Song: Into the Airwaves by Jack's Mannequin

From an empty room on the first floor
As the cars pass by the liquor store
I deconstruct my thoughts at this piano
And it's all that I can do to stay with
All the things I didn't say to you
Before you moved across the country
And from the burning building where I lay
As I watch the stars become the day
The L.A. girls were lacing up their sneakers
They run the boardwalks and the beach
This fishbowl life is all they need
It's everything I needed, too
Until I heard the news

I couldn't really believe that I had just let him go like that. He just silently slipped away, without anyone knowing. No one had been around and he had just openly decided to leave? Why would he leave? I couldn't even talk him out of it by saying I love him, and I don't want to see him go. Doesn't he see that I love him? No, probably not. Tony is oblivious to girls' feelings all too often. Why, Tony, can't you see that there are people here like me and Rhodey who don't want you to go and don't think you're useless and unloved? …Or is there another reason?

I looked at the large computer screen again. Tony's cell phone signal was still not showing. How had he gone so silently? His loud metal boots left a heavy footprint, speaking metaphorically. He couldn't just slip away in the silence and leave me all alone—with Rhodey—and just…just…not tell me! I could have talked him out of it, couldn't I? I could have given him advice that would make him feel better and not make him run away as silently as he did. He was noticed, he was loved—so for what reason did he run away? Why, Tony, why?

I was snapped out of my train of thought when I heard Rhodey say, "Pepper! You there?"

"W-what? Oh, yeah sorry I kind of drifted into thought…what's up?" I looked at the computer screen again.

"We found him." I smiled and squealed excitedly.

"Really? Where is he?"

I'll send this message through the speakers
They told me that you moved
I'll cross this country on a frequency
I'm slipping through, I'm slipping through
I'm slipping into the airwaves
And this is nothing new, you are slipping through
My fingers and into the airwaves
The static's where you'll find me
From the corner by the studio
The gold-soaked afternoon comes slow
I deconstruct my thoughts and I am walking by
On Third Street, the freak show thrives
Santa Monica's alive, but
Something's not so right inside
Living with the news

"He's in a town called Rochester…it's still in the state, but it looks a bit far away." Rhodey explained. I sighed.

"How far?" I asked.

"Like, a few hours." Rhodey said. I sighed again.

"Why did he go there?"

"It looks like there's a pretty good engineering school there." Rhodey said. Why did Tony have to go to some stupid college? Why does he need college? He's a genius for goodness sake, what in the world could there be to learn that he didn't already know? Did he feel like he was stupid? Does he need a knowledge refill or something? Does he need to feel like he fits in somewhere, be with fellow techy-people? Why can't he do that at Stark International? I thought there were only the most tech-savvy people working there. Why did he need to leave? Come back, Tony, you're driving me crazy! Ughh, why does he have to be so…cute? Why can't he just come back so I can see his cute face again? I grunted.

"Something wrong?" Rhodey asked, probably having heard me grunt. I put on the most innocent face I knew before responding.

"What? No, no everything's fine…" Apparently he wasn't convinced; he turned to me.

"Pepper, if you miss him its okay to admit it." I let out a mute gasp.

"I don't…why do you think I…?" Why was he smiling? What's so funny about me not believing that I miss Tony?

"Because I'm pretty sure I asked you like ten times if he responded to any of your texts and I never got an answer." Oh.

"Hehe...well…I-I…I didn't get a response…" I muttered. He was still amused by my actions. I, however, was not amused because I was still stuck on the fact that Tony had silently and mysteriously vanished. I wouldn't go on another thought-rant about how Tony shouldn't have run away or he should've told his friends that he was feeling down instead of just leaving, but I know he did the wrong thing by running. Running from your problems instead of facing them was never the way to go, and I'd always assumed that Tony had known that but apparently not. I…no, I've ranted enough to myself. I'm not going to start again. But really, why did he run?

~…~

I'll send this message through the speakers
They told me that you moved
I'll cross this country on a frequency
I am slipping through, I am slipping through
I am slipping into the airwaves
(The static's where you'll find me)
And this is nothing new, you are slipping through
My fingers and into the airwaves
Into the airwaves
So hold on, it's gonna be hard day
So hang on, now. Don't panic
Don't panic, there simply is no need

Tony found the dormitory he had been assigned and unlocked the door. There was no one inside it yet, but honestly he didn't care if anyone came at all. Alone or sharing his room, nothing really mattered to him anymore. Of course, something inside him told him he was starting to miss Pepper immensely, but he was able to ignore the feeling as he had when he went to bed each night.

Tony set his stuff down on his new dormitory bed with a sigh. Why had he come to school? He'd forgotten by now. He was starting to regret arriving in Rochester, NY, but then there was that feeling that he was glad to be here because it was an experience that he wouldn't have gotten to experience like every other teenager. College was a unique experience, right? So it should be fun…right?

Suddenly, Tony heard the door handle jiggle and a moment later the door opened. Tony looked over at the door to see a boy that seemed to be a few years older than him, but once again Tony didn't mind. All Tony only knew that he was of the same major, because that's the way college works. Tony's new roommate set down his things and waved.

"Hey," he said, "I'm Roy." Tony shook his hand.

"I'm Tony," Tony explained. Roy nodded and sat on his bed. Tony saw that Roy didn't seem like the most…obedient person. His clothes had small tears in a few places, especially in his jeans. Tony almost expected a toothpick to be sticking out of his mouth and a leather jacket over his shirt. He didn't look like the type of person to be interested in technology and engineering, but then again you can't judge a book by its cover; that being said, he was a bit young looking himself.

"So, ain't you a little young to be in college?" Roy asked.

"Yeah." Tony seemed to be shutting himself off from the people around him better than he'd been able to in the city. People here, it seemed, didn't really care if you didn't want to talk to them whereas in the city, when someone talks to you, they manage to extract the answer they wanted to hear from you. It was something Tony liked.

"So then what are you doin' in college? You aint look a day over sixteen." Roy asked. Tony turned from his unpacking to answer,

"I'm a sixteen year old billionaire genius; I don't think there's any reason not to accept me for college…" Tony explained. That was the problem with the modern world; Tony felt that lately the public was getting more and more interested in him and he was getting more attention than he'd gotten when Madame Masque impersonated him. It seemed that as it drew closer to his birthday, the press and the public in general became more interested in what Tony did every day. As if there was a story? He went to school, came home, worked in his lab and spent time with his friends; what was so interesting about that?

"Wait, you're Tony Stark?" Roy asked, surprised.

"The one and only," Tony answered.

"Wow! I can't believe it, I based my whole career off of your work! I can't believe you're here right in front of me," Roy marveled. Tony sighed to himself. That was exactly why he had tried to escape the press of the city; they always hounded him as a billionaire, made him into some sort of celebrity, when all he wanted was to be treated like a regular teenaged boy.

"Well, believe it," Tony turned back to his unpacking. Roy noticed that Tony wasn't really caring for his attention, and figured that maybe he should stop treating him like such a celebrity and start treating him like a real friend; it reminded him of when he was younger, and he had been a celebrity; his younger days, when he was on TV as a kid, he was always recognized as 'that kid from that show', never 'that kid, he's a really great guy'. Maybe, Roy thought, he feels like that lately.

"So, umm…after ya finish unpacking, do you wanna tour the campus or somethin'?" Roy asked. Tony absorbed the question happily. Was it that his new roommate was reaching out to him as a friend instead of a billionaire who is on TV more than he wants to be? Someone, besides his friends in the city, was treating him like a person instead of suffocating him with questions about his life and 'how do you feel about your seventeenth birthday coming up?' Tony smiled.

"Sure, that sounds cool."

It's gonna be a hard day
It's gonna be a hard day
Don't panic, don't panic
We are hanging here
We are hanging here

I am slipping through, I am slipping through
I am slipping into the airwaves
(The static's where you'll find me)
And this is nothing new, you are slipping through
My fingers and into the airwaves
Into the airwaves
It's gonna be a hard day
(It's gonna be a hard day)
So hang on, now
Don't panic, don't panic
There simply is no need
It's gonna be a hard day
(It's gonna be a hard day)
It's gonna be a hard day
Don't panic, don't panic
We are hanging here
(It's gonna be a hard day)
We are hanging here
(It's gonna be a hard day)
We are hanging here
We are hanging here

Well, looks like Tony's making a new friend…perhaps Roy's past experiences will teach Tony a lesson about dealing with the stress of fame? Or something more important than that, perhaps? Hmmm…review!