Earth 312
Pre-Invasion
"What do you think?" Carly looked up from scrolling on her phone to look at her friend through the giant mirror. It covered the entire wall so that every nook and cranny of her room was easily visible in the reflection. She blinked at herself through it, watching her head tilt and red curls fall over her shoulder before her gaze fell on Emily who was posing extravagantly in tall black stripper heels and a golden dress that showed off way too much of everything a young woman should want to be modest about. They shared a look through the reflective glass and Carly smirked.
"It's perfect." She gently slid off the bed and walked over to stand beside her now taller friend, again catching herself in the mirror and quickly turning away. "So, are ones necessary for the payment or can I just give you a fifty? I can still slide it in your bra strap if you'd like." Carly tossed a wad of cash between her hands, teasingly raising her eyebrows at her red-cheeked friend.
Emily gave out a huff and whined softly though it easily turned into a laugh as she applied a bright shade of red lipstick and popped her lips. "Too short?" It was a rhetorical question – Carly knew it – but she answered anyway.
Giving a snort, Carly popped her hip out and rested a hand on it. "You might as well call yourself Eve and strip down completely."
Emily nearly cackled and kept eye contact through the mirror. "As long as there's an Adam, I don't see a problem with it." Her seductive words made Carly roll her eyes heavily, barely able to restrain the sigh from escaping her lips. She was about to question herself on why she hung out with Emily when she began to talk again.
"Besides, it's barely shorter than what you're wearing," she pointed out, rolling her own eyes with amusement as Carly's hands reached down to pull at the short black skirt.
"I'm single." It was true, but it still stung a little to point out. Not that she hadn't done everything on the list of things she shouldn't with the other gender, but it never meant anything because they never meant anything. Every boy she didn't want she had and every boy she wanted she couldn't have. She blamed it all on her father, whether it was his fault or not. It was easier that way.
"Well, Carlos is an idiot anyways. Maybe I should be single." The pair shared another laugh, Carly's rather forced, and Emily turned to look at her. "So, who's the skirt for? Is it Dylan?"
Emily bored Carly. All the who-haw and unnecessary babbling about boys and lipstick brands made her want to push spikes into her face, but Emily was her ticket out into the world. Through Emily Carly was able to hear and see what a normal girl doing teenage stuff was – able to participate on such activities herself. It hadn't taken much to win Emily over; given whom her father was it wasn't hard to do much of anything, less he deemed it wrong. And for Carly, boy did he deem a lot of stuff wrong.
But still, Emily was here in her house, in her room, wearing her lipstick and bracelets, skipping around on her soft carpet – it definitely wasn't a real friendship. Both girls knew it. Carly gave Emily all the money she needed to support her crazy shopping sprees and crack addiction while Emily helped Carly sneak out and gave her addresses to all the right parties. On the inside they hated each other but that didn't matter because on the outside, splayed out for everyone to see, they were best friends.
A hand snapped in front of her face, perfect nails scraping together annoyingly. Emily looked at her with impatience. "Hello? Earth to Carly?" Upon Carly's questioning glance, Emily rolled her ugly brown eyes. "Did you invite Dylan?" She spoke slowly and stupidly, like Carly was a baby. She pictured her fist connecting with Emily's face before she replied.
"Yuck, no way." Carly made a disgusted face and grabbed her phone from her bed, quickly tapping away at the screen. She checked the time and sighed, running a hand through her styled curls. Why was he always late?
"I thought you two were a thing?" Emily walked over and smoothed her hair down again, though quickly caught her reflection in the mirror again and went back to posing. Here we go again, talking about boys.
"Two weeks ago, maybe. But then I found out he just had a fetish for redheads." Sure, she and Dylan had been close. They'd never dated, God no, but they'd fucked plenty of times. She always found it weird, his fascination with her flame colored hair, but then things got extra weird and she pulled the plug. She wasn't usually a kink-shamer, but everyone had to have a limit. She examined her ginger hair for a few moments before she went back to texting. Where was he?
"So, Robin then?"
Carly gave a sly smirk and swayed her body in thought. Now Robin, there was a boy. He was a senior, a grade above them both, but he was the soccer team's best player and he wasn't even a complete asshat either. She slid her feet into her own, slightly shorter, black heels and led the way down the stairs. "I'm not wearing this for anyone," she answered honestly, " Just, you know, if Robin happens to be here tonight and see me…Well, let's just say; I wouldn't complain." She sent a flirty wink to Emily.
Emily squealed with delight and fawned over Carly as if she were a puppy. "Your dad would be so disappointed in you," she joked, her eyebrows raised so high Carly wondered how it was even possible. It definitely wasn't a good look for Emily. She shook her head with another smirk of her own.
"Trust me, daddy's already plenty disappointed; and he only knows half of the things I've done," this earned another scream of entertainment from the brunette behind her. "The great Tony Stark – won't even let his princess out of the castle." Carly felt the familiar anger wash over her as she gripped the banister tightly, her knuckles white with effort. All of this, Emily, the partying, the booze, it was all because Tony hid her away, kept her locked up and in chains. He had a habit of underestimating his enemy, and he had messed up royally this time. The doorbell rang and sprung Carly from her thoughts. She gave a light shrug and reached for the doorknob. "If I can't party out there, I guess we just bring the party here." She opened the heavy door to reveal a good looking teenage boy in a designer tux, dirty blonde hair short but clearly un-brushed. Emily peaked over her shoulder.
Carly frowned. "You're late."
He simply pursed his lips and gave an innocent shrug.
"Didn't you get my texts?" Carly asked, crossing her arms in annoyance. She knew the answer was a yes when his blue eyes grew a hue of mischief. "What, you can't even be bothered to text back?"
"Nag, nag, nag, that's all I ever hear from you, woman," he responded, fixing one of his sleeve cuffs. His voice was almost as annoying as Emily's face. Carly could already feel a migraine coming.
She sighed and tapped her foot. "Roy, where's the beer?"
A huge grin plastered itself on his face as he hooked a thumb over his shoulder and pushed past Carly into the house.
"Those fine gentlemen were looking to make a quick buck. Plus, a party at Stark House does peak people's interests," Roy spread his arms out wide and chuckled as Carly and Emily leaned out of the door to get a better look. It was true, a dozen early twenties men were making their way up the front lawn, each carrying multiple cases of beer.
"I don't know these people!" Carly hissed as she spun on Roy, but Emily quickly put a hand over her mouth.
"What she means to say is that they are extremely cute and extremely welcomed to the party. And while we're at it; hiya Ray, I'm Emily." She smiled flirtatiously at him and he grinned, sending her a wink.
"It's Roy," Carly corrected, pushing Emily's hand away. Emily didn't seem to care. She rubbed her temples and Roy momentarily frowned.
"Carly?" He asked, his superior façade flickering.
"Go start the music," Carly snapped at him, pulling her skirt down further. "This was just supposed to be a stupid school thing. You were supposed to just summon some beer and invite all your weird high-school freaks." She turned to Emily. "I should have known Roy would mess it up."
Emily squealed as Ray looked down and walked away, and grabbed Carly's arm - apparently she was oblivious to the mess up. "You didn't tell me you knew Ray Strange! The Warlock himself – in this very house!"
Carly pushed the girl off of her. "Chill it Em, he's a complete loser. Of course I know him, I know them all. I only invited him because I knew he could get beer."
"If your dad finds out you're so gonna be dead. He'll try harder to push you and Mister Perfect Grant Rogers together." Emily found the whole situation to be a rather funny joke. Carly wished she could be anywhere else.
Carly pretended to vomit, running a hand over her face. "Please, the only thing keeping that from happening is that nice little age gap that makes it illegal for us to date."
The thing was, Carly could see herself with someone like Grant. Someone level headed, brave, courageous, kind and caring…Grant had been her best friend growing up; they were inseparable. But then one day something changed and he grew an unmistakable crush on her and became almost as overprotective as her father. Carly was forced to push him away. It was like losing a brother.
Emily frowned, "It's not like you haven't made out with college students before-"
"You really think I'd let my dad know that?" Carly exclaimed, causing realization to hit Emily and she nodded her head approvingly.
"Nicely done."
"Obviously." Carly excused herself as the men came lumbering in; quickly instructing them on where to put the beer as music came blasting through the air.
"I didn't know your speakers went this loud!" Emily shouted as she filled a cup up for herself and then for Carly who waved it aside. Emily shrugged and gave it to a grateful Roy who began to chug. Revolting.
"They don't!" Carly clarified, "but he's got all that time and temporal space power so who knows what the hell he's up to!" Roy pointed at her and winked, taking another big gulp of beer.
Soon bodies flooded the house and the constant thumping inside Carly's head was drowned out in the music and sea of swarming bodies. Somewhere in between casting floating orbs of multicolored lights and taking responsibility for moving the party out to the pool, Roy had managed to suspend fog throughout the house. Carly found it hard to see and rather creepy, but everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves so she stopped worrying about it and reminded herself that she was supposed to be having fun. This is for you; this is your chance to be a crazy teenager for once. Shake it off, loosen your limbs and go dance.
So she did as her brain pleaded and before she knew it she was yelling and giggling and having a grand old time. She made eye contact with one of Roy's beer-lackies through the fog and gave him what she hoped was a seductive smile. After all, she had been practicing.
"Clary!" A voice rang over the crowd to her left and she regrettably turned her attention away from one attractive drunk man to another. There Roy stood in all his glory, blonde hair messier than before and suit jacket unbuttoned and hanging slightly from his shoulders. He had multiple hickies on his neck and lipstick on his mouth. She raised an eyebrow.
"Clary, my main girl, my C-L-A-R-Y," he stumbled over to her, giving her a big grin. She blinked hard at the awful smell of his breath which turned into amazement that he could still spell, even given that she was not, in fact, Clary.
"It's Carly, actually," she corrected him, trying her hardest to hide a smile.
He looked confused for a moment and started to count on his fingers. Carly watched him with amused confusion before he seemingly gave up and returned to grinning at her.
"So…where do we stand on the use of a spare bedroom….if you know what I mean? Ah, you know what I mean!" He stumbled and Carly reached out to steady him, watching him with concern.
"Roy, you're seventeen," she scolded, finding it hard to look him in the eyes. He laughed and swatted at her, giving a light giggle.
"Okay, thanks boo. How do I look?" He held his arms out and spun around for her, and she sighed and pulled his jacket back up around his shoulders.
"Like an overdressed weasel," she finally settled on some words, watching him look around and pick up a random cup half full of beer. She sighed and grabbed it from him, pushing him away as he tried to reach out for it.
"You both gave consent before getting drunk?" She asked slapping him lightly as his gazed wandered. He nodded enthusiastically and began to walk away.
"Use protection!" She called after him and got a hand wave in return. Carly frowned and looked down at the beer, hesitating before putting it back. Of course she would be the only one not having fun. Someone had to look out for these poor bastards.
Her gaze swept the room before landing on Emily and Robin heavily making out on the corner. Both held beer in one hand and grasped at each other with the other. It was a disgusting sight so she looked away. "It's okay," she told herself as she went to sit on the couch, "it's okay."
The minutes passed by like hours to Carly – or maybe it was hours. She vaguely remembered getting several sodas from the fridge and peeing once or twice. For the most part everything was fine; there were no fights and not many people having sex where they really shouldn't.
The couch dipped down next to her and she looked up from her phone, the attractive guy from earlier was leaning heavily her way. A disco orb floated past him and he looked even more attractive in the cascading light. Dark brown hair fell lightly into his face from where it had been styled before, his intense blue eyes changing shades as the light went by. Her breath hitched.
"The party girl should never be bored," he slurred, the raunchiness of his breath making it harder for her to focus on what he was saying.
"I'm fine," she smiled to him, expecting him to leave. Instead, she was surprised to see him frown slightly and shake his head.
"Play a game of Monopoly with me?" He held out a thin hand to her, his fingers bony and long. Under his other arm he held Clary's old game of Monopoly. So, he had been snooping. Carly shook her head with a short laugh.
"No thanks. I'm fine," she repeated. She was shocked again as he shrugged and leaned back into the couch next to her, kicking his feet up on the coffee table.
"Cool, we can chill for a while." Carly looked at him like he wasn't from Earth and he gave her a genuine smile. Well, it was as genuine as he could make it in his drunken state. She nodded her head slightly and relaxed back into the cushions. The air was still as the pair sat there, the party swarming around them. There was a few awkward seconds when a pair of soon-to-be-lovers fell over the edge of the couch during their make-out session, but they quickly righted themselves and continued elsewhere.
"I'm Matt," he was looking up at the ceiling, Carly feeling bad that he was still there. As it turned out, she wasn't really in the party mood.
"Look, Matt," she smiled at him as she used his name but he didn't seem to notice. Man, he was really focused on that ceiling. Carly glanced up in curiosity but found nothing out of the ordinary. She shrugged. Drunk people.
"I'm fine, really," she insisted, "go enjoy the party. That's what it's here for."
"Noooo, I'm fine too! I'm Matt." Carly was about to point out that he had already said that when she got the hint.
"Oh, right – I'm Carly. Carly Stark, but you probably already knew that." She brushed her hair away from her shoulders and looked up to catch Matt staring at her. His gazed bored into her, the pure intensity making Carly frustratingly intrigued.
"Nice to meet you Carly, let's play Monopoly."
"You're too drunk to play," Carly pointed out, watching his eyes spark with life.
"Uno, then."
She looked at him skeptically.
Then they were sitting at the kitchen table, clusters of cards in their hands. Unfortunately for Carly, Matt was a great Uno player even in his drunken state. He concentrated with all his might throughout the entire game, only getting distracted once when someone poured beer on him, the liquid quickly staining his shirt as he laid down a green three.
"Aw, man!" He whined, his unfocused eyes trying to blink the stain away. Carly laughed and passed him a few napkins. The night went on just like that, the party raging around them as they played dozens of games of Uno. There was a span of a few hours where the only thing Matt wanted to talk about was ducks. He knew a surprising amount of duck facts for even a sober person – though most of his words were too slurred to make much sense to Carly who, for the first time in a long line of meaningless parties, was having quite a bit of fun.
They put down the cards when Matt got the sudden interest in showing her videos of his two dogs back home. It just so happened to be that Matt was from Maine, transferring to New York to go to college. The most heartbreaking thing to him was having to leave his best friends, Cheddar and Sweeney, behind.
"I just miss them so much!" Matt wailed, clinging to Carly as she tried not to laugh. She gently rubbed his back, trying to brighten him up by asking for more duck facts but it didn't seem to be working.
And then Grant Rogers showed up. Carly felt a hand pull her up and suddenly her and Matt were pushed away from each other, separated by a tall, sturdy figure.
"Grant?" Carly asked, and then screamed as he hulled off and punched Matt square in the face, blood immediately spurting out of his nose.
"Grant!" Carly screamed, racing past him. "Matt!" She bent down to help him up, the few party goers not currently in the pool turning to watch the commotion.
"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Matt exclaimed, clutching desperately to his nose. Carly handed him a box of tissues.
"What the hell?" She screeched to Grant, craning her neck to glare at him from her spot on the ground. Slowly she helped Matt stand up and shielded him from the super-strength man in front of them. Grant's icy blue gaze seared through her as Matt began to stumble away, taking quick glances back.
"I-I'll see you, Carly." He said before turning tail and fleeing the scene. Carly barely had time to process the emotions before Grant spoke again in a fit of rage.
"What the hell do you think you were doing? What is this? Who was that?" The anger in his voice surprised Carly as she gaped at him and looked around in embarrassment. People were still staring.
"Grant, stop!" Carly interrupted his questions and rubbed her forehead, refusing to say anything. He looked around angrily, his fists still clenched by his sides, his usual stoic face contorted and red. His eyes landed on a cup and his rage continued.
"Have you been drinking?" He demanded, picking up a cup to smell it and slamming it back down with disgust. "Carly Stark-!"
"I didn't drink anything!" Her words caused him to stop and the shock upon his face was not feigned.
"Oh." He stood there before her, arms limp by his sides and stance uncomfortable. Carly crossed her arms and tried to hide her face.
"God, I can't believe this! What are you even doing here?" Her words were meant to be filled with venom, but they came out like limp noodles.
"You know your party's too wild when Jamie hears about it. She texted me right away when she found out it was here." Ah, so his sister had tattled. Carly's eyes narrowed – Jamie wouldn't do that! Would she?
"Jamie had no right!" Carly didn't care anymore who was watching. She was fed up with Grant Rogers and if they were going to have it out, then they were going to do it right there and right now. He needed to learn his place.
"She did so! I come in here to see you with that –and what you were doing- and he and you- do Mr. and Mrs. Stark know about this?"
"God Grant, we weren't doing anything! We were playing Uno for Christ sake! And for your information he was actually nice as far as drunk guys go. And of course they don't know -they're still in Paris until tomorrow!"
"What do you mean 'doing nothing'? You obviously weren't doing-"
"THAT'S IT, PARTY'S OVER!"
Instantly Carly's mouth dropped open in horror and shock. She spun wildly at Grant and rage filled her chocolate eyes. "Grant Rogers you little weasel! You snitched on me?" She accused hotly, watching his face go slack with shock.
"What? No I didn't – I promise!"
But Carly simply looked at him with all the hate in her body and he froze in place, undeniable sadness in his beautiful eyes.
"Get the fuck out!" The words of Tony Stark rang through the house like a knife, instantly cutting off any and all chatter. He stood leaning against the dining room table, his arms folded tight across his chest and his face holding more anger than Carly had ever seen. He simply stared at her, unwavering even as half-naked teenagers sprinted through the house, pure terror written across their faces. One brave soul had the audacity to stop and take a selfie with him, to which he grabbed the phone and threw it out the window, shattering the glass and terrifying the kid who turned to flee with the rest.
"Dad!" Carly screamed, standing her ground in the masses of moving bodies. Grant cleared his throat.
"Carly, he's just trying to-"
"Didn't you hear him?" She asked venomously, "Get the fuck out." Grant's gaze instantly went to his shoes.
"I'm sorry," he tried.
"Leave!" Her screech made him flinch, his shoulders sagging as he ambled past her and out the door.
When everyone had left they simply stood there, staring at each other with wild emotions. Minutes passed as Carly counted away the seconds in her head, the longer the silence lingered the less angry she got and more fearful. Tony wasn't the quite type. He was loud and angry and eager to fight; Carly knew how to push all of his buttons. He should be screaming at her, breaking things, his face turning red with pure fury. Instead he just kept staring at her.
"Turn this goddamn music off." Carly was grateful to hear him say something.
"I do believe that is my bad," a voice rang out above them and drew their attention, Carly's eyebrows knitting together at the sight of Roy Strange. He looked severely less drunk as he waved his hand and the music stopped and the fog and colorful lights simply vanished. His suit was freshly pressed and he wore it like a king, the front still hanging open and tie loose around his neck like typical Roy fashion. He leaned over the balcony of the stairs, almost as if wary to get any closer.
"Mr. Stark, I'm afraid I do have to take a majority of the blame here. You see-" but Carly knew he would never get away with it. Tony Stark didn't blame anyone but his daughter for any of the mess-ups that happened.
"Get out of my house." Such a simple sentence. Five words that struck pure terror even into the heart of the great Warlock himself. The underlying threat in her father's words made Roy duck his head. He only briefly made eye contact with Carly before he portaled himself away, and Carly almost thought she saw sorrow in his eyes. The boy sure did put on a great show. She turned back to her father.
They were back to staring at each other. He hadn't moved an inch. Carly mirrored his movements, leaning back against a pillar and crossing her arms – a defensive maneuver. Tony was momentarily shocked; he looked at her and all he saw was the hate he had for his own father all those years ago. But he had put up with her shit for too long – he was officially Howard Stark and Carly was Tony. His heart ached.
"What are you doing, kid?" He asked, his voice suddenly gentle and concerned. Carly scoffed and it hurt his heart.
"I don't see what the big deal is!" She threw words at him like ammunition. He couldn't believe it.
"You don't see what the big deal is?" He echoed standing up straight and letting his arms hang at his sides. She fought to keep still.
"You kicked everyone out," she pushed the blame onto him and Tony had to fight not to laugh. He had done the same thing at her age. No, younger. "It'll be all over the tabloids."
"I'll pay them to keep their mouths shut. Not the first time you've forced my hand like this. A waste of money, if I do say so myself." No response from her.
"You broke that kid's phone."
Tony shrugged. "I'll get a new one." He could sense the issue growing larger and larger, one of them was about to burst. Did she really think Tony had a problem with the party?
"If Grant wouldn't have been a big bitch and tattled on me-"
"Grant wasn't the one who told me!" Ah, so he would be the one to trigger the explosion. Suddenly they were both screaming.
"Don't lie to me!"
Tony rolled his eyes. "Lie to you? Believe me, I wish Grant called me right away! But look, you've managed to sway even Cap's kid into following your little game of trying to piss me off."
"It's not like I tried! I wish Grant would just leave me alone!"
"Right, because Roy is more your speed?"
"Roy's stupid and selfish!" Carly screamed, then shook her head. "Don't change the subject! If Grant didn't tell you than who did?"
"You live in a house guarded by A.I. Who the hell do you think told me?"
"F.R.I.D.A.Y.?" Carly couldn't believe it. Whatever rage she had in her body instantly multiplied tenfold. "So what, now you're using the help to spy on me?"
"Do not call her 'the help'!" Tony roared, taking a step closer to her. "It's a damn good thing she did too because this was way out of hand young lady."
"Oh don't try to parent me now!" She spat, causing Tony to stop in his tracks.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He wasn't yelling again, which made Carly even angrier. She smoothed down her hair with calm ferocity, standing tall and strong as she stared down her father.
"Hey – I asked you a question." Classic Tony, always getting what he wanted. Carly fought away the tears.
"It means you're never here. Not for me, not for Mom – where is she, anyway?" It was an honest question, but Tony didn't see it like that. He saw it as a threat, the way he saw everything as a threat.
"You know she's on a business excursion." His hard voice made her give a sarcastic quip of laughter.
"Ha, funny. She seems to have one of those quite frequently." Tony's face hardened and he looked so angry again, angrier than ever. She knew how to upset him, hell she was one big disappointment to him, yet she had never seen him like this. She wanted to cave in, to forgive him like she always did and hug him and for them to order a pizza and eat ice-cream while watching a bad movie like they always did when they fought. But there was something in the air tonight and Carly wouldn't back down. It was a now or never kind of time.
Tony, however, forced himself to calm down. Hadn't he learned by now that she just did this kind of stuff to upset him? He'd guessed for a while now that she hated him, but it was never verified until this exact moment. Something behind her eyes that looked just like his. Hate without a reason why. His face relaxed a fraction and his heart burned like nothing else.
"Carles-"
"Don't 'Carles' me!" Carly wiped furiously as a tear slipped down her cheek, Tony yearning to reach out and hug her.
"You've got to stop this." He tried to reason with her, to get her to see the absurd things she was doing. But everything he thought about saying would just be a repeat. No matter how many times he found her with some guy, doing something illegal, something a sixteen year old girl should never even think of doing…she never wanted to listen to what he had to say. That he knew it was his fault because she was just like him. That he was sorry.
"Why?" Her broken yet still harsh voice brought him out of his thoughts and into reality.
Tony was about to speak again but she cut him off.
"Why won't you let me do anything?" She was crying now, but still so stubborn that she wouldn't let him speak. The tears were cascading down her cheeks like a waterfall.
"You keep me locked in here like a caged animal. I can't leave – I don't go to school-"
"It's dangerous," Tony whispered.
"Shut up!" She screeched making Tony purse his lips. She took a deep breath and continued. "I just wanted to have fun! For once in my life I wanted to be a teenager!"
Tony couldn't handle it anymore. "You think this is fun?" He exclaimed. She let out a sob.
"No! Okay? No, I don't think any of this is fun! But it sure beats being home alone all the time!" Her confessions startled Tony. But then it just made him sadder because, no, he didn't think it was fun when he did it either.
"Then why, Carly, why keep doing it?" He reached out, barely placing a hand on her shoulder before she violently turned away.
"Because I'm so sick of you!" She spat, "And mom! Who is never here, not even when I do stupid shit like this!" Tony's eyes closed, his whole body overpowered with emotion. He didn't have time for this, yet he knew this was where he had to be. There was never a question in his mind that he would fail as a father.
"I keep hoping," she continued, gasping for breath between the tears, "that one day you'll just get so sick of the parties, and the booze and paying people to keep quiet….that you'll just get sick of me and let me leave."
"Let you leave?" Tony asked, his mind still trying to wrap around her words.
"I do everything I can to piss you off; just hoping that something will register in that daft brain of yours and you'll realize that you've done all this for nothing. You've spent hundreds of millions of dollars just to lock away your disappointment of a daughter in hopes that she'll embarrass you just a little less."
"Is that what you think?"
"It's what I know."
"You're wrong." Carly scoffed again and waved him away, turning to leave.
"Whatever."
"You're wrong," he repeated louder, but she kept walking away. Tony fought down a panic attack, his heart rate increasing with every step she took. No, he would not let her walk away. He was Tony fucking Stark and he would let his daughter control him no longer.
"Scarlett Maria Stark get your ass back over here right now." She froze in her spot, refusing to give him the satisfaction of turning around.
"I don't give a damn about these parties that you throw. I don't care that you hate Grant Rogers and hang around with Roy Strange, I don't fucking care because at least I know with them you'll be safe! I mean, goddamn, look at yourself kid! What the hell are you wearing?" Carly's hands involuntarily tugged down at her skirt. "I know I'm a shit father, okay? But I'm trying! I'm trying, okay? You've got to give me a little slack," Carly turned around at this, venomous words in her arsenal, but Tony gave her a glare that kept her quite.
"You think it's easy?," Tony asked, spreading his hands out. "Look, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. And I know you hate it here, Carly, I really do; but I don't care! Because it keeps you safe and I'm sorry but that's all that matters. You have the best teachers in the world, yes you have to have internet classes but at least you're learning. You live in a house bigger than, well a lot of things but that's not the point! – you just don't get it."
"You hate me." Anger flashed in his eyes.
"How could you even think that?" Tony sighed and pinched his nose. "Look, I've had to deal with a lot of shit, okay? Keeping you safe is the single most important thing in my life because you are my life. Carles you are the greatest thing that ever happened to me and there are people everywhere waiting to end your life. I'm a shit father, I'll be the first to admit it, but you haven't exactly made life any easier."
Carly sniffed, refusing to meet his eyes. She could see that her tactic wasn't working. Not that she believed a thing he said. She needed a new angle.
"Mom hates me."
Tony rolled his eyes. "She doesn't hate you. The two of you just don't get along because…"
"Because I'm too much like you." Silence. It's funny how the truth holds enough power to shut two Starks up.
Tony's phone rang and suddenly Carly was aware that it had been ringing on and off the whole time. She sniffled again.
"You might want to get that."
"We're not done talking," Tony protested, his hard, defensive eyes so filled with anguish and pain. She rubbed at her tears.
"I'll call someone to clean everything up tomorrow." She said. She walked back to the stairs.
"No, you'll clean it up in the morning." Carly shrugged.
"Fine, whatever," she whispered, climbing the stairs.
"Carles," she stopped halfway up the stairs, her back facing him like stone. "I love you, okay? We'll figure this out…" She said nothing. "I'm sorry," he called gently after her, causing her to flinch.
"Just go," her hoarse voice barely reached him before she continued up the steps and Tony jumped when her door closed. He let out an anguished groan and swept the bottles and cups of alcohol off the table in sudden anger, just wishing, somehow, there could be a way to fix it. But his phone was ringing and he knew the importance of it; that was why he came home. He had no idea about the party or anything of the sort; he just wanted to see Carly before he went on his merry way to possible death.
So he pulled a Tony Stark and put on his sunglasses, closing the door gently before he left.
Carly watched him leave from her window; she had changed into sweats and held a pile of Kleenexes in her hand. As soon as he got into his fancy car she leapt from her spot and ran to a room facing the back of the house, throwing open the window and disappearing into the night.