Author's Note – Ownership of the cover-image goes to Batwynn, as it is her picture. Much thanks to Cassy27 for her help with this story.
Chapter Two || You Tell Those Lies to Me
It was hot outside, the sun blaring down on Thor. He could feel moisture and perspiration running down his back as he worked some of the electrical cords into a safer place. His head was pounding and the screams and shouts of excitement from his fellow students weren't helping matters. Volunteering to help with the pep-rally certainly hadn't been a good idea. Thor chided himself for it and had to make a mental note to never do it again. The headache and the frustration of it all just weren't worth it.
He'd been in a bad mood since he got home from school yesterday afternoon. Coach Coulson had them on the ground, panting like dogs before he finally called it a day. Thor had been dead set on taking a shower and crashing on the couch for a few hours when he got home, but his mother and father had been adamant about talking to him more about his future. By the time they finished, it had been well past eight and he hadn't even started coursework. Needless to say, he was tired and irritable and Thor wanted nothing more than to go somewhere quiet to sit for a while.
Going to one of the coolers that was off to the side of the field they were all on, Thor was once again reminded of why he hated pep-rallies so much. He could see trash under the bleachers and knew that he'd be out there for at least an hour with the other volunteers to clean it all up before the first game the next day. Thor shook his head and uncapped a bottle of water. It was as he was getting ready to take a swig of it that he gave pause, furrowing his brow when he saw movement from under the bleachers.
Loki.
He was leaning against one of the support poles, back completely turned away from the cheerleaders who were performing for the student body, pumping them up. He looked as bored and as frustrated as Thor felt, but significantly cooler. The teachers hadn't caught him yet and he was shielded from the sun.
Setting down his bottled water, Thor found himself moving towards him. He had no idea what he would say to him – if he said anything at all – or what he would do. Perhaps he could come up with a believable story. Something about how hot it was and that he was seeking refuge from the heat for a few minutes. It might work if the execution was good enough. Thor had never been much an actor and he certainly couldn't tell a lie.
When he walked under the bleachers, it felt as though it was twenty degrees cooler. There was a soft breeze that filtered through, making his golden hair blow gently with it. It also felt as though he'd been doused in cold water, because the heat had obviously impaired his judgement. They didn't know each other. They'd never spoken, never even laid eyes on one another – or at least that was true for Thor. He was setting himself up for disaster, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Loki had looked up from whatever it was he had been staring at, emerald green eyes watching him with suspicion.
"Hi," Thor said dumbly. He knew it. The conversation was already doomed to fail.
Loki's brows furrowed. He pushed himself off the support pole. "Hi …"
"I, uh … are you escaping the heat? It's pretty toasty out there."
Loki didn't look at all impressed. If anything, he was staring at Thor as though he'd lost his mind. Thor felt as though he had. Making friends was easy for him, talking to others equally as simple. Why he was making a fool of himself now was a mystery to him.
When it became apparent that Loki wasn't going to say anything, Thor cleared his throat and ran a hair through his slightly damp hair. He felt like a mess. "I'm in Mr. Banner's English-class with you. I was, uh, wondering if you knew what the homework was. I think I might have missed it."
He watched as Loki started rifling through his messenger bag. He hadn't even realised that he had anything on him. Then again, he was only really paying attention to his face. A pack of cigarettes were pulled out of the bag, along with a lighter. "There wasn't any homework."
"Oh … well, that's a relief then," Thor said, eyes moving from Loki to the pack. He was never a fan of them before, but there was something almost elegant about the way Loki put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it up. Thor watched almost mesmerised as Loki's throat constricted slightly as he inhaled, smoke wafting over his face. "I don't think you're supposed to be smoking here."
Instead of getting angry like he thought he would, Loki only looked amused. After blowing another puff of smoke in Thor's direction, Loki raised his brows, eyes widening, as though he were innocent. "Oh, dear, I hope I don't get into trouble. Will you tell?"
Thor opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get out a word, he heard his name being called. For a split second, he was frozen, frantically trying to decide if he should stay and continue talking to Loki or leave. He did have a job to do still. Clearing his throat once more, Thor took a step back. It was time to go.
"I guess your secret is safe with me," Thor found himself saying as he continued to slowly walk backwards, aware of the way Loki's face seemed to get all the more amused. He felt his cheeks heat up. He blamed it on the fact that he was getting closer and closer to the edge. He could already feel the heat. It had nothing to do with embarrassment. Nope, not one bit. "Oh, and thanks … for the, uh … homework …"
Feeling as though he'd done enough damage, Thor spun around and quickly walked away, Loki's laughter ringing in his ears.
-x- -x- -x-
Generally, Thor wasn't an awkward person and he certainly didn't get embarrassed all that easily. He was funny and he was laid-back and a good majourity of the time, he laughed at himself. But he wasn't laughing now. Steve was walking with him through the hallway and Thor couldn't help it as his sparkling blue eyes swept over the many kids milling around. Was Loki around? Did he remember what happened that morning? Would he smile knowingly and laugh to himself? Would he say anything in English-class? Thor felt like he was losing his mind and he had no idea why he cared so much. Why was he even looking for Loki? Why was he desperate to see him again?
"You're going to be useless tomorrow if you're this distracted during the game," Steve suddenly said, gaining Thor's attention. He was staring at Thor with a look that was both confused and amused. Thor didn't pay him much attention, though. Steve Rogers was sneaky and smug and always looking for something to tell Tony.
Thor shrugged his shoulders and gave Steve a smile, adjusting the strap of his backpack. "I just have a lot on my mind."
Steve opened his mouth to speak. He hadn't said anything yet, but Thor could practically hear the blunt response. He never got to say anything, though, because Rhodey – another of Tony's closest friends – ran up, jumping on Steve's back, a huge smile on his face that could only mean one thing – Tony was up to something and it wasn't anything good.
"Shit is about to go down, man!" Rhodey shouted, laughing loudly. He shook Steve, smacked Thor on the shoulder and started rushing down the hallway. Thor only then realised the increase in volume in the hallways. Something was definitely up. "Come on or you'll miss it!"
"Fuck yeah, man!" Steve exclaimed, not even giving Thor a second glance as he quickly followed Rhodey down the hallway, pushing kids out of the way to get to Tony's side.
Sighing, Thor reluctantly headed in that direction, as well. English-class was on that side, so he didn't really have a choice in the matter. Kids were crammed around, craning their heads to get a good look at what looked to be the start of a fight. Thor couldn't tell exactly who was in the circle, but he knew that the fight hadn't started yet. His fellow students would have been much louder.
A flash of flaming red hair caught his attention, though, and Thor found himself moving forward before he was even consciously aware of what he was doing. Being popular – he didn't really consider himself that way since he was friendly with everyone he met – did have advantages, because as soon as he started slinking through the kids, they moved out of the way. Or at least they shifted, giving him room, but not at all willing to give up their spot. He easily found Tony against the lockers, a grin on his face.
Inside of the circle was Loki's friend – Natasha, he remembered her name to be – and Pepper. She looked absolutely furious, and whatever Pepper was saying wasn't making matters any easier. Thor felt heavy, anxious. After a quick glance around the kids standing on the outside of the circle, it wasn't hard at all to spot Loki. He was standing beside Clint and he didn't look as though he was enjoying himself like everyone else. His jaw was set, emerald green eyes blazing at Stark.
"Just do something already if you're so tough," Pepper was saying, extending her arms. When Natasha didn't move, she snorted and looked back at Tony, shaking her head. "You're such a freak, Romanoff – you and the rest of your loser friends."
"The only reason you're even talking to me is because you have the whole school to back you up," Natasha shot back, ignoring the whoops and the obnoxious laughter from all the other kids who were just eating up what was happening. They wanted them to fight. "You and I both know that if no-one was around, you wouldn't be egging on a fight you can't hope to win."
Pepper snorted. "Why are you even here? It's not as though you have a good enough future."
"Do you talk just to hear yourself or are you really this stupid?"
"No more stupid than your boyfriend over there," Pepper retorted, motioning to Clint. Behind her, Tony and Steve and Rhodey started laughing. Natasha looked like she was getting ready to explode.
And she did.
Completely disregarding her attempts at physically fighting Pepper, Natasha threw herself at her. The students around them burst into loud jeers and it was all Thor could do but put his hands over his ears, trying to block the noise out.
Natasha was only able to throw a couple punches and slam Pepper into the wall before Loki and Clint ran over, along with Tony and Steve, and Rhodey. Tony was cursing and yelling at the three of them, shoving at Loki who was trying to help Clint pull Natasha away. Rhodey was pulling Pepper from the area while Steve backed Tony up. It was a chaotic mess until several teachers pushed their way through the crowd and got the situation under control.
Thor's heart was pounding the entire time. Students were waved off and ordered to go to their classes while Pepper and Natasha were forced to go to the office. Tony and Loki and Clint were angrily talking to the teachers who were there, both trying to tell their sides of the story, though Thor knew that Tony was lying and saying that Natasha had caused the entire fight.
From what he heard of it before he was ordered to his next class, none of it sounded good.
-x- -x- -x-
Thor didn't know what to expect when he walked into Mr. Banner's classroom. He honestly didn't. The sinking feeling deep in his gut warned him that he needed to tread carefully. He put his books down on the desk and dropped his backpack under it before he looked around the classroom. He found Loki's seat and it was empty. He wondered if Loki would even come into class today after what happened. But just as the thought left his mind, Loki came storming in, cheeks flushed, and emerald green eyes blazing. Cutting his eyes back down, Thor sank into his seat, heart pounding against his rib-cage. The last thing he wanted was for Loki to direct that anger on him.
Once again he found himself wondering why he even cared. Loki felt different to him, but why – because he didn't seem to have a care in the world, because he walked into the cafeteria just the other day like he could run the entire school if he wanted to? It was ridiculous and Thor felt as though he was thinking way too much and way too hard about it.
He was pulled from his thoughts when Mr. Banner started talking about a project that they would be working on. Paired up with another student in the class, each group would have to pick a quote or an excerpt from a poem, recite it to the class, and present what they thought the quote meant to them and what the author was trying to express. It seemed easy enough to Thor – his partner … not so much.
His mouth dropped comically when Mr. Banner called out his name and told him that his partner was Loki Laufeyson. He could feel his heart start to accelerate, his mind going into over-drive. He had no reason to feel that way, of course – as though he had caused some harm to him. He didn't do anything wrong.
After everyone was divided up into pairs, Mr. Banner instructed the class to spend the day talking to their partner and thinking about what they wanted to do. They would start presentations in two weeks, which would give them plenty of time to also write a small paper about the author. The assignment didn't seem hard at all, but when Thor turned back to Loki, he knew right then that it was going to be a very difficult two weeks.
Loki looked like he was going to rip his head off. Wild green eyes were watching him; jaw set tight, hands clenched into balls on his desk, and when it became apparent that he wasn't going to move, Thor – along with everyone else who was moving around to get to their partner – got up, collected his things, and slowly moved to the seat directly in front of him.
"Hey, again," Thor started hesitantly, unsure of what he should do or say, if he should bring up what happened in the hallway before class started, because Loki didn't look happy at all. And with the way he was being glared at … well. Something definitely needed to be said. "Listen, about what happened –"
"How dare you," Thor blinked and snapped his mouth closed. "Do you and your friends take enjoyment out of acting like fucking douche-bags?" His voice came out as a hiss, so it was no wonder Mr. Banner didn't hear, but Thor felt his face flush at how harsh he sounded.
"I – look, I have no idea what any of that was about," Thor said, holding his hands out as though preparing to stop Loki should he decide to attack him. Thor had a feeling that Loki was a scratcher, among other things. "I wasn't even around –"
"I saw you right beside Stark."
"I got there a minute before Pepper was attacked! I have no idea –" He realised what his words sounded like after they left his mouth, and Thor wished he had time to think before he said anything. He made it sound as though Natasha had gone out of her way to attack Pepper and that certainly wasn't the case. If anything, she looked as though she wasn't interested at all in fighting. Or that was the case until Clint had been brought into the fight.
"You all think you're so much better than everyone else in this school, because your mummy and daddy are rich," Loki sneered, leaning forward, closing the distance between them just a bit. Thor didn't move. Despite feeling anxious about being so close to Loki, he could also feel anger slowly start to seep in. "She did nothing and you goaded her into a fight and got her suspended for the next two days."
"Look, I'm sorry, all right? But I had absolutely nothing to do with what happened. I don't even know why –" Thor cut himself off when he noticed Mr. Banner making his way through the desks, obviously observing the groups, checking their progress, answering their questions if there were any.
Biting down on his bottom lip, Loki snatched Thor's notebook from him and turned it to a clean page. He started writing as Mr. Banner got closer to them. "We'll alternate the paragraphs for our paper. I'll write the introduction and conclusion, because I like to start and finish things –" It was a clear message. What happened in the hallway certainly wouldn't end with Natasha getting suspended and Pepper walking away innocent. It shouldn't have made him as nervous as it did. "I'll write the second body paragraph and you can write the other two paragraphs. I'm also good at reciting, so we can choose the quote next class. Here is my email."
And that was that. When Mr. Banner walked on, Loki shoved the notebook back at Thor and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms. The conversation was over. Nodding his head slowly, Thor turned around to face the front of the class, wondering why he felt as though he had done something wrong.
The bell rang about twenty-five minutes later. Loki was out of his seat and already through the door. Thor sighed and collected his things, following the rest of the students out of the classroom.
Author's Note – This story is mostly finished. Updates will be very three days.