Hard To Love Again..

1. The Lonely God

After the defeat of Thanos, many new members joined the Avengers from across the planet and even from space. Loki was also one of them, but unlike others he was not warmly welcomed. And it was quite reasonable, he thought, after the destruction and deaths, he caused while trying to conquer earth. He never let anyone be friends with him and nobody really tried to be close to him either. He knew the real reason that he was included in Avengers was just to keep a watch at him, so that he doesn't goes around executing his evil plans on earth, but he didn't care much about it. He held his cards close to his chest all the time and as always made it difficult for anyone to know what his plan is.
It never mattered to him that people were scared of him and too cautious to even talk. If this was earlier Loki, he would have been proud of his image and to be fair, a part of him was quiet proud about the fact that he was feared, but another part of him wanted something, craved and yearned for something.. And it simply was some kind of affection.. maybe just a friend, who he can share his feelings with.
Thor was only person who was close to him. His brother was more popular and much better than him in every aspect and everybody liked him more. He was busy socializing with more and more people, widening the communication gap between the two brothers. Loki didn't really mind but loneliness was too disturbing sometimes. His only friends were his books, only if they could talk back or give a hug occasionally. He never really admitted to himself but he was tired of people's whisperings about him being the mean and cruel one. For once, he wanted to get a fresh start and to live his life again. But living his painful life again would be more agonizing and torturous to him. He constantly had these thoughts which reminded him of how awful his life has become. Even without any pain at present and being safe and living as a free person on Midgard, he still felt trapped and stuck somewhere. He felt like no matter how much he tried, his mind still went back to suffering, he was exhausted by his own thoughts and went out to take a long walk, until his legs grow tired so that he can atleast sleep for a while at night.
He kept on walking wearing a large overcoat, a scarf wrapped around his neck and his hair moved with the chilling breeze, as he walked each step gracefully. He hardly paid any attention to his surroundings and kept walking.. His eyes glanced over at a lady who immediately crossed her path after recognizing him, with fear evident in her eyes, she shielded her child behind her on the other side. Loki rolled his eyes, even though for a few moments he had a hurt expression on his face.. He kept on walking and walking until he reached to a park. Very few people actually went to this park and it was nearly abandoned. He kept on walking with a satisfied sigh. He doesnt have to deal with any one's silent remarks or their whisperings about him anymore over here. He made his way deeper into the park, glancing above the sky, he saw dark clouds gathering all over. It looked like it was going to rain anytime soon. And just as he thought, it started to rain. At first it was few big drops of rain and within seconds, it started to pour down very heavily.
He cursed under his breath, his gait slowing a bit but he was unaffected by the rain as he shielded himself with an umbrella, he conjured from thin air. Cold winds blew past him, but he wasn't in any mood to go back to home. Continuing his pace slower than before, he walked a little more..
He could hear the sound of the countinuosly falling raindrops and the stormy wind blowing around him, as his vision was blurried by the heavy downpour. He heard a faint sound of someone crying. It was too faint for any mortal to hear it. He immediately stopped in his tracks and frowned, trying to find the source of the sound.
He walked into a distance away from the main road meant for walking, the area which was covered by grass, trees and bushes and some huge rocks. He froze when he glanced behind a huge rock placed at a corner.
He saw a small body of a young woman sitting across the rock, as if seeking protection. He noticed that her body was covered in bruises. She wore a thin cotton dress which was fully drenched in rain. Her body shook mercilessly due to cold, while her eyes held the saddest expression mixed with fear.
Loki found his hand which held the umbrella moved towards her, giving her shade from the cold rain drops.
Her head, though still shaking, froze a little as she noticed the falling rain stopped above her. Slowly she lifted her head upwards.
Loki's breath caught in his throat as he saw the girl's face. He recognized her even when her one eye was half closed due to an ugly purple bruise and several other wounds on her face.

It was her.
His old friend. Charlene Young. They knew eachother even before he came to know about his true heritage. When Loki was just a small insecure boy. He often came to Midgard to visit her. Well, until he found out about his true heritage and hated himself and everyone. Circumstances made them unable to meet again, losing the wonderful bond they had before.

Holding the umbrella above her, he kneeled down infront of her. His eyes still a little wide from shock and lips slightly parted.
"Char..", he whispered, calling her with a nickname he always used affectionately for her... His voice almost inaudible..
His hand went unconsciously towards her face, when she immediately flinched and scooted back in fear...
He frowned at her reaction, and quickly retracted his hand,

"It's me.. Loki.."