A/N: Hello everyone!

Here we are with another unfinished series that I couldn't keep myself from posting. Passing Grade is one work that I've been in love with for awhile. It's full of teenage angst and hurt!Tony. Plus, it's a highschool AU. Bonus points!

This chapter is a baby chapter, meant to be a lead in to the rest. I've got some 17k words already written, so posting will be staggered, most likely with weekly updates until I catch up. A big thanks to my beta BigTimeHiddlestoner!

I hope that everyone enjoys this story as much as I do! I love comments, so please be sure to let me know how I'm doing!

*This is the third time posting this story. Hopefully this one works!*

Tony Stark thought that high school was really, really boring. He dragged his feet through four periods of fuck all each and every day, then went home to be ignored. Rinse and repeat.

Each day he got on the bus (because kids with average intellect aren't allowed to waste the family driver's time), and sat in the very back. Ear buds in, he watched the city flash by, a blur of colors and faces and buildings that served as a boring backdrop to a boring commute.

The other kids knew not to fuck with him; just because he was stupid, didn't mean that he couldn't beat the shit out of somebody.

The bus ride didn't take long. Half an hour, from where the Stark Mansion was to the upscale high school that Howard had picked out.

"Just because you're stupid doesn't mean you have to go and learn to be a thug at the closest city school."

Thanks, Dad.

When the bus pulled up to the sidewalk, Tony waited until everyone was off the bus, before slinging his backpack over his shoulder and trudging up the aisle. The bus driver, a lady named Sarah Rogers, was one of Tony's favorite people in the world. She was a part time bus driver and a nurse the rest of the time, and her son Steve was in a lot of Tony's classes, though he didn't really know Tony existed.

Tony stopped next to her, smiling brightly.

"G'morning, Ms. Rogers."

"Good morning, Tony," Sarah said in reply, smiling genially. She passed him a sandwich and an apple, and Tony blushed, like he always did.

Howard wouldn't allow the chefs to cook Tony anything, and he didn't keep the kitchen stocked either. He had a credit card that always held a small balance, but it was hard riding his bike to buy groceries over half an hour away. Somewhere along the way, Sarah had noticed. While it was difficult to accept her charity, her smiles made up for it, and Tony didn't starve.

"Go and be the best you can be," she said, a touch of seriousness in her tone before she shooed him off the bus.

Tucking his lunch into his backpack, Tony stared up at the school, feeling a twinge of guilt. Sarah always told him to be the best he could be, but this...this was not it.

Thanks for reading! Reviews are welcome!