Love is a Battlefield (The Ballad of Pepper Potts)

That boy has officially lost his damn mind…

Very little went on at Marvel High that escaped Pepper Potts, and the latest scandal revolving around the new girl, Natasha Romanoff, was no exception. From the moment Pepper had crossed paths with the redhead, she knew it was only a matter of time until Tony spotted her and did what he always did.

Pepper had spent the entire first student council meeting studying her sometimes-boyfriend, looking for hints that he'd seen Natasha. By the end, she was convinced that it hadn't happened yet, but it was only a matter of time and that thought annoyed her.

She was keenly aware of Happy's little crush and was ashamed to admit that she enjoyed the attention, especially when her supposed-boyfriend's attentions were directed elsewhere. Before she'd even exited Happy's car on Tuesday morning, she knew that news of the new girl had reached Tony. While he might've fooled most with the mask of neutrality he had plastered across his face, he wasn't fooling her. If anything, it was painfully obvious. Without another glance at the gathering of Tony and his buddies, she turned on her heel and stormed off in the direction of the school.

Poor Natasha Romanoff. It wasn't her fault, but that didn't stop her from gaining an enemy that day—an enemy in the form of a sharp-minded and strong-willed strawberry blonde named Pepper Potts.

The first week of school passed quickly by for Pepper, who studiously avoided Tony all while keeping herself highly-informed of the current state of events. She'd heard all about Tony's fight with Bucky on the second day of school, of course, which troubled her once she learned of the Natasha-Bucky connection. An innocent comment from Bruce to Rhodey had made its way to Happy who, in turn, told Pepper of the incident in Nurse Parker's office and Tony's messages with Natasha later that night. Then there was the issue of the football tryouts, which was where Maria Hill came in.

Her friendship with Hill went back several years prior to the fracturing of their once-large group of friends. Hill might have been a permanent fixture in the Steve Rogers camp, but that was part of Pepper's plan. The two girls had decided to split up and take root in separate groups in hopes that they could subtly manipulate Steve and Tony into healing the rift between them.

Hill was the only person Pepper trusted to keep her secret when it came to her issue with Natasha and rightly so. Working of her own accord, Hill had immediately informed Pepper of the events at football practice that Friday and volunteered to try out since physical strength wasn't considered among the strawberry blonde's greatest gifts. And now, Pepper had her own spy on the football team.

And as the TA for Mr. Fury, Hill also had access to school info on everyone, including Natasha. While it hadn't come in handy yet, Pepper was sure it could be useful in the future. The only problem was that Hill only got the TA position because Mr. Fury liked her. Now, the taciturn teacher seemed to like Natasha, too. That didn't sit well with Pepper. The students Mr. Fury favored often had something in common—what that was, Pepper wasn't sure—and she feared that Natasha could likewise earn Hill's hard-won approval. But Pepper kept that thought to herself.

Even knowing more about the whole Natasha-Tony-Bruce-Bucky situation than the actual people involved, Pepper was still blindsided by the photo sent anonymously to her Saturday night. While she inspected the image on her phone's screen, she felt her stomach turn and bile rise up the back of her throat.

That boy has officially lost his damn mind…

Pepper had known Tony for most of his life. They went to the same elementary school and middle school, but it wasn't until high school that Tony was even aware that she existed. During the summer before ninth grade, puberty hit Pepper like a truck—something she used to her advantage when she walked into the Marvel High auditorium on the day of freshman orientation. Even as she glared at the photo on her phone, Pepper couldn't help but smirk at the memory of Tony's slack-jawed expression the first time he truly noticed her. It had been glorious.

After years of watching him, Pepper knew Tony detested boredom. She knew if she gave in too soon, she'd be cast aside without another thought. The best option was to ignore Tony, when she wasn't dazzling him with her brilliance in class, and it worked like a charm. They spent the entirety of freshman year engaged in a dizzying dance of wit—moves and countermoves—at least as far as Tony was concerned. Pepper, on the other hand, was the mastermind behind each and every interaction. It wasn't difficult after spending nearly a decade in the shadows of Tony Stark's light.

But Tony Stark was unpredictable at best. When Pepper finally "gave in" to his charms and attended prom with him for their first date as an official couple, she should've known her victory wouldn't last long. While the summer after freshman year was pure bliss, sophomore year marked the beginning of another type of cat-and-mouse game between them, only this game was out of Pepper's control. That's when breaking up and getting back together again and again became their "thing."

When they were together, Pepper was constantly worried about Tony's wandering gaze. When they were apart, she had to endure watching Tony fool around with a string of other girls that he always grew quickly tired of. There had been Maya Hansen, Christine Everhart (the school's gossip columnist and probably most annoying), Helen Cho, and—most recently—Hope van Dyne, which had ended pretty abruptly when Maria Hill unexpectedly befriended the rebellious daughter of Dr. Hank Pym.

And now there was Natasha…

Something was different—it gnawed at Pepper's gut, warning her that Tony's fascination with Natasha was unlike his previous flirtations. Even though they weren't officially broken up, Tony must've thought they were, or he wouldn't be pursuing Natasha like he was. And he was—regardless of what he might have told Clint and Bruce and whoever else. Pepper knew Tony better than he knew himself. Between the goofy smile on his face and the light shinning in his eyes as he posed beside his new obsession, Pepper knew—without a doubt—that Natasha was more than just a fleeting crush. And that thought filled her with unspeakable rage.

That boy has officially lost his damn mind!

*Song Inspiration: "Love Is A Battlefield" - Pat Benatar & "Lost Yo Mind" - Beyoncé