This is a long one. *sighs and flops over* I'm tired you guys. Also I don't want to work but I kinda have to. AND I HAVEN'T SEEN THOR 2 I'M SO UPSET!

Anyways...sorry for this painful piece of shit, I mean...I love Loki but my sadistic side seems to be taking over. Sorry about that. Like I said the next chapter shouldn't be as painful.Shouldn't be. I guess it all depends on how you interpret it.

Btw: thanks for all the awesome reviews. I'm sure I thank you guys a lot but I really mean it, I love when you guys post your thoughts, etc. I read each and every one of them...just saying.

Disclaimer: Do not own Marvel Universe

Warning: Language and I guess a little violence

Comments/critiques are welcomed!

Steve Rogers could feel the eyes watching him as he entered the building. This was worse than Loki's first day back at school.

It was the week before Thanksgiving break and the entire student body seemed as if it were in a stunned silence. People whispered amongst themselves and some even watched Steve as he walked by with concerned and puzzled looks. They knew. Steve could've figured that though. His mysterious text messenger had told him something was going to happen on Monday he just wanted it to be a bluff. Of course luck didn't seem to be on his side lately. He keeps his head low as he walks through the halls, listening to some of the whispers going around.

"I heard Loki Laufeyson actually kissed him."

"Did you see the pictures?"

"Wasn't he dating Carol Danvers?"

"Poor Carol. I wonder how she's taking it."

"I heard she's a wreck…"

"I bet Laufeyson only did it to mess with him. He's been hanging around Steve like they're friends or something."

"He's such a freak."

"What a jerk."

Wait a minute…Steve furrows his brow when he reaches his locker. Loki's already had profanity spray painted on it and pictures of them were covering it…but from what Steve was hearing…Steve had somehow become a victim. But…didn't he initiate most of this? Although if he was technical when thinking about the natural chain of events—didn't Steve initiate this whole incident? He did sort of freak Loki out which caused him to overreact and become irrational. "No," Steve mumbles to himself. "It's not your fault, it's nobody's fault." He opens his locker and dozens of pictures of he and Loki pour out at his feet. Some guys across the hall—a few Steve recognized as ones who'd been harassing Loki—start snickering to themselves and then sprint down the hall when Natasha Romanoff hisses at them to get lost. She walks up to Steve, touching him gently on the shoulder.

"Got in a little too deep, huh?" A few freshmen boys giggle as they walk by, Natasha swearing at them in Russian. Their faces pale and they walk quickly past her, keeping their heads low. She helps Steve pick up the pictures and toss them in the closest trash bin.

Steve sighs. "Are you really going to lecture me about this?"

"I already knew you were interested in Laufeyson. And I already lectured you, remember?" She leans against the lockers next to his, crossing her arms. "Steve…I just don't want you to think you need to try and rescue him. Loki's not going to react well to any of this and he's going to be quick to throw you under the bus…keep your distance today, okay?" He makes a face, turning away from her and pretending to organize the books in his locker. "Steve?"

"Fine."

She pats his shoulder and sighs. "Oh, and umm—Thor's not here yet but—I'd make yourself sparse when he is."

Thor…Steve didn't even want to think about dealing with him was going to be like. Truthfully, he didn't want to think about dealing with any of them—his friends, people in his class, teachers…especially not Loki. He was already pissed off at Steve and reasoning with him wasn't really an option. Loki wasn't exactly in a bargaining kind of mood. Besides Natasha wanted Steve to keep his distance…he usually listened to her, she was one of the smartest people he knew but there was no telling what was going to happen today. The teachers seemed to have gotten bored with the idea that they should patrol the halls in between classes. A part of Steve wanted to go to Principal Fury about the harassing messages he and Loki both seemed to be receiving but Loki probably wouldn't forgive him for that. Either that or he'd beat the crap out of him outside of school.

The hair on the back of Steve's neck stands on end when the whole hallway shushes itself. Loki walks slowly down the hall, his bag slung over his shoulder and hands twisting the strap. He'd reverted back to the frumpy sort of clothing he'd worn his first few weeks of school, glasses pushed up his nose to hide his eyes. Steve turns his head away. Loki's head was bowed, he was watching his feet, his body language was submissive and Steve didn't like seeing him this way. It was as if he'd given up. Some students whisper to one another as he passes by. Some students ignore him completely and others sneer at him. Steve wanted to step forward, make peace with Loki right here in the hallway so everyone could see that Steve didn't care what anyone else thought. But wouldn't that just make Loki even more upset with him than he already was? He didn't want Loki to feel like he was dealing with this alone though.

A few guys run down the hall and knock Loki to the ground, laughing. He falls hard, some of his books flying out of his bag and his glasses skidding across the floor. The teachers already in the hall yell for the boys to stop running, none of them paying Loki much mind. Steve looks away. He'd been friends with some of these guys. He'd hung out with them outside of practice, gone to parties, done stupid stuff that was fun at the time but…he looks back towards Loki. Loki was rubbing his arm, picking up his glasses and wiping them off, pushing them back up his nose. He catches Steve's eye. There was a look they shared that was almost unbearable to stand. Loki was hurting. And the way his eyes pulled away from Steve's, Steve could tell he was one of the reasons. Students walk around Loki as he collects his books, hissing out a small noise when someone steps on his hand. He starts to push himself up when he's knocked down again more people laughing this time. Steve wasn't so sure Loki was even going to bother getting up this time. He looks away when Loki finally pushes himself to his feet, keeping his head low as he walks quickly towards the bathroom. Some guys jeer at him and block his way to the men's room. He hesitates and settles for the ladies' room, the whole hallway bursting into conversation when he disappears behind the door.

Teachers come out of their rooms and usher students towards their classes. Not even the teachers had done anything. Steve caught sight of Darcy Lewis shuffling quickly towards her classroom. She looked like she wanted to cry. Loki seemed to officially be an outcast of the school but why no one was treating himself any differently he didn't understand. But the way Natasha had been watching Loki made a knot twist in his stomach. She gives him a small smile as she walks away, Steve slamming his locker shut.

Loki had holed himself up long enough. First period was about to end and he hadn't even gone to class. He unlocks the stall and steps out towards the sinks, turning on the water to wash his face. Hiding wasn't going to solve anything.

Although he really wasn't sure what was going to solve his current predicament.

He could always sic Thor on people…then again he wasn't even sure how Thor was handling the post someone had made on Facebook the earlier evening. He'd snuck out before Thor had even made his way downstairs. Loki bows his head when groups of girls start to come into the bathroom, a few of them sneering at him and others not paying him any mind. They squawk amongst themselves, fixing their hair and their makeup, a few of them even waiting in line for the stalls. Loki doesn't really look around at any of them. He tries to mind his own business and fusses with his hair, trying to not draw any attention to himself. Some of them still shot looks at him, whispering about him he was sure. A few of the younger girls were pointing at something just above the mirrors, whispering and staring at Loki. He looks up. There were pictures of him and Steve above each mirror. Wasn't much point in tearing it down…he was certain there were others.

Loki had come to terms a few years ago that society didn't particularly care for the kind of relationships he was comfortable with which were mainly homosexual. With someone like Steve—and the kind of physical contact Loki had regrettably shared with him—the less popular party was the one that was frowned upon. Unfortunately in this situation that party was Loki. Nearly every girl in school had a crush on infamous quarterback Steve Rogers and Loki's now public display of affection was sure to get under somebody's skin. Loki preferred not to fight back against women…though people didn't expect him to be he was still raised like a proper little gentlemen. Hitting girls was something his mother had lectured both himself and Thor about that more times than he'd like to admit.

Some of the girls shove past him, knocking him into the wall. Loki stays perfectly still and shifts slightly back into focus of the mirror. He didn't like the way his hair looked, at least he was being sincere about that. The girls next to him whisper to one another and start giggling, walking towards the door. They were all starting to clear out now.

"I told you he was in here."

Christine Everhart and Carol Danvers enter the bathroom. All of the other girls fall silent when Christine points a thumb towards the door and hisses, "Get out." They all scramble for the door, the ones exiting the stall struggling with the need to wash their hands. Once the bathroom's cleared, Christine nods to Carol.

Loki sighs. He could always make an exception towards hitting a girl. "What do you want?"

Carol scowls at him. "You know what I want! I want my Steven back!"

"Well I could be wrong but I don't think he's in here," he rolls his eyes and fixes his sleeves. Carol grabs his sweater to turn him and shove him against the wall.

"He was about to ask me out! But no…instead he calls me after work on Saturday to tell me he just wants to stay friends, that I should see other people—and then Sunday night I see pictures of you sucking his face off!"

"To be fair you have been pining after his best friend."

"Shut up!" Carol snarls. "So what if I like Bucky too? When I started buttering Steve up Bucky wasn't available…he just happens to be now."

He snorts. "You do realize Steve's a guy, not a lobster, yes?"

Christine rolls her eyes, stepping towards them. "Here's the deal, Laufeyson…you're the one who decided to lock lips with Carol's date during the dance and you're the one who ruined her chances with Steve—I think a little payback is needed. For all she knows you've been planning this ever since you started hanging around Steve."

Ah, yes of course. Loki's master plan—to steal Steve from Carol Danvers. Brilliant.

"Well if that's the case, ladies, then I think I ought to get in on this." They both turn their heads when Natasha Romanoff enters the bathroom, walking up casually to one of the mirrors and fixing her hair. Loki watches her calmly, growing more and more uncomfortable with the fact that Carol's fist still had a hold on his sweater. "What do you think Carol?" Natasha smacks her lips to color, rubbing the color of her lipstick smooth. "For all I know, your little crush on Bucky is why he broke up with me and for all I know it's because you were giving him handjobs behind the bleachers during gym class. And for all I know that's a good enough reason for me to bash your teeth in on the sink." Natasha turns to give them a soft smile as she aggressively zips up her cosmetic bag.

"This doesn't concern you, Romanoff," Christine sneers.

Natasha hums, walking towards them with her hands behind her back. "I'm just here to give some advice—while bashing Loki Laufeyson's face in may feel good, with or without defensive wounds it's going to be considered assault and seeing as how his parents and some of the most powerful people in the world the school's going to be concerned about the incident being taken to court. With that in mind, they're going to do everything in their power to find out who exactly would do this to him. Obviously they'd check our grade first seeing as how it's almost always a fellow classmate and they'd ask to see our knuckles and hands. If they can't find any physical evidence they're going to ask Loki himself to personally point out who exactly committed the assault. Once someone is accused, the school board will take evasive action to review all the evidence including security cameras that are on surveillance up and down the entire length of this hallway. Let's say they happen to stumble upon two young female students walking out of the bathroom and into an empty hallway, a battered and beaten Loki trailing a few minutes behind them. Think they'll take into consideration who stole whose man? Or do you think your skinny asses are going to be expelled and tried for physical assault?" Carol glares at Natasha, releasing Loki's sweater. "Good girl. Now get lost. Steve dumped you because you've been chasing my leftovers since the sixth grade, it had nothing to do with Loki."

Carol grabs Christine's arm and pulls her past Natasha and towards the door, turning to point at Loki. "This isn't over, Laufeyson." She shoots another look at Natasha before sticking her nose in the air.

Loki brushes himself off and collects his things, tucking some hair behind his ear. He and Natasha share a small nod. No words needed to be spoken. At least not by him. "Just so we're clear, if anyone's going to hit you about all of this it's going to be me," she sighs, fluffing her hair a bit. "Steve's a good guy, he doesn't deserve to be sucked into your disaster of a life whether he willing does so or not."

"Why do you think I made it clear I wasn't interested?"

He attempts to walk past her, Natasha grabbing his arm. "I mean it, Laufeyson. Don't entertain Steve's childish fantasies. If you hurt him I'll end you."

"You seem to be underestimating how much I don't care."

Voices from the hallway turn their attention towards the door, Loki pulling his arm from her grasp. One voice seemed louder than the rest. Loki could only pray that it wasn't Thor. He slips out into the crowd, staying to the side and peering around the number of people who'd already gathered around. More shouting. Loki furrows his brow and starts to push his way through the crowd, some of the people practically jumping away from him as he moves past them. Thor had Steve Rogers pinned to the lockers, lifted a few inches off the ground. Steve looked somewhat terrified of Thor. He was trying to hide it, Loki could tell from the way parts of his face were pinching together. Loki steps into the empty space the crowd had left. A few of the teachers were attempting to push their way through the students but no one was really helping the situation. Everyone looked as though a tragedy had happened and Thor hadn't even hit him yet. It wasn't as if anyone was trying to help.

"What the fuck did you do to him?!"

Steve makes a face. "Look, Thor, I-"

He yells again. Loki rolls his eyes. Thor sounded like an angry bear when he was mad. Thor raises his fist, Steve squinting his eyes closed and a few girls screaming. Loki looks around. No one was really reaching out to help, the teachers weren't handling the situation very well, they were just yelling at Thor and that only made him angrier. He sighs. Steve didn't deserve to get hit—especially not by Thor. Loki had been blaming Steve for all of this, ever since Steve decided he wanted to be…friends, but Loki wasn't so sure it was entirely his fault. Then again he could just let Thor hit Steve. But then he and Steve would be fighting and that was one of the things Loki was trying to avoid in the first place. Ridiculous. Why were people so stupid?

"Sluta."

Everything seems to stop when Loki touches Thor's arm. Thor gives Loki a look, furrowing his brow and looking back at Steve who was staring at Loki.

"But-"

"Don't argue with me. Just put him down," Loki sighs, Thor grumbling to himself as he places Steve back down on the ground. It was ridiculous how incredibly strong Thor became when he was angry. Steve stays leaning against the lockers. Thor scowls at him, turning to Loki and opens his mouth to question him, Loki shaking his head. He already knew what he was going to say. "Steve didn't kiss me, I—kissed him. I was drunk and…"

Loki didn't really have much more of an explanation. It was a lie. Steve was staring at him because he knew it was a lie. But it was want everyone else wanted to hear, wasn't it? That Loki was the one who initiated this? That Steve was still their golden boy? The way he figured there wasn't much point into letting Steve take any of the fall for this. Thor gives him a sad look and wraps an arm protectively around Loki, pulling him away from the crowd. Loki shares a glance with Steve. People start to whisper, teachers ordering for them to go back to their classes. Everyone of course dodges out of way for Thor. From the way everyone was staring at him he hadn't been convincing enough. For all they knew he was just trying to keep Thor out of detention. Loki's body pulls him from his brother's grasp. Steve stays perfectly still as Loki approaches him, the audience hushing itself.

"I didn't have to stick up for you," Loki hisses at him with a glare. "I'm only telling these idiots what they want to hear. And to be quite honest I should've just let Thor beat the shit out of you then maybe you'd get a taste of how it feels to be me."

Steve stutters out what he meant to be an apology. "Loki, I told you I didn't-I never-"

"You can disguise your pretty words all you want, Rogers, but in the end the only guilty parties are the ones who twist their tongues and look the other way. I'll get you back for this eventually. Don't cross me again."

Thor pulls Loki away, Loki shooting Steve another glare to make good on his threat, Steve staying glued to the lockers. The bell rings. The crowd begins to disperse, Natasha Romanoff standing off to the side with her arms crossed, watching Loki with her calm, eerie stare. Loki walks up to her—Thor standing off to the side—and narrows his eyes, Natasha quirking her brow.

"I have a better preposition—if Rogers tries to indulge me in his childish fantasies…I will bring him down to my level. If you have a problem with that, you can answer to me."

She stares at him calmly, her face showing no signs of faltering. "You're playing with fire, Laufeyson."

"Perhaps…or perhaps I'm simply letting it engulf me."

The rest of the day remained tense but by the time the final bell rang Steve hadn't heard anything else about Loki Laufeyson. He and Thor had apparently been granted a leave of absence to study in the library—at least that's what he'd heard. Ever since his encounter with Thor people kept asking Steve if he was okay, how he was feeling, if Thor had hurt him. It got to the point where he wanted to start telling everyone to leave him alone. Steve just wanted to go home. He was sick of the attention and the stress of Thor and Loki both being mad at him was giving him knots. Thor and Loki hadn't done anything wrong but for some reason the whole school had them pinned as some sort of psychopathic monsters. Thor had reacted the exact way Steve knew he was going to, even if he didn't know the whole truth about what had happened. Loki had stuck up for him. Not just to Thor but to everyone. That was what was bothering him the most…and it pissed him off because he knew what Loki meant…

Steve kicks at the gravel as he walks out towards the parking lot. He was skipping practice. Wasn't like anyone would really care if he was missing or not. Thor would probably stay mad at him for a while so there was also that. It wasn't like he had any control over what Loki told him now. He'd already lied about it being him who'd initiated all of this, not Steve. Thor would quit hovering over Loki like a mother hen and act as though nothing had ever happened. His ability to bounce back made Steve immensely jealous of his optimism. People had already gathered in the parking lots, everyone still at that phase where they weren't quite ready to go home but they were thrilled to be out of school. Steve avoids everyone that he can, keeping his head low as he makes his way towards his truck. He tosses his stuff into the back and looks around. Thor was already hanging out by his SUV with…Jane? Steve smiles to himself. At least one good thing came out of today.

"Yo, Steve!"

He lifts his head. Clint and Bucky were both motioning for him to come over, Steve giving them a small wave but turning away both of them furrowing their brows. He just wasn't in the mood.

"Hey, look, it's Laufeyson!"

Some of the guys start to jeer, the girls all rolling their eyes and returning to their conversations. Steve turns slightly to watch in pain as Loki attempts to make his way through the parking lot. The guys start to jump out at him, trying to trigger a reaction other than a feeble glance in their direction. Others start throwing paper balls, Clint and Bucky both tossing in their share. Steve makes a face. A bully was a bully but…he couldn't help but wonder what his friends were thinking. It wasn't like they didn't know Steve went both ways, he dated Tony Stark for like five months.

"Hey, Laufeyson—I got a question for you." One of the guys steps directly in front of Loki's path, blocking his way to Thor's SUV. Thor looked ready to murder someone. Loki sighs, barely raising his head to the person in front of him, his face giving no reaction. "So…did Rogers puke right when you kissed him, or did it take him a minute?" The guy's friend jumps at Loki, pouring what Steve hoped was just water at Loki's feet, making a gagging, puking noise. Loki stumbles around them, picking up his pace as he walks by Johnny Storm and his friends, Storm sticking his foot out.

Loki falls to the ground and skids, making a small pained noise.

A lot of people start to laugh. Steve punches his truck and turns to walk towards Loki who was collecting his things and poking out the shards of a broken lens from his glasses. His hands were scratched up and had gravel all over them, Loki wincing slightly as he brushes them off. Steve had reached the line of cars where Loki was still crouched on the ground when everyone seems to go silent.

Darcy Lewis was standing over Loki, staring down at him very calmly. Steve could read the hesitation in Loki's body to look up at her, unsure of what to expect. She'd already been mad at him for lying and Darcy had already not been handling their fight very well. Loki raises his head to her slowly. His hands were holding his glasses and books in his lap, not searching for her help or grabbing her arm to pull himself up. Steve jumps slightly when Darcy slaps him. Loki didn't seem to find it surprising though. He turns his head back to her and Darcy slaps him again. And again. And again. No one was saying anything. This wasn't part of their little show. Darcy crouches down on the ground and collects Loki's things, handing them to him. She waits until his bag is packed before grabbing his arm and pulling him up to his feet. She doesn't look around at anyone. She doesn't wait for any kind of recognition or outburst, she simply walks Loki to her car and opens the door for him to get in.

No one says anything as the car pulls out of the lot and drives down the road. Everyone sort of goes about their business and starts redirecting themselves towards their vehicles, getting in and starting to pull out of the lot themselves.

"Admiring your handiwork?"

Amora exhales slowly and rests her cheek against her fist, her gold earrings dangling against her neck. She taps her cigarette against the side of the car and places it to her lips with a smirk. There was nothing wrong with admiring her work. All she had to do was plant a few seeds and chaos would spread like a wildfire, devouring everyone she'd placed carefully in its path. How she enjoyed bringing out a person's inner self. People were naturally wicked and they needed reminding that they were. Of course she had to have a scapegoat, someone for the people to condemn. It wasn't her fault that Loki was an easy target.

"You know, Skurge, darling," she takes another long drag. "I'd almost feel bad if Laufeyson wasn't so amusing as a worm." Amora sneers and crushes her cigarette in her hand, barely flinching. "Or if that idiot brother of his hadn't dumped me like he had…" She takes a deep breath, running a hand through her hair and brushing the cigarette and ashes off her hands. Skurge pulls out his carton and offers her another. Amora takes it and he lights it for her. She sighs and traces her acrylic nail down his massive arm and over the outlines of his tattoos. "Though I suppose I can't take all the credit…my inside job did take care of the initial paranoia."

Skurge furrows his brow. "Inside job…?"

She sighs, pulling away from him with a scowl. "Skurge—you don't honestly think I'd risk texting Laufeyson myself, do you? I had to pick up a little rat who was more than willing to keep Laufeyson in his place." She exhales a cloud of ash and smoke. "Besides…I need someone to pin this all on."

"You are most cunning, my queen." He runs his fingers through her hair. She gives him her hand and he kisses it, Amora running her nails down his cheek affectionately.

"Drive. I'll reopen Loki's wounds soon enough. Loki and-" she chuckles, "his new toy."