Lessons In Love: Chapter Twenty: Viva La Vida (Part 1)

The group stopped in Manhattan first. Stephen got a few things out of his apartment, then they arrived in Brooklyn.

Well, they tried to arrive in Brooklyn, but they had to stop driving in the middle of the street. Something very uncommon was happening outside the vehicle that they were in.

Stephen eased on the brake, and the car came to a complete stop. Stephen, Bucky, Tony, and Steve all looked outside the car, as a crowd of people maneuvered around outside it.

They were suddenly surrounded by a massive sea of people. The four of them had never seen anything like it before in their lives. They all looked out their own window as the gigantic group of people marched around the car.

"What the heck is going on?"

Bucky spoke up first. Steve was speechless, but he started to notice that the people around them were carrying signs.

A few of them had the same name written on it. The signs said, "We March for Latasha Harlins" or the signs said, "Justice for Rodney King".

Stephen knew a little something about what was happening. He didn't have all the details, but he had heard about the outcome of an incident when he was at school. His education, and all the time that he spent at his university, put him in a bit of a bubble.

The circumstances leading up to the people walking in the street were not part of that bubble. Ya get me?

"I'm not sure. I know that someone was hurt, a while ago. Someone was hurt, and this is the result."

Stephen couldn't drive anywhere. The pack of people did not cease. He started to think that it was too dangerous for them to head further into Brooklyn.

Tony was quiet. He kept his eyes on the people outside the car. Steve glanced over in his direction, and he tried to see the situation from Tony's point of view.

The brunette read the signs as well, and he decided to say something. They were going to be stuck in that spot for a while, so...

"My father listened to the radio all the time when he worked in his lab. I heard about what happened to Rodney King. He was unarmed, and almost beaten to death by the police. They are out there for him.."

Tony turned away from the window and he looked over at Steve. That golden thing looked pretty shocked.

Say what? You mean the police would actually beat an unarmed man? Steve's face said it all, and Tony just gave him a small smile. He looked so innocent and sincere.

"They are protesting."

Say what again? People could protest aspects of a government that didn't function for them?

Steve's face remained as it was, and Tony thought that he looked very handsome. He didn't realize it, but his mind wandered off and he started staring.

Tony was deep in thought about his father. He stared at Steve, and he thought about how much his father admired him. Tony's dad told him that "Captain America" was the greatest person that he had ever met.

That was a pretty hefty compliment coming from someone like Tony's father. His comments were always sarcastic, and his dad was very serious. Tony was surprised when he first heard him say that about someone.

That thought wouldn't leave the brunette's mind as he processed the unique human being that was in front of him.

Steve kept looking in Tony's direction, but he eventually shrunk back toward the door of the car. He glanced over at Bucky. He...

Tony just kept, staring at him. He kept staring and the blonde was at a loss. He felt very warm, and he wanted to sprint in the opposite direction. Steve became very nervous, and it felt like his clothing tightened against his skin.

Everything started to constrict, and he needed some air.

The promiscuous evening he spent with Tony kept repeating, and Steve had to adjust the clothes that covered his skin.

"Brooklyn is a no go. It's too dangerous."

Steve didn't even notice that Stephen started driving. He exhaled and turned to his right. He started looking out the window, and his jaw dropped to the seat.

A building was on fire, and the windows on several buildings were broken in. Something out there looked familiar to Steve, and he quickly moved in his seat.

Stephen wanted to get them the FUHK out of there. He flipped a u-turn as soon as he could, and he drove quickly toward the Brooklyn Bridge.

Bucky and Steve were glued to what they were seeing outside the car. They were in very familiar territory, but everything passed by in a blur.

Stephen got them onto the NJ-139 W, and then he started navigating his way toward the I-80 W. They all felt a little safer with Brooklyn behind them, but Steve was a little upset that he didn't get to look around.

The car became extremely quiet. It remained that way for a while, because four young "caucasian" men had just experienced something that was very outside their norm.

Their little hero bubbles were interrupted, and an odd contemplation was the result. What the hell was that? Was all one of them could think.

The others processed what they saw in their own ways. They only reflected on the event for a few minutes. The scene disappeared from their view, and all four of them had the ability to move on from the issue. The contemplation ended, and Tony told Stephen to turn up the music.

The silence around him was torture, and he was happy to find out that Stephen listened to Pink Floyd.

Chapter: END

Thank you for reading.