Allie
III
"Today's the day!" I cheer hopping out of bed excitedly. The mishap of last night is all but forgotten. "I have a hair appointment at eleven, a mani-pedi scheduled at two, and professional makeup artist coming at four, and then the limo will arrive at six. I've left two-hour pillows of time between each thing to prevent disaster. But without fail tonight at six I will be the prettiest fucking thing in New York!"
"Yes, you will buttercup," Gabie murmurs in an amused tone.
"And you will be the most majestic!"
"I'm sure," Gabie murmurs. She's half listening and half preparing herself for another day at art school.
"Gabie remember I'll be waiting to get you from school after my mani-pedi. Also, the makeup artist can do you too if you want," I offer.
"Why not? We're meeting Iron Man so might as well look my best," Gabie replies and smiles. "I'm going now, try not to get too nervous while I'm gone."
"Nervous me? Come on Gabie I'm on an insane dose of Zoloft, I couldn't get anxious if I tried," I joke and push her out the door.
"Don't forget to pack your meds in your bag so you can eat them at dinner tonight!" Gabie yells as I shut the door.
As soon as it's closed I scurry around to get ready for my hair appointment.
III
After my hair is nicely styled and with each strand curled into nice spirals the stylist pins it back with bejeweled bobby pins and pins in tiny garnet gems all over my hair.
Moving on from hair I go to the nail salon and get my nails and toenails painted deep red with small black swirls on the thumbs and big toes.
Once my nails are done and dry I catch a cab to the art school.
III
"There's my favorite artist!" I greet loudly and jog up to Gabie as she leaves the double doors of the building. She's smiling widely. I can tell this school makes her happy.
"Hey, buttercup! You look amazing!" Gabie exclaims and I twirl for her enthusiastically.
"I feel amazing! My curls are so bouncy! Forget that you look so happy! This art school is doing wonders for your mental health," I point out and Gabie nods.
"I love it. I made a new friend," Gabie says as we start to walk down the street.
"You did! I'm so proud," I muse happily.
We chat avidly as we walk back to the apartment about her new friend, Izzy, and topics of conversation to bring up with Mister Stark.
III
The makeup artist made my face absolutely stunning with her skills. My eyes are decorated with red glitter eyeshadow, a thick black cat-eye eyeliner style, and my eyelashes are curled up with dark red mascara. To top off my eye look she puts small red garnet gems at the corner of each eye.
My blush has small sparkles in it and stands out on my pale complexion.
My lipstick is a dark red matte.
Gabie insisted upon doing her own makeup and she did as good of a job on herself as the artist did on me.
She did a winged look with her eyeliner and wears maroon lipstick. Her eyes have emerald green shimmery eyeshadow on them. Other than that she doesn't wear much of anything. She's always looked better with simpler makeup, she doesn't need all the glitter and blush. Her natural beauty glows much brighter
As soon as the artist is done I hop into my chosen outfit. It's a dark red corset with black jeans and a black jacket. To finish my outfit I slide into red platform heels.
I find that I look better in darker colors most often.
The outfit also allows most my soulmarks to show if I take off the jacket.
'dammit she's so young and cute, I just wanna give her things' is scribbled down my left arm.
'how is this girl fighting in a corset-oh my she's too precious for this,' is written down my right arm.
'that girl seems poorly dressed for a battle' is on my thigh but doesn't show in the outfit.
And 'wow that dame has a set of lungs on her ' wraps around my neck. My other three soulmarks, the colored dots that match my soulmate's eyes, always show on my hand.
Gabie chooses a more tame path and wears an emerald green dress with lace sleeves, a Peter Pan collar, and lace sleeves. It goes to her mid-thigh and compliments her skin tone. To add a little flare she slides into studded black heels.
Two of her soulmarks are almost always exposed while one rarely shows.
'holy shit that girl just stopped the plane by forcing a rock to come out of the ground' is written on her shoulder in messy handwriting.
'target acquired, ready take out from a distance' is wrapped around her left wrist and is usually covered by her watch.
And 'so they do have a worthy ally to oppose me' is wrapped around her right wrist. On the back of her hand, she has two blue dots and a brown one.
"You look killer," I breathe and she smirks.
"And as promised you are the prettiest fucking thing in New York," Gabie replies.
"Tony Stark won't know what hit him," I joke and Gabie nods in agreement. That's when I take care to check the time. "Shit! The limo will be here in for minutes! We have to go!"
"Don't forget your meds!" Gabie reminds as we rush out. I snatch the bottle on the way out and shove it into my red clutch.
Outside our apartment building, a long white limo is waiting. A large man is leaning on the side wearing a bright smile.
"That's flashy," I breathe out. I'm still in a state of disbelief that this is happening.
"Hello! I'm Happy Hogan, Mister Starks driver and head of security. You must be Gabrielle and Allison," the joyful looking man greets and shakes our hands.
"It's nice to meet you, I'm Allison," I manage to squeak out.
"I'm Gabrielle but you can call me Gabie," Gabie adds and pats my arm. Happy nods and opens the back door inviting us to get in.
Gabie gets in first then pulls me in after. Once I'm sat down I melt into the cushion and start breathing heavily.
"Oh my god, this is actually happening," I gasp out. This cannot be real, I'm not this lucky.
"Yes, it is," Gabie responds evenly.
That's when I notice the limo is furnished with jars of candy and bottles of soda and sparkling fruit juice. Instantly I lurch forward and grab a whole bottle of sparkling grape juice. I unscrew it and chug a few whole gulps down. The effect is immediately relaxing.
"You know there's no alcohol in that right?" Gabie inquires and raises an eyebrow at me.
"I know."
"Give me some," Gabie demands and holds out her hand. I pass the bottle and she guzzles some down herself while I move onto the jars of candy. Greedily I open a jar of jellybeans and shove some in my mouth.
"If I ever get rich I will buy Jelly Belly," I declare.
"Don't make yourself sick," Gabie advises.
"I can't help it! I eat when I'm stressed!"
"Don't worry Allie, he'll like you. He loved your writing so he has to love you," Gabie assures and I take a deep breath. Slowly I put the jar of jelly beans down and sit back in my seat.
"You have a fair point there. If he enjoyed my writing enough to want to meet me then he has to be open to the fact that imma writer therefore actually insane."
"Exactly, now pass me those lemon heads."
III
The ride was way too short and soon Happy is opening the door and letting us out.
Gabie shoves me out and then steadies me when I trip over my heeled feet. She has always been better at walking in heels than me.
A tall blonde woman is waiting for us with an inviting smile. She's insanely attractive and her bright red lipstick is stellar. She's wearing short cut off jean shorts and a long-sleeved, button-up, white shirt.
My bisexual heart almost melts when I see her.
"Hi I'm Virginia Potts but you can call me Pepper," she greets and shakes my hand then Gabie's. "Wow you two look gorgeous, you dressed up more than I did."
"I-uhm I'm Allison," I say smiling widely. All my usual confidence is gone. "This is my best friend Gabie."
"Nice to meet you," Gabie says politely.
"Welcome to Stark Tower girls. Tony and I are happy to have you for the lighting," Pepper proclaims and gestures towards the insanely tall tower just a few feet away. Looking up I get dizzy looking at the amazing tower. It's magnificent even without the lights. "Come on I'll take you up."
Pepper leads us through the main lobby and into a nice elevator that plays cheesy music.
"Ugh I keep telling Tony to change the music," Pepper groans and I can't help but giggle.
"Cliche elevator music is not amazing," I agree. "Maybe you could play orchestra versions of popular songs." Pepper's eyes light up and she nods avidly.
"That's a good idea! I'll get him on that."
A moment passes before Pepper turns to us.
"So where are you staying? Tony told me you turned down the offer to be put up in a five-star hotel for two nights."
"We rented an apartment nearby for the week. I'm attending a week-long art school," Gabie responds.
"The hotel sounded really nice but we wanted to see what staying in an apartment would be like," I add not wanting to seem ungrateful.
"Two independent girls after my own heart. I did the same after high school never even stayed in a dorm at college," Pepper murmurs a nostalgic smile playing on her lips. "How do you like New York?"
"It's great. I'm having so much fun!" I exclaim.
"And the school is really amazing," Gabie chimes in. "It's actually the Stark New York Art School."
"I'm happy to hear it's doing well and meeting the standards of the students," Pepper muses. "I'll have to see some of your work."
"I have some pictures on my phone but they aren't very good," Gabie says.
"But her instructor did put a picture of one of her sculptures on the official website!" I pipe up.
"Well I'll check it out," Pepper promises just as the elevator dings and slides open to reveal a wide-open living space.
Inhaling sharply I try not to gape open-mouthed as the lovely modern space.
It's large and open with a half circle couch, three leather chairs, a huge fluffy rug, and a modern coffee table all nestled in the middle just a step down. There's a bar that lines an outer wall with steps that come down from the outdoor landing area for Iron Man. Near the bar, there's a nice neat workspace that has the tower schematics projected above it.
Pepper kicks off her shoes next to the elevator and nods to us.
"You can kick them off or leave them on," Pepper invites. "By the way I love your taste in heels." Smiling I kick mine off making myself a large degree shorter. Gabie opts to leave hers on.
"This place is beautiful," I finally gasp out.
"Thank you I designed it myself," Pepper preens and strolls over to the work station. "Tony is just doing last minute work to get us off the electricity grid, he'll be back soon. He could have done it earlier but he wanted to make a dramatic entrance and impress you two." I blush a dark crimson and Gabie pulls her hair over her eyes covering more than her glasses her could.
The Tony Stark wanted to impress us? Just two random teenage girls? That is beyond surreal.
"Impress us?! Hah I spent all day creating this goddess you see before you," I laugh out making Pepper grin.
"Miss Potts, Mister Stark is calling would you like him in speaker for his guests to hear?" a mechanical voice from the ceiling asks. The voice while artificial sounds smooth and British.
"Go ahead Jarvis," Pepper allows them turns to us. "That's Jarvis he's an AI that runs the tower."
"Cool," Gabie remarks and elbows me. I jump quickly and stop standing awkwardly and instead plop down on the nice couch. Gabie sits next to me and sets her purse aside.
"Pep?" It's Tony Stark, it has to be. His voice somehow sounds sultry and energetic at the same time.
"I'm here Tony. You're on speakerphone with your lovely writer and her fashionable friend so behave," Pepper informs sternly. A small blush forms when Pepper refers to me as 'his writer.'
"Or what you'll spank me?" Tony retorts and all my nervous energy bubbles up into endless giggles.
"Tony!" Pepper scolds. "Sorry girls"
"It's okay. She's just all nervous and hysteric," Gabie responds and shakes me out of the giggle fit.
"Anyway we're good to go on this end. The rest is up to you."
"You disconnected the transmission lines? Are we off the grid?" Pepper queries.
"Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy,"
"Well, assuming the arc reactor takes over and it actually works," Pepper mumbles but we still hear.
"I assume. Light her up."
"Girls come over! You can light it," Pepper proclaims making me leap up ad surge across the room. Gabie follows behind me. Pepper points to a theatrically large red button on the desk and I vibrate with excitement.
"You do it," Gabie whispers.
Enthusiastically I pound the red button maybe a little too hard. After that I rush to the windows and look down at the completely lit tower.
"How does it look?" Pepper asks Tony while I stare.
"Amazing," I breathe.
"Like Christmas, but with more me," Tony replies coolly.
"Merry Starkmas then! It look great!" Gabie cheers abruptly. She too seems dazzled by this.
"We've got to go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I'm in DC tomorrow, I'm working on the zoning for the next three buildings-"
"Pepper, you're killing me. The moment, remember? Enjoy the moment," Tony groans. In the corner of my eye I see Pepper glance at me guiltily before speaking again.
"Get in here and we will," Pepper murmurs in a mischievous tone. Her voice makes shivers run down my spine.
That's when the Iron Man lands outside and starts walking in.
Gabie and I both freeze and brace ourselves for meeting the millionaire, playboy, philanthropist, hero, and genius.
