Teen Spirit

3: Meet and Greet

The next day at school went similarly to the first. Relatively uneventful with MJ and I forming a sort of Geek squad with Peter and Ned. The outsider's, I suppose. At lunch, we were all talking when my phone dinged with a text message, I glanced down, assuming it to be Judy or Mister Gordon when I got a shock to the system.

Conversation started at 12:53 PM Today
Unknown
Hey, it's me. Tony Stark. Meet me at this coffee shop. 128 W 72nd St. New York, NY 10023
Read at 12:53 PM

I didn't actually think he would respond, but I guess he was serious about this meetup. I sent MJ an anxious look and slid her my phone. "Holy shit."

"What?" Asked Peter in confusion as both Ned and Peter stared at us. It was then that I remembered that they didn't know.

What should I tell them? Hey, I'm texting Tony Stark because I used my dead mother's throw away phone to call him. Why does she have a throwaway phone? Because she was sketchy as fuck. Yeah, no. That wouldn't turn out well. "I'm texting my... Dad, he's super pissed with me right now."

Way to go, Meghan, you don't even have a dad. Well, Gordon, I suppose, would qualify. "Oh, really? What did you do?"

"Uh, I took a detour on my way home yesterday, and he found out." It wasn't a total lie, I did take a detour, and if Gordon ever found out he would be super pissed, but he didn't so oh well.

MJ slid my phone back, and in the text box was a message for me.

Ask if I can come too.

Me
Sure, no problem Mister Stark. Can my foster sister come too? She was there for the call.

I hit send and put my phone down, my leg bouncing uncontrollably, and my shaking hands were hidden under the table. Eventually, we got back into the conversation, and as lunch ended and I walked towards my business class, my phone dinged again.

Tony freaking Stark🛠️
Sure, no problem kid, meet at 4:30
Read at 12:54 PM

For the rest of the day, I was unfocused, which was not a good thing to do at a school of Science and Technology, or a brainiac school. Because I was apparently enough of a brainiac to go there.

Somehow, I managed to get through the day and met up with MJ at the front of the school I had already texted Mister Gordon and told him that we were going to a study group and would be home a little later. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" She asked as I started walking towards the subway station.

"Manhattan."

MJ started to laugh, but that died down as she realized I wasn't kidding. "No, shit! Oh my god, we are so dead if Dad finds out."

"If, he finds out. Which he won't." I assured her before disappearing down the nearest station going to Manhattan.

Getting off, we walked the next block to the cafe, getting there ten minutes early. We glanced around but didn't see Stark there yet, so we shrugged and ordered drinks. MJ had a weird obsession with coffee while I couldn't stand the stuff, so she got a latte while I went back to the first grade and bought a strawberry smoothie. The Barista gave me a funny look but didn't say anything.

After our drinks came out, we sat right by the door, both of us sitting facing the door as we waited nervously. MJ at least drank some of her latte; I got nothing down as my stomach pretended to be an acrobat with all the flips it was doing.

At precisely four twenty-eight, Stark walked into the door, and both of us jumped to our feet. "I assume you two are the two I'm meeting here." He said, glancing at us, his amusement not being hidden. I nodded mutely. "Let me grab a coffee, then let's talk, but back here."

So MJ and I waited as he ordered his insanely complicated coffee and then followed him to the back of the cafe. Much to my displeasure, he chose the seat facing the door, leaving me with my back to everyone.

"So, which one of you is Meghan?" He asked as he sipped his drink. I pointed a shaking finger at myself. "Calm down, kid; I'm not going to kill you. It's nice to meet you." He said, shaking my hand.

"Nice to meet you, sir," I said, my voice softer and far weaker than I would have hoped for.

He looked at me and nodded. "You look like her."

"I'm aware."

At my rather cold comment, Tony raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. "So, your fourteen?" He asked me softly. I nodded my head and glanced down at my lap. "That would have made you six when she..." Once again, I merely nodded. "I'm sorry. So, why did you just contact me?"

"I found her old phone at the house. Nothing was moved, and I ended up there, so I grabbed a few of my things, and then when I saw you in the contacts," I paused and thought about how to go on.

Tony nodded. "You wanted to know why I was mixed up with your mother."

"It wasn't like she was someone anyone except drug dealers wanted to know. She was a bad mom, friend; I'm sure she was a bad lover because my dad is absent, so I was just curious as to why she had you in specific on her phone." I explained, slowly gaining my confidence. MJ took my hand comfortingly under the table, which I was happy for.

He ran his hand over his face; I could tell he was tired and that the entire situation was concerning him. "She was a woman that I was involved with a decade and a half ago, one that admittedly I probably shouldn't have been involved with."

MJ shot me a worried glance, but I nodded my head. I thought my mom was a bad idea too. "So, what happened? Obviously, something did if she was still in your phone despite nearly ten years of no contact."

"She didn't care about my money much. Didn't seem to want it. She was always chasing enlightenment in ways that I really didn't agree with but was happy to deal with nevertheless. She was just a girl, I guess." As Tony explained his relationship with Petra, I knew enough to read between the lines.

She was a drug-addicted booty call.

"Was there anyone else?" I asked I was fishing this time, for information. I wanted to find my dad, so I could punch him in the face when I did.

Going to a sympathetic look, Tony shook his head. "I'm sorry, kid, but I don't know." Sighing, he looked at me. "How?"

I knew this question was coming. There was no way it wasn't. "I'm not completely sure; I only found her three hours after the fact. I came home from school, and I thought she was asleep on the couch. I was six, so I didn't know to check and see if she was alive. I ate some snacks and watched a show when I decided I want dinner. When she didn't wake up, I went to my neighbors, who kept me there until her body was taken away. The needle was still in her arm."

"I'm sorry." He told me softly.

What for? I wanted to ask him. I wasn't happy; she was dead, but I knew I was better off. I didn't need a woman who cared more about drugs than her six-year-old daughter in my life anyway. "It happens, it doesn't really matter."

Just then, his watch started beeping, inciting a sigh from Tony. "I have to go to a meeting, but I really want to stay in touch with you. Check up, see how you're doing. Where do you live? I would like to meet your foster parents."

MJ and I shared a look before we came to the silent agreement to give him the information with no doubt that he could find it anyways. So, writing down our address, we shook his hand and walked out with him.

My smoothie was still untouched. "I assume you two took the subway? Here, Happy will drive you home." He said, pointing at his driver. Just as I was about to ask how he was getting home, he pressed a button, and his suit encased him. "Stay out of trouble, kid." And then, he was gone.

"Come on, you two, let's go."