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An Unlikely Pair

Sometimes it seemed as though every female in the entirety of Jefferson High School was infatuated with Tony Stark. And why wouldn't they be? He was rich, popular, and extremely handsome, and all of the other things that Loki wasn't. Which is exactly why Loki hated him.

On the subject of things Loki hated, Jefferson High School was high on the list. It was filled with ignorant, idiotic fools who would end up working dead-end jobs at gas stations for the rest of their pathetic lives. The teachers were boring, the lunches abysmal, and the students tormenting. It seemed to Loki that Jefferson High rejected him as much as he despised it.

He began his junior year the way he'd spent the last two: friendless and counting the days till it was all over. He read through his list of courses (all AP level) and headed off to English first block. The day passed monotonously from there. He listened to students with devastatingly low IQ's ask idiotic questions of tired teachers and tried to avoid ridicule, something he was quite bad at.

After Pre-Calculus he had lunch, to his chagrin. He loathed lunch at school. The food tasted like disease and it was the perfect opportunity for some thick-headed Neanderthal to push him around. He just had to make it through forty-five minutes of this torture before AP chemistry. Of what little Jefferson High had to offer, science was definitely his favorite class. However, lunch still stood in his way of that tiny light at the end of the seemingly endless tunnel of high school.

He ate lunch alone, as always, and contemplated all the ways to kill Tony Stark. He was caught between tying him to a table and watching as vultures slowly picked apart his body and slowly skinning him. He didn't know why of all the people at Jefferson High, Tony was the one he hated the most. Maybe it was that everyone liked him (and he meant everyone. Boys, girls, teachers, janitors, lunch ladies...). Or maybe it was that he made it all look so effortless. Loki had tried to fit in, he really had, but it had done him no good. Whatever it was, Loki had made his mind up long ago that he would never like Tony Stark, and so far he'd kept that promise.

"Tony," Clint Barton, one of Tony's friends, said, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Mmm?" Tony replied, mouth full of sandwich.

"Freak's staring at you," he said, jerking his thumb towards Loki. Swallowing, Tony turned his gaze to the dark haired boy sitting alone at a table. Smirking, he put down his sandwich and waved at him, watching him turn bright red and tuck his head down. Feeling the slightest twinge of guilt, Tony shrugged.

"You can't blame him," he said, "I'd stare at me too if I could."

Pepper, Tony's ex-girlfriend and currently one of his best friends, rolled her eyes. "Your arrogance still manages to surprise me."

"Aww thanks Pep. I try." Tony winked and turned back to his lunch.

Soon afterwards, the first bell rung and they were headed to next class. Tony and his friends all spread outin different directions as he made his way towards the science wing for his AP chemistry.

The chemistry classroom was small and swelteringly hot, with glaring fluorescent lights and grimy white walls. The tables were covered in graffiti from generations of bored students. The chemistry teacher, Mr. Wicks, was an old man with a shock of wild white hair and big round glasses that magnified his eyes. The students shuffled in, their expressions ranging from scared to excited to bored.

Tony slid into a seat in the back of the room and absentmindedly began doodling on the desk. He watched people trickle in and saw the distinct black hair and pale skin of Loki. He kept his head down and chose a seat as far away from Tony as possible and made himself look busy. A slight frown twisted Tony's face. He wondered what it would be like to have nobody. Loki had no friends, and from what he had heard his family life wasn't great either. His musings were disrupted by the appearance of Bruce Banner, one of Tony's friends, who took the seat next to him. Bruce nodded in greeting and sat up straight, looking to Mr. Wicks expectantly. "Settle down, everyone!" Mr. Wicks called, his voice shaky but assertive. "Okay. You all are going to have lab partners that will remain the same throughout the whole year. You're gonna be spending every class with them and time outside school as well so if you don't like them, learn to, 'cause there's no switching." Tony glanced around at his classmates. He would gladly take Bruce as a partner, and out of the six girls in the room, he'd be happy to have two of them as lab partners. The other four, not so much. Wicks cleared his throat, his shaking hands clutching a piece of paper. "Catherine Reed and Derek Hunt, Natalie Bloom and Erica Woods, Tony Stark and Loki Laufeyson-"

"What?" The whole class turned to see Loki, looking indignant. "Mr. Wicks, I cannot work with-"

"No switching. You two can deal. Now, where was I? Ah, yes, Shannon Locke and Bruce Banner..."

While Wicks continued down his list, everyone moved to be next to their partner. As it was clear to Tony that Loki wasn't moving, he strode over and plopped down on the chair next to Loki.

"Guess you're stuck with me, pal," he said, nudging him. Loki recoiled from his touch.

"Do not talk to me unless it pertains to the experiment that we are doing," he hissed. "We are not friends, we are lab partners."

"Touchy," smirked Tony. "I wasn't the one staring at you at lunch today."

"I was not staring, Stark," Loki snarled.

"Sure looked like it to me," said Tony, grinning. Fury rose inside Loki. He wanted more than anything to wipe that smirk right off his face.

"So," Mr. Wicks said loudly, "We're starting a new project right now. And I warn you, you're going to have to meet with your partner outside school to complete it because we'll be working on other material in class." He passed around thick packets detailing the assignment and dismissed the class. Loki pushed passed Tony and hurried out before Tony could get one last remark in.

Tony leaned against his locker after classes ended with Steve, Bruce, and Clint. "Guess who my lab partner is," he said, cleaning his fingernails.

"Shannon Locke?" asked Clint excitedly. "I saw you walking out of science with her. She is hot."

"Nope," he said, laughing. "Bruce got that one."—Clint high-fived Bruce, who smiled sheepishly—"I got Loki."

"Loki?" Clint asked incredulously. "That sucks ass."

Tony shrugged. "It's okay. He's fun to mess with." Steve pursed his lips, turning to his locker. Tony rolled his eyes. "What's the matter with you, Steve?"

"Nothing," he said stiffly. "I just think that you shouldn't piss off Loki. There's something…I don't know… off about that guy." Tony worked hard to suppress an eye-roll.

"I think I can handle a skinny nerd with no friends to back him up," Tony said.

"He has Thor," Bruce pointed out. Tony shrugged again, closing his locker.

"Whatever. Listen, my dad's going out of town this weekend and I'm throwing a party. Clint, can I count on you for booze?"

"On it. And I'll make sure everyone's coming," he said. Tony nodded and hoisted his backpack onto one shoulder and turned away.

"Seeya guys," he said, walking away.

On his way out the door he nearly bumped into someone rushing outside. "Excuse you," he called, identifying the long black hair as Loki's. He smirked as Loki shot him a glare. This was definitely going to be an interesting year.