhere closer to talking and Loki clearly noticed because he stated "guess I'll tell Barnes then"
Yeah they were definitely referring to him. Steve looked annoyed and stated "I don't know why you care Odinson, it's not like you two are even friends you still call him Barnes"
Steve had a point. He really needed to let Loki and the others know they could call him Bucky if they wanted to. Loki's glare deepened and he stated "I don't care if me and Barnes are enemies you are still repeating what you said or I will"
Steve seemed to give in and just shrugged "fine go ahead then"
Loki shook his head and stated "alright Barnes, Pietro and I were just having a friendly chat warning your asshole of a boyfriend to treat you like a prince and he decides to tell us that we should stop talking to you because you were only pretending to be our friend"
He felt his world freeze. It would be so easy for them to believe Steve even if it was a lie. He had barely known either of them for more than two days and let neither of them call him Barnes. Why had Steve told them that. It made no sense. He had never said anything remotely like that to Steve. Steve was full on glaring at Loki and not even meeting his eye. Part of his brain circled back to the first half of the sentence. They had been talking to Steve about how he should treat him. How did they know at all about how Steve treated him. He looked over to Loki and Pietro and asked "you believe him"
Pietro shook his head and Loki stated "of course not, I think your boyfriend is a controlling prick who's scared your going to leave him because you are so much better than him"
Loki was wrong. Steve was better than him and he wasn't really sure he would call him controlling. Steve looked to be seconds from blowing up and screaming or hitting something or someone. Loki remained as calm as he had been the entire conversation. Loki continued "I just needed you to understand the full story so when I do what I'm about to do you can understand why"
Before he could ask Loki what he planned to do or even think any further on it. Loki took a few steps forward and swung his fist into Steve's face. His fist hit Steve's nose with a resounding crack and he felt like his life was running in slow motion. Steve's hands flew up to his face to hold his now bleeding nose and Loki took a step back. He was just stunned as he watched the scene play out. He was glad Steve made no move to punch Loki. He must have realised how outnumbered he was. Instead he groaned "Buck your friends a fucking maniac are you just going to let him hit me"
He didn't know what to think. Loki had punched Steve for him. It felt weird like he didn't know what side to pick. Because Loki had the moral high ground and he had stood in Loki's place before punching sense into someone who he had seen treat their girlfriend like shit. But Steve was his boyfriend and he was supposed to take his side no matter what. Pietro bluntly stated "you should go see the nurse Roger's I think your nose is broken"
Glancing at Steve he determined his nose was definitely broken. Steve looked like he was in pain and he felt horrible. What had Steve been thinking when he had said that to Loki and Pietro. Why would Steve want either of them to stop talking to him. It's not like either of them had ever done anything bad towards him. And they hadn't done anything bad towards Steve until just now. Steve stated "come with me to the nurse Buck"
Steve spat it out like it was an order. And he just didn't know what to do. And then he felt a hand on his left shoulder. The one he never let anyone touch. His eyes snapped towards the hand which he found belonged to Clint. He was going to pull away but something in him just let Clint keep his hold. It felt grounding. Clint stated "I think it would be best if you went by yourself"
Steve looked to about to argue and then stared at Clint's hand shock clear in his expression. Steve knew nom one touched his left side. It was rare for Steve to touch it so he could understand the surprise. Hell he was surprised himself. It seemed like Clint had completely thrown Steve off and instead of arguing he just nodded "alright, I'll call you later Buck"
He just nodded in response and watched as Steve walked off looking confused and holding his nose. Once Steve was out of sight he turned to the three standing by him. They all looked to be a little worried. He finally found his voice and mumbled "what the fuck Loki, you just punched my boyfriend"
Loki looked guilty and at the same time proud. Loki stated "I don't like people telling me what to do"
What was he supposed to say. Loki probably had the right to punch him but that didn't make any of this any less awkward or weird. If he didn't let it bother him he was kind of deserting his boyfriend. But maybe he could just this once. Steve seemed to chose his friends over him all the time and he really didn't want to lose his newfound friendship with Loki. He stated "clearly"
Loki gave a small smile and added "he was being a jerk, he deserved it, why the hell should he be controlling who you are friends with"
He really had nothing to say. He had a point and he didn't like what Steve had done either going behind his back to tell his friends to stop talking to him. It's not like he tried to control who Steve was friends with even though his friends were dicks. He just let Steve be friends with them and on occasion shared the fact he didn't like them. Clint stated "shut the fuck up Loki, you did what we all wanted to leave it at that"
So they all wanted to punch him. He was glad they hadn't all punched him. He didn't think he'd be able to handle all of that and still function. He shot Clint a thankful smile. At least this conversation would be shut down. Pietro nodded clearly agreeing to wanting to punch Steve. Loki stated "well I'm going to head to class"
Loki was in his class and he didn't exactly want Loki to think he hated him or hate him. Loki wasn't really in the wrong and he liked hanging out with Loki. So he stated "let me come with"
Loki looked surprised but he sent him a smile. Clint finally let go of his shoulder and signed 'are you okay'
He nodded at Clint and signed 'yeah I'm fine'
Clint smiled but didn't look like he believed him. Clint was right not to believe him. He was really confused on what was the correct thing to do. He grabbed his book and closed his locker before turning around to Loki who was waiting patiently for him. He nodded goodbye to both Clint and Pietro and headed off with Loki to class. Loki stated "look Barnes, I never thought I'd care about anyone's friendship that isn't Stephen but I really don't want to lose you as a friend"
He didn't want to lose Loki as a friend either. He replied "I've been friends with just Steve and Sam for so long, I didn't need any other friends but maybe I did because now I actively want to be friends with you and everyone else"
Loki looked relieved and he felt a bit better after getting that off his chest. Loki asked "so you don't hate me"
He gave a small smile and shook his head. He didn't hate Loki. He didn't think he could bring himself to hate him not when he had been in Loki's position before. Not that he was happy in any way that he had punched Steve. But if he hated Loki that would just make him a hypocrite. He just replied "what do you say we get to class and learn about how my ancestors gained independence by throwing some tea around"
Loki looked glad that he didn't hate him. He was just glad that none of them had decided to believe Steve and he still had his friends. Loki smiled "we're already done that part like two weeks ago"
He shook his head. He couldn't remember so much as touching upon it yet and so he stated "pretty sure we haven't"
Loki just laughed "we definitely have, you were probably just sleeping, pretty sure you feel asleep in every history lesson last week"
He probably had. He tended to fall asleep in History a lot. It wasn't his fault that none of the topics were interesting enough. And on top of that his teacher never seemed to care that he was asleep. He decided to try and cover this up so that he could win, because for all he knew they hadn't touched the topic yet. So he lied "I don't fall asleep in class"
Loki rolled his eyes and chuckled "sure you don't"
He just nodded and they both spotted Stephen standing by the door to the history classroom with a frown on his face. The second the reached Stephen he groaned "please tell me you didn't fight Rogers"
Loki glanced at him and then turned back to Stephen and informed "I didn't fight Rogers, I just punched him the once"
Stephen just shook his head. Disappointment radiating off him as he mumbled "you better have a good reason"
Loki did have a good reason. He wouldn't be standing beside him if he hadn't. If Loki had hit Steve for no reason he probably would have hit Loki. Loki probably knew that to and was why he explained the story before punching him. If he hadn't he guessed he wouldn't have waited for a reason and just immediately punched Loki. Loki nodded "of course I did, would Barnes be here if I didn't"
Stephen seemed to see the logic in that and sighed "alright you have a point"
Loki nodded and the three of them just walked into the classroom. Steve obviously wasn't there but neither were Sharon or Quentin. He knew that it was extremely likely that Quentin was skipping. But Sharon never seemed to skip but maybe it had less to do with her being studious and more with her wanting to be by Steve's side. So if that assumption was anything to go by it would mean Sharon was with Steve. He just sat down in the seat beside Stephen that normally remained empty. Loki teased "so how was your stroll with Stark"
Stephen hit Loki probably due to the fact Loki was kind of exposing his crush on Tony. Not that he didn't already know. He smiled "come on tell us how it went, did you confess your love and make out"
Stephen's jaw dropped likely because he didn't think anyone knew about his crush. He was mistaken obviously. Stephen asked "how do you know I like him"
He laughed. It wasn't exactly like he was any good at hiding it. How Stephen thought he was actually hiding it from anyone but Tony was a mystery. He stated "I'm sorry it's a bit hard to miss the heart eyes your constantly sending him"
Stephen groaned "please tell me that you're the only one who's noticed"
He's pretty sure the only one who hadn't noticed was Tony so he shook his head and chuckled "it's pretty obvious"
Stephen hit his head on the desk and stated "I think I'm going to die"
Well that was dramatic and not true in the slightest. If he just actually listened to the signs Tony was sending him he imagines wouldn't think of any of this as embarrassing. Loki laughed "and you think I'm the dramatic one"
Stephen slapped him and stated "that's because you are"
Loki rolled his eyes and gestured to Stephen as he replied "clearly so are you"
They were just as dramatic as each other. He questioned "can we agree you are both dramatic"
Both of them disagreed and he just laughed. Yeah they were both dramatic as hell. His phone pinged and he grabbed it out to see a message from Steve that read 'I can't believe you would pick their side, you're my boyfriend, you're supposed to be on my side, you just let him hit me and didn't say a damn word about it, you're such a shit boyfriend, tell your new bestie to watch his back'
Steve's text flooded his head with doubts. Maybe he should have gone with Steve. He was his boyfriend after all. And his friend had hit him. But he still thought that Loki kind of had the right to. Before he could even think of a response he got another message from Steve that read 'you let Clint touch your arm, what was that about. You've never been okay with me touching your arm but yet you let Clint, what is so special about him'
He didn't know why he let Clint touch his fake arm and not step away from the touch. But he couldn't bring himself to regret it like how sometimes he regretted it when he was standing too close to someone and they bumped his arm. He never let anyone touch his arm so why had he let Clint. Surely Clint had felt something off. But he felt like even if Clint had felt something off he would likely keep it to himself. Clint and him might have never really been friends but they had known each other since the first day of kindergarten. The only others that had been here that long were Steve, Tony, Darcy and Vision. And with his and Clint's last names being to close they would always be near the other in some capacity. There were many seating plans that had them right next to each other. Which meant they overheard a lot of each others secrets and it was an unspoken rule to not share the knowledge with anyone. So that's what they did. So it was safe to say he trusted Clint to keep it to himself. He didn't even know why he wasn't worried about Clint thinking he was a freak but he just wasn't.
He was at a loss of what to respond to Steve with but eventually he just typed 'idk'. He just hit send. He had nothing else to say. Didn't know what else he was supposed to say. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and stated "Loki, Steve seems to want revenge, he wants me to tell you to watch your back"
Loki nodded like he expected that. And honestly if you punched someone no matter what the reason, you have to expect them to want to get revenge on you and beat you up. No one ever just got punched and let it be. Even if they should. Loki stated "yeah, makes sense, I still don't understand what you see in him, he's an asshole"
He thought of Steve and how since from first meeting him he was smitten. Even back then when Steve was the literal definition of a runt he had a heart of gold. Steve was the one person that had been there for him from the beginning. But now it felt like Steve was slipping away from him and it was breaking his heart. But he was also watching Steve do things he never thought he would do. Never thought his high set of morals would let him do. He stated "he's not an asshole, he's been the love of my life for as long as I can remember"
Loki rolled his eyes and Stephen had an expression on his face that he couldn't quite place. They were interrupted by the teacher telling the entire class to shut up. Apparently they had been trying to teach this entire time. Stephen kept writing down notes but he couldn't be bothered to so much as open his book so he just leaned on his hands. It wasn't a particularly uncomfortable position but it also wasn't the most comfortable. He listened to the teacher talk for about two seconds before he decided it was pointless and found himself zooning out.
He must have fallen asleep because Stephen nudged him. He shook his head and glanced at Stephen who laughed "class is over"
Loki smirked "yeah you clearly don't sleep in class"
Stephen got up and stated "I don't know how you get away with it"
He shrugged as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He didn't know either. He was sure if he was a teacher he'd be pretty annoyed if the same kid fell asleep in their class nearly every lesson. But who knew. Maybe their teacher was just glad he wasn't being loud and annoying. He didn't really care, he got to sleep and that's all that really mattered. He got up and just grabbed his book. As they walked out of the room they were joined by Quill. After all him and Quill were heading to the same class. Quill smirked "Odinson can you please tell your ugly ass brother that even though my friends love him it does not mean he is entitled to borrow my things"
Loki just looked at Quill expressing the confusion he was positive they were all feeling. Thor was one of the most good looking people in the school and that was a well known fact. Loki raised an eyebrow and questioned "since when did my brother talk to you"
Quill shrugged "like since forever"
Loki raised his eyebrow in disbelief but didn't bother to push the topic. Stephen just shook his head and Loki and Stephen bid them both goodbye and then went in the opposite direction. Quill grinned "so Nebula told me she invited you to the party"
He gave a slight nod. Of course Quill knew who was going. Since Gamora and Nebula were sisters and it was at their house he guessed Gamora knew everyone that was going and had told Quill who was. After all the two loved to gossip. He nodded "yeah, I wasn't planning on bothering to go though, I don't exactly like parties, not quite my scene"
Quill looked a bit disappointed and stated "well you should at least think it over, I think Nebula really want's you there"
He had no idea why Nebula would actually want him there. It's not like he was well known for being a lot of fun at parties. In fact he was sure it was probably the other way around. He shrugged "I'll think about it"
Quill grinned and stated "even if you do come no ones going to make you stay or drink if your not into that"
He gave a nod. He wasn't against drinking by any means but he guessed that Quill just assumed he was as he didn't want to come to a party as that is the normal reason that someone doesn't want to go. Quill stated "she told me you were bringing some others with you but didn't tell me who"
Up until this point he had completely forgotten to extend the invitation along So he nodded and stated "yeah I forgot to pass that message along, probably should do that"
Quill just chuckled and he logged onto his phone ignoring the messages from Steve that he had received whilst he slept, he's look at those later. Instead he just sent a message to the Business group chat they had telling the three that they had been invited to Nebula's party tomorrow. He just slipped his phone back into his pocket and ignored the notifications he was receiving. Quill laughed "well your friends better drag you along, it'll be fun to have you there"
He couldn't understand why it would be fun to have him there. What did they honestly expect him to be like at a party. Because he didn't think he was all that enjoyable to be around and guessed he wouldn't be anyone's idea of fun especially at a party. What were they seeing that he wasn't. He questioned "why, you want me to be a bouncer"
Quill smiled and laughed "no of course not, Drax is the only bouncer we'll ever need and if they get past him Nebula would kick their asses herself, no you are just cool, even if the death glaring is terrifying"
He smiled, he wasn't sure he had ever glared at Quill in particular but he figured it was a safe bet to guess he had glared at most people in the school. He had no clue why Quill thought he was cool but it was better than him being disliked so he'd take it. Plus Quill wasn't so bad himself. He smiled "the glaring supposed to be terrifying, it's what gives me my bad boy reputation.
Quill laughed as they walked into their English room. Sam was sitting beside Gamora and he guessed that was their new permanent spots. Tony and Scott were both sitting on Sam and Gamora's desks talking with the pair. As him and Quill walked over Tony questioned "Barnes why the hell didn't you tell me about the party sooner, I heard you got invited this morning"
He didn't need to respond because Sam smirked "Bucky's the king of forgetting so if I had to guess I'd say he just completely forgot"
He nodded. Sam knew him too well. Tony stated "how do you forget something as important as a party"
Tony definitely had a very different view on parties than he did. He shrugged "it's not like I plan on going anyway, although I said I'd think about it"
Tony looked completely shocked and stated "you don't want to go"
He just nodded and explained "I don't really like parties"
Tony's jaw dropped and he exclaimed "who doesn't like parties, you can get drunk, make a fool of yourself and no one will remember in the morning and then one day you will come across a video of yourself dancing with a statue and realise that's how you acquired the metal head"
He chuckled. That definitely sounded very specific and he guessed that it was something Tony had done before. Gamora shrugged 'or you could just drink a little and dance"
Did Gamora or anyone actually expect him to dance. Because if they did he had to guess they were mentally unstable. There was no way in hell he was actually going to dance even if he went. Sam shrugged "or you could just come and keep your best friend company"
He had no idea that Sam would be going or actually get invited. He questioned "your going"
Sam nodded with a grin and Gamora smiled "he's one of the girls now, and we all are going to need to drink an entire carton each after being put through Natasha's god awful driving. I don't even think she has a license"
Sam chuckled "I don't know who in their right mind would give her a license"
Tony laughed "she doesn't have her license, she just drives because she got given a car and isn't exactly worried about the cops"
Gamora nodded "they are probably too scared to pull her over, hell I would be"
Their teacher interrupted them by starting the class and telling both Tony and Scott to head back to their seats. Sam leaned towards him and whispered "did Loki really punch Steve or is that just a rumor"
He wondered how long it had taken for that piece of gossip to find it's way to Sam. He slowly nodded and mumbled "yeah"
Sam looked concerned and questioned "did either of them tell you why and what exactly happened"
He replied "it happened in front of me, Steve told Loki to pretty much not be my friend and so Loki hit him, there was more to it but that's the gist"
Sam took a second to take it all in and quizzed "who the hell does Steve think he is, what the hell's been up with him lately"
He shrugged. He had no clue why Steve was acting different this week so it wasn't like he had an answer. Plus he knew Sam didn't expect him to answer. Sam was just putting the question out there. Sam added "you know I'm always here if you need to talk, you're my best friend and I know you, which means I know that you keep everything bottled up inside"
It felt good to know that Sam was here for him. Not that he planned to tell him anything but it felt nice to just know that Sam was on his side. It was always a nice feeling to know someone was on your side. Lately it seemed the only people on his side were the Udaku's because with every passing day it felt as though even Steve didn't want to be on his side. He smiled "I know thanks"
Sam nodded and then smirked "so are we going to this party or are we going to spend the night at mine listening to Sarah ramble on whilst she tries to flirt with the only openly gay guy in the entire school"
He laughed, Sarah really did need to move on. It's not like he was in the closest or anything. She knew he was gay and in a relationship. And yet she still decided to crush on him. He stated "well I wasn't planning to go but nothings stopping you from going"
Sam shook his head and informed "I'm not going without my best friend either we both go to this party or we both do something else, either way I do not mind"
He didn't want Sam to miss out on the party because he wasn't going and he figured it wouldn't be all that bad with Sam by his side so he shrugged "guess we're going then"
Sam grinned from ear to ear and replied "as long as you actually want to go and you're not only just saying yes for me"
He figured a small part of him wanted to go so he smiled "no it could be fun"
Sam grinned "in that case we better find some clothes of ours that are of a party quality, you know got to dress to impress"
Sam nudged Gamora to get her attention and questioned "you supplying drinks or we expected to bring our own""
Gamora grinned from ear to ear and questioned "you two are coming you sounded unsure before"
He wasn't going to lie to himself. He still felt unsure. Sam smiled "Buck's happy to go and I'm ready to have the time of my life, so drinks"
He was glad he had said yes even if he was unsure about it because Sam seemed thrilled to be going and he would hate to be the reason he didn't go. It wasn't like either of them had ever been invited to anything other than parties held by members of Steve's group and those were always awkward and boring and they tended to skip most of them. Gamora stated "no most people bring their own drinks but we can give you guys some if you want"
Sam grin grew and he stated "that would be amazing thanks"
Gamora laughed "anything for my girlie, if you dress up nice, me and the others will wingwomen you and find you a girl in no time"
Sam smirked "well I'm going have to now, can't pass up an opportunity like that"
He chuckled at the thought of three undoubtedly scary girls attempting to find Sam a date. He imagined they would probably scare some poor girl into spending time with Sam because it was preferable to dying. He just felt bad for any girl who had to face the three of them in their efforts to find Sam a girl. That was sure to be terrifying. Quill grinned "between you two and Tony this is going to be one of the best parties yet"
He wasn't sure what he really had to offer this party but everyone else seemed to want him there. Gamora nodded in agreement and stated "although it could never beat last years, end of school party"
He had heard rumors about that party. Apparently the cops had been called and when everyone went to scatter someone poured alcohol all over the road and set it on fire to prevent the cops from getting to Nebula's house. Of course it didn't stop them but he was sure it would have slowed them down. He was sure that it would have been quite the experience and from the way Quill was grinning he guessed that he enjoyed it and had a few good stories from the night. Their teacher stated "you four up the back either be quiet, or I will separate you"
That managed to get them all to shut up even if Quill and Gamora were only quiet for a few minutes. He just drew in the margin of his book as he imagined what this party was going to be like. Maybe it would be fun. After all Sam was going to be there with him.
When the bell rang him and Sam were immediately joined by Tony and Rhodey. Tony looked extremely bored and stated "English is going to be the death of me"
Sam nodded in agreement and mumbled "if we have to dissect another fucking poem I think I'm going to cry"
He couldn't say he even knew what they were working on. He tended to zone out nine times out of ten and kind of hated English with a passion. It definitely wasn't his strong suit. But then again neither was paying attention So it was no surprise that he hadn't bothered to dissect a single poem so far. He questioned "why are we dissecting poems"
Tony and Rhodey both stared at him eyes wide and Rhodey questioned "have you listened at all in the past three weeks"
Sam stole his book and made a point to flip threw the empty pages pointedly showing off everything he hadn't done and laughed "he's done what half a lesson of work all term"
Rhodey laughed "oh my god he's worse than Tony"
Sam chuckled "he's done more work in business in the last two days then he has since the start of high school, pretty sure the only things he tries at are group projects and Engineering"
Tony stole his book from Sam and flicked to the page where he had drawn a pretty detailed sketch of a mountain. Tony stated "clearly he tries at Art too"
He grabbed his book back and closed it as he stated "are we done talking about me and my lack of effort at school and get back to the poems"
Sam rolled his eyes and informed "because we are going to need to transform one into a short story for our assessment"
He could totally do that. He was alright at creative writing even if he sucked at everything else in English. He grinned "easy"
Sam shook his head and laughed "only you would think turning a poem into a story is simple"
He shrugged. Writing could be fun, especially when you got to make the plot. And short stories were simple because it's not like they even required a huge plot. It didn't even need that much thinking to go into it. Tony looked at him like he was an alien and stated "what shit are you smoking Barnes, how the hell is coming up with an idea for a story simple"
It wasn't even like they had to come up with the idea completely on their own. They had the poem to base it off by the sounds of it. So it's not like it was going to be challenging. He shrugged "you pretty much already have the idea from the poem don't you, just switch it up a bit"
Tony shook his head and stated "why does the guy who hasn't been listening sound so confident"
Sam smirked "because he has a fucked up brain"
He laughed as Rhodey stated "yeah there's definitely something wrong with him"
He just laughed harder at all of their stupidity. When they eventually made it to the cafeteria after going by all their lockers he sat down between Sam and Clint. Tony asked "so whos invited to Nebula's party"
Natasha and Wanda both announced "I am"
Clint smirked "I mean I wasn't invited but then again I never am but it won't be the first time I've snuck into one of her parties"
Natasha gave him a smirk and he guessed they had snuck in together. Wanda chuckled "well Gamora did say we could bring our boyfriends, so Vision is coming, Bruce are you going"
Vision grinned at Wanda and Bruce looked unsure about wanting to go but Natasha grinned "of course he is, although I'm not sure how sure we will stay"
Clint looked shocked and stated "what the hell why would you not be there the whole time"
Natasha threw a spoon at him, and seriously he needed to ask someone about these spoons. Natasha laughed "Clinton my relationship is not all about me and Bruce isn't one for parties, he's coming for me but I'm not going to make him stay for longer than he want's to"
He smiled at the sweetness of Natasha's statement. Clint seemed to get it because he nodded and he guessed that Clint realised he would probably do the same for Pietro. Not that he would likely ever need to. Pietro grinned "I'm just going to show up, they kick me out, they kick me out"
He imagined Pietro and Clkint would likely get kicked out. Mainly because he didn't believe either of them were able to blend into the shadows. Both were loud and liked attention. And could be complete idiots which he guessed would be worse when drunk. Pepper shook her head and stated "you guys have fun"
Tony grinned "you and Rhodey should show up, it will be fun"
Rhodey shook his head and laughed "me and Pepper already have plans, we're going out of town for the weekend with Pepper's family"
Tony grinned "oh a fun weekend away with the Pott's, yeah no one turns down an opportunity like that"
Pepper shook her head and mumbled "sometimes I feel like punching you"
Vision grinned "join the club"
Tony just acted like he hadn't heard anything that had been said and smiled "alright so other than the lovesick couple does everyone want to come over to my place for pre drinks"
A small group of people he would consider to be either close acquaintances and friends all drinking together sounded fun. Better than any party and if that was how he was starting his night the party after might actually be fun. So he found himself nodding along as everyone else readily agreed. Tony grinned wide and stated "good be there by five and dress nice, we want to be the best looking at this party"
Clint teased "you only want us to dress nice so you have an excuse to dress up fancy to impress someone"
Tony threw a spoon at Clint's head and groaned "fuck you"
What the fuck was with the spoons. The spoons were going to be the reason he went insane. He watched as Tony spared a quick glance at Stephen who was looking destroyed at the thought of Tony dressing up in an effort to impress someone. It was clear that Stephen didn't think it was him. Tony upon seeing Stephen's expression frowned a little before covering it up. He just shook his head at the idiots. How do two people be so blind. Sam just whispered "I'm not sure any of our clothes would be nice by Tony's standard"
Clint who overheard whispered "don't let him hear you say that or he will insist on buying you both outfits, it's what he did with the rest of us, took us all to the shops he goes to and just let us pick whatever"
He knew both him and Sam would never agree to that. They both refused to take other people's charity. He guessed the others were probably the same but was sure Tony would have swindled them all into it some how where they didn't realise what was happening until the clothes had already been bought. From the way Clint was warning them he guessed that Clint already knew they both wouldn't want clothes bought for them. Sam smiled "thanks for the warning"
Clint gave them both a grin and stated "anytime"
He really didn't have much to wear. He would likely just end up wearing his jeans and leather jacket. It's not like he had other options. Maybe Steve had something in his cupboard that he could wear. He knew Sam would likely wear the one outfit he kept in good condition which consisted of blue jeans and a white shirt he had only worn a handful of times so he had something nice for times like these. It was the same outfit he had worn to every other party they had been to. He just wished that he had a nicer pair of black jeans that weren't so worn. And maybe a shirt that was in a decent condition. He just hoped Steve had one, because if he didn't he was out of options.
Tony looked over towards him and Sam and questioned "what do you two drink, my dad has a lot of bourbon and scotch but he's a bit lax in all the other departments"
His normal go to was rum but he drank pretty much anything except wine. That shit was the literal worst. Not that he could ever really afford to go out and get alcohol. Sam shrugged "what about whiskey"
Tony grinned "a man of taste, but no I've slowly been drinking it all and my dad still hasn't gone out to buy more, he hasn't noticed which is probably a good thing"
Loki added "not sure how much luck I will have at the bottle shop in town but I could try, or someone could drive me to one further out of town"
He could easily get anything people wanted from the bottle shop in town before and had no problem. The owners knew everyone in town so they would immediately know Loki wasn't twenty one but he knew them so they let it slide with him. He shrugged "I could always go get everything, then no one needs to drive anywhere"
Natasha shook her head and stated "no matter how good you think your fake ID is there is no way they'll let you buy anything. The Klaue's own it and they know like everyone in town, Ulysses helps them run it so he definitely knows you both"
Ulysses was a senior at their school and your go to guy for anything illegal. And whilst he definitely spent his life on the wrong side of the law just like his parents none of them were actually evil. They were all quite nice, they just made their money in sketchy ways. He shrugged "it won't be a problem"
Natasha raised an eyebrow and Wanda chuckled "well that sounds suspicious"
Everyone nodded in agreement and Vision stated "Barnes I know you are the schools bad boy, but you don't do anything illegal right"
He laughed because technically purchasing alcohol was illegal, he knew what Vision meant though. He might be a bad boy he stuck mostly to the right side of the law. He grinned "you do realise going and buying alcohol is illegal right"
Everyone laughed and he didn't bother to say anything more. He would let them all come to their own conclusions. It was more fun that way because one day they would work out just how wrong or right the conclusion they came to was. Natasha shrugged "you should go try today, that way when you undoubtedly fail we still have time to hit one up out of town"
He flashed Natasha a sly grin knowing there was no way he would possibly fail and smirked "so what your saying is you don't believe in me"
Natasha gave a sharp nod and stared straight into his eyes as she replied "not for a second, I have personal experience"
He stared straight back into Natasha's eyes and grinned "well in that case I don't suppose you wouldn't mind putting a wager on it"
Everyone at the table went silent waiting for Natasha's answer and he just put on a teasing smile and added "unless you're scared"
Natasha took the bait he had laid and announced "oh Barnes it is on"
His grin grew as Bruce mumbled "Nat be careful he's too confident"
Natasha didn't listen to the warning as she by no means backed down. Wanda questioned "well what are you both going to wager"
He hadn't thought this far ahead. He had no idea what he wanted. He mainly just wanted to shove it in her face that he was right. Natasha however had clearly worked out what she wanted because she grinned "if I'm right you have to have a girls day with me where you will be painting my nails and getting yours painted"
He grinned, so that's what she wanted. Too bad she wasn't going to win. He confessed "yeah I hadn't thought that far ahead"
Natasha laughed and Sam chuckled "of course you didn't"
Clint grinned "there's a small shop near the mall that none of us but Nat had ever been able to get into make her take you there"
From the pained look on Natasha's face he guessed she definitely did not want to and that was good enough for him so he shrugged "yeah alright, that works, what's it sell"
Natasha was glaring at Clint like she planned to murder him. Clint re[plied "none of us know, she won't even tell me and I've been her best friend for nearly a decade"
Natasha grumbled "and it appears I need to find a new one, and Barnes you will not find out what it has inside because I will win this bet"
There was no way she was winning but he smiled "sure you will"
Natasha just shook her head. Wanda chuckled "well if you two are done making your bets I suggest we all come up with a list of what we want"
He just opened notes on his phone and held it out for Wanda to take and stated "just right down what you want me to get"
Wanda grinned and just began discussing with Vision. Sam stated "well I guess your going to get to visit a random shop as a prize"
He chuckled "I was just in it for bragging rights"
Clint nudged him gently and signed 'everything all good between you and Loki, I know earlier must have been hard for you'
He nodded because it was and he was happy it was. Loki was a good friend and he didn't want to lose his friendship. Even if he still had his doubts about him not going with Steve being a good idea. But he was also glad Clint had been there and was sure if he wasn't it would of had a dramatically different ending. He signed 'yeah, thanks for everything by the way'
Clint smiled and signed 'anytime Barnes, were friends after all'
That reminded him of about when Steve said that they weren't friends because they still called him Barnes. And he really did want them to call him Bucky. It felt strange to hear them all call him Barnes even if that's what nearly everyone called him. So he just randomly announced "that does remind me though, I've been meaning to let you all know to just call me Bucky"
Sam grinned at him, whilst others looked curious about where it had come from. Tony asked "well that's a random thing to just blurt out"
He chuckled because it really was although to him it felt like the right time and it also flowed on from his conversation with Clint. He smiled "well I was talking to Clint so not exactly random, I amend my statement, anyone but Tony can call me Bucky"
Tony laughed "this is slander, plus I let you call me Tony"
Tony definitely had a point but he just shrugged "you chose that not me"
Pietro looked unsure about the entire scenario and asked "are you sure"
He was positive. He might as well have the people he enjoyed spending time with actually use the name he preferred hearing and so he nodded "wouldn't have suggested it otherwise. my friends have always called me Bucky"
Everyone grinned and Sam smirked "Buck is reserved for me though"
He laughed. It used to be just Steve who called him Buck and every time Sam had said it he told him not to but then Sam had become his closest friend so he let him say it. He just nodded in agreement with Sam. Natasha grinned "well you better call me Nat then"
He was happy that Natasha was allowing him to use her nickname. He smiled "I think I can manage that"
Tony complained "this isn't fair, why is everyone else special but me"
He chuckled at Tony's clear fake distress and just stated "alright you can I guess"
Tony grinned wide and he got distracted by Clint handing him his phone and a collection of notes. He slipped them into the inside pocket of his jacket and looked over the list which had a number of different items on it. There were a number of drinks which he had no clue what they were and guessed it was likely Tony attempting to re stock his fathers liquor. Especially because they all sounded fancy. That and the number of hundred dollar bills he had been handed that likely came from Tony's wallet. Pepper announced "well since you four don't appear to be leaving our group anytime soon we might as well add you to the group chat"
He really could admit that he had zero intentions of leaving now and was pretty sure the others were the same as him. This group was definitely more fun than Steve's and he didn't actually hate anyone in it which was a bonus. Tony immediately pulled out his phone and nodded "definitely, Sam I don't have your number though, sorry"
Wanda grinned "don't worry Sam I have you covered"
Seconds later his phone buzzed and they all sent their names so everyone would know who was who. He watched as Clint sent a message that said 'Vision' and so decided the smartest point of call was to steal Clint's phone and find out everyone's correct numbers. Clint signed 'you ruin all my fun'
He just grinned and signed 'I do try my best'
He watched as Loki stole Wanda's phone and all she could really do was glare at him. It seemed the only two getting pranked were Sam and Stephen. He just discretely handed Clint his phone back with a smile. Clint just rolled his eyes at him. As lunch continued they just all discussed their plans for the party and Clint and Pietro discussed the best way to sneak in.
As they all stood up to head to their lockers before Math's Sam hung back and stated "my parents need me to help out on the boat this afternoon, which means no time to hang"
He didn't mind too much. Sam was always helping on his parents boat. Normally he would offer to help as well but he had his business project that he was supposed to be working on this afternoon anyway. He smiled "it's alright, we got the whole booming business anyway"
Sam chuckled "oh yeah, have fun with that"
He was definitely going to have fun with it. The entire project so far had been fun and he was actually kind of glad Steve hadn't wanted him in his group. Because as much as he would have loved to be in a group with his boyfriend he had made new friends this way and had a project that was enjoyable to work on. And as a bonus he didn't have to work with Quentin or Sharon. He grinned "I will"
Sam smiled and the two of them just caught up to everyone else. Natasha, Wanda and Pietro were all having a conversation in Russian and he gave a small laugh when he realised that they were likely doing it because what they were talking about was supposed to be secret. They were talking about how stupid Tony and Stephen were and took everything in him not to comment. When he glanced over to Tony and Stephen he watched as the two walked side by side and were leaning in close to each other every time the said something. Vision stated "и я думал, что он гений я думал"
He covered up a laugh with a cough and no one seemed to catch it apart from Vision who glanced at him. He just made a point of looking confused about why Vision was staring at him. He wasn't surprised Vision could speak Russian. He was dating Wanda after all and he imagined Vision being as smart as he was knew a few languages at least. He knew a number himself but then again that just kind of happened. It wasn't like he had gone out of his way to become multi lingual. Vision just seemed to drop it but he imagined that he wasn't dropping it forever. He just walked off with Clint and Bruce towards their lockers glad Vision hadn't decided to delve into the topic. Bruce stated "you look about as happy as I feel about a prospect of a party"
He grinned because yeah he was sure Bruce wasn't happy about getting dragged to a party and he wasn't the most excited either. He laughed "yeah, but pre drinks at Tony's doesn't sound too bad"
Bruce nodded "it's not, unlike parties, it can be fun"
He was sure that if Bruce enjoyed the pre drinks he would too. He had it figured that the both liked parties equally. Plus he was already kind of excited for the pre drinks. He imagined it could be a lot of fun. Clint laughed "what have you two got against parties, they are like the best thing that happens in this town"
He wasn't sure that was true. Bruce stated "what's so good about them, it's just a bunch of people drinking and dancing"
He didn't dance for one which just left him to drink and it was never fun because he just spent the entire time attempting to not let anyone come anywhere near the left side of his body. In the past he had found it to be quite a stressful experience. And Steve had always ditched him and so if Sam wasn't there he just stood awkwardly by himself. Clint stated "Bruce that's the point of them, you get to watch drunk people not only try to stand up but dance as well"
He just shook his head as did Bruce. It wasn't all that fun. A part of him wondered if Bruce spent parties being insecure like him or if he just didn't enjoy them because he didn't find them fun. Maybe Bruce just didn't like dancing. He opened his locker as he stated "they aren't really that enjoyable"
Clint just shook his head and mumbled "you both are crazy"
He just smiled because yeah he was probably crazy but this definitely wasn't the reason why. Bruce shrugged "I think maybe you're the crazy one"
After a few seconds of thinking Clint announced "I reckon I am"
They all laughed and he just grabbed his Math's book and shut his locker. Clint and Bruce both had there books in their hands and so they all turned and walked back towards the others. Bruce smiled "well I'm just glad I won't be the only one there who wants out"
He had to admit he felt the same especially because it meant he could always leave with Bruce at any time and leave everyone else behind to enjoy themselves. He grinned "so am I"
Clint just shook his head and mumbled "you were both built wrong"
Him and Bruce both high fived and laughed as Clint shook his head. They joined the others and returned to a conversation about what everyone was planning to wear. Natasha questioned "Stephen what are you planning to wear"
Without missing a beat Loki grinned "should wear the new clothes especially that red jacket"
Stephen looked unsure and so he grinned "you definitely should, it looks great on you, I'm sure Tony would agree"
Tony nodded and stated "yeah it looks amazing on you"
Stephen seemed to be more into the idea now that Tony had said that. Natasha groaned "I legitimately have nothing to wear"
Clint stated "Nat I've seen your closest it's like Narnia in there, I'm pretty sure there's something in there"
Pepper shook her head and stated "it's harder for us girls, all you guys need is a pair of jeans and a shirt and your set"
He didn't see why they couldn't. They would still look just as good and they wouldn't have to try as hard. It was really a win win situation. He questioned "and who said you couldn't just wear jeans and a shirt"
Loki was nodding along with him and he could tell he agreed with his point. Everyone else looked surprised that he had said such a thing. Wanda replied "the patriarchy"
He wasn't exactly one for listening to the patriarchy and doing what the world expected of him. He scoffed "come on, the patriarchy also said I couldn't be gay and look at me, I'm telling you Nat, you throw on a pair of jeans and shirt and just as many people will check you out"
Tony added "yeah listen to Bucky he gives amazing fashion advice, just wait till you see the jacket he picked out for Stephen"
Sometimes he really wished Tony would be quiet. Now he felt exposed especially since Wanda had warned him that morning not to let Natasha find out. Sam grinned "yeah he doesn't have all the gay things but he's definitely got that one"
He rolled his eyes and hit Sam on the shoulder. He didn't really agree with them but everyone kept telling him this. And Sam was definitely not helping and from the way Natasha was grinning at him he was about to be dragged into something he wasn't sure he wanted to be dragged into. Natasha smirked "good, Tony you're fired, Bucky you're my new fashion adviser"
Tony looked to be relieved and he decided this position probably wasn't a good thing. Even if it didn't sound terrible and he was expecting worse. He questioned "why does Tony look happy"
Tony laughed and Clint stated "you'll work it out soon enough"
He did not like the sound of that but figured this couldn't be too bad. It wasn't like he hated fashion so surely it wouldn't be horrible. Natasha waved her hand and replied "don't mind them, Clint's just jealous"
Clint shook his head and chuckled "I'm really not"
He was going to have to side with Clint. He didn't look jealous in the slightest. In fact he just looked slightly worried and that in itself just made him a little worried. Although how bad could this really be. Natasha stated "alright you are coming over this afternoon and if I don't have any clothes we are going shopping tomorrow"
He didn't want to point out that they had school tomorrow and a party so not exactly any time for shopping especially since he got the distinct impression Natasha put fashion above school and just expected him to skip. Not that he wouldn't happily ski[p school. He stated "I think I had plans this afternoon"
Natasha shrugged "and now you have different ones this is more important"
Loki laughed "oh no you don't, Bucky's already got plans with me, we got a business project to work on, you can have him tomorrow morning"
Natasha looked about ready to argue and it felt weird that multiple people wanted him to hang out with them. Clint chuckled "Nat we have plans as well, you can't ditch me"
Natasha looked more than willing to ditch Clint but sighed "fine tomorrow then"
He asked "I don't get a choice do I"
Everyone shook their heads and he just figured he might as well. It's not like he had any better plans for the next day. Plus picking out Natasha an outfit sure sounded better than going to school. The bell rang and so they split off into two groups and each headed to their Math's, Loki grinned "what do you say we go past the bottle shop on the way to Stephens then get to work so by the time Tony and Stephen get back we're already prepared to go out and hit people"
He grinned. It sounded like a great plan. Especially because if they had all the boxes ready before the two returned when they eventually did they could make more gnomes before it got late enough for them to go out and gnome whoever. He nodded "sounds like a great plan"
When they got to Math's Stephen sat down beside Tony and he chuckled. He and Loki didn't even have to force it to happen. They were getting somewhere. He slid into the seat beside Loki and Loki smirked "I feel like we are succeeding"
He smiled "we are"
Because they really were. Or at least they appeared to be. Especially since the two were now spending most of their time together where they could. They both just needed to realise they clearly liked each other and everyone would no longer have to witness their cringe attempts at hiding it from each other.