A Boy Who Likes a Boy Is a Dead Boy

Steve assumed that Bucky appreciated his actions from earlier that day. While things probably wouldn't have turned out so well had the teacher not shown up when he had, he was sure that his friend was at least thankful for his interference. Sure, he wasn't much of a threat, Steve knew this, but he was just trying to be a good friend. He was doing what any good friend would've done. That's how he saw it anyway. Speaking of his friend, he wasn't really sure of Bucky's whereabouts at the moment. He'd been acting rather strange towards the end of the school day, though he'd dismissed Steve's questions and concern. And he didn't know where Bucky had gone off to after school either. Normally they walked home from school together, sometimes stopped and got an eggcream along the way, but today Bucky had made up an excuse about having to go somewhere, somewhere that he hadn't bothered specifying.

As the day had progressed, Bucky had felt himself slipping into a worse and worse mood. He'd struggled to focus in school, and it was probably more than obvious to the teachers. He knew they all viewed him as some sort of problem child, despite his intelligence, and that they all saw his 'potential'... But none of the wanted to deal with the moody demeanour that controlled him sometimes. More often than not, they left him to simmer in his bad mood, and didn't attempt to bring him out of it. It all resulted in afternoons and evenings like this, with Bucky sneaking into a bar, and somehow blagging a drink from the bartenders. He'd never gone home with anyone, not yet at least... It wasn't as though no one spoke to him, it was more that going home with another man meant admitting how he felt about himself, and about Steve.

Actually, now that Steve really thought about it, Bucky had kind of been acting strange for a while now. It wasn't extremely noticeable, but for someone like Steve, who was with his friend constantly, it was noticeable enough. Bucky was one of his oldest friends, and he was his best friend too, if Steve hadn't picked up on his friend's behavior, well, something was clearly wrong with their friendship. The thing was, he really didn't know who to ask about his friend's whereabouts. Clearly things hadn't gone well with Betty, so he doubted Bucky was with her, maybe he'd check the diner...

The intimacy of the dingy little bar provided comfort for Bucky. People would recognise his face if they were there enough, but no one knew his name. He didn't know anyone else's name. That's what was so nice about it. No one knew him, and no one could judge him. They were all there for the same reason, and some of them were more willing to admit it than others... But they had all been in Bucky's position at some point or another, and they always gave him his space. Glances were exchanged, but words weren't. It was a quiet place, with the exception of a few lulled chattering voices. That's why the bursting open of the door, and the frantic yelling came as such a surprise that day. Bucky barely even had a chance to turn around before a pair of hands had dragged him from his barstool, and onto the floor.

Steve figured that the diner was probably his best bet right about now. Even if Bucky wasn't there, it was a start. He couldn't have wandered off too far, and he doubted that his friend had headed into other parts of the city. He could at least narrow his friend's whereabouts down to Brooklyn. He could have easily just called it a day and waited to check on his friend the next day, but something had just been really off about Bucky today. He was acting stranger than he'd been acting as of late, and it kind of worried Steve a lot.

There was a barrage of kicks and punches before Bucky realised what was going on. A police raid on the bar, a violent and discriminatory one at that. He'd heard rumours of them, but never actually been caught up in one... Being underage would do him no favours in this situation. He barely even registered that the assault came to an abrupt end, and someone else was now dragging him up from the floor. He only just caught a glimpse of another regular's face as they shoved him towards the door. "Go! Go!" He yelled at him, pushing Bucky out onto the street before else had the chance to grab hold of him.

On any other given day, Steve would have walked right on past the bar. He walked down this street every single time he and Bucky went to the diner, however, there usually wasn't a major commotion like there was right now, and people usually weren't shoved into him. Looking up to see who had been shoved into him, his eyes widened when he found himself staring straight at the last person he'd expected to see leaving the bar. "Bucky?"

Part of him felt helpless as he was shoved out of the bar, wishing that he could do more for the people who were stuck inside... Another part of him wanted to get as far away as possible, before anyone realised where he had just come from. Neither of them were possible, not now that he had been thrown straight from the bar and into his worst nightmare. As he stared down at the person he'd been pushed into, Bucky was completely lost for words. He didn't take notice of the bruise forming under his eye, or the blood running down from his nose. All he could focus on was the fact he had been pushed right into Steve, the one person he wanted to hide it all from.

Bucky was the last person Steve would have expected to find walking out of that bar. Not that he'd really walked out of it so much as he'd been pushed out of it and onto the street. For a moment, Steve kind of just stared at his friend, taking in his battered appearance. "I've been looking for you everywhere. What were you doing in there, Buck?"

"Nothing," Bucky replied immediately, his tone mixed with panic and defensiveness. In a hurry, Bucky took hold of Steve's arm, and began dragging him down the street. Despite the panic, he made sure not to hurt him... It was just important that they both got out of there before they were dragged back into the bar, or worse. "We need to get out of here." There was no time to explain, and even if there was, Bucky wasn't about to tell Steve why he was in a bar that was getting raided. He could only hope now that Steve didn't know what sort of reputation the bar had, or why the police were taking such offence to it being open.

Steve couldn't really recall a time when he'd seen his friend in such a state of distress and panic. And Bucky normally wasn't overly defensive with him either. It caught him off guard to say the very least. "I was going to look for you at the diner, but clearly you wouldn't have been there..." Moments later, Bucky was pulling him down the street and away from the bar. "Never really thought to check there for you..."

Once they were far enough away from the bar, Bucky let go of Steve's arm and shook his head. Clumsily, he pulled his shirt sleeve down over his hand and hurriedly wiped the blood away from his nose and top lip. "Wrong place, wrong time." Bucky murmured, determined that he hadn't been there on purpose, nor did he intend on returning. As far as Steve was concerned, it was all a case of mistaken identity or accidental presence.

There was just something about how Bucky was acting that was off. If Steve hadn't noticed it at school, he sure as hell would've noticed it now. It was nearly impossible not to. "You ran out of school pretty quick..." He wasn't going to push his friend too hard. He knew better than to do so. If Bucky wanted to tell him, he'd tell him, and if he didn't want to, he wouldn't. And that was that.

Bucky's mind was a mess as they walked along the street, and he wasn't sure if it was the kick to the head or his own anxiety that made him feel as though everything was swaying. This situation was something he had always hoped he would avoid. Steve didn't need to know why Bucky was in that bar, or what kind of place it was. Right now, his priority was to make sure it seemed like there was nothing wrong. He had gotten into a fight, like he always had. "Yeah well, I didn't want McCluskey to jump me after hours..."

Steve nodded. "He probably would've." He said. It was a logical explanation, though something told him that there was more to it than his friend was actually letting on. He wasn't going to push Bucky too much though. He knew that that wouldn't get them anywhere. "Looks like someone knocked you around anyway..."

His shook his head, swallowing hard and desperately wiping at the blood on his upper lip once more. The only thing on his mind in that moment was keeping what had just happened a complete secret. As far as Bucky was concerned, no one was going to know what he had been doing in that bar, or why he was there in the first place. No one needed to know. Keeping it a secret was his priority, never mind the fact he could have a broken nose, or a concussion. He wanted to get as far away from the bar as possible, to avoid anyone seeing him, and to avoid the police coming after him.

Steve frowned slightly. Bucky was always quick to respond, though he was being unusually silent right about now. Not that he would have expected anything else from his friend. He'd just been off all day, and why was that something that would suddenly change now? "How's your nose?" He asked, glancing over to his friend as they walked. "You should probably get that checked out...could be broken."

"It's not broken..." Bucky murmured, pulling his hand down so he could check the blood on his sleeve. A broken nose would be something he'd be all to aware of, and maybe it was just the adrenaline, but it certainly didn't feel broken to him. "I'm too pretty to have a broken nose," He laughed hollowly. It was clearly a cover up for something, and he was struggle to keep the facade up. The police raid had left him undoubtedly shaken. It had all happened so quickly, and he was left with a sense of guilt from running. "No one would hit me that hard."

Steve knew that there was still something off about his friend. Bucky just wasn't acting like his usual self anymore. He'd been noticing slight differences for a while now, though they were more noticeable now than ever before. "What's going on with you, Buck?" He asked suddenly, not even cracking a smile at his friend's poor attempt at a joke. His tone was serious and he had an expression on his face to match.

Hearing Steve suddenly sound so serious took Bucky by surprise. He looked at his friend, resuming wiping blood from his nose. The bleeding had calmed by now, but he was still desperate to make sure he looked like nothing had happened. Pain was slowly seeping it's way through his body now adrenaline was beginning to wear thin, reminding him of every punch and kick inflicted upon him. "Nothing, Steve..." He reassumed him after a moment, trying to take a calmer and more confident tone. "Nothing's going on... I was just caught up with the wrong people, that's all..."