Steve was more than ready for the first day of Sophomore year. He'd had all of his new clothes washed and ready. His school bag was already packed. And he'd showered the night before, because he hated waking up early. Steve got dressed quickly and fixed his hair. The blonde stumbled out the door and into his car. He shoved the keys into the ignition and turned. The teen smiled as the vehicle roared to life. In a matter of minutes, he was at his high school. He parked the car and dropped the keys into his bag. There was a bounce to his step, until he made it through the front door. A year of bad memories came flooding back, making him drop a binder that he was holding. For a moment, he couldn't seem to snap out of it. T
hen he saw a familiar face, and was frightened into movement. He picked up his binder and scattered to his 1st period class. He had chemistry with some guy name Mr. Wood. Steve quickly found a desk in the back corner away from all other students. There was actually a ring of empty desks surrounding his own. He laughed silently to himself.
"What are you doing?" A voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up and met eyes with none other then Tony Stark.
Now this guy was a real dick. Tony could get any girl he wanted, and he had a whole bunch of people basically worshipping him. His group of "friends" bullied people on the daily, so that he didn't look like the bad guy. Oh, and he was a billionaire. For some reason, Steve always ended up in almost every class with him.
"Sitting." The blonde found himself replying. Any person in their right mind would have just up and left. For nobody wanted to get on the great Tony's bad side.
"Well get up." The billionaire commanded. Steve still didn't budge.
"Nah I think I'm good." He replied. He could tell he was getting under the other's skin. Tony's eyes suddenly darkened.
"This is my desk. Get up or I'll make you get up." He threatened. Steve looked around and found that his suspicions were proved right. The teacher wasn't in the classroom yet. That meant the blonde was at complete mercy. However, he still wasn't afraid.
"I'd like to see you try." Steve retorted, crossing his arms. The blonde was glaring at the billionaire, never breaking eye contact. Tony leaned in real close, threateningly close. Then he punched Steve straight in the face. The blonde wasn't surprised in the least, and he got up and fought back. In a matter of seconds, the two were all over each other. The punched, kicked, hit anywhere they could reach. Tony was even playing dirty by biting and pulling hair.
Before either could win the fight, some kid yelled "Teacher!"
The pair repelled from each other. Tony scrambled for his seat and beat Steve to it. Steve grumbled and sat in the next available desk. Tony smirked and crossed his arms.
"Nice try Steve." He added childishly. The blonde rolled his eyes.
"Whatever." he retorted. Though when he turned away, he was smiling slightly. The two always fought, but in the end Steve enjoyed it. He would never admit that to anyone, but he did. It was something to take his mind off his home-life. It also gave him some street cred, as he was the only student in the entire school who dared stand up to Tony Stark.
The teacher walked in the room finally, interrupting Steve's train of thought. The guy started rambling about things the blonde didn't care about. He zoned out the entire period. As the bell rang, Steve shot up out of his seat. However, he winced and fell back down. One quick scan of his ankle let him know that it was broken. Tony must've stepped on it really hard, and that's why it'd felt achy the whole period.
"Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit." Steve began muttering under his breath. He raked a hand anxiously through his hair, mind racing. What was he going to do now? His uncle couldn't afford any medical bills, and it was only the two of them. The rest of Steve's family was either dead, or hated them.
"What's your problem?" Tony snorted, looking down on the blonde. No way was Steve filling the asshole in.
"Nothing." He replied, trying to force nonchalance in his voice. Though he was well aware of how panicked he looked.
"Then stand up." Tony replied, smirking. Steve faked a smiled and forced himself to a standing position. He could feel shooting pains up his leg, and he swore he was about to faint. He placed his hands on the desk to lean on them. The blonde's face was contorted from the pain. He grunted, trying to reposition himself to walk.
"Can't walk?" Tony asked, actually sounding slightly concerned.
Steve laughed slightly. There had been signs before that Tony didn't hate him completely. Whenever he was in deep trouble, the billionaire actually seemed to help him. They were kinda like friends who entertained each other with arguments. At least that's how he saw it.
"No." The blonde finally bit out. He was forcing back tears by this point, for he was still putting pressure on the foot.
"Well sit down you idiot." Tony responded. Steve complied and fell back into the chair.
"I'll go get you crutches, the nurse knows me." The black haired teen stated.
"Thanks." The blonde muttered as Tony left the classroom. Once he was gone, the teacher approached Steve.
"So, you're going to need a late pass then?" He asked awkwardly. The teen nodded chastely. Mr. Wood ran back to his desk and began to scribble on a little piece of paper. In a minute or so, Tony was back with the crutches. He handed them over to Steve somewhat quickly. He seemed to be in a rush.
"Thanks." Steve said.
"Sure, it was my fault. But I need to go now." The billionaire replied.
He ran out of the classroom looking slightly embarrassed. It took the blonde a minute to catch on. Tony was ashamed to be seen helping him. He frowned but got over it pretty quickly. He had the crutches now and that was all that mattered. He could bind his ankle with gauze when he got home. The blonde got up and leaned on the crutches. He grabbed the late pass from Mr. Wood on the way out, and began the route to his next class. Ignoring the pains shooting up his leg, he made it to geometry. Steve pushed open the door and ignored the stares from everyone in the room.
"Sorry I'm late." He said to the teacher, Ms. Doyle. She nodded and accepted the pass. The blonde was told to find a seat, and he obeyed without argument. There was an open one right behind Tony. (Yep, another class with the brunet; it was a small high school) Steve didn't say anything to the billionaire. He instead focused on drawing on his desk.
"Mr. Rogers." Ms. Doyle yelled, snapping the blonde out of his thoughts.
"What?" He asked, leaning forward to cover his articulate little doodles.
"Pay attention!" She scolded. Then she turned to start writing on the board again. Steve smirked as she didn't even notice his desk. The class went pretty quickly, and he was up and out of his chair in an instant. The rest of the morning went fast. In a matter of time, it was lunch. He sat with his usual group of friends- oh wait. He had no friends. Nobody really liked him, for a few reasons:
1. He was a troublemaker, especially when it came to Tony
2. He was a slack in class
3. He wasn't good at talking to people
So Steve ate his lunch alone, as usual. He found comfort in the lack of friends. For he didn't need to depend on anybody but himself. And he surely didn't need people depending on him. The period went just as quick as the rest. Soon enough, it was the end of the day. Steve really didn't want to go home, so he kinda sat in his car for a little while listening to music. He procrastinated as much as he could, especially since it was Monday . Mondays were the worst, since his uncle was always hungover and touchy. Any other day, the man was rarely seen. He was always at a bar, or at a drunken friend's house. So Steve didn't have to worry. But Mondays were the worst.
After a bit more lying around in his car, Steve forced himself to turn the vehicle on. He knew that if he wasn't home before 5, his uncle would have a cow. So he started the drive for home, arriving in a few minutes. From the outside the house seemed peaceful. But the instant he stepped in, he could tell something was off. Not only was his uncle in a bad mood, he was still drunk. 'Shit' Steve thought. He tried to sneak to his room, but the crutches were loud. His uncle heard him.
"Good, you're home boy. Make me something to eat." He commanded, words slurring immensely.
Steve sighed to himself, and limped into the kitchen. He wouldn't dare leave the crutches where his uncle could touch them. Ignoring the pain, he bagan to cook. The blonde flew around the kitchen easily, for he was the only one in the house that ever made anything. He gathered the ingredients to make a nice meal. Steve gave the first plate to his uncle, as that was the rule. He waited until the man finished eating then cleaned up the wasn't really hungry, and the food was cold by the time he was "allowed" to eat. So he put the leftovers in the fridge. Steve started the hobble back to his room but was interrupted by his guardian.
"Wait son, get me another beer." He said, words still running together. The blonde obeyed and brought the man his beer. However, as he handed it over, his uncle grabbed his hand roughly. Steve gulped nervously, for the last time they'd touched it hadn't ended well.
"I said beer!" His uncle yelled, and lifted the bottle up high. He brought it back down over his nephews arm. It shattered, causing Steve to let out a whimper. He tried to pull away, but the grip on his hand was strong.
"Stop!" Steve yelled.
"What did you say boy?" His uncle yelled, too drunk to even understand what he was doing.
He stood up and began to beat his nephew. He landed kicks and punches in a few places. The sick thing is that he was clearly enjoying it. After a few minutes, the beating ended and Steve retreated to his room. There had never been one this bad before. He didn't know what to do, he was bleeding everywhere and he could barely walk. Someone must've really pissed his uncle off to make him get this drunk and angry. Steve was unintentionally crying from the intensity of the pain. His arm hurt the most, as there was still glass embedded in his skin. He wiped the tears from his eyes and tried to calm down. In a couple seconds he'd gathered himself, and the blurriness from the tears had dissipated.
He stared at his arm, trying to figure out what to do. The blood was flowing so heavily he couldn't even see the glass underneath any longer. He let out a string of swears. Frantically, he grabbed his phone and scrolled through his recordings. He plopped down on the floor and crossed his legs. After a couple seconds he found the recording he was looking for.
"Hi, this is Mandy Rogers, please leave a message after the beep and I'll get back as soon as possible." Steve listened to it over and over, the tears coming back.
"What would mom have done?" He kept asking himself. He just didn't know! He threw the phone down frustratingly. He was beginning to feel really faint.
"Think Steve!" He repeated in his head. Finally, he looked through his contacts. He had two numbers, his uncle's, and Tony Stark's. Don't ask how he got the billionaire's number. The guy was basically his only friend...enemy. Whatever, same difference. Panicked still, Steve dialed Tony's number. It rang three times before someone picked up.
"Tony Stark." Was the greeting. Steve swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to make it sound like he hadn't been crying.
"Hey, It's Steve. Sorry to bug you, but someone gave me your number. And I kinda need help, um if you're not busy." The blonde mumbled out. Even he could hear how pathetic that sounded.
"Steve Rogers?" Tony asked, sounding surprised.
"Yeah." The blonde replied.
"Um ok, what happened?" The billionaire asked.
"...um...someone broke a bottle on my arm, and I can't figure out how to get the glass out" He replied finally, after hesitating. He could hear the gasp on the other line.
"Shit, come on over." Tony replied, then stated his address. Steve quickly thanked him then ran out to his car. He drove to the address, barely keeping his eyes open. He almost got into a couple accidents. Though, surprisingly, he made it to Tony's without fainting or getting himself killed. By then he was done crying, and he didn't look as disheveled. He just felt very tired. Steve struggled to get out of his car without falling over. The blonde limped up to Tony's front door. He wrapped his arm in his shirt so he didn't bleed on the pavement. He was already going to have to clean out his car somehow. The blonde raised a weak fist and knocked on the door. It opened quickly, and Tony's eyes about popped out of his head. Steve hadn't really thought about the other bruises that were probably now evident, but it was clear that he looked horrible. The billionaire pulled Steve inside carefully.
"What the fuck happened?" Tony asked. Steve thought for a minute as he was lead into a room.
"I got mugged." He lied. The brunet obviously wasn't buying it, but he let it slide.
"Sit down." He commanded. Steve complied once again. Steve didn't really notice as a nurse came in and started fixing him up. Tony kinda just sat back and watched. The blonde was too busy trying to stay awake per someone's command. He couldn't remember who'd said that to him. Everything was so blurry. He finally became aware of the nurse as she began to pull the glass out of his arm. Steve winced, but he didn't dare move as she was working. In a few minutes, his arm was bandaged up, as well as his ankle. The bruises couldn't be fixed, so they were just left alone.
"Thanks." Steve muttered, still fighting to stay awake. Tony chauffeured the nurse out of the room.
"What really happened?" He asked, as soon as they were alone.
"Not that I really care." He added as an afterthought, seemingly remembering their enemy status.
"Sorry." Steve said instead.
"Thanks, but I should go home. Seriously thanks. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be dead on the floor in my room. I'd love to see the look on my Uncle's face when he found my body." Steve rambled, snickering at the thought of someone finding him dead. He turned to face Tony and noticed the stunned look on the other's face.
"Uh..ok. You're welcome I guess." The billionaire replied. Steve nodded and forced himself to stand up. Though he forgot he needed crutches and started to fall. Tony caught him however and pushed him backwards into the chair again. He walked to the other side of the room, picked up a different pair of crutches, and handed them to Steve.
"Here" He said.
"Thanks. How do I pay you?" Steve replied. Tony looked surprised.
"No need to, It's no big deal, k?" The billionaire replied. Steve hesitated, but finally nodded. He got up using the crutches and hobbled out to his car. He uttered one more thank you and then drove off.
When Steve finally got home, he went to his room. The blonde cringed at the thought of having to clean up his blood trail the next day, or as soon as he was able to walk. But he would have to worry about that later,. For right as his head his the pillow, his eyes slipped closed. In a matter of seconds he was out like a light.
A/N: There you have it. Hope you enjoyed, and I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as possible! Please review :)