"That's awesome," Tony said, looking at her drawing of Pikachu she had on the corner of her map. "But Togepi's better."

"Togepi is pretty adorable," Pepper replied, seeing the all too familiar smile on his face.

She was shocked, but not surprised that he had come up to her. Compared to his other 'girls,' she stuck out like a sore thumb. She wasn't outgoing, she wasn't a flirt, and she wasn't a cheerleader or on a team sport. But if there was one thing she did know about herself, it was that she wasn't a Plain Jane.

"If an eggshell's adorable, then what does that make Pikachu?"

"Huggable," Pepper replied with a smile.

"Just because Togepi cries a lot doesn't mean he isn't huggable," Tony pointed out. "Besides, Pikachu was a dick at first."

"He was still huggable."

"He shocked everyone that touched him. How's that huggable?"

Pepper opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. She didn't realize how much he knew about Pokémon. She, herself, had just begun watching.

He saw their predicament and dropped their disagreement. "I'm Tony."

"Pepper," she replied, removing her bag so he could sit down next to her. Even though she wasn't particularly fond of Tony, it didn't mean she was going to be rude to him for no reason.

"That's what you're going with?"

"Sure," responded Pepper, not confirming or denying.

"It's not like I'm gonna bug you until you tell me your name or something," he told her.

"You don't think that's my real name?"

"Not unless your parents were stoned out of their minds when you were born."

Pepper chuckled softly. "It's unique and I like it."

"Pepper," Tony said to himself. He was still hesitant to believe her, but it didn't matter. He would just call her that until she told him the truth. After all, she'd be irritated by it a lot sooner than he would. "That's kinda cool then," he concluded. "Where are you trying-"

Before he could get another word out, the bell rung for first period. All the students in the classroom got up and left, Tony and Pepper beginning to do the same.

"What class do you have," he asked, throwing his packet into the basket on Mrs. Sanders' desk.

"AP History."

"God, that's boring." Pepper laughed and thanked Tony as he held the door open for her to walk out of. "You want me to show you a faster way over there?"

"Sure," she smiled. She had spent a lot of time going over the map, but it was confusing from the start. Directions were never her strong suit.

"So where are you from," Tony asked, steering her into a crowded hallway.

"The East Coast. Ever heard of Ocean City?"

"Uh, yeah," he replied shockingly. He had stayed a couple of nights in Maryland all thanks to his parents' decision to expand Stark Industries to areas in the East Coast that didn't include New York. "It's in Maryland, right," he asked, looking at Pepper, who nodded. "And there's a bunch of carnival games on this boardwalk."

Before she could get a word in, Tony spoke again.

"But those games are rigged, right?" Pepper smiled. She couldn't help realizing how young at heart he was. "I literally spent like $50 trying to get this stuffed bear that..." Tony trailed off, now fully aware of his complaining. Dude, shut up. "Did you ever win anything," he asked, changing the subject.

"Only for things like throwing balls into buckets or shooting at ducks."

He shot her a smirk. "So you're good with your hands?"

Pepper rolled her eyes. Of course he'd ask that. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

"What? You brought it up."

He internally sighed when Pepper didn't respond. He didn't know why she was different. She was the usual pretty face, so why didn't she fall for his line or flirt along?

"So this is the building," he spoke several minutes later.

"Thanks." She had chosen to stay quiet after Tony's innuendo just because it caught her off guard. She didn't know exactly how to respond, and honestly, she didn't want to. He could flirt all he wanted, it didn't matter. She was in a relationship and Robert was a good guy. It would be stupid to waste what she had on someone who only did commitment for sex. And even if she were single, she'd still pass. It'd be hard to trust a guy like him. There was bound to be pain in the end. It wasn't worth it.

"Shouldn't you be heading to class?"

Tony shrugged. "I don't really care for time."

Before she could respond, one of the many bells scattered around campus rang.

"Relax," he said after the sound dissipated. He had to laugh a bit at the panicked expression on Pepper's face. "It's just the five minute bell. You're uptight, you know that, right?"

"Just a bit," Pepper responded. She was working on it.

"Oh, I'm having a party tomorrow night," he casually slipped in. "You should come."

"Thanks. I'll keep it in mind."

"You're not lying, right? Because I'm still having a hard time believing your name is Pepper."

She chuckled. Why is he still going on about that? "I'm not. I just have plans."

"Really? What kind?"

"I should get going," Pepper chose to say instead, making her way to the steps.

"Come on," Tony said, lightly grabbing her arm. When she turned to face him, he added, "Think about it."

She sighed. "I don't even know where you live."

"10880 Malibu Point. It's a house in the middle of nowhere. You won't miss it."

"Okay," Pepper responded. She wasn't sure of his intentions, but she figured she could agree now and just not show up tomorrow night.

"Great." Tony dropped his grasp on her wrist and let go. Watching her disappear into the building, he turned around and smiled. This was going to be a fun junior year. He couldn't wait.