A/N: Hey guys! So brevity might be for the best, but anyone who's ever read my works knows that's just not how I operate. That being said, this chapter started getting into the 30 pages territory so I had to split it. Luckily, part 2 is already written. Which means you get a relatively quick update. But I do want to get a bit further in the next few chapters before posting it, so it'll be another day or two. Otherwise, this is Natasha's first day at Marvel High School in two parts.

Couple of explanations. The main bully in this fic is Justin Hammer. I know many writers tend to set Loki against Doom or Amora or Thanos, but while writing this Hammer showed up and started acting like an pompous jerk and I couldn't stop him. Blame the leaked set photos from Loki's tv show if you must. But for this fic, he works out really well as antagonist and direct juxtaposition of both Loki and Natasha. So, sorry but he's staying. Don't worry their will be plenty of others to hate on as well!

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE! There is a lot of language coming at you here. They're in high school and high schoolers have a tendency to use colorful language. Some of it is offensive and if that rankles you, I'm sorry. But I'm writing a reflection of life and it's messy sometimes. There will be some heavy topics discussed in this fic so be warned now. This chapter is bullying and language. When we get to other topics that could be considered messy or triggering I'll provide plenty of warning.

Sorry for the novel of an author's note. Hope you guys enjoy!

"Natasha Romanoff get your lazy ass out of bed and down these stairs right now!" An all too familiar voice yelled up the stairs of the small apartment. A voice she knew wouldn't leave her in peace until she obeyed it's commands.

Pulling her head out from under her pillow, Natasha took note of the time and groaned. Her moron of a cousin had better have a good reason to come calling at 6:15 in the morning.

"Don't make me come up there," he shouted, even louder this time.

"I'm up you dork," Natasha yelled back.

But she didn't get up just yet. It had been his decision to show up at her house unannounced this early in the morning, so he could wait until she was bloody well ready to show her face. After another ten minutes of lying about, mourning the end of her few weeks of prolonged summer, the smell of breakfast finally managed to pull the teen from the comfort of her bed. Throwing on a pair of jeans and a dark shirt that could be deemed both nice and casual, Natasha made her way to the bathroom in order to make herself fully presentable for her first day of school at, the originally named, Marvel High.

Staring at her reflection in the tiny bathroom she now shared with her mother, Natasha couldn't help but compare herself to the woman her mother had become. The contrasts between them had always been rather stark. Her mother was pale with long dark hair and a strong jawline. Whereas Natasha had a mess of red hair that she could never quite manage to tame. Their complexions were similarly pale but where she had freckles galore, her mother had always had flawlessly smooth skin. Not even time had managed to ravager her mother's face quite yet.

Yet while they shared absolutely no blood relation, thank you adoption, she couldn't help but believe that she'd picked up certain traits of her mother's over the years. The stern expressions she could pull, a particular quirk of her eyebrow perhaps, the small smiles that could somehow be both warm and cold at the same time. Either way now that her mother looked happy a majority of the time, Natasha could see far more resemblance between them. And, as of yet, she hadn't quite decided how to feel about those similarities.

Sighing and shaking away her morose thoughts, Natasha began applying makeup, brushing her teeth, and generally making herself more presentable than her original bed headed reflection. By the time she declared herself decent and made it downstairs, Clint was making his way through a large plate full of eggs and bacon. Her mother sat at the table with him, eyeing him with an odd mixture of appreciation and disgust.

"Sup Nat," he said through a mouthful of food.

"Please swallow first," Natasha begged. "I don't want to lose my appetite before I even sit down at the table."

Clint pointed his fork at her. "If your stomach is too weak to handle my eating habits then you don't deserve to eat anyway."

"No one's stomach is strong enough to handle your habits," her mother cut in.

"You wound me, Melinda!" He answered, not bothering to finish chewing his latest mouthful first.

Natasha pulled the platter of eggs over and began piling them onto her plate. With a shake of her head, she turned her focus to breakfast and ignored the banter between her cousin and mother. By the time she finished and had at least two cups of coffee in her, she finally felt fully awake and somewhat human.

"Alright wise guy," she said, directing her attention to Clint. "Why are you at our house at 6:15 in the morning, demanding breakfast, and that I wake up."

"First off," he responded, "your mom invited me last night. B it's your first day at Marvel! We have to get your schedule figured out and all that crap so that your first day is smooth. And finally, someone promised me food so I showed up."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "I feel so terrible for your parents."

"They'd appreciate your sentiment and probably agree," he smirked.

With that said he hopped to his feet and grabbed all three plates from the table. After a quick rinse and tossing them in the dishwasher - like the brown noser he was - Clint dumped Natasha out of her chair.

"Now come on! It's 7:20 and we really do need to get your schedule sorted out. Thanks for breakfast Melinda." Clint leaned down and gave her mother a quick hug. "It was delicious."

"It's a sin to be this happy in the morning!" Natasha called after his retreating form.

"I'll warm the car up and be ready for you to enter it with a better attitude," Clint said without pausing to look back at her.

Natasha shook her head and turned to her mother. "I guess we're leaving."

"I guess you are," she laughed. "I hope you have a good day. Stay close to Clint, he may be crazy but he shouldn't lead you too far astray."

"Not if he ever wants breakfast again."

"After that display, I don't know if I can ever let him back in the house. His table manners haven't been this bad his whole life have they?"

Natasha laughed. "His manners have always been bad, the shoveling food down his throat at high speed is what's new."

Her mother hummed to herself. "Well you better follow him. He's likely to find trouble if you leave him for too long."

"Truth. Bye mom."

Her mother merely nodded in return as Natasha made her escape. Surprisingly, breakfast with her mother had been nice. Maybe things really had changed.

Frigga looked down in fond bemusement at the teenager feigning sleep on her living room couch. Dark hair that she kept after him to cut hung in a tousled mess around his shoulders and the clothes he'd arrived in last night lay crumpled beyond belief in a pile at his feet. He'd come in late last night exhausted and filthy and had obviously fallen asleep before making it home.

The overly large clothes he'd slept in told her Thor had obviously lent him some sleeping pants and a T-shirt, because heaven knew the stubborn child had a hard time accepting anything they bought for him. Frigga hadn't necessarily expected to find him on the couch this morning, but she couldn't claim surprise or that it hadn't happened many times before. Separating Thor and Loki would never be an easy task and she'd learned many years ago that the two needed each other in ways neither completely understood. Trying to keep them apart for more than a day or two at a time, a task her husband had attempted many times over the years, was next to impossible.

Which didn't bother Frigga one bit. She'd considered Loki part of the family almost from the moment she'd met him. Those big green eyes held so much emotion and far too much understanding for a child his age, one look into them and she'd been lost. Then the boy had opened his mouth and his sweet personality had done her in completely. Frigga mothered him in a way she knew no one else ever had and if anyone had asked her, from that first moment on she had two sons instead of just the one she'd birthed.

"You know," she said perching herself on the arm of the couch, "you have a perfectly good bed in this house for a reason."

Try though he might, Loki couldn't keep the smirk off his face. "But if I slept in it regularly, what would you have to nag me about?" He asked without opening his eyes.

"Oh I'm sure I could find something."

Moving carefully so as not to startle the teen, she pushed a gentle hand across his forehead, smoothing back some of his raven hair. Green eyes lazily opened, fixating on her. Frigga could see the effort it took for him not to lean into her touch.

"I'm sure you could, Ma," he answered lightly, twitching away from her hand.

Quick as flash, Loki sat up on the couch and stretched lazily showing off a far too skinny torso, something Frigga found herself constantly trying to combat, and the lean muscles he'd gained from taking up track. A few slow stretches later he was on his feet and gathering up his clothes. His stiff movements were a bit too unnatural to blame on a single night spent on the, admittedly comfortable, couch. Frigga's mouth drew into its trademark thin line.

"Is your father going to be mad that you didn't come home?" She asked, concern obvious in her tone.

Loki turned soft green eyes on her but merely shrugged off the worry with his words. "He'll find something to be pissed at regardless. So no harm, no foul." Noting the apprehension still present in her face, he shot her a confident smile that was far too practiced to be real. "I probably won't be at the opening game Thursday night though."

Frigga's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "You were going to the game Thursday night?"

"No," he laughed. "But he doesn't have to know that."

She couldn't deny the smile that tugged at her lips. "As long as it keeps you out of even more trouble."

"Now that wouldn't be any fun."

Loki dodged her playful swipe at his arm with ease, smiling genuinely all the while. He didn't manage to dodge the pillow she tossed at his head, though it did startle a laugh and protestation of cheating out of him.

"For your cheek," Frigga said, "you can wake Thor."

"Aww come on Ma. That's hardly fair," he moped.

"I'm the adult," she countered, "I don't have to be fair. And if you start now, you'll have time to shower and have breakfast before he makes it down."

Loki tossed the pillow back to the couch and pointed a single long finger at her. "I'll only do it because you've promised breakfast."

"Whatever helps you maintain your pride dear."

The teen merely rolled his eyes before lunging up the stairs yelling at the top of his lungs. "Thor! Ma says it's my job to wake you up. So get up now or I'm pouring cold water on you again."

Frigga shook her head and picked his discarded blanket and pillow off the floor. It had taken so many years for them to reach this level of comfort. So many years, so much patience, and far more compassion than she'd ever believed she would need in life. But they'd finally made it. Loki could joke with them, laugh at himself and at them (without malice), and leave things lying around their house. He'd finally stopped flinching at every movement and had even started acting playfully with them. She and Thor had long considered him part of the family and she finally believed he considered them in the same way.

The first time he'd called her Ma, he'd been a completely mortified ten year old who didn't understand why she pulled him into a smothering hug afterwards. Now it was as natural as breathing between them. There were still issues to work through, but Loki had grown so much in the years she'd known him. He'd gone from an ornery and defensive little boy to a promising young man who, if he'd stop making mischief, had a promising future before him.

Making her way to the kitchen to start breakfast, Frigga counted herself lucky to have been blessed with two wonderful sons.

Marvel high school was exactly what you'd imagine a small town school to be. Two or three hallways and one upstairs section with outdated lockers and obviously old classrooms stacked intermittently throughout the building. The middle school shared a campus and thus the single lunchroom had reached its limit by the time Clint and Natasha arrived.

Clint had diverted her to Principal Fury's office instead while explaining that juniors and seniors didn't have to eat in the overcrowded lunchroom anyway. They were allowed to sit in the center courtyard at the picnic tables. A fact Natasha found herself exceedingly grateful to know.

"Aren't schedules usually handled by the guidance counselor or something like that?" Natasha asked, following Clint to Fury's office.

"Usually," Clint smirked. "But Principal Fury likes to think of himself as the hands on type. He wants to know everybody in the school and everything that goes on in it. No matter how small. Real control freak ya know."

"Sounds like it."

The school office of Marvel High school looked exactly like Natasha had expected it would. A large open room with a long front counter and a tiny secretary with glasses far too big for her face sitting behind it. The walls were covered in group shots of the senior classes from the past twenty years, some showing their age with slight boxing around the edges while others sat new and pristine. A small collection of identical black chairs sat along the walls and complemented the shiny black tile providing the room with a warm and inviting feeling, she hadn't expected. With a wave to the secretary, Clint led Natasha past the main office and down a short hallway to a slightly open door.

Clint put a finger over his mouth silencing her question before leaning in to better hear the voices on the other side.

"...some new party drug these fools are taking. Sheriff Ross has asked me to start taking some precautions," a deep voice she could only assume to be Fury's was saying.

"What kind of precautions?" An oldly masculine, but not unpleasant, female voice asked.

"The usual. Keeping close watch on the cameras, random drug testing, said he might start pulling a few kids for questions, typical bull shit. They know we aren't going to find anything here."

"So what should we-" the woman didn't get any further.

"Barton," Fury called out from behind the door, "stop eavesdropping and drag your sorry hide in here."

Clint shot Natasha a guilty smile before fully opening the door and walking through as if he hadn't been doing anything wrong in the first place. Like the rest of the area, Fury's office maintained the red and black theme of Marvel's school colors. Unlike the main office though, there was nothing warm or inviting about the room. Fury had exerted the minimum effort needed to establish that the office belonged to him. An immaculately clean nameplate sat front and center of the old dark desk with a legal pad and a computer as the only other things present. All of the furniture in the room had obviously been used for several decades and yet, undoubtedly, each item had been well cared for during that time.

The only thing in the office that seemed to give any indication of the man's personality were the two bookshelves wedged carefully between a pair of old filing cabinets. The shelves bursted at the seams with books of all types and sizes. Natasha couldn't see even an inch of clear space. And the books stretched from historic works to fiction to textbooks on education. Nick Fury was clearly a well read man. And his office, while reflecting that, also seemed to demonstrate that he had little time for nonsense.

"Come in Mr. Barton," the man in question said, leaning back in his chair and evaluating the two students with a single dark eye. "Come in and please explain to me why you were, once again, listening to my private conversations."

Fury turned an intimidating glare onto Clint that barely phased her cousin but put Natasha on edge. Fury's overall demeanor practically screamed that he did not take foolishness from anyone. He'd dressed in a sharp black suit which hugged him closely and showed that, despite his age, the man had some muscle tone. The dark skin of his face was marred by a long scar which ran from the edge of his bald head across his right eye and down to his cheek. The eyepatch and stern brow combined with the aura of assertiveness presented a rather complete picture of a man not to be screwed with.

Clint however shot him a sheepish grin and a smile. "You know I'd never eavesdrop on you, Fury. It would be far too disrespectful for someone like me."

Fury snorted. "You wouldn't know respect if it crawled into your arms and slapped you for attention."

"Ahh you're breaking my heart, sir."

Natasha would have found the whole situation terrifying if the woman sitting across from Fury had been fighting to conceal a smile. Though the woman retained a similar air of authority, her neatly pulled back brown hair and round face gave her a friendliness that Fury naturally lacked. Despite her professional attire, Natasha could tell that this woman would be far more laid back than her counterpart.

"What do you want today, Barton?" Asked Fury.

Clint shot Natasha a wink. "I'm just guiding my poor, innocent cousin around school. She's new and all, ya know."

Fury's one eyed gaze fell on Natasha, fully intimidating her as he'd intended. "So you're the cousin he keeps rattling on and on about. I'm pleased to finally meet you Ms. Romanoff."

"It's nice to meet you too, sir," she managed to reply, impressed that her voice remained steady and strong despite her nerves.

Fury nodded in the direction of his female companion. "This is Vice Principal Maria Hill. If you get lost or have any questions throughout your first few weeks, she's a great resource for you."

"It's very lovely to meet you Natasha," Ms. Hill said with a smile and a firm handshake. Turning to Fury she continued. "I'd better get going and start putting out fires as early as possible."

"Good luck," Fury said. As soon as the door closed behind Ms. Hill, Fury turned his attention back to the two students in front of him. "Well I assume you're here to get your schedule all sorted out. I've got a preliminary one we can start with and we can go from there to see what we end up with. I've received your records, but you'll have a better idea of what you've already taken and what you still need. Please have a seat Ms. Romanoff."

Natasha settled herself into the indicated chair across from him while Fury turned to his computer. However, his attention apparently wasn't fixed solely on her schedule.

"Have a good day Mr. Barton," he said in dismissal before Clint could so much as perch on the arm of Natasha's chair.

"Oh I'll hang around," said Clint, "I don't mind."

"I'm sure you don't. I however, do mind and I'm sure Mrs. Johnson will mind as well. Off to class."

"Oh come on Fury!" Clint whined. "I'll be good, I swear. Plus someone needs to make certain you don't railroad her with hard courses."

Despite Natasha's fear that Clint had pushed too far, Fury chuckled lightly. "She's in good hands. Goodbye Mr. Barton."

Clint sighed dramatically. "I guess I'll go then. Don't let him give you a hard time Nat. He only looks scary."

With one final grin and a short wave Clint left her alone with Principal Fury who immediately shook his head at her cousin's antics.

"Let's start with a list of people you should stay away from," Fury said as he returned his attention to the computer. "Your cousin is at the top of that list."

Natasha smirked. "Trust me sir, I already knew that."

"Good thing," said Fury with a small smile.

Natasha felt all of her tension dissipate at the kindness hidden in that smile. Perhaps Fury might not be so bad after all.

"I'm only joking of course," the principal continued. "Clint's one of the good ones. One you'll most certainly want to keep around through your first few weeks. I know he's your cousin, but he'd watch out for you even if he weren't."

A knock interrupted them before Fury could say anything more.

"Oh boy," he muttered under his breath before calling for the person to enter.

A teenager of roughly her age opened the door with a charming smile plastered across his face. Long black hair framed an angular jaw and threw shadows into sharp cheekbones, leaving the boy with an almost gaunt appearance. His pale skin highlighted bright green eyes which shone with mischief and immediately held Natasha's attention. The smile he gave Fury was all teeth and sharp edges, leaving Natasha to believe it wasn't sincere in the least. Trouble seemed to radiate from him in waves of tension that dispelled the previous levity of the room.

"Mr. Silver," Fury sighed, "it is far too early in the morning for you to already be gracing my presence."

"I said the exact same thing," the teen replied in a smoothly accented voice. "But I'm afraid Ms. Simmons felt differently from us."

"You aren't even supposed to be in her classroom right now. How is she involved?"

The teen shrugged. "Wrong place, wrong time I'm sure."

Fury's gaze hardened at the boy's sarcastic tone. "Short and sweet Silver. What happened."

"She may have been walking past my locker and overheard me utilizing my rather colorful and eloquent vocabulary to tell Justin Hammer exactly what he could do with his offer of becoming my new study partner."

The teen said all of this with the same smile he'd entered with. The way it never reached his eyes left Natasha unsettled. This kid wasn't like Clint whose playful banter had been amusing to Fury. She could tell that Fury's exasperation stemmed from a long habit of meetings similar to this one and obviously not all had been as temperate.

"Go on to class, Loki. I'll send Ms. Simmons an email detailing how you'll be spending detention shelving books in the library after school for the rest of the week."

"Sounds good to me," Loki replied with a chuckle. "Ms. Morse will be so pleased to hear she's spending extra time with me."

With that final remark, Loki backed out of the office without ever acknowledging Natasha's presence. Fury shook his head and turned a serious look onto Natasha.

"Speaking of people to stay away from. That one there is a good one to keep distance from." He pointed his finger at the door through which Loki had departed. "I don't like to disparage any of my students, but I don't want to have to see you in here on less than ideal terms. He's in your grade so you'll undoubtedly run into each other. Loki's trouble incarnate and has been for as long as I've known him. He's apparently made it his goal to see me at least once a day this year. Don't be like him."

"Yes sir," Natasha agreed..

She'd never been one for idle trouble, finding it better to keep her head down and her focus on her school work. With as many times as she'd changed schools, such instincts were as much for her survival as for her teacher's and parent's sanity. Though as they turned back to her schedule, Natasha found that she couldn't quite forget the dark haired teen who'd reeked of mischief and something a little darker than anything she'd found so interesting before.

Sorting out her schedule with Fury ended up taking the entire morning and most of her first period. Not to mention he'd given her the "grand tour" of campus and helped her find each of her classrooms.

Which meant she didn't get to go to class until third period - AP Anatomy - which she entered at least 15 minutes late. Of course the teacher, Mrs. Simmons (a tall, thin woman with red hair and the overall presence of an exceedingly intelligent and nerdy woman), made a small production of her new student status. The young Mrs. Simmons exclaimed in an overly friendly manner just how happy they were to have her and all the usual garbage that teachers had to say but few actually meant. Natasha kept in mind that this was probably just as torturous for Mrs. Simmons as it was for her and that helped numb her to the embarrassment which would have otherwise claimed her.

Luckily, Clint and several of his friends were also in this class. Her cousin slid his stuff over making room for Natasha between him and a big blonde guy she vaguely remembered as a member of the football team. It took the stranger speaking to her in an obviously Australian accent for her to place the fine specimen of a teenager as Thor Borson, Clint's long time friend and neighbor. It seemed that some of the people she knew had grown into themselves over the past few summers.

When the bell rang after a long period of taking notes and looking at diagrams, Clint offered to walk her to her next class, AP History. Since his next class happened to be on the opposite side of the school, Clint dropped her off with a quick encouragement and a hug before darting away to his own class. Leaving Natsasha to enter the classroom completely alone.

A quick reassuring breath and a jostle of her bag gave her the courage she needed to step into Mrs. Borson's fourth period without any backup.

The teacher in question sat behind her desk staring attentively at her computer screen. Her plain sweater and expensive dress pants gave her a sense of casual elegance that most women could only long for. Long dirty blonde hair had been pulled into a tidy bun and a pair of half moon reading glasses covered startling blue eyes that, for some reason Natasha couldn't quite place, seemed oddly familiar.

Natasha approached the teacher's desk quietly not wanting to disrupt Mrs. Borson from whatever held her attention so intently. She barely made it to the desk before the history teacher looked up and graced her with a friendly smile.

"Hello dear," Mrs. Borson began. "How may I help you?"

"Hi Mrs. Borson, I believe I'm in your class this period," Natasha informed her nervously. "My name is Na-"

"Natasha!" Mrs. Borson exclaimed. "Why yes, I recognize you now. You always did have the prettiest red hair." Noting Natasha's obvious confusion, the older woman leaned forward on her arms and continued. "But of course you probably don't remember me, it has been some years. You know my son. Thor."

Recognition dawned on Natasha in an instant. Sure the woman had aged several years, but how could she have forgotten Thor's mother. They'd been over to the Mayor's house several times as children. Enjoying the plentiful and delicious desserts Mrs. Frigga always seemed to have on hand. The ones she'd always claimed to be homemade but which Thor, much to their amusement, had told them she bought from the bakery and placed in her own dishes.

"Mrs. Frigga," said Natasha, surprising herself at the relief she felt knowing a familiar face. "I'm so sorry, I didn't recognize you."

"It's no problem dear! You were so young last time we met and I know I've aged a good deal since then."

"No you haven't," Natasha protested. "You still look exactly the same."

Mrs. Borson gave her a wink and a laugh. "Flattery is always a useful tool, Natasha. But I admit that I did cheat a bit. Neither Thor nor Clint have been able to stop talking about you moving into town. So I at least had a heads up."

"I apologize for Clint. Actually, I've been doing that a lot actually."

"I'm sure you have. You'll have to stop by after school and tell me all about your first day. We're so glad to have you here. I can't wait to speak with your mother again, it's been far too long."

"I'll be sure to stop by," Natasha replied nervously. Clutching her back pack strap in hand she searched for the proper words to express her gratitude to the exceedingly friendly Mrs. Borson. In the end, she settled for a lame but always applicable thank you.

Mrs. Borson gave her a nod before turning a more serious look on Natasha. "If you have time during study hall, stop by and I'll give you copies of everything we've covered so far. I won't make you make up any assignments, but you'll need the information to keep up. Based on your previous grades, I'm not too worried, but I don't want you falling behind before you ever get the chance to get started."

Affection for Mrs. Borson swept through Natasha. She'd rarely met a teacher as kind and inviting as this woman and Natasha had met many teachers through her years of being a trademark military brat. There had been plenty of nice and friendly teachers, but few had ever met this level of warmth and compassion. It was apparent that Mrs. Borson genuinely cared about her students.

"I have lunch first so I'll swing by during the second half of next period, if that's okay?" Natasha replied.

"That'll be just fine dear. In the meantime, you're in luck," Mrs. Borson said, taking on a business-like tone, reserved for the classroom. "I have exactly one open desk left and it's got your name on it."

Mrs. Borson pointed her to the lone empty desk on the right side of the classroom. With another quick thank you, Natasha made her way to her new seat. The room had been split straight down the middle with half the desks facing each other on either side. As she walked to the back of the room, she noticed Pepper Potts giving her a friendly wave and her long time boyfriend Tony Stark smirking at them both. They might be seated on the other side of the room, but Natasha was grateful to know at least some of the students in the class. Looking around she also recognized a shy looking boy who seemed slightly familiar and a girl she vaguely remembered Clint telling her that Thor had started dating.

"Okay guys," Mrs. Borson began once Natasha had taken her seat. "I have an email I need to finish right fast, so you have a bell ringer on the board that needs answering and five minutes to complete it. If you get finished before that you can talk quietly to your neighbor." At the grins she received from half the class, Mrs Borson rolled her eyes and added, "Just pretend you like each other for about five minutes okay."

A few students chuckled at that before turning to either their work or each other. Not knowing anyone just yet, Natasha chose the former. At least she tried to focus on the former until the guy sitting in the desk beside her leaned over and disrupted her.

"So you're the new chick?" He asked in a pompous tone that she instantly disliked.

"I'm the new chick," Natasha answered politely, without looking up from her notebook.

Unfortunately, he didn't take the hint. "The name's Hammer. Justin Hammer."

What kind of prick starts with their last name? Natasha thought.

"Natasha Romanoff," she said instead of voicing her thoughts.

A quick study of the boy gave her the distinct impression that she didn't like him. Hammer's face was pleasant enough, round and boyish with a slight tone that spoke of athleticism. Probably tennis or basketball over baseball or football. Something that didn't require an enormous amount of team work. The arrogance that practically bled from him told her he couldn't be a team player.

His clean cut hair was pushed to the side in a posh way that screamed he came from the wealthier neighborhoods of Marvel, but the well worn brand name clothing he wore said otherwise. He might have owned designer pants and top of the line ray band square glasses, but the obvious use of the items told her he most likely came from the same area she did. Caught somewhere between middle class and almost making it big. Except where she embraced it, he did everything he could to ignore the lower end of such living.

He flashed her a well practiced smile which showed off teeth that were just shy of white and pearly. "Well Natasha, it's a pleasure to meet you. Though I am sorry you seem to have gotten the short end of the stick."

The girl in front of her, a tall and muscular dark haired girl, snickered at his remark.

"I'm sorry?" Natasha queried, confused and starting to become irritated at his interruption.

"It was bound to happen, I'm just sorry that it had to be you." Seeing that she wasn't following him, Hammer leaned in and stage whispered the rest to her. "You see that seat's been open for a reason. It's always a fight to get as far away from the filth as you can." He tilted his head in the direction of the desk behind her as he spoke.

A quick glance behind her brought the person sitting one desk back to her attention. His dark hair and pale complexion were familiar though the clenching of his jaw and tight grip on his pen were new. The same young man who'd walked in on her and Fury's meeting earlier sat stiffly, in an obvious attempt to ignore the commentary of Justin Hammer.

"What do you mean?" She asked turning her attention back to Hammer.

"Thankfully no one has to sit down wind, but you'll figure it out as the year wears on," he replied. "Some people take personal hygiene very seriously. Others are happy to roll around with the dogs and come to school smelling like piss. It's a personal preference, but still you'd have hoped almost being an adult would change some habits."

"That's not-" Natasha began indignantly but was cut short by Mrs. Borson's call for attention.

The rest of the period saw her shooting glares at Hammer and furtive glances at the boy (Loki she thought his name was) behind her. While distracted by the outrageous comments from Hammer, Natasha found that she rather liked Mrs. Borson's style. The history teacher taught history the way others told stories. No detail went to waste nor were any important facts missed. Her questions forced the students to think and she seemed to make it her goal to make every student feel valued. Natasha found herself riveted by the end of class.

About ten minutes before the bell rang, Mrs. Borson stopped the discussion and began reminding them about upcoming assignments and tests for the week.

"Quick reminder that you do have a unit test on Friday." Mrs. Borson said to collective groans from the class. "Which," she continued over their morning, "you should have already started studying for over the weekend. But for those of you who forgot, try to do a little last minute studying tonight and the next few nights. It's not too late to do well."

"Aww but we have a game Thursday night Mrs. Borson," Hammer complained.

"Then I expect you've already studied and are ready to take the test Justin," Mrs. Borson replied. "Since you've known about this test for the three weeks we've been in school and you're a responsible young adult."

"Of course I've studied," Hammer said, his voice convincing only himself, "but it'll be a late night and no one is going to be in the mood for a test Friday morning."

"I will be. And luckily for you this isn't a morning class. So you'll have plenty of time to wake yourself up and mentally prepare yourself for the test."

"Can't we just take it Monday?" He asked with a smile that might have been charming if it had been less smarmy.

A few others in the class perked up his proposition. Looking hopefully at Mrs. Borson just in case she decided to agree.

"No, but," she paused dramatically, "we can take it Friday."

Resigned looks crossed every other face in the classroom, the exception being Justin Hammer.

"Come on, none of the other teachers are giving tests Friday. It's not really fair when you think about it," he persisted.

"Since I do talk to the other teachers regularly, I know that's a lie and since this is an AP course nothing is fair. You signed up for advanced courses Mr. Hammer, meaning that you chose to be in here. We have a schedule to keep if you want to pass the Exam and get college credit. So we will be having a test Friday. I'm sorry that you'll be tired, but unfortunately life isn't fair either. Now if anyone has any questions about what will be on the test this would be the time to ask them." Though her voice had remained even, the sharp look in her eye and the diversion of her attention carried a note of finality.

Several hands went up but Hammer refused to back down.

"Seriously? Don't be that way Mrs. B! We're playing DC this week!"he whined. "Everyone will be there. It's the county rivalry."

"We've moved on Mr. Hammer and I'll say nothing else about the matter. So I suggest you move on with us."

Hammer mumbled something that few people caught but no one missed the not so subtle bitch which he tagged to the end just loud enough to ensure everyone heard. Considering the deathly silence that filled the room after his muttering, no one missed his final remark. Mrs. Borson's lips narrowed into an impossibly thin line as she turned to face Justin Hammer.

While half the class sank lower into their seats and the other leaned eagerly forward - Natasha finding herself in the former group - a smooth voice from the back of the class cut loudly through the silence.

"Has anyone else ever noticed that the IQ of the entire room tends to lower whenever Hammer opens his mouth?"

Turning in her seat, Natasha noted that Loki had been the one to break the silence.

Hammer's face turned red in an instant. "No one asked for your opinion freak."

"Boys knock it off," Mrs. Borson attempted to interject to no avail. "We're done with this argument."

"I don't recall anyone asking for your input earlier and yet unfortunately you're still speaking," Loki said, ignoring Mrs. Borson completely. "So Why don't you save the oxygen it takes to voice your asinine ideas for those who actually use their brains and keep all future comments to yourself."

Hammer's jaw clenched and his chest puffed out in obvious rage. "Why don't you take a long walk of a short cliff and finish the job properly this time."

Loki's face paled ever so slightly as his eyes narrowed in anger. He managed a quick, "fuck you Hammer," before picking up his bag and storming from the classroom.

Mrs. Borson's usually warm voice turned positively glacial as she turned sharp displeasure on Hammer. "Your comments have just cost you a week worth of detentions Mr. Hammer. And I'll be having a discussion with your coach after class."

"What about him, he's just going to get off scot free!" Hammer protested, crossing his arms and slumping in his seat defiantly.

"How I handle Loki's disruption is none of your business. I think you'll find that the only business you have is with Principal Fury. Now why don't you head on to his office. I'll let him know you're coming."

Hammer swept his things into his bag and stormed from the classroom as Mrs. Borson settled the class back down.

"Now questions about the test?"

A/N: The results of this little encounter will be dealt with in the next chapter, so feel free to consider this an extremely mild cliff hanger! Let me know what you guys think and any constructive criticism you can give me. I need to know what's working, what's not working, and what you guys think in general. So leave me a little love in the comments/reviews. As always I'll see you guys in the next chapter!

Stay safe and well everyone!