Get Schooled (2020 Edition)

Ch 2: Settling In

Next day at school Steve expected to see James in the same spot, and he wasn't disappointed.

Steve wandered up to him and wondered why he chose to lurk in the shadows by himself. He was smoking again; Steve wrinkled his nose.

"You know, those things can kill you," Steve said, strolling up to him as he readjusted his shoulder strap.

"Save me the lecture, Rogers," he replied dryly, forcing a smile as he pulled in more smoke. James had a red cut on his face, not very noticeable at first. His hair wasn't in its usually tidy style, and his head had a small egg sized lump.

"James, what happened to you?" Steve frowned, taking in the state of his friend. This didn't seem normal, and warning bells started to go off in Steve's head that something might be wrong.

James rolled his eyes and smiled. "Thanks, mom, but I'm fine." He waved off Steve's concerns like some irksome fly.

Steve sighed and nodded, still worried -- but he dropped it. He couldn't afford to piss off his only friend.

James took one more long pull on his cigarette then dropped it, grinding it dramatically into the ground.

"Hey, we have theater today at 1:40, right?" Steve scrambled for his timetable and James nodded as he looked it over, pretending to be unfazed -- but the light in his eyes gave him away.

"You like drama as well?" He raised an eyebrow. He grinned as Steve nodded his approval. Well, one more thing to look forward to.

Walking inside, the pair were almost instantly cornered by some of Nat's girls, a few of whom Steve had learned the names of -- thanks to James.

Peggy, Sharon Carter, Jessica Drew, Jane, Doreen, Susan Storm, Pepper Potts, Shuri, Carol Danvers, and Steve vaguely remembered the name Brunnhilde -- all sauntered up to the pair.

"Hey, girls, keeping busy?" James smiled amicably, looking at them all in turn. Steve let his eyes wander, trying not to catch anyone's gaze. He was terrible with girls.

"Hey, Bucky. You're lookin' good today," Doreen chirped.

"Not as good as you, sweetheart," he replied, and Steve raised his eyebrows as he stared at him. Doreen blushed and Jane smiled at her. As the girls and James chatted further, Peggy edged her way towards Steve.

"So, Steve, how are you liking the school so far?" She held herself with a confidence Steve envied, and he felt trapped as she looked at him a little too knowingly.

"The school? Oh -- yeah, it's not so bad," Steve replied a beat too late, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. This was probably the first time he had really ever talked to a girl, and he was failing miserably.

"Well, that's good to hear. I've got to go, but it was nice to finally get to talk to you. Well, it was only about a few words." She shrugged. "I hope next time we could talk longer," she said. Her British accent was soft; nice to listen to.

Steve nodded dumbly and allowed himself to be led away by James, who was shooting him obvious looks that Steve tried to ignore, his cheeks and ears heating up.

"What?" Steve finally asked, looking at him.

"I saw you two. She might like you," he hummed, elbowing Steve lightly in the gut.

"Shut up, she just wanted to drag in the welcome wagon," Steve sighed.

"The welcome wagon? Seriously, are you like ninety years old?" James smirked and Steve rolled his eyes, folding his arms defensively over his chest.

The elusive sight of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff appeared in the hall, two twins, wandering across from them. Steve hadn't met them quite yet; now might be a good opportunity.

Wanda nudged her brother when she saw the pair walking towards them, intent on introducing themselves.

"Hi. I'm James, but people call me Bucky. This is Steve, he's new here," James explained to Wanda and Pietro. He'd always seen them in the hall from time to time, but the twins didn't hang out with anyone but each other. Wanda was only ever occasionally seen in the library, hunched over a good book or a computer.

"I'm Pietro, and this is my sister, Wanda. It is very nice to meet you two. How are you liking the school so far, Steve?" Pietro asked in a thick, Slavic accent.

"It's good so far," Steve said politely and Wanda smiled at him.

"You signing up for track this year?" Pietro asked in an excited voice. He tried to play it off smoothly, and Wanda rolled her eyes.

"Must you ask every person who comes by? We know you're signing up, Pietro," Wanda sounded exasperated as she elbowed her brother. At Steve's clueless expression, she explained, "Pietro is one of the best runners in this school. He's constantly looking for competition just to prove he can beat whoever he's up against." Pietro nodded along with her words, grinning.

The bell rang before the pair could respond, and James motioned for Steve to go.

"Sorry, we gotta run -- nice meeting you two," Steve called as James dragged him down the hall towards their class. Wanda smiled after them, amused.

Today they started with science and biology, taught by Mr. Selvig.

They took their seats and faced front, where Mr. Selvig was writing on the blackboard with his white, scratchy chalk.

"Today we'll be learning about energy sources. Open your books to page twelve," Mr. Selvig drawled. A group beside Steve and James chatted excitedly as they pulled out their books.

That group was Bruce, Tony, Jane Foster, Viktor, Hank Pym, Reed Richards, T'Challa and his sister Shuri. Bucky scoffed at their excitement and Steve watched them idly, impressed at their collective skill.

They got through their classes and nothing much else happened. After lunch they had theater, which Steve had been excited for all day -- something James hadn't seen coming given his quiet demeanor.

The room was a small blackbox theater with thick red curtains and a balcony overflowing with costumes and miscellaneous props, ranging from framed photographs, umbrellas, old electronics, masks and other things. James smiled as he took in the familiar scene.

Mrs. Hill, their teacher, clapped her hands sharply and the class gathered around. The class wasn't very big; made up of Steve, James, Doreen Green, Nat, Matt Murdock, some of Hydra -- probably for an easy A -- and a few others. Steve couldn't wait for class to begin.