Another chapter! Thanks to everyone who has started following/favorited/and reviewed. I really appreciate all the love.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Marvel universe

Warning: I don't think there's anything in this one...if there is it's language

Comments/critiques are welcomed!

"I will remind the student body that bullying will not be tolerated from any person, and if the behavior from the eleventh grade continues, we will cancel this year's homecoming activities and have a required seminar instead."

"Think anyone will listen to Fury's warning?" Steve tossed the ball to Thor, stretching out his arms. Principle Fury had made the announcement not half an hour after Thor's blow up in the hallway. Most of the students had found this hysterical since Thor was twice the size of Fury and could probably pop his head like a grape…but also because Thor's tantrum was about Loki, which meant Loki was getting harassed and laughed at by everyone. Steve couldn't help but feel a little guilty though. Loki was so terrifyingly standoffish that Steve wasn't sure if he should help him or not. He'd barely say a word to Loki and Steve would receive that cold icy stare of his that made him want to crawl in a hole and hide there for the rest of the year.

Thor grunts in response, his brow furrowed in what would normally be concentration. Today it was irritation. "They'd better."

Steve gives him a sympathetic smile. "Don't go starting any fights, okay? We can't afford to lose you from the team."

"I won't unless they do…" Thor throws the ball again, rolling his shoulder and sighing. Steve could tell how stressful this was for him; Thor was usually so engaged in conversation and would be grinning at everything that everyone said, but his face looked as though it would never hold a smile again. Steve hated seeing him so upset.

The worst part about all of this for Steve was that he knew who Loki's bullies were—everyone did—but no one wanted to be the tattle tale. Whoever told would end up being harassed for the rest of high school by Harry Osborn and his groupies. Not that Steve was scared—he just didn't want to add to the drama of the moment. Besides until Loki's bullies surfaced on their own no real disciplinary action could be taken meaning that even if someone did tell, there was no guarantee that they would be found guilty. Steve would just have to rely on the system. While it was unbearable to watch Loki take the harassment, Steve knew that if it got out of hand he'd step in.

For now he had to try and be supportive for Thor.

"Come on, buddy, it's not so bad," Steve gives him a smile. "Loki seems to be adjusting just fine."

Thor shakes his head as if to disagree. "Loki refuses to let anyone know how he really feels. I'm sure it is bothering him as much as it is me…but you are right, my friend, starting a fight would be pointless." Thor throws it back to Steve, running a hand through his hair. "I'm sure I embarrassed him enough today."

"Yeah, a little," Steve teases, grinning. "His face was pure horror."

"Shut up!" Thor catches the ball and grins, throwing it back at Steve harder.

They toss the ball back and forth in pleasant silence, Steve thinking things over in his head. Thor had always been severely protective of Loki. There was an unusual relationship between the two of them. Neither seemed particularly fond of the other and they were always fighting it seemed…but Thor stood up for Loki as often as he could which Loki didn't seem to care for.

Then there was Darcy.

Steve had watched the pair in history as they passed a small journal back and forth which was filled with what he assumed to be a conversation. From what little he knew about Loki—and from Thor—was that he preferred to be alone; that being said, his friendship with Darcy was truly fascinating. She had little quirks that Loki easily responded to, things they had to have learned about one another over the years. Darcy was the only person Loki ever paid any attention to and somehow that made Steve feel a little jealous. Then again, Steve seemed to be the only person other than Darcy that Loki has said a word to all week which made his stomach flutter. It was strange. He knew who Darcy was—everyone knew who Darcy was—and it seemed like everyone pretended to know about Loki Laufeyson. Everyone except for Steve. He was extremely frustrated by the fact that he didn't remember Loki being in school. He remembered seeing him at Thor's house but nothing else. Still…it was so hard to watch him go through the motions of the day being bullied the way he was. Steve had watched Loki walk out of class earlier, saying his good-bye's to Darcy as he headed towards his locker, reading a book in his hand. His eyes sparked green when he read, just like when he talked to Darcy. It made Steve a little anxious. As Steve was watching, a boy ran up and knocked the book from Loki's hand and another shoved Loki to the floor as he bent down to pick up the book, both running and laughing. Loki simply got to his knees, picked up his book and pushed himself up, acting as though he'd fallen on his own. Some of the other students in the hall were laughing amongst themselves.

He began to wonder if this was how it always was—if Loki left because the bullying got out of hand. Steve could understand Loki leaving if his whole freshmen year was how it had been the past few days. However, he couldn't recall seeing him being shoved into walls and pushed onto floors…and he was sure that someone would have noticed and done something about it. Even if they hadn't…Steve was sure he would've remembered.

When he asked Loki how he put up with it, Loki just shrugged and put in his combination. "I don't care what they think."

"You alright, Steven?" Thor calls to him, throwing the ball. Steve's mind jumps out of thought just in time to catch it. He gives Thor a smile.

"Just thinking."

Thor nods, looking up at the bleachers. Steve follows his gaze, noticing Loki and Darcy sitting close to the top. They looked like they were wrestling over a bottle of water. Both Thor and Steve laugh when Darcy launches it across the bleachers, Loki smacking the back of her head and pointing towards where it had fallen.

"An odd pair, aren't they?"

Steve agrees. "Yeah…it's almost kind of strange that they're friends."

"Well…when Loki makes a connection with someone he deems important he tends to hold fast to it," Thor explains, throwing the ball. "Darcy must've made an impression on him at some point. Of course…she's also the only one who's stuck with him for this long."

That must be lonely, having only one friend in the world…or at least having many to start off but in the end only having one that stays by your side… Steve's stomach twists unpleasantly. He tosses the ball back to Thor, pulling his eyes away from the pair.

Darcy kicks her feet back and forth on the bleachers, humming and watching the football players on the field. "I still think Steve Rogers is fine." Loki grunts, focusing on his book. "Nobody has a well-toned ass like that unless they were meant to be ogled."

"Nobody's stopping you."

She sighs, making a face. "You just don't care."

Loki smirks, turning the page. "No, not really."

Darcy kicks at him and misses.

The two sit in silence, Darcy's music blasting out of her ear buds, her hat and hair doing little to muffle the sound. Loki takes a swig of their water and sighs, turning the page. He had to be forced to wait for his stupid brother's stupid football practice to be over before he even got a chance to go home. The football team shouts as their huddle breaks, taking their positions on the field. Darcy bites her lip. She watches them with gusto, taking a sip of water and dribbling it down herself when Steve Rogers stretches out his whole torso after a throw, Loki swatting her shoulder.

"Could you not?"

"What? He's hot!"

"Yes, well, could you admire him without making a mess of yourself?" Loki scolds, rolling his eyes. "I swear you're such a child…"

She sticks out her tongue. Darcy takes off her hat and turns off her music, setting them aside. She stretches and leans against Loki, Loki making a disgruntled noise. Physical contact was not something he normally welcomed. Darcy pokes at his side, Loki doing his best to ignore her until she pokes a little too hard, Loki swatting his arm at her. She makes her move to lie down on his lap. Of course. Loki ignores her, continuing to read. Normally he'd object and shove her off but Darcy's affections were always welcomed whether he wanted them or not. Besides…he was having a bad day. She reaches up to play with his hair, humming to herself as he reads. "So are we staying at my house this weekend, or yours?"

"Yours."

"We always stay at mine…" Darcy whines. "Why can't we stay in your big ass house for once?" She pauses dramatically, whimpering and making a face. "Are you ashamed of me?"

"Yes."

"Tch. Rude…" she curls his hair around her finger, letting it bounce back into place. "No matter, we're staying at your place. I haven't had an eating contest with Thor in a while and it's about time I won at least one." She continues her humming and her eyes light up with what Loki could only imagine was childlike thought. "Will there be football boys there?"

Boys. The only thing she really cared about.

Loki rolls his eyes. "No. Just Steve. And probably Thor's other three dumb friends."

"So Fandral will be there?" Darcy grins.

"What about Steve?"

"Threesome."

He snorts. "You do realize Fandral could be sexually aroused by a fish, right?"

Loki sets his book down and runs a hand over Darcy's hair. She smiles up at him and rubs the back of his neck with her thumb. "So my dreams of becoming a mermaid-?" Loki pinches her face and she laughs, pushing at his hand. "Quit it!" She settles down again and he strokes her hair and sighs, leaning back against the fence and closing his eyes. A chilly breeze blows over them, Loki forcing his body from shivering, focusing on Darcy's hair and his hand.

"I'm sorry you got detention because of me."

Darcy shifts around against him to dig her phone out of her pocket. She looks up at him with a smile. "It wasn't because of you, hun—it was my own damn fault for not making sure no teachers were around." She keeps humming to herself, her game making victory noises when she advances in the level. Occasionally she swears to herself, her nose wrinkling in frustration, the tip of her tongue sticking out slightly. She was such a dork it was no wonder Loki loved her. He continues to stroke her hair, closing his eyes. Things seemed so different now. Not being in school for a whole year had put him behind on the usual gossip, especially when it came to people he knew; Darcy had joined all these different clubs and activities to keep herself occupied which made her socially elite. People actually invited her places, she was very proud of herself. He looks her over and smiles. She should be proud of herself. All of the activity was doing her good. Darcy sighs, nuzzling her face against his hand.

Loki opens his eyes when Darcy curls herself further into him. The stress of his being back in school was going to kill the both of them if they didn't get some sleep. Of course Loki would get some sleep if she wasn't calling him at all hours of the night. He keeps petting her hair, watching the team on the field. Thor's laughter echoes over the bleachers. Loki frowns. It wasn't that he didn't love his brother…honestly he probably loved him more than anyone. Thor was his rock. Just a massive, obnoxious, annoying one. The thing about him though was that everyone loved Thor. He was so charming and friendly and open with everyone while Loki preferred secluding himself with his books; Thor was the sun and Loki was his shadow. That was how it had always been. He didn't understand why though. Loki knew he tended to be a little intimidating at first…he didn't exactly smile at people when he met them and the words he used weren't always in people's vocabularies; Loki never really meant any harm though yet people seemed more terrified of him than they were of his startlingly huge brother.

The insults Loki had received over the years began to ring in his head like an annoying tune. He could feel the bruises from this week start to ache, making him feel nauseous. He continues stroking Darcy's hair, his brows knitting together. "Do you think I'm a freak?"

"Hmm?"

Darcy blinks, looking up to study his face. She takes his hand in hers and gives it a squeeze. "Yes."

Loki makes a face, not enjoying her jest. "Darcy-"

"Well you are!" she hums, playing with his fingers. "We've developed a civilized society where we all began un-evolving due to the lack of general knowledge in our technology-savvy generation. You still read things on paper and actually have advanced knowledge about things so yeah, you're a freak. But there's nothing wrong with that, okay? You're just as weird and freaky as any other intellectual thinker or brooding scientist that was ahead of his own times." She turns her attention back to the field and watches as Thor takes a teammate down in two moves. "You know, your brother's a freak too. He's 6'4" and has a shoulder girth the length of a small child. He's probably been able to pick up Frigga since he was five and he has the shortest most violent temper I've ever witnessed. And I'm sure you don't want me to talk about Steve Rogers finely toned body again because damn."

Loki rolls his eyes, letting Darcy's good intentions sink into him as he continues to stroke her hair.

"Thanks."

Darcy grins, poking Loki in the stomach. "Holy shit, Loki Laufeyson thanked me for something. Is your head going to implode or something cool like that?"

He flicks her nose and pecks Darcy's hand with a kiss. Steve Rogers—he'd been friends with Thor since middle school—but from what Loki could remember, he used to be puny and wheezed a lot. Of course Thor used to be rather normal until he hit puberty so Loki had to rule out steroid use…besides Steve was too much of a goody-goody. He kept talking to Loki though. He'd never taken an interest in Loki before so it was only natural that Loki feared Steve only meant to humiliate him further. Something in his eyes though reminded him of Thor. Granted there was no child-like interest or Thor's oafish stupidity but rather concern, caring, a sort of kindness that Loki wasn't used to seeing in anyone's eyes other than his mother's—but that was so long ago now.

"We don't have to stay at your place if you don't want to."

Darcy sits up and leans against Loki, curling into his side. He drapes an arm around her waist. "I wouldn't want to ruin your date with Fandral."

"Shut up."

He smiles, burying his face into Darcy's hair. She pulls a little away from him, Loki making a noise for taking his warmth; she takes his face gently in her hands and makes a face at him. He tries not to smile. Darcy returns the smile and presses her forehead against him. "At least you still have your smile…" she strokes his hair gently. Darcy pauses, her voice lowering. "I'll be damned when they take that away from you."

Loki sighs, breathing in her scent. "I know…"

It was a rough practice and things only got harder after the sun set because then it got cold. Coach was working them extra hard obviously irritated with some of the players' behavior…Steve knew it was because of the egg toss at Darcy Lewis' car on Monday. He'd made them run five laps each around the field. Steve felt like he was going to throw up so he'd be lying if he didn't say he was relieved practice was over. Thor walks out of the locker room with him, his equipment bag slung over his shoulder. "Ready for the game Friday?"

Steve scrolls through his phone and notices some voicemails. "Yeah, Jefferson's an easy game," he grins and gives Thor a playful shove. Thor shoves him back, Steve giving him another good shove and laughing until Thor stops abruptly, nearly running into Loki. Steve's face flushes red, turning away with his phone, deleting his messages.

Loki rolls his eyes at the two of them. "Are you ready yet?"

"Yes, yes, I'll be right there," Thor grins, mussing up Loki's hair. Loki scowls, raising his arms defensively and fixing it the way he had it. Thor looks around cheerfully, walking with the two of them. "Where's Darcy?"

"She's already in the car, she's freezing."

Thor frowns. "How did she get in?"

"You gave me the keys, idiot," Loki snaps, his arms wrapped around himself. "Now hurry up! It's cold and I'm starving.

"Alright, alright, calm down," Thor looks back at Steve, who was checking his phone, brow furrowed. "Steven!" He looks up. "Do you need a ride? I have plenty of room."

Steve smiles and looks back down to scroll through his phone again, sighing. "Yeah, umm—that sounds great, Thor." He walks up to the brothers tentatively, chewing the inside of his cheek. Thor grins, clapping him on the back.

"The more the merrier!"

Loki sighs and turns on his heel towards the parking lot. Some of the other players were already in the lot, a few of them grinning and jeering at him but none daring to make a move with Thor so close by. Especially since it was Thor and Steve. Thor was watching him carefully anyways. Loki hadn't looked for any cars while he moved between the rows.

"Sorry about this, Thor. I know I've been asking for rides after practice a lot."

"Do not fret, my friend, I am happy to assist," Thor watches Loki as he bee-lines towards the SUV, climbing into the front seat and slamming the door. He sighs. "Grumpy as usual…Darcy's home is closer so I will be dropping the pair of them off first."

Steve furrows his brow, tossing his bags in Thor's trunk when it's opened. He lowers his voice. "Loki…stays with Darcy often?"

"He has been."

Thor shuts the trunk walking around to the front and climbing in, starting the car. Steve climbs into the backseat, Darcy giving him a huge smile and scooting over. "Hey, a seat buddy. Now I won't be lonesome."

Steve smiles shyly. "Wouldn't want that, Ms. Darcy." Darcy bursts into giggles, her face turning bright red. Loki gives her a sour look in the rearview mirror, Steve smiling and blushing as well. She covers her face with her hands to calm herself down while Thor starts the engine.

The ride is quiet while the three of them stare out their windows as Thor drives. He attempts to turn on the radio, Loki shutting it back off and mumbling something that Steve couldn't make out. Thor just sighs and turns into a neighborhood. All of the town houses were tiny and they looked as though only one person could live in them. Everyone remained silent, Darcy tensing at the fact that Steve Rogers was going to know where she lived. Thor pulls up in front of a small brown yard, Darcy's car parked in one of the driveways.

"Will you need me to pick you up tomorrow, Darcy?" Thor turns and smiles at her, Darcy shaking her head.

"My cousin's not supposed to work tomorrow but I'll let you know. Thanks again," she grins, looking at Steve who blinks and realizes he needs to get out. He climbs out of the car and helps her out, giving her a smile.

"Call me if you need a ride, yes, brother?"

Loki sighs, opening his door. "It's not too far of a walk." He steps out of the car, noticing Steve's hand on his, helping him out. Loki pulls away, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

Darcy runs a hand through her hair, grinning like an idiot. "See you tomorrow, Steve."

He nods and climbs back into the car. "See you, Darcy." He pauses, watching Loki scuff his feet on the ground, irritated, staring at the walk and waiting for Darcy to move. "Bye…Loki." Loki glances up as Steve shuts his door, the car pulling away from the yard, his eyes following the headlights as they disappear around the corner.