"Wait, let me get this straight," Loki said, his green eyes narrowed in suspicion, "you're willing to risk your social life just to get tutoring from me?" He eyed the new student who was standing awkwardly in front of him, his hands stuffed down into his pockets. If the raven haired male wasn't so shocked that Thor had asked him to help tutor him, he would have been laughing at how meek the huge man looked.
Thor had waited until the room was empty and had pulled Loki aside. The raven, clearly shocked that Thor was talking to him even after his warning, had decided that he would stay an listen. And now, he was floored to see that there was a jock who seemingly cared about something other than being a meat headed Neanderthal.
"Well, it's not cool to flunk my classes. I may want to fit in, but my education comes first." The tall blonde admitted, his deep blue eyes staring down at the ground. Loki just blinked, still baffled. A new student, one who had befriended the terrible trio, none the less, was more concerned about his school work than popularity. How peculiar.
"Well, if you're serious about getting tutoring, you can meet me in the back of the library after school." Loki said, and when Thor looked up, a blindingly bright smile on his ridiculously handsome face, Loki threw up his defenses immediately. He had been tricked by the jocks one too many times to trust a smile like that to be genuine. His eyes narrowed, and he drew himself to his full height, nearly as tall as Thor. "And if this is some prank that Tony and the others told you to do, don't be mistaken. I may have a religious upbringing, but I won't hesitate to kick your ass from here to Kingdom Come."
And with that, Loki turned on his heel and briskly walked away. He wouldn't hang around and be the punch line of yet another distasteful joke that the jocks were planning. The raven haired boy knew to expect it, but he quietly hoped that since Thor was new, maybe, just maybe, the blonde hadn't succumbed to the evil pranks just yet.
They didn't talk for the rest of the day, even though they ended up having almost all of their classes together. Out of seven classes, they shared five. But that wasn't uncommon for this grade, so Loki didn't think much of it. Well, other than if Thor became just like all of the other dicks around this school, then Loki's life would become even more intolerable than it already was.
His fears were unfounded for once, and he let out a relieved sigh when he saw only Thor walking towards him in the library later that afternoon. When the muscled blonde sat at the table, the raven forced a polite smile. He only had about an hour or so before he would need to be home, and between now and then, he would have to figure out how to explain this to his father. His eyes glanced down towards his side bag, and he pulled out his Calc 1 book, refusing to look up at the blonde.
"So what exactly do you need tutoring on?" The raven haired male asked when Thor remained silent. Loki wasn't stupid, he could feel those stormy blue eyes watching him. But he wouldn't acknowledge them, because that would mean that some part of him was accepting his deepest sin.
"Well, everything," Thor finally said, and then proceeded to pull out his own Calculus book and opening it. "I didn't really understand anything Miss Romanoff was talking about..." He sounded embarrassed, and that was enough for Loki to look up. The blonde's eyebrows were pulled together, and serious blue eyes were focused on the book. "I mean, when am I even going to need this, anyways?" He finally huffed, and slammed it closed again.
Loki raised an eyebrow, fighting back the snarky comment that was on the tip of his tongue. "Should have known that you would give up so easily," he said, going for a not so subtle jab instead. "If that's all then, I have places to be." He stood, but a strong hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.
"No, wait, please," Thor said quickly, "I really can't fail. My grades are important, I just..." The blonde took a deep breath in. "New school, new country, there is a lot of stress, and I haven't really had a chance to acclimate to everything yet." The blonde explained, running his hand through his hair, which now hung around his strong jaw.
Green eyes traced the curve of that jaw before they snapped up, and Loki kicked that train of thought into the deepest recess of his mind. He sat back down slowly, and looked down at his book. "So... Let's start with reviewing Gaussian Elimination and Row-Echelon form with matrices..."
Loki lost track of time while explaining all different review functions to the blonde, and when he looked up and out the window, he paled considerably. It was dark outside, and when he checked his watch, he was two hours late to being home. The raven stood up abruptly and began packing his stuff. "Sorry, I have to go," Loki said lamely. He ripped off a corner of part of his paper, and scrawled his cell number on it. "Look, if you have any more questions, feel free to text me. But I really have to go," he said, a bit panicky.
"Do you need a ride?" Thor asked, packing his stuff as well, carefully placing the scrap of paper with Loki's number in a safe place. The raven looked up at the offer, his green eyes still holding a cautious glint to them.
"If that's not a problem," Loki said, his green eyes firmly fixed on Thor's stormy blue ones, searching for any trace of a hidden agenda. But all he could see was honesty, and that took him aback. He wasn't used to such pure honesty from people, especially ones his age, and even more so, people who managed to get on the Terrible Trio's good side.
"You stayed after to help me, it's the least I could do," Thor said with a bright, charming smile. Loki's heart did a painful thump in his chest, and he quickly looked down to gather the rest of his things, fighting back the horrible feelings. They were quiet, and Thor led Loki out to his car. The raven haired male directed him to his house, and then slipped out with a mumbled, 'thank you, see you tomorrow.'
He ran up the porch steps, and then opened the front door as quietly as he could. Now, if he could just get up with his room without his father noticing him, he would most likely be safe for the night. Carefully, he edged around the wall and up the stairs, and ducked into his room, silently shutting the door and locking it. Once he was sure that he was safely in his room, he let out a relieved sigh, and slumped against the wall.
"Safe for another day," he whispered quietly, and walked towards his bed, gingerly laying down on top of the neatly folded covers. Now that he was secure in his room, he reached into his drawer and pulled out a healing lotion, and pulled off his shirt. A quick glance in his mirror showed that the bruises littering his chest were healing nicely, and as long as no new ones were formed, they would heal in another day or so. He warmed the lotion between his hands before rubbing it over the discolored skin.
He returned the lotion to the drawer and grabbed his sleeping shirt and pulled it over his head once he was sure that every bruise had been lathered evenly. The raven haired male then grabbed his headphones, and put one in his ear, and pulled his book bag onto the bed with him, removing his alchemy textbook. Nimble hands opened it to where he was taking notes, and green eyes scanned over the highlighted text.
But the peaceful, safe illusion that his room provided him was shattered a few minutes later. The booming voice that sent dread down his spine yelled his name, and Loki scurried over to the door, checking his lock. If the man couldn't get in here, then the raven would be safe until his drunken rage passed.
"Get out 'ere, you worthless fag," the man slurred as he stomped up the stairs, "ya were late today. You out fuckin' some other queer boy? Spreadin' ya legs like the whore ya mother taught you to be?" Loki flinched, making his way to his closet, locking it from the inside. The raven curled into a corner, and put his other earphone in his ear.
He turned up his music, drowning out his father's drunken homophobic bashing. It was something that had started after Loki's mother had run away, leaving the young boy with his abusive father. Laufey had somehow got it in his head that his wife had left him because his son was queer, and ended up drinking alcohol daily, and the target of his drunken rage was the boy. Loki denied it up and down, only being eight at the time, desperately trying to please his father, and avoid the wrath that the alcohol amplified.
And every day, Loki would tell his father that he liked girls, not wanting to admit that the man was right in his assumption that his son liked boys. But Loki knew that if he admitted this sin to his father, the priest of the town, he wouldn't live to see the next day. On more than one occasion, Laufey had threatened that if he ever caught Loki doing anything with another male, he would kill him rather than deal with having a queer for a son.
An hour later, the green eyed male paused his music, and listened to see if the man was done with his drunken ranting and raving. When not a sound was heard, he crept out of his closet, securely gripping the key which he kept on a chain around his neck. Still, not a sound was heard throughout the house, and Loki hoped to whatever God was out there that the man was passed out somewhere.
Slowly, Loki opened his door and peeked out into the hallway. Laufey was nowhere to be seen, and the raven haired male tip toed to the edge of the stairs. Then he heard the sniffling, and he relaxed a bit. This version of his father he could handle. After the rage had passed, the priest would break down and cry, apologizing for every bruise and cut that scarred Loki's body due to his alcohol fueled anger.
The raven walked down the stairs, going straight to the kitchen to get a washcloth to clean up the spit and vomit that was no doubt all over Laufey's face. With his wet washcloth, he made his way into the living room, and teary icy blue eyes looked up as he did so. Tears mixed with other body fluids on his father's cheeks and chin, and without a word, Loki sat on the edge of the couch and began to clean up the man.
"I-I'm s-s-so sorry," the man sobbed, his fat tears falling faster, "so... S-so very s-sorry..." The green eyed male remained silent, only focusing on his task. When that was done, he stood, going to throw the soiled rag into the washer. When he returned to the living room, he was unsurprised to see that Laufey had the rim of yet another beer bottle held to his lips. When the man saw Loki, the guilty look returned, and he set the bottle aside.
"You say that you're sorry," Loki drawled, his green eyes narrowing, "but you continue to repeat your actions and refuse to get help. If you were truly sorry, you would get up off your ass, throw out all your booze, and get help. But I know you won't, so I won't get my hopes up. So continue drowning your sorrows in alcohol, you'll end up driving everyone away, just like how you drove mom away."
He spun on his heel and ran up the stairs, ignoring the stricken look in the man's face. But this was the pattern that happened every day, and Loki knew that his scathing words would soon be forgotten, and nothing would change. Well, at least until he moved out of this house and as far away from Laufey as he could be. As much as he hated the man, and as much as he loathed to admit that he still cared about the man and wanted his approval, he refused to stay in this house for another moment once he turned eighteen.
For the last three years, he had been working two part time jobs after school and on weekends to save up money. His father thought that he was just tutoring every day except for Mondays, and Loki fully intended to keep it that way. Everything was set up for his departure, and in only a few months, he would be free from this torturous hell hole,
The next day, Miss Romanoff announced that there was going to be a group project, and everyone in the class groaned. "You'll be put into groups of three," the red headed teacher said, and glared at the students. Loki rolled his eyes at her annoyance, figuring that she had fought with Clint, affectionately named Hawkeye by his archery students, once more and was taking out her anger on her own class.
And of course, whatever group project she gave them would be ridiculously long and hard, and Loki wanted to face plant on his desk. A project would mean that he would be stuck with stupid teenagers who cared only about material things and would probably make him do all of the work. With a resigned sigh, Loki was already mentally rearranging his already busy schedule to have time to finish this stupid, pointless project.
Weary green eyes watched as the rest of the class was split into groups. And of course, the 'popular' crowds got to stay together with their friends. Loki smirked, almost feeling bad that the new blonde was being cut off from his 'friends' already, but when his name, along with Thor's was called, he paled. The raven was so caught up in the fact that he was going to have to work with Thor that he didn't even hear the third name that was called.
Stormy blue eyes turned back to Loki, and the Californian gave Loki another one of those heart-stopping bright grins. His heart stopped momentarily, but he looked away, refusing to even acknowledge the other, stupidly attractive, male. The teens rearranged the desks into three person groups, and when Thor moved to sit by Loki, the raven was trying to calm his sinful feelings, and push them to the back of his mind.
It wasn't to hard to do once he discovered the third member of their group. Jane Foster: queen bee, most desired girl in the school, and one of the most intelligent people that Loki had ever met. He felt a bit of relief at the fact that she was the third person, knowing that the girl was rather studious and always did her fair share. She was also one of the only 'popular' people that was nice to him, or at least tolerated him.
"Hello, Loki," Thor greeted, still smiling. He then turned to Jane. "Hello, I'm Thor," he said, offering his hand to the pretty brunette. Jane's cheeks flushed in a hot blush, and she returned the introduction. Shielded green eyes watched the exchange, and Loki bit the inside of his cheek. He may not openly admit to being gay, but he didn't enjoy watching straight couples fall in love.
Especially when Thor was so handsome, and actually had something more going on in that head of his other than sports or popularity. But he wouldn't say anything. He already got enough shit from other people, and since Jane seemed rather nice, he didn't want to turn her against him either. At least not while they were stuck in a group project together.
"So, this project," Jane began, "I was thinking that maybe we could do something on factorials, sequences, and series?" Intelligent brown eyes flitted between the two males, waiting to see if her idea was approved. Thor was the first to nod, hopping on board, and Loki gave a small nod. They went on to split the project into three equal parts, which Loki was extremely grateful for.
But as the class dragged on, a sick feeling formed in the pit of his stomach. It was uncomfortable to watch Jane and Thor flirt effortlessly, and so he tried to knock out most of his part while they chatted. To be honest, he was a bit envious of their easy banter, and wished that he had someone to do that with. But the raven was resigned to the fact that he wouldn't be able to openly flirt with someone he was interested in for a long time. The only thing that he could pride himself on was being a trickster, and an illusionist. It was a hobby of his to do magic tricks, and he was really good at it.
The class drew to a close, and the rest of the day for Loki was uneventful. At work that night, things went smoothly, but it was on his way home that the nervous feeling hit him. The same feeling he always got when something was going to go terribly wrong. He clutched his books closer to his chest, wary green eyes darting around. And then he saw them, and his heart stilled in dread. These were the same Neanderthals that loved to harass him at work. He instantly regretted a snappy comment that he had made towards them earlier in the night, and hoped that he could make it the ten minute walk home if he kept his head down.
His house was in sight when the older men made their move. A heavy footfall was his only warning before a hand reached around and covered his mouth. He flailed, perfectly kept nails searching for his attacker. In a panic, he scratched the man, which earned an angry growl and a harsh punch right under his ribs. The air rushed out of Loki's lungs, and he couldn't catch his breath due to the hand covering his mouth. He began to panic even more, and then something inside of him snapped.
Loki stopped fighting, and the man, thinking that he had hit Loki hard enough to drop him, slightly loosened his grip. Then Loki made his own move. He kicked his foot backwards, kicking the man's knee. With an unmanly squeal of pain, hit attacker released him, and Loki dashed towards his house. Before he got very far, the slim raven was tackled to the ground by a hard body. The part of his that wasn't fearing for his life acknowledged how much he liked being pinned under a strong, hard body, but the rational part of his mind was screaming that he needed to get away.
He struggled, but his strength was nothing compare to the brute on top of him. His true strength was in his wit, not his physical body. A sharp punch to his side had him once more gasping for air, and frustrated tears were in his eyes. Why wasn't he strong enough to defend himself? There was another sharp blow, this time to the back of his head, and he barely cried out before the world went black.
