Gahh! I'm posting again! When I should be updating….sorry, I just got this great idea! And this time it's so totally NOT a one-shot. But it's really cute and cool :D in other news, it's going to be my first full year on fanfiction on October 6th! And then a month after that is my bday XD isn't that awesome? IKR? My one-year anniversary. Or, whatever I should call it. I think I've been reading longer than that, by like a day or two maybe, but I'm not sure. All I know is that I posted my first story on that day so it's my first year in about a month! XD

Pepper was sitting on her bed, doodling in her diary when her phone rang. She picked it up and answered it, hoping it was Tony (because she loved it when he talked to her without her calling first). But it wasn't. It was her old friend from her old town, Tess McDermott.

"Patricia Potts you will not believe what my mom just said!" Tess squealed. Pepper and her dad used to live in a small town in West Virginia, until her dad got a job transfer in NYC. Back in West Virginia, she didn't really have a nickname. True, some people called her Trisha or Patty, which she didn't like at all.

"What did she say, Tess?" Pepper asked.

"She said that since its spring break for both me and you, she was going to arrange for me to go VISIT YOU!" Tess said excitedly. Pepper dropped her diary to her lap and squealed with joy.

"Oh, Tess that's so awesome! I can't wait to see you! I can't wait for you to meet my new friends!" Then Pepper pictured Tess meeting Tony. Oh, boy.

"I know, right? It's going to be sooo exciting!" Tess said.

"Yeah…so when are you coming?" Pepper asked, not as happy now. Tess could whip up a basket case of drama in an instant if she wanted to.

"Tomorrow!" I wanted to surprise you but my mom said to call ahead, so I did." Tess explained.

"That's awesome!" Pepper said. She ignored her worries of Tess ruining things around her school, and was happy that she got to see her best friend again.

"Well, I gotta go pack some more. Chaio!" Tess said happily, then hung up. Pepper put her phone back in her shoulder bag and went downstairs.

"Hey, good news dad!" Pepper said when she got downstairs.

"What's up, sweetie?" Her father asked.

"Tess and her mom are visiting tomorrow!" Pepper announced.

"Really? That's great." Her father said.

"Not completely. Just wait until she meets Tony…she's going to flip over him." Pepper said.

"Aww, come on. It can't possibly be that bad."

"Dad, Tony's got like, continental fame! Everyone in the country knows him, he's famous and rich! It's going to be, that. bad." Pepper complained.

"I guarantee you it'll all be fine." Virgil comforted.

"Well I'm going over to Tony's. Be back later." Pepper said. She walked out the front door and over to the armory. Tony was working on his armor, as usual; and Rhodey was watching and talking.

"So you wouldn't believe what just happened to me, my old best friend from West Virginia is visiting me tomorrow and I haven't seen her in like, two years can you believe that? It's so…" Pepper stopped herself from saying 'disastrous,' because then Tony would ask why and she was NOT going to dive into that. "Totally awesome!" Pepper said.

"That's cool." Rhodey said.

"Who's she?" Tony asked, referring to Pepper's friend.

"Tony, I've told you about her before! Tess, remember?" Pepper said.

"Oh, you mean that girl that texted you, and when I asked who it was you told me your whole life story." Tony said. Pepper rolled her eyes at his witty comment.

"Yeah, her. She's going to be here tomorrow, I'm so excited!" Pepper said.

"Well I have to go get some components from a storage room in the back." Tony said, then walked past the room where he had the war machine armor and the Panther into a room where he stored extra pieces and parts for later uses.

"Rhodey, I've got a problem. Tess, when she comes I know she'll be all over Tony, I just know it!" Pepper complained once Tony was out of earshot.

"Pepper, relax. Tony's too arrogant to care." Rhodey said.

"Well still! You know how I feel," Pepper looked back to see if Tony had returned yet, and seeing that he didn't, she looked back to Rhodey. "And she could easily ruin everything!" Pepper complained. Then Tony came back.

"Ruin what?" he asked.

"O-oh, I was just talking about h-how…my…dad…ruined…Blue's Clues for me! Yeah….he totally ruined it for me." Pepper quickly made up a lie.

"That's a kid's show…" Tony said.

"Shyah, a cool one! Until my dad went and ruined it for me!" Pepper said. Tony rolled his eyes and went back to his work.

"Pepper, I suggest you chill out and enjoy your friend's visit. You won't get many more chances to see her, you know." Rhodey whispered so that Tony wouldn't hear.

"I guess you're right." Pepper said.

"When am I not?" Rhodey bragged, still whispering.

~…~ the next day…. (A/N: shyah, I did just say that. dealll XD)

Pepper felt the sun shine onto her face as she sat up in her bed, stretched her arms and yawned. She got out of bed and went downstairs for breakfast. After a bowl of fruity puffs and two hours of television, the doorbell rang.

"Can you get that, sweetie? I'm getting in the shower." Pepper's father asked.

"Yeah." Pepper went to the door, and opened it as she yawned.

"Hi Pepper!" A shrill and excited girl's voice rang. Pepper was shocked out of her morning laziness.

"Tess! Hey!" Pepper gave Tess a hug, as well as one to Tess' mom standing behind her.

"Come in, guys! Here, let me take your bags. Tess, you're sleeping with me in my room and Mrs. McDermott, you can sleep in the guest room. It's down the hall from mine." Pepper took their bags, tossed Mrs. McDermott's into the guest room and Tess' into her own room.

"My dad is taking a quick shower, do you want some coffee?" Pepper asked Mrs. McDermott.

"Sure, thank you." Mrs. McDermott and Tess tossed their coats onto the coat rack and sat at the table right outside the kitchen.

"So, how come you guys are here so early?" Pepper asked as she poured a cup of coffee.

"Well, the only flight open was a 9:00. So we took it to surprise you!" Mrs. McDermott explained.

"Oh, that's great!" Pepper handed the coffee mug to Mrs. McDermott and sat down at the table. They talked for ten minutes, then Pepper's dad came into the kitchen and said hello.

"Tess, I have GOT to show you around town!" Pepper said.

"I can't wait! I've never been to NYC before!" Tess said.

"Here, come with me to my room." So they went to her room.

"Ooooh, Trishie's diary!" Tess noticed it sitting on Pepper's bed and reached out to grab it. Pepper immediately grabbed it before Tess could.

"NO! Don't read that!" Pepper shoved it into her drawer and locked the drawer. She hid the key underneath her computer keyboard.

"Aww, come on Pepper! Why not? We do that all the time!" Tess whined.

"Because….there are just a bunch of stupid doodles in it. It's boring, really." True, it did have doodles in it more than words, but they were all about Tony and Iron Man. And she couldn't have Tess reading that.

"Fine, fine. I won't read." Tess pouted.

"Well, you can unpack your stuff into that drawer if you want to while I go take a shower quickly." Pepper said as she read a text from Tony. He wanted her to meet him at the factory. She smiled and replied back that she and Tess would be there soon.

"Okay." Tess started to unpack and Pepper showered.

After ten minutes, Tess was trying to break into the drawer containing Pepper's diary, because she hadn't seen where Pepper hid the key, and Pepper came back from her shower dressed and ready to go.

"Alright, let's go!" Pepper announced as she walked back into the room. Tess quickly put the scissors back on Pepper's desk and smiled innocently. Pepper rolled her eyes and walked out with Tess.

"We're going out, be back later dad!" Pepper called into the house.

"Alright, be back in time for dinner!" Pepper's dad called back.

"No way, your dad lets you roam the streets of New York alone?" Tess asked.

"Well, he and I both know where we're going and we know our way around town so yeah." Pepper explained.

"Where are we going?" Tess asked.

"Well, we're going to hang out with my friends. You'll love them…." Pepper said. A little too much. She thought to herself.

"Awesome!" Tess said. Pepper made an annoyed face. She could tell already Tess was going to freak when she saw Tony.

Once they got outside the factory, Pepper led Tess up all the staircases they had to go through to get to Tony and Rhodey.

"Pepper, are you sure we should be in here?" Tess asked, nervous.

"Tess, chill. We go here all the time. It's perfectly fine." Pepper assured her. Then they came to three chairs and a tiny TV set. Tess stopped and took it all in. Then a boy with messy brown hair and blue eyes came from around a corner holding some sort of fancy cell phone. Tess grabbed Pepper's arm and dragged her over.

"That's your friend? That's Tony Stark! You're best friends with a famous rich kid, Pepper you're amazing!" Tess said, whispering so Tony and the boy following him wouldn't hear.

"Tess, he's just Tony. Relax." Pepper tried to calm her down.

"OH MY GOD you like him. You like him, don't you?" Tess knew by the way Pepper had been all chill about it.

"What? Tess that is ridiculous, we're just friends. I do NOT like him like that." Pepper lied and looked over to see Tony sit down in one of the chairs and the colored boy sit in the one next to him.

"You do. You really like him." Tess said.

"Tess, I do not!" Pepper defended.

"I saw the way you were looking at him, Trishie. You like him!"

"Do not."

"Do too!"

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Hey, Pepper!" Tony saw her talking. Pepper turned around quickly, smiled and came over to the empty chair.

"Hey, guys. This is Tess." Pepper pointed to Tess.

"Hey." Tony said as he smiled politely and waved. Tess giggled.

"Hi." She smiled and gave Pepper a 'you so do too.' Look.

Well, that's the first chapter for you! It's quite funny XD ahh, im beginning to love this one. Review!