Chapter 6 – Facebook Friends
"Darcy, when's your read through?"
"Tonight Jane, I've told you that every day this week."
"So, will everyone be there?" Jane was twiddling with her pen, sitting opposite Darcy's desk.
"Ye-e-e-s? What's up Boss Lady?" Darcy turned her attention away from the data sheets, furrowed her brow at the older girl. "What is making you twitchier than normal?"
"I'm not twitchy!" Jane smoothed her white shirt down over her belt. "It's just …that…um…"
"Fess up Jane. Now!"
"Fine, fine… Have you checked your Facebook recently?"
Darcy eyed up the nervous woman, unable to meet her eye. "No, I've been too busy working to worry about keeping up with my non-existent social media life".
Standing up, Darcy moved over to the edge of Jane's desk. She tried to keep her demeanour as calm as possible, Jane looked right on the edge of a panic attack. Whatever she thinks she has done, it can't be all that awful.
"Jane, what is on Facebook that is stressing you out?"
The astrophysicist flopped her head into her hands and mumbled, "I sent Thor a friend request…."
Keening towards her, Darcy just about understood. Softly she reached out and took her friends hands in hers. "Well, that doesn't sound too bad, did you want to be his friend, hun?"
Hazel eyes shone back at her, wide and imploring. "No Darcy, you don't get it. I sent him a friend request from your account."
"How?" Darcy's grip on her boss's hands grew tighter.
"When you were looking them up, you got that text from Odin, and I took advantage. I just clicked the friend request button. I knew you wouldn't."
"There's a reason why I wouldn't Jane…."
"Logically, it was to see if you could get a better look at Loki's profile. That's why I did it, honest!"
Darcy could see from Jane's posture that she hadn't meant any harm. Just her social filter going awry again. She was a genius but awful at social interactions. Went with the territory she guessed. Shrugging her shoulders she released her grip on the scientist.
"Ok, ok no harm done. I can always cancel the request." Darcy headed back towards her computer.
Jane shifted at her desk and moved towards the door. Turning back towards Darcy she said "No chance of that now Darce, he's already accepted!"
Seeing the red flash across Darcy's face, as expected at that final bombshell, Jane took to her heals and ran for the door.
"JANE!" Darcy bolted after her. "You beast!"
Freshly showered and buzzing with endorphins, post workout Thor was getting his clothes out of a locker. Pants buzzing as he took his bundle over to a bench. A not unusual occurrence, he was after all quite popular, he smirked to himself.
"Who loves me today?"
Ignoring the incoming text from his father, he swiped over to his notifications. Facebook was clearly after his attention.
"Like everybody else" he muttered under his breath. "I'll go through these at home".
He dropped the phone to his side; pulled up his underwear and jeans in one sweep. Doing up the buttons he looked back down to his phone, realising that it had managed to connect to Facebook; all his notifications were listed. Random pokes, mentions in comments and the usual multitude of friend requests. Cringing at the amount of people wanting to be "Thor the Almighty's" friend, he wished one of them could actually be genuine.
"Let's see who we have here then" he touched the request list, only 12 listed. Peering closely at the thumbnails he could already tell it was fellow body builders and groupies, mostly girls. Unsure of their intentions he ignored them. He had been bitten too many times by girls just after a 'built' boyfriend. Although he hadn't competed in the European Strongman before, he had won plenty of local contests, with varying degrees of groupie harassment. As much as he loved the attention, and he did, he just wanted a normal girlfriend. One he could actually talk to, who saw him, not the name, not the muscles, just Thor the Guy.
"Darcy!" The blond stood suddenly, shocked at the sight of the name. Darcy Lewis was at the bottom of that list.
"What's up Thor, who's Darcy?" Fandral strode over to Thor in his towel, water dripping on the floor. "Ohh do you mean Darcy Lewis? From the auditions? Ooh, give it here!"
Fandral grabbed Thor's phone from him. "You're accepting right? Of course you are, a babe like that…"
"Wait a sec" Thor tried to get his phone back but Fandral kept turning away from his grabbing hands.
"Dude, come on, she's hot, those "eyes" of hers were amazing!"
"Fandral" Thor growled at him, threatening his smaller friend with his size and demeanour. Fandral, slightly surprised by Thor's behaviour, handed over the phone, but he had already accepted the request and had started looking at Darcy's photos. "Alright, alright! Never seen you this worked up before"
"Well, she's not your average girl" Thor spoke quietly to the phone as he swiped through her photos. Darcy appeared with friends in her pictures, rarely alone. A slight girl was in many; a pretty doe eyed girl. Thor looked at the tags, Jane Foster.
"Nope not average at all, she's the girl that your brother wants to bone!"
"Fandral!" Thor admonished, but an idea crept over him. "Yes, she is the one that Loki wants. But what Loki wants and what I'll let him have are very different things."
Thor checked Darcy's friends quickly, ensuring his brother's name wasn't there. With the lack of Loki's details appearing, Thor reviewed her personal details.
"Well, she's single, no job details, or family details but, most importantly, not Loki's friend"
Thor flashed him a wide grin. Fandral laughed and moved over to his locker to get changed. Chucking his t-shirt over his head he quickly went back to the most recent photo of Darcy, the group one with Jane in. He typed in a quick comment and put his phone in his pocket. He couldn't wait to get home and tell his perfect little brother that he had won after all.
"Odin dear, can you please rinse the spaghetti?" Frigga bustled around the stove. Stopping to taste the sauce, adding a pinch of something else, re-tasting until she was finally content.
"I love watching you concoct your sauces. How you make them so delicious with no recipe book will always amaze me" Odin drew up behind his wife wrapping his large frame around her. She snuggled in and whispered up to his ear.
"It's magic my darling, good old fashioned magic" She chuckled, giving him a quick kiss. "Now, Mr CEO, where is my pasta?"
"Here boss" handing her the colander and giving her a quick goose before getting a bottle of white out from the fridge.
Frigga put the finishing touches to the meal as Odin placed the wine on the table and called the boys for dinner.
Thor landed first, eager for his mothers' cooking and was treated to a heaving plate of Bolognaise.
"Can you call Loki dear, he's probably immersed in his books again" Frigga served up the other dishes before pouring a glass of wine.
Odin called from the foot of the stairs with no response, and again from the top. Third time he tried from outside of Loki's door. Still no answer.
Agitated, he opened the door and found Loki impossibly curled up on his window seat immersed in his story. The draft of air was enough to rouse him and he unravelled his legs from underneath him.
"Dad! Is it too much for you to knock?" He put his book down on the edge of the bed and moved towards his father. "What is it?"
"I have been calling you for dinner and no I don't see why I should have to knock. This is my house and I can do what I want!" Puffing up his chest he stood eye to eye with his youngest son, feeling slightly annoyed with himself for not actually knocking, not that Loki would have heard him anyway.
"Dinner, now!"
He shot Loki a stern look and marched back downstairs. Sometimes Loki was just too wrapped up in his own little world. Frigga raised her eyebrow at him as he sat at the dining table.
"What? I called him"
"There are better ways you know darling." Frigga's even tone washed over her husband and he deflated, a little. He took a glass from her, nodding a thank you and was treated to a small smile. He was in trouble again but never for long. He was a lucky man to have her.
"You can shout in Loki's ear and he still won't hear you when he's got his head in those damn books" Thor muttered to his dinner before taking another large mouthful.
"They're not damn books Brother, and you would do well to read one, might just educate yourself a little." Loki stiffly sat opposite his mother and greeted her warmly, ignoring his father. "Thanks for dinner Mum, my favourite."
Frigga, feeling the tension between the two boys decided to bring up the play. Something everyone could talk about. "Looking forward to the read through tonight? I know I am."
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing my new friend." Thor breaks off a large piece of bread to mop up his sauce, stuffing it in his mouth in one go.
Disgusted by his table manners, Loki ignored his remark. Frigga picked up quickly though, "Which new friend is that son?"
"The new member, Diana, Daisy, Donna, Debbie? Oh, I've forgotten her name" Thor gleaned from the corner of his eye that he was getting exactly the reaction he wanted.
"Darcy! Her name is Darcy. God Thor, you're such a dick."
"Oh yes of course, should have remembered that, but her pictures were just so distracting" Thor was reeling in Loki so fast. You could practically see the steam coming from is ears, and he hadn't even heard the best part yet.
"What do you mean?"
"You know, Darcy's pictures are really very good, especially the ones where she's on the beach. You've seen them I'm sure? After all she would have sent you a Facebook friend request as well wouldn't she?"
Realisation dawned on Loki as Thor's shit-eating grin rained over his insecurities. He always did know how to press his buttons. There was nothing for it, if he wanted to shut this moron down he would have to see if she had indeed sent him a friend request too.
Silently pleading he looked at his phone. His heart leapt as there was a notification. He hovered over the notification before pressing it, praying that it was Darcy. Why would she friend Thor and not him, unless, unless. Well unless, she didn't like him.
Thor got out of his chair and peered over Loki's shoulder eager to see if his gamble was about to pay off. He was going to get it in the ear from Mother for this so he had better make the most of it whilst he could.
'Thor Odinson poked you'
Loki took the message in, not quite believing that Darcy hadn't sent him a friend request. He realised, with Thor laughing and crowing in his ear; that the poke was deliberate and that Thor hadn't even expected Loki to get a friend request.
He collected himself, slowly stood up and smiled at his mum.
"Thanks for dinner Mum, see you later Dad." Without looking at Thor he strode to his room.
"Thor, do the dishes, put out the bins and clean the cooker, thoroughly" Frigga ordered Thor with a glare that reduced Thor's crowing to a small whimper of compliance as he gathered up the dirty plates.
Loki seethed silently in his room. Going over and over the trick Thor had pulled. He was sorely tempted to throw something. Preferably heavy, preferably breakable, preferably at the twat's head.
How dare he? How could he? He was a selfish, inconsiderate, egotistical, immature child who always had to have everything good. Any toy Loki had was either stolen by Thor or broken by the clumsy brute. Anyone he showed interest in was turned by Thor's charm and his looks only, to be cast aside when Thor tired of them.
He turned the laptop on intending to see Darcy's profile. At least being friends with Thor may mean he could find out more about her. Maybe he could hack into Thor's account and cause trouble..?
Unfortunately Darcy had her privacy levels all the way up and he couldn't see much of her profile apart from a few timeline pictures or inanimate objects. Nothing personal. To be honest it was how his appeared to non-friends. All 15 of them. Maybe he should de-friend Thor, get rid of his links to his moronic brother. Loki shook his head, knowing the act would make him look just as childish.
A quiet single knock made Loki look to his door. It opened and Thor's face came round the corner.
"Sorry bro, just having a bit of fun with you" Thor laughed "You know you didn't stand a chance with a girl like that."
"Shove off, you fuckweasel!" Loki slammed the lid of his laptop down as Thor winked and closed the door.
"We'll see about that, Thor. I didn't imagine the way she looked at me. I definitely still stand a chance". A slow smile appeared on his face as he prepared for payback at the reading that evening.