Chapter 6- Vindicated


"Hope dangles on a string, like slow spinning redemption-

Winding in and winding out, the shine of it has caught my eye,

And roped me in, so mesmerizing, so hypnotizing, I am captivated.

I am vindicated.

I am selfish, I am wrong, I am right, I swear I'm right, I swear I knew it all along.

And I am flawed, but I am cleaning up so well.

I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself."

~Dashboard Confessional, "Vindicated"


Loki woke up on a dirty couch, with some of its surface ripped with stiff black spots, as if someone had held a lighter up to it until it burned. He was still in his clothes from the night before, his jeans, shirt, boots, and leather jacket. The ceiling above him was made of cracked plaster and had some stains on it too, with a tacky lamp hanging from the center.

He was in an apartment, a shitty one at that, and realized he was not alone once he sat up. Random people were around the room, or walking in and out of the doors. There was one couple stripped to their undergarments, passed out on a different couch. There was another guy waking up from being completely baked the day before in the corner. Another was some chick with a serious hangover.

They were all people from last night, scummy people or people with nowhere else to go. Loki smiled bitterly when he realized he was not sure which category he really fell into.

Through a doorway across the room he was in there was a kitchen, and he made out a familiar face making breakfast at a stovetop. The guy was in his mid twenties, with floppy hair and a lopsided grin.

Loki sat up, groaning at the stiffness in his bones, and shuffled over there, running a hand through his black hair that had turned greasy overnight.

"Hey Tino," He muttered to the man at the stove, who grinned and greeted him cheerfully.

"Hey man. One too many beers last night?"

Loki replied with a glare, opening the ancient fridge and grabbing a water bottle. His cranky behavior and the dull pounding in his head was enough of an answer for both of them.

Tino was the guy who lived in the apartment above the bar, and it was normal for groups of guys and girls to crash there at once when they couldn't get home. He was a funny guy- pretty laid back and was happy to house them all. Loki was convinced he was almost high all of the time- because there was no way someone could be as chilled out as him.

Loki had only crashed there once before, on a particularly bad night at home when Odin decided to take notice for once of his after school detention activities. The fights didn't end, and it didn't blow over even after a couple hours. Loki had left the house.

The memories were vague, but he distinctly remembered Frigga crying, and the loud slam of the front door when he stormed out. That night he drove out here, a place that was only rumors to him at the time, and had drunk himself delusional. That was the first time he met Tino, who had somewhat become an acquaintance over time.

"You gonna go back to your folks? Or was it bad?"

"I'll go back. I just didn't want to be around them."

With a swig of the water bottle that tasted disgusting against his tongue, Loki looked over at Tino and nodded a thanks.

"I'll catch you later, man." Tino called as Loki walked from the kitchen.

As Loki walked into the living room, he was suddenly grabbed by the collar and pushed against the wall, a guy seeming to be a few years older than him baring his teeth. He had the stench of alcohol on him, and Loki vaguely remembered playing pool with him the night before. He may or may not have cheated when playing. Other people in the room turned to look at the scene, but most too stoned or too cowardly to cut in and stop it.

"I know what you did, kid. I want my money back!" He snarled, a few inches shorter than Loki, but with a bigger build. "Son of a bitch, think you can cheat me?"

Loki stared down at the man with a bored gaze, before grabbing onto his wrist that held on to his shirt and twisting it. The man gasped when they both heard a small snap of bones, but Loki didn't flinch. Grabbing him by the neck in one swift motion and spinning him around to slam him against the wall, Loki decided to bare his teeth, and looked much more intiminading than the nameless man did when angry.

"Actually, I don't think I can cheat you. I know I can cheat you. I would give you your money back, but it seems you don't really have the capability of holding it anymore." Loki said thoughtfully, gazing at him with his penetrating and terrifying gaze. The man's now broken wrist made his hand dangle by his size, motionless.

"Jesus christ, man-" The guy sputtered, shoving Loki off of him and backing away. "What the hell! You freak! You're a monster!" The man cradled his injured wrist in his other arm, looking at Loki as if Loki was the most disgusting creature to walk the Earth. Loki turned away from him, what he had just done suddenly dawning on him. Other people in the room backed away from him too, withering under his gaze or looking away from the sight of him.

Tino walked in from the kitchen after hearing the noise, and saw the scene before him. The man with snapped bones and Loki standing before him. The kind and low-key apartment turned to Loki with disappointment in his eyes, a spatula still held in his hands. Loki felt most uncomfortable under that gaze.

You're a monster.

Loki wanted to tell the man he cheated that he was sorry, but could not manage to get the words out from his throat. Images of an x-ray showing broken bones and the image of his mother's confused face, the disproval of his father, it all crushed him as it flooded his system. Trying to focus on his breathing to make it more steady, Loki walked out of the apartment's door, desperate to escape. It led to a stairwell that led down to a different hallway, which led to the bar. The horror on everyone's faces after seeing what he had done was branded behind his eyes.

It was nine in the morning and dead, the bartender wiping down glasses and cleaning off the counter and stools. "Better get yourself home, kid." He said gruffly. Loki nodded to him, having known the man for a while now, and shoved his hands in his pockets, digging for his car keys.

The December morning was bright and pale, blinding him once he stepped outside into the fresh snow. It covered everything in a thin layer, and he wiped down the windows and top of his car of it, his hands unaffected from the cold. His hands that had just destroyed a part of someone with a simple wring. Winter weather never seemed to disturb Loki as it did others. In fact, he often seemed to enjoy it. It was his favorite season out of the four. When he finally moved to climb inside his car after everything that had just happened, the bartender's words echoed through the slight pain of his hangover in his head.

Better get yourself home.

Home.

Loki scowled, wishing he did not crave the presence of his brother, his mother, even his father. But he did. He just wanted them to feel the same as he did.

With a sigh he began to drive home, dreading the weekend he knew he'd spent alone.

He had to stop for gas along the way home, and paid with the stolen worn down fifty he had earned the night before. Loki winced when he pulled it out of his wallet.


Natasha's weekend was very eventful. She single handedly called all of her friends together, and they all went out and had fun, completely distracting her from everything. She purposely make herself struggle with time constraints with her homework and job, making sure she would not have any time for herself to think about things.

The stress had made her extremely vulnerable.

It would not take much to send her over the edge, and with her terrible control issues, Natasha should have known.

On Monday, once the weekend was over, she was shocked at her own strength when she did not break over what the bitch squad put in her locker.

Pictures lined the walls of something she had forgotten up until then.

It was this little freshman girl from a year ago, innocent, and terrified of high school. It had been the first week back to school, and Natasha and the Bitch squad were pleased with the idea of no longer being freshman. To exercise their new power, they had convinced Natasha to pull a prank. It seemed like such a joke, something so funny. They had art class with the freshman girl, and she sat in the seat in front of them.

Natasha had taken red paint, and had put a small amount on her chair, not enough her the girl to notice when she sat down in it. They all laughed as the girl walked around, unknowing of the red spot on the back of her beige colored khaki pants.

She had earned some cruel nicknames because of Natasha, and some ruthless bullying from the spineless and bored of Marvel High.

The girl had transferred to a private school a couple weeks later.

Inside her locker were all of the pictures they took with their phones of her backside, the red spot taunting and bright crimson. In the center was a different photo- one of herself and Loki. She was against his side as he helped support her with an arm around her waist, faking pain. Written in red lipstick on a blank spot of the locker's backside was "got cramps?"

So they must have seen her on Friday.

Natasha felt her cheeks burn in humiliation and guilt, a horrible feeling tugging on her heart. She thought of that poor girl they tortured, and how embarrassed she must have been. The stain probably never left those pants, and Natasha felt tears brim her eyes as she sincerely hoped the girl burned them.

"Tash? What's that in your locker..?" Steve had approached her, a confused look in his eyes as he tried to peer inside to see the pictures.

Quickly pulling herself together, Natasha shut her locker with the flick of her wrist and spun around to face him, smiling.

Doing what she did best.

"It's nothing. What's up?"

Steve left the topic of her locker in the dust, a look of distress crossing his face. "I have this paper due today, but the computer in the library won't let me print it... I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

Natasha laughed. "Technology really hates you, doesn't it?"

Steve shook his head in exasperation. "I just don't get it. I would ask Tony, but I know he would never let me down for it."

The two of them walked together to the library so Natasha could help print his paper. She tried to forget about the pictures in her locker, the terrible feeling in her bones, and the bright red spot on the girls pants that matched the same exact hue of her flaming red hair.


During lunch that day, Natasha was bent on a mission.

She still felt uneasy and bogged down with guilt over what was in her locker, but did her best to hide it from the others. Once she made it to the courtyard she bee-lined towards Thor, and made herself comfortable at the spot next to him.

Thor and Jane were already talking together in the wide-eyed admiration new couple way. It seemed like they were perpetually in the honeymoon stage of the relationship. Her tiny frame fit perfectly in his lap, holding her books in her arms with Thor seeming more than pleased with this seating arrangement. She wore his red flannel, which looked more like a blanket wrapped around her. The two of them giggled and laughed, sharing a lunch. Too often they seemed to be in their own world.

They really like each other, Natasha thought.

The group was slightly surprised at her new seating choice since she almost always sat with Clint. Natasha hoped it wasn't noticeable when she began to question Thor, and casually pry for information.

"So Thor... you never told me you had a brother."

Bringing it up wouldn't be strange, right?

The rest of the group barely paid attention to her asking, leave it to Natasha to slip in undetected. Thor did not seem surprised or put off, he actually brightened towards the subject brought up. Jane, on the other hand, didn't. She seemed nervous towards the mention of the other brother in Thor's family.

"Yes, Loki! I always try to invite him to lunch or to our nights out, but he always refuses."

Natasha was relieved about how easy it was to talk with Thor. "Why is that?" She asked innocently, deciding to dig deeper while taking a sip of her water.

"Well..." Thor's face saddened and she almost doubted he would answer. The subject of Loki probably was not a pretty one, and could possibly be upsetting to Thor. It made Natasha wonder if their home life was as great as it seemed, and another pang of guilt hit her when she remembered what she had said to Loki before. What she had done to him before. It was cruel, and she knew it too well.

"Loki is a bit different... he doesn't usually get along with most people." Natasha restrained herself from snorting at that. "I want him to join us. He really is not so bad, once you hang around him for a while. He just comes off as very..." Thor searched for the right word.

"I know what you mean." Natasha helped him. Thor nodded, giving up.

"He quite often isolates himself, and doesn't let anyone in. "

Just like me... Natasha felt strange thinking this way.

"He seems so lonely." She thought out loud, never having seen him have human contact with anyone but his family and herself. She said this more to herself than to anyone else.

"He is. He thinks I don't notice, but he is. I wish I could be enough for him.."

Natasha nodded, having heard enough. She did not want to push any further, because Thor was already looking more downtrodden than before.

He had not mentioned any sort of idea that Loki was ignored or neglected at home, but that begged to question, did he realize it? Loki was obviously affected by her words about it, and it was clear to see how they treated him at that dinner. Thor was probably a part of it without even realizing.

Natasha did not know which side to chose.

When lunch was over, she was surprised when Tony quickly moved next to Natasha as she began to walk to her next class.

"Heard ya talking about Thor's brother," He said, eyeing her curiously. Natasha decided to play the casual card.

"Yeah, I was. Why?"

Tony looked ahead, and shrugged innocently. His wide brown eyes flickered over to her again. "He's in a couple of my classes. Grade A freak, trust me."

Without another word, Tony strode off to catch up with Pepper who walked like she was on a mission. Natasha stared after him, knowing he was listening during lunch, but talked to her now so that Thor wouldn't hear him. She felt her anxiety, guilt, and worry bubble to the surface again, badgering her.

Natasha didn't know how she should feel about Loki, and the fact that her emotions weren't concrete only made her feel more nervous.


Pepper had of course told Tony about her suspicions and worries about Natasha.

Normally if Natasha had been hiding a guy from them, she would feel too happy to feel angry at her keeping it a secret. But this... this was something different. She understood why Natasha would hide this from them.

Loki was dangerous.

When Pepper saw him helping her out of the gym that other day, she had told Tony then. He couldn't believe the guy would go near her, so much as touch her- and Pepper agreed with just as much distaste. Tony was on Pepper's side of course- they wanted what was best for Natasha. That was why Tony had gone to Natasha after lunch to talk after they both heard her speaking about Loki with Thor.

To them, Loki was an asshole who was rude and a delinquent- the worst kind. The kind that doesn't feel or care. The only things they ever knew about him was from their direct interactions with him, and the rumors that floated around about him. One of the most popular included how the reason his family moved to a new town was because he destroyed the last one. Most people believed he was put in jail for a while, or one of those delinquent centers that houses the criminally insane youth. Seeing that Loki never talked to anyone, nobody could have possibly known how false the rumors were. Tony and Pepper were no different from the school's population.

They both approached Clint at the end of that day, serious, by his locker when he was alone. "Hey, guys... what's going on?" Clint was calm- he always was. Although seeing Tony serious for once made him falter as he took his books from his locker.

"Has Natasha told you anything... about what's going on with her?"

Clint's eyebrows dipped a fraction, but he still kept a cool face. He loved Tasha- she was his best friend. He considered her to be one of the most cleverest, most intelligent people. They trusted each other. Didn't they?

"What are you talking about?" He asked them.

Pepper looked to Tony and wrinkled her nose, her freckles clumping together. Tony sighed, and rolled his huge brown eyes to the ceiling before they darted back to look at their friend. Clint waited, patiently as he could be. Pepper was the one who spoke first.

"Well... see, we kind of think she's hiding something..."


back again, with chapter 8! whoop. there it is. literally. Loki bein all delinquent-like and such. Natasha bein all sneaky and such.

review review review! please please please go go go

and the next chapter... oh man. You guys are going to realllyy like the next chapter. I can already see it. PREPARE YOURSELVES!