"You gonna stare at her all day or are you gonna talk to her this time?"

Steve jumped in surprise at the sound of his best friend's voice and scowled. "I don't stare, Bucky."

"Right, you just gaze with adoration."

The tips of his ears turned red, indicating that he was embarrassed. With a quick glance to make sure Natasha hadn't overheard them, he punched Bucky's arm. "Shut up."

"Not until you ask that gorgeous redhead on a date. You're so obvious that it's painful. Romanoff is never gonna know how you feel unless you tell her. I don't understand why you didn't ask her out when she was tutoring you last month."

"Asking your tutor out would have been a sleazy move and we'd both have felt uncomfortable if I had. I'm just biding my time."

"Sure, until another guy realises what a knockout she is and gets to her before you do. Then I'll have to watch you be all angsty and sad for the rest of the school year. That's appealing." He tsked and ran a hand through his hair. "Steve, you're my best friend, but this is embarrassing. I know you're not skilled with women, but don't you think you can get a little gumption and ask her on a date?"

"She'd probably laugh in my face."

"Now you're being ridiculous. Natasha isn't that kind of person and you can't assume how she'd respond because you don't know her mind. For all you know, she might like you too, but she's just waiting for you to be assertive. Women like that."

"Okay, okay. You do have a point, but I don't even know if we'd be good together. Our personalities could be incompatible."

"Steve, you overthink things way too much. It's a miracle that you haven't had a nervous breakdown with all of that mental gymnastics."

Steve sighed and leaned against his locker. He knew Bucky was right, but he just got intimidated around Natasha. He didn't think logically whenever that happened. His eyes glanced at her again and felt his heart tug. She stood across the hall, currently talking to a few girls from dance class. She hadn't changed, so she still wore her leotard and tutu. Her shoes were in her hand and she wore a pair of tennis shoes, probably for the comfort after a hard day of practicing ballet.

Natasha looked up and she saw Steve watching her. She gave him a little smile and said something to the other girls before making her way to him. A knot began to form in his throat and his palms got sweaty. Shit. He shouldn't have been staring.

"Hey, guys." The redhead addressed both of them, but her eyes were locked onto Steve.

"Hi, Natasha." He gave her a tentative smile.

"Hey," Bucky replied, giving his friend a side eye. He was going to say something else, but his cell phone rang and he took a few steps away to answer it. "Excuse me."

Natasha nodded and turned to Steve. "How've you been? We haven't talked since our last tutoring session."

"Oh, I'm good. Your tutoring paid off. I got a 97 on my biology test."

"Really? That's amazing, Steve! I told you could do it!" She raised her hand for a high five and he reciprocated. "Those flash cards really came in handy, didn't they?" She nudged him with her arm and he couldn't fight the grin that showed on his face.

"Yeah. I take back what I said about them being for little kids."

"Good. Flash cards work for everyone, so I'm glad that you've come to your senses." She glanced at his messenger bag where he kept a sketchpad and a few charcoal pencils just in case he got inspiration to doodle something during the day.

"Have you drawn anything lately?"

Everyone at school knew Steve was a talented drawer, but Natasha was one of the few who really admired his talent. Before she came to the school library to tutor him, he'd been drawing a picture of a bird's nest with the eggs starting to hatch. He'd been so into the drawing that he hadn't noticed Natasha's arrival. Only when she'd called his name had he looked up, surprised to see her standing over him.

They talked about his drawing talent and she told him about her love for ballet. It was clear that they shared a commonality in their passion for the arts, so Steve wasn't as nervous around her when she tutored him, but he still had anxiety chatting with her. He knew she liked him in a friendly way, but he doubted that she could ever feel something more.

"Just a few sketches here and there. All of the exams we've been getting have cut into my free time."

"Ugh, same here. I'll be happy when we graduate and speaking of graduation, Thor is having a party tonight."

"Yeah?"

"Mmhm, and I was wondering if you would be there." She bit her upper lip casually and Steve was certain she hadn't meant to be seductive, but he really wanted to trap that lip between his own and feel its plumpness against his mouth.

He coughed. "Thor's a good friend of mine, so of course I'll be there. I never miss his Friday night parties."

"Good. I'm not a big partier myself, but I'll show up too. Maybe we could find a quiet corner and you could draw me...if you want."

Steve's eyes widened as big as a couple of saucers. "Seriously?"

"Yes, silly. You've got a wonderful talent and I can see you going places with it. I've seen your drawings of your parents and your friends, so I thought maybe you'd like to do my portrait. I know a party isn't the ideal place for that-"

"It's fine. The Odinson mansion is big enough that we'll be able to find some place private to do it. There's a room on the other side of the house where I've drawn pictures of his family for their Christmas portraits. I don't think they'd mind if we used it. After all, they do let him throw parties. That's more than what most parents would do."

Thor's parents, Odin and Frigga, were one of the wealthiest families in the world - Frigga was a distant relative to the Queen of England, so nobility was in their blood - and they owned two homes in the state, one in the city and the country. The Odinson mansion was a place they renovated years ago, but they only stayed there one month out of the year due to their love for living in the city. Hence, why Thor was allowed to throw parties there. It was usually messy, but at least the mansion would be in use and not sit on the property with no one in it.

"True. He's so lucky that his parents want to keep that house in use since they don't really live there." Natasha looked at her watch. "Wow, it's already three o'clock! I'd better get going. I have stuff to do before the party." She stepped closer to Steve and placed her hand on his arm and pecked his cheek. "I'll see you tonight."

"See you then," he replied. With a smile and a wave, she was gone and he was left standing there watching her leave. Steve could still smell the scent of her vanilla blossom lotion wafting in the air after she'd gone. It took him a few minutes before he started walking down the hall. Little did he know that Bucky had been seen him from behind a corner that led to the men's restroom.

"Not bad, Steve. You weren't a total trainwreck." He pulled out his phone and sent his friend a text to meet him at his house at five o'clock. Bucky decided that he'd give Steve a hand with his attire for the party tonight. With a little luck, the blond would end up leaving the mansion with Natasha as his girlfriend.