"Don't get too cocky, Anthony. You're mother is insistent on you making friends," Howard Stark says to his son as they ride in the black Lincoln to Albert Einstein High School.
"I'll be fine, Dad. And for the last time, it's Tony," Tony Stark fiddles with the zipper on his backpack, bored on the car ride to school.
"I helped name you, kid," Howard chuckles. "I'm sure your name is Anthony."
Tony rolls his eyes, but a small smile plays on his lips. "You and Mom are the only ones that call me Anthony."
Howard smiles as well. "If we had liked the name Tony better than Anthony, we would have names you Tony."
The car pulls up in front of the building. Some of the students stare for a moment before resuming their progression into the building.
Tony moves to leave the car, but he was stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder.
"I'm serious, Anthony. Behave. Just because you're smart doesn't mean you're superior," Howard says.
"I know, Dad." Tony shakes off his father's hand, exiting the car. He slings his backpack over his shoulder as the door closes bwhind him. "I just can't let them think I'm /too/ superior."
Tony navigates through the school easily. He locates his locker and heads to class. He gains a few stares, but he basks in the limelight. It's rare to see an 11-year-old boy strutting down the hallway of a high school.
He enters into his Honors Chemistry class, expecting to be the youngest one there among sophomores. In his head, he was even better because he was registered as a freshman.
Slouched in the back, however, was a smaller boy who looked to be no more older than Tony was. Clad in a worn gray sweater and holey jeans, the boy twirls a pencil in his fingers, avoiding eye contact. He frowns slightly and takes a seat towards the front of the class.
The bell rings signaling the beginning of class, and the teacher closes the classroom door.
"Welcome to Honors Chemistry. I'm Mr. Henry," he says, picking up a piece of paper. "You will have assigned seats in this class. You better get used to them because they won't change."
He glances up from his paper. "Do we have freshman in here? Stand up."
Tony and the boy in the back stand.
Mr. Henry's eyes widen slightly. "How old are the two of you?"
"I'm 11, sir," Tony declares, almost eagerly.
"11," the boy in the back softly responds.
"Names?" Mr. Henry writes something on his paper.
"Tony Stark, but it probably says Anthony Stark on your class list," Tony replies.
"Bruce Banner," the boy in the back says, resuming the twirling of his pencil.
"Well, Tony, Bruce, to avoid awkward instances between your older classmates, I am going to seat the two of you next to each other up here in the front." Mr. Henry points to a work bench on the far right of the room towards the window.
Tony slowly collects his stuff as he moves to their new seat almost to prolong the other student's stares. He smirks as he moves, relishing in the fact that all of these sophomores were probably feeling stupid now. Bruce follows suit but much quicker, putting on his ratty black backpack.
"Now, Samantha Abbot – ." Mr. Henry began to put the rest of the 1st hour Honors Chemistry students into their assigned seats.
Tony turns to Bruce as Mr. Henry begins to get frustrated with his seating chart. "You're name is Bruce, right?"
Bruce nods, without making eye contact. He twirls his pencil, seeming anxious. "You're name is Stark, right?"
"Well, that's my last name. My first name's Tony." He opens up his brand new backpack, and pulls out a notebook.
"You related to the guy who started Stark Enterprises?" Bruce's pencil slips out of his hand and clatters to the floor. He blushes before picking it up quickly. As he rights himself in his seat, he sinks lower into his chair.
Tony grins proudly. "That would be my father, Howard Stark."
Bruce glances at Tony before his eyes dart away. "That's cool, I guess."
Tony raises an eyebrow. "You guess? That makes sense. It's not a million dollar company that makes weapons and advances in technology or anything because there is nothing cool about that."
"You're right. Nothing cool at all." Bruce half smiles as his pencil stops twirling.
Tony shrugs. "I guess someone like you would say something like that."
Bruce's smile disappears instantly. "Someone like me?" His head swivels to glare at Tony as he sits up straight.
Tony nods, fiddling with his notebook. "Yeah. Someone like you."
"What's so wrong with me?" Bruce's voice raises slightly as his face turns a deep red.
Tony looks up carelessly at Bruce. "You know, someone who is too arrogant to realize what companies like that actually do."
Bruce scoffs rather loudly. "It was a joke, you snob. And I bet you don't know the first thing about the business your dad does! Like he would tell you! If he was building a 10 foot robot, I can promise that you would be one of the last people to know! Companies like Stark Enterprises wouldn't be so stupid as to tell an 11-year-old boy exactly what type of things they are inventing. Especially one as big-mouthed and arrogant as you!"
"Congratulations, Bruce, you've passed the test. I can now conclude that you aren't an idiot." Tony opens his notebook, still glancing at Bruce.
Mr. Henry appears beside their work bench. "Is there a problem here, boys?"
Tony shakes his head, his gaze never leaving Bruce's angered face. "Not at all, Mr. Henry. Bruce and I are just establishing that neither of us are idiots. I think it's the making of a beautiful friendship. Don't you agree, Bruce?"
Bruce half-grins realizing what Tony was attempting to probe out of him. "Simply beautiful, Tony."
Sorry, I kind of suck. At the end there, I was trying to make Tony test if Bruce was one of those smart kids that are actually really ignorant to the outside world if you get what I mean. Again, I apologize if this is kind of disappointing. I'll try to write better, but I will need your suggestions and reviews to do so. Not by far the end of this story, so hopefully it get's better as I go. :P