Could this year be any worse? Possibly.
At least that's what Loki had told himself as he stared up at the ceiling, watching as the shadows from passing cars went by. His mother had received an email that morning stating Loki would be required to attend summer school due to his poor math grade.
Now he may be a loner that stuck to his studies and books- but algebra was hard. He had been only two points away from passing, and it filled him with uncharacteristical rage. He had the urge to punch the nearest wall and hide under his sheets for the rest of the summer.
Thankfully, he only had to attend for eight weeks. He still had plenty of summer break left over until he had to return for one final year in September.
The first few days of summer had been unbearably muggy, so Loki mainly retired to his bedroom and read or played video games. Although he wouldn't be able to play on his console until the end of summer school as his mother had taken it away as punishment. It's not his fault math is hard.
Most kids would be out in their yards or partying, perhaps even hitting the unusually warm beaches.
Belsize Park was almost always at least the slightest bit chilly. It was something he had grown to love growing up here. The schools were nice, the neighborhood he lived in was quaint save for the next door's chihuahuas, and you could pretty much walk anywhere without worrying.
A small frown pulled onto his lips. He would be stuck at school for eight weeks for four hours a day doing nothing but algebra problems. His teacher said he'd be able to leave once his grade was pulled up, but his mother wanted him to stay all eight weeks.
The only part he looked forward to was getting away from his overbearing mother for a few hours. She constantly hovered over him, watching his every move.
Now Loki did love his mother dearly, but she was too much at times. He's a teenage boy- he wants his space.
His father on the other hand barely spoke a word to him. The occasional head nod and 'how's school' were the only interactions they really had.
Their relationship had crumbled after Loki found out he was adopted. He had lived his entire life thinking he didn't look like his brother and mum because he was different, only to find out it's because they aren't even his biological family. It took a toll on the raven haired boy. He barely left his room after that and actually began to look forward to going to school.
A blush crept onto his cheeks as he remembered the other reason why.
There was a boy in his grade named Tom. Tom Hiddleston to be more exact. He's one of the most popular guys in school and is the captain of the rugby team.
Tom had the prettiest face Loki had ever seen. He had beautiful blondish curls and a perfect jawline, sharp cheekbones, perfect pink lips- Loki could go on for ages just describing how attractive the boy is.
(what tom looks like throughout this story)
Loki often wondered what it would feel like to run his hand through those curls. Would they bounce back stubbornly? Would they lie flat? So many questions, yet they would never be answered.
Of course with Tom being popular, he has a girlfriend. Her name is Taylor, and she's one of the popular cheerleaders for the team. A sting of jealousy rippled through his chest at the reminder that Tom isn't into the same gender. He had never seen Tom show any sort of interest in males throughout the two years he had watched him from afar.
Loki didn't even know what he himself was. He thinks girls are pretty yes, but he also thinks men are beautiful too. His sexuality often confused him but he decided labels are overrated anyways.
Tomorrow was his first day of summer school. He had already laid out his outfit (a plain black tee, jeans, and a hoodie with the school's logo on it) and packed his backpack. He only needed his math things thankfully, which meant he wouldn't have to carry around a heavy bag.
He would also have to walk home from the school. His mother and father both worked jobs with weird hours. Sometimes he would be home alone until three in the morning, hearing them stagger in and sleep until late afternoon the following day.
His mother, Frigga, is a nurse at the same hospital where his father works as a doctor. Loki wasn't complaining about an empty house though. Even his brother, Thor, was gone most of the time.
Oh how he envied his brother. He was on the rugby team with Tom and they weren't particularly close, but he still got to talk to him. They usually went out to eat as a team and hung out at each other's houses with the occasional parties throughout the summer.
Loki had considered just trying to join the team, but he knew he was far from being active enough for that. Just the thought of it made him yawn.
He glanced at the time on his phone and sighed. He needed to be at the school at eight o'clock sharp, and it was currently midnight. His mother was working and his brother had passed all of his classes which meant he was at a friend's house. Odin, his father, was in the living room watching some war movie.
Normally if it were just his mum and brother, he'd go downstairs and help his mother cook or suffer through a basketball game with Thor, but due to his lack of relationship with his father, he remained upstairs for a majority of the day. The only time he had left his room was to relieve himself and grab a snack.
Deciding not to let his hunger pains get too bad, he groaned and ventured down the stairs to the kitchen. He peered into the living room and saw his father was asleep, so he'd have to be extra careful grabbing his food.
He made himself a sandwich and grabbed a bag of chips with a soda from the fridge. If his dad saw the soft drink and chips, he'd raise absolute hell about it.
Odin was very strict about eating healthy with Thor, but once he realized Loki was not going to follow in their footsteps sports wise, he became distant and rarely spoke a word to him. It didn't bother Loki though. He's survived almost nine years without a father, what's one more?
He quietly crept back up the stairs and shut his door, making sure to lock it before getting comfortable on his bed.
Whenever his mother takes away something of his, she usually hides it in the most obvious placed ever and he just takes them back. Hence why he currently sat up against his headboard with a spare controller and his stolen tv remote. She wouldn't be back until morning, so he had time to play a few games.
Loki finished his food and returned the remote to it's hiding place almost four hours later. It was nearing five in the morning and his father had retired to his room at around one.
He groaned to himself and set an alarm on his phone. Two hours of sleep is better than nothing, right?
**
The annoying sound of his phone's alarm pulled him from his sleep. He checked the time and sighed with relief as he hadn't overslept this time. It was seven thirty, which meant he had just enough time to get dressed and walk to school.
Haverstock School was only a twenty minute walk from his house. It had taken Loki not even five minutes to dress and grab his bag, and he felt better once he realized the parking lot was barely full.
A gasp escaped his lips as he heard that familiar voice.
He looked over at the other end of the parking lot and saw Tom climb out of his jeep with a teammate. Tom was wearing dark colored jeans and his usual letterman jacket and a white tee. His blonde curls shone in the sunlight and Loki almost smiled as he threw his head back with laughter, tongue poking out between white teeth.
Tom was also fairly tall for his age. Loki guessed he had to be around six foot two or three, while he only stood at a measly five foot eleven. He noticed the time was drawing nearer to eight and began speed walking to the front doors, breath hitching as Tom walked ahead of him.
They opened the doors and walked inside, Loki a few steps behind him.
Tom looked back and noticed the door about to close and quickly jogged back towards it.
Loki's eyes widened as the door swung open and a slightly sweaty Tom held it open for him. He could feel a blush beginning to form and quickly tucked his head shyly, "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Hey Josh! Wait up you ass!"
Tom flashed him a grin and seemed to hesitate before bounding over to his teammate, punching him in the arm as they turned a corner. Loki gave him a small smile and continued walking to his algebra classroom.
Upon entering the room, there were only two seats left. He felt relieved that they were in the far back and took the one closest to the wall.
The desks were set into pairs. Two seats right next to each other divided up into three rows. Most people were buddying up with their friends, but Loki's only friend had passed all of his classes.
His name is Fandral, a foreign exchange student from Australia. They had been friends for almost a year and Loki was happy he at least had someone.
Loki's thoughts were pulled by someone sitting down next to him. He recognized that letterman jacket immediately and stole a glance beside him.
Tom had just sat down, setting his backpack and gym bag on the floor beside him before pulling off his jacket and draping it across the back of his seat. Deciding not to stare too long, Loki averted his gaze and tucked his head shyly, stuffing his hands into his coat pocket.
"Oh, hey!" Tom said, noticing that Loki was the one he had held the door open for.
Loki glanced up at him and gulped, "Hi."
"You failed maths too?" Tom asked. His brows furrowed and Loki blushed.
The raven haired boy nodded and Tom tilted his head to the side in confusion, "You don't seem like the type to."
Should Loki take that as an insult?
"Two points." He mumbled, shifting in his seat. Tom grinned, "I failed by twenty. I have to retake it or else I won't be able to play."
Loki's eyes widened and Tom laughed softly, "Yeah, pretty bad huh?"
He gave a small smile in response and Tom was about to speak again but the bell rang, cutting him off. Class began and Loki was definitely looking forward to the rest of these eight weeks now that the boy he had been crushing on for so long was sitting beside him.
**
An hour into class, Loki and Tom were working on their first assignments. Thankfully, this part of the unit didn't confuse him. He flew through it in fifteen minutes tops, deciding to catch up on his book to pass the time until the next one.
He stole a glance at Tom and saw that he was struggling. His brows were furrowed in concentration as he furiously erased another wrong answer. Loki peered at the paper and saw he was only on number three, and that the rest of his problems were incorrect.
He didn't want Tom to flunk. Should he help him? Would he be weirded out?
Acting on impulse, Loki gulped and whispered, "Carry the four."
Tom looked over at him in surprise, and tried it. Realization cleared his frustrated face and he smiled at Loki.
"Thanks."
Loki nodded, smiling to himself and tucking his head shyly. What he didn't see was the look of curious awe on Tom's face at the cute shyness the raven haired boy showed.
He worked through the rest of the problems (remembering to carry the number) and finished in another ten minutes. Tom stood to turn his paper in and walked back to his seat.
As he walked back, he took in every detail of this mysterious shy boy. He had black hair, soft green eyes, a good face structure, and pink lips. He wondered why the boy didn't have many friends, he had only seen the one.
Tom saw Loki around school, but never really looked at him until now. He sat back down and fiddled with his pencil. No other guy his age had the ability to make him feel so...bashful.
He noticed Loki's paper wasn't turned in and decided to break the silence that way.
"Aren't you going to turn yours in too?"
Loki looked up at him and flushed a shade of pink, "I wait until the end of class to turn mine in."
Tom found the shade of pink rather endearing. He seemed like a sweet, shy boy. Something he had never really found attractive until now.
"What's your name?" Tom asked, giving him a smile Loki found adorable. He smiled softly in return and lowered his gaze back to the book, tucking his head slightly. "Loki."
"That's a cool name. Much better than Tom." He joked. Loki's smile widened and he hesitantly met the searing gaze of Tom.
Their eyes locked and Loki felt like crawling under the desk and hiding forever. They maintained eye contact for a few moments longer before the bell rang for the small break they get in between hours.
Tom stood up and grabbed a football out of his bag, twirling it in his hands as he caught up with Loki who had speed walked out of the room.
"Hey, aren't you in the school's drama class?"
Tom had seen a few of the plays here at school. That was where he had first seen Loki tying the stage curtain rope down.
Loki looked at him in surprise. Tom was trying to talk to him.
He looked up at Tom shyly, "I am."
"I saw you backstage once after a play my girlfriend was in."
Loki nodded and fidgeted with the cover of his book. He couldn't believe Tom had spoken to him- let alone recognized him.
Tom's teammate, who he remembered was named Josh, came up behind them and snatched the football out of Tom's hands, running down the hall with it. Tom laughed and tried to trip him, but failed.
He turned to Loki, "I'll see you after break Loki. I have to go strangle this twat for my ball back."
Loki grinned and gave a short, airy laugh.
"You should smile like that more often." Tom said, giving him a smile and then jogging down the hallway to catch up with Josh.
Loki blushed darkly and tried to maintain his normal pattern of breathing before he stepped outside. Not too far away, he saw Tom and Josh horsing around with each other. He decided to sit underneath one of the many black walnut trees that littered the school yard.
They migrated to the basketball court and started to shoot hoops. It wasn't too far from where Loki was sitting, and he definitely enjoyed the sight of a sweaty, worked up Tom.
Then, just like all the sappy movies and books he had read, Tom jumped to make a three-pointer when his eyes locked with soft green ones. His concentration faltered and the ball hit the rim before bouncing back down to the pavement.
Loki's eyes widened. He had never seen Tom miss a shot before.
Tom hadn't either apparently and he was still staring at Loki. The raven boy decided to be a bit bold and raised his eyebrows. Tom's brows furrowed and he picked the ball back up as Josh teased him.
"Missin' a shot over some cute little nerd?"
Tom threw the ball at him and they laughed together, changing the subject as they continued shooting.
***
Loki sank back down into his seat and watched as Tom strode into the room, skin shiny with sweat. His beautiful curls were slightly flattened and he ran a hand through them. Loki smiled to himself.
So they did bounce back into place.
Tom slipped into his own seat and huffed as the math teacher passed out a new assignment. It was similar to the one before, but had more steps to it. Loki on the other hand worked through the paper in a matter of minutes, setting it aside as he pulled out a sketch book and began doodling.
He glanced over at Tom and saw that he was sitting in the perfect position for a drawing. Loki began to sketch out the basic shape of his body, including the paper and even a basketball on the desk.
He drew Tom until the final bell rang and he quickly tucked it away into his backpack as Tom stood up to turn his in. Loki did the same and was surprised when Tom jogged up to him.
"Hi."
Loki almost grinned. "Hi."
Tom laughed and Loki found himself joining in. He couldn't help it- Tom had the most contagious laugh he had ever heard.
"Which car's yours?" Tom asked as they left the building. Loki flushed and kept his gaze towards the ground, "I walk."
"Walk?" Tom frowned, "Can I give you a ride home?"
That question made Loki stop dead in his tracks. Had he heard Tom correctly?
"I'd hate to impose." Loki replied softly, remembering Josh had ridden with him. He began to walk again when a clap of thunder echoed outside.
Tom smiled over at him and Loki sighed, a small smile curling onto his lips.
"Okay."
***
Tom's jeep was very warm when he climbed into the passenger side. Josh had apparently went home right after the break because his parents didn't make him stay the full two hours.
Tom put the heat on full blast and waited for Loki to buckle his seatbelt before pulling out of the parking lot. He asked Loki where he lived and the raven shyly responded, already not believing that Tom was speaking to him and giving him a ride home.
"I live two streets over from there!" Tom had exclaimed. Loki couldn't help but smile at his bubbly personality. It was absolutely adorable.
Loki was sad to see the familiar white townhouse and almost frowned as Tom pulled up to the curb. Right as he went to get out, a hand grasping his wrist made him look back.
"Don't be a stranger Loki."
With that, Tom let him go and closed the door, peeling down the street towards his own house.
***