Stark Crossed Lovers

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sam was finding it hard to enjoy herself while down town with Pepper. Everything made her jump or double take. Despite having Happy with them, Sam's mind was wandering about how safe they actually were. Oc could easily run up on them in this café and take her. And who would save her this time? Her dad was out of town, and Peter is at school. She was snapped out of her thoughts by Pepper. "Sam?" Pepper said indicating it was time for Sam to order. "Oh sorry, I would like the Eggs Benedict please," the waitress smiled and walked away. "Are you sure you are alright?" Pepper questioned knowing the real answer. "I'm fine just a little tired," Sam said back smiling. Pepper accepted this answer but knew better. "Well, I was thinking after we eat we could go to that store over there and look for an outfit for you to wear for your birthday," Pepper said pointing to the department store just outside the café. "Yeah that sounds great," Sam said. "You didn't even look at what store I was talking about," Pepper said. "That's because I trust your taste in clothing," Sam smiled to try and come off as genuine as possible. Pepper started rambling about other stores they could visit. Sam was checking in and out of the conversation, putting in her two cents to the conversation when she needed to, but not really interested in the conversation. The only thing on her mind was Oc. She thought maybe taking a deep breath would help her feel less stressed, but it didn't. She remembered his claws and that just sent her mind going again. They could just tear right through this bottom level building like it was made out of paper. "Sam!" Pepper exclaimed noticing that Sam was shredding her napkin. Pepper began to say something about how it would be okay, but Sam spoke before she got the chance "I'm fine." After lunch was payed for, the two of them and Happy made their way to the store. Sam looked around for something cute to wear tomorrow. Her birthday dinners were always the same; Chinese, chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting, and her close nit family by her side. Sam knew she didn't need to dress fancy, after all it was always the same eight people, but getting a new outfit at least gave her the feeling that she was doing something important. Right away she found a new pair of high waisted black jeans that fit just the way she liked. She just had to get those. Next was finding a top to pair with them. She found a pretty black blouse but she couldn't possibly wear black on black for her birthday and decided to keep looking. Finally she came across a grey textured scoop neck blouse and decided to get it. Pepper tried convincing her to get a dress instead, but Sam already had plenty of dresses at home and was perfectly happy with her low key but fashionable outfit she had put together. Shopping really put her mind at ease. The whole time they were looking at clothes and walking around the store Oc had not crossed Sams mind once. After a few more minutes of shopping around, Pepper and Sam agreed that they had everything they needed and went to the checkout line. Sam thought to herself that maybe she didn't have anything to worry about and truly was overreacting about the whole situation. Her genuine smile started to take over her face again as she started to calm down. Finally they were finished shopping and headed to check out. The line was a little long since they came at a busy time of day, so it gave them time to talk. They talked about school and work and then her dad. "I think he will be okay Sam, he just has to get to a point where he feels you are safe again, and then he will calm down," Sam nodded her head in agreement as Pepper spoke.  Sam could tell her dad had been much more anxious than usual since the first mall attack. She was worried about him and his health but felt like maybe Pepper was right. Eventually Oc would be stopped and captured and her dad could rest knowing she was okay. The line finally began to move a little bit pushing Sam and Pepper further ahead in line when Sam noticed a strange looking guy by the home goods section of the store. The guy was large in stature and had glasses. His hair was greasy and he had a slight hunch in his back as if he had gotten injured. Sam knew him. She knew exactly who he was. She tried to look away but her eyes were stuck on the man who was standing in the corner behind the coffee machines. She was frozen, unable to move as if he had glued her feet to the floor. After what seemed like a few minutes Pepper shook her slightly and looked her in her eyes. "Sam, what's wrong?" Sam's face fell immediately and she began to cry. "I'm fine," Sam said fighting back the tears. "That's a lie I can tell, what is it?" Pepper said, worried for Sam. But Sam couldn't talk she just pointed to the corner of the store. Pepper looked over into the corner that Sam was pointing at, there was no one there. "What Sam?" Pepper questioned not understanding Sam's fear. "He was there, I saw him," Sam said realizing that Oc was gone. "At least I thought…." Sam just stopped talking after that and let the tears fall down her face. "I got you kid," Happy said escorting Sam out of the store and allowing Pepper to finish paying for their items. Once in the car Sam curled up and put her head down, tears falling down her cheeks. Pepper quickly made her way back to the car and told Happy to head home. "I know you are upset, but we need to talk about what happened," Pepper said quietly as Happy drove the car back towards Stark Tower. "I just thought I saw him Pepper," Sam said still upset. "Its okay Sam, you had something really horrible happen to you, you're scared and rightfully so," Pepper said trying to reassure Sam. But Sam didn't even really understand, she couldn't decide if what she had seen was even real or not. They finally pulled up to the front doors of the tower, Sam hurried inside and went straight to the elevators. Once inside she began to question her mental status. Was this how her dad felt? She thought to herself. When Sam and Pepper reached the living room Tony was sitting on the edge of the couch watching the news. The story they were covering made her head spin with confusion. The headline of story was "Doc Oc, Put Behind Bars." Sam's mind went into overdrive, her first thought was that she was obviously crazy. Then the rest of the anxiety from the rest of the day flooded her mind, it was becoming too much for her head. She needed to rest, she took a step towards the stairs. All of this was too much. She became dizzy, then everything went dark as she fell to the ground, her attack causing her to pass out.