DISCO GAL. ❪ Tony Stark ❫ ✓

eight

His father had gotten irritated and angry again. There was a magazine with a magazine with the headline cover of Tony punching the man who made a move on Novalyn.

No matter how much Tony defended his own case, it all died away when his father asked him if he was drinking. There was no point in lying when he had been caught so many times with alcohol in his system, so when he told the truth, all his father said was: "We're throwing you a birthday party and my work associates will be there, so don't screw up."

He left after that without another word, leaving only a glance at Maria and the magazine left on the coffee table.

Tony didn't cry. He learned long ago not to cry or care about his father. Soon enough, he only felt anger and irritation to the man who created him.

"So, you protected that girl?" asked Maria as she laid an arm across Tony's shoulders.

Novalyn could be seen in the corner of the magazine, and the sight of her holding that cute beagle he own for her in her jumpsuit made him smile for a moment.

Maria, being the caring mother she was, noticed immediately, even if the smile dropped as quickly as it came.

"Yeah, some guy was making digs on her," he explained.

Maria hummed. "I've never seen her before."

"She's a new friend."

"That's not a club," she pointed out. "What is that? The arcade on fourth?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I used to go there as a teen," she answered. "I went with your father before too."

He nodded, clearly not pleased at that piece of information.

"You should bring that girl as your date to your party," Maria suggested.

"My party or dad's?" Tony bitterly asked.

Maria sighed. "Tony, please, it's your twenty-first birthday, the age you're legally allowed to drink."

He shrugged, not fazed by his mother's secret jab. "I'll ask her."

"So what's her name?"

The corner of his mouth twitched. "Novalyn Beagle."

"Beagle?"

Tony hummed. "Yep, Beagle."