Chapter 3
When the bell rang he made his way to his locker and flung it open throwing his book inside. Then he grabbed out the book he kept inside which he had hollowed out to store his money in. When he opened it up it was empty which he knew should have definitely not been the case because there should have been upwards of three hundred dollars in it. The only person who knew it was there was Steve but he was adamant Steve wouldn't steal from him. He turned to Pietro who was clearly waiting for Clint by his locker and asked "you seen anybody in my locker"
Pietro gestured down the hall to Steve and shrugged "only your boyfriend"
He threw the empty book inside and slammed his locker door closed. He nodded thanks to Pietro as he made his way down the hall to where Steve was standing with Sharon and Quentin. He grabbed Steve's hand and stated "Steve can I talk to you"
Steve nodded and he led him away from the two and questioned "do you know what happened to my money I keep in my locker"
Steve smiled "I borrowed it"
His jaw dropped. Steve stole the money that he had worked so hard for and kept it in his locker so it was safe. He wanted to cry. Since when did Steve become such an asshole. Then he wanted to hit himself for thinking that because Steve wasn't an asshole he was the love of his life. He exclaimed "you what, Steve that was my money"
Steve shrugged "yeah and you're my boyfriend so I knew you wouldn't mind, after all, we're supposed to share aren't we"
He groaned "no Steve I had been saving up for ages and it was mine to spend not yours, can I at least have twenty-five dollars I need to pay Stephen"
Steve stated "you know I don't have that kind of money, why can't they just pay for your part, they're all rich"
He sighed "because I don't take charity, I thought you didn't either, clearly, I'm just going to have to get some money from somewhere"
Steve shrugged "I don't know why you care so much I needed the money"
He groaned "yeah and you could have asked and I would have given it to you, you didn't have to steal from me"
Steve stated "you're my boyfriend it's not stealing"
He mumbled "yeah alright, I'll see you later"
Steve questioned "where are you going"
He replied "to get some money"
He set off wanting to punch something. He knew he was just going to have to borrow money from T'Challa and pay him back after he did some odd jobs to earn it back. He found T'Challa in his usual hang out spot in the cafeteria and slid into the seat beside him. None of T'Challas friends despite being two grades above him didn't seem to care that he was there. T'Challa questioned "what can I do for you Bucky"
He hated asking for money so sheepishly he questioned "can I sit here for the moment and can I please borrow twenty-five dollars, I'll get it back to you as soon as possible"
T'Challa nodded and handed over the money and smiled "of course Buck"
He put the money in his pocket and smiled "thanks"
T'Challa nodded as he joined a conversation with M'Baku and Okoye. Nomble and Yama who were in the grade above him sat across from him and both said hello to him. He addressed the two and he slid them the number he had been given and told to hand around so that people could test it and ask them to gnome someone. It was Tony's second phone and their new business number he guessed. He smirked "Got a scheme going, we'll gnome someone's yard for you, text that number and you'll get sent all the details"
The two girls grinned at each other and he watched them type the number into their phones and look towards Ayo. They both gave him a nod and M'Baku who had clearly overheard the conversation placed the slip of paper in his pocket. He grinned to himself. as he just decided to death stare at Steve's entire group from the other side of the cafeteria. The entire group just looked awkward under his gaze and it made him smirk to himself. He then watched Tony walk over to Stephen and Loki and figured it was the perfect time to hand over the money and so he bid goodbye to the table and walked up to the table where the three were. He put the money down on the table and Stephen picked it up as Tony announced "we already got a customer I take it that you're doing Barnes"
He shrugged "just had a little chat with a few people not sure if it's them"
Loki stated "since I haven't talked to anyone yet I'm going to say definitely you"
He just smiled as Stephen gestured to Steve and asked "trouble in paradise"
He definitely wasn't going to talk about the shit he was going through to anyone especially these three so he just shook his head and stated "we're fine, just spreading the word"
They all just nodded but Tony announced "I don't see how someone like you could be with someone like him. He's got nothing going for him"
Stephen punched Tony and groaned "don't Tony, not everyone hates Steve as you do"
Loki just shrugged "Tony's not wrong Rogers is a dick"
He just mumbled "I think I'm going to go"
Stephen hit Loki over the back of the head quite hard and stated "don't listen to them they're being dopes, sit down"
He thought about just walking off but everyone was staring at him confused and Steve looked annoyed at him. Probably for associating with the enemy or something like that and he was still mad at Steve for taking all his money without asking so he just pulled out a chair and sat down. From the corner of his eye, he could see Steve doing his best to glare at him. It made it pretty clear to him why he was the one in the relationship who did the death glaring. Loki stated "are we just supposed to ignore his attempts at glaring"
He replied "pretty sure he's mad at me for speaking with the enemy or some bullshit"
Tony snorted "yeah because I'm going to manage to steal you from him"
He just shrugged and Stephen started talking to Tony about some banquet dinner that clearly all three of them were going to. It was likely for the rich people in town which meant T'Challa and Shuri would likely be going. So he made a mental note to ask them both about it later. Loki didn't add much to the conversation other than sarcastic quips and he just stayed completely quiet not having much to add nor wanting to add anything. He was perfectly fine staying quiet. The three just seemed content that he was there in a way. They kept glancing towards him to make sure he was still there and hadn't disappeared and then would go right back to talking. When the bell rang the four stood up and Stephen stated "you two are free to sit with us anytime"
He smiled "thanks"
Tony grinned "I might just take you up on that"
With that being said Stephen and Loki both walked off in the opposite direction to them. He was in class with Tony as they both had Engineering so they just set off together. Neither bothered with their lockers as they already knew they weren't going to need their books as their teacher was going through an exam they had done two weeks before. They just walked in silence till from behind him Steve called "hey Buck wait up"
He turned towards Tony and stated "meet you in class"
Tony nodded but at the same time looked at Steve with concern in his eye. He guessed it was probably due to the fact every time Steve talked with Tony it ended in a screaming match. He stated "what's up Steve"
Steve glanced at Tony who was walking off and glared "why the hell did you sit with him and not me"
He rolled his eyes and stated "because we have a project to work on"
Steve looked at him like he didn't believe him and asked "since when did you care about business"
He replied "I don't but I'm not going to bring their grade down because I'm not putting in effort"
Steve laughed "why do you care about their grades"
Steve was acting like a child and it was getting on his nerves. He swears someone must have thrown Steve's moral compass off the ship because lately, he had no morals. So he questioned "are you alright"
Steve looked confused and stated "of course I'm fine"
He explained "you just haven't been acting like yourself lately"
Steve glared "I'm not the one talking to Tony Stark"
He rolled his eyes and stated "get over yourself Steve"
Steve slapped him in the face and they both instantly froze. Steve stated "oh my god Buck, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean that"
He just pushed past him and headed to the closest bathroom. Steve had crossed a line he had never thought Steve would cross but he still felt so much love for him and he honestly just wanted to get his thoughts to shut up. There was no way he was going to cry. He hadn't in four years and he sure as hell wouldn't now but he felt the closest that he had been in years. As he stepped into the room he looked at himself in the broken and dirty mirror and other than a reddish tinge to his skin he looked normal so he just headed to class. He walked in and didn't bother saying anything to the teacher to excuse himself for being late and the teacher didn't ask him anything which meant someone had covered for him because this only happened when someone covered for whoever wasn't there. Since Sam wasn't there that didn't leave many others who would bother to cover for him.
At the point he was kind of glad Sam was away because it meant he got to sit up the back in peace without Sam chatting in his ear about something and asking what Steve wanted but at this point, he would have liked a distraction. Maybe he deserved to be hit. It made sense that way. Steve was always right so it made sense that he would be right about this too. Steve was the one to give him a place to stay when everything at his house got too much. Steve was the only person he had ever told about what was happening at his house and yet Steve would turn around and do the same thing. It hurt too much to think about and he knew that a part of him felt like this is what he deserved.
The exam paper which had a grade of 93% did nothing to improve his mood as it should have. He liked Engineering and was always glad to get good grades in it but he couldn't bring himself to care. He had better things on his mind like how his caring, sweet boyfriend had changed so easily. But he also knew that the change came about because he wasn't good enough so he strived to be better. Maybe if he was better Steve would go back to being faithful and they could leave this all in the past. He honestly just wanted this entire week to be over so far nothing had gone right and they were only two days in.
When the bell finally rang he just stood up and left the room as quick as possible but Tony still somehow walked out at the same time as him and held his exam paper up and grinned "how'd you go Barnes, I got 99%"
Of course Tony did he was a genius and anything lower than 100% probably felt like a fail. He showed Tony his paper and Tony grinned "hey look at that congrats"
He just nodded and replied "yeah congrats to you too"
Tony shrugged "dad won't be happy but who cares it's good enough for me, what you got now"
He stated "Art"
Tony laughed "I'm a terrible artist the only thing I can do is sketch designs and even then they're a bit dodgy"
He nodded "Sketching's my favourite although I do like watercolours"
Tony smiled "would you do a watercolour for me I'd pay you of course"
There was no way he was going to charge Tony. He liked painting and so he wasn't going to charge him for something he enjoyed doing. He was also a little curious why Tony would ask for his help and especially ask him to paint something. What Tony planned to do with a painting was a mystery to him. He shrugged "depends what it's off, I do people but I must warn you I'm not very good"
Tony chuckled "that's alright it's not a person, it's a place in the woods"
He loved the woods and so was more than willing to go out in them and paint. He grinned "alright but I must warn you that if you try to murder me it probably won't end well for you"
Tony smiled wide as he laughed "believe me I'm aware, no one stands a chance against you Barnes, maybe we should put you on gnome painting duty"
He shook his head and stated "you give me the gnomes and chance are I'll break a few"
Tony smirked "what and you think the rest of us won't. We're are like the four most likely to behind maybe Thor and Drax"
He didn't know with Thor or Drax ell but from what he did know the two were constantly breaking things whether on purpose or by accident. And so he smiled "yeah alright I guess so"
Tony just nodded "well I'll see you either at lunch or after school, don't forget Stephens at five"
He nodded "yeah I'll be there"
With that, Tony walked off and he just walked towards the Art room. Steve was going to be there and he really wished he wasn't going to but knew he was going to have to face him sooner or later. They were dating after all. And he hated fighting with Steve and feeling this way. As he walked down the hall he just began thinking about every nice thing Steve had done for him. He knew he didn't deserve Steve and was more than happy to be with him. Maybe Steve was just going through something he hadn't told him about.
He was also majorly confused by Tony, Stephen and Loki. Normally people went out of their way to avoid talking to him. But the three didn't seem to mind. And they didn't seem to mind when he didn't talk either. Which was a complete change from his own group. He made it to Art but before he even stepped inside he saw Loki standing by the door and it made him remember that he was in his class. He nodded at him and Loki grinned "come on you're sitting with me today"
He raised an eyebrow and asked "am I"
Loki just waved him off and grinned "we have things to talk about that we can't with Stephen and Tony present"
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad he could sit next to Loki and avoid Steve for a few more hours and let Steve also have time to think. Plus he wanted to ask Loki if Stephen was crushing on Tony. Because it sure as shit appeared that way and if you asked him he would probably say they liked each other. And he was pretty sure he had a good intuition about those sort of things. So he just nodded "Alright then"
Loki sat up the back of the room at the spot where he preferred to be but Steve liked being up the front and being all teacher's pet so that's where he normally sat so he could be with Steve. Steve was already sitting in class and waved him over. He just shook his head and gestured towards Loki. Steve looked mad but just shrugged and turned to talk to Sharon. Loki grabbed both of their Artbooks and pretty much threw them on the desk as he sat down. He just sat down beside Loki who instantly whispered "so have you noticed the sexual tension between Stephen and Tony or is it just me"
He grinned as he raised an eyebrow. Loki was the last person he expected to start a conversation like that. He stated "I'm sorry, you gossip"
Loki picked up a paintbrush and grinned "of course now tell me do you think they like each other because Stephen swears he doesn't"
He shrugged "they are constantly eye fucking so probably"
Loki laughed "you know what your not wrong, I'm glad I'm not the only one seeing it. You honestly can't tell me you haven't seen Pietro and Clint eye fucking either"
He was keeping the two a secret so he shrugged and Loki smirked "I know you've seen it they're way more obvious than Tony and Stephen"
He didn't really have an answer but it turns out he didn't need one because the teacher announced "your assignment is due by next Friday so get to work"
He opened his Artbook. He hadn't settled on a final idea. Their project was to make a portrait of someone with significance to them. Then they had to write a piece on that person's importance. He wasn't quite sure who had made a significant improvement to his life. Steve was doing his mother and he just couldn't bring himself to do either of his parents. Loki just pulled out a painting that he was halfway through of an undoubtedly good looking woman. Loki questioned "who you doing"
He shrugged "haven't worked it out yet"
Loki started painting and suggested "you could always do someone random and pretend like it's someone special"
He nodded because it actually made a lot of sense. His teacher would never know if someone existed or not. He questioned "who is she"
Loki smiled "my mother"
He smiled "well it's a great painting and she's very beautiful"
Loki nodded "thanks"
He wondered about an idea he had a few times. He really wanted to do his sister Rebecca because he missed her like crazy and thought it would be a great way to commemorate her life. But he didn't want to draw her as she had been. He wanted to make it so he drew her like she would look like today. And so he decided he might as well and if he didn't hand it in it wouldn't really matter all that much. As he began sketching Loki stated "I think Rhodey and Pepper are into each other"
He nodded definitely "so are Quill and Gamora"
Loki smirked "I need to know who you see Thor with"
Maybe if Loki had asked the month before he would have had a different answer but things had shifted in Thor's groups in the past month. He stated "Valkyrie"
Loki grinned "you're good, and yes he's pretty much in love with her"
He nodded "and he probably told you that in secret, it's a good thing the only crush you have is on yourself"
A smile spread across Loki's face as he stated "well that's harsh"
He shrugged "I'm not wrong am I"
Loki smirked "I suppose not'
He looked down at his drawing realized that he had gotten what he imagined his sister to look like now down perfectly. Deciding to play to his strengths he chose to make it a watercolour and so he continued with that in mind. Loki was just painting his and doing a pretty good job of it too. He stated "I get why you put Tony in your group but why me"
Loki grinned 'because you didn't have a group and plus you are just like the rest of us"
He raised his eyebrow. He couldn't understand what world he was like them in but he was positive it wasn't this one. They were all rich and he very definitely was not. They were all pretty talkative and he was not. Loki continued "you are more than you realize, you paid twenty-five dollars just like the rest of us when in reality one of us could have been the only one to pay. They aren't many people in that class other than you that would do that. Plus we needed someone that was going to balance out Stephen and Tony"
He did think about and realize Loki was right, not many people in that class would have paid the twenty-five when either Loki or Stark was in the group no matter how rich or poor they were. He questioned "how do I balance them, I don't do anything to stop their arguments"
Loki explained "your presence just kind of does that and everyone is just more real when your around"
He didn't know what to say. No one had ever said anything like that to him and so he instead just smiled. Loki just grinned as he painted the phone number they were using for the gnoming business onto a piece of paper and just placed it in the middle of the desk. Loki stated "we should start getting the word out at lunch"
He nodded in agreement and the two just worked in silence. He glanced over to Steve a few times but every time Steve was just in a deep conversation with Sharon staring at her. And she was staring right back at him. When he glanced to see how Steve's sketch was coming along he was surprised to see that he wasn't working on the portrait of his mother but instead one of Sharon. He felt his heartbreak. Maybe Steve was planning on breaking up with him for Sharon. He just couldn't have that. If Steve ended things with him he didn't know how he would possibly function.