Out of Time (Book 1)

Dancin' and Distractions

After a few more minutes of small talk, Reggie, one of their acquaintances, came up and asked Dot if she'd like to dance, to which she happily agreed. It was no secret that Dot had been crushing on the guy for months.

"I guess I'm gonna throw caution to the wind and ask if you'd like to dance too." Daniel said to Betty. "Unless you've a guy in your life?"

Betty's eyes slid over to Bucky, catching the moment that a cackling redhead laid her hand on his arm as he smirked at her, obviously entertaining her with some of the usual flirty Barnes' lines.

"No, there's no guy," she said determinedly, "and I'd love to dance, thanks." 

They both stood and Daniel took her hand gently in his, leading her out onto the dancefloor. They swung around to the upbeat melody of the band and, as the song finished and the next one started, he kept her dancing. She was enjoying herself for the first time in what felt like ages.

Except she wasn't, not really. 

 She kept looking over at Bucky, remembering the way they could dance together, like they could read each other's mind, and every time he caught her eye dancing with Daniel his brow would tighten, deepening his glare.

After Betty and Daniel had danced their fourth song in a row, a slow swing beat, they left the dancefloor, with Daniel indicating that he was going to get a drink. Before Betty could take her seat, she felt a hand on her elbow.

"What are you doin', Doll?" Bucky's voice sounded rough in her ear.

"Dancin' Buck, what does it look like?" she shrugged

"Who's this guy then?" His tone was almost accusatory and it made Betty's anger rise.

"What's it to you?" she said, trying to stay calm.

"I just don't like it. Somethin' seems off about him."

"Why, because he's buyin' me a drink and makin' me smile? You've not even spoken to the guy." She started to pull her elbow away, but he held on.

"Betty, please, I wanna..." he started, his face softening.

"Is everythin' alright Betty?" said Daniel as he arrived holding their drinks. He looked suspiciously at Bucky's hand grasping her arm, and then back up at Bucky and his expression hardened. "This guy botherin' you?"

"This guy? Listen pal..." Bucky started, drawing himself up to his full height, turning to Daniel and fixing him with a cold stare. 

Daniel didn't back down, standing square on to Bucky. They were almost the same height and he met Bucky's gaze confidently. Bucky took half a step forward but stopped the instant he felt Betty's light touch on his chest.

"Stop it Buck. Just go back to Little Red over there and leave us to enjoy our drinks."

"Doll, I'm not with..."

"Save it Buck, no explanation needed." Betty pulled away from him and sat down, folding her arms across her chest.

Daniel placed her drink down in front of her and she lifted it, taking a long sip, giving Bucky a pointed look. Daniel stayed standing until Bucky turned on his heel, and then sat next to her, taking a sip of his own drink.

"Hmm" he pondered. "No guy, huh?"

Betty stayed silent and glared at Bucky as he stalked across the dancehall, grabbed his jacket from the back of his seat and left, without even saying goodbye to his friends.

"Nope, no guy," she muttered distractedly.

"He sure seemed to think somethin' different."

"Don't be ridiculous, he's my brother's best friend. He's just a little overprotective." She rolled her eyes as if she was bored of the situation, but her mind was whirling.