(A/N Hey I'm back…things have been crazy around my house…and at school. Final exams are coming and teachers are really bringing on the homework and I had house work to do…blah blah blah….I'm not really sure what to update first after this soooo I'm going to put up a poll on my profile soooo do me a favor and vote! Oh and P.S I took my idea from Pepper Panic…Yay...)
Pepper watched as her doctor read her chart, she was suppose to be sleeping but she wanted to stay awake for when Tony got there because he promised he would be there. "When can I go home?" Pepper asked whining; the doctor smiled and looked up from her chart. He sighed "You can go home…but you must take it easy for a few day Miss Potts. You were very close to dying a few days ago." He said. Pepper sighed happily and smiled "Don't worry…I'll be fine doc…next time you see me will be for a checkup." She said calmly. The doctor laughed and nodded his head "Get some rest you're still here for a few hours…" he said and left. Pepper huffed and looked around the room; she looked over when her door opened.
Tony poked his head into the room and smiled "Hey Pep!" he said. Pepper grinned and then frowned, she crossed her arm "I haven't seen you since the first night I was in here!" she said sadly. Tony winced and sighed, he walked into the room and sat beside her bed "I'm so sorry…I would have visited you but…Ms. Well has been keeping me busy with Ta jobs and then there was Iron Man things…I'm sorry…" he said rambling. Pepper placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled "Tony! It's ok! I understand…" she said quietly, Tony took her hand and held it for a moment. Pepper sat up and put on a smile "hey I get out of here in a few hours!" she said and Tony smiled "That's great!" he said happily.
They sat there in silence for a while before Pepper spoke "How's it going being a Ta?" she asked. Tony sighed and tilted his head towards the ceiling "Ms. Wells is really cool…she's really smart too! And not that bad looking either…" he said smiling. Pepper narrowed her eyes "I asked how it was being a Ta Tony…not how Ms. Wells was…" she said dryly. Tony snickered and Pepper rolled her eyes trying to hide the hurt in them. Her door opened again and her doctor poked his head in a smiled "Miss Potts…you're free to go." He said and Pepper nodded. She turned towards to and gave him a small smile "Ummm…I should get dressed…" she said and Tony's eyes widened in realization "Oh! Uh…sorry…I'll just wait outside…" he said and quickly left the room.
Two hours later Pepper and Tony walked down the streets of New York in silence. Tony had his hands in his pockets and he looked at his feet as he walked, "What's wrong Tony?" Pepper asked concerned. Tony sighed and looked up at the redhead, "I don't know…just thinking about armor upgrades and things…" he said and they lapsed back into silence. After a little while they ended up in front of Pepper's apartment. Pepper shifted uncomfortably and bit her lip "Thanks for walking me home…" she said quietly and Tony smiled and nodded. "It's no problem Pep…I'll check up on you tomorrow…make sure you rest." He said and the redhead nodded and blushed faintly. Tony smiled, gave Pepper a quick hug and made his way to the school where he promised Ms. Wells he'd be helping her with a project.
Pepper climbed into bed that night and could not for the life of her fall asleep. A quiet yet shrill noise filled her room as soon as she closed her eyes. It reminded her of a dog whistle, even though dog whistle were meant for well…dogs. Pepper was able to hear them like some people. She groaned and grabbed her pillow pulling out from under her head and over her face, "Ugh! Come on!" she shouted and sat up quickly, which made her pillow fall to the floor. She got up and paced around her room for a while but the shrill BEEEEEEEEEPs were driving her mad. Pepper exited her room and relaxed when the sound ceased. She sighed and made her way to the living room and collapsed onto the couch. She closed her eyes and drifted to sleep until the same damn noise that bugged her in her room filled this room as well. The redhead's eyes snapped open and she looked around for the source of the noise; Pepper jumped off the couch and searched the apartment high and low to find whatever caused the annoying sound. She sadly found nothing. Pepper put her hands over her ears and buried her head in her lap; the shrill beeps made their way through her hands and screamed into the couch pillows. Pepper took a deep breath and looked up at the clock that hung on the wall. Six-thirty, "Better get ready for school…" she sighed got up off the couch.
Pepper slouched in her seat in English class trying her hardest to keep her eyes open. Much to Tony and Rhodey's disapproval Pepper went to school instead of staying home. "You should have stayed home." Tony whispered making the redhead jump. Pepper shook her head and yawned "No…to much work and Exams are coming up soon. Don't want to miss anything." She said sleepily. "Tony's right Pepper…you look as if you're going to keel over any second!" Rhodey said leaning forward looking at her. Pepper roller her eyes and sat up a little, "I'm fine. Just tired is all…didn't get much sleep last night." She said yawning again.
Tony and Rhodey looked at each other and sighed. They looked to the front of the class again to see Ms. Wells passing out papers, Pepper on the other hand slid down into her chair and fell asleep. "MISS POTTS!" Ms. Wells shouted and Pepper flew three feet into the air. "What? Oh crap did I fall asleep?! I'm sooooo sorry!" Pepper said blushing furiously. Ms. Wells put her hands on her hips and had an angry expression, "Miss Potts if you can't stay awake in my class…you'll just have to leave!" she said and everyone went deadly silent. Pepper's eyes widened and her mouth opened and closed like a fish "B-but…it was an accident! I promise to never do it again!" she said shakily, Ms. Wells glared at the girl and pointed to the door. Pepper grabbed her stuff and ran out the door with tears running down her face. Nora sighed and smiled to the class who were looking at her in shock, "Now that was taken care of. How about we get to work! Now please read chapter 4 and 5 and do the work sheet." Nora said and the class did as they were told.
Pepper hid in the back of the girl's locker room for the rest of the day. The only time she immerged was for her meds that she had to take after her major allergy attack. She quickly made her way to the nurse and took the pills in silence. For some reason after taking her pills Pepper felt wired, like she could run around the city fifty times. She took a deep shaky breath and made her way back to the girl's locker room for the rest of the day. Before she could enter someone shouted her name "Pepper!" the redhead turned and saw Tony and Rhodey running towards her. Pepper's shoulders slumped and she looked down at her feet, her cheeks slowly grew redder and redder. "Hey guys…" she whispered when they approached her, "Are you alright?" Tony asked putting a hand on her shoulder. Pepper nodded and didn't look up, "I'm fine…" she said and turned and went through the girls locker room door.
Tony sighed and went to the English classroom like he promised Nora. He walked into the classroom to see Nora sitting at her desk grading papers, "Hey Nora." He said and she looked up and smiled at him. "Hello Tony…have a seat." She said and Tony silently obeyed. Nora smile grew and she set aside her work, "I want to ask your opinion…What do you think of Miss Potts…? She seems to be rebellious. Should I keep her in my class?" she asked and Tony blinked. "Uhhh Pepper…she's awesome…I just think she was really tired today. She was suppose to stay home and take it easy but she was just worried about exams that were coming up." He said honestly, Nora sat back in her chair and "Hmmmmmed" she leaned forward and smiled "Thank you for that Tony." She said and handed him the papers she wanted graded.
Pepper was up all night again with the shrill beeping noise. She walked into school that morning and tiredly made her way to her locker to notice it was open and empty. "What the-" she muttered and turned when someone called to her. "Patricia!" Ms. Tyler called from the front office and the redhead walked toward her. "Hey Ms. Tyler…ummm do you know why my locker is empty?" she asked and the school's secretary gave her a sad look which made Pepper's heart thud in her chest. Pepper shakily walked into the office and followed Ms. Tyler to Principle Nara's office. She sat down across from his desk and took a shaky breath.
Nara sighed and looked at Pepper with a guilty expression. "Pepper…it has come to my attention that the academy is already low on funds…but we were robbed last night." He said and Pepper's eyes widened. "What?! That's awful! But what does this have to do with me?" she asked and Nara clasped his hands together on his desk. "I'm afraid to say that…your scholarship with the Tomorrow Academy has been terminated." He said and Pepper stared blankly at him. "W-what?" she asked gasping, his word echoed through her head and Nara slowly repeated what he had said. "I am truly sorry." Nara whispered and Pepper shakily got up from the chair and left the office. Ms. Tyler stood outside the door with a sad look and a box full of Pepper's stuff from her locker.
Pepper walked out of the front office with tears running down her face. "Goodbye Pepper." A voice said from beside her, the redhead looked over to see Ms. Wells standing there with a smug smile. "Y-you did this!" Pepper said stuttering. Nora grinned and nodded "Yes, The strawberry flakes didn't work…so it came to this." She said happily. "Why are you doing this?!" Pepper asked almost shouting, Nora sighed "He's mine…you can't have him. The only he'll be mine is if you're gone." She said and Pepper was confused beyond belief. "What are you talking about?!" The redhead shouted.
Nora rolled her eyes, "Oh stop playing dumb Potts! Oh and how the bed rest you're supposed to be on?" she asked and Pepper paled. Nora smiled and walked to the English classroom.
Tony sighed and hung up his phone for the tenth time within five minutes. "I'm worried Rhodey…" he said and Rhodey sighed. "I'm sure Pepper's fine." He said not looking up from his phone. Suddenly the armory door opened, Pepper walked through the door with a sad, depressed look. "Pep…?" Tony asked stepping towards her. Pepper wiped away a few stray tears and took a deep shaky breath and walked towards him, "Tony…my scholarship with the Tomorrow Academy was terminated…I no longer go there." She whispered and Tony's eyes widened. "How?" he asked serious, the redhead looked down at her hands and bit her lip "they don't have enough money for me to be there." She said quietly. Tony walked over to the large computer to pull up his bank account, "Tony…stop." Pepper said and the young genius turned toward her with fire in his blue eyes. "Why?" he asked, Pepper shook her head. "I don't want to go back if she was still there…" she said her hands shaking. "Who?" Rhodey asked frowning, Pepper at her two friends. "Ms. Wells…she's doing this! My allergy attack…and the fact I can't sleep…and the reason why I got kicked out of the Academy!" she said.
Tony and Rhodey looked at her as if she were insane. Pepper felt as if she were punched in the stomach, "Come on Pep…Nora couldn't have done those things to you! She's a really nice person! Couldn't hurt a fly!" Tony said laughing. Tears sprung to the redhead's eyes, "You don't believe me…" she whispered and the boys gave her a look. "She's going to drive me insane! She's already tried to kill me!" Pepper shouted, "Sorry Pep…but I don't think she'd do that to you…" Tony whispered.
Pepper's jaw dropped and she sprinted out of the armory. "Pepper!" Tony shouted and moved to go after but his phone went off. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the text message,
'Tony! I have something special for you! –Nora'
Tony frowned and looked at the time "Why would she want to see me at this time?" he asked muttering. Rhodey shrugged and flopped into the control chair, Tony sighed and left the armory and headed straight for the school.
He arrived within ten minute and stepped through the front doors of the school and saw candles leading down the hallways to the roof. Curiously Tony followed them and found Nora in a small black dress sitting at a small table. She smiled "Hello Tony…" she purred and Tony raised an eyebrow, "Ummm hello…may I ask what the hell this is?" he asked. Nora grinned and stood up, "Oh just a little surprise for you…oh and I wanted to say you're welcome." She said and Tony's eyebrows rose higher into his hairline. "For what?" he asked and Nora laughed. "For getting rid of the redhead of course!" she said giggling.
Tony's jaw dropped and he balled his hands into fists. "What do you mean, Get rid of the redhead?" he asked trying to keep calm. Nora giggled "Who do you think set the Strawberry flakes over her desk? Oh and why do you think she's not sleeping?" she asked smiling. Tony growled and Nora walked toward him and took his hand. She looked at her watch and grinned "She'll be gone in ten minutes…well if my math is right." She said and Tony's eyes widened, "Nora! Where is she? Where's Pepper?!" he asked shouting and Nora grinned at him.
Pepper ran out of the armory crying her eyes out. She was put into the hospital, came home and can't sleep, kicked out of the Academy, and her friends think she's crazy. It wasn't a good day for Pepper Potts. She ran down the street and hailed and cab, the car stopped and she hiccupped her home address. "You alright kid?" the cabby asked and the redhead nodded "Ya…just a bad day." She said not wanting to talk about it. They drove off and began to cross and intersection when it happened. A large semi truck sped through a red light and hit the cab. Pepper felt her world spin, mentally and physically. She hurt everywhere and just before the darkness took her the cabs engine caught fire. "Help…" she whimpered. "PEPPER!" a voice shouted but a loud explosion swallowed her whole.
(A/N How was that? Please review! Don't forget about the poll on my profile!)