"Okay, where the hell is Rogers?" Mr Donovan groans, his hands running wildly through his hair, stress seeping into his voice. His schedule is his number one priority. "He didn't finish his painting and no one can paint like him! For God's sake, this play is gonna go down before it even starts."

"Mr Donovan, Steve is sick." Bucky explains, sitting in the corner where he's practicing his lines with the guy who plays the white rabbit. "He'll probably return in two days."

"Fine, whatever." Mr Donovan rolls his eyes and goes back to his work as a director. "I want Alice and the white rabbit on stage! And don't you dare forget your scripts!"

Concern settles down in my stomach when I hear about Steve's condition. I really hope it's not as bad as a fever and that it's just a cough. Does his mom take care of him? She seemed to be a busy woman and I'm not sure if she has the time for that. I'd ask Bucky about that if there wasn't the problem that Ruth caused. I really wish I wouldn't believe her but somehow her words make sense and have been sticking in my mind since then, making me avoid Bucky as much as possible. The anxiety and insecurity has been looting my energy and sleep, keeping me awake longer than I want; The period of insomnia is dreadful.

"So are you gonna continue ignoring me?" I almost flinch when Bucky suddenly appears next to me, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm not ignoring you." I deny my behavior, trying to shorten this conversation. "And isn't it your turn after this scene? You should be prepared or Mr Donovan will- "

"Okay, Eve, stop acting like this." He interrupts me impatiently and stares at me hauntingly, searching for an answer. "You've been lying and avoiding me for two days now. What happened? Did I do something wrong? Just tell me or I'll go insane eventually."

Do you just pity me?, is what I want to ask but I don't dare to. Not only because I'm afraid of the answer, also because I would admit my weakness, how insecure I am. And I really don't have enough courage for that. Instead, I just shrug. "Nothing."

"It can't be nothing!" He gets louder, frustration evident in his voice. "Look, whatever is bothering you, just tell me. I promise that I won't judge you, okay? Just tell me."

His last words weaken me, almost convince me to tell him the truth. But the small feeling of disquiet still creeps and clings to my heart, torturing me with my chaotic inner dilemma. My lips slightly open and want to let everything out, in hope to appease the anxiety. The only thing that stops me is Ruth who has finished her scene and has come down to grab Bucky's arm.

"Bucky, it's our turn now!" She smiles enthusiastically and tries dragging him to the stage. "Come on!"

"Could you please give me a second?" He adds a sigh to his constrained voice. "I need to talk to Eve, it's really important, even essential. Just give me five minutes."

"No, you should just go." I nod, forcing a smile. "Otherwise you'll get into trouble."

"Not till this is sorted out." He insists, then he looks at Ruth. "Just tell Mr Donovan that I'll be ready in a few. You can practice the scene with the King and Queen of Hearts meanwhile."

"God, it's just Eve!" Ruth is at the end of her tether; Her doll face turns into an impatient and annoyed expression. "It's not like she can be that important!"

Bucky pauses and knits his brows. A cold silence freezes the air. "What do you mean with tha- "

"Alice! The Hatter! On the stage, now!" Mr Donovan barks aggressively, there's not even a hint of patience in his voice. "Don't make me walk toward you and force you!"

"I told you it's our turn now." Ruth groans, leaving his question unanswered and dragging him to the stage before anyone can say anything. I am not quite sure how to interpret Bucky's look before he's left, it almost seems like he's outraged. Shaking my head, I get rid of the thought and go back to my work.

Just thirty minutes, then I am free.

***

Avoiding Bucky is much more difficult than I expected. Not only because he keeps trying to talk to me, also because he is as eye-catching as a puppy that wears the colors of a rainbow. Bucky is suddenly everywhere where I go, surrounded by people like a celebrity. No miracle that we weren't friends before. We live in different worlds.

"Have you talked to Bucky?" Ruth rushes backstage, interrupting my attempts at arranging the costumes of the characters. Her face almost tells me that she's about to panic and I just mentally groan. Can't I get my privacy?

"No, I haven't since I've been avoiding him and since you keep dragging him away anyway."

"Good." She breathes a sigh of relief. "He shouldn't have a bad image of me although I was just telling you the truth. I should've known that you're not a tattletale anyway."

"Okay, listen, Ruth." I take a deep breath, attempting not to sound too annoyed by her attitude. "I avoided him which was probably your aim, and I also didn't tell him about that, because I don't wanna bother him with this. So, why can't you just leave me alone? It's not like I'm a threat to you."

She scoffs and rolls with her eyes, clearly finding my request ridiculous. There is a small fire in her look, almost threatening. "And he still wants to talk to you, because you're a damn charity case. God, it's just like Steve."

"What did you just say?" I narrow my eyes when she refers to Steve in a way like that, practically insulting him. My voice sharpens as I clench my fists, a sudden rage arises.

"You know what Steve looks like." Ruth tilts her head as if it is obvious while she crosses her arms over her chest and leans against the wall. "He's weak and skinnier than most girls, it's a miracle that he has any friends. Besides that, he's weirdly quiet and seems to be depressed or something."

"Shut up." I splutter, clenching my teeth and putting the costume in my hand away. Although I'm not the kind of person that insults people, it makes me just so angry how she talks about Steve. Ruth makes him sound like a problem.

"Oh, come on, don't pretend to care about him. You can be honest now, there's no Bucky here for you to impress. We both know what kind of boy Steve is. The kind that just causes problems and needs help. Sort of like you, just worse."

"I said, shut up!" I repeat louder and glare at her. My feet lead me toward her, stopping dangerously close in front of her to make my statement clear. "I don't care how you talk about me but don't you dare to talk about Steve like that! You have no idea how strong he is, much stronger than everyone here!"

"God, Eve, calm down. It sounds desperate how you try protect him." She just glares back, not caring about my rage. "Look at you, pretending to be a saint. But you're just a hypocrite. You're like Steve, acting like the biggest victim, so you two can get attention from people like Bucky. But guess what, no one will ever care about pathetic humans like you and Steve."

"Leave Steve out of this!" I hiss at her, the urge to punch Ruth is really strong right now. It drives me angry that she's insulting Steve and I have to think of the moments where he's been nice and understanding to me, so kind and caring. I need to defend my best friend. He would've done that for me too. "You don't know anything about him, you don't have the damn right to judge him! He's a better human than you will ever be, so stop offending him."

"Now you're acting ridiculous!" Ruth leaves the wall and stands straight, strengthening herself. "As if he was something better!"

"Well," I calm myself down. If I keep reacting aggressively, it won't make me a better person. Instead, I'm just going to be equalized. "He is something better. Even if he was dead, you'd still be the worse person."

Her eyes widen as her shoulders tremble in anger and she walks at a furious rate toward me, her hand shoves me against the wall and I clench my teeth to avoid any signs of pain. "Shut the hell up! You know nothing, you're just a stupid nothing!"

"Enough!" A voice stops us from making this discussion any worse and I gaze in shock at the intruder. Ruth backs off, shock is mirrored on her face.

"Bucky, it's not what it looks like- "

"Don't even talk to me, Ruth!" He interrupts her with a glare. "You insulted my best friend, caused a conflict and drama and the worst is that you threatened Eve! Just leave, you disgust me. Don't you dare to bother me or my friends ever again!"

"No, Bucky!" Ruth whines, shaking her head. "It's really not what it looks like, E-Eve provoked me and- "

"Just stop talking!" He groans, then he grabs my arm and pulls me away. Mixed feelings overwhelm me as I stare at his hand around my wrist, holding it tightly. My feet drag a bit behind, I try to adjust to his fast speed and he leads me outside where it's empty and silent. Bucky finally stops and ends up looking at me, expecting an explanation.

"How did you know what was going on?" I first question slightly speechless. "How could you know that I didn't do anything bad?"

"What kind of question is that?" He almost scoffs in disbelief. "It's because I trust you. Even if you did something bad, I'd have been on your side. Now tell me, what she's done. Is she bullying you?"

His words remain heavy on my heart and I swallow, still processing everything. I'm afraid that he'll pity me, I'm afraid of the answer to that. But I take a deep breath and gather what's left of my courage. "She told me that Steve is a nothing, just as much as me. That I don't have a place in this world and that you're just friends with me because you pity me."

"And that's why, you've been avoiding me? Just because of that?" He asks carefully, a hint of pain in his blue eyes.

"It's more than just that, Bucky." I mutter insecurely. "You're... you. Popular and loved by everyone. And I'm quite the opposite. So just answer the question honestly, do you pity me?"

"What do you think of Steve?" Bucky suddenly responds which confuses me and makes me frown.

"He's kind and caring and his shy nature is funny in a good and cute way."

"That's why, I'm friends with you. Not because I pity you or something, because you see the good in people. You saw that Steve didn't deserve to get beaten and immediately helped him. Do you know how brave that makes you? All the girls that I've dated disliked Steve but you even like and defend him as a friend. So no, I'm not friends with you because I pity you. I'm friends with you because I admire you."

"Bucky..." He literally makes me speechless. While my mind tries to search for the right words, my heart tries not to destroy my rib cage with its rapid beating. "I'm so sorry for the trouble I caused, and for avoiding you, and for being so damn insecure."

"No, Eve, none of this is your fault." He talks to me softly, holding my hand tightly. A small smile appears on his lips. "I'm just glad that this is sorted out now. Just tell me when someone bothers you the next time, okay?"

I glance at his hand that is holding mine, safely and protectively. It's a warm feeling and makes it more difficult to breathe, all I hear is how loud my heart is actually pounding and how the blood rushes into my ears. Bucky notices my look and pulls his hand quickly back, his facial expression is suddenly nervous and slightly red.

"Wanna visit Steve?" He changes the topic awkwardly, forcing a smile. The tad bit of red is still on his cheeks.

"Yes!" I quickly agree, avoiding the awkward silence. The moment that was between us was... intense. "How is he? Is it because of his asthma?"

"Actually, he's not sick. He got beat up again and didn't want to go to school with a sprained arm."

"What?!" My eyes widen in shock and I get concerned. "How often does that happen?"

"If you would just know." He sighs and shrugs as he motions me to start walking with him to Steve's home. I just follow him and am relieved that the discomfort is gone. Everything's what it used to be again. Well, if I don't include the weird feelings that he caused while holding my hand. God, what is wrong with me?

A/N- I hope this chapter doesn't suck too much, I'm not really content with it. But thank you so much for over 100 reads! You are amazing!