May 17th, 1988 — Cambridge, MA
10:12 AM, EST

Shelby woke up the following morning in a nauseating fog. As she laid motionless on her bed, her eyes blinked open and she squinted against the harsh morning light. Why did the sun have to be so bright on a spring morning? She rolled over, bumping into someone. She opened her sensitive eyes to get a better peek at the intruder. It was Tony.

He was sprawled backwards on the bed, his feet near Shelby's face and vice versa. That's when she realized she wasn't in her room, and she hadn't fallen asleep in her bed. She was in Tony's room.

That explained why she didn't remember getting home the previous night. As she sat up, her stomach became even rockier, so she quickly ran for the bathroom. Her high-waisted Levis, usually trusty and comfortable, were stiff as a board, and her t-shirt was somewhat sticky and smelled like someone's Coke mixer. As she knelt down in front of the toilet, a flash of a memory from the previous night came into her brain.

She was in the kitchen, her back pressed against the counter as her lips danced with someone else's. But no, it wasn't Robbo; it was Tony.

The realization made her blood turn cold, and she fell back from the toilet, slouching against the adjacent wall.

It couldn't ... no. She couldn't have.

She did.

Her eyes began to fill with tears and she hugged her knees to her chest. Burying her head in her hands, she began to sob quietly as she prayed that Tony had been too drunk to remember anything that had happened, because she was evidently not.

There was a knock on the bathroom door, and Shelby squeaked out, "It's locked!"

"Shelby?" To her relief, it was Lisa on the other side. She didn't know what she would have done if it had been Tony or, for God's sakes, Robbo on the other side.

The redhead slowly stood up and grabbed some mouthwash out of the cabinet, knowing it was Tony's and he wouldn't mind if she used it. She poured some into a disposable cup and dumped it in her mouth, hoping to eliminate the vomit breath she was currently enduring. She then switched the lock on the door to let Lisa in.

Lisa smelled like soap, her blonde curls were damp, and she was wearing a new outfit than the one she had warn the previous night. She must have gone back to their house already.

"Hey, are you okay?" The blonde asked as she shut the door behind her.

Shelby spit out the mouthwash and then swished some water around in her mouth before turning back towards her friend. Her face was stained with mascara tears and her red hair was tangled in wild knots. She certainly did not look okay.

"I kissed Tony." She whispered as she sat back on the floor.

Lisa sighed, and to Shelby's surprise, said, "I know."

"What do you mean?" Shelby asked, and Lisa responded by telling her what she had seen last night.

"But I think I'm the only one that saw, and I won't tell a soul." She said quietly.

Shelby nodded. "I only hope Tony doesn't remember."

Lisa frowned. "Would it be that bad if he did?"

Would it? "Yes." Shelby responded. "I would never do anything to jeopardize my friendship with him, and ... now I did."

"Maybe you should talk to him about it." Lisa suggested.

"Talk to him?" Shelby groaned. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to look at him in the face again."

"Shelby," Lisa began, "I'm going to ask you something, and you have to promise not to yell at me, okay?" When the redhead nodded, although reluctantly, Lisa continued. "Are you sure you don't have feelings for him? I know we've been teasing you about Stark all year long, but ... do you? I mean, remember what you said about when you first kissed Robbo?"

The redhead turned away, burying her face in her arms that were propped up on her knees. "I don't know." She muttered weakly.

"Oh, Shelby." Lisa sighed, wrapping her arms around the shaking redhead. "You really need to talk to him."

"I know." The redhead sighed.

"Okay, come on, get up. Let's get you home and showered."

Lisa helped Shelby home and got her in the shower and a clean change of clothes. After brushing out her red hair, she wandered into the kitchen in search of Lisa. She had no idea what she was going to say to Tony.

As she searched for the blonde, she saw a familiar looking envelope on the table. She'd almost forgotten that she'd had it.

The card her grandmother had given her from her father. Her eyes narrowed on the return address, seeing the state prison under his name.

She carefully tore it open, revealing a folded piece of white paper inside, written full by her father's scrawling penmanship.

Dear Shelby,

Congratulations on your college graduation. When your grandmother wrote to me to tell me the great news, I was shocked to hear from her, but not shocked to hear that you are up to great things.

I know you and I have never gotten along the best, but I want you to know that I am genuinely so proud of you. None of the other guys here can say that their daughter is a child prodigy and recent graduate of MIT! Not to mention she's going to become an astronaut!

I don't know if you remember, but when you were very very young, you and I used to lay outside and look up at the stars. You'd say, "Dad, I'm going to go to space some day."

I never doubted that for a second, because when Shelby Colewell puts her mind to something, the world would be damned if it was going to stand in her way.

I'm sorry I couldn't be there for the big day, but you and I both know I deserve every second of my punishment. If you can't do the time, don't do the time, right?

Anyways, congratulations, Carrot Top.

Love,
Dad

Shelby heard Lisa start down the stairs, so she shoved the letter in her back pocket. She'd deal with her father later. For now, it was time to deal with Tony.

May 17th, 1988 — Cambridge, MA
10:45 AM, EST

Tony woke up with a terrible feeling in his stomach, but it wasn't from the amount of alcohol he'd ingested the night before.

He'd kissed Shelby.

He'd ... kissed ... Shelby.

He'd kissed Shelby!

He didn't know how to feel about it.

Part of him was so overjoyed. He had finally kissed Shelby! Even though she was drunk, and he had been too, part of her had to have liked him, right?

Then again, they were both so drunk, Shelby might as well have thought that she was kissing Tom Cruise.

Or Robbo.

She could have thought she was kissing Robbo.

Tony just hoped that she wouldn't remember anything from the previous night. Besides, would they even see each other again? He was heading back to New York the next day, and Shelby would be heading down to Florida in a week.

He forced himself up and out of his bed and into the shower, where the hot water helped sober him up a bit. They no doubt had a mess to clean up, and he needed to pack up the rest of his belongings.

He headed back into his room, where his backpack was dumped on the floor yet from when he had gotten back from his last study break at the library. He'd never have to study again. He began with cleaning up his books, and the variety of papers and notebooks that were littered around them.

He heard the doorbell ring downstairs, but he knew Robbo was down there cleaning up, so he didn't make a move to answer the door. He continued cleaning up his disaster of a room, placing things neatly into the moving boxes his parents had brought with him. He grabbed a marker and labeled them, although he knew they'd probably just sit in his bedroom when he got back to New York, unpacked. He wasn't sure what to expect when he headed back to the city. He'd be working with his father, he knew. He guessed that would be nice, considering he didn't have to apply for a job like his friends. But, he'd be working in close quarters with Howard Stark, and those that new the relationship between Tony and his dad knew why the Stark boy was slightly unnerved about it. 

There was a soft knock on his closed bedroom door, and Tony replied with a "Come in!" before throwing yet another pile of junk on top of his desk. He really should have gone through his things more often.

"Tony?"

The soft voice that called out from behind the door stopped the Stark boy in his tracks. He turned around, his stomach a nervous pit as his eyes met Shelby's.

"Hey, Shelbster." He said with a smile.

"Tony," Shelby walked in slowly and took a seat on his bed, pulling her legs up to his chin. "Can we talk?"

"Uh, sure." He set down a box and sat down next to Shelby. "What's up?"

"Do you remember what happened last night?" She asked in a matter-of-fact voice, taking Tony by surprise.

He sighed and ran a hand through his short brown hair. "We don't need to talk about this." He said quietly.

"Yes we do, Tony! We kissed each other!" She exclaimed.

"I remember. It meant nothing, Shelby." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't think it did mean nothing, Tony." Shelby stated. "I think maybe it meant everything."

"Don't be delusional, Shelbster. It was inevitable, that we'd kiss at some point. That's just biology." He said, becoming defensive.

That kiss hadn't meant nothing to Tony, it had meant everything. But nevertheless, he wasn't ready to tell Shelby that. He couldn't do that to either of them, not now that they were headed in separate directions.

"Really?" Shelby's eyes had gone cold. "What, just because I'm a  girl, in the prime of my sexual life, and you're a boy, full of lust and immaturity, that means we were destined to kiss? That it was all biology and chemistry, not any sense of feelings at all?"

Tony smirked, clapping his hands together. "Yes, exactly. That's exactly it."

"That in my drunken state, I succumbed to your masculine wonders?" She snorted.

"Yep." He said, standing up to resume his packing.

"Wow." She scoffed, shaking her head. "You're such a dick! You know, I'd always heard rumors that Tony Stark was nothing but a cocky, entitled brat who acted as if the entire world owed him something. I didn't believe that, upon meeting you. I thought you were actually a nice guy."

"That's your mistake, not mine, Shelbster." He said. "I never tried to be anything but myself. And if that's who you think my true self is, then so be it."

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Shelby asked. "I come here to bare my feelings to you, and you blow me off like this? Tell me ... tell me that what happened last night was nothing, and that our friendship has meant nothing over this past year?"

His friendship with Shelby meant everything to Tony. He valued it more than he valued life itself.

"Shelby, we'll only ever be friends. What happened last night was a huge mistake, and I'd rather we just forget it happened." He told her.

The redhead was quiet for a few moments before asking, "Do you truly mean that?"

"No," Tony replied. "But, I think it's best that maybe we part ways. I mean, we worked well together here at MIT. We were a good pair. Good friends. But what's going to happen when MIT is gone? Do you think we're going to be able to continue this into life? It's not ... it's not possible, Shelby. And don't assume that I'm in love with you because I kissed you. I kiss lots of girls, all the time. You know that."

She scoffed. "I never assumed you were in love with me, Tony. I never said anything about that." Shelby said quietly. "Is that what this is about? Are you in love with me?"

Tony shrugged his shoulders. "Might be. Doesn't matter."

Her eyes went wide. "Doesn't matter?" She laughed, a short, angry laugh. "In what universe does this not matter?"

"This one, evidently." He replied. "Don't dwell on it, Shelby. Now go on, don't you have a plane to catch? Or a rocket, actually, Miss Astronaut."

Shelby shook her head. She knew Tony could be an immature little brat, as that was part of the reason she loved him. No, she not like that. Shelby didn't love him like that, like a friend. Yeah, like a friend.

"You know what? Maybe it is best if I leave." She turned around and headed for his door, kicking over a pile of spare parts that had accumulated in his bedroom from their time working on Mary. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Stark," She called over her shoulder. "Have a nice life."

As she headed out of his room, Shelby saw Robbo standing at the bottom of the staircase. "Shelby? Are you okay?"

"Not now, Robbo, I'm sorry." She said, marching down the stairs as tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"Hey," He said, taking her arm gently. "Look at me." The girl finally obliged, her teary eyes staring into his. "Are you in love with him?"

She bit her bottom lip and hugged the boy, scrunching her face into his t-shirt. "I don't know, Robbo." She whispered. "I don't know what to do."

Robbo's hand came up carefully and he tucked some of her trademark red hair behind her ear. "It was him, you know." He murmured. "That sent you the rose. He's in love with you, Shelby, but he's scared to show it. I know you think you know him, but you don't know him all that well. I do. He's my best friend. I've never seen him act the way he does around you with anyone. He's ... he's different. He loves you."

Shelby looked up at the handsome brown-eyed boy that had been nothing but kind to her as long as they'd known each other. Her heart ached at the thought that they could have been happy together, but it more so tugged her towards Tony. She did love him. She did love Tony.

"So what do I do, Robbo?" She asked.

"Well, that's up to you." He said, rubbing her back gently. "What feels natural?"

What felt natural?

She thought of Tony back up in his bedroom, methodically packing his things in his preparation to move back to New York. She could run back up the stairs and kiss him, tell him she was sorry and that she loved him, and that she knew he did too.

But, that didn't feel natural. It didn't feel right.

Maybe they both loved each other, but it wasn't their moment yet. May 17th, 1988 was not their time. Maybe it would never be their time.

"What are you going to do, Shelby?" Robbo asked.

She pulled away and pressed a kiss to his cheek, then squeezed his arm gently. "Robbo, you've been nothing but a perfect gentleman, and I hope that I can always consider you a friend." She said, wiping a tear from her cheek.

He grinned. "Of course you can, Shelbs."

She nodded and offered him a soft smile. "Tell Stark I'm sorry, but I've got to go." She murmured before walking towards the door and her future, not once turning back.