Chapter 11
"Text me when you're in the taxi home!" My mom called after me.
"Ok see you later!" I called over my shoulder as I walked out of the door.
I joined Alice and Carly at the bottom of the path.
"Let's go girls!" I said.
We piled into the taxi and pretty soon we were walking into The Zone nightclub in our new dresses. Carly was the first to be asked to dance, this was probably because she was wearing the lowest-cut dress out of us three. Alice and I sat at the bar, chatting and drinking. Then a tall tanned blonde guy came up to us.

"Hey ladies," he said, "either of you care for a dance?"

He wasn't really my type but Alice giggled and stood up.

"I'm up for it," she said, smiling brightly at the guy.

Gee thanks, I thought as she walked away with him. She looked over her shoulder at me and mouthed, "If I'm not back after 3 songs call the FBI!"

I laughed a little, turning round in my seat. I ordered another drink and sipped it, feeling like an idiot sitting there on my own. This was supposed to be my birthday! My 18th! That only happens once! I sighed and leant back in my seat.

Suddenly the music stopped and the lights dimmed. A spotlight came down and a man walked in. That song, Where Them Girls At played. The guy lowered his shades and scanned the room, soon fixing his gaze on me. I blushed and looked away. The music started up and the lights came back on and people continued dancing as if nothing had happened.

The guy came over and sat down beside me.

"Hey sweet cheeks," he said, smirking. "The name's Tony. Perhaps you've heard of me."

"Uh hi," I said.

"That's a lovely dress you're wearing."
"Thanks." I replied. Maybe this guy wasn't so bad.
"It would look even better on my bedroom floor."
Or not.

I rolled my eyes and turned round to face the guy properly, "What exactly do you want?"

"I think you know what I want darlin'," he said with a seductive smirk.

What with the dim light, the pounding music and the drink in my hand (and a few more in my stomach), I knew I was going to give him what he wanted. He seemed like the sort of guy who usually got what he wanted.

I woke up alone on an unfamiliar bed the next morning. I slowly got up, stretching. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that I wasn't wearing anything. I let out a little squeak and grabbed a shirt that was lying on the floor. It smelled of Tony's cologne. At least I think that's what his name was. I sighed and walked out of the room, in search of him and my clothes. Preferably not in that order. I wandered round this spectacular house, until I found a woman with strawberry blonde hair, not that much older than me.
"Uh hi," I said, pulling the shirt down a little self-consciously.
She gave a weak smile and held out a cotton bag. "Your clothes are in here. They've been cleaned and pressed."
"Oh!" I said, surprised. "Th-thank you."
"And there's a car waiting outside that will take you anywhere you want to-" the woman paused, her expression concerned, "are you alright?"
I bit my lip and shook my head.

"Good morning. Its 7:30 and the weather in Malibu is fine with a light breeze to the west."
I woke up, lying on my chest.
"Thanks JARVIS," Tony said, stretching.
I didn't move. My god, that dream. Waking up twice? This was turning into Inception or something.
Tony leaned up on his hands, came close to me and whispered in my ear.
"Good morning sleepy head."
I turned over onto my back, pulling the sheet up a little.
"Morning," I mumbled.

"I'm gonna go have a shower; you can go get yourself some breakfast or something." Tony smiled and got up. I closed my eyes and listened to him walking across the room and into the ensuite bathroom. I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. I pulled on some clothes, walking to my office. I switched on my laptop and picked it up. Walking into the living room, I set the laptop down on the couch and set about making myself and Tony some breakfast.

A little while later Tony came in, fully dressed, his hair damp. I looked up at him from where I was lying on the couch with my laptop and smiled.

"Oh you made me breakfast too?" Tony said, "You didn't have to."

I nodded.

"I know, I just wanted to thank you."

Tony ran a hand through his hair. "What for?" he said.

"You've done so much for me, the car… everything." I felt myself flush.

Tony picked up his coffee cup. "Well… you're welcome."

I smiled and went back to my laptop. I opened up Google and typed in "past secretaries of Tony Stark".

The page loaded and a picture of the strawberry blonde woman from my dream came up. So she was real! I clicked on the link and read.

"Virginia "Pepper" Potts was a member of the secretarial pool at Stark Industries during the days when the company was run by Howard Stark. After the death of Howard, his son Anthony "Tony" Stark assumed control of the company, and quickly realized Virginia's value because she understood the day-to-day business of running the company better than he did. To Virginia's dismay, she found herself performing a great deal of Tony's work for him, as he was often out socializing. Potts continued her studies in business administration in order to cover for her employer.

There are no official records of Potts and Stark being together but rumors suggested that there may have been a romantic relationship between the two. During one of Anthony Starks' missions, Potts was killed in an explosion near to the Stark Industries Headquarters."

Woah. I looked up at Tony. He was busy arguing with JARVIS about installing a hot tub on the balcony. Tony glanced over at me and did a double take.

"What's wrong?" he said, coming.

I held out the laptop to him, feeling my hands shake as I did so.