Inspo from Madoka Magica. Basically takes place in the same or a similar universe

CW: Bullying, teasing, mention of death, if you know anything about Madoka Magica there's that too so like, attack on MCs lol

~~~

"He's such a weirdo.."
"You think he dyes his hair that way?"
"He never talks to anyone, he's such a loser."
"I heard he has no friends."

This always happened during student prep, last class of the day. It was a period for students to get work done or read,maybe chill before school got out; teachers often left the room because they felt the students were responsible enough. Stephen was used to students whispering and gossiping about him, but not quite used to what happened next.

"Shut the hell up." A voice said from across the room. The group of bullies turned to look at the person. "Excuse me?"

"I said shut up. You guys say the same shit every god damn day, give him a break. You have no idea what's happening in his life, but I happen to know what's happening in all of yours.
"Kyle, you're picking on Stephen to avoid the realization that no woman is ever going to want to have sex with you. Linda, you have mommy issues and daddy's an alcoholic so you pick on other people to hide the fact that you're hurting.
"John, you're just some jock who pretends to be cooler than he is because you're insecure about your penis size and think the best way to get laid is by being a cocky bastard. And Nick, You're mad because you'll never be as smart as Stephen is, so to try and make yourself feel better, you act like you're this big hotshot nobody can touch when really, you're a wimpy little kid who would cry to his mom after a slap to the face."

The group stopped dead in their tracks, sharing awkward glances with each other before muttering and walking away. Stephen looked over at the person who had told them off, completely bewildered. "Uhm...?"
"Anthony Edward Stark, Tony for short. I was supposed to be keeping a low profile at this school because my dad didn't want too much attention on me, but god, I just got sick of hearing them snicker about the same thing each day." Tony said, walking over to Stephen and sitting down.

"... I..." Stephen was too stunned to speak at the moment, so Tony just continued. "I don't know much about you, Stephen Strange, but I know you suffered the loss of not only a sister, but a lover too. Go figure you'd be kinda quiet, that's normal after that kind of trauma hits you."
Stephen frowned a little after Tony's words and looked down at the desk in front of him. He fiddled with a ring that was on his middle finger, which was silver with an orange gemstone in it. Tony noticed, and grew curious.

"Woah, were you engaged?" He asks. Stephen blushed a little and looked at Tony. "Wh-what‽ No, of course not, this is just... An accessory." He says, a bit amused at Tony's assumption.
Tony looked at the ring a little closer. "I've never seen anything like that before, where did you get it?" He asks. ".... I have to go. Excuse me." Stephen says, getting up and leaving. He felt a little bad; Tony was being nice to him.

But the contract isn't exactly something he's proud of.

~~~

The next day, Stephen realized he had third period with Tony, and decided to sit next to him. "Hey, I uh... M'sorry I left in a rush yesterday. I-i can't give a good reason, but.. I am sorry..." He mumbles. "Oh- that's okay, I just assumed I pushed a button. I have a knack for doing that." Tony responded.

A moment of silence passed between them. Before the bell rang, Stephen took the ring off and handed it to Tony. "Y-you can look at it but I need it back after class.." he says.
Tony was surprised but also intrigued, gently taking it and putting on the smart glasses he kept on his shirt.

Tony didn't have to listen to the lecture, he was really just in school as a way to be babysat while his dad was at work. So, instead, he used class time to read the information his glasses were giving him.

Band materials: silver, tungsten.
Gemstone materials: aluminum hydroxyl-flourine silicate. Also called "Imperial Topaz".
Readings of unidentified energy. Potentially dangerous.
⚠️Cannot identify some properties of this item. Searching databases of radioactive materials...
⚠️Search results negative.
Searching databases of known alien materials...
⚠️Search results negative.

"Huh..." Tony said under his breath. It's not often that Jarvis is stumped.

Once the bell rang, Tony took the glasses off and handed Stephen the ring back. "You sure you can't tell me where you got that?" He asks. Rather than walking away, this time, Stephen just hesitated before shaking his head.

~~~

After the final bell rang, Tony walked outside with Stephen, just chatting not expecting Stephen to respond much. Both of them were startled when their surroundings shifted to trippy colors and shapes.

"Oh no.." Stephen thought; he knows what this is. It's a labyrinth. He looks over at Tony, who had put on his smart glasses.
"... You're not gonna get anything helpful, no humans really know about this..." Stephen mumbles. Tony looks at him. "What do you m-"

Tony was cut off when the both of them tripped due to a tremor. Stephen looked up, seeing a witch in front of them. "What the hell?!" Tony exclaimed. Stephen, for a brief moment, was conflicted.

Tony was a science guy. Seeing magic would cause a lot that Stephen didn't want to have to deal with. But at the same time, they could die. So his hesitation was brief.

Using the ring, an orange light changed his clothes from his school uniform to dark Cyan robes and a red cloak around his shoulders.

All Tony could do was watch in disbelief as Stephen fought the witch. He'd never seen magic before, and he was having trouble believing it was real.
Once the witch was gone, and they were back outside the school again, Tony went over to Stephen, who picked up the grief seed.

"... Ssssstephen? What the hell just happened?" Tony asked. Stephen sighs before turning around to face him. "I'm not sure you'd believe me."

"I just saw you transform, use magic to kill some weird looking.... Thing- I think I'll believe whatever crazy story you have." Tony retorts.

"... That.. was something called a witch. It's what people like me fight, constantly. Witches are magical people who were corrupted by grief, anger, or sadness, or people who were unable to purify their soul gem-" Stephen started to explain. "Soul gem?" Tony asks.
Stephen held up an orange Gem inside a little case. "This is a soul gem. It's the same gemstone you saw on that ring; that's its compact form. A soul gem is a magical person's being- their life energy itself. If my body gets too far away from it, I lose any ability to do anything until it's returned. If it shatters, or becomes corrupted, I die." Stephen tells him, putting the gem back on his finger in ring form.

"Your life rests on that thing‽ Stephen you gave that to me- what if I broke it‽" Tony exclaimed. Stephen shrugged a little. "I trusted that you wouldn't. Anyway, when a soul gem becomes too dirty or corrupted, it will turn into something called a grief seed," he continued, holding it up to show Tony.
"Grief seeds are what cause witches to appear. But they only activate when they have enough energy to, which they get when you purify a soul gem with them." Stephen continued, putting the grief seed in his bag.

"Okay.... But... How? I mean- how did you even... Get here?" Tony asked, confused, slightly worried, and trying to process everything.
Stephen sight softly. "I made a contract with a magical animal. It gave me one wish in exchange for my soul. That's the thing that ripped this out of me." He says, spinning the ring on his finger slightly.

"What... Did you wish for..?" Tony pried. Stephen hesitated a long moment before responding. "... To live. I was in the same car crash that killed my sister, and I was fading myself. That thing found me, and I wished to live. I was a child, and it took advantage of my situation."
"Wait, wait, a child? How long have you had magic like this for anyway?" Tony asked. Stephen looked up at him. "Seven years. I was twelve." Tony couldn't think of anything to say for a moment, and Stephen started to walk away.

"W-wait hold on! Come on man I know you've only known me for a couple days but- I don't want you to be risking your life!" Tony called. Stephen stopped, turning around again.
"It's not like I have anything better to do. My family is gone, I have no friends-" he starts, being quickly interrupted by Tony. "Then let me be your friend! And don't give me that 'It's dangerous, you could get hurt' speech because I don't care. I'll figure something out, I'm not helpless. Come on.."

Tony held his hand out. Stephen stared at it for a long while, contemplating. Finally, he walked over and took Tony's hand.

"If you ever, ever make a contract with that thing, I'll kill you myself."