Stark's Shadow

1988 - The Prequel

"UGH, LEAVE ME ALONE, TONY!!" I scream at my brother, shoving him out my door and slamming it in his face.

"Olive," he says, trying to be calm, "The dude is older than I am. I'm not letting you see him!"

He tries opening the door, but I lock it and put my desk chair under the knob so he can't get it. I ignore Tony as he tries to talk to me through the door.

I stopped hearing what he was saying while I tried to fix my makeup, but am shaking with anger. I know I'm in the wrong. I am fifteen, and the guy I'm dating is twenty. I'm disgusted that I'm doing this. I try to tell myself I want to be with him, but I know that's a lie. I don't know what I want. Maybe Tony is right, and I'm just a rebellious teen.

I stare into the mirror on my vanity, trying to understand how I feel. I don't know how much time has passed, but I can't hear Tony anymore on the other side of the door. I know I should apologize. I'm wrong. I know I am, but I just can't bring myself to do it. He may be a pain in the ass, but he's my older brother. That's what he does. He says, "it's part of the "job'" every time I complain.

I decided I should take my makeup off. I'm not going anywhere now. My eyes are puffy from crying, and I don't want my date to see me like this. I don't want to be vulnerable. I change out of my dress and heels, take out my hair, and take a shower.

I stand in the shower with my thoughts racing until I notice the water run cold. I get dressed in the bathroom and open the door to my bedroom. There's someone on my bed. I can see the silhouette of a what I assumed was a man, probably Tony, from the lights outside my window.

"Tony?"

"No," I hear from the silhouette. It was a woman's voice. "Don't worry, sweetheart."

"Who are you? Why are you in my house?" I demand.

She laughs and stands up.

"I know I'm just unbelievably hilarious, but I'm being serious," I say, barely above a whisper. "Who the fuck are you? And why are you in my fucking house?!" I get louder as I speak. She walks closer to me, close enough that I can see some details of her face. She had a small nose and a strong jawline. I didn't recognize her.

"I'm here to save you."

"Save me?" I spit at her, "Save me from what, you bitch?"

"So many things," she replied, "yourself, your parents, but mostly men. They are vile creatures, and we've been watching you and know what you've been up to."

I start to laugh. "Tony put you up to this, didn't he? Well, you can tell that asshole he doesn't need to fucking worry because I wasn't planning on going anywhere with him!" I lie, "I was going to just go get some fucking fast food alone. Tell Tony to keep his nose in his own fucking business!"

The woman doesn't respond. She walks closer to me and nods. I feel a hand grab my face, holding a cloth over it. I smell something sweet and realize what's happening. I start kicking and get away from the person.

"You idiot," I say, turning to the person, "Chloroform doesn't work that fast. Life isn't a movie. It takes a few minutes to work."

The next thing I know, I see a fist coming fast to my face, and I have no time to react.

A/N: Sorry this first chapter is so short. It's just a little introduction, in the future, chapters will be longer