AN: So this plot bunny was born as I was watching Remember the Titans and working on some of my other Avenger fics. It wanted to be written. So bad I couldn't do anything else for the past two days.

It also has a special dedication to my three brothers, all of which have played football, and two of which still are. Thor, Hulk and Iron Man, I love you all to bits.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Litterally. the TV isn't even mine.

Steve parked his motorcycle, and slung his gym bag over his shoulder. The fresh air was cooler than it had been in a long time, annoucing the end of summer and the start of his favorite season of the year.

Football season.

He was early, but that didn't faze him. He liked being early. It gave him time to compose himself, prepare for the team, bring his own morale up so he could help the others. As captain and quarterback, it was his job. He liked the complete silence in the stadium and changerooms when he first arrived, it was something special.

He walked in slowly and started to change into his pads. It was the other reason he got there early. In freshman year, testosterone had finally kicked in and training had become a bit of an obession, leading him to bulk out in a serious way, on top of growing almost ten inches in one summer. But before that, he had been skinny and extremely shy. Gym had been the bane of his existance, because more often than not he got teased for his tiny physique and his ass kicked by those that had already started to grow facial hair.

It was not the case anymore, but Steve still felt ever so slightly self concious. If he could avoid changing in front of people, he did. Even if he towered at just over six foot three, many of the cheerleaders had swoon as he smiled politely at them, he was still aware that under the relatively new muscle and uniform, he was still the skinny kid that got asthma attacks if he ran for more than a hundred yards.

Bruce was the second to arrive, just minutes after Steve. It had been a huge debate last year if Bruce was actually part of the team or not. Steve insisted he was, and defended his friend rather ferociously. Bruce Banner was relatively small, with a mop of brown hair and spectacles whenever he was reading something, which was most of the time. But his skill at plotting plays was undeniably part of the success of the team.

Two years ago, Bruce had gone to see his friends at their first game of the season. His mind had not been able to sleep for two days as he covered several notebooks in play ideas, using the talents of the players rather than whatever was the fashion to pull them off. He had proposed them to Tony, his best friend, one evening and the last had taken it straight to the coach. Fury was reluctant at first, but eventually decided to practice and try a few of the plays.

They won their next three consecutive games. And Bruce had come to every practice since, a tablet in his hand as his fingers whized over it, spotting weaknesses in the other team and plotting their next move. He was a large part of what had won them a state championship in sophomore year. Since then, his position on the team grew to include trainer, medic and waterboy positions, all of which he preformed with admirable enthusiam. This year, Fury had decided on a new title for him that encompassed all his jobs; assistant coach. He was the only student coach in the entire league. Even with no athletic ability whatsoever, he had forged himself a place on the team.

"Hey Steve! Good summer?" Bruce said as he spotted Steve in the changeroom.

"So far. You?" Steve answered with a smile.

"Alright."

There was a loud crash then, followed by several voices yelling loudly, and Steve couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his lips. Thor and Volstagg did not know how to make a discrete entrance. Thor was the biggest guy on the team, playing line backer, and once or twice, offensive line. Even Steve had to look up at him, but the giant was one of the nicest guys he had ever met. Transferred in from some school in Sweden, he was very friendly, if occasionally boisterous and bold.

Volstagg was also loud. His red hair and scraggly beard (he was one of the only ones on the team that could grow one, and was extremely proud of it), made him look scary, but again, he was more boisterous than bullying. He played both offensive and defensive line, though it was clear he prefered offensive. He claimed it involved less running around.

The two loud teamates were followed by a laughing Fandral. Blond with brilliant eyes, he was a complete playboy, second only to Tony Stark. He played receiver, and he used his touchdowns to woo the girls of the school. Still, Steve respected his skill and appreciated that he always had a smile on his face.

Hokun followed his boisterous friends, a small smile playing on his lips. The boy hardly ever spoke, but he was like a ninja on the field. He played receiver too, opposite Fandral, but his style was completely different. He could beat the defense while Fandral had them distracted, leaving the field open in front for the run. As soon as the opposing team figured the strategy and started covering him harder, he could weave his way out right under their noses.

Each of the guys greeted Steve, before starting to get into their own pads as well, laughing the whole time. Steve quickly learnt that Thor had met a girl, a physics nerd named Jane and the others were teasing him relentlessly about it. Steve hoped she wouldn't become a distraction.

Sif was the next to arrive. She was the only girl on the team, and she had fought to be there hard. Steve had learnt very early on not to cross her, because she was completely unafraid of kicking his ass into next week. During the off season, she had joined the wrestling team, and won another state championship on her own. Most of the teams had laughed at them for having a girl on the team, but their smiles were gone as soon as she sacked their quarterback a couple times. As safety, she was an excellent judge of the play, and if the oppertunity came to cut the head off early, she took it. She had a nack for spotting the nervous ones, and had actually made one of them cry once.

She was already dressed, her hair in a ponytail, poking her head in looking for Bruce.

"He's somewhere on the field already." Steve said, giving her a polite smile.

The rest of the team was slowly filtering in, with Clint Barton arriving near the end. He was the other good friend of Steve's and on the field they made a hell of a team. Clint played running back, and even if he was quite a bit smaller than most, he was fast and strong, as well as having the reflexes of a housefly. At five foot ten, he was one of the shortest guys on the team, but Steve would always remember the time he had put Thor on his ass during faceoff drills. The advantage to being short, he said, was that he could hit lower, throwing off his opponents center of gravity. Clint knew that he didn't get any points for size, so instead he focused on strength, speed and raw skill, all of which he had.

Steve was just about to head onto the field when Tony Stark strolled in, late as usual. Steve's least favorite person on the team. Tony's arrogance knew no bounds, and the only thing that kept him on the team, other than his money, was the fact that he obeyed every order Steve gave when they were on the field. Off the field was another story entirely. Tony played kicker, meaning he spent most of his time off the field anyway, which suited Steve just fine.

"Alright! Out on the field, lets go!" Steve shouted, leading the way into the sunshine.

"One sec! I've got presents!" Tony yelled over the noise and everyone turned to him. Steve stiffled a groan. If Tony had brought a bottle of whiskey again, he didn't care, he'd get him kicked off the team faster than you could say drunk.

But he was opening a large box Steve had not noticed in the corner.

"After our last game, I decided we need a new name." Steve sighed. This was so STARK. "We need to get back at the Warriors for their win. We are the best team in the state and we know it!" Several players, including Thor, Volstagg and Barton gave cheers. "So gentlemen, Sif, I present to you, the Shield High Avengers!" He proclaimed proudly, holding up a bright white jersey with an A printed on the front. "And as a bonus, because no other team is like ours." He turned the jersey around, revealing the stamping across the top. "They're personalized!" Steve could not help but smile as he saw that Stark held up his jersey, with RODGERS in bold letters across the top, over his number 5. He thought he would have to wait till college ball, and only if he got into a good one to get a jersey like that.

Not with Tony Stark he guessed.

The entire team was cheering, pulling off their old, Renegades jerseys and pulling on the new Avengers ones.

Steve was the only one who noticed Tony look a little sad as the boxes were torn open and the team walked out onto the field for the first day of camp.

Clint was exhausted. His muscles hurt everywhere and all he wanted was to take a hot shower and lie in bed until the first day of school.

Camp had been five long days two practices a day, but even he could say that they were successful ones. The team was filled with an energy that he would not have predicted, and a determination that was like a virus, infecting everyone. After their last game, a horrible defeat at the hands of their nemisis team, he had not thought they could bounce back. But then again, Tony Stark was a pretty smart man, and Bruce had spent more time with the game footage than anyone over the summer. Steve was exhuding confidence and Thor was just plain happy to be playing again. It was hard not to get pumped in that kind of atmosphere.

Their overconfidence had been their weakness, he knew that. He had known that then, but had ignored it and it had bitten them in the ass. They had been sure they were going to win, so much so that by the time the third quarter rolled around and they were still down 18 to zero, it had taken all the wind out of their sails. The defeat had been hard and humiliating for a team that had been undefeated all year.

This year, he'd be the voice of reason, he decided as he drove home in his old pickup truck. He'd help keep the team focused.

And maybe get the guts to finally admit he was into a certain Redhead.

Natasha had come to their school in sophomore year. From Russia apparently. No one had trusted her and for her first week at school, she hadn't talked to anyone. There was something incredibly dangerous about her. Like she could kill you with a glare. Clint had taken his courage with both hands, and struck up a friendly conversation with her in chemestry. She hadn't trusted him, it was clear, but she had responded. He kept talking to her, being friendly, working over the chemestry problems in the back of class. It was clear she did not need any help in the subject, but he definitely did, so it had been a win win. He had invited her over to his house to study for finals, and he started to think she might actually want to be friends. Over the summer, they had hung out a lot. He got the feeling she didn't like being inside, so they had gone out. Rollerblading, paintballing, swimming, and camping, they had done it all. One over-night trip, she had finally opened up a little.

She told him about how her parents had died in a fire back in Russia. Her only living relative was an uncle whom she had never met before, living here in America, so she had been packed off and sent to live with him. He was drunk most of the time, and hated being burdened with a sixteen year old, so she kept to herself as much as she could.

He in turn told her about Barney, his best kept secret. Years back, Barney had been an idol for Clint. He had looked up to his brother, having lost their parents when they were young. Barney had been popular, smart and successful. Until he had gotten into a car drunk after a party, and run over two teens. As if that was not bad enough, the girl he had taken to the party filed a date rape charge against him.

Clint's world had crumbled as his eighteen year old brother was shipped off to jail. Now living with foster parents of his own, he had thrown himself into archery and football, working his body so hard it would shut up his mind. He had grown to like football, though not as much as he loved archery. His arms were lean and hard, and he had gotten quite a few looks from girls in school.

He and Natasha had grown quite close since then. When she couldn't stand it at her uncle's she came to Clint's house, more often than not sneaking up through the window. She helped him with his homework, since he was not exactly the studious type and she just seemed to get it all naturally. They would talk until they slept. She would fall asleep in his bed and more than once he had to force his teenage brain to ignore her. Once or twice, in their sleep, she would curl up against him, and he would sell his soul before saying to anyone that those moments were the highlight of his entire junior year. His foster parents were not the most horrible of people, but he never shared with them the fact that a girl spent up to five nights a week sleeping in his room. She always snuck out the window as soon as she woke up anyway.

As soon as Clint got home, he gave a quick hello to his foster dad, who was watching a basketball game with a beer in his hand. Judging by the smell, he was already in the double digits. His foster mom wasn't home yet, so he padded upstairs and took a long shower, letting the hot water undo all the tension in his muscles. He knew he would be sore for the next two days, but he had also promised Natasha to meet out in the woods behind the rec center to shoot cans off the fence. His old BB gun, a relic from his dad was one of the few things Clint carted with him through the many moves he had done.

Wrapping a towel around himself, he headed to his room, leaving his smelly clothes in the hamper. He was about to pull on a pair of boxers when he heard a voice behind him, causing him to jump about six feet into the air and nearly drop the towel he had clutched at his waist.

"Hey, Barton. How was camp?" Natasha was sprawled out on his bed, smiling at him impishly.

"For the love of God, Natasha. I'm naked!"

"No you are wearing a towel" she volleyed back. It was one of the things he liked about her. Except right now, he kinda wished she didn't want to make fun of him, or poke him. He was exhausted and not even dressed.

"Do you mind?" he said pointedly.

"Not at all." She answered still grinning. He waited, but she didn't turn away. "Fine." she said after a minute, spinning to face the headboard. He suddenly wondered if she wanted to see him naked. His brain took that and ran with it, forcing other currently unwelcome thoughts as he pulled on a pair of boxers and some pyjama pants, not bothering with a shirt, as it was still warm. Taking a deep breath, he tried to force his body to calm down. He did NOT want to get into bed with Natasha with a semi.

"Thank you." he muttered as he threw himself on the bed next to her. The first time she had seen him without a shirt had been when they had gone swimming for the day at the lake. The whole team had been invited, and to spare himself humiliation, he had taken his shirt off too, revealing a number of scars across his chest and back. Natasha had been more than nice, and no one had mentioned them. He appreciated it, both from his team and from her.

Later that night, she had snuck up into his room, and waited until he told her. He knew she wanted to know, but he also realised that her not asking had been a sign for him to take the time he needed to tell her. As a child, he and his brother had gone through a number of foster homes, several of which had been less than friendly. The scars were from a combination of one bad foster dad who liked to whip kids, several other foster kids who took out their own frustrations on a then five year old Clint, and his own attempts to try and gain some ground to stand on, usually ending up with him on the ground bleeding. She had listened, and not said a word after, just letting him fall asleep. It was just one of the other ways Natasha knew him.

"So? How was camp?" Natasha asked again. He groaned.

"Nat, I'm exhausted. Camp was good. Can I sleep now? Till Monday? Actually make that Tuesday."

"You're a whiner sometimes, you know. Budge up." she said shoving him so she could lay down next to him. He rolled over to look at the ceiling.

"Why haven't you tried out for the team yet?"

"I don't want to be the only girl."

"You wouldn't be. Sif is on the team too. We could use someone as fast as you. Plus, all the other teams would be totally distracted by you." She gave him a dry chuckle. It was a widely known fact that Natasha was the sexiest girl in school, despite the fact that not one person had dated her.

"No thanks. Not interested."

"Alright. I still think you should. I bet Steve would let you on in a second. Especially after gym class last year." Natasha had beaten most of the school records for track in gym class the year before. On a bet, she had sprinted two hundred meters beating Clint, Hokun and Fandral all in one, making her not only the fastest girl, but also the fastest person in the whole school. She had taken several different forms of martial arts, and could throw even Thor to the ground quite easily. She was a tough one.

"Again, no thanks."

His eyes were already closing, unable to stay open now that he was lying down and comfortable. He was secretly glad Natasha was here. He always slept better when she was.

Tony stared at the boards in front of him. He was vaguely aware that it was nearly three in the morning, and he was expected to be at school in less than six hours, but he didn't care.

His summer had not been as awesome as he had let the others on the team think it was. He had not gone to Hawaii. He had not made out with sixteen different chicks. He had had the worse summers of his life.

After his father had died, a year ago, he had been put in charge of Stark Industries. This summer, he had had an epiphany upon seeing a small village wrecked by bombs. His bombs. Happy had tried to push him away, avoid him seeing the destruction, bring his attention back to the clients, hie eyes had stuck on the three year old sobbing on the rubble. The second he had gotten on the jet, he had decided it was time to change. He had spent the entire summer shutting down each and every weapons manufacture he owned, shifting into power, into anything else.

The only pleasent thing about his summer had been Pepper. Student body president, smart beautiful Pepper, had been hired at Stark Industries as a summer internship in a secretorial position. As soon as he had set his mind on the new direction, most of his staff had revolted, tried to convince him otherwise, tell him he was insane. She had spoken up, congratulated him and stood by him the entire time.

He had always noticed Pepper. It was hard not to, seeing as she was the only girl he had ever met who did not throw herself at him. And he knew she wasn't gay, she had dated Fandral for a couple of weeks in their sophomore year, dumping his ass when he tried to go too fast. She was nice to everyone, smart as hell and always in control. Better than that, she supported him. Even if he was an ass, if he was arrogant, she was nice. He couldn't shake feelings for her.

But Pepper was not the reason he was still up. No, his newest plan was.

Power was a field he had thrown himself in. He might still be in highschool, but that was by choice. He had built computers, robots, weapons. Now he was working on a new project. Creating clean energy, something that could keep his company afloat and shut his stockholders up. The reactor on the board was glaring at him, and he was trying to reconcile the formula to make it work.

He would succeed. He would create this reactor, win the state championship, and get Pepper to agree to a date.

Tony was great at multi-tasking. This year was going to be his ultimate test. And he was determined to meet it head on.

The first day of school was always Bruce's favorite day of the year. Better than Christmas, Halloween, Easter, hell even his birthday. Yeah, he was a nerd alright.

In his backpack were fresh notebooks, pens and a few erasers, all ready to be filled with ideas, formulas, calculations... and his mind was full of the things to write. He just needed to sort them out. Upon arriving in the school, an arm wrapped hard around his shoulders.

"Brucey my man!" Tony yelled out. He always knew how to make an entrance. Tony was probably the least likely person to be friends with Bruce. He was popular, rich, and a real hit with the girls. In fact, if it wasn't for the friendly competition they had as they wrecked the curve in the science classes, they would probably be worse enemies.

"I need your help. An idea... Something in my head I can't make sense of." Bless his ADD, Bruce thought fondly.

"What's got you stumped, Sherlock?"

"Do you think Pepper would date me if I got her a cake for her birthday?" he asked eagerly, his eyes on the strawberry blond head walking down the hall. Bruce groaned.

"I'm sure I wouldn't know. Ask Thor. He actually managed to get a girl this summer."

"I knew you would have the answer!" Tony screetched before running off, after the girl of his dreams. A slight smirk appeared on Bruce's face, wondering if Tony had heard even one word of what he had said.

After leaving his coat in his locker and walking to homeroom, he wondered if Pepper would agree to date Tony just to get him to stop pestering her. His eyes were on the not so fresh page of his notebook where he had already drawn a cellular diagram and a formula for a new, more nutritional way to feed his fish, when he looked up to see her.

The world stopped moving.

The world can't stop moving, his brain argued but suddenly he did not care. The girl at the front looking for a place to sit was by far the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her dark hair and eyes were made even more so by her porcelain skin, and dark glasses framed her face. She was holding several books clutched to her chest, and then, making a decision, sat down in the desk right in front of him.

Words had finally left him and his mind refused to think of anything more logical than the smell of rain that seemed to eminate from her. So much so that when his homeroom teacher called his name, he answered with a muttered "Rain", earning himself a full on, mark-you-for-the-rest-of-your-life embarasment moment as well as a curious look from her. He could feel his face blushing beet red under her gaze, and even as the rest of the class giggled and the teacher gave him a glare and a warning to pay attention, his world was centered on the warm brown eyes that were focused on his.

The bell sounded an hour later and she was gone before the world righted itself again. He felt very cold all of a sudden and was acutely aware he had not even heard one word of the math class that had just happened. He quickly jotted down the assignement on the board, sure he could get through it without too much trouble as it was the first assignement of the year.

He raced out into the hall to get to his next class. Tony was in it. He would understand wouldn't he?

Thor looked over the heads of everyone in the hallway. Now a senior and taller than everyone else, including the teachers had its advantages, he thought happily as the head of brown hair bobbed its way to him and he opened his arms for her.

Jane threw herself into them with a giggle and he gave her a quick peck on the cheek. She had said some thing about keeping the PDA down, which he had not completely understood, but was making an effort to do anyway.

"Hey! Wanna have lunch?"

"Certainly." He said with a smile, and she took his hand to lead him out into the sunshine. It was September and still nice out as they found a spot under a tree and he laid out his plaid shirt to sit on.

At then end of last year, worried about his abysmal science grade and his lack of interest in the matter, Thor's parents had signed him up for a summer astronomy class, in the hopes of getting him interested in something to bring his grade up. He was aware of two things before his departure. If he got through this thing with more than a fifty percent grade, he could stay on the football team. And he was away from his parent's nagging for the entire summer.

The first day he had been there had confirmed all his worst fears. The camp was filled with science geeks from all over the country, only interested in things that happened a zillion miles away. He had been partnered with Jane that first day and she had taken control of their projects with a smile on her face, as if she was glad to do the work on her own. Finally, one night obersvation two weeks into their eight week program, hiked out to the opposite end of camp, she had yelled at him for a solid half hour, asking him why the hell his lazy ass had come out to New Mexico if he wasn't interested in stars in the first place.

Thor had sat through it with guilt gnawing at him for the first time in his life. Finally out of breath and out of words, Jane had sat down and picked up her notebook crammed with more information he did not completely understand, he had apologized. Possibly for the first time in his life.

He told her about his parents, and his science grade that he was only really here because he was forced to. She had glared at him, and asked him to look up Jupiter through their telescope. After fiddling with the thing for nearly five minutes, she had taken pity on him, and shown him how to make the calculation and find the planet in question.

From then on, Jane had taken a more pleasent approach to him. She had made an effort to explain the things he did not understand and he made an effort to learn. He had not realised he cared for her. It had snuck up on him unexpectedly. He had tried to be noble and bury his feelings for her, but by the end of the summer, no one, not even him, the most stubborn person this side of Jupiter could deny he was in love with her.

Thankfully, she had fallen for his thick head too.

As they ate their lunch (he had managed to sneak half a dozen Poptarts into his lunch without his mother noticing), she was telling him about applying to college and an amazing astronomy oppertunity back in New Mexico. He loved to listen to her talk. She had so much energy and passion.

"I just really want to understand what the hell is out there... Where do you want to go to college?" she asked. He thought carefully about his answer.

"I'm not sure yet either. I know there will be recruiters from a few colleges looking at me, but I haven't thought about it past that."

"You can't depend on football Thor. Its just a game. If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?"

"Wherever you are." He said with a grin.

"That is so cheesy." She answered with a giggle, snuggling into his arms. It was true though. If Jane was near, he knew everything would be fine.

Natasha glared at the three sophomore boys in front of her staring at her, a small smirk appearing on her lips as they scarpered with small shrieks.

"You know, you will never get a date to homecoming if you act like you will bite any boy that gets near you." said a voice behind her. Pepper gave her a smile, and Natasha reciprocated. They were not best friends, but Natasha had a lot of respect for Pepper. She was the only other redhead in the school, not mention the only other girl who didn't let every guy walk all over them. They were strong women in a school full of little girls.

"I don't need a date to homecoming, if I'm not going." Natasha answered as Pepper linked arms with her and dragged her off.

"You can always ask Steve of Clint. As friends. Please, I've been working on this thing so hard. It would be a shame if I can't get my only friend to come."

"I'm not your only friend. The Student Body President has a lot of friends"

"Alright you are the only friend who doesn't try anything behind my back." Pepper said.

Natasha smirked. Pepper was her only female friend. Maybe she could make sense of the feelings that had been bubbling in her stomach everytime she had been around Clint lately. Ever since she had opened up to him about her life, or lack thereof, she had been forced to push down some warm sensation in the pit of her stomach. And last Friday, upon seeing him almost naked, the warm feeling had become nothing short of a burning sensation in her lower abdomen. Sure she had played it off like it was nothing. She was very skilled at hiding her feelings. The fact remained that Clint knew more about her than anyone in the whole state. And that fact alone made her nervous.

Maybe it was just him. He was one of the hottest guys in school, with the spiked out hair, and the sharp blue grey eyes that missed nothing. He was buff too, compared to some of the skinny nerds that ran around this place, and his lips were just pouty enough to be interesting. She knew she wasn't the only one who noticed, but she would swallow poison before admitting that she had. He was her friend.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Pepper asked as they walked to fifth period English.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Her friend suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders, and looked her straight in the eyes. It took all her self control not to throw Pepper to the floor in self defense.

"You are in love!" she said suddenly. Natasha blanched, and threw a hand over Pepper's mouth.

"No! I am not. Repeat after me. Natasha Romanoff is not in love." She removed her hand and waited. Pepper sighed.

"Natasha Romanoff is not in love. But there is a guy?"

"No there is no guy. Just... shut up Pepper ok?" she hated that Pepper had seen through her that easily. The only person who saw through her was Clint. And that was only when she let him.

"Fine. I want details when you are ready to share them." Her friend said with a wave of her hand. "You will never believe what Stark did this summer though."

"I saw some of it on the news. He is still an ass."

"I'm not so sure anymore..." Now it was Natasha's turn to look stunned.

"What did you just say? Did I hear that? Pepper Potts thinks Tony Stark is not an ass anymore?"

The blush creeped up into Pepper's cheeks confirmed it.

"Oh my god, we need an intervention. Do not go out with him. He is an ass. He is a rich playboy self centered arrogant toad, and you are better than him. Right?"

"I guess. I dunno. I believe his whole change of heart thing."

Natasha stared at Pepper.

"I will not be there to clean up this mess. I'm serious. You go down that road, you are on your own."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid Natasha."

"Coulda fooled me."

"I just... I dunno."

"Until you know, don't do anything." Pepper glared at her as they took their seats and pulled out their copies of Hamlet.

"I hate it when you're right."

Thanks for reading! Tell me your thougths, because my mind reading skills only work when you are close to me.