"Have you seen the new kids yet?" Bruce asked quietly, but Tony knew him well enough to sense the story behind the quiet statement. Whipping his head around, the young billionaire narrowed his eyes at Bruce, who had his nose stuck in a book, looking to all the world as if he didn't care one way or another. Thor and Steve both glanced up from their textbooks, both of them cramming for their test next period. They all watched the bespectacled kid, waiting for more information. When none was forthcoming, Tony huffed, impatient.
"No. We haven't. Why do you mention it? Who are they?" Thor and Steve both watched him as well, and Bruce seemed to shrink under the scrutiny, looking as if he regretted bringing it up.
"They're… no one really. Met them briefly earlier, they're cousins or something. They're nice. I thought we could let them eat with us, you know? New school and all, they won't have any friends here yet…" Bruce drifted off, seeing Tony's interest fade.
"Nobodies, huh? I'm sure they'll make their own friends Brucey. Besides, we're super extra exclusive, remember?" The playboy waggled his eyebrows, writing off the new kids. Steve sighed at Tony's ridiculousness, while Thor snorted a laugh out before returning to his book. The bell rang shrilly for the next class to start, and the boys rose together, Steve and Thor bound for their English class, Bruce for AP Chemistry, and Tony for a calculus class (he had passed calculus level years ago, but stayed on as a teacher's assistant for the credits). It was the only class the handsome genius had without at least one of his friends in it, and, as such, his least favorite.
Slouching into the classroom just a minute or two before the class started, he veered immediately to the back row, where the students in the class knew to leave a small bubble of desks empty. One of the desks for Tony to sit in, and the rest to act as a buffer zone against his sharp comments and occasional (read: quite often) moods. The teacher made no comment as he kicked his feet up on the desk in front of him, and the students kept their heads down, avoiding eye contact. Even though they couldn't see him, he scowled at the kids around him, their lower levels of intelligence offending him. Resigning himself to the next hour or so of playing on his phone while waiting for the class to end, Tony didn't even look up when the class hushed. He didn't even glance up when the teacher cleared her throat, asking for everyone's attention. He did, however, pause in tapping away at his phone when the teacher announced that they had a new student.
Ah, the fresh meat Bruce mentioned, he thought, glancing up only when the teacher asked the new kid to introduce himself. Tony's mouth opened with a small pop, and stayed that way.
"My name is Clint Barton. I've just moved here from Iowa."
The kid stood stiffly, clearly not having much fun standing in front of everyone, but his sharp jawline was raised defiantly, as if inviting anyone to snigger. He was one of the best looking individuals Tony had ever laid eyes upon, and he hung out with supermodels on a regular basis. No one said anything, though Tony distinctly heard one girl sigh dreamily. The teacher waited to see if the new kid would say anything more, before prompting,
"And what brings you to Shield High, Clint? Why did you move to New York?" He didn't say anything for a moment, staring down the teacher until she squirmed uncomfortably, then stating blandly,
"Well my parents died. The rest of my family lives in New York. Where else am I gonna go?" His face was carefully blank, and his tone so casual it was almost as if he was mentioning the weather. None of the students made a sound – no one seemed to even know how to react. The kid turned and looked at them all again, before sighing.
"So… can I sit down now? Or what?" He startled the teacher out of her mortification long enough to nod, gesturing towards empty chairs. He shrugged a beat leather backpack up higher on his shoulder, skirting the populated desks until he slid into one just next to Tony, never sparing a glance at the billionaire.
The lesson started and Tony immediately turned his attention to appraise the lean, if somewhat on the small side, boy next to him. Chuckling, he looked back down at his phone.
"What are you smirking at?" The newbie muttered in a low voice, still not turning to face Tony.
"Oh nothing. You just happen to be the most exciting thing to ever happen in this class. Quite an impression you made, Bambi," Tony said lightly.
"Who're you calling Bambi, Mr. doe-eyes?" the kid shot back. "And if that was the most exciting thing to happen here then you must all be bored to tears the rest of the time."
"Oh we are, well, I am. And you're Bambi because you stand up there, all adorable, and spit out your sob story. But hey, that's cool, I'd rather know what I'm dealing with before I bother making friends. Or not making friends." He gave the kid the up-down, which he scowled at, trying to decide if Tony was genuinely trying to poke fun at him or just making conversation. The scowl was slowly replaced by a small smile, nearly a smirk. The kid stuck out a hand.
"Clint. Not Bambi." Taking the hand in his own, Tony felt thick calluses, and then replied,
"Tony. Not Mr. doe-eyes. Tony Stark. Yes, that Stark." He watched Clint carefully, waiting for his reaction. Clint raised an eyebrow, but made no comment, shrugging it off. Oh yes, we'll get along just fine, thought Tony.
AN: I know it is short, and I am definitely planning for all the other chapter to be longer. Please review, and let me know what pairings you'd like to see! I am leaning towards a little ironhawk, but I am open to suggestions and have a very flexible storyline, if you want to suggest something it is likely that I can work it in.
We will be meeting Natasha next chapter, as well as Loki sooner or later, and getting a bit more backstory on everyone. Let me know what you think!