Jump then Fall: Falling Series 2 (Modern Stucky College AU)

Three

Steve was still trying to get the hang of things. Taking special care with himself. Maintaining his friendships while also creating new ones. Not to mention his attempts to stay concentrated in his classes and keep his grades at a satisfactory level. Which, surprisingly -- but not all that surprising -- was more difficult that Steve had originally assumed in the beginning of the year.

Of course, Steve was still able to do so. But he easily found himself daydreaming about other things. Mainly, Bucky. Many times, Bucky being the only thing that Steve could think about.

Thinking of Bucky's taste. Or the way that his body wash clouded Steve's other senses, completely consuming Steve. Or how positively mouthwatering Bucky happened to be when he was all sleep-rumpled and his hair messy.

It just... wasn't fair.

Wasn't fair the way things happened. Nor how they ended. Wasn't fair the way that things were happening. Or worst, how they didn't happen. The potential that was there and just... fizzled. Which wasn't how Steve had expected things to go or end.

If Steve was honest with himself, Steve would admit that he didn't expect them to end. Or rather, not to end as soon as it did.

Now, Steve was between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, Steve was head over heels in love with a boy who had already broken his heart once. If Steve chose to try and go down that road again, there was a very real chance that he would end up getting his heart broken again. And Steve didn't want to be broken like that again.

On the other hand...

"Hey," a pretty blonde confidently approached Steve. Now Steve had enough awareness to acknowledge that she wasn't approaching him to just strike up a conversation with him. Fortunately, she efficiently got to her point, "You're friends with Bucky Barnes, right?"

Unfortunately, her object of affection happened to also be the same as Steve's. But they weren't together. If Steve had anything to do with things -- which seemed highly reasonable to assume that Steve had most of the power in the situation -- they wouldn't be getting together any time soon. However, that didn't mean that Steve was going to actively go out of his way to play wingman either.

Discreetly sighing in his annoyance, Steve replied, "Yeah."

"Cool," the girl smiled and tucked her long blonde hair behind her ear.

"Yeah," Steve disinterestedly agreed, " I guess."

"So, um," the girl continued. Steve wasn't sure if she genuinely didn't pick up on Steve's disinterest or if she was purposely choosing to ignore the apparent indifference. Nevertheless, she trudged on, seemingly still as peppy as when she sat down in front of Steve at the table. "Do you know if he's seeing anyone."

For a moment, Steve just stared at her. Blinking, in hopes of clearing the negativity from his mind, Steve directed his gaze downward to his open sketchbook. Briefly, Steve debated answering the girl at all. Yet, that wasn't who Steve was. And it didn't seem like she'd be leaving him alone any time soon.

So, Steve decided on, "I'm not sure." Then, because Steve was still fairly bitter about how things went down with their whatever, Steve bitterly added, "He could be seeing lots of people."

"Oh," she said, deflated. That tone caught Steve's attention and he glanced up at the blonde to find her worrying her lower lip with her teeth. She asked, "He likes to... date around a lot?"

However, the bitterness was quick to seep out of his system. He didn't want her to think badly of Bucky. Especially when Bucky wasn't a bad person. In fact, Steve often wondered if he had just been a bit more courageous and had asked Bucky to be exclusive, he might've been. Alas, Steve couldn't go back and change things. No matter how much he wanted to.

Against his selfish desire, Steve chose to amend his previous comment, "I mean..." Steve paused, unsure of where he wanted to go with his point. What was his point? Oh, right. "Bucky's not a bad guy. He just is... enjoying... his college experience."

The girl smirked and repeated herself, "So, he dates around a lot."

"Yeah," Steve finally replied. The way that the girl genuinely smiled at Steve, Steve couldn't help his own grin from stretching across his face.

Leaning a bit closer, and dropping her voice, she asked, "If I ask you something, will you be completely honest with me?"

"Um," Steve stated. He was already being quite frank with her, so he confirmed, "Yeah. Of course."

"Okay," she nodded. Momentarily pressing her lips together as she thought for a minute. Then, she asked, "Am I, Bucky's type?"

Looking over the pretty girl, Steve could honestly answer, "Yes." Of course, the girl didn't seem all that convinced, and Steve didn't want to list off all the physical ways that she fit into the same group as the other girls that Bucky had dated. So, Steve simply told her, "Bucky seems to like blondes."

"Yeah?" The girl asked, perking up slightly at Steve's comment.

Considering that Steve, himself, was also blond and had also been pursued by Bucky, Steve nodded his confirmation, "Yeah."

"Great," pleased, the girl sat there for a moment longer. Holding her hand out to Steve, she introduced herself, "I'm Sharon."

Steve took Sharon's hand and smiled, "Steve."