Chapter Six: Favorite Band
Jane sat on the couch next to Natasha as they stared at the screen in front of them. After being kidnapped, Jane was told they were going to enjoy a classic and Natasha put in Anastasia. They were ten minutes in and no one said a word.
"I have a feeling you don't want to just watch movies and have 'girl time' with me," Jane said at last, glancing sideways at the redhead. "What's up?"
Without moving her eyes from the screen, Natasha said, "The situation."
Jane wrinkled her nose, catching on to what she met. "Nothing has happened."
"Loki made a lot out of nothing." She threw some popcorn in her mouth, slightly turning her head towards Jane.
Jane was confused and then it clicked. She re-emphasized, "Nothing happened."
"Sexual harassment is nothing nowadays?"
Jane shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. Look, it wasn't a big deal. Just some guy who touched my butt one time. The situation is handled. I handled it." Not that she was about to tell Natasha that Loki more or less did some Jedi mind trick that caused the little terror to black out…
"It's handled?" Skepticism marred the redhead's face.
"Yes," Jane nodded, unsure what else to say to affirm this.
"How exactly is it handled? What did you do?"
"When he touched me, I punched him across the face." Which wasn't a lie. She had punched him, hard. The brat just wouldn't leave her alone after that.
Natasha's lips curled into an impressed smirk. "Attagirl." She leaned back into the cushions and threw more popcorn into her mouth, staring intently at the movie. "Alright, now pay attention – this is an important part."
Jane smiled slightly, turning back to the film.
/
/
Hard, heavy bass filled the room as Tony leaned against his work bench, watching the cloud of despair that sat on a stool in the corner. Rock of Ages was not living up to his nickname at all. With locks like those, Tony was sure Loki would turn out to be a heavy metal guy. He was wrong.
"Not feeling this one?" Tony called.
Loki lifted his head and, after a moment, gave a half shrug. "It is… different from what I have heard on Asgard."
Tony nodded. Alright. He was listening. He wasn't expressing too much interest, but he was listening. That littler jerk monger better like the next one. "What is your favorite band so far?"
Loki knitted his brow in thought for a moment before answering, "The first one. AC/DC."
"Wrong answer," Tony said immediately. Then he frowned. "That was… actually a decent answer, but still wrong. The correct answer is Black Sabbath."
Loki shook his head. "That was the second one and no, I did not like that one."
"You're remembering wrong. That one, War Pigs, is a classic."
"It was unpleasant."
"Unpleasant," Tony scoffed. "Unpleasant. The rock legends of our time are 'unpleasant'."
"Yes, the noise you call music is grating on the ears."
Tony narrowed his eyes at him, his glare being returned. "Alright, Ringo," he said as he picked up his remote and pressed a button. "Hold on to your socks because this one is about to rock them clean off."
A scratchy noise filtered through the air loudly, making Loki cringe. The teenager stared in confusion at Tony until his confusion turned into mild annoyance at the first few lyrics of the song. Tony only grinned.
"I… am… Iron Man."
/
/
Jane did not remember ordering a wakeup call. But, at 5:34 a.m., a good half an hour earlier than her alarm, she awoke to something pumping through her walls. Groggily, she dragged herself from bed and stamped downstairs to find out what the racket was, only to stop in the doorway of the kitchen in surprise.
Steve and Bruce were seated at the table; Tony stood, leaning against the counter; Natasha, Clint and Thor were nowhere to be seen – a normal morning. Loki was not a normal morning. Loki was sitting at the table. Loki was sitting at the table. Across from Steve, no less! And was that-? It was! Cereal! And he was eating it!
"Jane, close your mouth," Tony mumbled, looking up from his plate of pancakes and bacon. "You're catching flies."
She snapped her mouth shut, shuffled over to the cupboards, grabbed a bowl and fixed herself some cereal before stopping dead in her tracks in sudden realization. Steve sat next to Bruce, leaving the only empty seat… next to Loki. This was her chance. Don't blow it. She slid into the seat as casually as possible, placing her bowl in front of her. Steve greeted her warmly, Bruce following with a brief nod. Loki remained quiet.
Jane glanced at him sideways, still mystified he was there. Then she noticed Tony's stare. She jumped slightly. Was he looking at her? No, wait. She followed his gaze and realized it was pinpointed directly on Loki. She glanced at the boy again. He was eating Frosted Flakes, but nothing potentially life-threatening was evident in his mannerisms. Why was Tony staring at him so hard?
"Tony," Bruce spoke up, looking over at the man. "Why are you playing Black Sabbath?"
Jane realized the noise that woke her up was clearer and was, in fact, music. The song was familiar.
Tony didn't look at him. His eyes were glued on the black-haired teenager. "Life," he said. "Life is why."
Loki lifted his head, met Tony's gaze and stated plainly, "AC/DC." He tilted his head, a smirk lifting his lips, before returning to his cereal, leaving the man glaring at the top of his head.
Steve and Bruce exchanged a look. Neither knew what was going on. "Did Loki just say, AC/DC?" Steve muttered to Bruce.
He did, Jane noted. When did Loki get in touch with Midgard's music? Then she remembered. Last night. Tony had wanted to introduce him to Black Sabbath. Obviously, there was a disagreement down the line. And Natasha had more or less made her watch that movie, not to say Jane didn't have fun. It was nice watching movies with her. It felt almost friendly. Jane wondered if the two of them could be friends, but decided those were thoughts for later. She was still working on a friendship – acquaintanceship – between a particular individual. One friendship at a time.
"You like AC/DC?" Jane tried, turning her head towards Loki.
He swallowed his bite of cereal before glancing at her. "Scantly. I enjoyed some of what Stark showed me. It was more preferable than others."
"That's Papa Stark to you," Tony chided, placing his finished plate in the sink and reaching for a cup of coffee, eyes still boring into the boy's head. "And you're wrong."
Loki didn't dignify him with an answer, instead standing up and putting his bowl and spoon into the sink, meeting Tony's glare before taking to the stairs.
Jane mentally sighed. And like that, her chance to talk to him was gone. She began eating her cereal, not too focused on the taste as her thoughts were preoccupied with how she'd convince Loki to attend classes.
"What is it with the music?" Bruce asked Tony, turning to him expectantly.
"I'm getting that brat to appreciate the classics," Tony responded as way of answer, finished off his cup of coffee with a final gulp and placed it along with the other dirtied dishes before heading out of the kitchen, presumably to his lab, leaving Steve, Bruce and Jane alone.
This was awkward, Jane thought with a cringe. She was never alone with either man before and now she was alone with both of them. She finished her cereal quietly, thinking of ways to start a conversation, but decided against each one and bided her time. Then she had an idea. "Bruce," she addressed the scientist, prompting him to look up from his toast and orange juice. "As you know, I am researching the Cube, and it occurred to me that, being that you have come into contact with it personally, you would have an opinion on it."
"If you're asking if I have any idea why you're a teenager, I'm sorry to tell you, I have no clue." He shrugged, smiling apologetically.
"Well, no, not just that," Although that was disappointing. "Just a general opinion. What are your thoughts on it?"
He had to know something on the matter. He had been in contact with the Cube before her and must have had some extent of knowledge on it.
Unfortunately – and admittedly, disappointedly – he only told her what she already had a fair grasp on. She sighed, "Thanks anyway, Bruce."
"If I think of anything, I'll let you know," he added as he stood up, cleared his dishes and left.
Now there was only Steve and her. He attempted to make polite conversation, asking her about her research on the Cube, how far she has come with it, but that only went on for so long. Eventually, they settled into a somewhat tense, but polite silence as they finished their breakfast. As she sat there, she caught herself glancing at the Avenger several times. A realization dawned upon her. She really hadn't talked much at all with him. While spending her time at the mansion, she usually spoke to Tony and Thor; Natasha on occasion. The others she rarely glimpsed. What did she even know Steve Rogers? She could scrape together the facts now, but she knew Tony told her something about him. This didn't faze her too much, seeing how becoming everyone's acquaintance wasn't of immediate importance. She could do that later. What she needed to focus on was keeping Loki out of trouble. Everything else was second.
Soon she finished her cereal and escaped back to her room, basking in the sanctuary of being alone several moments before she got down to business. She glanced at her clock. 5:55 am. School didn't start for another hour. Plenty of time to do some thinking. There had to be a way to convince Loki to attend classes. She just didn't know how she would do it. She sighed, sitting on her bed as she gazed out her window. The sky was beginning to brighten ever slowly. What did he do when he was out, prowling on his own? That was the only word for it. Prowling. He wasn't up to any good. The whole point that she tag along on this high school thing was to keep an eye on him, but how could she do that if he was constantly evading her? He always left while she went to classes.
Jane blinked. That was it. She had an idea.
/
/
The ride to school was quiet. Loki didn't have much to say and Jane likewise. Her plan didn't involve talking anyway. It wasn't a plan, now that she thought about it. More like a hastily thrown together idea, barely being held together by paste. Nonetheless, it was a good idea. Or, at least, she hoped it was.
As soon as Loki got out of the limo, Jane followed after him, close behind. He didn't pay her much attention. They walked into the school, entering the main doorway where the hall opened up. Usually, this was when Jane would go left to her class and Loki would go wherever a Loki goes. Jane didn't go left. Jane kept close to him, trying to match his stride, but finding that his long legs made it hard to keep up, was a step or two behind. This continued for several moments before he finally started noticing her.
Loki glanced at Jane sideways. "What are you doing?"
"I'm following you," she replied simply.
He narrowed his eyes, stopping in the hallway. "Why?"
She stopped next to him. "If you're not going to classes, I have to see what you're up to."
"Spying on me, are we - Miss Froster, was it?" He smirked.
She ignored the last part. "Not spying."
"Of course not," he interjected. "Spying would require an incorporation of stealth, which you entirely lack."
"I want to see what is so important that you can't come to class."
Again, not much of a plan. Hastily thrown together idea. Anything was worth a shot. What did she have to lose?
"Where does this concern spring from?" he asked, furrowing his brow. "Are you worried for your fellow Midgardians? Don't be. I can assure you now that I've done nothing malice towards your kind," When she opened her mouth to protest, he hastened to add, "in this form."
"I don't know that if you won't let me see what you're up to."
"Shouldn't you be getting to class?" he asked testily. As if to prove his point, the bell rang and he raised his eyebrows expectantly, smirking at her.
"This is more important," she countered, not budging an inch.
"What's this?" His smirk widened. "Jane Froster, skipping class? What a deviant."
"Where do you go, Lo- Lucas?" she caught herself, just remembering he had a fake name, too. It felt weird to say. She hadn't been in a situation often enough where she had to think of him as anyone else, but who he was.
He smirked more when she said his fake name. "Well, isn't this fun? Playing pretend. Shouldn't you be better spending your time on your little research project? Or are you better suited to whittling your time away in this place, wasting your energy on your primitive calculations and geometrical shapes?"
He paid attention in the class he was in, she noted, shaking her head. "You're missing the point-"
"And what is the point?" Loki's smirk slowly vanished and was replaced with something akin with rage. "What is the point in any of this? There's a fluke and we're both trapped in our adolescent bodies, forced to endure this grueling humiliation all because SHIELD doesn't want the world to find out what failures they are. How does that justify your purpose here?"
"The point," Jane interrupted, not wanting to let his words get to her. "The point is that you and I are in a situation that neither of us is enjoying."
"Making assumptions is unbecoming. I am rather enjoying my time," Loki deadpanned.
"But," she continued, ignoring his comment. "we're stuck in this together whether we like it or not. And I know it sucks and a lot of stuff is happening, but we don't have to do this alone. If you came to classes, then we could both benefit."
Loki's smirk was back and he raised his eyebrows expectantly as he asked, "And how could I benefit from this?"
"You will learn more about Midgardian culture."
"As I've explained before, I'm not interested."
"I think you just can't do it."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"
"If Midgard is so beneath you, then these classes shouldn't be a problem."
"They aren't. I've already surveyed one and I could easily surpass it."
"How do I know you're not just backing out because you can't handle it?" Jane didn't know if it was working, but she sorely hoped egging him on like this would result in something. She just hoped it wouldn't be anything involving collateral damage.
Loki smirked. "And how would you benefit? You said it would be mutually beneficial. I get to show you up and you get what exactly?"
"I'd get to sit peacefully in class without having to worry about something destroying the school."
He chuckled at the last. "And I'm assuming I would have had something to do with it?"
"It's not becoming to assume."
Loki stared at her thoughtfully. "Jane, I will attend classes."
Jane sighed. "There you go again, always saying, 'no' before - wait, what?" she stared at him with big eyes. "What?"
"I know you are not hard of hearing, Jane Foster."
She decided not to point out that he used her real name. "I know. I'm just surprised. I mean," she muttered, not sure if she heard him right. "Are you really serious right now?"
"To get you to shut up – yes. I will go to your inferior Midgardian classes."
Jane frowned at the first comment, but relaxed at the last. This was a start. It wasn't much, but it was something and she wasn't about to lose it now. "Alright. Good."
"On one condition," he added.
Jane sighed. She should have seen this coming. "What is it?"
"Jane," he said, speaking low. "Stay away from me."
