Chapter 3: WPL
Okay, in the review please tell me if your school year has started… Because mine did this week and HOLY COW! I was completely overwhelmed with the amount of homework that I even forgot my birthday on Tuesday… It was ridiculous!
No! This is not an excuse! I swear, it took me forever to get my homework done, and I barely had time to touch my computer! Much less type any bloody story! I'm so sorry about that….
Okay, well, I would love to do shout outs, but I have so many stories to update, and I just don't have the time! So sorry guys….
Disclaimer: Please…. JUST PLEASE GIVE ME IMAA!
The instant Gene left, Pepper squealed with excitement. She kissed her dad on the cheek and ran up the stairs, ready to make her room selection.
All the rooms were enormous, and fully furbished. Pepper went room to room until suddenly she saw one that nearly took her breathe away.
There was one room colored a light purple and had silver linings on the bottom and top of the walls. There was a large white dresser stuffed with girl supplies, combs, undergarments, shirts, pants, and jewelry. Lots, and lots of jewelry.
Next, the white wardrobe was open to house thousands (definitely seemed literal but unfortunately not) of dresses. Some were short, meaning halfway down her thigh, some up to her knee, and some floor length. But the dresses Tony had bought her were not part of the collection. She tore threw the piles of fabric but couldn't find those dresses.
When she opened up the drawers in the wardrobe her heart nearly stopped. Shoes. Millions upon millions of shoes littered the drawers. Pepper squealed. She found a pair that matched perfectly with the midnight blue dress Tony had bought her, that is, had being the keyword. She would have to go back and retrieve that.
"Pepper!" Virgil called from downstairs. Pepper threw down the white flats in her hands and ran down the stairs.
"DAD! Oh my gosh! You won't believe what was up in my room! There were thousands of-" Her heart did stop. "Gene? What are you doing back here?" Virgil shot her an irritated look.
Gene was wearing a plain black v-necked shirt and yellow basketball shorts. He smiled coolly, and looked towards her dad for the answer. Virgil looked at Pepper. "Honey, Gene wanted to spend the night here at the mansion. He wanted to get a feel for how the house was and all. He's only a guest, but also the wonderful gentleman that provided up with this beautiful house." Virgil definitely added a bit more emphasis to get Pepper to understand.
"Okay. Sure." She responded. Pepper started making her way up the stairs when someone cleared their voice. She turned around.
"Patricia. Take Mr. Khan up with you. Show him a room for him to sleep in for the night. Okay honey?" Virgil added. Pepper didn't say a word, but she waited until Gene caught up with her.
As they made there way up, Pepper felt a hand on her waist. She looked down to see Gene's hand lightly placed on her hip. She jerked away and spun around to face him.
Lowering her voice, so that her father wouldn't hear, she said, "I don't know why the heck you're acting so friendly with me, but I promise you that I will not let you get into this family that easily." Her voice dropped with venom.
Gene raised an eyebrow. "What happened to that sweet talk you gave me when you saw the house?"
"No guy, especially a jerk like you, deserves any sweet talk when they put their hands on my waist. You keep your disgusting hands to yourself, you… you piece of garbage!" Pepper stopped her way up the stairs only to feel a hand tug her back.
She landed in Gene's arms, and suddenly, before she even knew it, lips came crashing down on hers. She screamed against Gene's lips, but his grip only tightened. When he let go, he looked at her with a new interest. He licked his lips and came forward again, only to be stopped with a hard slap.
Pepper was breathing hard, but tears fell down her cheek. "You jerk, you stupid piece… of…." She flew up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door shut. Locking her room behind her, she threw herself onto the lavender sheets. That's when the tears came.
Thick puddles of water drained from her eyes, as Pepper cried harder than she ever did into her pillow. There was a knock on the door.
"Pepper? Pepper sweetie?" It was her dad. Pepper's anger flared.
"GO AWAY! I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU! GO AWAY!" She screamed. She could almost feel her father's hurt, but that was the last thing she cared about. Her lips still ached from the force of Gene's.
It was ten minutes later, and Pepper was still crying, though it reduced to sniffles and gasps. Pulling out her phone, Pepper scrolled to Tony's number.
PEPPER: HEY YOU AWAKE?
TONY: PAT? YEAH I'M AWAKE. I HAVEN'T BEEN GETTING SLEEP LATELY. LOL.
PEPPER: I NEED TO TALK TO YOU. CAN YOU COME OVER?
TONY: … WHAT HAPPENED?
PEPPER: I CAN'T EXPLAIN, NOT OVER TEXT. CAN YOU COME OVER?
TONY: I CAN'T COME. BUT YOU CAN IF YOU'D LIKE. WOULD YOU LIKE TO?
PEPPER: THANK YOU TONY. AND WELL, I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU TOO. SOMETHING I'VE BEEN KEEPING FROM YOU.
After telling her that he would be waiting, Pepper grabbed all her sheets and made a makeshift ladder down her window.
Dropping to the floor like a cat, Pepper sprinted the rest of the way to Tony's house. She saw the lights sooner than she thought and made her way towards Tony's window. It was lit and spilled yellow light into the dark night.
Pepper knocked on the window. Tony opened the door and stepped aside to let Pepper in. He made a move to help her, but Pepper made it in.
"What happened Pat?" Tony asked. He let Pat take a seat on his bed as he sat on his rolling chair.
"Tony, look, I have to tell you something." Pepper said. She closed her eyes and took in a breath.
"What? Are you okay? What-"
"I'm Pepper. I'm the girl you've been looking for all this time." Pepper burst out. The look on Tony was completely blank. It was as though Pepper was looking at a canvas, clean of paint and waiting for the artist to begin his job.
"Tony…"
"…."
"Tony, please say something." Pepper scrunched her eyebrows with fear of getting yelled at. But suddenly, Tony's face broke in a toothy grin. He pushed off of his chair and ran towards her. In a huge bear hug, he laughed against her hair.
"I can't believe it! You're the girl! You're the GIRL!" He pulled away and leaned in for a kiss. But before he could even do that, Pepper placed a finger on his.
"My mouth isn't ready for that." She said. She meant that her lips were sore, but Tony definitely looked hurt and taken aback. He took a step back and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I shouldn't have been so forward. I'm sorry. But-" He got interrupted.
"No, Tony, my… this will sound weird, but my lips hurt. That's what I wanted to see you for."
Tony finally looked at Pepper. He took in her face, and body and finally realized the problem. Her eyes were red; her lips looked as though they were injected with water, and there were nail marks on her arms.
"Who did this to you?" Tony asked suddenly. He came forward and fingered the red nail marks. Pepper shivered from his warm touch, unfortunately Tony noticed. He looked up at her. "Who did this?"
"The guy that was harassing me at that dress shop. His name is Gene Khan and well he gave my dad his land back. I was supposed to find him a room to sleep in, but he just kissed me. I didn't know what to do, so I just came for you." Pepper said.
Tony looked astonished. Mostly because he just realized he shoved aside the second richest family, the Khan family. He wouldn't be surprised if that kid wanted to kill him. "Does he know you came here?" Tony asked. The question made sense. If Gene came here, that would only mean that Tony would be in a serious pile of crap.
"No. I locked my bedroom, but I wouldn't be surprised if that jerk went into my room right about now." Pepper said with a frown. Tony's insides suddenly froze.
"Pepper?"
"Yeah?"
"Where's your phone?"
…
"Mr. Khan, did you do anything to my daughter? She seemed oddly upset?" Virgil said with a frown. Gene shot a furious look and him, but managed to regain his composure. They had entered Pepper's, once locked, room, and were investigating for the remains of the missing Pott.
"No. She simply showed me my room and ran off into hers. I couldn't understand. But now that you are telling me, I can only imagine what happened to her." Gene was fuming. That girl was his, and now that she was gone, who knew what would happen. Pepper might tell the cops, or worse, that boy. That boy that shoved him, that must be where she went! That thought made him only fume even more.
"Mr. Khan? Would you by any chance know where she went?" Virgil looked distressed for his missing daughter. He was looking under the mattresses, dresser, wardrobe, and the bathroom. His skills from being a F.B.I. only helped improve his chances of finding a clue.
"Virgil. I would advice that you let me look for her. I am, after all, a teenager, so I would know what she would be thinking." Gene stated. Virgil looked at him, nodded, and left the room. Gene mentally kicked himself for kissing Pepper. Now she was gone with that boy, most likely, and would definitely not want to be found.
That girl was his property, if that boy kissed her, Gene would murder that boy in front of Pepper's eyes then later, forcefully marry her and keep her locked up in his mansion. He swore that on his mother.
Gene suddenly saw the window of Pepper's room open. How did he miss that? He brought out Pepper's phone, that he kept hidden away from Virgil in his hands, checked her message. She couldn't have gotten too far. That makes sense.
Gene glanced down the window and saw the line of sheets cascading down the side of the wall. Smirking, Gene slowly began making his way down the ladder.
…
"I thought I had it! Oh no! If Gene found my phone…"
"He would kill you!" Tony finished. Pepper shook her head, her eyes filling with tears.
"No, Tony, he would kill you. He thinks of me as his 'property.' If he knows that I am hanging out with you, he would kill you. Tony, I'm so sorry." Pepper sniffled and wiped away a stray tear. Tony sighed and came forward to her. Wrapping his arms around her back, he pulled her close and kissed her head softly.
"I won't let him touch you. And I won't ever leave you. Pepper, you were the reason I changed. Never once have I thought about anyone else but myself. It was always supposed to be about me, but then, you… I felt as though I knew you. From long ago." Once he said that, he realized how stupid it sounded. That and, it was true. There was something about her; she brought up a distant memory from his past.
"Really?" Pepper asked. Her eyes glittered with excitement.
"Really." Tony leaned in. Just as his lips touched hers, he gasped. Pain clouded his vision, stumbling away from Pepper; he grabbed his stomach and sank to his knees.
"TONY!" Pepper ran up to him. She saw something sticking out of his stomach. It was a small three inch switchblade, but from where?
Tony was groaning; his eyes closed tight in pain. "Oh… That… hurt…" He gasped. "Okay, I'll pass out. Give me a-" Tony passed out. Pepper went hysterical. She shook his head and body screaming his name. She got up and searched his room for anything that would help. She was too afraid to leave the room.
Pepper searched Tony's pockets for his phone, but she couldn't find them. It was after yelling out of her mind, that Tony stirred, still dazed from immense pain. "Pepper… fin-fi-find my p-phone. I—call my—my… friend. Rhodey. Hurry." Pepper was about to go find his phone again before someone climbed through the window.
"Do that, and this boy, Mr. Tony Stark, will have a knife coming out of his chest." Gene said welding a knife.
Tony stumbled to his feet, before collapsing to his knees and rising to his feet again. His hand was dripping with blood, but he managed to get in between Pepper and Gene. "You touch her, I swear I will hunt you down." He said.
"Oh sure. I'm sure you can see that red mark on Pepper's lip. Am I right?" Gene teased. He put his hands on his hips and flipped out another blade. Tony did a double take on Pepper, and saw that Gene was right.
"I will kill you Khan. I will definitely kill you." Tony said, his anger fuming. But before Tony could do anything, Gene came forward and pushed the blade deep in his abdomen even further. Tony gagged and fell onto Gene's outstretched arm. He felt Gene lean into his ear.
"She's mine. All mine."
The last thing Tony heard was Pepper, his one love, screaming his name.
BAM! I hate school, but I'm loving the cliffhanger! Yeah… I know. I'm evil, but what can I say? REVIEW! :D