School of Marvel

Jealous (1,500 words)

True to my word, I didn't stop Loki's friends from trying to get to know me. He still hung out with them a lot, but I noticed their bullying came to a stop whenever I was around, probably because Loki didn't want to remind me of what he was. Nevertheless, I tried to be kind to his friends, even if I thought they were in the wrong for being so cruel to other people. They liked to constantly find things that we had in common, it was like a game to them. Whomever had the most in common with me wins.

"Do you like World War II books?" asked Wolfgang while we were all walking down a hall one day. Loki liked to escort me to my classes when he could and they sometimes joined us.

"Not really," I replied, stepping around another student. "I don't really like war stories in general."

Johann snapped his fingers. "Norse mythology?"

"I prefer Greek, but I've done a little reading on Norse since I've met Loki," I smiled at my boyfriend. "I always liked the story of Hades and Persephone."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "The one where he kidnaps a girl and forces her to marry him?"

I shrugged. "It's an interesting story. There's a lot of rewritings of it."

"Would you like me to kidnap you and hold you captive for half the year?" Loki said. "It's terribly romantic you know."

"Aw, would you?" I teased. "You're the sweetest." I giggled, then gave him a quick hug as we arrived at my classroom. "I'll see you later. Bye, guys." I waved at the other boys.

"Bye, Alina," they chorused mockingly.

I rolled my eyes, being sure to firmly shut the door behind me.

**********

There were many days I was surprised by Loki's apparent jealousy over me. I caught him one time glowering at Steve while the blond and I were speaking between classes. I quickly said goodbye to Steve and headed over to Loki to speak with him before the bell rang

"What's wrong?" I asked, touching his hand gently.

"I don't like Steve being around you," he said, frowning deeply.

I smiled a little. "Funny, Steve says the same thing about you." He didn't laugh, so I took a more somber tone. "Seriously, I don't understand. Why don't you like it when I hang out with Steve? He's my oldest friend here at school, our friendship is important to me."

He glanced off. "Never mind."

I crossed my arms, moving around so he would look into my eyes. "Loki."

He did look down at me, sighing a little. "He... worries me. You two dated once, perhaps he still... feels something for you. And you for him."

My face softened and I slipped my hand into his. "Hey, I would never leave you for Steve. We both learned our lesson. I don't like Steve like that anymore, and he feels the same. I know you think he's more perfect than you, but he's not. You're both perfect in your own ways, and I like you both differently because of that. Besides, Steve has Peggy now, and she's not about to give him up." I smiled again.

Loki smiled a little as well, but I could see my speech had not reassured him fully.

**********

A similar occurrence happened a few days later. I was chatting with Sam in the library about a book I thought he might enjoy for the essay he had due in a few weeks when Loki stalked up.