She'd heard those words before somewhere, somewhere that wasn't just in a pointless 3am chat on her laptop. It was silly really for those few words to hurt like this, they meant nothing, She didn't even know who'd decided to write that. Biting her lip Virginia glared at the word on the screen, before hitting delete as fast as possible. That wasn't true! It couldn't be true! The others did like her, didn't they?
Pulling herself up from her bed she closed the device, looking down at herself. Once again she hadn't bothered to change out of her work-clothes, skirt slightly too tight around her knees and her blouse all wrinkled from dumping herself on the mattress. Casting her appearance aside she wondered though the borrowed room Stark tower, or Avengers Tower as she probably should call it now. This wasn't technically her home, more a room that she had here that had been intended to be a guest room that she'd borrowed again. Pepper couldn't help but smile a little when she remembered having this, and the room opposite her that had become Happys added to the plans herself, almost as if she'd know that she'd need it sometime.
Somehow during that thought she'd already crossed to the door, taking a deep breath before pulling it open and padding up the staircase, Something about creeping around the tower in her socks was reminding her of being a little girl, creeping around her parents home in search of milk and cookies, Or Santa, Or the Easter bunny, or whatever else childish rubbish she'd been lead to believe. That was when she realised why those words had stung so deep down inside her.
"Nobody likes you!" The other girl had pointed out to her with a glare, her hands on her hips as she looked down at the younger girl. Virginia was 7 years old, and she'd not even been at this school a week. And this particular person she'd run into was the 'queen bee' of her class, blonde, very pretty and a world apart from the scrappy little ginger girl in glasses and a hand-me-down dress stood infront of her.
"They do!" She'd squeaked back in protest, glaring straight back at her, her hands balling into fists: "I-i know they do!"
"Really?" The other had snorted, flicking a blonde curl over her shoulder and still looking down on the littler girl: "Name one person!"
Virginia knew she couldn't, inside her she knew the other was right. Nobody did like her, Sharp tongued and clever for her age she didn't exactly have the best start. The boys just teased her, calling her four-eyes and carrot top, but the girls where worse, turning their noses up at her and giggling in gym class when she didn't have the newest tracksuit and trainers, instead running around in second hand clothes and shoes that didn't quite fit. In class they where just as bad, picking her last for teams and last for groups in science experiments, leaving her to sit on her own at lunchtime and stealing her books at recess. But she had to at least think of an answer: "I-i haven't met them yet!" She retorted, hands on her own hips and a brave smile on her face, Virginia could at least pretend.
Pepper had stopped at the top of the stairs, her hand resting on the banister as she dragged her mind away from the memory. I haven't met them yet. Those words she'd spoken all those years ago, had they even come true yet? Or had that first school-bully been right? Deciding that wasn't worth the thought process she walked straight into the kitchen that was at the back of the communal area, technically this wasn't really a place for her, but there was nobody here except JARVIS, and even the computer was asleep.
What on earth was she thinking about that for? She questioned herself as she poured herself a glass of milk, trying to sort her head out logically. Usually when she was upset, logical worked better than emotional. Events from her childhood shouldn't bother a successful, adult woman such as herself, so why did it hurt?
"Nobody likes you!" He almost shouted at her, standing over her with an angry glare, his eyes alight with anger and irritation. Virginia was 17, and the boy standing above her was her ex-boyfriend. She'd known this was a joke from the beginning, he'd asked her to date him due to a dare in some idiotic game at school. She didn't shrink away, just stood there, her hands glued to her hips as she glared up at him. She'd backed out of the relationship after a week of being teased for it, and only now was she realising he really wasn't a nice man after all. So now here they stood, infront of her entire year group.
"They do." She pulled her gaze away from his, looking down at the floor: "I just haven't met them yet."
At her words the students around her just fell about laughing, Virginia turned on her heel and marched out of there, pulling her glasses off her nose to wipe away the tears that where staining her cheeks.
Pepper picked the glass up and downed it in one, pretending to herself it was something much stronger than it really was. I haven't met them yet. She wanted to laugh at her own stupidity, those words seemed to have followed her hadn't they? Had she met them? This magical place where people liked her and where she belonged, was it here?
'Of course it wasn't.' She mentally corrected herself, dropping the glass in the sink and heading back down the stairs. The others here didn't like her much, even her own boss didn't actually like her. Pepper Potts was just a valuable asset to the company, and the others probably found her an annoyance.
So that random person had been right.
Still.
Nobody likes you.