Hi guys! Welcome to my newest story! This is a story I wrote for NaNoWriMo that I put a marvel spin on! I'm really excited about it. I've got a playlist for it on Apple Music called "NaNoWriMo Writing Mix" but if you can't find it/don't have apple music/ don't want to do that, I'll put it in an author's note at the end of the chapter. I hope you enjoy!
"Anthony! You better be up right now!"
The boy's eyes shoot open with alarm. He glances to the left at his clock, only for the red numbers to read 8:00. He scrambles out of bed and rushes to the closet, grabbing the first clean pair of jeans he can find. He almost trips heading over to his drawer, but somehow manages to grab a top with no injuries. Luckily, he had done his laundry yesterday, so his favorite shirt, a worn-down Rolling Stones tee, is right on top. He decides to keep on his socks from yesterday, so he can quickly throw on his black Vans. At this point, he doesn't bother to tie them. He slides into his bathroom across the hall to brush his teeth. He looks in the mirror and decides that, while his brown hair is messy, it isn't bad enough to brush.
He runs downstairs in a record four minutes. His backpack sits on the chair in the kitchen next to a piece of toast. His mother stands next to it nursing a cup of coffee, already dressed for work. Maria Stark is one of the best defense attorneys in the state of California. Because of this, she works long hours, so Tony is shocked that she is even here right now.
"You need to stop being late, Anthony. It's your senior year so you don't need to be collecting tardies like last year."
"Yeah, I know, mom." He sighs, shoving the toast in his mouth.
"I've got to work late, a huge client from Malibu is flying in. Call and tell me how your day goes, okay?"
"Yeah, sure." He grabs his keys off the counter and kissed her cheek. "Bye, love you."
"Bye."
When he opens the door, he sees Pepper already in his driveway waiting for him. She is wearing a short pale blue dress and white converse, with her red hair curled around her shoulders, looking the opposite of his thrown together casual look. Her arms are crossed, and she is scowling at him.
"You're late!" She scolds him, pulling impatiently at the passenger's door handle,
"I know! I'm sorry!" He apologizes, unlocking his blue 1965 Ford Mustang.
"It's the first day of school and we are already late. At this rate, we will have detention for tardiness in a week." She complains as she climbs into the passenger's seat.
"If you care so much, drive yourself!" He counters, with no real snark, pulling out of his driveway and out of the neighborhood.
"Why would I when you live next door? I'm trying to be better for the environment." She tries to convince him, though he knows that isn't true.
"That's a lie. It's because I stop and buy us coffee on the way to school." He gives her a grin, before pulling into the drive thru of the nearest coffeeshop.
"That may be a bonus."
He glances at the white duffle bag in her arms. "Do you have cheerleading practice today?"
"Yeah, I'm a little nervous."
"Hoping to make captain?" He teases.
"You know it. It's my last year, so I better."
"What time does it end? Do you want me to wait for you?"
"I'll let you know. I don't want you to wait too long for me."
"No, it's fine. It's not like I have anything to do at home." He shrugs before turning away to avoid her knowing look.
"What's wrong with being at home?"
"Nothing."
"Are you fighting with your dad again?" She pries, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he shakes it off.
"We aren't talking about this right now." He hates how well she can read him, despite his conscious efforts not to let her know how he's feeling.
"Fine."
Tony pays for their drinks, ignoring Pepper waving a hand full of change at him. She never accepts the fact that Tony pays for their drinks, despite how many times this has happened. They get their drinks and pull away, sitting in silence. That is, until Pepper puts her feet up on his dashboard.
"Are you kidding me? You are not going to wreck my new car."
"These are new shoes!" She protests but moves them anyway and just like that, the tense air evaporates. "Do we have any classes together? I skipped all the APs and I know you didn't, but maybe English or an elective?"
"What's your elective?"
"PE."
He groans. "Definitely not. I would pick anatomy over PE any day. I have English sixth period. You?"
"Fourth."
"No classes together?" He frowns.
"Nope."
They chatter about the new school year and activities until they pull into the school's parking lot. He checks the time to see that it is only 8:20. Him and Pepper sit there for a few seconds in silence, trying to mentally prepare themselves for the day ahead. Tony finally sighs and turns off the car. The second they step out of the car, Pepper's friends from cheerleading call her over.
"You'll wait for me after school?" She asks him, with a small smile.
"Of course." He jokes, like it is the most obvious thing in the world.
She nods and skips off to the other girls. He walks towards the building ignoring the various people calling out to him from various places around the school yard. After making rounds and talking to his friends, he gets to his locker and begins to unload his books. As soon as he shuts his locker, a familiar face appears in front of him. "Hey, dude!" Clint Barton chirps, way to cheery for the occasion.
Tony tries to match his enthusiasm. "Hey!"
"How was your summer? Have fun in Hawaii?" Clint jokes, walking next to him to their class.
"You know it! See my tan?" Tony holds out his arm for Clint to see.
The other boy squints and mimics being blinded. "How is it that you spend all summer on the beach and still look pale?"
"I have no idea. What did you do?"
"Drove around America with my brother." Tony let out an impressed whistle. "I know. It was a long trip and I came so close to killing him. Would've so much rather been on the beach like you."
"Are you playing football again?"
"Absolutely. Hoping to get noticed by college scouts."
Tony raised his eyebrows. "Thinking about college?"
Clint has never talked about college seriously before. He jokes that, except for the babes and alcohol, there was nothing about college that appeals to him. Tony had assumed he'd end up being an actor or something because he certainly had the looks for it with his shaggy hair and blinding smile. Either that or become a burnout. That's what happened to a lot of kids that had been around him while he grew up – they relied on the connections too much and ended up being a stoner living off family money.
"Not me, my parents. They don't want me to live at home forever. Ideally, I get in on my skills so I can get a degree in something random and either play pro or maybe work for your dad or something." Tony mentally groaned at the idea of Clint and his father working together. "We have a game this weekend, are you planning on coming?"
"For sure!" He didn't have to fake enthusiasm about this, as Hayes High football games were legendary.
"I forgot; Pepper is going to be cheerleading." Clint rolls his eyes and makes a kissy face at him, causing Tony to give him a small shove. Their conversation was cut off by the warning bell before Tony could retort.
"Yeah. I've got to get to class, I'm in Fury's homeroom and you know how he is about tardies."
"That's rough, dude, so I'll see you later." Clint gives him a small wave before turning around and running off.
Unfortunately, the bell rang as soon as he steps through the door.
"Hey guys." Tony waves to his class.
"Hey!" Thor Odinson, another friend of Tony's waves back.
Tony takes the empty seat next to him, purposely ignoring the angry look from his teacher.
"Mr. Stark, you are late. This is not a good way to start off the year." Mr. Fury scolds.
"Sorry, I was in no hurry to get here." Tony shrugs and crosses his arms, causing laughter to ripple through the class.
Nick Fury doesn't entertain him, and instead moves on. "As I was saying…"
His day goes much of the same. They already start to take notes in his advanced chemistry class, much to everyone's dismay. He barely gets to see any of his friends, due to their less challenging schedules. At the end of the day, he finds himself on the bleachers working on his homework while Pepper has her practice. She catches his eye a couple times and gives him a small smile.
She comes up to him after practice with a huge smile on her face.
"Wow look at you go." He compliments as they walk back to his car.
"Thanks. I've been trying to get that flip down forever now." She explains as they climb into the car.
"Well it looked great. Ready to go?"
"Yep."
"Is your mom home?" She asks and Tony has to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. He does not want to be back on the topic of his parents again. "Nah, she has meetings until late."
"And your dad?"
At this point, he found it reasonable to roll his eyes at her. "Who knows."
"Well, my mom got back from her trip today if you want to stop by for dinner."
"Oh, no. I'm okay. Don't worry about me." He immediately brushes her off, opting instead to turn on the radio.
"Alright. Well, just let me know." She tells him before softly singing along to "Bennie and the Jets" by Elton John.
When they pull into his driveway, Pepper makes him promise to call her later before heading to her house. Tony shoots his mom a quick text before heading inside. He is shocked to see Howard Stark, still in his tan work suit and sunglasses, sitting on the sofa when he enters the house.
"Anthony. You're home later than expected." He comments.
Tony has to resist the urge to nervously mess with his shirt. "I gave Pepper Potts a ride home from cheerleading practice."
His father raises his eyebrows. "The girl from next door?"
Tony has to resist the urge to outwardly sigh because he has known Pepper since they were toddlers and yet his father has never cared to learn anything about her. "Yes, sir."
"Hm. You should strengthen connections with the Potts.' With your friend's mother being a fashion designer, that could come in handy for your future."
Despite knowing he should keep calm; Tony felt his blood boil. "I already told you, I don't want to work in the movie industry."
Howard lowers his head to peer at his son over his sunglasses. "I'm done having this conversation with you. You have a brilliant future all laid out for you, why risk it?"
"It was my first day back at school today, you can't wait even a few days before you start harping on me again?"
"You are running out of time! You need to apply to certain colleges, do internships, make connections-"
He cuts him off, "I'm going upstairs to work on my homework."
He sighs and starts to go to his room before his father speaks, "I have a dinner meeting. You should make yourself something to eat." Before Tony can respond, Howard disappears into his office.
He kicks his bed the second he gets to his room in frustration. Not knowing what else to do, he decides to call his friend. Pepper picks up on the second ring.
"Hi." He starts.
"Hi. Was your dad home?" She asks him anxiously.
"Yes."
"Did he bring up Stark Industries again?"
He could tell she wanted more information, but he couldn't bring himself to open up about it yet. "Yes."
"Do you want to hang out?"
"… no. It's fine. I'll just work on my homework."
"All right. Just let me know if you need anything, okay?"
"Yeah, sure." He gets ready to hang up, but she continues to push.
"I mean it. I want to help you."
"Okay. I promise I'll talk to you if I need it."
"Good. Bye."
"Bye."
He flops onto his bed, sighing. The ceiling stars from when he was a kid glow faintly around the edges as he begins to do his homework, focusing on his AP calculus, rather than his angry father below him .
That Friday, the school is buzzing with excitement. Because the football team and cheerleading squad had been practicing in the summer as well, they are prepared for the season early. This means scrimmages and games starting right at the beginning of school. Not that Tony was complaining. He loved the football games and he wasn't the one playing, so none of that mattered to him.
Fury can barely control his homeroom class enough to go over the announcements because no one could stop talking. Thor was currently going over the cheerleading roster to try and find himself a girlfriend before the game. His phone buzzes in his pocket every three seconds as Clint asks him a multitude of questions about whether he was coming to the game, what time was he getting there, asking him if he wanted to hang out with the team afterwards, and more along those lines. Pepper, who is already one of the most energetic and cheerful people Tony knows, was practically shaking when she got in the car this morning.
After school, the hype reaches its peak. The stands thunder as everyone from their high school, the opposing high school, and various people from the area clamber on to get the best seats. His ears are practically bleeding with how loud everyone around him is screaming when the kickoff happens, but he still has the biggest grin on his face.
At half time, Pepper and the rest of her squad run onto the field to do their routine. Pepper nails her move that she was worried about the other day and the crowd all cheers for her. She shoots him finger guns as they jog back to the sidelines.
The Hayes High Falcons win the game. Of course, they do. They're incredible.
Tony hangs out by the school after, waiting for his friends. Pepper left with her cheerleading friends already, but he chooses to wait for Clint.
"Hey, man! Good game!" Tony calls out as his friend jogs up to him from the locker room.
"Thanks! Did you see that catch? I was all like" – he mimics jumping and catching the ball – "and the one of the defensive lineman was like" – he growls and mimes a charging bull – "you know?"
Tony laughs, before giving the other boy a high five. "Yeah, those college scouts are gonna be all over you this year."
"Thanks, dude." Clint starts to head over to his car further over in the parking lot. "A few of us are gonna hang out. You coming?"
"Yeah, sure."
Tony follows Clint to his car as they chat about the game and their plans for tonight. When they get to Clint's car, Thor is already there waiting for them, leaning against Clint's car. Clint gestures them over to his trunk and pops it, where his duffle bag with football stuff is.
"Can you keep a secret?" Clint asks them, as he grabs it.
Tony and Thor exchange skeptical looks. "Yeah?"
"Look what I swiped!" He pulls a small bag of weed from one of the inside pockets.
Oliver's eyes widen and Tony's heart starts pounding in his chest. "Where'd you get that from?"
"Barney had it in his bag when he visited from college. Figured we could have a little fun."
"Nice!" Thor cheers, high fiving the other boy.
"Are you guys both down?" Clint asks him, opening the bag.
"Free weed? Yeah!"
"Tony?"
He looks nervously at the bag in Clint's hands. "We should probably do it outside of the school parking lot."
"Seriously, Tony? What are you, our mother?" Thor rolls his eyes before turning to Clint.
Tony weighs his options. He can do it now, let it be a one-time thing, or have all of his friends taunt him about it for the rest of the year. However, it is technically considered a drug, even if it is pretty common for people at his school to some it. But he doesn't want this to go on his record and risk him getting into college. Though, one good aspect of being rich is how he can get out of pretty much anything with the right check. Not that he has tested that theory. He feels confident the consequences wouldn't be too bad even if he is caught, so he decides to roll with it. "Let's do it."
Unfortunately for them, about two minutes later, a police officer stumbles across them.
"Hey! What are you boys doing?" Officer Prescott, a friend of Tony's dad, asked them, heading over.
"Shit! It's a cop!" Thor swears, making them seem even more suspicious.
"Hello, sir." Tony nods at him, hiding the bag behind him.
"Ah, Tony Stark. I was just talking to your father a couple days ago." He peers around them and picks up the stash, much to the boys' dismay. "What do you boys have here?"
"Uh… nothing?" Clint tries, making Tony sigh in exasperation.
"You are aware that marijuana, especially underage, is a criminal offence, right?"
"It's mine, sir." Tony cuts in, stepping forward. "Neither of them did anything."
"Alright. Since it is a minor incidence, I will let you off. You will need to pay the fine, however, and this will go through your parents because you are a minor."
Tony tenses, already predicting what his dad will have to say about this. "I understand, sir."
"I'll be confiscating this and giving him a call."
Officer Prescott continues on to his car, leaving the three boys standing there in shock.
"Dude, what was that for?" Clint stares at him with surprise.
Tony shrugs. "He knows my dad; you think he was gonna arrest me?"
"Man, it must be so great to be rich like that." Clint frowns.
"Shut up. Now I better go before my dad murders me."
"Oh yeah, you're toast." The other two boys laugh and get in the car, leaving Tony standing in the parking lot about to throw up with unease.
As much as he wanted to take his time getting home, he knew that the more he put it off, the angrier his father would be with him. He walked into his house and saw his parents already sitting there waiting for him, so he decided to go ahead and sit across from them. In contrast to their usual attire of business suits and neat hair do's, they are both already in their pajamas. His mother's hair is loose and tangled around her shoulders and his father isn't wearing his glasses, which shocks Tony because he hardly ever sees them like this. He taps his feet nervously and waits for his parents to address the elephant in the room.
"What the hell were you thinking?" His father finally snaps at him.
"I wasn't, sir."
Howard stands up and begins to pace in front of him, steadily growing angrier. "Do you realize how bad this makes me look? If anyone finds out about this, our whole family will be shamed."
"I understand, sir."
He pauses for a moment before finally deciding, "I'm taking away your spending privileges."
That threw Tony off of his rhythm. "What?"
"No more extra money. You want someone to fund your drug habits, go somewhere else, but don't associate it with me."
"It was a one-time thing!" He argues standing up to face his father.
"How do I know that?" He crosses his arms and stares Tony directly in the eyes. "If you want money, you better get a job. Maybe it will help build some character. I can't believe you."
Howard storms off to his office, leaving Tony and his mother alone in the living room.
"Mom?" Tony tries, but she shakes her head weakly at him.
"I'm sorry, but he's right. This was a really poor decision."
"Where am I supposed to find a job?"
"Try asking your aunt, she might need someone to come work at her diner." She gives him a small smile before she follows her husband into his office.
Here's my playlist! I put stars next to the ones that I think go with the story the best.
*The Suburbs- Arcade Fire
Out of my League- Fitz and the Tantrums
Play That Funky Music- Wild Cherry
Mr. Blue Sky- Electric Light Orchestra
*Fluorescent Adolescent- Arctic Monkeys
Hotel California- Eagles
Come Together- The Beatles
*Ways to Go- Grouplove
Fly Like An Eagle- Steve Miller Band
San Francisco- 5 Seconds of Summer
Flashed Junk Mind- Milky Chance
Fire Alarm- Castlecomer
High- Young Rising Sons
Cold Cold Man- Saint Motel