December 23rd, 1987 — Salem, MA
11:45 PM, EST

Kissing Robbo had felt magical.

Now, as Shelby reflected back on the moment as she laid awake in bed, she was inexplicably confused.

Robbo was a great kisser, he really was. And Shelby really liked kissing him, she really did.

But — something didn't feel right. As soon as he'd kissed her, she'd felt her insides turn to mush. She was putty in his hands, as long as his lips were on hers. It was a certain kind of magic, the spell someone could place on a person by just locking lips with them. It was great — until Shelby had opened her eyes again and saw the face that was looking down at her.

Tony.

No, it wasn't Tony. Not really. It was Robert Everett, that was 100% certain. While she had been kissing Robbo, her mind had drifted elsewhere, off to a boy that was miles and miles away in New York. A boy that was also her best friend. A boy that she had never, not ever, thought about kissing until that night.

She didn't even like Tony in that way! She liked Robbo! She really liked Robbo — he was so cute and funny and charming, and he made her smile.

After ice cream, they'd gotten back to the Everett home and snuck up to Robbo's bedroom, where they'd made out some more. Thankfully, Shelby's thoughts had been cleared of any Tony intrusions. It must have been just a one-time thing. A fluke. An accident. She wasn't quite sure why her brain had made that kind of mistake, but it had, and now she was thinking about it.

She had stayed the night in Robbo's bedroom, and he was sleeping peacefully beside her. Shelby, on the other hand, was wide awake and staring at the ceiling, wondering why she had thought of Tony when Robbo had kissed her and wondering why it bothered her so much. Maybe it was guilt — she and Rob were Tony's two best friends, and they were kinda-sorta together. Yeah, that's what it was. Had to be.

Robbo rolled over in his sleep, his brown hair tousled into a disheveled mess. Shelby smiled to herself, wishing she had a camera nearby that she could use to quickly snap a picture. It was cute, seeing him so relaxed and ... well, quiet. The boy wasn't often without some kind of noise.

Shelby was overthinking things. It didn't mean anything, kissing Robbo and thinking of Tony. She knew in her brain that was true. She was always overthinking things. That was part of what would make her a great engineer — she always paid attention to detail.

She smiled to herself and pulled the covers up to her chin, then closed her eyes and hoped for sleep.

December 23rd, 1987 — New York, NY
11:45 PM, EST

Tony wondered what Shelby was doing.

Was she awake?

Was she asleep?

Was she with Robbo?

Well, she of course was with Robbo. She was at the Everetts' house.

But was she with Robbo?

All his old friends were home from college, so, per his character, Tony was with them at a party. Except, he wasn't his usual party self. He was quieter, less drunk, and overall not very cheery.

Parties weren't the same without Shelby anymore, or Robbo, for that matter. He liked his high school buddies, but they didn't compare to the friends he'd made in college. Nothing did. The group of friends a person made in college was so great, it was like family.

"Tony Stark?" A bubbly voice called out behind him. Tony spun around to locate the owner of the voice.

"Emily Hawkins. How the hell are you?" Tony asked, setting his beer down before walking over to the blonde.

"Fantastic." Emily replied with that flirty grin of hers.

Tony had been obsessed with Emily over high school, as every other boy and girl had been. She was gorgeous, with long, tan legs, bouncy blonde waves, and bright blue eyes.

He'd, unfortunately, never gotten a chance to strike a date with her, as she'd dated the captain of the football team through all four years and had never been interested in a young kid like Tony. After all, he had been only 14 when they'd graduated.

"You went to Stanford, right?" Tony asked, watching as she poured herself a cup of beer from the keg.

"I did." She said with a nod. "I'm headed to law school next year, actually."

"Wow, good for you." He said with a nod. "I didn't think you were the kind of girl that went to keggers."

"Well," Emily said with a smile. "I wasn't, but college changes people." She laughed. "And what about you, Mr. Smarty Pants? How's MIT? I see you've matured." She smirked.

"Well, physically, perhaps." Tony joked. "And MIT is great."

"Any special ladies in Boston?" Emily asked, gesturing for Tony to take a seat beside her, which he did, after locating his beer once again.

He sighed and shook his head. "Uh, no."

"Really?" Emily smirked. "Because Danny said he saw you getting friendly with a redhead one day."

Oh, right! Tony had completely forgotten that Emily's younger brother had gone to MIT two years after Tony had arrived.

Wait — people in New York knew about Shelby?

"Oh, yeah." He cleared his throat. "Shelby. She's just a friend." He stated. "You know, men and women can be just friends."

Emily laughed. "I suppose they can."

"What about you?" Tony asked, taking a sip of his beer.

Emily shook her head. "I've dated around, but ... nothing serious." Her blue eyes were locked on Tony in a way that he could only describe as carnivorous. She chewed on her bottom lip and flipped some of her blonde locks over her shoulder. "You know, Stark, you've gotten a lot hotter since high school."

Tony laughed. "Well, I'd hope so. I was still going through puberty when we graduated."

"And I've heard you're dashingly charming around the ladies ... and so incredibly smart." Emily leaned closer to him and he sniffed, trying to smell the alcohol on her. For her to act this way, she had to be drunk. Sure, Emily Hawkins has been tremendously flirty and provocative in high school, but she would never be interested in someone like Tony Stark.

Would she?

She certainly didn't smell drunk, and he could have sworn she had just walked into the party.

"Emily, how much have you had to drink?" Tony asked carefully.

Emily laughed and set her still-full cup down beside her. "None. I just got here, and was planning on getting fully smashed tonight, but then I saw you, you handsome devil, and I decided to not do that."

Tony's eyes went wide, but then the picture of Shelby flashed into his brain. Shelby. His heart ached for her, but ... she was with Robbo. Tony didn't stand a chance with his beloved redhead.

But Emily?

Tony was fairly certain he stood a pretty great shot with Emily. Tonight, anyways.

He wasn't drunk; she wasn't drunk. What was the harm?