Don't Be Imaginary.

Darcy Lewis had never been an ordinary little girl. She was spontaneous and passionate and creative. She was quirky and crazy, she was always having the best time without a care in the world. But then, Jonah Rogers had pushed her down, calling her stupid and weird. Seven year old Darcy not sat on the swing set, alone in the park, curls of chocolate brown falling into her face as she sobbed. As it began to grow dark, she remained there, and heard a pattern of footsteps but did not lift her head.
"Why are you crying?" The soft voice of a little boy reached her ears, and Darcy looked up. He was older than her, maybe 10 or 11, it looked. He had raven hair and bright emerald eyes. Not to mention the fact that he was wearing what Darcy thought looked like a Halloween costume. She did not respond, and the boy took a seat on the swing next to her, looking at her imploringly. "Why are you crying?" He asked again.
Darcy sniffled before looking up to the boy, tears sliding down her face and eyes red. "Jonah Rogers and his friend pushed me, and called me stupid and weird," She choked out, sniffling once more before swinging just a bit, slowly, barely moving.
The boy remained quiet for a few moments. "I don't think that's right. Who defines what is normal, and who defines the barrier of knowledge? Everyone can judge as they please but in the scope of it all, none of it is correct."
Darcy cracked a small, weak smile before extending her hand to him. "I'm Darcy."
The boy took her hand and shook it. "My name is Loki."
"Where are you from? I haven't seen you before."
"I'm from a...far away place, let's call it."
Darcy laughed and shoved him playfully. "I was serious!"
"So was I."
Ever since that day, Loki and Darcy would always meet up at the park or in her backyard and they would talk and play games like hide-and-sekk or tag, Darcy was sure he cheated. Her parents never seemed to care about the imaginary Loki, they were happy if she was. Darcy could even tell that Loki was around when she could not see him. Quizzes would disappear from a teacher's desk, chalk would vanish from the board and reappear in the neighboring classroom. Whenever someone made fun of Darcy, something always seemed to happen to them later on. Jonah had called her fat that day. Ms. Monroe called on him to do a math problem on the board. He stood, and his pants fell around his ankles, causing him to land facedown on the floor. Later, Darcy met with Loki on her trampoline.
"Loki? Did you mess with Jonah's belt?" Darcy raised an eyebrow at him.
Loki gave her a mischievous half-smile. "Maybe."
"Promise me you won't hurt anyone?"
"I didn't hurt him BADLY, Dar-" "You know what I mean!"
"Fine, I promise."
"Pinkie promise?"
Loki looked confused. "What?"
Darcy had almost forgotten. She had explained many things to Loki. Disney, barbie, Harry Potter, electronics, secrets, board games; She had forgotten to teach him what a pinkie promise was! She stuck her pinkie out and linked it with his.
"Now we make a promise, and we have to keep it."
"I promise I won't hurt anyone. But I also promise to always look out for and protect the beautiful Darcy Lewis," Loki vowed.
Darcy blushed. "Good, you're getting the hang of it!" As Darcy grew up, visits from Loki became less frequent. Games of hide-and-seek or tag were rare, talking at the park even rarer. For months, Darcy didn't see him at all. On the eve of her 13th birthday, right before midnight, there was a flash of green light in her bedroom that woke her. There was Loki, a smile on his face. "Loki?!" Darcy grinned, standing and hugging him tightly. Loki pulled away and placed a golden locket with an emerald in the middle around her neck. "Happy Birthday, Darcy," Loki said before disappearing.
Darcy was sad he had gone, but the locket intrigued her. She opened it. Inside were their pictures, and a little lullaby would play. When the short lullaby ended, Loki's voice came from the trinket. "Happy Birthday, Darcy." Was all it said before it cut off. A tear slid down Darcy's cheek; whether it was from happiness of her gift or sadness of his departure she did not know. Darcy was now twenty, an intern for Jane Foster, who worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. She had not seen Loki since her 3th birthday. She still wore the necklace he had given her, oh how she loved it. Thinking about him caused an ache in her chest. That day, Jane, Darcy, Thor, and Selvig were walking out to the cafe when an explosion sounded. They rushed outside, seeing a titanuim robot easily as tall as a house. It spewed fire everywhere, burning buildings and cars as people screamed and ran for their lives. On Asgard, Loki sat upon his throne, seeing the whole thing through the eyes of the Destroyer. He raised an eyebrow as Thor approached, ready to blow his brother to smitherens. Thor knelt before the Destroyer, and Loki decided on a whim that he would hear his brother.
"Brother," Thor began, "Whatever I have done to wrong you, I am truly sorry. But killing these people will get you nowhere. Killing Jane and Darcy and Selvig because they are my friends will get you nowhere. So end this. Spare their lives, take mine."
Loki nearly choked. Darcy was there?! What the hell had he done...he could have killed her, for crying out loud! Loki spoke through the Destroyer, unable to think of any further action to take. "Darcy? Darcy Lewis?"
Thor furrowed his eyebrows at the robot before nodding, signalling the girl forward. It ws Darcy who then spoke. "Yes. Who are you?"
Loki let out a gasp. "I'll give you a hint. Pinkie promise."
To Jane, Selvig, and Thor, this was absolutely mad. But Darcy's eyes widened in recognition. "LOKI?!" She screamed, more tears beginning to run down her face as she turned on a heel and ran. Jane followed after, while the raging battle between Thor and the Destroyer raged on.
"Darcy!" Jane panted, finally catching up with her friend. "Who's this Loki guy?"
"W-When I was small," Darcy choked through sobs, "I was bullied around the age of seven. Loki had come and he became my best friend. We would always meet and play games and talk on the trampoline in my backyard. But as I started growing up, w-we sort of s-separated. L-Loki came back on my birthday and gave me m-my l-locket. I hadn't s-seen him s-since. And n-now he's b-b-b-back and he's destroying everything, I-I trusted h-im!" Darcy sobbed. Jane felt sympathy for her best friend. This boy had been her friend all her life, and then she had gotten her back stabbed. That wasn't okay. Not okay at all. Jane stood and motioned for Darcy to stay where she was and she stood, running back to the area of explosions and fire. "Hey!" She shrieked. "Hey! You, Loki! Darcy's crying because of you, how the hell could you hurt her like this?!" Loki sighed. "I...I never meant to hurt her. She was my best friend. She's beautiful and considerate and caring. I just didn't think she wanted my comapny anymore, seeing as no one else does."