A/N: Hello! It's been such a long time since I last update this story, I'm sooo sorry, but I've been too busy to even function.
Now to make up for my absence, I've changed up the story from the first chapters, so it's somewhat different from what you know. If you haven't read the edits, this chapter might not make much sense. But ok, you choose.
On that note, pls enjoy :)
P.S. Don't forget to leave reviews
~X~
There was no need for an alarm, waking up next to someone was a foreign, but not completely unwelcome sensation. That was, until she realised who laid by her side. Slowly, Natasha relieved herself from Steve's hold and proceeded to choose her clothes for the day before going to the bathroom to shower.
When she examined herself in the mirror, she took notice of the hickeys on her neck - which were expected - tokens of her nightly activities with Steve. She stared at her face carefully. She had changed. Although were dark circles under her eyes, they had always been there, but her face glowed and her lips were of a darker shade of red, she looked healthier, a bit more alive. The girl touched her skin on her cheeks softly, with some sort of unspoken admiration and tied up her hair so she could shower.
Whilst the cold water ran down her body, sending shivers down her spine, she reflected. Natasha liked her new look, yet she wasn't sure how she felt about the reason of it. She remembered having read somewhere that the changes on mood showed on the body, her skin glowed because she was happy, she felt happy. And she knew that was true, she had never felt more alive in her life.. But if Steve was the cause of those changes, what did it say about her? For a person who had always prided on being cold and hard to crack, it meant she was doing an awfully poor job at it. It meant that she was easy to break. That she was willing to break at the smallest sign that someone cared about her. And it bothered her deeply.
Therefore, she decided not to dwell on those subjects any longer.
She dressed up in a pair of skinny jeans and a grey shirt that was flowy while flattering her figure before going downstairs to cook breakfast. Her hair still styled in a bun.
She was making pancakes when she heard steps behind her and turned to face Steve while she finished the pancakes.
"Good morning, how did you sleep?" she asked with a smile
"Very well, and you?" he replied whilst stretching his arms. He was wearing a shirt, but Natasha could see every muscle tense and then relax. She looked back at the pan.
"Same." she placed the pancakes on their plates, "Let me know if you want anything else."
"Well… I could use some cereal and milk." He smiled shyly.
"We have froot loops and corn flakes," She announced and opened the cupboard. "which ones do you want?"
"I'm gonna go with froot loops, please." He asked and Natasha placed it in front of him along with the milk, then she got him a bowl.
Natasha sat in front of Steve and ate her pancakes slowly, staring at him from time to time.
"What do you think people will be saying about the party?" Steve asked suddenly.
"I think you threw a really good party, I mean, I got to get almost black out drunk, so it was a hell of a good party for me." Natasha laughed.
"Was that the best part?" He teased and stood, walking to her.
When he was behind her, he touched her neck, trailing the dark bruises with his finger. She shivered and looked at him. A small smile parted her lips and she stood. Natasha wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. He deepened the kiss and lifted her so she could sit on the table, she wrapped her legs around his waist.
"Shirt." She broke the kiss, "Steve, we're going to be late."
"Fuck, I have to get ready."
"You can brush your teeth, I have extra toothbrushes inside the cabinet."
"Thanks." He smiled at her and went upstairs.
Natasha stared at her plate for a moment, trying to process the information of all that had just happened before.
She didn't want to go. Being inside the house, in that sunny morning eating pancakes and cereal with Steve was so much better than going to school and knowing what everyone said. Being there was like a dream, especially after spending the whole weekend with him. Leaving the house, driving to school with Steve would break it. The way she felt at that moment, if she could, she would capture it forever and never let go. It felt like peace.
And yet, she did. She was scared of what Steve was doing to her, she was scared of how she felt and how she just wanted to stay with him and have him fuck her on the table at 7:30 in the morning. She shook her head. Perhaps she was just confusing lust with something else.
She finished her pancakes in a hurry and went upstairs.
After brushing her teeth, she found him in her room fully dress and with his backpack hanging on one shoulder. She was ready as well.
"Shall we go?" She asked.
"Yeah." He nodded and they went downstairs.
~X~
She drove fast, trying to get to the campus in time, but there was something of a traffic jam and they were late.
"So much for trying." She shrugged and sighed, "We can still make it to second period though."
"Don't worry." Steve said and ran a hand through his hair, "But… since we are already late, how 'bout we finish what we started on your table?"
Natasha looked at him with a smirk. "I'm not contrary to it. Just let's go somewhere more private."
"I know just the place."
Natasha locked the car and followed him into the school's old building - one that was hardly used anymore - where the gym was. They locked themselves inside an old music classroom and started to kiss.
He cornered her against a wall and left more bruises on her neck. Natasha undid his pants and kneeled before him. She looked up at him and smiled before she freed his cock from the tight confines of his jeans. He was already hard and she took him in her mouth.
There was an audible groan from him as she began to move her head up and down his length. Steve grabbed her hair and guided her head. Normally, she would get really and dry over that, but she was so into it she didn't even mind.
She circled her tongue on the head of his cock and he tightened his grip on her hair, she then ran her tongue over the length and swallowed his dick whole. She closed her eyes, which began to water, but she knew he was close, so she did it again.
"I'm going to…" Steve announced.
But as soon and he came inside her mouth, the doors opened and a janitor came in.
Surprised, Natasha choked on the warm liquid, she managed to swallow it, but she started to cough right after.
"What do you think you're doing? I'm sending you both to talk to the principal's office." The man said as he strided into the room.
Natasha coughed and stood while Steve was trying to pull up his pants. Still gasping for air, Natasha analyzed the janitor's every move, waiting for the perfect timing.
"Look, Mr., we're so, so sorry, please don't make us talk to the principal." Natasha pleaded as she tried to recompose herself. She could see Steve looking at her confused.
"Yes, please, don't." He said too.
"I'm sorry, but rules are you. You are skipping class to do… this…" the janitor looked disgusted and took a few more steps towards them. "You must be corrected, sent in the right path, I'm not just going to let this pass, I can't, it's my Christian duty."
Clearly he saw himself as their saviour. Looking at him, Natasha knew the middle aged man wouldn't be able to keep up with them if they started to run. So she waited until he was close enough to them, but far enough from the door so there was space for them to run outside the door.
Natasha started a mental countdown before looking at Steve and whispering "Run."
She avoided the janitor as she made it to the door. She could hear Steve's footsteps behind her as they ran through the corridors, they couldn't leave just yet, they had to hide in the building until he gave up on looking for them and thought they had somehow left the building without him noticing it.
But then she realized there was a way to do that, they had to get out through the windows and make their way to the school using the hidden path through the woods. There was no way he knew about it, it was a secret kept by the students. It was really well kept.
Natasha looked back, the man was well behind. She took a sharp turn right and followed Steve as he took another sharp turn on an intersection, he chose to go left. It led them to hallway with a lot of old classrooms. Knowing they were likely out of his sight and would struggle to find them anyway, they slowed down and entered one of the classrooms.
"So," Natasha tried to catch her breath, "We can leave through the windows and use the path in the forest."
"It's a good idea." Steve nodded and walked to one of the windows, forcing it to open. The both passed through it.
"Close it again, so he won't know which how we escaped." She told him and he closed it.
They ran as fast as they could towards the forest and disappeared in between the trees.
"Shit." Natasha looked at her phone, "we're almost late for second period. If we run we might make it in time."
~X~
They managed to get there in time for the second period. She tried to catch her breath by Steve's side .
"See you around, then." She finally said. "Will you be needing a ride back?"
"I think so, I'll talk to Buck, if he's brought the car then I'll come back with him. I'll text you." He waved and walked into the school.
Walked towards the bleachers as she searched through her purse for a cigarette. She ran a hand through her now wet hair and looked up noticing that there was also a boy there, wearing a blue and red football jacket and aviators. His hair was dark and through his sunglasses she could see the look of despise in his eyes when he saw her. Nothing new.
He seemed oddly familiar, maybe of Steve's friends from the party. But a voice in the back of her head told her there was something more.
Still, she approached him, she got herself a cigarette and asked, "Can you light it up for me?"
"Sure." He got his lighter.
"Thanks." Natasha inhaled the smoke with guilt and turned her back on the guy, walking away.
"Hey." He called and she looked at him again. "Natasha, you better stay away from Steve. If you hurt him, in any way I'll make you regret it."
That voice. It was Buck, as Steve called him. The same one who'd called her a slut, who'd called her an arsonist.
"I'll keep that in mind." She turned around and smiled, "Thanks for the warning though. Buck."
"It's James for you." He replied. There was some sort of anger in his voice, even though she couldn't figure out what bothered him so.
"Okay, thanks for the warning, James." She smiled again.
Enjoying the look of shock on his face, she turned away and continued to walk away.
As soon as she was far enough from him, she threw the cigarette on the ground and stepped on it. A feeling of tiredness began to wash over Natasha. She was tired of all that, of that life and that people who seemed to hate her for no reason. Now she couldn't even make friends and people began to threaten her. Surely, she wouldn't let James' threat stop her. Since when did she care about what others thought of her or her behavior?
The bell rang and she went to class.
~X~
Playing with an apple, Natasha crossed the cafeteria, making her way outside, just as she'd always done since she was young. Invisible. She was almost at the door when she heard his voice.
"Natasha!"
All eyes on her. Again.
"Shit…" she muttered and turned around slowly to look at Steve, he was walking to her. The cafeteria went silent with the unexpected scene played once again.
"Come," he smiled, "Sit with me."
She was able to hear Stark chuckling. He knew, just as well as she did what the whole thing meant. Her plan was working, he was falling for her.
Natasha followed him, despite of the looks, and sat by his side. Just opposite to Buck, a small smile played on her lips. Stark had followed them, pulling a chair from the table next to theirs, he sat by Natasha's side and looped his arm around her shoulders and she slipped away from his touch.
"So, the party was indeed a success. I must say, Steve-y, I'm surprised, " Stark leaned back on his chair, "I could hardly find you near the end of the party, where were you?"
'Probably with me.' Natasha thought, even though she wasn't sure that was true.
Natasha remembered flirting with Stark and shook her head almost unnoticeably.
"I was there, drinking, dancing, talking. Didn't you see me there?"
"No, I looked for you, I wanted to congratulate you for the amazing party." Stark smiled, "You see, I even asked your friends where you were, but no one had seen you."
Natasha felt Buck's angry eyes on her, luckily, no one else seemed to notice.
"You know, Stark, as the host, I had to take care of things. I don't have maids who do things for me. Maybe that's why you didn't see me that much." Steve lied.
Natasha just kept eating her apple, ignoring the whole situation, mentally scolding Steve for taking too long to answer, for allowing his voice to crack while he talked . But there was nothing she could do but feel glad no one noticed it.
~X~
"You're fucking him, aren't you?" Buck walked by her side as she left class.
"I don't see how that concerns you." Natasha didn't face him.
"Well, he is my best friend, I want to know who he's getting involved with. What spell did you cast because I never managed to get him to do it with any other girl, no matter how hard I tried." He laughed bitterly, somehow, she felt that was a poor excuse to hide the truth.
"Oh well, I guess I'm a sorcerer now as well," Natasha shrugged. She didn't care for James, she didn't care about what he thought or said about her.
"Well, if we are going to be having lunch together, then we should at least try to get along." He muttered.
"Yes, why not?" She was so angry at how fake he was, but at the same time she felt like she had no right to feel so, Natasha was also playing everyone.
"You're friends with my best friend, I should at least make an effort." James sighed, clearly not wanting to do that, "Let's start over, shall we? I'm James, nice to meet you."
"I'm Natasha," She smiled at him, "how are you?"
"Fine and you?" James laughed, "well, I know we agreed on starting over, but we are past over those kinds of questions, aren't we?"
"I guess we are," she ran a hand through her hair. Talking to him was weird, he was never someone she expected to even say hi to, "I saw you smoking today, I thought it was something you jocks weren't supposed to do."
"Well, I like to live dangerously." He shrugged.
"Then I guess you don't plan on getting a sports scholarship." She said.
"As if you're one to say," He punched her lightly on the shoulder, "You're on the gymnastics team and you smoke."
"Yeah, but I don't plan on getting a scholarship, I mean, I'm really good, but I don't have the will to spend six hours practicing so I can become the best." She adjusted the backpack strap on her shoulder and looked at him.
"Shame, I would have loved to see you in a leotard on national televison." He joked, "Why didn't you join the cheerleaders?"
"Go to hell, James." She laughed, "But really? The cheer team? You actually believe I would fit in there?"
"No." Both of them laughed and he ran his hand through his hair again.
"Well, thanks for the chat, but I have to go now."
"You have practice today, right?" He asked
"Yeah, I do." She nodded.
"So do we," he looked a little awkward, "What do you say we grab something to eat later? The whole team will be joining. "
"We'll see. I'll meet you after practice." She smiled at him and reached for her car keys on her backpack and walked away from him and towards her car.
Yes, her plan was working, she was going to fight her way into the mayor's house and life. And that was when she remembered she was yet to read the files she stole and put them back in place. She didn't know how often the mayor checked those and didn't want to find out the hard way when Steve was in trouble or he came to ask her about them.
She opened the trunk and got her bag before heading to the gymnasium.
~X~
After practice, Steve and James walked to her.
"So, Nat, are you going to grab something to eat with us?" Steve asked.
"Sorry, guys, I can't," She lied, "Ivan arrives tomorrow and I have to clean the house and stuff."
"I see…" Steve seemed disappointed, "Another time, then."
"Another time. Maybe next Friday, I'll be free by then." Natasha smiled.
"Next Friday it is," James said, "Well, bye, Natasha."
"See you guys around." She opened the car and entered it.
"I'm telling you, Steve that girl is playing you." Natasha heard James say.
"And I'm telling you she isn't, Buck. Listen to me, I know she isn't." Steve answered.
"Oh yeah? And how exactly do you know that, big boy? She's the only girl you've ever been with. Deep down you know I'm right." Natasha felt some sort of anger begin to form inside her. James was trying to ruin her.
She wanted to hear what Steve's answer to what James had just said. But they were already too far away for her to be able to hear it, so she turned on the engines and drove away.