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“All right, see guys tomorrow,” Pepper told her manager as she clocked out. It had been a long morning, everyone seemed to be cranky or having a bad day and it was rubbing off on her. The second her shift was over, she was out.
Finding her favorite table to sit at, Pepper grabbed her laptop so she could begin working on an essay that was due next week. She had put it off, working on other things. Right now, things were peaceful and she was completely fine with that.
Tony walked into the cafe, looking down at his phone intently reading an article about a new Earth-like planet discovered in some far away system. He quickly finished it and slipped his phone into his pocket when it was his turn to order his coffee. After he put in his order and gave his name before moving over to the pick-up counter.
When his coffee was ready he thanked the girl before turning around and searched for a table. As he scanned the room he noticed Pepper’s familiar red hair and smirked before walking over to her table and sitting down. “Well, fancy seeing you here,” he greeted, a shit-eating grin on his face.
Pepper had been focused on her essay and didn’t even realize Tony had walked in until she heard him. “I’m busy,” she rolled her eyes, not paying much attention to him. Though, he tilted her laptop screen down so he could see her, which angered her. “I said I was busy. What do you want?”
“Aww, come on Pep. Aren’t you happy to see me?” He enjoyed teasing with her. It was always fun to see her get a little angry, but then he realized how pissed off she looked.
“Tony, I’m not in the mood. Go away.” Pepper grabbed her headphones and slipped them on, hoping to drown out the sound of his annoying self.
Though, Tony wasn’t going to let that stop her. “Pep… is this about the other night? At the club?” He waited for her reply, but she worked hard to ignore him. “Come on, I apologized for that. I didn’t even know who she was!”
Slamming the screen down on her laptop, Pepper sighed. Since he was the one who brought it up… “You were canoodling with her!”
Tony snickered. “Canoodling? Seriously Potts - what are we in, kindergarten?”
“You were making out with her! You mean to tell me you didn’t know who she was before you started making out with her? Need I remind you, you were the one who invited me to the club! Of course I’m pissed with you.”
“Look, it was an accident… by the time I went to find you, you were already gone.” He tried to explain. “Let me make it up to you?”
“Why would I want you to do that? I’m not going to fall for that, Tony.” Pepper grabbed her coffee and her bag, looking at him. “I’m not like that.” Getting up from her chair, she sighed. “Now, I need to go finish this paper. Don’t bother to find me.”
Leaving Tony at the table, she was walking away when she heard him call back.
“I’ll see you in class, Potts. Don’t forget that!” Tony grinned again. He was determined to at least get Pepper to agree to one more date. He didn’t mean to ruin it the last time. It just happened. Ever since he met the redhead, he had been interested in her. Now realizing he was sitting alone, Tony got up and headed back to his dorm.
Pepper hated having feelings for Tony. It was ridiculous. He was a charmer, constantly hitting on the ladies and she just happened to be that person at the moment.
“It’s so annoying, Nat,” she sighed, grabbing a salad from the fridge. “One minute he’s inviting me to a club, the next he’s making out with some random girl who gave him big googly-eyes. Why should I give him another chance?”
The ballerina shrugged, looking at her friend. “At least he apologized, offered to take you out again. He could’ve just ignored you. Instead it’s the opposite.”
“I guess,” Pepper told her. “But why should I have to give him a second chance when he’s the one who ruined it in the first place?”
“I’m not saying you have to, Pep. I’m just saying, maybe he really likes you and that’s why he wants to take you out again. I say… give him a second chance and if he screws up again… then I’ll give him hell.”
Grinning when she heard her friend. “Thanks, Nat. I appreciate it. I guess I’ll have to see him tomorrow in class anyway… I’ll see what he does then. Now, can we eat please? I’m starving."
Sitting in her usual spot, Pepper set up her computer and looked around to see if Tony would show up. Usually he was late, other times he wouldn’t show up at all. Secretly hoping it wasn’t the latter option today, Pepper waited patiently for him.
It was five minutes to, when he finally strolled in. Tony looked over to where he knew the redhead would be and smiled when she made eye contact with him. “Hey Potts,” he said, sitting in his spot behind her. “Look, I’m sorry about yesterday and I’m sorry about what happened at the club. I was an idiot.”
“I’ll go out with you again, but under one condition,” Pepper spoke up.
“Oh really?” Tony was intrigued.
“I pick everywhere we’re going. No clubs, no ridiculous places. I’m deciding,” Pepper turned back to look at him. “Any objections.”
Tony shook his head, a grin spreading across his face. “Nope. That’s fine.”
“Okay. I’ll see you Friday. Pick me up at seven sharp.” Pepper smiled, before turning back around so she could focus on class. If he could make this date much better than last time, then maybe she’d reconsider her feelings for him.
Fin.