Man Like Me

“Are you sure that you’ll be okay? I can reschedule.” Robert said with an apprehensive smile as Penelope shook her head.

“I’ll be fine sweetheart.” She assured him as Robert frowned slightly and looked over his shoulder to see Jude sitting impatiently inside his car.

“If you need anything, call me and I’ll fly back right away.” Robert said with a serious tone as Penelope used her index finger to draw an invisible cross over her chest.

“I will, don’t worry.” She said pulling him into a tight hug “You’ll have lots of fun, I’m sure.” She said pulling away as he placed his hands on her hips.

“I’ll feel awkward, exposed and you won’t be there to tell me that I look fine and handsome. It’s a losing situation.” Robert complained as Penelope pinched his cheek playfully.

“You’ll be fine and you’ll are always handsome. You’ll feel extremely loved, believe me. Jude will be there, so you won’t be alone.” She said as Jude honked the horn and Robert rolled his eyes.

“This is it.” He said sadly as he pulled Penelope closer and kissed her lips passionately “I’ll make it up to you once I get back.” He whispered against her lips, making her grin.

“I can’t wait.” She whispered as she kissed him again and waved back at Jude.

As she closed the door she sighed realizing that she’d be alone for 5 days. Now that Robert had gone public, aside from the frantic fan letters, he had gained even more popularity and all the phones had went over the roof with invitations. Even so, Robert refused most of them and only agreed to go to fan conventions in New York City and Los Angeles because both Penelope and Jude insisted. Robert didn’t want to let his fans down but he hated the public eye, he hated to feel watched and to have people asking personal questions but he knew that it was part of being Tony Stark so he had to deal with it.

Penelope decided to have her friend Claudia over for dinner and probably sleep-over that night. Claudia met Robert once but they didn’t get the opportunity to talk much, even still Claudia was happy about her friend.

“You won’t believe who I ran into yesterday.” Claudia said as she popped popcorn into her mouth while Penelope paid close attention to the movie they were watching.

“Tell me.” Penelope said without taking her eyes from the screen.

“Kyle and Cat.” Claudia said as Penelope stiffened.

“Kyle and Cat? A-Are you sure?” She stuttered as she turned her face to her friend with shock written all over it.

Penelope hadn’t told a soul about her last encounter with Kyle because it had been painful to hear that he had taken her virginity just for pity and kicks. The only thing Claudia knew was that Penelope and Kyle had grown apart and never spoken again, but she never questioned why because the matter was visibly painful to Penelope. Since Penelope was with Robert, talking about Kyle didn’t seem to be a problem in Claudia’s head.

“Yeah, I ran into them yesterday and they were holding hands, kissing and stuff.” Claudia said normally as Penelope swallowed the lump in her throat, while assimilating the information in her head.

There was nothing wrong with Kyle dating Cat but it just felt strange and like both had moved on without caring. Kyle had never spoken to Penelope again and Cat detached herself right after, probably because Kyle told her his side of the story.

“I see.” Penelope said sighing as Claudia turned to her with a frown.

“I thought that Kyle didn’t matter anymore.” Claudia stated a bit surprised.

“He doesn’t but he always will at the same time. He was my best friend for so many years. We were inseparable, do you remember?” Penelope asked with a small smile as she rose from the couch and went towards the window to observe the dark forest outside of the house.

Claudia frowned “Is there no way for things to go back to what they used to be?”

“I’m afraid not.” Penelope concluded. “Kyle is part of the past, Claudia. I’ll always remember him but it’s best if we go our separate ways.”

“What did he do to you?” Claudia asked getting uncomfortable and curious at the tone her friend was using “You sound so deeply hurt.”

“I-…” Penelope started as she sighed while crossing her arms over her chest “I lost my virginity to Kyle.” She admitted as she heard Claudia’s gasp. “When it happened, I felt like I had given myself to the right guy, because there was love and friendship, but then I found out that I had made a horrible decision. Before me, there was Cat and I guess that Kyle always liked her best.”

“Wait… there was a time when you loved Kyle?” Claudia asked in pure astonishment.

“I wouldn’t call it love. I had a crush on him and he seemed to fancy me as well, so it felt right to do it with him. After we did it, we ended up being just close friends, nothing else.” Penelope explained “Love is what I feel for Robert.” She clarified with a smile “I love him so much.”

“I know.” Claudia said with a grin “Look at that smile!” She said pointing towards Penelope as she blushed slightly. “He really does make you happy.”

“Yes, he does.” Penelope said with a smile as her heart fluttered a bit at the thought of Robert.



Robert sat in a table inside an enormous and crowded area, as he settled he could see a huge line of people and then he realized that those were his fans and he smiled once he saw a few girls smiling at him and showing his book covers.

He greeted them by waving as he started autographing, taking pictures, doing small talk and so on. He was there for about 3 hours and after which he was finally able to rest at his hotel room.
He threw himself into the bed and felt all his exhaustion weighting on him. It was his third day and he beginning to grow tired but he was extremely pleased with the outcome of his trip. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and he stood up mumbling.

“Jude, I told you that I wanted to sleep.” He groaned as he opened the door and his breath got stuck in his throat.

“Do I look that different?”

Robert’s heart fell to his feet as he immediately recognized Holly.

“No.” He replied shortly as he observed her face and could barely find any imperfections aside from her right brow and a slightly skin mark on her cheek.

“You don’t need to lie. I know that I’m not as pretty as before.” She chuckled as he noticed a wedding ring around her finger and snickered, unable to hold his sarcasm.

“Still married, I see.” He pointed out as she nodded her head and he glanced at her body, noticing a small bump in her stomach “And I dare say, pregnant?” He questioned, narrowing his eyes at her.

“Yes, Robert.” She said using the same politically correct but judging tone she always used on him.

“Why are you here Holly?” Robert asked impatiently.

“I was just curious.” She said a bit puzzled “You always wanted to hide Stark… what changed?” She asked in a challenging tone, a tone Robert recognized immediately.

“Everything changed.” Robert replied shortly as a smile grew in his features making Holly narrow her eyes.

“Who is she? Or has your love for Jude finally blossomed?” She mocked as Robert smirked at her.

He recognized this game. Holly just wanted to provoke, to cause a mess, to hurt but she wasn’t going to win this time. She won repeatedly for too long.

“You know exactly what’s going on Holly. You have never been an idiot maybe that has changed.” Robert said, a calm smile appearing on his lips as he instantly thought about Penelope and relaxed immediately.

Holly smirked at him “It is a new woman then. Is she here?” Holly questioned.

“Why does that matter? That’s not your business.” Robert replied as Holly inhaled deeply and he stopped her from replying “I am happy Holly and if that is what you wanted to know, there you have it.”

“Robert, I don’t care about your happiness. I do have my own but I need to remind you that Stark did come up when we were married.” She started as Robert narrowed his eyes while crossing his arms over his chest.

“What do you mean? Stark is my creation, those are my books.” Robert said.

“Well but a lot of them are based in experiences that you lived with me.” Holly said, smirking widely at him knowing that if she wanted she could hold him in the palm of her hand. “There’s a part of me in them, of my private life with my ex-husband.”

“What do you want?” Robert hissed.

“Oh, don’t lose your temper.” Holly said “I don’t want anything, for now. This is just a warning cutie pie.” She said as Robert felt disgust towards the nickname she always used for him.

“This is your sadistic pleasure, isn’t it?” Robert snapped “To visit me after all these years and try to torment me!”

“Oh no, Robert.” Holly said her smirk disappearing “This is just a warning. You are becoming richer and evenfamous, in part because of me. Because I’m the bitch who broke your heart and poor Robert never made mistakes. I’m the perfect villain for your make-believe stories only girls could read.” Holly replied sarcastically, her words dripping with hate.

“How dare you?!” Robert spat “My books contain more feelings than that heart of yours! Your heart is made of stone and you have no soul either. I was a fool because I realized it too late. I was already in too deep.” He said emptily “I tried to give you everything you wanted, I did everything I could to save our marriage. I loved you Holly.”

“You broke my heart Holly and just out of curiosity… have you ever loved me? Seriously. Have you EVER loved me?” Robert questioned completely crushed as Holly’s eyes began to fill with guilty tears.

“I did in the beginning.” She admitted.

“In the beginning?” Robert asked incredulously as he began laughing while placing his hands in his head. “You know what?” He asked, trying to keep strong and not cry in front of her “You have no right over my books and if you want to fight for it, bring it on.”

As Holly was about to reply, he cut her off.

“And you have no place in my life anymore. Now leave.”