Here we go again (Avengers high school)

Good news or bad news?

Tony was tweaking something on Rhodeys suit when his phone rang. He waved for his friends to be quiet, picking up. "Hello?"

"Anthony, I need to speak to you, I'll be at the tower in 30 minutes, I expect you here." Tony's heart dropped, he thought of everything he's ever did wrong. He swallowed the lump in his throat, before speaking.

"Of course dad." He hung up. "Sorry guys, you have to go, I'll see you as soon as I can." He smiled at his friends, who got their stuff together and left. Tony made it look like he was sitting there alone and doing homework, looking up as his dad came out of the elevator.

"Anthony, as you know, Stark Industries is a growing business." Tony nodded lightly. "So, I have good news." Howard sat down across from him, staring at Tony with a blank expression. 'It's never good news...'

"Go on..."

"We're moving again. Relocating to California." Tony's heart dropped. He tried not to show his horrified expression on his face as he met his dads gaze.

"Ok. When?"

"4 days." He nodded, scared his voice would crack if he spoke. He stood up, collecting his stuff and walking silently to his lab. He tossed his stuff on a table, sitting down in his chair and burying his hands in his hair.

"No... no I can't leave. I actually have a life here..." he sniffed, trying not to let tears fall. He wiped at his eyes. "I can't leave them. I can't leave Stephen." He felt a tear roll down his cheek and hit the paper below him. He stood up, starting to pace silently as his mind ran wild.

After a bit of pacing, his legs ached almost as much as his heart. He sat down, letting his head fall into his hands as exhaustion took over.

As sunlight broke into the lab, he cracked his eyes open and yawned. He was confused at the ache in his legs for a moment, then the memories from last night flooded his mind. 'How am I going to tell them?' He dragged himself out of his room, making sure it didn't look like he was crying last night. He went to the kitchen, grabbing himself a bottle of water and leaving. He walked down the street, stepping onto the doorstep. He took a deep breath, before knocking on the door. Rhodey opened it, seeing his friends broken face and inviting him in. Tony sat down on the couch, setting his head in his hands.

"Tony What's going on?"

"My dad." He sniffed, hating how raw and broken his voice was.

"What happened with your dad? Did he hurt you?" Rhodeys voice got hard, as if he was about to march over to the tower and attack his dad.

"No- we're moving, again, in 4 days." He croaked. He looked up, making eye contact with his friend. He watched his face fall, and his mouth falling into a frown.

"Tony- I'm sorry."

"No. I'm sorry. I'm leaving you again." His Vision blurred with tears.

"You can't control it, it's not your fault." The couch sunk next to him and glanced over at Rhodey sitting by him. "I'll miss you, but I won't forget you. When are you telling the others?"

"Never." He mumbled, sighing.

"You have to tell them, I'm sorry." He made eye contact, seeing tears welling in his friends eyes.

"I know. But I just can't." He looked away again. "I can't bare to leave you all, I just got you guys." He felt a hand on his back.

"You'll always have us Tony, we're not going anywhere."

"But I am."

"Hey, where are you moving to?"

"California."

"Wow. That's really far-"

"Yeah thanks." He rolled his eyes. "Making this so much better."

"Tony- we've handled far before."

"No we haven't, we didn't talk to each other for the entire 5 years we were apart, besides birthdays." He said bitterly.

"But now you have 14 people to reach out to you."

"I don't rely on people Rhodes, you know this."

"But you can rely on us. Just think about it." Tony watched Rhodey walked away, before standing up and walking outside. He walked down the street, his mind swirling like a washing machine. He kicked at the left over snow, his hands in his pockets of his jacket.

"Sometimes I think my life is going well, and then it just goes to shit. Just like that, one quick snap of your fingers and I'm in hell." He muttered to himself, ignoring people looking at him weird. "No where to go now Tony. No home, no Rhodey, no friends, zero, zip, nada, you're screwed." He growled, sitting down on a bench. "I could always sleep out here, just be a hobo. My dad can't make me move if he can't find me." He stared up at the sky, clouds covering the blue and perfectly reflecting his mood. Then it hit him. "I have to see them tomorrow, what am I going to do! I can't tell them! They can't find out! Not yet!" He panicked, feeling his chest tightening as panic gripped him. "No- not here- please." He sniffed, tears rolling down his face now.

He sat on the bench for a few hours, before he sucked it up and walked home. He went straight to his lab, where he sat there and worked on Rhodeys suit for the rest of the day. He could hardly keep his eyes open by 9, staring at a blueprint for so long the writing blurred. He rolled up the prints, staring at the suit in front of him with a sad smile, before walking off to his room. He flopped down, burying his face in a pillow and covering himself with a blanket. "I live here now." He mumbled as everything faded to darkness.