Since he had been asleep, and one of the last ones coming from the train, he didn't have the pleasure of hearing much from the people guiding them. He was glad Pierre decided to wake him up after they had stepped off the train, he had lost sight of Pierre when William had been pushed along a group of new soldiers. As he stuck to the group, noticing their curious gazes and wide smiles, he was shocked by the serenade that some uniformed soldiers hollered at them, you will be sorry! Even though there were humor and mockery in their tone, he could say some of them were sympathetic.

And that shocked him.

He watched as the guys from the train hollered and patted the shoulders of their friends, ready for the adventures to come. Oh how William craved for a friend at that moment.

"Come on ladies, move it move it move it!" a tall man with baritone voice ordered them. Will crouched down slightly, hiding himself in the group of flowing soldiers as they filled the barricade.

Still wearing the old suit and gripping his cheap suitcase, there was a bowl of broth thrust into his hands. Before he could even say thank you, the person behind him had nudged him forwards, forcing him to move if he didn't want to fall face flat on the floor and get a broth stain on the ugly suit. He was squeezed between two men, one who was inhaling the food with a speed that made William just stare and the other man was giving his bowl suspicious looks.

He had never had many problems with crowds, but this one made his hands clammy and his heart was doing some extra work for sure. His breathing was faster than it usually was, but he forced himself to look forwards and eat the broth.

He didn't even felt its taste, that's how hard he was trying to focus. The hesitant man on his left glanced at the way William ate, blinking slowly as he realized the food was almost gone. As the burly man on Williams right stood up, towering over half of those in the room, William followed in pursuit, gripping the suitcase as he made sure to stay close enough to the man but not too close for them to collide.

"Get in the line!" the voice was the same, baritone one from the outside, making William rigid with fear. There was someone else, standing right in front of the group. This man had more metals and William realized fast that this was a Lieutenant. Someone cut the line right next to William, making him the last in line while the others were instructed to somewhere else.

As William stood, still as stone he tried to read the expression on his face. The man was looking at the other side of the group intensely, making Wills blue eyes flicker there for a second, he leaned out of the line a little, trying to see what was really agitating the man in uniform. A group was chatting with each other loudly, making hand gestures and simply brushing the Lieutenants glare off. If he could, he'd go there himself and knock some sense into those guys, William thought.

As his eyes flickered back to the Lieutenant, he noticed him now glaring at the boy, making the blond step back in line immediately. So much of getting on his good side.

"Attention!" the Lieutenant barked, immediately silencing the chatting idiots. The man had slightly curled hair and blue eyes that seemed to have an ability to look through any facade. "From now on.." the man started, clasping his hands behind his back as his serious tone washed over the obnoxious group "... Whenever you stand in line, you will not speak, move, question or even breathe when stated otherwise." the Lieutenant said.

"Place your suitcase before you, you have two minutes, starting from now, to choose only minor objects you carry with you everywhere you go." his eyes were filled with judgment as he watched some of the young men unable to decide if they should take the tobacco pipes or a bowtie. Since Will didn't even have much of anything, he was one of the firsts to place his things next to the worn-out suitcase. The wallet that held all of the money he owned and a picture of his family, it was upside down because he didn't want anyone else seeing it. And of course, the chain with the key to his home. There was no way he'd leave that behind.

He stood rigid, keeping a curious eye on the Lieutenant. “Time's up.” the man nodded towards two soldiers who had been standing on both sides. They started taking away the luggage, William watched curiously as the cheap and expensive clothes and other belongings were tossed in a pile. “Strip down, all your clothes will be confiscated and sent back to the address you've given, if there is no location, your belongings will be burned.” while Lieutenant was explaining the usual thrill, William watched how the two soldiers kept dropping piles of clothes in front of everyone and a buckets that had something in them. After a beat of silence and the awkward atmosphere, the Lieutenant sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. “We don't have all day.” William looked at how everyone started removing their clothes, hesitantly at first. He caught the Lieutenants judging, light eyes. He cast his eyes down and started removing his suit, keeping eyes only on the dark green clothes on the floor next to the minor things he was allowed to keep. He bit his cheek when he pulled his socks off, the ground beneath his feet was ice cold. He pulled off his shirt, trying to burn the feeling of the thin, pale shirt into his mind. He placed the clothes in front of himself, noting that his pile was the messiest.

Oh well.

When he looked up, he could see the narrowed eyes of Lieutenant looking at the piles of clothes just tossed on the floor. To be honest, the cold that tickled his stomach and the dying adrenaline was starting to make him woozy. He just wanted to lie down and take a nap, even though he had slept on the train.

The shuffling of clothes died down and William was definitely not the only one who had sucked in his stomach due to the cold.

And there he stood, naked in line with twenty other men. That wasn't really what he was thinking about when he was writing the false enlistment form. “You will forget everything you've heard about soldiers, war and training. This here is the other side, the part where your life back in a warm bed and home-cooked meals ends. You're soldiers now, you're expected to act like one.” the man said, his face hard as he looked over the men before him.

“Put your clothes on, Warrant Officer Adamson will take it from here.” Will didn't have to be told twice, whoever was responsible for keeping the rooms warm really needed to be fired or taught his job, Will thought bitterly. He sighed quietly, feeling the warm army socks hug his cold toes and ankles as he pulled the dark green pants on.

The clothing itself was a bit rough but it just needed time to get used to. He was surprised when Warrant Officer Adamson started throwing spit at them as soon as the Lieutenant disappeared. Gobsmacked and almost ready to wet his new clothes, William kept biting the inside of his cheek the whole time.

After they had been given their dog tags, Warrant Officer Adamson had gone over the rules and what was expected of them and their behavior.

As William could feel the dog tags, now resting against his chest, he realized that the little piece of metal seemed to burn his skin and weight a ton around his neck. He never knew there had to be two tags. As came out, if he was to die, one of them would be placed over his toe so whoever looks at it knows his army number and name. It was a bit chilling though, to know he was wearing a number around his neck. In all honesty, he was a bit ashamed because there was a constant feeling of drowning in his throat, and it was his first day in the training camp. The army didn't need names, they needed numbered soldiers.

After the lecture, Warrant Officer Adamson dismissed the group, telling them their room number and curfew. As others started hurriedly leaving the room, still shocked by the way everyone got yelled at, William stayed on his spot for a second, trying to comprehend everything.

He picked up the bucket with essentials, placing his belongings in there as well. He left the chilly room, hugging the bucket against his chest, his knuckles white with the force he was gripping it with.

Hesitantly, he had walked the empty halls, trying not to be in anyone's way for the first time in his life. The soldiers were awfully intimidating and he secretly wished Bucky would be there.

He knew he wasn't, but he just felt like Bucky would be a solid mass of muscle to hide behind. Not that William was afraid or anything! Not at all, he was just...shy. Yes, that's right, he was just shy.

The door was closed, but the dark numbers on it were making him gulp nervously.

He stumbled aside, almost stepping on someone's feet who had awful lot metals on him. The man barely gave him a glance and kept walking down the hall with other comrades.

William decided that entering the room F15 was probably a better idea than being on a way of a Captain. He carefully opened the door, immediately being met with the obnoxious talking and roaring laughter, he could almost feel the testosterone in the air.

He closed the door behind himself awkwardly and for the first time in his life, William was the weird, shy guy in the corner. He noticed one last, free punk and decided it was better to at least unpack his things rather than just stare at the room filled with guys who were much older than him.

As he hurried towards the punk, he could feel some confused gazes staring at him, someone laughed mockingly and he tried to convince himself that it wasn't him they were laughing over.

"I thought all the farm kids were supposed to be left behind, muck the cows shite and milk the goats," someone chuckled, making William grip the bucket harder, he was sweating like an animal. He hadn't thought much about being piled in one room with arrogant guys, he usually didn't need to think about being an outcast, that was usually Steve's forte. William was the one who got along well with people, most of the time that is. But he was really not himself that day, still trying to take everything in was bound to make him a bit sluggish and seemingly stupid.

He threw his belongings on the bed, avoiding eye contact. He got the lower punk, as he peeked up at the skinny boy who was already laying on the upper bed, William offered him a smile. "Hello," he said, trying not to be rude, there was absolutely no way he wanted enemies in a place like that.

The boy with ink-black hair and thick, round glasses scanned the fading bruises on Williams' face, he nodded in greeting and turned away. He gave clear signals of not wanting anything to do with Will.

The blond frowned, turning around to greet the two who were on next punk. One was an older looking gentleman with neatly combed hair and the other one seemed to be around Bucky's age, they both turned away, ignoring Williams nervous attempts of greeting his punk mates.

The snickering around the room made his cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

He was truly starting to regret his decision.

***

Reminder: it isn't accurate, despite having 3/5 of my family in the army, I'm not, so I hardly know anything about that. Also, let's keep it in mind that it's just a fiction and a parallel universe we are dealing with.

I'm sorry to those who are bitter about me getting all of it wrong. If we can put it aside, I hope you enjoyed it :)