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Speak Life AvengersxBullied!Reader

Some days, life feels perfect.
Other days it just ain't workin.
The good, the bad, the right, the wrong
And everything in between.

It was another one of those days.

It was another one of the really bad days. The kind that made you want to run home and just stay in your room, nurse your wounds, and maybe eat a few cartons of ice cream.

The day had started out so well too.

Though it's crazy, amazing
We can turn a heart with the words we say.
Mountains crumble with every syllable.
Hope can live or die

You glared at yourself in the mirror.

“Get it together, (Name).” You muttered to yourself. “They aren’t important. They don’t mean anything. You live with the freaking Avengers! You can handle this.”

But no matter what you told yourself in the mornings, all your confidence would evaporate once you got to school.

So speak Life, speak Life.
To the deadest darkest night.
Speak life, speak Life.
When the sun won't shine and you don't know why.

The bane of your existence was named Jasper. Ironically, Jasper was the twin brother of your friend Jazz.

Jasper was the exact opposite of Jazz. Where his sister was kind for the most part, Jasper was the devil incarnate.

Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted;
Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope,
You speak love, you speak...
You speak Life, (oh oh oh oh oh oh) You speak Life. (oh oh oh oh oh oh)

It always started as soon as you passed through the doors of your school.

“Hey, (Name),” Jasper called out as he and his cronies surrounded you. “We’ve been looking for you.” You tried to push past Jasper but Jasper pushed back.

“Bugger off, Jasper.” You growled. Jasper snickered.

“That’s cute, (Name), really. You trying to be all tough. That thunder god teach you that? Or maybe it was that rage monster.”

“Bruce is not a monster.” Jasper snorted and shook his head slowly like he couldn’t believe the extent of your naivety. Jasper opened his mouth to say something else when the bell rang for classes to start. Jasper lazily looked at the bell mounted on the wall then to you.

“Oh darn. It looks like we’ll have to continue this conversation later.” Jasper turned and started to walk away.

“I’ll see you after school, (Name).” Jasper called mockingly over his shoulder.

Some days the tongue gets twisted;
Other days my thoughts just fall apart.
I do, I don't, I will, I won't,
It's like I'm drowning in the deep.

You did your best to keep your head down and pay attention for the remainder of the day.

Once classes were over, you headed to the school library to work on a school project. Like most students, you despised school work that required time outside the classroom. This project, however, gave you an excuse to stay after school and allowed you to put off Jasper’s harassment for a little while at least.

That little while didn’t last nearly as long as you hoped.

Jasper and his friends were not the sort to frequent the library so you understandably thought you were safe there.

You were wrong.

Well it's crazy to imagine,
Words from our lips as the arms of compassion,
Mountains crumble with every syllable.
Hope can live or die.

“What’s this? Little (Name) hiding from me? Keep this up and I’ll start to think you don’t enjoy being around me.” Jasper said as he strolled over to your table. Now, you decided, would be an excellent time to pack up your stuff and get out of Dodge.

Jasper slammed a fist down on the table, making you jump.

“And just what do you think you’re doing?” Jasper asked, sliding your backpack and project away from you.

“It’s getting late, Jasper. I need to get home.” You said. Jasper leaned on the table and let a slow, creepy smile spread over his face.

“I think home can wait for a bit longer.” Jasper drawled.

“What do you want, Jasper?” You sighed.

“See, me and the boys have been thinking, with you living with the Avengers and all, maybe you got some sort of special power that you haven’t been totally honest about.” While Jasper had been speaking, his friends started to move in closer. If you had a window of escape, it was gone now.

“I’m the only ordinary one.” You said, standing up and reaching for your bag. Jasper caught you by the wrist and held you still, intense hazel eyes boring into yours.

“That’s what you say but people lie. You mustn’t tell lies, (Name). What kind of freak are you?”

So speak Life, speak Life.
To the deadest darkest night.
Speak life, speak Life.
When the sun won't shine and you don't know why.

You weren’t sure how it started. Heck, maybe it was even an accident. Someone, it could have been Jasper or one of his friends, pushed you forward into a bookshelf. Your nose gave a sickening crunch when it collided with one of the shelves.

“Get up.” Jasper ordered. When you remained leaning against the bookshelf, two of Jasper’s cronies yanked you up by the arms. You cursed your bad luck that the librarian had already gone home for the day.

“Look what you made us do, (Name).” Jasper murmured, wiping at some of the blood from underneath your nose. “Things wouldn’t have gotten messy if you’d told the truth.”

Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted;
Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope,
You speak love, you speak...
You speak Life, (oh oh oh oh oh oh) You speak Life. (oh oh oh oh oh oh)

“I have been telling the truth.” You said, (color) gaze defiantly lifted to meet Jasper’s eyes. “You’re just a thick oaf who hasn’t been listening.” You weren’t prepared for the oncoming fist that met your face. Again you found yourself on your backside, leaning against the bookshelf behind you for support.

You knew how to take a hit. While you had turned down self-defense training, something you were seriously regretting now, Natasha had seen to that much. That did not mean, however, that the blow Jasper dealt you didn’t hurt like Hell.

Jasper wiped his knuckles on his white school uniform shirt and smirked down at you. Turning on his heel, he called off his minions. One of the boys who held you earlier dealt you a swift kick to the ribs as a parting gift.

Lift your head a little higher,
Spread the love like fire,
Hope will fall like rain,
When you speak life with the words you say.

Groaning and holding your midsection, you sat up slowly.

You didn’t need to touch your nose to know it was broken and from the pain of your left eye, you guessed it was going to be blackened before too long. Bruce had taught you some first aid so you were pretty sure your ribs were merely bruised, not broken. Lucky you.

A quick glance at your watch told you that it was almost five o’clock. The Avengers would start to worry soon if you didn’t start heading home. It wasn’t unusual for you to dilly-dally, take a walk in the park, buy some ice cream, or something else along those lines to kill time before returning home to the tower.

Wincing at every step and every breath, you snatched up your backpack and project and forced yourself to leave the library.

Raise your thoughts a little higher,
Use your words to inspire,
Joy will fall like rain,
When you speak life with the things you say.

You sullenly trudged through the lobby of Stark tower and into the elevator.

Your nose throbbed and your left eye was making it hard to see. You could probably ask Loki to heal your wounds but you knew he would tell the others. But as it turned out, you weren’t going to have to worry about that.

When you stepped out of the elevator, you found all the Avengers relaxing in Tony’s penthouse living room.

Lift your head a little higher,
Spread the love like fire,
Hope will fall like rain,
When you speak life with the words you say.

Naturally, it was Loki who noticed you first and he was not pleased with what he saw.

“(Name), what happened?” Loki demanded, instantly on his feet.

“School happened.” You grumbled as you plopped down on the couch next to Bruce so he could examine you. “I know I’ll have a black eye and my nose is broken. I’m pretty sure my ribs are bruised.” You informed Bruce.

“I’ll have to X-ray you.” Bruce said.

“Actually, I was hoping Loki could just heal me.” You looked at the god of mischief who agreed to your request.

Loki settled himself on the couch next to you and placed his cool hands on either side of your face. The green tendrils of magic swept soothingly over your left eye and danced along the bridge of your nose, bringing a pleasant numbness. Loki’s magic then went down to your ribs and penetrated the material of your shirt. You didn’t realize how much your ribs had been hurting you until the pain stopped.

So speak Life, speak Life.
To the deadest darkest night.
Speak life, speak Life.
When the sun won't shine and you don't know why.

“How did this happen, kid?” Tony asked, crouching before you once Loki was satisfied that his magic had done its work.

“I already told you.” You grumbled, sinking deeper into the leather couch.

“No,” Steve corrected, “you told us where it happened.”

The anger that had been slowly building since you took the beating from Jasper spilled over. You quickly rose to your feet, pacing out your angry energy.

“You want to know what happened?” You snapped. “I got the crap kicked out of me, that’s what happened!” Thor stepped toward you, Mjolnir in hand.

“Who has dared lay a hand on you, (Name)?” Thor demanded.

“Some idiots from school.” You spat. Bruce rose from the couch and padded over to you, hands up in a placating motion.

“(Name), why did they do this?” Bruce asked. You spun to face Bruce, tears welling up in your eyes.

“They did this because they think I’m a freak.”

Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted;
Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope,
You speak love, you speak...
You speak Life, (oh oh oh oh oh oh) You speak Life. (oh oh oh oh oh oh)
You speak Life, (oh oh oh oh oh oh) You speak Life. (oh oh oh oh oh oh)

“What are their names?” Natasha demanded calmly.

“Natasha no, I don’t want you to go after them.”

“But (Name), we’re Avengers. It’s what we do.” Clint protested. You glared at Clint.

“(Name), are you… are you being bullied because of who your family is?” Steve asked.

Steve’s words gave you pause. Were you being bullied? You never bothered to stick a label on the torture Jasper put you through.

“I suppose that is one name for it.”

“(Name), do you think you’re a freak?” Clint asked. You shrugged, not meeting the eyes of those around you. You felt hands resting on your shoulders.

“(Name), you are one of the bravest, strongest, and smartest people I know.” Steve said sincerely.

“Brother Steve is right.” Thor affirmed.

“You are unlike most mortals I have met.” Loki agreed.

“If you’re a freak, then we all are.” Tony said. “Wait. Strike that. We’ll all be freaks together. Yeah. That sounds better.”

“How long has this been going on, (Name)?” Natasha asked.

“Um, since September…”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Bruce asked.

“And say what? ‘Hey guys, um, can you take a minute away from saving the world to worry about my life?’ Yeah, I don’t think so. You don’t need to be worrying about me when you should be saving the world. I mean, I live with the Avengers. Shouldn’t I be able to handle my own problems?”

“(Name), you’re our responsibility.” Natasha pointed out.

“We’re your family.” Steve corrected gently. “You can tell us anything. Especially if it’s something as serious as this.”

You were unused to having this much positive attention directed toward you.

“Well, now that we’ve had this heart-warming chick flick moment, I think it’s the perfect time to say that you’re not going back to that school.” Tony declared. Something akin to a smile crept onto your face.

“I think I can live with that.”

Some days life feels perfect.