SORRY FOR THE DELAY
i could make excuses...but once again, it was school :( BUT I ONLY HAVE 4 MORE DAYS UNTIL HOLIDAYS YEWWWW!
Heres the chapter, get ready for some CONFRONTATION!
Review everyone, when I was stuck for inspiration, it really helped when I saw I got an email saying there was a new review. Knowing that you guys are reading is awesome and I don't want to disappoint you :)
Tony had prepared himself for this moment. Not really.
He had been at the hospital for 20 minutes, and was mentally preparing himself for the arrival of her parents. Pepper was asleep in the bed, and according to the doctors, was going to remain that way until the morning.
"Oh my god my Virginia!" A tall red headed woman burst into the hospital room, her face tear stricken. A man followed, his hair a light brown and face serious. The only thing that brought a slight smile to Tony's lips was the blonde girl who followed her parents, a familiar face.
Tilly's eyes fell to the ground when she saw her sister, but she noticed another presence in the room and slowly looked behind her. Tony was sitting on a chair in the far corner, his hands together and his eyes worn. He still had that goofy smile she remembered from the car ride; it was just a little tired.
"Hi." She slowly said and immediately both the adults turned to see whom she was talking to.
"Hey Till." He nodded to what looked like Pepper's parents, "Hi, I'm Tony."
The man cleared his throat and looked at his wife, who was just as shocked as he was.
"I'm Carol." She nodded finally but the man next to her wasn't as welcoming. Carol looked at her husband and sighed, "That's Martin, and he's just a bit angry."
"Nice to meet you both." Tony stood and held out his hand to Martin but the man didn't respond. Carol gave Martin a shove and he reluctantly shook Tony's hand, his grip a little too vigorous.
Carol cleared her throat, "Are you and Virginia…close?"
Tony replied uncomfortably, "Um, yes."
Tilly bowed her head to hide her growing grin.
"I'm sorry we had to meet under these circumstances." Carol grimaced, looking over to the peaceful Pepper.
Tony and The Potts' stood awkwardly in Pepper's hospital room, Martin occasionally giving Tony death stares.
"What happened to her?" Tilly broke the silence with the question that was on everyone's mind.
"She was drugged." Tony sighed.
Martin shook his head, "Listen here Mr Stark, I want to know every detail of what happened at this party."
"She was drugged with Rohypnol, a kid at our school slipped it in her drink."
Carol bit her lip.
"Drink?" Martin raised his voice.
Tony looked at Tilly for confirmation of what to say next, but she shook her head violently.
"Um…" Tony uttered, trying to think of an excuse on the spot.
"I didn't know my baby went to these kind of parties." Carol muttered, her tone full of betrayal.
"Then what happened?" Tilly butted in.
"She…collapsed."
"And you just left her?" Martin widened his eyes, expecting to hear an answer fully supporting his impression of Tony Stark. He knew the Stark family were trouble, Howard was a raging alcoholic mess, Maria was emotionally unstable, and their son was a complete rebel, always taking advantage of other girls and getting drunk. As soon as he saw Tony in the hospital, Martin instantly knew his daughter was associated with trouble.
"No! What the hell, I carried her, and then called the ambulance." Tony crossed his arms, shocked at Martin's disbelief.
Martin stared long and hard at Tony, scrutinizing his every feature. But Tony's face remained genuine, and his brows furrowed at Martin's unnecessary hostility.
Martin grunted in frustration and sat down.
"Thank you for helping her." Carol whispered.
Tony saw that her eyes were red, and just nodded.
"Did she hurt herself?" Carol continued, her voice still low.
"No, I…uh, caught her."
"Oh." Carol replied.
The silenced continued, with Martin occasionally staring at Tony and Carol by Pepper's side. Tilly observed the tension between her father and Tony and eagerly awaited some sort of confrontation.
"It might be best if you left, we're here now." Carol quietly spoke, glancing over at Tony with her glassy eyes.
Tony looked to Pepper, who appeared to be stirring in her sleep. With a sigh he shook his head, "No."
"Pardon?" Martin interrupted Carol who opened her mouth to reply.
"Look, I care about Pepper, I'm not leaving her."
Matilda muttered, "Mum… Dad…"
"Matilda, that's enough." Martin gritted between his teeth.
"Dad! Tony really likes Pepper, they're really close friends okay!" Tilly interrupted; immediately regretting what she said as she saw her father's eyes turn stone cold in her direction.
Tony gave Tilly a small smile and returned his attention to the parents, "I care about your daughter Mr and Mrs Potts."
"Well…" Carol looked uneasy and turned to her husband, who was about to explode.
"I'm here for her, and I'm not leaving."
"How can we know that you're not just using her?" Martin spat.
"What?" Tony stared at Martin.
"Oh, I know what you get up to boy, and you're nothing but trouble."
"I'm sorry…what?"
"That's what you Starks are all about, sex, girls and money. My Virginia isn't one of your conquests!" Martin stood from his seat and approached Tony.
Tony stood too, ignoring Tilly's whisper, "Tony, don't."
"Don't you bad mouth my family."
"Stay away from my daughter."
"I can't do that." Tony looked to Pepper and Martin clenched his teeth.
"Stop." Carol's shaky voice rang in Tony's ears as the two men stood almost chest-to-chest, they were the same height and both of their eyes resembled daggers.
Tony took a deep breath, still looking Martin in the eye, "I love her. You need to accept that I'm not who you think I am."
Tilly let out a shrill squeal and Carol held a hand to her mouth.
Martin's eyes softened a little but quickly hardened, "I still don't like you."
Her vision was clouded and she furiously blinked to bid away the murkiness.
"Hey."
His voice rang in her ears and she immediately stiffened.
"Tony?" She croaked.
His hand squeezed hers and she couldn't help the smile that came across her face.
"You're okay." He assured, his gentle smile and warm eyes gazed into hers.
She bit her lip to suppress the grin but quickly turned solemn at the sight of the hospital.
"What…Where?" She muttered as she quickly sat up, confused by her surroundings.
A pained expression came onto Tony's face, "You were drugged."
Pepper brought her hand to her head and frowned, "I don't remember."
Tony sighed, "Yeah, that's kind of expected."
"Who…How…Where?" Pepper asked, undecided on which she should ask first.
"Justin, Roofies in your drink and my party." His face was gentle, trying to make her feel that it wasn't a big deal so she wouldn't freak out.
"Oh my god." Pepper exhaled, "I don't remember anything."
"Your family's here."
"What." Her face instantly turned panicked, "They are going to kill me." Pepper kicked the blanket that was covering her away from her legs. She tried to swing herself off the bed, but Tony shook his head and blocked her path.
He had to force away the smile returning to his lips, "No, it's fine… I kind of met them."
"Fuck."
Tony chuckled, "Nah, it's okay, well except for your dad."
"What did they say?" Her face was furrowed with worry.
"Nothing bad, they're out getting breakfast at the cafeteria if you want me to get them…"
"No." Pepper quickly replied.
He grinned, "Okay."
Pepper wasn't amused, "Damnit!" She shouted, returning to her bed, "I can't believe this happened…what is everyone going to say Tony?" Her eyes glistened and he could see the tears forming.
"Don't worry…" He started but was interrupted.
"No! This isn't okay, what's happening to Justin and UH, I just want to remember!" She looked like she was a four year old throwing a tantrum.
"What can you last recall?" Tony gently asked, not wanting to trigger anything drastic, he was already walking on eggshells.
Pepper shook her head, "School, I don't know!" She let out a frustrated groan and hugged her knees.
Her face crinkled and a silent tear trickled down her cheek.
"No, no Pep, it's fine!" Tony wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she leant into his chest. He was still wearing his shirt from the party, and he felt her warm tears soak into the fabric. Tony silently placed his hand on her back and started to make small circles, but he felt his face falter when the sudden realisation kicked in.
She wouldn't remember the kiss.
"Sniff"
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
so she doesn't remember the Pepperony goodness they shared :'(
Thoughts on Martin? Was he too harsh? ANd what's gonna happen to Justin? How nice was Tilly!