Battle Scars {An Iron Man FanFic}

Chapter 18: Trust

A/n: This is dedicated to @potterjay2816 ! Thanks for reading and commenting :D Here it is guys, sorry, half asleep...

. : ☼ : .

Chapter 18: Trust

Andy

"Look, this happens once more and I'm going to have to take some serious action" Mr. Blanc told me calmly. I nodded my head and promised him it wouldn't happen again.

"I wasn't going to this time, I swear" I said, looking him in the eye. He looked out the window behind me and nodded.

"I believe you" he said before standing and adjusting the button of his suit coat. "You can go; we will be calling your guardians."

"What, come on Mr. Blanc" I begged and he shook his head solemnly.

"There are rules I have to follow Andy, you know that. I will, however, explain your intentions and the truth of the situation." I could only nod again and walk out of the principal's small office. I entered the main office and walked past Luke, who was playing with a pencil over his lip. I went over to the staff members who helped me when I first came and she signed a small sheet of colored paper for me. It was simple proof of where I had been, so as to avoid lengthy explanations with my teachers.

"Thanks" I breathed out and she went back to the paperwork in front of her. I turned to walk out of the room, not giving Luke another glance. I sighed heavily as the door closed and looked out to see class was still in. I made my way over to English angrily, now I would probably have to stay in to finish the damn test.

                As I walked into the class, everyone stared up to me for a second before returning their gaze down hurriedly to their desk. I walked over to Ms. Fox and she handed me my test crossly. I grinned weakly, trading with my note, and headed to my seat in the back. Okay, I told myself, Name... easy enough. I grinned to myself as I continued through the test.

. : ☼ : .

                Tony was silent the whole way home and I was left with time to wonder why he picked me up. Usually Pepper did, as Tony was working on new tech. But ever since both Dynamo and Laser left the scene, he's been languid every day. As we parked in the front of the house, he pulled out his keys and looked over to me.

"Well kid, seems I've saved you for about... fifteen minutes. Now prepare for death, Pepper's waiting inside." He leapt out of the car and pressed the lock, the car beeping behind us. As I neared the door, he put a hand on my shoulder and skipped two feet ahead of me.

"Let me go first... no wait!" he exclaimed, bringing me around in front of him. "You get the full blow; I'll sneak away when it's clear." He steered me ahead of him and then lifted my hand up to the door knob. It landed limply on the steel and he groaned and tried again. I had to suppress a laugh as he tried a third time. He finally gave up and opened it for me before running to the side, away from immediate view. I walked in worriedly, looking out for any surprise attacks. I walked past the first staircase and sighed.

"Pepper?" I asked in a shaky voice, realizing she had to be somewhere. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. I went to sit at the table and shrugged my backpack onto my lap. I pulled out the orange plastic bottle and tipped one small pill into the palm of my hand. I swallowed it down quickly and took a look around. I lifted the bottle up to my lips and took another swig when I heard my name being called out angrily. I raised a hand to my lips, forcing myself to swallow. Otherwise, it would have shot out onto the floor.

"Andy? What on Earth are you thinking?" Pepper shrieked, entering the room in her usual business attire.

"Look, it's not what you think" I started and looked over to my right to see Tony hanging by the door subtly.

"What, so you weren't trying to sneak out of school with Luke!" she exclaimed angrily, turning to me and away from the door. Tony took his chance and quickly ran into the house and escaped down the stairs.

"No actually, I wasn't"

"Then what were you doing?" she asked irately. I didn't want to rat Luke out but I didn't want Pepper to think otherwise. It was his fault that I got in trouble again... so why not just tell her? I realized why once the words left my mouth.

"Andy, Luke is a bad influence on you. He's nothing but trouble" she said, crossing her arms over her chest and walking forward a step.

"What are you saying?" I asked, voice shaking lightly.

"I'm saying... that maybe you shouldn't be seeing him anymore" she said, her voice less steady then before.

"W-what?"

"All he's done is sent you to the principal's office almost every day this week. Not to mention, somehow convincing you to stop taking your medication."

"No, he didn't decide that, I did. Anyways, it wasn't him at first... about the ditching. I was just... tired of it all. Believe me, I just..." I was at a loss for words. I just couldn't figure out what was wrong, what I should have asked or done or said. Pepper seemed to sense this and walked over to me, putting a hand over my shoulder.

"Andy, do you really like this boy?" she asked sincerely, all traces of her previous anger gone. I sat for awhile, thinking to myself. Did I truly like him?

"Yeah... I mean, he helped me. He helped me that night and, and well after that, we talked more and... he's not as big of a jerk as I thought he was," it took a second for me to realize how bad what I said sounded. "Okay, wait. He's really nice and sweet, considerate. I don't know Pepper, I've never liked anyone before. I don't know... I don't know if I'm supposed to be-" I stopped myself. Too much emotion was pouring into my head, making my thinking turn hazy. I didn't like the feeling, of not being able to get my thoughts straight. I thought of how I felt when he held my hand, and then when he tried kissing me and I denied. "How am I supposed to feel?" I wondered aloud, feeling a harsh red reach my cheeks. She pulled up a seat next to me and sighed.

"Well," she started, looking down. "Your first relationship, first crush, is supposed to feel... crazy. Everything he does, every time you see him, you feel like your heart is beating a hundred miles a minute. Anything he tells you to do seems reasonable, okay even, as long as he is happy with your choice. You'd spend all your time with him, think about him, talk to him. It's hectic and foolish, but you still feel great about it." She paused and breathed in, "He's all you can think about."

                I looked down, depressed. I could feel my heart beat, could feel a sudden pang in my head as a headache begun. All of that, all she had said, had been false.

. : ☼ : .

                I crawled into bed slowly and swallowed down the small white pill.  I laid myself down and turned myself over to face the window. The moon was high over the water, casting an eerie white glow. I closed my eyes and started to think over the last week. Without the medicine, without something to keep everything under control, I couldn't stand talking to anybody. I was irritable with everyone but whenever I was alone I felt terrible. I stopped answering the teachers and only shrugged when they called on me. I ignored all small talk random strangers started up with me. At the time, I didn't know care about the sudden change of heart. Frankly, I think those handful of kids just heard about the surgery and talked to me out of pity.

                Luke started to realize how bad off I was and convinced me to skip PE. It wasn't a hard task; all I did during that class was sit around since I had an excuse. We spent our time at the park nearby, hiding in the plastic slide when the cops did their hourly patrol. At first, it was fun. We laughed and had a blast, but by the third time I was short-tempered even to Luke. I went home and straight to my room. I couldn't stand being in the work shop and, for the first half of the week, seeing Tony's face.

                I felt my eyelids droop and my blinks grew longer. My eyes fluttered shut and I let the sleep overcome me, praying that the nightmares wouldn't return.

. : ☼ : .

Editted November 6, 2013. Remember to vote and comment! Let me know what you think! :D

((  It's not the best chapter but I'm sure it'll be headed somewhere  ))

-Ela