CHAPTER 20 -

My birthday quickly approached, and before I knew of it, I was getting ready.

Getting ready for a party can easily take a fair while. Getting ready for a Stark party usually takes longer.

Getting ready to host a Stark party, however, can easily take all day.

That's why it was 4:05, and I was still making the finishing touch on my makeup and hair.

"Your father has asked me to inform you that if you are not there in under 10 minutes, he will be sending a suit for you," JARVIS' monotone voice sounded.

"That would be such a cool entrance, though," I mentioned, putting down the brush and looking myself in the mirror.

"Oh, jewellery," I remembered as I turned around and quickly neared my jewellery box.

"Where are youuu," I song quietly as I looked through the rings and necklaces; "There you are." I picked up the golden heart necklace my mother had left me and quickly spun it around my wrist a few times before closing it.

A determined knock sounded on the door, and I turned right in time to see my dad practically break it down.

"You're late." His angry finger was pointed at me as I opened my mouth to come up with an apology.

"The guests are coming in just thirty minutes. You need to get down there now," he explained and held the door for me.

"You look nice, too, dad," I mumbled as I passed him.

"Scott's down there, I agreed to let him bring Cassie as long as they left early, so he came early to make sure he'd get a chance to see you," my dad explained as we waited in the elevator; "Pietro and Natasha had to go out for a quick mission, but Nat promised she'd make it, although maybe a little late."

The elevator doors opened in front of us, and as we entered the not even started party, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed.

Round tables covered in white tablecloths was placed in a perfect pattern across the floor, every single one with flowers in the middle. The dancefloor was placed right in front of the stage, where the band was setting the last things up. Waiters and waitresses were preparing the last welcome drinks by the bar. By the far left, a long table with a few gifts on it was placed.

"Hey Scott," I greeted as I neared him.

"Hi Cassandra," I mentioned and bend down to give the kid a hug.

"Cassie," she corrected me, making me smile at her.

"What a lovely dress!" I complimented.

"Thank you!"

"Happy birthday, Vee," Scott gratulated me as he pulled me into a one-armed hug.

"Thank you. And thanks for coming, I really appreciate it."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. Your gift is on the table," he mentioned and nodded towards the table I'd noticed earlier.

"You didn't have to get me anything," I pointed out, feeling sligthly guilty.

"Don't worry, it wasn't expensive," he promised me quietly.

"Hey kid!" I looked towards the noise and saw Steve entering the room through the back door wearing a blue suit.

"Hey Steve!" I yelled back.

"I'm gonna go say hi. Watch Cassie?" Scott asked politely. I nodded and turned to her.

"Do you wanna go get a soda?" I asked her.

"I want a beer," she demanded. I thought for a second.

"You can have a sip of my drink if you don't tell your dad," I decided, making her smile.

I handed her the cocktail glass with the liquid inside of it. The big glass barely fit in her hand, so she used both hands as she brought it to her mouth and sniffed it carefully.

"You don't have to. It doesn't taste good," I mentioned.

"Then why do you drink it?" she asked curiously.

"If my dad asks, I don't," I answered as she took a small sip, quickly pulling it away from her mouth and sticking her tongue out.

"It's bitter!" she exclaimed and took a big sip of the red soda to get the taste away.

"Do you really like it?" she asked as I took a sip of it.

"I do. It's like coffee. One day you wake up and you like the taste of bitterness and despair and then you know you're an adult," I joked.

"My mum says I'm an adult when I start bleeding," Cassie replied with a shrug; "But I don't understand, because I've bled plenty of times. Just last week I got a cut on my finger."

I looked to the door as I heard it open, but once again saw a few irrelevant people enter.

"Why do you keep looking at the door?" Cassie asked curiously.

"I'm just waiting for someone to arrive," I explained with a smile.

"Who?"

"He's.. My friend," I decided, the smile disappearing.

"Your boyfriend?" she asked, making the smile reappear.

"No. He's definitely just a friend," I repeated myself.

"Liam's here," my dad stated as he appeared out of nowhere besides Cassie and I; "Wait, is that alcohol?" I looked at the drink in my hand.

"This? No, this... I'm not sure, let me check," I decided and downed the drink in one go; "So it is! Well, good thing I got rid of it." I handed him the empty glass and sent him a cheeky smile before jumping off the chair and heading towards the gathering of people.

The party had slowly begun as people began entering. The band was playing soothing tunes, and the talk was beginning to spread in the room.

"Hey, Steve. Have you seen Liam?" I asked him.

"No. Not once. Haven't even met him," Steve reminded me.

"Ah. Right," I remembered.

"But now is a perfect time, 'cause I'm guessing that's him," Steve mentioned and grabbed my shoulder safely to stop me from fleeing. I looked the same way as him and saw Liam heading towards me in an oversized Armani suit.

"Hey Liam," I greeted; "This is my kind of uncle, kind of dad, kind of brother and kind of colleague, Steve Rogers." Liam looked at Steve with big eyes.

"C-Captain America?" he stuttered.

"Call me Mr Rogers," Steve decided and reached out for a handshake.

"Of course. It's an, an honour to meet you Mr Rogers," Liam said, excitedly shaking the hand while I rolled my eyes.

"You look nice," I commented, trying to divert the subject.

"Thank you. As do you," Liam mentioned and held up a purple box; "I got you something!"

"Awh you didn't have to! Gimme," I demanded and practically snatched it from his hands. I heard a nervous laughter from Liam as he and Steve watched me open it to find a blue velvet box.

"This looks... Expensive," I stated before opening it, revealing a pair of golden earrings.

"Oh, wow, Liam, how... How did you afford this?" I asked, worriedly eyeing him.

"Oh, uh, you know, they weren't that expensive," he claimed.

"It's Tiffany," I noted.

"They were on sale," he quickly lied. I decided to let it go, and slowly closed the box instead.

"Hey, mind putting these on the gift table?" I asked Liam politely, handing him the box.

As soon as he left I turned to Steve.

"I need to get my ears pierced," I stated. He smiled smugly.

"You need to find out where your boyfriend got the money for something like that. He works at a club, doesn't he?"

"He's not my boyfriend aaaand I think I just figured it out," I realised, looking at my dad across the room.

"You don't think your dad paid, do you?" Steve asked unsurely. I looked at him.

"I think that's exactly what happened."

"Wanda!" I greeted as I caught up with her. She turned around, a big smile on her face.

"Veronica, happy birthday!" she greeted happily before hugging me tightly.

"You look amazing," I complimented as soon as she let go; "Hey, have you seen my dad?"

"No, sorry, but have you seen our gift?" she asked excitedly.

"'Our'?" I questioned.

"Yeah, most of the Avengers teamed up for it. Your dad, Steve and Scott weren't in on it. And Natasha," she added with a shrug.

"No, I meant... You and your brother, it's from you guys, too?" I asked, curiously picking at the necklace I'd instead placed around my wrist.

"Oh, no, it's just me," Wanda replied casually.

"Oh." I took a deep breath and smiled, trying not to be disappointed. Of course Pietro hadn't done anything, it was just a birthday. Just my birthday. He was an Avenger, for god's sake!

"Pietro did something on his own," she continued.

"Oh!" I corrected myself.

Always let people finish their sentences, I lectured myself.

"Do you by any chance know when he'll be here?" I asked instead.

"Sorry, I don't. Hey, isn't that you dad?" She nodded her head behind me, and as I turned around I saw my dad chatting with Rhodey. I quickly thanked her before heading over there.

"Incredible!" I stated, faking being impressed; "You still have a job?!"

"Sassy as ever, kid," he commented as he pulled me under his arm, letting his left arm rest on my shoulders while his right held the old fashioned.

"You know you love it. Hey dad, quick question," I directed my attention to my father; "Who is everybody here?"

"What? They're... Our friends," he noted; "That's... Cool guy... And that over there is an attractive woman I'm gonna go flirt with."

"Ew," I mumbled to myself as my dad sent me a quick wave of his eyebrows as he left.

"Don't look down on it, that's how you happened," Rhodey joked as he let go of me.

"That's disgusting," I commented. The music stopped, and I looked at the stage where my dad stood in front of the microphone.

"If we can just give the band a quick hand," he began, getting the crows to clap.

"That's enough. And if we could just give me an even bigger hand for throwing such an amazing party." This time, the crowd went wild, making me roll my eyes.

"Oh it's too much, it's too much," my dad said, faking humility; "Anyway, as you know, this is all because it's my daughter's birthday. Veronica, if you could come up here."

"Quick, hide me!" I ordered, attempting to hide behind Rhodey, who just laughed before pulling me in front of him.

"She's down here!" he outed me, getting the lights to hit me directly. I sighed, but none the less put on the 'thankful daughter'/'press'-smile and headed towards the stage.

"Theeere she is," my dad greeted as I came onto stage, quickly kissing my forehead.

"Veronica, I know I haven't been much of a dad," he began. The light flashed as photographers cameras went off, capturing the moment.

"But I've been trying to make up for that lately. I don't know if you've noticed, but I've kind of been the perfect father that these last few months," he complimented himself; "You know what, I'm not great at speeches. The point is, I love you, kid. Happy Birthday."

I faked a smile as he pulled me in for a quick hug, and the journalists went wild.

"...You're not gonna cry?" he asked me. I looked weirdly at him.

"You want me to cry?"

"Well, yes! I bet Rhodey five dollars my speech would make you cry," he explained as we walked down from the stage together.

"If only you had that kind of money," I joked calmly.

"Anyway, you're gonna have to go talk to the journalists," my dad mentioned.

"What? But... It's my birthday!" I argued, taking a step away.

"I know, kid, but can you just do it? Thirty minutes for questions, then you can relax for the rest of the party," he promised.

"Fine," I rolled my eyes; "But dinner first."

"Actually, they need to start serving the food now. And you need to talk to the journalists before you start drinking, which we both know you're going to be doing no matter what I tell you," my dad explained.

"Mean," I mumbled, but none the less found my way over to the journalists, all placed in front of a large white wall. A red band separated the photographers and fancily dressed journalists from... Well, me.

"Miss Stark, that was a pretty emotional speech your father did! Did you have any thoughts?" A woman in a purple dress asked.

"My father is very important to me," I started, turning on the press charm; "So of course, the speech was very special as well, and I will definitely be remembering it for a long time."

"Your dad mentioned he hadn't been much of a father, what is your opinion on the matter?"

"My dad is very dear to me, even if we've had many seperate interests," I redirected it, turning my attention to the next journalist; a man in a grey suit.

"What interests is that?" he asked, holding out the microphone.

"My dad's most important interest is the Avengers initiative," I said, as I'd practised many times; "as well as Stark Industries, while I have been focusing on my education.

"But Stark Industries, isn't that in your interest as well?" A woman questioned.

"Stark Industries has been a big part of my childhood, and I do, therefore, of course, have a certain interest in the matter."

"Speaking of it, what is your view on Stark Industries latest decision to expand the market to especially Europe?" a woman asked.

"Those questions should be reserved for my father, I believe," I replied with a polite smile.

"While on the matter, are the rumours true? Will you be taking over Stark Industries once you turn 18?" A man asked, holding a microphone with 'New York Times' written on it.

"While I do have an interest in my father's business, it is his, and as of now, there have been no suggestions of me taking over any time soon. It is possible, if my dad does someday retire, that I could be under consideration for the role of CEO, however, that's far from relevant now," I promised.

"One last question, miss stark," the man continued. I nodded.

"Would you be open for going for a drink with me?" he flirted. I laughed nervously.

"Not much of an offer when there's a free bar and I'm already paying, is it?" I joked, making the hoard laugh.