The 5th chapter…I'm still working on the update for "Flashbulb Memories" – having a bit of writer's block on the next chapter. So, in the meantime, enjoy this little moment…constructive criticism is appreciated.

"A Dash of Overreaction…I Assume You Know the Rest"

September 1935

"Hey…Ryder…"

Ryder Howlett paused on his walk, frowning slightly. He thought he'd heard someone call his name, but he wasn't too sure.

"Over here…on your left…"

Ryder turned around, and looked down the alley, pinching the bridge of his nose as he groaned, "Really, Steve? Again?"

Steve was sitting in a collapsed cardboard box – it looked like someone had shoved him into it. Blood had dried around his nose, his lip was split, and he had a large shiner already in progress over his right eye.

"A little help…please!" Steve grumbled, and his skinny legs flailed as he tried and failed to get to his feet. "I've been struggling with this thing for the last ten minutes."

Ryder walked further into the alley and reached out his hand, hauling Steve to his feet. "What was it this time?"

Steve yanked the box away from his hindquarters, dusting off his hands as he said, "I think they wanted my lunch money."

Ryder rolled his eyes, "Come on, let's get you cleaned up. We'll take you to my place, it's closer."

"I'll be fine—"

"I'm sure you will," Ryder cut him off, throwing an arm around his shoulder to lead him out of the alley. "But I don't need the lecture from your Ma about how beat up you look. The eye's a goner, but at least we can clean up the blood and make you look semi-presentable."

Steve gave a sigh and fell into step beside his friend. "I don't know what's worse…the beating or being stuck in that box…"

"What box?" Ryder asked, and Steve gave him a grateful smile.

They finished the five-minute walk to the apartment building that the Howletts called home…and paused when they saw Bucky sitting on the front steps.

"Uh Buck…you know Case is upstairs, right?" Ryder asked.

"Yeah she uh…" Bucky's right hand was trembling as he ran it through his hair. The brown locks on the right side were a mess – clearly, he'd been doing that for a while now.

"You know, one of these days that nervous tick is gonna make you bald on the one side," Steve said, motioning at the right side of his own head.

"Huh?" Bucky asked, he appeared to be in a state of shock.

"It was a joke…Bucky, what's wrong?" Steve asked.

"She uh…Case…she threw me out," Bucky said, frowning as if the mere idea of it confused him greatly.

"No seriously…what, did she turn the music up and not hear you knocking?"

"No…her exact words were 'get out of my sight before I run you through with these things'…" Bucky blinked at him.

"Oh…" Ryder said hesitantly. "She showed you her..." he wiggled his fingers to indicate what he meant.

"Yeah..." Bucky nodded. "You…you knew about them?"

"Since I was five," Ryder nodded. "Suckers are sharp…you really don't want to catch those in you…" He rubbed at a spot on his back just above his right hip, giving a small wince.

"And you?" Bucky asked Steve.

"Yes, I knew," Steve nodded.

"And neither of you could've filled me in?" Bucky demanded. He shot an angry glare at Ryder, "You got something you're hiding too?"

Ryder clapped a hand over Bucky's bicep, and the boy winced at the grip, "Upstairs, now."

"Ryder—"

"It's not a request," Ryder snapped, and yanked Bucky up the steps, causing the boy to stagger after him, "Steve, move it."

As Ryder dragged him along, Bucky got a good look at Steve's face and frowned, "What the hell happened to your face?"

"Same thing that always happens, now move it," Ryder barked at him.

The trio made their way upstairs and into the apartment, Steve closing and locking the door behind them. They barely caught sight of Case who disappeared upstairs with a slam of a door.

"Shit…" Bucky hissed as he collapsed into an armchair.

"What the hell happened?" Ryder asked.

"I was talking to her about my girlfriend…nothing I haven't talked to her about before," Bucky admitted, running his hand through his hair again. "I just wanted a girl's advice, you know? But I guess I went into too many details or somethin' because next thing I knew she was tellin' me to shut up and her fists slammed on the table…" He curled his right hand into a fist and used his left hand to emphasize, "Then 'whoosh' out these bone-things come."

"And what did you say?" Ryder asked.

Bucky went white, "Uh…that part…look, I didn't mean anythin' by it, I swear…I was just…I didn't know what to say."

"What did you say, James?" Ryder asked in a firmer voice.

With a sigh and another swipe of his right hand through his hair, Bucky admitted, "I asked her what they were…when she said they were bone-claws, I just…blurted out, 'what the hell kinda freak are you'?"

Steve cringed and Ryder face-palmed.

"I tried to apologize…even hollered at her through the door," Bucky went on. "Your neighbors hate me right about now…but Case just ignored me."

"Can you blame her?" Ryder asked.

"Not really no."

The elder Howlett twin scrubbed his hand over his face, "Calling Case a freak…thought you had more sense than that, Barnes."

"I panicked, okay?" Bucky snapped. "I just wasn't expecting bones to suddenly be stickin' out of Case's hands…and I'm pretty sure I've said worse to her over the years!"

Ryder shook his head, collapsing down onto the sofa with his hand covering his eyes. He removed his hand and looked at his friend, "You've never sucker punched her in one of her sore spots though…doesn't matter what you say to Case, what matters is what you're talking about. Calling her a freak because of her claws? Bad move pal."

"I know…" Bucky sighed. He gazed at his right hand that was half way to his face, then curled his fingers into a fist and put it on his knee instead. "The look she gave me…" He looked over at Ryder before asking, "Is that why you wear the gloves? You got somethin' wrong with your hands?"

"There's nothing wrong with my hands, thank you very much," Ryder snapped at him. "Just ask—"

"We'll be here for an hour, just let it go," Steve cut in, finally sitting down on the couch beside him. "He can hypnotize people with his hands."

"Huh?" Bucky asked.

"I can put my hand on someone and I can tell them what to do," Ryder clarified.

"Oh…so…no bone claws?"

Ryder gave a roll of his eyes, "No."

"They've also got super healing too," Steve said. "Watched Case try to cut up a few carrots…sliced her hand right open, and it was gone in seconds."

"Super healing…right…" Bucky gave a weak nod.

"You gonna be okay there, Buck? You look a little pale," Ryder said.

Bucky gave a firmer nod, "Yeah just…still kinda shocking…"

"Gotta admit you're taking it a bit better than Steve," Ryder added, "Poor guy fainted when he saw Case's claws."

"Thanks Ryder," Steve grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

Bucky's eyebrows rose, "You fainted?"

"Not a word outta you!" Steve snapped. "What are you gonna do about Case?"

Bucky gave a sigh, "That…that's a good question…although you may want to wash your face, you've got blood everywhere," He circled around his nose for emphasis.

Steve gave a roll of his eyes and marched upstairs toward the bathroom.

Bucky waited before Steve was out of sight before he turned to Ryder and asked, "Honestly…you think there's any way she'll forgive me?"

Ryder thought that one over, "I don't know."

"Shit…" Bucky flinched. "The look on her face…you'd have thought I actually punched her in the gut physically rather than metaphorically…"

"Just give her time, Buck…that's all I can say."

"Ryder wasn't kidding…" Steve flinched as he gazed into the mirror of Case's dressing table.

He'd intended to wash his face – but he thought he'd heard Case crying from behind her door and knocked there instead.

When Case answered – after shouting a round of colorful curses at him in French, and after he'd announced it was him and him alone – she kept her face toward the floor and her back to him as much as possible as she resumed her place on her bed.

Her face was now buried in her history textbook, keeping herself hidden as she said, "Your Ma's not gonna be happy you know."

"Yeah, but I had to defend myself…and are you going to put that book down?" Steve asked, plopping down onto the foot of Case's bed. "We both know you hate studying history."

"You've seen my report card, Steve…I should sleep with this thing as my pillow for how much I need to catch up."

"Well if you spent less time staring at…" Steve cut off when he noticed Case's grip on the book tighten, "Never mind, sorry…but we both know that was crying I heard a few moments ago…no use in hiding your face from me."

"Who said I was crying?" Case asked, but Steve caught a slight tremor in her speech.

"Because anytime you cry you try and hide it from the rest of us, like we're going to go on some sort of witch hunt to find out who caused it."

"That's because you do go on some sort of witch hunt to find out who caused it," Case pointed out.

Steve moved to sit next to her on the bed and reached over and put his hand on the book, gently lowering it so he could see Case's face. "There now…that's not so bad," He gave her a small smile.

Case's cheeks were pink and puffy, and her eyes were a little bloodshot. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she scowled at him, "Yeah right."

Steve sighed as Case reached over to her nightstand and grabbed a box of tissues, wiping the tears away before blowing her nose. "Did what he said really bother you that much?"

"Yes and no," Case admitted. "Look…day in and day out…one girl after the other. And just…I don't know, I snapped I guess…I was wishing he'd look at me that way for once, and when he asked what kinda freak I was…"

"He's really sorry he did that…he said he panicked," Steve told her.

"Wonderful," Case rolled her eyes. "That's so much better."

"Case…"

"Just…leave it alone, Steve," Case gave a sigh. "Look…especially after you found out about…everything…I've been debating on telling him. I thought I could handle it if he reacted badly…I think I would've preferred it if he'd just run off."

"Bucky cares about you too much to do that."

"He called me a freak, Steve."

"He didn't mean it, you know Bucky doesn't think that way about you."

"He called me a freak."

Steve scrubbed a hand over his face, biting back a yelp as he pressed his hand into his sore nose, "Case—"

"Look, I get it that he doesn't see me as a freak for real," Case snapped at him. "But at the end of the day…that was the first thing out of his mouth. He can say he didn't mean it all he wants, and he can apologize for it…but it doesn't change anything. He said it…he can't take it back."

"So, what?" Steve asked, getting to his feet. "You're just going to throw away a ten-year friendship over something petty?"

"Petty?" Case asked, shooting to her feet as well. "You think I'm being petty?"

"He apologized!" Steve argued. "He's been apologizing, he's—"

"Yes, I know he's apologized," Case snapped. "The whole damn floor knows he's sorry!"

"Then why can't you just forgive and forget?"

"Because I don't want to!" Case roared at him. She took a deep breath, then said, "I don't want to…because it's not fair. Because Bucky's right, I am a freak! A mutant with bone claws and super healing…and no matter what my dad says…no matter the fact I can pretend I'm normal…I'm not. I never will be. And because at the end of the day…outside of my family, there's always been two people who I'd trust with my secrets…and I feel like the rug's been yanked out from under me now."

"But you can still trust—"

"Can I, Steve?" Case asked. "You…alright, you fainted, but that's it. You asked questions, you didn't call us freaks…you just kind of accepted it without hesitation."

"But Bucky's different…he's not me."

"I know that, Steve…" Case sighed, sitting back down on her bed. "Trust me…I know."

Bucky was on his feet the second he heard the door close upstairs, excitement blooming in his chest. He had to fight the look of disappointment on his face when he saw Steve was coming back alone.

"What'd she say?" Ryder asked.

"To synopsize…Bucky's a jerk," Steve said. "And she's not ready to forgive and forget."

"But…" Bucky frowned, his heart sinking toward his shoes. "I didn't…Case knows I…she's not a freak!"

"Yeah…she knows," Steve agreed. "But still doesn't make up for the fact that its what you called her."

"But it's Bucky," Ryder frowned at him.

"That just makes it worse."

"What's that supposed to mean, it's me?" Bucky asked. "How do I make it worse?"

Ryder rolled his eyes, "God you're an idiot."

"Ryder, knock it off!" Steve snapped before Bucky could respond. "Look, we just need to wait for this to pass…we've gotten into fights before, and I doubt this will be the last one. But if we don't keep clear heads, it will be."

"I'm not fighting…I'm just saying he's an idiot," Ryder said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yes, we've established that already," Bucky rolled his eyes. "Any ideas on how to make Case forgive me?"

Ryder finally got to his feet, "That you're gonna have to figure out on your own, bub. We can't help you there."

"But—"

"Sorry Buck, but he's right," Steve admitted. "Trust me…I tried, but she won't budge. You're going to have to figure out a way to win her back."

"But—"

"You know, Steve…it's a bit late but we may have something in the freezer for that eye," Ryder said, heading for the kitchen door.

As his two friends disappeared into the kitchen, Bucky's shoulders slumped, and he gave a sigh as he followed, mumbling, "I am so screwed."