Welp, it's been too long my lovely readers. This chapter has been long in the makings, having been rewritten several times and almost lost about half of it today...but at long last I bring you an update in the midst of my insane senior year. :) One of my longest chapters yet. Hope you enjoy! (If not, I'm terribly sorry)

Disclaimer: IMAA belongs to it's rightful owners. Sadly, still not me.

She could still feel his hot breath against her lips and how it barely compared to how hot her face had suddenly felt in the close proximity of her blue-eyed best friend. She could barely even manage to register that their lips had met somewhere between her blinking and him resting a hesitant hand on her arm. The feeling had been almost intoxicating and had overwhelmed her senses for quite some time.

So much so, she was still out of it by the next day at school.

"...And I said, 'There's more where that came from!'," Happy's voice broke through her thoughts.

She hardly acknowledged that he had spoken as she rested her chin on her palm. It was Happy's madly waving hand that startled her out of her everlasting trances that were far too often that day. "What? What did I miss?"

Happy groaned realizing that Pepper missed every bit of the story he shared. "How about everything?" he offered."I was spilling my guts to you!"

Something I wish Tony would do, Pepper inwardly commented. Since their little 'talk' yesterday, Tony hasn't said much other than he was likely to be away from school for a while to allow his wounds to heal up better. Though, she still wished that he'd clarify a few questions that she had. Questions like: What now? Do you want to hang out later? Do you want to talk?

"Hello? Earth to Pepper," Happy said waving his arm in her face once again. "Seriously, what's on your mind?"

"Nothing," Pepper pushed his hand away while trying to avoid his curious gaze.

Annie gasped, removing herself from the homework she had forgotten to do the previous night. "Now I'm interested," she leaned well into Pepper's bubble with a smirk on her face. "What are you hiding?"

Pepper groaned and sunk back with dread, realizing that her own mind and body practically sold out all her secrets to her two friends. The two friends, despite always being there for her, seemed to always find a way to embarrass and exploit all her secrets from her. On normal days, Pepper would have easily been able to correct her mistake and supply the nosy pair with a believable story. Except it wasn't a normal day.

"Nothing," she tried again. "I'm just...tired."

And she tried in vain.

Annie arched a single eyebrow in clear doubt of Pepper's words."Yeah, and snow is as hot as a sauna."

Happy pushed aside his tray as he wasn't interested in food anymore. "Yeah and the sky's blue."

"Uhm…" Annie and Pepper spoke in unison as they glanced almost worryingly towards their friend in common.

"Happy, the sky is blue." Annie spoke.

Happy opened his mouth to protest, but came up empty and just crossed his arms in denial. "Dang it, Stark! He lied to me!"

Annie burst out in laughter, seeming to be distracted from the original topic at hand. Much to Pepper's relief. "Tony told you the sky wasn't blue? And you believed him?"

"Of course," Happy announced proudly. "Why would he lie? In fact, he's told me many useful things!"

"Like what? You're taking advice from one of the only students who could rival your bad grades," Annie pointed out. "He's likely pulling wild guesses out of his butt and feeding it to you."

Pepper barely contained a laugh, wondering how the two would react if they found out that Tony was actually pretty smart, let alone that he was likely smarter than all of them combined. Of course, she kept her mouth shut, respecting Tony's wishes that that part of him was kept a secret. Though, she'd always envisioned the faces of everyone in Tomorrow Academy if they were to find out.

Happy let out an indignant scoff. "I'll have you know, he's taught me some very valuable information!"

"Like what?" Annie pressed, obviously more entertained by what Tony had to teach Happy than whatever it was that Pepper was hiding. Pepper almost considered sneaking off while she was distracted, but realized with what time they had left, it wouldn't matter.

"Like this," Happy said with a mischievous tone in his voice.

Suddenly, Pepper found herself on the floor in uncontrollable laughter as Happy relentlessly tickled her side. Specifically her side and a little towards her stomach. The same spot that causes her undying laughter with barely even a touch. A spot that only two people in this world knew about: her dad and Tony. The latter of which, found out by complete accident while trying to steal fruit from her lunch.

Howling in laughter as she tried to avoid Happy's surprisingly nimble fingers, she could barely hear the bell ring. "Ha-Happy! S-Stop! Stop!"

Happy finally stopped his attack with booming pride in his victory as he looked to Annie. "See? Valuable information."

Annie chuckled and helped their red-head up off the floor. "I'll give you that, Happy. I'll have to remember that sometime."

Pepper sighed to catch her breath and gathered what remained of her lunch–which she realized was barely touched aside from what Happy stole while she wasn't paying attention. She was also immensely relieved that Annie had forgotten about Pepper's secret; a secret Pepper didn't plan on spilling quite yet.

"Especially," Annie smiled, grabbing Pepper's elbow as soon as she had collected her things. "When I want to hear what it was you were hiding."

Pepper could only dream, right?


Pepper hadn't realized how quiet her week had been until Tony returned back to school. First day back to school and Tony was already returning to his old ways of interrupting class. Pepper couldn't say that she missed this side of Tony, but she also couldn't say that she hadn't. He seemed so lively and happy–despite everything–when he caused a ruckus in class. Whether it was the attention or getting out of work time, she couldn't say.

When she first greeted him that morning, she saw that he was better. A vast majority of the bruises were all but gone aside from a few, including the one on his cheekbone, which seemed to be more stubborn than the rest. Though, she noticed that he wasn't just physically better, but emotionally. He smiled a few times more than average and the way he held himself gave a more positive vibe than before. All of it was just like watching a little kid on Christmas as he shared his presents with everyone. It was all so great…

Except, all that happiness was shared with everyone else.

Not her.

With her, his outgoing and light-hearted self faltered. She noticed how he tensed up and unconsciously covered his bruised cheek when she approached him. She noticed how he spoke less and averted his eyes from her vibrant, expectant eyes. Or how he stepped away from her touch, laughing it off about how she managed to hit that 'one bruise' that hadn't quite healed. Or how he stopped stealing her grapes at lunch and kept at a more than decent space away from her. When questioned about his odd behavior, he just frowned and explained that he hadn't realized what he was doing. The odd part was she believed him.

"I think he's embarrassed," Rhodey half-joked to her. "Whatever you two did last week, has been bothering him all week."

"Maybe he's cheating on you!" was Happy's theory when Pepper unwittingly let Happy in on her concerns. "Wait, does it still count if you guys aren't 'official' yet?"

With that response, Pepper was happy she hadn't full disclosed the story with her friend. It wasn't so easy to hide from her redheaded friend.

"I bet he hadn't realized the seriousness of everything until after the kiss," Annie offered, full on serious-mode. Which had surprised Pepper. After a week of prying, spying, and–of course–pleading, when she finally figured it out, she had been nothing but supportive and helpful. Aside from a bone-crushing hug. "So, now he's trying to look better in your eyes, but is too nervous to take that next step."

The next time she saw Tony, sitting on the stair railing as he waited for Rhodey after school, she couldn't help but think back to Annie's words and wonder if maybe that's what was going on. That his odd behavior was solely because he was too nervous about a serious relationship. She shook her head, disapprovingly. She couldn't see Tony fretting over something like that with her. He had his secrets from her, but he wouldn't change his actions around her because of one kiss. A kiss she had to direct him to when he missed and kissed her chin.

She bit back a chuckle at the pleasant memory when she heard her name. "What are you daydreaming about?"

She looked over to see Rhodey had joined her side at the top of the stairs. "Oh, hey Rhodey. Sorry, I was just thinking."

He just laughed and waved at Tony who was starting to look impatient as he hugged his arms around himself. "Was it about Tony?"

Pepper couldn't find the energy to argue in denial, only enough to pull her sweater over her mouth, silently wishing for the winter weather to be over with. "See you tomorrow, Rhodey."

Rhodey rested a hand on her shoulder and looked at her in all seriousness before leaning in closer to her. She could hear Tony's shouts of protests as he waited farther down steps, but she could barely make out what the two words that Rhodey whispered to her before rushing down the stairs to meet up with the blue-eyed boy.

It wasn't until she arrived to her doorstep that she realized what Rhodey was trying to tell her.

"Thank you."


Pepper yawned tiredly and tightened the blanket wrapped around herself as she fought the sleep that threatened to take over. She didn't know what time it was, but she refused to sleep until her dad came home, which seemed to be later–much later–than her dad had promised. Whatever time it was, it was likely way past the time she usually went to bed, even on the days she stayed up late on homework. Several times that night, she wondered what was so important she had decided to forsake a decent night's sleep before she remembered the very important reason why. Why else would she need to stay up so late?

Tony.

Tony freaking Stark who had managed to worm his way through any and all of her defenses and was currently the sole topic of her mind's thoughts. All her worries, concerns, and joys seemed to exclusively revolve around the blue-eyed boy whose smile still flipped her stomach a thousand times over. Which in her mind, was a feat in and of itself as she had made it a goal of hers to never let the boy consume her thoughts like so. Especially when it got to the level Tony had managed to do so, without even trying.

Lost in her thoughts, she almost missed the soft click of the front door closing. Her dad may have thought she was asleep, but she was far from it–or far from letting sleep take over. She shot up from the couch, abandoning the soft blanket without a care if it got dirty as she rushed to greet her dad at the door. "Dad, you're home!"

"Patricia!" her dad all but yelped in his fright calling her by her given name as he tended to do in situations like this. He covered his heart dramatically and turned to face her. "What are you still doing awake?"

Pepper rushed to grab his coat when he removed it, gladly putting it in the closet for him. Probably too enthusiastically. "So, how'd it go?"

She excitedly helped him with his shoes and scarf as her dad let out an amused, yet exhausted sigh. "Sweetheart, I know you're worried about Tony, but you have to give it time. There wasn't a lot to go by and it's not going to happen over night."

Pepper practically deflated. "It's been a week, dad. A week and there's nothing?"

She didn't know what frustrated her more: not knowing the details or knowing that there's been no break in the case after a whole week had passed. She was no genius in the field, not as much as she aspired to be even at her age, but she knew the longer it was to get the suspect, the less of a chance they'd ever be found. The taste in her mouth grew sour at the mere thought of Tony's assailant roaming the streets free; free to attack the defenseless boy again if desired. Just thinking about that evening when she saw those bruises that littered her friend's body made her tremble in her anger. She doubted the fact that they had kissed would have affected her feelings toward the matter.

Yet her dad's soothing touch managed to ease her anger for the moment. "Let us do our job, I promise, we'll catch this guy."

What else could she do but trust his word? It wasn't as if she could do anything to fasten the process of finding whoever it was who decided Tony was the perfect target to attack. It certainly wasn't like she could make anything easier by throwing any sort of fuss over the lack of evidence towards a suspect. She highly doubted that there was really anything else she could have done, even if her dad had offered up the opportunity to do so.

She finally nodded and surrendered to a yawn. "Okay, I'll leave you alone."

"I love you, sweetheart," her dad kissed her forehead and gave her shoulder a reassuring pat. "Now, it's time for bed."

"Love you too, dad," she smiled as she went to retire to bed for the night yawning for the nth time that night.

She was really regretting staying up so late.


Pepper didn't know what to regret more the next day: staying up so late or letting Tony know how tired she really was. One moment it seemed like he was trying to lull her to sleep, while the next he was trying to keep her awake by scaring the living daylights out of her just when she was nodding off into dreamland. As if that wasn't embarrassing enough–as she had multiple times loudly almost fell out of chair–he had convinced the class that it was just him sneezing that was scaring her.

Luckily the boy gave her a break during their free period. A big one at that.

"Follow me," he whispered to her as if he was telling her a secret, slipping his hand in hers. She noted that his hand was cold, but firm as he dragged her behind him.

He lead her through the hallways of Tomorrow Academy, through hallways Pepper hadn't even known existed as she only ever occupied the main sections of the school. It never occurred to her that there was a lot more to her school than she realized. Her eyes soaked in all the new parts of the hallways, not paying attention to the determined boy ahead of her who still grasped her hand tightly in his cold grasp. She started to wonder if he even realized that he had grabbed her hand in the first place, or that he was still holding it.. By the time he lead them to their destination, Pepper was anxious and excited all at once.

It was the first time she had gotten Tony truly alone since they kissed, as the weather prevented access to the roof and their usual hangout was also occupied by the librarian and counselling staff. Did Tony realize that he had just succeeded in doing what he's been avoiding doing all week?

"So?" he broke the silence that grew between them. He looked at her expectantly and almost nervously.

She blinked, not realizing that he had been waiting for a response. "Uhm...what is this place?"

"The old shop classroom," Tony informed her almost proudly. "It's not being used anymore because they got the funding for a brand new workshop, but they couldn't put it back here because of the old ventilation system broke and whatnot–but," Tony leaned over to her and whispered with a smirk on his face, "if they just took a moment to actually look, they'd see that it's actually a pretty easy and cheap fix."

Looking around, she could see the telltale signs that this place had once been the shop class. Tools that nobody seemed to care to collect laid around on the remaining desks and boxes lined the walls filled with what must be the rest of the tools and supplies. She could see the other, harder to mobilize tools through the window leading to where the real workshop had been. "Why did you bring me here?"

Tony frowned at her words. She could tell that it was supposed to be obvious to her why he brought her here of all places. "You're tired, aren't you?" he moved to pull an empty table out of the corner and covered a majority of it with his sweater and placed his backpack on the end. He patted the backpack welcomingly as if inviting her for a massage. "So…?"

She had almost forgot how tired she was, but a full-blown yawn brought her full attention to the sluggish tiredness she had been feeling nonstop since she woke up that morning. "I can't sleep during school, I'm going to get in trouble," she tried to politely refuse his offer. "Besides, are we supposed to be in here? How'd you even get in? Wasn't the door locked?"

Tony shrugged and held up a key. "I let us in," he winked at her surprised look as he gestured around the room. "Don't tell anyone, but they let me come in here sometimes because I said I could fix the ventilation system."

Though his words sounded genuine, she couldn't help but feel that there was a little mischief to his tone. "Doesn't this break your 'code'?" she air-quoted the word "code" and rose a curious eyebrow. "You know, showing actual brains to the public?"

Tony seemed to contemplate her words, before shrugging. "Well, my...code...doesn't exactly count towards the staff. Roberta made sure of that." he mumbled something under his breath, before smiling at her. "Besides, this is Tomorrow Academy, they don't just let anyone who can afford the schooling." He winked at her before moving behind the table he had pulled out for her. "So, any takers on the homemade bed?"

Homemade bed was pushing it a little far as there was little to no appeal to comfort in it. Beds are generally associated with something soft, or at least in the general direction of it. Though, she supposed a bed was a bed no matter how hard. Especially when she counted how tired she was and how she could just about fall asleep standing if gravity wasn't in the equation.

Finally, she gave a shrug as she gave into the undeniable offer that has been made for her. "Why not?"

As she moved to sit down, she managed to grab the hand Tony was resting on the table. She couldn't tell if the move he made to take his hand back was intentional or by surprise. She shook the thought and gripped his hand harder as their eyes met. She stared into his eyes with purpose and determination. She searched within the vastness of his blue eyes, the eyes she remembered so vividly from that evening, searching for what she had seen in them that made her so sure. So positively sure that she had wanted something more. That being more than friends was a viable option for them.

"Uhm…" Tony finally broke the silence that had formed as he awkwardly stared back. "Is something wrong?"

Pepper sighed. Maybe there hadn't been anything that night; maybe just wishful thinking. "Nothing. I forgot."

Tony only frowned as Pepper rested back onto his backpack and turned away from her genius in disguise. She felt an uncertain twist in her stomach as she wondered if she had done the right thing by asking him to kiss her. It became a constant question in her mind these last few days as he continually avoided her, while not at the same time. Sure she had to remind herself that the kiss was by no means one sided or forced on anyone, but that hadn't meant that the two involved had clear minds.

She closed her eyes, intending to finally meet sleep for the next hour, silently hoping that Tony would be there to wake her up in time for the next class. It was that moment she heard Tony not-so-quietly drag a chair up to the table. Her eyes remained closed, not thinking anything about it.

That was before she felt his hands run through her hair.

Not three strokes in, she turned and faced him again. "Tony?"

He stopped immediately. "Sorry." She half wanted to laugh and half wanted to hug him. He refused to meet her eyes as usual, and twisted his now unbusy fingers in the hem of his shirt. "I thought...I...maybe…"

She smiled and tiredly reached for his hand before directing it to her face where he stared at her in what seemed like awe as he gently held her cheek. "It's fine. I kind of liked it."

Kind of was an understatement as he hesitantly started running his fingers through her hair once more as if petting a fragile bird. She could feel the tingling sensations through her spine and down to her toes. She loved it. So much so, she closed her eyes once more, nearly falling asleep to the soothing touch. She wondered if he could tell how much she actually liked it.

"My mom used to do this when I was little," Tony spoke, bringing her just out of the brink of sleep. "She would just sit down next to me as I was playing and would just comb her hands through my hair. She'd do it until I got sick of it and pushed her hand away." he paused for a second, maybe wondering if she was even awake. "It was my favorite."

"My mom would give me back rubs," Pepper tiredly slurred out. "She was the best at those."

Tony was silent for a while, as he just ran his fingers through her red locks of hair. He let out a sigh finally before Pepper could fall asleep. "Do you ever think about her?" he didn't give her time to answer. "I do. I think of how even in sickness she always had this vibrant smile on her face. She almost glowed, she was so happy. Even before she...died, she would be smiling."

Pepper silently thought about Tony's own smile and how even when he seemed so troubled, he gave off this vibrant joy that was infectious. Did he get his smile from his mother? "She sounds like my ideal mom."

Tony laughed lightly. "I think you would've liked her."

That was how the rest of her hour was spent. Not sleeping as she, or Tony, had intended, but listening to Tony's stories about his mom. He'd tell her about how she'd give him extra cookies than usual when his dad was actually home, because she was too happy to say no. He'd tell her how he'd lead her through the hallways of his dad's work as he gave her the inside tour of the place even though she knew the place by the back of her hand. Or how he'd show her all the cool things he created while she was sick in bed.

"She had been my world," Tony had said, Pepper could hear a hint of a smile. "Since then, I thought my world had disappeared." Tony's hand came to rest on the right side of her face. "Until I met you."

When she had opened her eyes, he hadn't been smiling as she had thought, but crying.


Pepper was wide awake for the remainder of the day after she caught Tony in his vulnerable state. The moment was all but ingrained into her mind and the images forever glued to the backs of her eyelids, forcing her to see them every time she closed her eyes. He'd been so torn up over his mom, she could almost feel the pain he was feeling seeping from his very being. Especially when he all bet fell apart as he realized that Pepper wasn't asleep as he swore she had been. Before she could even attempt to comfort him, he rubbed his puffy, red eyes dry and sniffled as if that would hide any evidence of what had occurred.

He had just laughed. "Sorry, I thought you fell asleep."

"Tony–" she tried, reaching for his hand.

As she suspected he would, he pulled away from her touch. "Don't," he almost pleaded with her. "I just...I miss her. That's all, I promise." That was about all she got out of him before the bell for the next period rang, giving him the perfect excuse to skip out on her once more. Except that was the last she saw of him that day.

Back at home, her mind was once again solely focused on the topic of her blue-eyed friend. Only this time around it wasn't the butterflies in her stomach, hot in the face sort of thoughts as usual. Except thoughts of worry and thick concern as she replayed his distraught eyes over and over in her mind. Deep down, she could almost see a twinge of something within his grief-filled eyes. Though, in the end, she couldn't place what it was that seemed so familiar to her.

She brought herself out of her thoughts, to stare at the homework she had been working on, or attempting to work on. She groaned as she realized that there was no way she'd be able to focus on her homework.

A knock on her door enforced her deductions, when he dad peeked his head into her room, a rare, genuine smile spread across his face. "Guess what?"

She closed her physics book almost dejectedly. "What?"

He frowned and let himself into the mess that was her room. "Did you have a bad day? What's the matter?"

She wanted nothing more than to spill her guts to her dad, but Tony's distraught eyes staring at her from the back of her mind gave her a pause. "I don't know," she finally admitted, speaking half the truth.

"Can't deal with the drama?" her dad guessed, taking a seat next to her on the bed.

She partially laughed at the insinuation. She Pepper Potts, the one who always avoided the drama, had landed herself into the pit of all dramas: boy troubles. "You could say that."

"I know I'm not the best to be giving you advice," he began, resting his arm around her shoulder. "But if you need anything, I'm open ears."

She hugged him back. "Thanks, dad." she welcomed his warmth, actually relished in it as they rarely could afford to have the heat on until their financial deal was handled. "So, what's this news you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh," her dad exclaimed as if he had forgotten entirely his original purpose of seeing her. "Mrs. Rhodes worked more of her magic, and we'll be back on track within the next couple weeks!"

Despite hearing the news she had been waiting weeks for, she didn't feel as enthused as she supposed she should have been. Instead, she really was just hoping for some good news for Tony, because it was clear he was more deserving and in need of it than her. Though, she managed a smile for her dad's sake. "That's great!"

Her dad nodded, and patted her back in his usual fatherly fashion. He remained silent for a while, likely unsure what else to say. "So," he finally spoke, breaking the odd silence. "How's Tony been?"


Pepper didn't see Tony again until two days later, when Rhodey invited her over to their house. She received the call from Rhodey requesting she come visit later that night. He invited her over to watch this new movie Roberta had brought home for them, and mentioned that Tony would probably like to see her. Pepper agreed to come. Who was she kidding? She would have came even if Tony asked her to watch him balance a toothpick on his chin. Or to get a chance to make sure everything was alright since the last time she saw him. She could show him that he didn't need to hide anything from her. Maybe even clear things up between the two since the night they kissed.

Though, she hadn't realized how much she would wish she hadn't accepted the invite.

Rhodey was there to meet her at the door, his warm smile welcoming her into their home. "Good, I just finished making popcorn." He led her to the living room where it was set up for some serious movie watching. The boys didn't take watching movies at home lightly. "Thanks for coming. Tony should be right out."

He excused himself to go butter the popcorn, leaving her alone.

Pepper took in how grateful she was to have such good friends, as she realized only a year ago she didn't have such luck. She could barely even consider what she did have before as friendship when she compared them to the one's she picked up here in New York. Here she had Annie, Happy, Rhodey, and most of all, Tony. Though the latter, was proving to be more than a challenge to deal with on a daily basis from his more than average mood swings.

As she leaned back, taking in the comforting and familiar sounds of their house, she contemplated going to find where Tony was hiding out before the movie. Sure, she came to see the movie with the two, but there couldn't be any harm in making sure he was alright. Her stomach was still in knots from their last meeting.

"Rhodey," his loud voice broke through her thoughts like a knife through butter. "You're not understanding me!"

"Tony–" she could barely hear Rhodey soft response to his troubled friend.

"No," Tony interrupted loudly. "I messed up!"

She couldn't hear Rhodey response, and she tried to tune out their voices as she realized this wasn't for her ears. She wouldn't repeat that day on the roof. She feared she'd hear something worse that she couldn't bear to deal with.

Now she was seriously contemplating going back there to put a pause to whatever argument they seemed to be having, while also equally contemplating leaving the house for safer waters at home.

As their voices got louder, she quickly opted for the latter option, deciding they'd be less hurt if she just left than if they realized that she was eavesdropping again.

Maybe next time, she silently comforted herself as she moved off the world's comfiest couch.

"I kissed her, Rhodey!"

His words froze her on the spot, as she realized they'd been arguing about her.

"Then ask her out," came Rhodey's logical response a minute later, sounding more exasperated than upset. "It'd be a whole lot better than toying around with her!"

"I'm not…" was Tony's lackluster response. "You...you know why I can't!"

Pepper decided she didn't want to hear any more as she crossed over to get her shoes to find that the two were only standing in the hallway next to her. They instantly silenced themselves, opting to stare dumbly in her direction as if they weren't just arguing loudly enough for the world to hear.

Tony paled, looking like a fish out of water. "Pepper!"

Rhodey groaned regretfully. "Sorry, man. I forgot she already arrived."

"No," Pepper assured the two, feeling more out of place than ever. "I was just leaving. It's fine."

She should have guessed from the very beginning that anything between the two wasn't going to work out. It didn't even seem like a simple friendship was working out very well. From all the lies and secrecy, it was starting to feel a whole lot like a one-sided friendship. For some reason, she knew she should have seen this coming. Being the daughter of an FBI agent, she wondered why she hadn't realized this anytime sooner. She's lost friends before, but never before had it hurt so much. Perhaps it was because she never harbored feelings for said friends.

"Pepper, wait," Rhodey said, when Tony failed to come up with words.

"No," Pepper shook her head, determined not to let herself get any more hurt than she knew she was. Her eyes were already stinging. "I can see when something's not working out. I understand."

She rushed to get to the door, ignoring their verbal attempts to explain, in order to get out of the house that suddenly felt anything but warm and welcoming. She felt as if with every step her breath was being torn out of her lungs as her heart sunk deeping into the pit of her stomach. It was almost quite literally suffocating.

She almost made it to the doorway to get her jacket when a hand pulled her back. "Stop."

She refused to meet his electrical blue eyes. "I'm sorry I heard your conversation. I didn't mean to," she spoke, barely able to keep from lashing out completely. Let alone keep her voice steady. "I'll leave you alone now."

"No," Tony refused, this time moving to gently, yet firmly grab both her shoulders to face her towards him. "Listen to me."

Now you want to talk? She wanted to spit, but resisted as she silently look up at him. Showing him that she had the decency to listen to him when he never gave her the same chance when she wanted to talk. After all those times avoiding her, he wouldn't give her the courtesy to do the same.

She could see the uncertainty, the fear, and most of all, the guilt in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm the one who is sorry." he began, nervously rocking on his feet. "I was stupid. I was wrong. I shouldn't have said those things."

"It's fine," she whispered, desperate to get out and on her way home. "I'll forget I ever heard you say it. Better yet, I'll forget all about kissing you. Poof! It never happened." she let out a scoff. "Happy now?"

Tony stared at her, looking even more distraught than two days ago. "N...No, I'm not."

She noticed his breathing pick up, but forced herself to ignore it as she pushed his hands from her shoulders. She had never been so quick to get out of someone's house, let alone a friend's house. Then again, she's never been someone else's mess up.

"Pep," Tony begged, using his favorite nickname for her. "Please...just let me…explain."

She ignored him as she searched for her coat in the closet.

"I don't...regret kissing you," he breathed out. "I actually really...liked it."

"Then why am I a mistake?" she demanded causing the boy to flinch. "If you liked it so much, why didn't you say something? Anything!"

She finally stopped to look him in the eye, hoping to maybe catch a little bit of truth in his words. Because as of late, she was having a really hard time deciphering what was true or not. Only to find his eyes barely focused on her as a familiar look over came his face. "I didn't...mean it…that way. I..."

"Tony?" Genuine concern slipped through her lips as Tony's breathing slowed down considerably. Her anger dissipated immediately. "Are you okay?"

In response, much to her horror, Tony collapsed to the floor a split second before Rhodey came rushing into the room. "Tony!"

Hahaha, if you guys thought the last chapter was a bad cliffhanger (totally unintended. I actually hadn't meant that one to be a cliffy.) then you probably hate me now. xD But honestly, let me know what you think. This is the only story that seems to be going as planned. :P Is it any good?

Fun Fact: I just got a pixie cut for the first time not too long ago from my usual below the shoulder length hair.

At the moment I'm job free, so I have a little more extra time than usual, but as always, no promises on the next update. For anything. -_-

Hugs and LOTS of love, SilverPedals! I miss writing at usual intervals for you guys! You deserve some extra love!