The next chapter! I hope you like it, please let me know! That would be awesome. As always thanks to everyone who read the last chapter and left a review! I'm sorry that you had to wait so long for this chapter, but life's still keeping me quite busy. I've been moving all my things to another city last weekend and it was exhausting. A few more things need to be done, but it will get calmer again after that.

The song to this chapter is 'Keep Holding On' by Avril Lavigne.

I don't own the characters or places!

Pepper

That night, I couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts were running through my head. I kept seeing Tony Stark's face and no matter what I tried, the image wouldn't leave my mind. His handsome face, those beautiful and intelligent brown eyes. And, most of all, his charming smile. A smile that made my heart beat faster, even if I didn't understand why. After all, we'd only just met and I knew nearly nothing about this man, except for the fact that he was running a magic show and many people thought he was impolite and far too full of himself.

I couldn't like him yet. I wasn't even allowed to! I was going to see his show as soon as possible and had to write a honest, neutral article about it. That wasn't possible when we would be close, such things always made people far too nice in their judgements. I would never do that, I had to be this hard. Otherwise, I would never find the true magicians.

As to that... Could Tony Stark be one of those? The things I felt when I looked at him, they somehow felt like magic. It was such a strange sensation, one I'd never felt before. But was that magic? Or maybe just nerves because I met a very handsome man, who also turned out to be the reason why I was in the city at all? I wasn't so sure.

He was very charming, that was true. And clever. I knew that any audience would love him. He seemed to be a born entertainer. But weren't those all the required character traits for someone who just pretended to be a magician? Or could Tony Stark be a real one?

I wasn't sure if the possibility was there or if I just wanted it too badly... Most probably, I had to wait until I saw his show. Which I couldn't wait to see, to be completely honest. I wondered if his show was as impressing as Mr. Stark was himself. From what I've heard so far, he was the main act, but there was much more to it.

I breathed in deeply, trying to push my impatience aside. Phil found out that the show wouldn't take place the next day, so we had to wait until the day after it. It still impressed me how quickly Phil was able to find people to talk to in every new city. He was always open-minded and good at small-talk, while I was... not. This always made me very glad to have him with me all the time.

I felt comfortable around Phil, of course, but otherwise I had difficulties to open up to people. It had always been like this. My mother used to call me shy, but I wasn't so sure if it was just that. Maybe I wasn't compatible with other people except for my family. Or I was just too focused on finding true magic in my life, so I didn't take interaction with others too seriously? I wasn't scared of people, but I wasn't keen on getting to know many of them anyway. Most of the time, it didn't end well. Especially when those people also knew about my job and read my articles. It wasn't appropriate for a woman to criticize things openly, most of all things like magic shows. Not that I cared about those opinions.

So why on earth couldn't I wait to see Tony Stark again? It even made my heart race now, in the middle of the night. I didn't understand it. But no matter how long I kept thinking, I couldn't find the solution to it.

In the end, I tried to think of something else. First, it worked quite well. I recalled the story Estella and Ephraim had told us about Soulmates, together with other stories I'd heard on our travels. There weren't many, though. Maybe four? Then I also thought of my parents again and I realized once more that I still missed them terribly.

But when I thought of parents, my thoughts also wandered back to Mrs. and Mr. Carlyle. The way they had been talking about their son. It was obvious that they wanted him to come back once the show was ruined. If that would happen anyway. Even if I didn't know them that well, I could imagine why their son had left. They seemed to be terribly old-fashioned and obviously didn't approve of the show at all. But was I one to judge that? After all, I was also going to show the people what was real and what wasn't...

It was frustrating! We'd just arrived in New York and I was already confused. And we'd just visited a party! What would happen once I'd seen the show?

I turned around in bed, trying to focus on the feeling of the soft blanket against my skin. I felt a little warm, but it was bearable. However, my mind wouldn't slow down. It wasn't completely dark in the room, the moon was shining through the window, even if the curtains were closed. There was a picture on the other side of the room. It showed the Statue of Liberty. Maybe if I focused on it long enough...

When it didn't work, I knew that it was going to be a long night.

"You look tired." It was the first thing Phil said to me when I sat down at the breakfast table the next morning. That didn't help to change my already bad mood and I glared at him instead of commenting on that. I couldn't sleep that night and kept turning around in bed restlessly, my thoughts always wandering back to Tony Stark. It was driving me insane.

When I just began to eat without saying anything, Phil cleared his throat, clearly feeling uncomfortable. I knew that he wasn't used to me being this quiet. However, I couldn't feel guilty right now.

"I thought that maybe you want to have a look at the city today." He said in the end. "Seeing all the sights. I was told that New York has many beautiful places."

I forced a smile on my lips and nodded. To my surprise, the idea of seeing the city was making me feel a little better indeed. "That would be wonderful. Thank you, Phil."

He smiled back at me, though I could see concern in his eyes. "Did you have bad dreams?"

I was having nightmares very often, but not today. However, I decided that he didn't need to know that. I nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Phil always insisted that talking about the bad dreams would make them vanish one day. Unfortunately, that didn't work yet. Or maybe I wasn't trying hard enough. In my sleep, I kept seeing my parents very often, making me realize even more how terribly I missed them.

"No, I'm fine." I lied and the rest of the morning, Phil didn't speak of this anymore. Instead, he began to tell me about all the places we would visit in the city. He also kept chatting about people we saw at the party the previous evening, but then I just kept nodding absent-mindedly. To be honest, I was only interested in one person who'd been at the party. One I shouldn't be interested in at all.

"The Carlyle's invited us over for dinner." Phil said when we were on our way to Central Park and that caught my attention. I raised my eyebrows.

"Why would they do that?" I knew that my voice sounded mistrustful.

Phil chuckled. "They are nice people, Virginia." He said simply, always believing in the good in everyone. I wasn't so sure about that, but I didn't voice my thoughts. Somehow, it bothered me how they'd talked about their son.

"Well, they seemed nice." I agreed reluctantly. "But what's the reason behind that?"

"Does there have to be a reason?"

I shook my head. "I just don't know why they would do that. Invite us. We're not even well-known."

To my surprise, Phil laughed at this. "You're wrong about that. In fact, many people in New York have waited for our arrival. They didn't voice it yesterday, but I could guess it from their reactions and the things they said."

"They waited for our arrival?" I echoed, not sure what else to say to that.

Phil chuckled. "Everyone wants to get to know you, Pepper."

"Because they think I'm a freak?" The words were out before I could stop them, making Phil look at me reproachfully.

"You shouldn't say that. Because it's not true. Yes, you're different, but that doesn't mean you're..." He hesitated, searching for the right word.

"A freak." I repeated sternly. "I know how others look at me, Phil. Just because you don't say it loudly, it doesn't mean that it's not true." We avoided talking about this subject far too long. Most probably, I was just this sensible because I was far too tired and already in a bad mood, but I didn't care.

"Virginia..." He began hesitantly, but I cut him off.

"I don't care about what they say, Phil. But that doesn't mean that I want to get to know all those people who just want to see me because I'm different."

"You know that it's not true." Phil whispered softly.

"You just said so. They want to get to know me because I'm different." I crossed my arms. "I don't want that. I want..." Suddenly, I was at a loss for words. Why was it so difficult to say that I wanted someone who would want me for myself? Who wanted to get to know me because of who I was and not what I was doing?

Phil placed a hand on my arm. "I know." He said softly and it was true. There was no one in this world who knew me better than Phil.

All my anger vanished at once and turned into guilt. "Phil... I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He shook his head. "I understand how you're feeling. I've always known that the path you chose isn't easy for you. But one day, you'll find the right person. It will be worth it."

"I hope you're right." I sighed deeply. "Until then, it seems like I have to deal with all those rich snobs who just want to get to know me to have something to talk about."

"They would talk about you anyway, even if you decided to ignore them." Phil noted dryly. That's when I couldn't hold back any longer. All the frustration ever since we came to New York came crashing down on me at once. My reaction was unexpected, though. I started to laugh loudly.

For a few moments, Phil stared at me like I'd just lost my mind, but then he joined my laughter. I knew that we must look like a strange couple, standing in the middle of Central Park and laughing loudly, but I didn't care. In this moment, I was just glad to have Phil with me. He was always there for me and didn't judge me like most others. Without him, I'd surely be lost.

The rest of the day, we didn't talk about this subject anymore. Instead, we focused on other things. Like the sights in New York and the people we saw. We also talked about the previous months and what we'd seen on our long journey. And of course we wondered how things would be at home.

Home... How often did I wish to return there ever since we left? Most probably every day. Of course I loved travelling with Phil, but sometimes, those big cities were tiring. So many people, all the noise... I missed the countryside. Being able to walk for hours without seeing anyone. Just the nature and animals. The sound of the wind in the trees, the river running down the hills, birds singing... Or the sound of hooves when I was riding with no real plan where I wanted to go...

One day, I would have all of that again. But not yet. First, I had to do something else. I couldn't stop until I found the real magic.

In the afternoon, we ended up somewhere in Manhattan. We were just on our way back from the Statue of Liberty to our hotel, but somehow, we got lost. Phil insisted that he knew the way, but from the look on his face, I knew that it was a lie. I just hoped that we would be back before it was getting dark.

"We got lost." I noted after a while.

"We didn't." He insisted.

"We already passed this house twice, Phil." I said simply. "We should ask someone."

He sighed in defeat. "Fine, we got lost." He looked around searchingly until his eyes landed on a young man who walked past us. From the outside, he looked like one of those rich men who could be found en masse in this city. When he got closer I realized my mistake, though.

Yes, he was wearing stylish clothes, but they didn't seem to be new. His coat had too many wrinkles and there was dirt on his trousers. I used the opportunity that he didn't notice us yet to have a closer look at him. He was tall, with pale skin and long, dark hair. Green eyes, just like mine. There was a smile on his lips, though I wasn't sure why he was smiling. He was beautiful, I noticed. Not as handsome as Mr. Stark, but there was definitely something about him that caught my attention.

"Excuse me, sir." Phil said once the man got closer. "Could you help us, please? It seems like we got lost."

The man stopped and looked at us in surprise. "Of course, where are you heading?" He bowed his head politely. "My name is Tom, by the way."

"I'm Phil and this is my niece Virginia." Phil introduced us.

"It's nice to meet you, Tom." I added, feeling like I had to say something.

"We want to go back to our hotel." Phil explained where it was and Tom nodded.

"That's not far from here. I can walk you, it's on my way." He said cheerfully and gestured for us to follow him. "Do you like New York? I assume it's your first visit here." There was no judgement in his voice since we just admitted that we got lost. It rather seemed to amuse him somehow.

"It is." I agreed. "It's impressive."

"Impressive?" He echoed, nearly sounding offended, though I wasn't sure if it was real or if he was exaggerating. "Don't you mean breathtaking? Magnificent? Glorious?"

By now, I'd realized that he was joking. "There are many things which could be described that way, but I fear it wouldn't be a city. Especially not one this big."

To my surprise, he laughed. "True. But I had to try. After all, I live here." He held up his hands in a defensive gesture. There was a wide smile on his lips and his green eyes were shining. I smiled back at him. I didn't meet someone I could talk to so easily for months. Well, except for Phil, of course.

"It isn't dishonourable to admit that the city you live in isn't the most beautiful place in the world." Phil threw in, also smiling.

"But New York has beautiful parts, don't you think?"

"You mean the Central Park? Or the Statue of Liberty?" I quirked an eyebrow.

He shook his head. "Too crowded. I assume you prefer the quiet places, Virginia?"

I tried to hide my surprise and nodded. But from the way Tom's eyes narrowed, I knew that he'd noticed it. "I've got a friend who's just like you. Always wanting to get away from the city when it's possible. However, he's far too busy to get out of here often."

"What is he doing?" I asked curiously, also wondering what Tom was doing for work.

"He's a technician." Tom said simply and looked like he'd just told us something terribly funny.

"A technician?" This caught Phil's interest. He was fascinated by people who could work with technology. He also insisted that we should take the train somewhere in the near future. However, I always insisted to travel on horse. The idea to get into such a big metal giant made me feel uncomfortable.

"He's designing a few things." Suddenly, something caught Tom's attention. When I followed his gaze, I realized what it was. We'd reached the hotel. "There you are." He smiled at us. "You should get a map of the city so you don't get lost again. After all, I'm not always there to help you." He winked at me, making Phil clear his throat loudly.

"Thank you, Tom." I smiled. "Will we see you again?"

"Who knows? New York is smaller than you think." He glanced at his pocket watch. "I fear that I have to leave now. I've got to go to work. Virginia, Phil, have a nice evening." After smiling at us once more, he turned around and vanished around the next corner.

"What a strange fellow." Phil muttered when we walked towards the hotel. By now, it was already getting dark.

"I like him." I said. "He was refreshingly honest."

"You mean blunt." Phil corrected me and I could see the disapproval in his eyes. Sometimes, it was tiring how overly protective he was of me.

"I like him anyway." I said simply. "And now I need a bath before we have dinner. I feel like the dirt of the entire city clings to my skin."

I ignored Phil's chuckle and climbed up the stairs. Sometimes, I behaved like any other woman, after all.

So whom did they just meet there? Ideas? :) And yes, I know this is too easy!