Chapter 5
Stephen's family and Christine were having dinner.
"So, Christine, what's your plan next?" Eugene asked.
"I have applied to Columbia. Hopefully, if I get accepted, I will be staying in New York," Christine said.
"Of course, you’ll get in. Stephen will be there too. You know you can come here whenever you're free, right, Stephen?" Eugene said.
Stephen was thinking about the accident with Tony. He had said so many mean things, which he now regretted.
"Sorry, what?" Stephen asked.
"What’s wrong? You've been zoning out since morning," Beverly asked.
"Nothing, Mom. I was just thinking about something," Stephen said.
"Okay," Beverly said.
After dinner, Stephen was standing alone on the balcony. He felt guilty about speaking too harshly to Tony.
Christine came and looped her arm through Stephen's.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Hey."
"I know what's bothering you," Christine said. "You regret yelling at Tony, don't you?" she asked.
"I… Yes. I didn’t mean to hurt him," Stephen said.
"I know. You never mean to hurt people, but sometimes, your words do," Christine said.
"What should I do now?" Stephen asked.
"Maybe apologizing would make you feel better," she said with a shrug.
"But it was his fault. If he hadn’t jumped in front of my car, I wouldn’t have shouted," Stephen said.
"Stephen, accidents happen. Just imagine if you had asked him if he was okay. It would have ended much more smoothly. But instead, you got aggressive. Stephen, sometimes you need to control your emotions and be composed."
"Are you saying that I have anger issues?" Stephen asked, quirking his eyebrows.
"If that’s the only thing you got from what I said, I’m done,"
Christine said, rolling her eyes. She started to walk away, but Stephen pulled her back to him.
"Hey, I’m sorry. I understand what you’re saying. Thank you for the little talk," Stephen said, smiling.
"Anytime," Christine said, leaning on his shoulder. "Okay, I’m going to my room. I’m tired from the day," Christine said.
"Okay, goodnight," Stephen said.
"Goodnight," Christine said, kissing him on the cheek before heading to her room.
Eugene walked over and stood beside Stephen.
"She’s a lovely girl, isn’t she?" he asked.
"Yes, she is. I’m lucky to have her as a friend," Stephen said.
"Mmh… Stephen, it’s very rare to find people who truly understand us, who can match our quirks in this world. If you’ve found that person, hold them close," Eugene said.
"What are you saying?" Stephen asked.
"You know what I’m talking about," Eugene said.
"Dad, I love her as a friend. But dating feels weird to me," Stephen said.
"Son, take her on a date. Spend more time with her. You might start enjoying it."
"Should I do that?" Stephen asked.
"Yes, take her to the park or arcade or anywhere," Eugene said.
"Alright, I’ll do that."
"Yeah, that’s my boy," Eugene said, patting his back.
Stephen smiled.
Meanwhile, Tony, Bruce, Steve, Thor, and Nat were at Bruce's house.
"So, what are you guys doing tomorrow?" Thor asked.
"I have a date," Tony said.
"With whom?" Steve asked, sounding a little disappointed.
"Justin Hammer, that’s what he said," Tony replied disinterestedly.
"Hammer? Tony, you can do better than Hammer," Bruce said.
"I know. But he asked me out. When have I ever said no to someone?" Tony said.
"You can say no, Tony. Why are you going out with these random people?" Steve asked.
"I want a real relationship too, Steve. But everyone seems more interested in my fancy life," Tony said, a little disappointed, remembering what Stephen had said.
"That’s not true. There are people who genuinely care about you," Steve said.
"Like who? I know you guys care about me, but can I date any of you? No, because you’re my friends," Tony said.
Steve wanted to say that he could date him, but he knew it wasn’t the right time, so he stayed quiet.
"Tony, we know you’re looking for someone to date, but Hammer? Really?"
"I don’t care if it’s Hammer or anyone else," Tony said, standing up. "Okay, guys, bye. Goodnight," Tony said and left the room.
The next morning, Tony went on the date with Hammer. Hammer took Tony to Central Park; Tony knew it was just to show off that he was dating Tony Stark. Just as his friends had said, the man was a creep. It was their first date, but that jerk couldn’t stop touching Tony, making him uncomfortable.
"Tony, you smell great, you know. I’ve heard a lot about how you smell, but I didn’t expect this much sweetness," Hammer said, leaning into Tony’s neck.
"It must be some fancy cologne that your father bought you, right?" he continued, his hand slipping slightly under Tony’s shirt.
Tony wanted to escape from this creepy man. He noticed a long line in front of the ice cream counter.
"Justin, could you get me an ice cream, please?" Tony asked, pulling away from him.
"Sure, anything for you, dear," Justin said, heading off to buy the ice cream.
"Fuck, I hate this," Tony said with a sigh.
Stephen and Christine were walking through the park, their arms linked.
"This is really nice, isn’t it, Stephen?" Christine said.
"Yeah, we should have done this sooner," Stephen said, smiling.
"Mmh. But you know, Steph, you’re being so much nicer to me than when we were just friends," Christine said.
"Am I?" Stephen asked, frowning.
"Yes, I never thought you could be a softie," she said, chuckling.
"Now you know," Stephen said.
As they were walking, Stephen noticed Tony sitting with a man who was older than them, and the man was touching Tony a lot. Stephen could see that Tony was uncomfortable, but he wasn’t pushing him away. Stephen felt an urge to rush over and pull the man away—not that he cared about Tony, but he felt like he should.
"Stephen, I need to buy a dress for the party. It might take some time. Do you want to come with me?" Christine asked.
Stephen watched as the man walked away from Tony. He was alone now. Maybe Stephen could apologize to him.
"Uh, Christine, you go ahead. I’ll wait in the park. Call me when you’re done," Stephen said.
"Okay then," Christine said and went into the shop.
Stephen walked over to the bench where Tony was sitting.
"Strange, what are you doing here?" Tony asked, confused.
"I’m on a date," Stephen said.
"Oh! Did your date run off because of your asshole attitude? Because I don’t see anyone," Tony said, looking around.
"No. But it seems yours has left," Stephen said, smirking.
"I wish," Tony said, scoffing.
Stephen noticed the wound on Tony’s arm. It was poorly bandaged.
"That’s the worst way to dress a wound," Stephen said, staring at Tony's bandaged arm.
Tony was confused at first, then noticed Stephen staring at his arm.
"Oh! None of us are aspiring doctors," Tony said.
Stephen sat down next to him and took his arm in his hands. Tony winced when Stephen touched the wound.
"See, you’re in pain. That means it’s infected. And it’s swollen too. You know what could happen with an infected wound? Bacteria can grow there. It might even cause organ failure and death," Stephen said.
"Thanks, doctor, for scaring me," Tony said rolling his eyes.
"This needs to be re-dressed. Wait here," Stephen said, walking away.
Tony was confused by ‘Mr. Dick Man's’ sudden concern for him.
Stephen returned with some cotton, antiseptics, and bandages. He sat near Tony and removed the old bandage.
"Why are you doing this?" Tony asked, confused.
"Don’t even think I care about you. I’m an aspiring doctor, and it’s my duty to take care of people in need," Stephen said.
"Oh? So you wake up in the morning, take a walk through the park, and find people who need help? That girl over there fell and scraped her knee. Is she your next patient?" Tony asked, chuckling.
"Hating you is easy, you know," Stephen said, glaring at him.
"Then tell me, why are you doing this?" Tony pressed.
"Because I’m partly responsible for this, and I overreacted a little yesterday," Stephen said.
"A little?" Tony said, laughing.
"Stay still," Stephen said, tying the bandage. "It’s done. You need to change this in two days," Stephen said.
"Okay, will you come to my house in two days, or should I wait here?" Tony asked with an amused smile, looking into Stephen's eyes.
Tony noticed the usual pale blue eyes turning a darker shade.
"If you want me to undress you, I could come to your house—maybe even kiss it better," Stephen said in a low baritone voice, which made Tony shiver.
"Uh, I should go," Stephen said, standing up quickly.
Tony was surprised, and kind of turned on. Not his fault—Stephen's stupid voice was doing things to him.
What the fuck was that! Tony thought.
"Tony, I bought chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavors. Which one do you want?" Hammer asked.
"Uh, Hammer. I need to go somewhere right now. Bye," Tony said, walking away.
Stephen was heading back to where Christine was shopping.Why the hell did he say that? Stephen thought to himself.He was never into men. Yes, he had admired Tony's intellect for a long time, but that boy was an arrogant, spoiled kid. And most of all, he wasn’t gay, and he was dating Christine.
Christine was waiting outside the shop.
"Are you done?" Stephen asked."
Yes. Why is your face all red?" Christine asked.
"Nothing. Let’s go home," Stephen said, taking the bags from Christine.
When Stephen got home, he didn’t talk to anyone in the house. He locked himself in his room. He knew he had worried Christine and his family, but he needed some private time now.Stephen lay on the bed, trying not to think about Tony. But when he closed his eyes, all he could see were Tony's brown eyes looking at him. And that perfect smirk, which Stephen sometimes wanted to punch. But now, instead of wanting to punch him, he wanted to kiss him until those lips were swollen.Damn it! What’s wrong with me? Stephen thought, sitting up.
Tony was in his room, thinking about what happened in the park. Stephen was attractive, no doubt about that. But he had humiliated him, yelled at him, and had the audacity to flirt with him using that sexy voice. Tony couldn’t understand that boy. He lay on the bed, sighing.