Hi guys! I decided the prologue was too short for you guys to really be able to tell one way or another about whether I should keep posting on this one or not. So here's the first chapter (:

Chapter 01

When is anyone going to tell me the truth?

My best friend, Jerrica, has lied to me. Again. And this time, she can't take it back or sugar-coat it with empty apologies.

My phone vibrates and I look down. It's a text from Jerrica: It's not like I meant 2! Idk why ur blaming me 4 this!

I furiously type back, Well MAYBE you should have thought of that before you LIED TO ME! I can't believe you, Jerrica. Just go find yourself a new best friend. I'm done.

I tend to have a bit of a temper; something I've gotten from my father. But, oh yeah, he lies to me too.

Oh, what a happy, charming life I have.

I slide off the bed, walking to the kitchen and emptying the last of the almost-out-of-date milk into a glass. As I grab my iPod and walk back into the bedroom, my phone vibrates in my pocket again. I set the glass down on my bedroom dresser and pull out my phone.

I can almost hear Jerrica say the words, Fine then. Bye.

I almost smile. I know it's odd, but I'm not one to cry easily, or at all. Not anymore.

I empty the milk in one swig, and then lay back down on the bed. I hear the door open and slam.

"We've got to get these presentations together or it will reflect badly on the whole company, Tony!" my dad stresses into his phone. He's always worried about his job, and never has any time to talk to me. Or even spare more than a sideways nod at me, for that matter.

"Alright. Bye," my dad hangs up, and I hear him slouch into his chair, sighing. Then I hear the tapping of the keys on his laptop.

My phone vibrates yet again. This time it's my uncle calling.

"How ya doin' kid?"

I smile. My uncle Tony is the only person in my life who actually makes me genuinely smile. He owns a huge company, Stark Industries, and just last year we found out that he's a superhero. No, literally. He even has an artificial heart. And it glows. I mean, how much cooler of an uncle can you have?

I reply, "As good as I'm ever gonna be today."

"What's going on? I can destroy someone if you want," he adds a laugh at the end.

"Oh, nothing, just my stupid friend, lying to me. I don't know if I can even call her a friend anymore."

"Hmm… Meet me outside in 5."

"Why?"

"You'll see!"

I get up and pull on a pair of my skinny jeans, my Iron Man t-shirt Tony had given me for my birthday (the only present I got this year that someone actually spent time and effort on getting for me), and my black converse low-tops. I pull my thick, fiery-red hair back into a ponytail. As an afterthought, I add a couple bracelets and some colorful earrings. I look in the mirror and smile at how much the earrings contrast with my outfit. Then I frown when I remember who got them for me.

Drew, one of my ex-boyfriends, had gotten them for me for my birthday a few years ago, before he cheated on me with Jerrica, whom he's together with now. That's one of the many reasons that Jerrica and I haven't been getting along lately.

I haven't had the best of experiences with relationships; boys have cheated on me, lied to me (no surprise there), and one even went so far as to hit me. And it's all because there are girls out there better than me. There are always girls out there better than me. I'm always second-best; always the odd one out. And I know that whatever I try to do, they'll always go for the girls who are better. That's just the way it is.

I sigh, moving away from the mirror and walking down the hallway towards the living room.

"I'm going with Uncle Tony," I announce as I head down the stairs.

My dad nods, never taking his eyes from the laptop screen. I grab my black leather biker-style jacket as I walk out of the front door. Ironically, Tony is just pulling up outside on his motorcycle.

"Up for a ride?" he says, smiling and holding up an extra helmet for me.

I smile and shut the door behind me. Today I'm going to forget about my dad, forget about Jerrica, and Drew, and everyone. Everyone except Uncle Tony and I. We're the only people in the world.

My ponytail hangs out of the bottom of the motorcycle helmet, and it whips against my neck as I cling to my uncle for dear life.

"Where are we going?" I shout over the wind.

"I don't know!" he shouts back.

I smile. Uncle Tony is always so unpredictable, that's one of the things I like about him.

We ride beyond the suburbs, until finally we reach a wooded area just as the sun is about to set.

"This seems like a good place," my uncle says as he slows down the motorcycle and turns off the motor.

"Jarvis, let me know if someone tries to take the bike," Uncle Tony says as he helps me off.

"Will do, sir," replies the automated voice, coming from somewhere inside the motorcycle.

"That's so cool," I breathe, and Uncle Tony laughs.

"Yeah, I had a bit of time on my hands, so I installed Jarvis into the programming of the bike," he says and then turns to the bike, "Say hello to Izzy, Jarvis."

"Good evening, miss."

"Hi," I say, smiling.

"C'mon, Iz!" Uncle Tony calls back to me. We've been walking for a good five minutes, and my feet are getting tired, but I pick up my pace until I'm beside Tony.

"Where are we going?" I ask. In response, Tony tops a hill, runs down the other side, and takes a seat on the edge of a red-colored dirt cliff.

"Right here. Take a seat, hun," he pats the ground beside him, "I've gotta talk to you about something."

I sit, a bit concerned. My uncle hardly ever needs to talk about something in private unless it's really important.

"What is it?" I ask. He puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer. I rest my head on his shoulder, frowning inwardly. Uncle Tony never acts like this.

This is bad. This is very bad.

"Izzy, your father and I have talked, and we've decided that it would be the best for you both if... If you and your father just don't... Don't see me for a while. Just until all this stuff with my work clears up."

I lift my head and turn to look at him.

"What do you mean? Like, not see you at all? Are you crazy?!" I curl my legs up from the side of the cliff and pull my arms around them.

"Izzy, you've gotta understand, what I'm doing isn't just flying around shooting bad guys and getting all the glory. I'm actually put in danger by people who want to hurt and kill me and will use anything they can to get to me. And anything includes you. I don't want you to be in danger, hun. You're someone I love very much, and I don't want to lose you. That's why we can't be around each other for a while until everything gets better."

I feel the back of my eyes burning and look down at my Iron Man t-shirt. No. No, I will not cry. Despite myself, some tears fall on the shirt and soak into the fabric.

"Izzy... Sweetheart, I won't even be around Pepper. This is hard for me too," my uncle says softly. I don't look up or say anything; I just keep failing at trying not to cry. It feels weird, crying. I haven't done it in so long. But it also feels good, letting it all out.

I see Tony try to scoot closer to me out of the corner of my eye. I stand and take a couple steps in the opposite direction.

"Izzy, don't do this," he hurries up beside me, trying to keep up. He grabs my shoulder and pulls me into a hug. I try to fight my way out of his arms before finally giving up, sobbing into his shirt. How could he do this to me?

So okay, this chapter was depressing. And to be honest, in general, this fanfic has a bit of a doomed undertone. But I swear it has some good qualities. I put one of the characters in there specifically for comic relief. Soooo maybe review? Even if it's criticism, I'd love to hear it (although please be nice.)

Thanks for reading!