Say it Back - [ironstrange]

7: Pepper & Christine

April 29th

During the week all Stephen did was practice astral projecting, sometimes even for hours on end and ended up feeling out of touch in his real body.

He told the Ancient One and indeed she told him astral projecting for too long could make one lose touch of themselves. Nonetheless she was proud of him for doing it all on his own.

When Stephen got to school he kept his usual low profile to keep attention off him, while still attracting it because of his poliosis. He hadn't texted Tony that morning so he had no idea where his friend was — probably with his other friends.

Stephen had fun with them, but he was still an introverted anti social who could only be pulled out by the help of an extroverted social birdie.

Luckily Tony seemed to be with his friends close to Stephen's locker, but not all of them. It was Rhodey, Bruce and Thor, who had his arm around Bruce's shoulder though struggling to make it look comfortable considering the height difference.

Bruce was the first one to spot Stephen and pointed at him, catching Tony's attention.

"Oh hi, hot stuff," said Tony and walked up to Stephen, embracing him tightly. "I know you said you were coming but I was doubting for a second."

"So was I. Thought Anne was gonna change her mind." Stephen let go of Tony and waved to the others. "Hi," he said. They happily waved back. "How've you been, by the way? With the...?" Asked Stephen, gesturing to Tony's stitches which were visible because of the cropped top he was wearing. Well, a few of them could be seen but most of them were hidden behind jeans.

"Good. Popped 'em once trying to fit into a tight suit but no biggie."

"You—" Stephen let it go and just sighed, earning a bump in the shoulder by his friend who giggled. Tony loved being himself as much as he hated it.

"It's good to see you again, Stephen! I didn't get to talk much to you last Friday. Stark has said so many great things about you," beamed Thor and put a hand on Stephen's shoulder. It was harsh without the intent of harshness, probably unaware of his own strength.

Stephen chuckled awkwardly. Cute accent, he thought and massaged his shoulder after Thor let go.

"Thor is the biggest himbo you'll ever meet," sighed Tony to sound like he was longing and fluttered his lashes, in truth imitating Bruce - in secret of course.

"Oh, great." Stephen acted distant as always.

"Don't worry-" Tony turned to his other friends "-he'll warm up to 'ya."

&

Stephen luckily had most of his classes alone, that being without anyone who really knows him. He was thankful for this because every time he had a class with Tony, which was only one and that was domestic science, he could never concentrate.

His next class, just before lunch, was biology. Biology was something he was very serious about, seeing as he wanted to become a doctor and the only person in the classroom he recognized was Pepper Potts.

She entered the room looking like she had dressed up as Daphne from Scooby-Doo. Well, it was the same color palette. Purple, pink and lime green. She scanned the room as she made her way into a seat and met Stephen's eyes, smiling softly at him.

Stephen smiled back and returned to his biology book. But not for too long.

"I won't be talking about anything new today," said the teacher. "Instead I've written six different topics for you and a partner to study, and I will be generous enough to let you choose your own partners and topics. We have no time to waste!" She sounded unusually happy, so the students remained in their seats for a few seconds before finding themselves a partner.