"Ow! Stop it!" I rubbed my eyes, which were watering from the handful of gravel Bucky had just thrown at me. Laughing, Bucky mischievously fingered the gravel dust as he eyed me. "James Buchanan Barnes! Don't you dare!" I yelled, leaping deftly to my feet. Dropping the gravel, Bucky let out a small yelp of fright and took to his feet. He fled in the direction of the forest. I glanced at Steve. With a nod, we ran after our friend. We chased him all the way into the creek.
"Would you like to do the honors?" Steve asked me, mock bowing. Winking at him, I spun around and tackled Bucky into the creek. Bucky was so shocked that he had no choice but to fall. We both sunk like rocks, but fortunately, the creek was only four feet deep. Breaking the surface, we sputtered and spewed water from our mouths. Bucky looked down at himself, then at me. A wide grin spread across his face.
"We're soaked!" He cried, smiling. I nodded. "But he's not!" We hollered at the same time, lunging for Steve. Steve let out a small squeak, knowing he was doomed. The next second we were all submerged in the crystal-clear, ice-cold water. We began splashing each other, but I guess I didn't see the point since we were already wet, so I grabbed a handful of mud and lobbed it at Steve, who turned at the last second and caught it right in the face. He looked so stunned and comical that Bucky and I nearly died laughing. Steve responded by shoving another mud pie in my face. Bucky did the same and they both laughed at my mud-stained visage. I dug up a long, slimy worm and dropped it down Bucky's back. He hollered and sloshed away from me. I marveled how a ten-year-old boy was so deathly afraid of worms. I stuck another worm onto a stick and chucked it at Steve, who also hollered. We trudged onto the bank and collapsed in the summer sun, laughing. Just us. Steve, Bucky, and Gracie in 1928. Before the war started.