Author's Note: And I'm back! It's been ages! I hope you guys have had a good summer vacation for those who are still studying!
It took me quite some time to get the confidence in one of my works to publish it. I'm still not sure about this one but I'm going out on a limb. This is a lot more lighthearted (sort of) compared to Remembering. I really hope you enjoy it! Let me know of what you think of the first chapter!
Chapter 1
Regret was definitely the most prominent emotion that Steve was experiencing. He'd come this far though, and he'd never forgive himself if he let his best friend, Clint Barton, down.
Clint was so excited that he was practically bouncing on his heels, a wide grin plastered on his face.
Nervously, Steve watched the steady stream of college students entering the building. It wouldn't be fair to call the building a house because the two-story home looked more like a mansion. The ivory facade was lit up by floodlights, smaller garden lights lighting the path to the large front door. A beautiful garden surrounded the home with a lush lawn and healthy-looking shrubs and flowers. Steve surmised that whoever owned the home must be quite wealthy.
"Please tell me you have a plan." He mumbled.
"Sure I do!" Clint insisted, nonchalance personified.
"Mind sharing it with me then?"
"All we gotta do is go in there," He gestured to the house, "find Natasha so I can introduce myself and the rest will happen by default."
"You mean the part where she falls in love with you?" Steve retorted dryly. He had the funny feeling that the evening would end with them getting beaten up and stuffed into the nearest dumpster.
"C'mon Steve! No-one can resist this charm!" The face Clint pulled, Steve assumed, was probably supposed to look charming and handsome. It didn't…
"I can." Steve deadpanned.
"Well now you're just being hurtful." Clint whined, leaning his head on Steve's shoulder dramatically, pretending to cry into Steve's red knit sweater.
Clint's silly antics were enough to loosen the tight knot in Steve's stomach and he caught himself laughing airily. "Fine." He relented with a dramatic eye-roll that Clint only saw once he'd straightened up again, "What's she look like?"
"She's got this amazing red hair, kinda wavy. Her eyes are green; but not the grass green kind, more like a leafy green and she really likes wearing reds and blacks. She's usually got a leather jacket on. She's cool like that."
"Have you been stalking her?" Steve asked, suppressing a laugh when Clint gave him a halfhearted glare.
"Listen. She's damn gorgeous okay? She's the kind of girl that you'd wanna date. The kind you'd sort of want to introduce to your parents but at the same time you'd be worried about what your parents would think of her."
"Gorgeous I can work with but dateable? The last thing I think of when I see a girl is that I'd want to date her."
"Right." Clint shot Steve an apologetic look, seeming to have genuinely forgotten that Steve was gay. Steve might not have come out publicly yet, too afraid of the repercussions it would have, but his close friends knew of his gender preference.
"It's no big deal." Steve waved it off immediately, clapping Clint on the back until her didn't look quite so sheepish anymore. "So uh… what do you think it's gonna be like?" Steve went on awkwardly, "Do you think they're having a movie evening or something like that?"
Clint barked a laugh, draping an arm across Steve's shoulders. "I highly doubt it Steve."
Steve couldn't quite decide which was worse: the pungent mixture of smells or the blaring music. His head was already spinning five minutes in and his eyes darted to find the nearest exits for just in case. The flashy entrance hall had been mostly empty, but the living area was a completely different story. The plush carpet was covered in dancing, sweating, intoxicated students. Absent-mindedly, Steve wondered how much it would cost to clean the carpet after the party. Steve noted that there were no decorations in the living room, as if someone had removed them prior to the party as a precaution. Judging by the way the drunk students were stumbling about, it had probably a been good call.
Steve followed Clint dutifully, making his already small body as unobtrusive as possible while he weaved his way through the crowd.
It was painfully obvious that neither Steve nor Clint belonged at the party- they looked different, moved differently. Steve felt awkward, especially when he noticed a few students give them strange looks in passing. Luckily, Steve was painfully stubborn and as a result, all he did was jut out his chin and walk on, determined to help Clint as best as he could, regardless of how out-of-place he felt.
The two of them found an empty corner, closest to the glass sliding doors leading out to the terrace. It was a good vantage point from which to search for the object of Clint's affection.
Steve tried to ignore the way the loud bass buzzed in his stomach. He tried to ignore the fact that the bright, flashing lights were giving him a headache and the fact that he was starting to feel claustrophobic. This was for Clint. He was doing this for Clint.
Steve's eyes panned from one shade of red to the next until he spotted a red-haired girl sitting on one of the couches. The seating arrangement stood on the far side of the room in front of a large flat screen mounted on the wall. The beforementioned girl was snugly seated between two burly-looking football players, leaning into each in turn while she spoke. Both men were completely enraptured by what she was saying, laughing and smiling.
Clint hadn't been wrong about Natasha- she was incredibly beautiful, graced with delicate features and a confident smile. One of her hands was resting on the muscly shoulder of the dark-skinned football player. In Steve's opinion, the guy was probably ten times his size; the type of guy who could probably fold him in half and stuff him into a locker.
Steve pushed aside his worry, clearing is throat and nudging Clint, "That your girl?"
Frowning, Clint followed Steve's line of sight. As soon as his sharp eyes found Natasha, his face lit up like a Christmas tree on Christmas morning and a goofy grin spread across his face. "Sure is." He confirmed, patting Steve on the back as if to say thank you.
"So, uh…" Steve hesitated, "what're you gonna do now?"
Clint gave Steve a very blank look. "Introduce myself?"
"And what if one of those guys is her boyfriend?" Steve pointed out. Ever since Clint had first mentioned his crush on one of the cheerleaders, Steve had fought with himself not to burst Clint's red-roses-coloured bubble. Clint falling for one of the cheerleaders was the same as if Steve were to fall in love with one of the football players- it was a faux-pas. Natasha was just so much out of poor Clint's league.
"Saying hello don't hurt, does it?" Clint insisted stubbornly, pursing his lips, "I mean, who'd hit someone for saying hello?"
Steve groaned exasperatedly. He was already wondering which of the two football players was gonna be the one to break his nose.
"I gotta try Steve… I just gotta!" Clint's pleading tone of voice drew Steve's eyes back to him. Clint looked frustrated, angry even, upset by the unjust system that determined who got to like whom and what happened within college social circles.
Steve envied Clint. Clint, despite his hearing impairment was still a prime example of an extrovert. He didn't let society dictate who he was or how he acted, and Steve wished he could be that brave. Steve was good at standing up for people, would give an arm and a leg if it meant helping someone. Helping himself though? He wasn't quite sure how to do that…
Steve worked his jaw, eyes panning between Clint and Natasha while he considered how to respond. "You know what?" He finally decided, "She'd be lucky to have a guy like you. Go get her Clint."
"You can bet your ass I will." Clint promised, drawing Steve into a quick, tight hug, "Thanks for this Steve. It means a lot."
"Please." Steve waved it off easily, slapping Clint on the back for good measure, "What are friends for?"
"I promise you, once you find yourself a good guy, I'm gonna be the best wingman you could ever ask for!"
Before Steve could answer, or more, protest, Clint had let him go and was already making his way through the crowd with a confident spring in his step.
It didn't take long for Steve to lose sight of Clint in the crowd and after a few minutes of fruitless searching, Steve gave up, heaving a sigh. He really hoped that Clint wasn't going to get himself hurt.
Steve's gaze travelled to the balcony with its illuminated pool. A couple of students had fallen into the pool and were laughing, splashing each other with the water. The scene looked like it could just as well have come straight out of one of those party-centric movies that Clint sometimes forced Steve to watch- for science.
All of a sudden, things felt different without Clint next to him- worse. He felt alone and vulnerable, helpless even. The large room seemed suddenly too small, the noise smothering, weighing down on him like a ton of bricks. Breathing in heavily, Steve's eyes found the nearest exit that didn't lead him directly into the next group of students- the front door. He knew where it was. All he had to do was go to his left, head through the corridor and into the entrance hall and then he'd be out. He wasn't planning on leaving Clint, he just wanted to get some fresh air before his asthma decided it wanted to make an appearance and humiliate him in front of the who's who of their college.
On wobbly legs, the short blond began to make his way towards the exit, his eyes fixed on his destination. For once, his small size deemed to be an advantage, making it easy for him to weave in and out between sweating, dancing bodies without disturbing anyone.
This worked well for the most part until… until it didn't anymore.
Steve slammed into the other man with a huff. In fact, he hit the taller student so hard, that he had to focus on his breathing for a moment to figure out how to fill his lungs with air again. In the meantime, the smell of alcohol registered with Steve, followed by the unmistakable feeling of a cool liquid soaking through not only his sweater but also the white shirt he had on underneath.
Steve cursed under his breath. This had to be some sort of cruel joke… Steve felt the blood rush to his cheeks, triggered by the wave of embarrassment that flooded him like a hot fever. Flustered, he clenched his jaw, trying to formulate the kind of apology that wouldn't get him in trouble.
"Shit! I'm so sorry!"
Startled, Steve's head snapped up and his eyes found the student's face immediately. He was tall and leanly muscular with short brown hair and shocking steel-blue eyes. It took a moment for the shocked look on his face to register with Steve, mainly because Steve's mind was reeling due to how attractive the guy in front of him was.
Dumbly, Steve's mouth opened and closed a few times while he tried to think of anything, something to say.
Regret was definitely the most prominent emotion that Steve was experiencing.
Pretty short but yeah, this is like the pilot chapter in a way. Let me know what you thought! :) I really hope you enjoyed it!