Chaos
Bucky watched as Tony strolled over to their usual table. It was break time and the hall was crammed full of students who hadn’t had breakfast queueing up to buy something.
“Good morning my wonderful companions!” Tony exclaimed cheerfully, slamming a pink and white striped box onto the table.
“What... are those?” Clint asked bluntly, moving his arm from around Nat’s shoulder to cross with the other.
“Why some decadent doughnuts of course!” Tony flipped over the lid of the box to reveal six seemingly identical sugared doughnuts, “What’s the matter Clinton?”
“I don’t trust you, Stark.” Clint narrowed his eyes as Natasha tried desperately not to burst in a fit of laughter.
“Everyone else is eating them, babe,” Nat reassured, making sure she had eye contact with Tony before she picked out a doughnut for Clint. “Go on.”
“Fine.” Clint relented, taking a bite out of the doughnut Nat gave him. He knew something was wrong as soon as everyone’s eyes had shifted to look at him. He opened his mouth mid-chew as if to ask ‘what?’ but then he realised it. His doughnut was different, it was filled with mayonnaise.
Tony doubled over in laughter as Clint ran to the nearest bin, promptly spitting out his disgusting doughnut. The whole group laughed, but not as much as Thor who found the thing highly entertaining. Clint stalked back to his friends, his face was emotionless.
“That’s four-three, Clinton!” Tony exclaimed, “Care to call quits yet?”
“You wait, Stark. I’m going to blow that prank out of the water.” Clint said darkly.
“What do you mean you haven’t even finished season one, Bruce?” Steve complained when Bruce told him how tragically behind he was on Gossip Girl.
“You see Steve,” Bruce began, the pair of them sitting down in their seats for chemistry, “I have this little thing called school to worry about! But yes, I’m on, like, the last episode of season one though.”
The two of them promptly halted their conversation when they saw Bucky, Natasha and Tony walk through the door, making their way to their usual seats at the back of the classroom.
“Tony is definitely season one Chuck Bass, though.” Bruce said.
“You took the words right out of my mouth, my friend.”
Natasha snickered at Tony as they sat down in chemistry. The heir to Stark Industries had made Bucky look under his chair and the table before Tony even dared to go to the back corner of the classroom. Even though there was nothing wrong with the chair, Tony made sure of it by carefully placing his satchel on the plastic stool then backing away to the window.
“Why are you like this?” Bucky asked, shaking his head.
Tony snapped his head around to his friend, “It’s been a week since the doughnut prank, James!”
“So…?” Nat and Bucky said simultaneously.
“So Clint has yet to retaliate!” Tony explained dramatically, “He’s tormenting me guys! Everything is threat!”
Natasha laughed and knocked Tony’s bag on the floor before sitting in his seat, Bucky’s seat and finally her own seat, “There. None of them are boobytrapped.” Tony nodded to her in thanks.
The lesson was dull. They were learning about bases and how they work in indigestion and heartburn tablets, at least Bucky had Clint’s prank to look forward to. Clint and Thor had somehow wrangled their way out of class that period but they hadn’t told anyone what Clint’s master plan was. All in all, Bucky was excited, but worried as he knew it wouldn’t be long until the prank-off got out of hand.
About halfway into the lesson, Bucky heard a commotion from the corridor. He looked up from his worksheet, a sly grin forming on his face. Tony looked horrified. There were thuds on the floor, then a convoy of canisters started rolling into the classroom. Body spray started filling the room, and the cans kept coming. Finally the door was slammed shut by a bulky figure who ran down the hallway. Shit. Amidst the fog that smelt like the changing rooms after the year eights had finished, Bucky heard violent coughing from the other side of the room. Shit. When he sprang up from his seat, Steve was already doubled over, wheezing, Bruce looking on with a helpless look on his face.
“Open the windows!” He commanded Nat, who promptly tried prying the biggest window in the room. Before the gas could be released, the teacher had left the classroom looking for the culprits. It was when Bucky realised that the windows were locked that he really panicked. I have to do something, Bucky thought and bolted for the front of the classroom. By then, Steve was on the floor, clutching his chest and searching for his bag. “I’ve got you,” was all Bucky could manage to say before scooping up Steve and his bag and rushing them out the classroom.
Bucky didn’t put Steve down until they were both out of the building, and then he was searching through Steve’s backpack, looking for his blue inhaler. After handing a scowling Steve Rogers his inhaler, Bucky realised what he’d just done. Shit.
It took a moment or or so for the boy’s breathing to become normal again, but once it did Steve spat out, “What the fuck was that for, Buck?”
Bucky swallowed, “You… Were having an asthma attack, Stevie.”
“I know that.” Steve rolled his eyes, “I was fine.”
“You were not.”
“Yes I was.”
“Stop kidding yourself, Steve. Banner had no clue what to do and you were just getting worse–the room wasn’t clearing and I was worried about you, okay?” Bucky rambled, not realising what he’d uttered.
Steve looked at Bucky, his nose scrunched up as if to say, Are you serious? “You didn’t have to carry me! Do you have any idea how humiliating that is? I can handle it myself. I don’t need you help, alright? In fact I don’t even want it, James.”
“Steve–”
“I thought you didn’t want to be seen with me anyway, asshole.” Steve sneered, standing up and brushing himself down.
Bucky watched mournfully as Steve grabbed his bag back and stormed back into the building. Clint is so going to regret this, Bucky decided, striding in the other direction to the main building, his jaw clenched tightly and his brows furrowing.