May 16th, 1988 — Cambridge, MA
10:30 PM, EST

"TONY!" Shelby yelled as she danced with Lisa. "Turn up the Sabbath!"

She might have been a little girl when "Paranoid" was released, but that didn't mean Shelby wouldn't drop everything to become a Black Sabbath groupie, especially when she was as intoxicated as she was.

She and Lisa held both of their hands together as they danced around the room, moving against music that wasn't exactly easy to dance to. Shelby felt so carefree. It was as a weight had been lifted off her shoulders and she was allowed to breathe for the first time.

Lisa pulled Shelby in for a hug and they collapsed on the couch, knocking a red cup out of someone's hand. "Shelbs, I'm going to miss you so much!" She cried, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "We're graduated!"

"I know!" Shelby sniffled, burying her head into Lisa's shoulder.

"You ladies aren't crying without me, are you?" Donna's voice squeaked out from over them. Her voice became high-pitched when she drank, and that night was no exception. She jumped on top of the two girls, sprawling out across their laps.

"Donnsy!" Lisa pulled the girl into the group hug as they cried in their drunken sadness together.

"Hey now, girls, no crying on my watch! This is my party!" Robbo sat on the couch next to them, a wide, goofy smile plastered on his face. He was having himself a fantastic time at his last college party.

"Robbo!" Donna reached over and pulled the boy into the hug. "You know what? I'm going to even miss you."

Rob chuckled to himself before standing again. "I'm going to go kick some ass at beer pong one last time, okay? Don't have too much fun, ladies."

"Oh come on, you guys! You can't be crying! This is our last party together at MIT!" Tony had now joined the sobfest, a bottle of beer in his hands.

"That's exactly why we're crying, Stark!" Shelby exclaimed, looking up at her friend between Lisa's arm, which was wrapped around her face.

Tony laughed and reached into the tangled mess of limbs and tears. "But Shelbster, I need you! I can't be the life of the party without my favorite redhead!"

Shelby sighed and looked over at her friends. "Well, I guess I have to go. Remember that I love you all!"

"We love you too Shelby!" Lisa called as Shelby untangled herself and joined Tony.

"Dance with me, Girl Genius." He said, taking her hand in his.

The endless stream of rock music stopped, and Cyndi Lauper's soft voice began to fill the air.

"Who turned on this?" Shelby loudly groaned, turning to find Robbo standing by the stereo with Tony's Black Sabbath cassette in his hands.

"Oh, didn't you know?" Tony chuckled. "When Robbo gets really smashed, he loves himself a good pop queen."

Shelby giggled and buried her face in Tony's chest. "That's so like Robbo, isn't it?"

Tony grinned and wrapped his arms around her. "Yeah, it is!"

"Hey, Stark! Shot?" Someone beckoned out to Tony with a shot of vodka. He never was one to turn down some good vodka, especially when he was already drunk.

"Sure!" He reached over and took the small glass, then shouted, "Down the hatch!"

"Woo!" Shelby cheered. "You're a pro!"

"I am, aren't I?" Tony grinned as he stumbled backwards a bit.

"Whoa, Stark, maybe you should drink some water." Shelby suggested, grabbing onto him in an attempt to steady him.

"Yeah, maybe." He nodded and began walking towards the kitchen, Shelby following behind him.

She took careful steps as she followed him, as her brain had that fuzzy feeling that it got when she drank too much. A carefree smile filled her face, and her cheeks were rosy with intoxication.

As they reached the kitchen and Tony went to get a cup from the cabinet, Shelby studied the Stark boy. She watched as he lifted his arm up, the AC/DC shirt he was wearing revealed just a tease of the muscles that were always hidden under his rock band t-shirts. She smiled, realizing that he was wearing the shirt he had worn the day they'd first met. He'd had it on under a brightly-colored button down that Shelby still had after he gave it to her when she'd gotten covered in beer.

"Tony?" She said quietly, twisting her hands together in front of her.

"Hmm?" He asked as he turned around, bringing the cup of water to his lips. "Do you want some?" He said, his words forced as he attempted to not slur. "You should have some."

She didn't care about the water, but lips that it passed through. Her eyes were locked on them as he sipped the water. She'd never thought about kissing Tony before, not in depth. She'd briefly thought about it the first time she'd kissed Robbo, however the only thing she wanted to do now was kiss Tony.

She took the cup from him and set it down. "Kiss me." She whispered quietly, looking up into his curious brown eyes.

"What?" He asked, his eyes slowly blinking as he looked down at her.

"Kiss me, Tony Stark." She murmured before reaching up and bringing his lips down to hers.

May 16th, 1988 — Cambridge, MA
10:59 PM, EST

Lisa Royce always knew how to have a good time, and the night of her last party at MIT would be no exception.

She was, however, less of a lightweight than her other girlfriends, so, despite Shelby thinking that she was the mom-friend, Lisa always tried to keep an eye on Donna and the redhead. Besides, most of her drunkenness had worn off already since she'd done a line of shots and downed two beers a while before.

"Hey, Donnsy," She asked as Donna was dancing in the middle of a group of Tony and Robbo's friends, "Have you seen Shelby?"

"She's with Stark." Donna replied as she broke into the Running Man.

"Okay." Lisa nodded, knowing that Tony would always keep a watchful eye over Shelby. "I'm gonna go get some water, okay?"

"Okay!" Donna yelled back, giving the blonde a thumbs up.

Lisa smiled and gave her a short wave before heading towards the kitchen.

She pushed open the door and it bumped into something, or someone, she soon realized. It was Tony, and he had his hands tangled up in the hair of a ... redhead?

Lisa gasped as she realized that it was Shelby. She quickly backed out of the door and into someone else. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She said, running her hands through her short blonde curls.

"It's okay." The boy responded, and Lisa recognized him as one of Tony and Robbo's other roommates. She didn't know their names, but she knew Shelby hadn't known until recently either, and she spent a lot more time at the boys' house.

Oh, the boys! Lisa could only imagine how Shelby would feel in the morning. She was making out with Tony mere feet away from where Lisa was standing, and Lisa also knew that she still had feelings for Robbo.

"You're one of Shelby's friends, right?" He asked.

Lisa nodded, standing protectively in front of the kitchen door. It was okay that she had seen Tony and Shelby in their compromised position, because she wouldn't tell anyone. She couldn't say the same about anybody else.

"Yeah, uh, I'm Lisa." She replied.

"Lisa, right." He smiled kindly and held out his hand. "I'm Rhodey."

She smiled politely and shook his hand before saying, "And it's great to officially meet, Rhodey, but I have to go." She replied before turning around and slipping into the kitchen, semi-relieved to see Tony and Shelby gone. They must have slipped out the second door that lead to the outside, but where exactly had they gone?