Tony Stark was sick and tired of trying to get his socially awkward lil' anxiety bean of a best friend Bruce Banner to go to parties with him, and he couldn't figure out why.
Probably because you just called him a socially awkward anxiety bean, he thought. Honestly, Tony didn't even know why he tried anymore. Bruce always said no. For all three years of their high-school years Tony had tried and tried convincing Bruce to, at the very least, show up to just one party.
"Why are you so obsessed with getting Banner to come to a party?" Tony's current 'other friend,' Stephen Strange (Tony's had many 'other friends.' First it was Obadiah Stane, then Happy Hogan, and most recently, Steve Rogers. All of these friendships, with the exception of Happy, who was still in contact with Tony, had ended with hellfire raining down), asked without sparing a glance up from his book. "He won't say yes, you know. He never has. Probably never will."
"Yeah thanks, Strange. I'll have you know I can be very convincing when I mean to be."
"So the other seventy-eight times you weren't actually trying to convince Banner?" Stephen quipped, raising a brow.
"Oh shut up, wizard. You've done nothing but read and complain since we got here."
---
Bruce Banner opened up his locker and placed his jacket on the hook, about to close his locker when he saw his best (only) friend, Tony Stark walking towards him with that smug smirk on his face. Bruce groaned and slammed the locker door, turning to look at Tony.
"All right, what is it? You have that look on your face." Bruce asked.
"What look? I don't have a look!" Tony frowned, taken back by the sheer possibility that he could have a 'that face.'
"Yeah, you do. You were just doing it." Bruce sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. "You get all smug. You smirk and kind of raise an eyebrow and look around at everyone to see their reaction but then you just look at me with the intensity of a thousand suns as you get closer."
Tony opened his mouth to say something, but faltered. There were only three people who could leave him speechless in this world: His girlfriend, Pepper Potts, a genius sixth grader he babysat named Peter, and Bruce Banner.
"So," Bruce continued, looking up at chuckling at Tony's reaction. "What is it? Lay it on me."
"Ah, right." Tony cleared his throat and opened. "So, Home-coming's next week, right?"
"Uh... yes."
"Well, in order to... get people more excited and involved, that football kid, Thor Odinson, he's a junior with us-"
"Tony, I know who Thor is." Bruce deadpanned. "I can hardly go anywhere without overhearing girls talking about his biceps."
Tony snorted. "Yeah, well, Thor is hosting a party at his house tonight, and I've so generously invited you to come with me."
Bruce sighed, shaking his head. "Seventy-nine."
"What?"
"You've asked me to go to a party seventy-nine times and I've said no each and every time. Why should now be any different?"
"Because this time you'll go?" Tony tried.
Bruce could only sigh again. "Well you are persistent, I'll give you that."
"Yes, I am. Thank you for noticing."
"And because if I were you, I would've quit ages ago, so I'll go the the dumb party."
"I thought you would say that, so I prepared a list of reasons why-" Tony stopped himself, raising an eyebrow at Bruce. "Wait, did you just say that you'd go?" Tony asked, not waiting for a response. "I promise you won't regret this! I can't wait to shove this in Strange's face, later!"
Bruce laughed and rolled his eyes. "Alright, whatever. Don't make me change my mind."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Tony said with a smirk.
