Author's Note – Ownership of the cover-image goes to Batwynn, as it is her picture. Much thanks to Cassy27 for her help with this story.

Chapter One || Once More

Thor often wondered what it would be like to have normal parents, the kind that asked how school went, helped with homework, and enjoyed having his friends over on Friday afternoons. And sure, that might be an exaggeration, but it was a beautiful picture, a beautiful image. Thor didn't have normal parents. He didn't even really have parents. They were more like business associates who were looking for that one product that would bring in the money.

He was sitting at the dining room table, playing with what was left of his scrambled eggs. Thor listened vaguely to what his father, Odin, was telling him. Something about securing his future and cementing his place high on the food chain. It was the same thing every morning. He nodded his head at the right times, said an affirmation whenever there was a pause in conversation. It was something that Thor could do in his sleep now.

"– and it's important you do that. Do you understand?" Odin questioned, finally coming to the end of his speech. He was staring at Thor expectantly, waiting for him to respond.

Thor gave a small smile, nodding his head, agreeing to whatever the hell it was Odin was trying to assert. None of it really mattered to him. "Of course, father," He said, putting his fork down, appetite gone. He couldn't find it in himself to continue to sit there and leave himself open for more of his words. It was all selfish, all for their purposes anyway. He just happened to be unfortunate enough to be in association with their current goal.

Pushing his chair out, Thor collected his plate and, just as he was getting ready to stand, he allowed his eyes to fall on his mother. That was a mistake. Despite how intimidating his father was, Frigga was more so. One look had him sighing quietly, shoulders deflating as he placed his plate and utensils back on the table. Leaning back in his seat, Thor crossed his arms, staring at the glass of orange juice that was sitting in front of him.

"I have to get ready for school," He forced out, trying to sound as though he was eager to go. It sounded bored, though, impatient. But the silence was stretching and grating at his nerves. Frigga was staring at him with a stern look, and he didn't know whether he wanted to curl up on himself or scream out in anger. He settled for both. "What? I don't have time to sit here and –"

"Tell me what your father just said," She interrupted, light blue eyes flashing in warning. But Thor had nothing to produce for an answer and she knew it. Shaking her head, she put down the spoon she was using to mix her tea and leaned forward, clasping the cup. "I haven't said anything for a while now, but I'm concerned about your behaviour, Thor."

Thor furrowed his brows and waited for her to continue. When she said nothing, though, it took everything in his power to not roll his eyes. She was waiting for him to say something to justify the way he'd been acting. Of course, she was, because her perfect son wouldn't be acting so childish and immature. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm your mother, Thor –" He fought back a scoff. "– and I know when you're lying to me. You can talk to me and tell me anything. But if you don't then I'm forced to assume that you're just acting out. Did something happen at school or in one of your clubs?"

"Can I not just be tired? Does there have to be a legitimate reason for me not wanting to have this discussion every single morning before I go to school?"

"You can be tired when you're living on the top floor of your very own tower," Odin spat out, his one icy blue eye glinting. He was getting angry and frustrated and Thor knew that it was partially due to his behaviour and the way he was acting towards them. The other part had entirely to do with his failures. "We are doing everything we can to make you successful, Thor. You need to put in the effort!"

"So what are you going to do?" Frigga asked, perfectly trimmed eyebrows raising, waiting for Thor's response. She wouldn't let him leave the table without giving her one, of that Thor was sure.

But Thor was just too frustrated to care. Huffing out an irritated gust of air, he shook his head, sparkling blue eyes moving between mother and father. "What do you want me to do? You wanted me to befriend Tony Stark and I did. You wanted me to join clubs so colleges would be impressed with my work-load. I did. What more do you want?"

Thor was sure that Odin would strike him. With the way his fists balled up, his chest puffing out, as though he was getting ready to start screaming … but it didn't happen. Frigga placed a hand on his forearm, silently grounding him. She looked equally as furious, though, and even if she stopped Odin from potentially hitting him, he was nowhere close to getting out of there unscathed.

"You are no fool, Thor. Howard Stark is very successful. He runs a multi-billion, international corporation. When he steps down, his son will take over. His future is set and his father will never have to worry about him financially. That is all we want for you," Frigga said, and Thor had to give it to her – she could spin a tale and make it sound right. But she wasn't wrong when she said he wasn't a fool. Thor was adept at recognising when his own parents were trying to play him.

Over the years, Thor had learned to play his own game. He learned to say what he needed to say in a way that they would believe, and he would do so now. Shoulders deflating even more, Thor softened his expression, making it look as though the weight of their words were finally dawning on him. He was silent for a moment, pretending to ponder over their words while actually counting down from twenty. When Thor felt he was silent long enough, he looked up at them, nodding his head gently.

"I understand. I'm sorry for my behaviour," His voice was sombre and almost timid. He sounded ashamed and he could tell the exact moment when his parents started to crack.

Reaching over, Frigga folded her hand over Thor's. She gave it a squeeze. It was sad how his own mother couldn't comfort him, even sadder when he knew that she didn't know how. "All we want is the best for you, Thor. Above all, never forget that," Thor nodded his head. She pulled her hand away, clasping it over her cup of tea. "Now go on. Or you'll be late."

And Thor did. As he got up and made his way to the door – detouring to grab his bag – he heard his parents talk about Borson Industries and about Howard Stark. There was a benefit in about a week that they were going to and they feared about their impression. He stood at the door and listened to them talk about him and his friendship with Howard's son. Tony Stark was their ticket and Thor was their unwilling ride to the top.

-x- -x- -x-

When Thor was younger, he loved school. School meant making his own friends, colouring and laughing, playing outside. He loved running and he loved the feel of his heart pounding as he pushed himself harder and harder. Baseball was his favourite sport. It implemented running and hitting the ball as hard as he could. Thor had been a rowdy child and Frigga thought having him play a sport would tire him out when it was time to come home. Over the years, he went from baseball to basketball to track to – finally – football. It seemed to work well for him, but he hated it. The stress of how much was riding on the game, as well as the many clubs that his parents had forced him into over the years caused that joy to become a burden.

Coach Coulson had them all running laps that day. Though practise wasn't until that afternoon, Thor's gym-class had mostly football players in it, which meant extra drills and routines to prepare them for the bigger stuff they'd do after school. Thor wasn't close to any of them, even though they considered him a friend. The jocks stuck together.

Tony Stark was waiting for him when he emerged from the locker rooms. Swinging an arm around Thor's massive shoulders, Tony led him in the direction of the cafeteria, talking animatedly about the first game of the season, which was in two days. Thor smiled and laughed along with him, keeping up appearances. They soon joined the rest of the team at the table that was closest to the windows. That was their table. No-one else was able to sit there.

"Those fucking Elves have no idea who they're up against!" Tony exclaimed when he slammed down his tray. He was grinning like the pretentious ass he was.

"What is their rec, anyway?" Steve Rogers asked. He was just as much of an ass as Tony.

"Don't know, don't care," Tony answered, grin widening all the more as he sat down beside his girlfriend, Pepper. He gave her a kiss that was all tongue before turning his attention back to Rogers. "Alfheim hardly ever makes it into the playoffs, so who gives a shit?"

They started talking about football, but Thor tuned them out, not at all interested in hearing about the sport. It seemed as though that was all they ever talked about – that and whose party they were going to, when they were going to throw their own. And five minutes later, that's exactly what they did start to talk about. When they beat the Alfheim Elves, Tony was going to throw a massive party to commemorate their victory. Thor was not looking forward to it.

He didn't know why he put up with any of it. He sat at that table every single day, eating silently, only engaging in conversation when asked a question. He didn't want to be there, didn't want to associate himself with the likes of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. They were cruel and ruthless and picked on others, because they were rich and popular. Why he didn't just get up and sit somewhere else was beyond him.

Like most things, he didn't have a choice. Thor was where he was, because he was put there. There was no getting out, no alternatives. It was just something that he had to make due with, and most of the time, he was able to do just that. He could sit there and laugh, because on those rare days, Tony and Steve and the rest of his friends weren't actually that bad. But then he blinked and realised that he was living a lie. It was a vicious cycle and Thor couldn't seem to escape it.

Shaking his head at a particularly nasty comment towards a few of the girls in the art-department, Thor turned his attention towards the doors of the cafeteria. He was trying to calculate how far he was from it, if he would be able to sneak away without them realising until after he escaped, when they walked in.

Flaming red hair with deep blue eyes, sandy brown hair with vibrant-coloured orbs that seemed to shine even from where he was standing, and jet black hair with a set of wild emerald green eyes. That was what Thor first made note of. The two boys were flanking the girl, their eyes never remaining set on one thing. They were invisible, but they walked with such authority and command, Thor found. But no-one even noticed them as they took their place at the table in the far corner, farthest away from the table that Thor was sitting in.

Before he was aware of what he was doing, Thor elbowed Tony in the side, gaining his attention.

"Ow –!"

"Who are they?"

"Who are they?" Tony asked, craning his head, looking for whoever it was that Thor was talking – and pointing – about. When he finally did catch sight of them, Thor could practically see the glee in his eyes. "Why, my dear friend, they are Midgard High's resident freaks."

"Okay, but who are they? What are their names?" Thor demanded, leaning to the side some when a couple of students got in his line of sight. He didn't know why he was so insistent in knowing, why his heart was thrumming just a bit harder against his rib-cage. Perhaps it was because something was finally different and new.

"I just know the guys. I don't know the girl."

"The girl is Natasha Romanoff," Pepper Potts replied, picking at her salad. She didn't sound impressed. "She's such a bitch," Thor had to bark back a laugh when he heard that, head whipping around to look at her, because no-one could be more of a bitch than Pepper. There was mean and then there was cruel and that was exactly what she was.

"The shorter guy is Clint Barton. I don't know much about him. I think he lives with his brother in a fucking shack," Tony said, looking back to his food. He picked up the cheeseburger that was nestled under fries. "Mr. Tall and Dark is Loki Laufeyson. You're on your own about him."

"Thanks …" Thor trailed off. He realised that he was staring and looked back to his own food. Lunch was only thirty minutes long and he spent a good portion contemplating about how much he hated his life and the choices that were chosen for him to pay much attention to eating.

"Why do you want to know anyway?" Tony asked in between chewing.

Thor shrugged his shoulders, glancing over at Tony. Steve was staring at him openly. "I've never seen them before."

-x- -x- -x-

"Writing is all about emotion. It's about sending a message, something that will stick with the intended reader. It's something that comes from deep within that's meant to evoke feeling. That's what we're going to work on throughout our journey in this class."

While normally Thor would be paying close attention to what Mr. Banner was saying – he couldn't afford to slack off and get low marks on tests, after all – it was impossible now. His mind was reeling and he couldn't for the life of him believe that he was just now noticing the guy – Loki.

Twenty minutes after class started, the door opened and in he walked. He didn't appear unfazed by having disrupted the class, but Mr. Banner gave him a levelled look. "You're late," As though he didn't know – or care.

"Sorry," Loki replied, walking towards the back of the classroom. He walked past Thor and he could smell the lingering scent of cigarette smoke. "It won't happen again."

"See to it that it doesn't."

Thor turned his head and watched as Loki sat down at his desk, all long legs and graceful movements. He looked ethereal, as though he didn't even belong on their planet. It was hard not to stare at him. His cheekbones were sharp and define; his skin pale and unblemished. And his eyes … Thor had never seen such an eye-colour on a person before.

Only when Loki caught him staring did he snap his head back to where he was facing forward. He felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. He was acting foolish. Obviously he had too much on his mind and he hadn't realised that the guy existed. Many kids attended the school – Thor didn't know a third of them, even though they knew him.

So why was Loki Laufeyson any different? The question perplexed Thor, because he honestly didn't have a clue. Perhaps he was so tired of his life that he was imagining things. Perhaps he'd seen Loki a thousand times in the hallway and never saw him until today, when he was feeling so low.

Thor chanced another glance and saw him staring out the window. He had nothing on his desk to take notes with – not that Thor was taking notes at the moment, either, but he at least had a notebook and pen out – and he didn't even have his textbook on the desk. He was just staring out the window, eyes far away, in a different world.

Before Thor was aware of it, the bell was ringing, shocking him out of whatever state he was in. He watched as Loki pulled himself to his feet and strolled from the room, already out of the door before most students even stood from their own seats.

And then Thor woke up, a wave of numbness seeping over him once more. A hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to take a sharp intake of breath. He looked up to find that it was only Steve. "God, you scared me, man," He said, chuckling, willing his heart to calm down. He felt so jumpy all of a sudden, as though he was caught doing something he shouldn't.

"Sorry about that," Steve said, adjusting the strap of his backpack. "Are you ready for practise?"

"Yeah, let's go," Thor replied, standing up and following Steve from the room after collecting his belongings. He would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't searching for one last look at Loki.

But he was already gone.

Author's Note – This story is mostly finished. Updates will be very three days.