𝙩𝙪 𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨 - p. jackson [₂]

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒗𝒊𝒊.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐑.

in less than a week, my boyfriend disappeared, one of my best friends was in a coma, my house was destroyed, and my dad was gone.

i refused to believe he was dead.

he couldn't be.

no matter how heartbroken pepper's sobs sounded. no matter how unlikely the statistics of his survival were.

he couldn't be dead.

emergency vehicles surrounded us, trying to salvage anything they could from the wreck. there was nothing left. press stood around the property, filming.

a blinking light caught my eye. 

a banged up iron man helmet lay on the floor. picking it up, i went behind a half-broken pillar and placed it over my head.

"stark secure server," a different a.i.'s voice said. "retinal scan verified."

and then his voice sounded.

"hey minnie," my dad's voice came. "i'm sorry. i don't — i don't know what i'm doing or what i'm going to do. all i know is that the mandarin is out there, and i can't let him hurt you. the truth is... i'm not okay. haven't been since new york. and i think you know that. you know everything about me, and i don't even have to tell you. but one thing you don't know, is that you ground me. and i don't know what i'd do without you. so, i'm sorry. about everything. about not being able to come home right away. keep looking for percy, i know you'll find him. i love you... and i stole a poncho off of a wooden indian."

the message ended, and i took the helmet off. clutching to my chest, i ran towards pepper, only to see her doing the same thing.

"he's alive," i told her,