Obsessions ⇢ Tony Stark

4 | Puppy Face

Eleanora took a deep breath as she came out of the bathroom stall, recomposing herself after her minor breakdown. She washed her hands, made sure her eyes were dry, fixed her hair, adjusted her clothing and popped a piece of gum in her mouth as she left the bathroom. Her head was throbbing slightly so she hurried outside for some fresh air, allowing herself to calm down and relax for a few minutes while she sat at a bench. Although, what was meant to be a few minutes ended up turning into a half an hour, because she was just too comfortable curled up on the seat enjoying the break in the cold weather. Her peace was disrupted, however, when Tony joined her.

She was about to make some quip about him ruining her zen, when he spoke up.

"What did you mean I can do better? Because... that's not really your place."

Eleanora frowned and sat up to look at him properly. He wasn't looking at her, but there was a troubled expression on his face. "Sorry?"

"The other day when you saw Maddie and you said 'you can do better than that'."

"That... was a pretty weird thing to say," she admitted. "I didn't mean to be rude, I just think you can find someone... better than her."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, turning to look at her.

"Don't get shitty with me," Eleanora chided, crossing her arms. "I said that like a week ago, if you're bringing it up now, it's for a reason. If she treats you well and makes you happy, then that's fine. I just know that, to a lot of other people, she hasn't been very nice."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Maddie's really sweet."

"To you, yes. Because she's manipulative and uses her charm to get what she wants. Trust me, I've known her since freshman year of high school."

Tony crossed his own arms. "Is it that hard to believe that someone would want to date me for me?"

"No," she said calmly. "But my point is, I've seen her do this over and over again. Look, I haven't said anything before  because I didn't want to upset you, but then I accidentally blurted that out and now that you asked, I'm not going to lie to you - even if it's not what you want to hear. If you just want her company, then go ahead, but I'm just warning you - don't let her fool you into thinking it's more than that."

Tony looked away and was silent for a moment before glancing back at her with an expression that didn't really feel right to Eleanora.

"Yeah, well, I've never really been one for long-term relationships, so," he shrugged, as if this was an answer.

"Okay, as long as you're happy," she replied, looking back out to the campus, missing the odd expression that flitted across his face. 

That afternoon, Eleanora was just finishing up her timeline of the rest of the week, which she had planned in great detail to ensure she could get all her assignments done, when her phone rang. 

"Hey, baby," Tucker greeted. "I was thinking of doing homemade pizzas for dinner tonight, what toppings do you like?" 

Eleanora grimaced down at her plan for that night, which definitely didn't include going to his place. Thursday night was their night, but she really needed to get this stuff done and she was going to tell him but now he had called her first and had already started planning dinner, which just made her feel really guilty for having to bail.