Well, I got some reviews! As promised, here's the first official chapter. Hope you like it.
Chapter 1-New Girl
1 ½ years later…
"Natasha Romanoff, if you don't get your butt out of bed you'll be late for school!" Her mother yelled from outside her door.
"Five more minutes…" Natasha called back tiredly.
"Get up now or I'm coming in there!" Ms. Romanoff warned.
"No!" She whined.
"Okay, fine, have it your way." She heard her door creak open, followed by the sound of something hitting the ground.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Natasha asked as she sat up and stretched.
"I'm tripping over all these boxes, that's what. We moved back over a week ago and you've barely unpacked a thing!" Her mother exclaimed.
"I've been busy." She mumbled, climbing out of bed and making her way to her bathroom.
"Okay then." Ms. Romanoff sighed. "So, are you excited to back to your old school and see all your old friends?"
"If by excited you mean indifferent, then yes, I'm thrilled." Natasha shrugged.
"Oh, c'mon hon. At least try to have a positive outlook on this." Her mother encouraged her. "I thought you were happy we'd moved back to New York?"
"I am, mom, really." She shot her a reassuring smile. "It's just that I'm gonna be the new girl again and that's kind of an undesirable position to be in."
"Natasha, sweetie, you're going to the same exact high school you went to as a freshman. All the same people will be there and you already know the school's layout." Ms. Romanoff said comfortingly. "I don't see how that makes you the 'new girl.'"
Natasha gave an irritated huff and began brushing her teeth.
"You wouldn't understand."
"You're right. I don't understand." Her mother sighed. "I'm going to go get you some breakfast."
Once Ms. Romanoff had left, Natasha spit into the sink and continued to get ready for the day. As she changed out of her PJs and did her hair and makeup, she realized how different things were going to be this year. Despite going back to the same high school and even living in the same brownstone they'd left behind a year and a half ago, Natasha knew that nothing would be as it had been before. In fact, a lot of things had changed since she'd moved away.
She was thinner than she used to be with curves that made other girls shoot her glares of envy when they passed her on the street. She was no longer a tomboy either, having grown accustomed to wearing skirts, dresses, and cardigans during her time away.
Other than her physical alterations, Natasha was now more social. In Russia, she had befriended not one, but six girls, as well as a couple guys. Even though she had done this so her mother wouldn't worry about her, she had really grown to like her new friends, not that she didn't miss the one friend she'd left behind in New York.
Clint. Of all the things that had changed once she'd moved, Natasha's relationship with her former best friend was the most significant. About three months after she'd left, she and Clint had gone from writing, emailing, and texting every day to not communicating at all. The long distance and time difference had been more of a challenge than they'd expected, so they just…grew apart.
If she was excited about anything today, it would probably be that she might see him for the first time in a year and a half. However, with that excitement came anxiety. What would he think of the new her? What changes had taken place in his life that she'd missed? Would he still be the same loner that sat by himself at lunch, or did he take her advice and make new friends?
"Natalia Romanova!" Her mother yelling her name in Russian pulled her from her thoughts. "Come on, it's almost time for you to go!"
"Coming!" She exclaimed, glancing at herself in the mirror one final time before dashing out of the bathroom and grabbing her bag off her desk. When she made it down the stairs, her mother was there waiting for her with a granola bar and a travel mug of coffee.
"You'll have to eat on your way to school; otherwise you're going to be late." She said as she handed her daughter her breakfast.
"Thanks." Natasha smiled and pecked her mom on the cheek before walking down the hall and out the front door.
"Have a good day!" Ms. Romanoff called after her.
"Not likely!" Natasha replied over her shoulder. She heard her mother say something else, but she was too far away to clearly hear it. So, she began to sip on her coffee and munch on her granola bar as she walked the five blocks that separated her house from her old high school.
When the school came into view, Natasha felt her stomach flip nervously. Classes had been in session for more than two weeks now, so she really was going to be the New Girl. Everyone was going to be overly friendly to her and eager to become her new BFF, only so they could stab her in the back later on. It sure would be nice if she could find Clint. Then she'd at least have one trustworthy friend…
The blaring sound of a car horn pulled Natasha from her thoughts as a red convertible whizzed past her, missing her by inches. She watched as the car pulled into the school's small parking lot where the few rich and privileged students who could afford to have a car in New York parked. When she passed the lot, she noticed a lanky brunette boy climbing out of the convertible that had nearly flattened her.
"Hey, hotshot!" She yelled at him. "Where'd you learn to drive?"
The boy turned his head in her direction, taking a moment to register what she was saying when it suddenly clicked for him.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry." He shrugged.
"Idiot." Natasha muttered, rolling her eyes in frustration.
"Hey, wait up!" The boy she'd just yelled at called as he chased after her.
She tried to ignore him and keep walking, but he didn't take the hint and caught up to her anyways.
"I haven't seen you around before." He said a little breathlessly.
"You don't say?" Natasha said sarcastically, unhappy that her day was beginning on such a poor note.
"You new here?" The boy asked.
"Maybe." She replied.
"That's awfully cryptic." He smirked.
"That's what I was going for."
"Well, in any case, allow me to introduce myself." He stepped in front of her and held out his hand. "My name is Tony. Tony Stark."
"Oh," Natasha said in realization. "That explains it."
"Explains what?" Tony asked, retracting his hand.
"Nothing." She smirked, walking past him and into the school building. She knew exactly who Tony Stark was, and he wasn't the type of person she wanted to associate herself with. In fact, she and Clint used to trash him whenever his name came up. He was arrogant, narcissistic, and usually inconsiderate, but he often got away with everything because his father was Howard Stark. Guess that's what happens when your daddy is a billionaire…
"Hey Red!" Tony called after her. "Aren't you going to tell me your name?"
"Nope." Natasha said with a teasing glance over her shoulder. Of all the people she had to bump into on her first day back, it had to be him. If this was the kind of luck she was having, then junior year could end up being more difficult than she'd originally thought.
Tony stared after the peculiar red head he'd had the strange pleasure of meeting as she walked down the hall and into the principal's office.
"Damn." He muttered to himself. She was definitely a feisty one.
"What are you looking at?" Steve's voice suddenly asked from behind him.
"Just the new girl." Tony shrugged before turning to face his friend.
"There's a new girl?" The football team captain asked with genuine curiosity. "Where?"
"You just missed her." He told him. "But let me tell you, she is hot!"
"Tony, you have a girlfriend." Steve reminded him as he began to move towards his first period.
"I know, but that doesn't mean I don't notice other girls. 'I'm not buying anything, I'm just window shopping' as Pepper would put it."
"Whatever, just don't let Pepper catch you 'window shopping' again. We all remember what happened last time…"
"Okay, okay, I get it. No need to dredge up the past." Tony replied quickly, his face turning a little red.
"I'll see you at lunch." Steve waved to him as he walked off towards his art class.
"Later." Tony waved back before hurrying towards his own class. He needed to get ready to figure out everything he could about the mysterious new girl before lunch.
"Well, Ms. Romanoff, you have a very impressive transcript." Principal Jackson commented as he flipped through her file from the other side of his desk. "I'm glad that you've decided to take a more advanced work load now that you're back with us."
"Always looking for a challenge." Natasha told the large, bald man with a fake smile.
"Well, you're one of many here at the School of Health Integrity, Engineering, Linguistics, and Democracy." The principal informed her proudly.
"I see the name of this place is still a mouthful." She said, shaking her head.
"We're working on it." Jackson shrugged before handing her a piece of paper. "Well, here's your schedule. If you need anything else, feel free to stop by the guidance office at any time."
"Thanks." Natasha stood up to leave.
"Have a wonderful first day back, Ms. Romanoff." Principal Jackson opened his office door for her and allowed her to walk out. "Good luck."
As soon as the door closed behind her, Natasha unfolded the piece of paper that contained her schedule and read through it. Her first period was Art III.
"Thank God." She muttered, happy that she had a more laid back class for first period. This day was starting to look better already.
As she walked towards the Arts hallway, she found the school eerily empty. Class had already started and she could hear teachers lecturing their classes through the closed doors when she walked past them. After a few minutes of walking through the abandoned halls, she finally found her class. Rom 319, Visual Arts III with Mrs. Pierce. Softly, she knocked on the door and waited until it swung open to reveal an overly friendly looking blonde girl.
"Hi." The girl said with a smile. "Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for Mrs. Pierce. I'm supposed to be in her first period." Natasha told her.
"Mrs. Pierce, the new girl is here." The blonde called over her shoulder as she opened the door further so Natasha could come inside. As soon as she entered the room, the entire class stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at her, causing a nervous redness to color her face.
"Everyone get back to work." A young brunette woman ordered before walking towards her with a smile. "Hello, you must be Natasha." She said, reaching out to shake her hand. "I'm Mrs. Pierce, and I'm very glad that you'll be joining my class."
"It's nice to meet you." Natasha smiled.
"Follow me. I have a seat ready for you right over here." Mrs. Pierce led her towards a vacant stool that was nearest to the far side of the room. "This is where you're going to sit for the rest of the semester. I've already got you the materials you'll be needing for the project we've been working on, but I have a few things that I need to get done, so I'm going to allow this delightful young man to explain what to do." She said, gesturing to the boy that was sitting next to her. "If you have any questions, you can ask him."
"Thank you." Natasha said gratefully before Mrs. Pierce walked away.
"Hey." The boy that Mrs. Pierce had appointed to get her caught up smiled at her and held out his hand. "My name is Steve."
"I'm Natasha." She took his hand and shook it once.
"Well, Natasha, let's get you caught up. We've just started working on perspective drawings, so all we're doing for our first project is drawing three dimensional shapes like this." He showed her his paper. "Then all we do is use colored pencils to shade it accordingly."
"Seems simple enough." She shrugged. "Thanks."
"Happy to help." Steve smiled again as he continued to work on his own drawing while Natasha began on hers.
As she set up her picture and began to draw straight lines with her ruler, she noticed two blonde girls glancing over at her and Steve and giggling. One of the blondes had been the one to answer the door and announce to the whole class that 'the new girl was here.'
"Ignore them." Steve nudged her shoulder. "They're just curious."
"Friends of yours?" Natasha assumed.
"Yeah." He nodded. "The girl on the left is dating one of my friends. She's really nice."
"And the other is your girlfriend?"
He looked at her with wide eyes.
"Just a guess." She said innocently.
"Actually, no, she's not." Steve mumbled in embarrassment. "Not yet."
"Oh," Natasha understood. "Waiting to make your move."
"Yeah." He blushed.
"That's sweet." She smiled.
For the rest of the period, the two made small talk about things that went on around the school, as well as upcoming sporting events. She found out that Steve was the captain of the football team and that they're homecoming game was coming up in a few weeks.
"You should come to the dance. It'd be a good way for you to get to know people." He told her.
"I'll check my calendar." She promised.
The bell rang a few minutes later and Natasha quickly gathered her things.
"What's your next class?" Steve asked.
"Advanced Martial Arts." She replied.
"I'm heading that way. I've got weight lifting next. We can walk together."
"Okay." Natasha agreed, smiling when Steve opened the door for her and allowed her to exit the room before him.
"So, where did you move here from?" He asked as they began to make their way down the hallway.
"Russia." She replied. "My mom got a promotion about a year and a half ago so we had to transfer there. We just moved back in August."
"That's pretty cool. Can you speak Russian?" He wondered.
"Да. Я свободно с тех пор, как я было шесть." She said, smirking when she saw Steve's eyes widen in confusion.
"What does that mean?"
"I said, 'Yes. I've been fluent since I was six.'"
"Oh." He laughed before stopping in front of a set of double doors. "Well, this is me. Martial arts should be a few doors down."
"Thanks for walking with me." Natasha said gratefully. "It was really nice meeting you."
"Yeah. I'll see you around." He waved goodbye as he entered the weight lifting room.
Once he was gone, she continued down the hall to her own class, happy that she was able to meet at least one person she could tolerate.
"Steve!" Thor boomed as he entered the weight lifting room. "Who was that I saw you talking to?"
"Oh, that was Natasha. She's new." Steve explained as his good friend and fellow teammate joined him in lifting dumbbells.
"And you've befriended her?" Thor continued to question him.
"I talked to her. She sits next to me in art." He explained.
"Tony was speaking of a mysterious new girl he nearly ran over with his car this morning."
"What? Tony almost hit her?" Steve exclaimed.
"That's what he said. He probably didn't make a very good first impression…" Thor said thoughtfully.
"I'll say."
"So, is she nice?" He asked.
"Yeah. She's pretty cool as far as I can see." Steve nodded.
"Does she have lunch with us? Perhaps she could sit at our table." Thor inquired.
"You know, I didn't think to ask when she had lunch." Steve recalled.
"Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see." The blonde shrugged as he continued to lift his dumbbells.
"I guess we will." Steve agreed.
Natasha dabbed the sweat from her forehead as she changed out of her workout clothes and back into her school clothes. Martial arts had gone pretty well. No one had tried to talk to her, which she considered to be a good thing, and it looked as though she'd impressed her instructor with her superior skills. Now she was off to AP Calculus.
"At least the day is half over." She muttered to herself, gathering the rest of her belongings and exiting the room. She walked down the hall towards the 600 wing where the math classes were located, dragging her feet all the way there as a feeling of dread spread through her. She hated calculus.
"Hey, Natasha!" Steve's familiar voice sounded from behind her, causing her to glance over her shoulder.
"Hey." She smiled.
"How was martial arts?"
"Fine I suppose." She shrugged.
"I meant to ask you earlier, when do you have lunch?" Steve asked curiously.
"After third period."
"Really? Me too! You're welcome to sit with me and my friends today if you'd like."
"Thanks Steve, that's really nice of you." Natasha said appreciatively.
"Great. I'll see you then." He said happily, waving as he turned down an adjoining hallway.
"See ya." She waved back before continuing on until she reached the 600 wing. When she finally found her class she walked in and took a seat near the back, pulling materials out of her bag as other students began to enter the room.
"Well, well. Look who we have here." Someone suddenly said to her.
"You've got to be kidding me." Natasha muttered, looking up to find none other than Tony Stark standing right in front of her desk.
"How's it going Red?" He asked with an amused smirk on his face, taking a seat at the desk in front of her.
"Don't call me that." She rolled her eyes.
"Well, I wouldn't have to if you'd just tell me your name." Tony said innocently.
"Please leave me alone." She said patiently.
"Not until you tell me your name." He teased.
Natasha opened her mouth and was about to tell him to fuck off when a strawberry blonde girl walked up to them and stood between her and Tony's desks.
"Excuse me, is he bothering you?" She asked with a nod towards Tony.
"As a matter of fact, he is." Natasha told her.
Without a second's hesitation, the girl turned around and smacked him on the side of the head.
"Ow! C'mon, Pep!" Tony whined.
"Shut up and leave the poor girl alone." She ordered, taking a seat next to him.
"Hey," Another girl suddenly walked up and sat down next to Natasha. "I just saw you smack Tony. What'd I miss?"
"He's just being obnoxious." The strawberry blonde told her.
"Oh." The newcomer said in understanding before turning to Natasha and giving her a warm smile. "Hi, I'm Sharon."
"Hi." She smiled back. "I'm Natasha."
"Ha!" Tony spun around in his seat and pointed at her. "So it's Natasha, is it?"
"Oh, shut it Tony." The girl sitting next to him shot him a glare. "Please, ignore my boyfriend's poor manners."
"Boyfriend?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.
"Don't worry, I don't get it either." Sharon whispered to her.
"Well, at least I have a boyfriend." The first girl said, causing Sharon to scowl. "Oh, and I'm Pepper by the way."
"Nice to meet you both." Natasha smiled again, narrowing her eyes as she got a closer look at Sharon. "Hey, aren't you in my first period?"
"Oh, yeah! Mrs. Pierce's Art III, right? You sat next to Steve?"
"Yep." Natasha nodded, remembering that Sharon had been one of the two blonde girls that was staring and giggling at her and Steve.
"Wait, you met Steve?" Tony suddenly interrupted.
"Yeah. He seems like a great guy." She told him.
"Oh, he is!" Sharon agreed.
"If you couldn't guess, Sharon here has a major crush on Steve." Pepper laughed, earning another scowl from her friend.
"Well, he offered to let me sit with him and his friends at lunch today." Natasha informed them.
"Then I guess you're going to be the newest addition to our table." Sharon told her. "Me, Pepper, Tony, Steve, and a few others, all sit at the same table."
"Cool." Natasha smiled.
"Good morning, everyone." Mrs. Brown, their teacher, greeted the class as she walked in the door.
"Morning." The class mumbled apathetically.
"Please take out your homework and pass it to the front, then turn to page 350 in your textbooks." She told everyone before settling her gaze on Natasha. "Natasha, I'll be getting your textbook tomorrow, so for now you can share with Sharon."
Sharon moved her desk closer to hers and put her book between them. For the rest of the period, Natasha struggled to keep up with what Mrs. Brown was teaching, but with the help of Sharon, Pepper, and occasionally Tony, she was able to pull through. As soon as the bell rang, everyone quickly packed their bags and made a beeline for the cafeteria.
"We usually use the restroom before lunch." Pepper told her as they walked out of the room. "You can go on ahead with Tony if you'd like."
"No thanks." Natasha said quickly. "I'll just go with you guys."
"I'm hurt, Red." Tony said, placing his hand on his heart.
"Get a move on, Tony, we'll catch up with you later." Pepper shooed him down the hall.
"See you soon." He waved to them before dashing down the hall towards the cafeteria.
Once he was gone, the three girls found the nearest bathroom and walked inside to the nearest mirror.
"So Natasha," Sharon got her attention as she began combing through her hair. "Where'd you move here from?"
"Russia."
"Wow. This must be quite an adjustment for you to make, moving to the other side of the world." Pepper said in admiration.
"Actually it's not so bad. I used to live in New York before we moved. We just got back a few weeks ago." Natasha told them.
"Oh, where did you live?" Sharon asked.
"Same place I used to. My mom and I have a brownstone five blocks from here." She replied.
"How long ago did you move to Russia?" Pepper wondered.
"About a year and a half ago."
"That would mean you were a freshmen before moved." She said thoughtfully. "You didn't go to school here, did you?"
"Actually, I did."
"Really? We never saw you around before." Sharon informed her.
"I kept to myself." Natasha shrugged.
"I'm just surprised we never ran into each other. This school isn't that big…" Pepper told her.
"It's actually not that surprising." Sharon chimed in. "We didn't know Clint went to this school until we met him at the beginning of sophomore year."
The mention of her former best friend's name caused Natasha's head to snap in their direction.
"Who's Clint?" She asked curiosity.
"Oh, Clint Barton, he's a really good friend of ours." Pepper explained. "He sits with us at lunch. We'll introduce you."
"Okay." Natasha said happily before following her new friends from the bathroom with a sly grin. Clint was in for one hell of a surprise.
Clint entered the lunch room casually and made his way over to the table he sat at with his group of friends. When he got there, he plopped down in his usual seat and allowed his head to droop until it hit the table.
"What's wrong, Clint?" Steve asked.
"Nothing. I've just been having a shitty day." He replied.
"How so?" Bruce asked from the seat across from him.
"Well, I failed my Pre-Cal test, I got a C on my English project, and I have an awful headache." Clint mumbled. "I think I'm going to go home."
"No! You can't leave!" Tony suddenly exclaimed as he took a seat next to Bruce.
"Why not?" Clint groaned.
"Because, you have to meet the new girl." Stark wagged his eyebrows and smiled.
"There's a new girl?"
"Uh, yeah! Where the hell have you been all day? It's all everyone is talking about!" Tony said excitedly. "And let me tell you, Barton, she is H-O-T hot!"
"Does this mysterious, hot, new girl have a name?" Clint wondered.
"Why don't you ask her yourself." Steve said, nodding towards the door of the cafeteria. "Here she comes with Pepper and Sharon now."
Curiously, Clint began to turn around in his seat so he could get a look at this new girl, but he felt Tony's foot collide with his shin and shot his friend a deadly glare.
"What the hell was that for?"
"You can't just turn around and start staring at her." Tony rolled his eyes. "She'll think you're creepy."
"I just want to see what she looks like." Clint sighed.
"Just wait until she sits down before you start ogling her."
"I wasn't going to ogle her…" He muttered, listening as the approaching footsteps of the three girls grew closer and closer until they finally stopped right behind him.
"Hey guys." He heard Pepper say. "There's someone that we'd like you to meet."
Ignoring everything that Tony had just told him, Clint began to turn in his seat so he could face the new girl while Pepper made introductions. But before he could make it half way around, a pair of dainty hands suddenly reached in front of him and covered his eyes.
"Guess who?"
So what do you think? Is it a decent high school fic so far? I've got a lot of different things I want to put these guys through, so if you're interested please let me know!
IF I GET UP TO 10 REVIEWS THEN I'LL UPDATE AGAIN!