>>> reasons to live <<<

ten

"i hope mr. banner is okay," mr. macclan says as thor is getter bruce's homework. "yeah, i hope so too," thor says, putting bruce's homework in a folder so it doesn't get crumpled. he leaves the classroom to head to his next class and sends a text to bruce.

thor is typing...
what are your other classes? i will stop and get any homework from those too.

bruce is typing...
i have a.p. writing with mrs. kant, a.p. english  with mr. sinclair, honors chem with ms. ferris, and honors world history with ms. brennan.

thor is typing...
okay, i'll grab them. :)

read at 9:28am

thor is in two honors classes and isn't dumb by any stretch. no matter what people may think of him, he's actually in the top 15% of his class and on track to attend his dream college. it's not ivy league but thor's first passion is football anyway. he didn't realize how smart bruce was. if he's honest, thor has taken notice of bruce before in their honors pre-cal class, but he doesn't ever see him outside of that class so he never really thought about it. if he sees bruce anytime outside of math class, it's usually at lunch where bruce sits at the end of tony stark's table. he usually looks like he wants to be left alone.

throughout the day, thor stops into bruce's classrooms to pick up his homework, explaining over and over to each concerned teacher that bruce was alright, even though thor didn't know if this was true. when bruce called him the night before, he thought it was a prank call until he heard bruce's weak voice, practically begging for his help. it was so late, but what was he supposed to do? he's sure that bruce was hiding from his parents, but, once again, what is thor supposed to do? he told bruce he would be there for him. he thinks about bruce waking up this morning with his messy curls and wearing thor's shirt. he thought about sitting on his bed with bruce and wanting to kiss him so badly.

he thought about bruce kissing him first and it was so shocking that he didn't react immediately. thor was too focused on the butterflies in his stomach to think. he thought about bruce apologizing and running off. he wanted to go after him, but thor couldn't miss anymore school or he'd be in so much trouble with his parents. instead, he desperately texted bruce and waited for an answer. it was a heartbreaking wait and thor couldn't think about anything else besides bruce. he hoped bruce was okay.

luckily, he got an answer and bruce was okay. now thor had to wait until almost 9pm tonight to talk to bruce about everything. thor sat at lunch with his friends and stayed silent for almost the entire hour. this was unusual for thor and his friends took note and concern. thor spotted tony stark across the room and went to go talk to him. he approached the table where tony sat, alone. it wasn't his usual table so thor figured tony just wanted a break today. "hello, stark," thor said and tony waved. "hello, odinson. please sit," tony gestures to the seat in front of thor. thor nods and they sit in silence until thor clears his throat. "do you know where bruce is?" thor asks, testing the waters. "i'm not sure, he hasn't texted me today," tony shrugs, "why do you ask?" "we are in the same pre-cal class," thor says and tony nods in understanding.

"listen, stark. bruce called me at almost three this morning, begging for a ride from his house. i don't understand why he needed to be away from his house but i picked him up anyway," thor says, rubbing his temples. "what?" tony seems incredulous, "since when were you two friends? he's never mentioned it." "we aren't really, that's the thing. he has this noteb-" thor starts and then hesitates. he isn't sure how much he should tell tony. he takes a deep breath and starts again, "he seemed sad. deeply sad and lonely. i went to his job with some of my friends and left him my number. i just wanted him to know that someone was there for him, you know?" thor is rambling and he can't stop, "he had my number and he called me last night and i didn't know what to do. when we got to my house, he looked awful. sick and weak and out of it. then he just started sobbing and talking about how much he missed you, his best friend, and how bad he fucked up. i don't know what he meant, but i tried to help all i could." tony looks shocked and guilty. he averts his eyes from thor's and then looks back at him, "if he was with you last night, where is he now?" thor sighs, "i don't know. he ran away this morning after we are breakfast." tony's eyes widen, "he ate with you? what did he do after that?" thor is confused, "um... he went to the bathroom to change." "fuck," tony sighs. "why?" thor asks and has a bad feeling in his stomach.

"i don't know what has been up with him lately, thor. he's so out of it, snapping at me, not texting me back. i've tried so hard to reach out and he keeps ignoring me. we got into a yelling match one morning and then next day, i went over to his house after he got off work. when i got there, he was crying and bleeding and i could see his ribs. it was so disturbing, i've never seen him like that. i didn't know what to do, i still don't," tony eyes shine with unshed tears, "i brought his favorite foods with me, i wanted to try and cheer him up, and we sat and ate, but bruce ate fast, like he was trying to get it over with. when he got done, went to the bathroom and, after about ten minutes, i got worried so i went to check on him. he was sitting by the toilet, making himself..." tony trails off and thor can feel his heart getting heavier and heavier. tony takes a shaky breath, "he was making himself throw up. i don't understand why and i didn't know how to help or react. i'm so fucking stupid, i got angry and stormed out. i don't know what i thought would happen, but i guess i hoped his mom would come home and see him. i don't know, i shouldn't have left him, i know that now. he's sick, thor. bruce is really sick," tony's cheeks are streaked with tears and thor feels anger rising in his chest. "how could you leave him there, stark?" he yells at tony and tony seems surprised, "thor, i-i didn't know what to do, i didn't know who to call." tony stutters out and thor slams a fist on the table, causing a teacher nearby to yell out at him.

"bruce needed you, stark. he needed his best friend and you left him. how could you?"