Hey guys, I'm sorry I didn't update yesterday. Along with work and going to see Prometheus (which was awesome by the way, I highly suggest it. You know, if you're into that type of movie genre and what not), I had a really bad headache. I got like 2 pages written before I had to call it quits. But, here is chapter 5!
Natasha wasn't quite sure how to feel towards Clint following Cupid's Ball. Sure she had wanted to him to kiss her Friday night after the dance but doing so may have jeopardized their friendship. The last thing she wanted was a strain on their friendship, so she decided that if the subject were to ever come up again, she would just brush it off as if nothing happened. Knowing her and Clint, they would have a good laugh about it.
At school, things were back to normal. Even Jane and Thor were trying to not acknowledge the events that took place during Cupid's Ball. The group sat together at lunch, laughing and joking around like they usually did. They would meet up with each other by the school's library before boarding their bus for the ride home. Cupid's Ball didn't seem to change anything.
The months following Cupid's Ball, Natasha became increasingly busy. Her teachers were somehow piling on homework as if she were a college student. Student Council meetings were practically every other day, and the French club was trying to raise money to take a trip to New York City to visit the MET.
Once again, Natasha didn't notice when the school had started advertising another dance – the end of the year farewell dance for the eighth graders. The farewell dance was strictly eighth grade only, and it was a special dance to say farewell to the eighth graders who would be moving on to bigger and better things at Stroudsburg High School.
When the subject came up during lunch one day, Natasha was once again, rendered dumbfounded.
"Living in your own little fantasy world again?" Steve teased.
"I just have too much to do and very little time to do it," Natasha said, stifling a yawn. The amount of homework she had recently been assigned by teachers had her up until nearly one in the morning.
"Maybe you should think about dropping one of your clubs, or maybe a class or two, next year," Clint said. "You're being way too hard on yourself."
"Nope, I'm fine. I can handle it," Natasha said before taking a swig of her chocolate milk.
"Anyways," Steve continued. "The farewell dance. Are the three of us just going as a group of eligible bachelors?"
Thor snorted a laugh while Clint stayed silent. Clint hadn't mentioned that he had asked someone from his Earth Science class to be his date. If they were allowed to take seventh graders as their dates, Natasha would have been his first choice, despite the events that took place following Cupid's Ball.
"You're awfully quiet over there Clint," Steve said.
"Ummm yeah, sorry. You guys are going to have to be the two eligible bachelors. I asked someone to go with me," Clint said, trying to hide the blush that was creeping up on his cheeks.
Natasha had nearly choked on the sip of chocolate milk she had ingested. She knew the farewell dance was strictly eighth grade only but she had thought Clint would not ask anyone to be his date.
"Oh, who's the lucky lady?" Steve said, teasingly.
"Bobbi Morse," Clint mumbled.
Natasha wasn't too pleased with this answer. Bobbi Morse was a stuck up brat whom she knew from Student Council. She liked to suck up to the advisors to get her way, and when she didn't, she would threaten to quit. Natasha had never butted heads with Bobbi, and she sure hoped that it would never happen. However, she couldn't help but wonder if Bobbi had agreed to be Clint's date just to irritate her. A stuck up popular girl like Bobbi would do such a thing.
"You okay, Nat?" Clint said when he noticed Natasha was being extremely quiet.
"Yeah, yeah," she said, quickly. "I'm just thinking about all the school work I have to do when I get home. It's going to be another late night."
In all honesty, she wasn't thinking about school work. She was actually really nervous about Bobbi being Clint's date to the farewell dance. Then, she realized, she was furious. Why of all people did it have to be her? She was a pretty blonde who could probably afford everything in the world. She could get any guy, including Clint, just by batting her eyelashes.
Then, Natasha realized, these feelings that she was experiencing, these thoughts and emotions, were jealousy. Natasha Romanoff was jealous.
It was Memorial Day weekend. It was also the weekend of the eighth grade farewell dance. Natasha sat in her room the morning of the dance, trying to keep herself busy. At 4:00 she was going over to Clint's house to see him and his…date before they went to the dance. Clint had insisted she had come over beforehand so he could get pictures with her too.
This meant that Natasha had to actually put an effort into her appearance. If Clint had been taking anyone else, Natasha probably would just go over to his house and get her picture taken in a t-shirt and pair of jeans, but no, he was taking Bobbi Morse to the dance. That alone required Natasha to pull out all the stops once again.
Around 2:30, Natasha raided her mother's make-up supplies and began to prepare for the photo session at Clint's house. She didn't overdo it. She didn't want to look like she was gang-banged by a box of Crayola crayons. There was a little mascara here, a little bit of eyeliner there. She even applied a little bit of eye shadow, but nothing too drastic.
She still didn't have anything remotely nice to wear though. She returned the dressed she borrowed from Jane for Cupid's Ball so she was out of luck. Instead, she just settled on the nicest shirt she owned – a navy blue top with lace trim – and a pair of shorts.
Even though the temperature was in the 80's, Natasha favored her beat up black low-top Converses over a pair of sandals. Normally she wore sandals in such hot and humid weather, but wearing her Converse sneakers were sure to make Clint acknowledge her.
About 3:45, Natasha politely asked her mother to give her a ride to Clint's house, to which Mrs. Romanoff obliged. They piled into her mother's car, and at about 3:55, they had arrived at Clint's house. Natasha waved goodbye to her mom as she backed out of the driveway, and Natasha made her way up the front steps to Clint's house.
She stood in front of the door for what felt like an eternity. She wasn't sure if she was ready to see Clint all dressed up for the farewell dance. A dress shirt and nice dress pants was one thing, but a tuxedo was another thing. That was the thing about the eighth grade farewell dance; it was strictly a formal event.
Natasha took a deep breath, rang the doorbell, and patiently waited for someone to answer the door. Seconds later, she heard footsteps and the door suddenly opened. There stood Clint in his tuxedo-wearing glory.
Well, if he looked handsome at Cupid's Ball, he looks beyond gorgeous now, Natasha thought. Wait, what? No, he looks nice. Just nice.
"Hey Nat," he said as he fiddled with the sleeves of his jacket.
"Hey," she managed to say.
"Nice shoes," he said nodding to her sneakers.
"Thanks," she said with a smile.
Suddenly, Natasha heard the sound of tires turn into the driveway and she turned around and groaned. Bobbi had arrived, and all Natasha wanted to do was just go back home. The last thing she wanted was to be around someone she absolutely despised. Then again, she had to remember that she was here for Clint, and only Clint.
Clint bounded down the steps and greeted Bobbi who was cautiously stepping out of her parents' car. Natasha felt incredibly average and boring when she saw the dress that Bobbi was wearing. It was a pale purple strapless chiffon dress with beading on the bodice. Her hair was neatly curled and gathered in a loose bun at the nape of her neck. She wore silver chandelier earrings and her make-up was done flawlessly.
Well, it was fun while it lasted, Natasha thought. No sense in me being here anymore. Might as well go home.
"Nat," Clint said, beckoning to her. "Come meet Bobbi."
Natasha walked down the steps and made her way over to Clint and Bobbi. This was the last thing she wanted to be doing, but she reminded herself that she was doing it for Clint.
"Bobbi, this is my best friend, Natasha," Clint said. "Natasha, this is Bobbi."
Natasha politely offered her hand to Bobbi for a handshake. To Natasha's surprise, she took it, and they shook hands.
"I believe we're in Student Council together, aren't we?" Bobbi said.
"Yeah, I think so," Natasha said nonchalantly.
After they were all acquainted, Clint's and Bobbi's parents ushered the kids to the backyard for pictures. Clint stood his ground and smiled while Bobbi mugged for the camera. Watching Bobbi pose as if she were a celebrity on a red carpet made Natasha want to throw up.
Once Clint and Bobbi had had enough pictures taken, Clint waved Natasha over and politely told Bobbi that he needed a couple pictures with his best friend. Natasha stood next to Clint awkwardly but she smiled and hoped at least some of the pictures turned out decent.
By the time they were finished with taking pictures and fussing over how lovely they both looked, it was time for Clint and Bobbi to head over to the high school where the dance was to be held. Secretly, Natasha didn't want him to go, but she was nice enough to tell him to have fun and watched as him and his mom drove off.
Clint had to admit that the farewell dance wasn't half bad. The theme was "Twilight in New York" and the high school cafeteria was decorated to the nines. There were string lights strung around the room. Handmade signs to represent 30 Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, Grand Central Station, and the Empire State Building were plastered above the windows. Confetti was strewn about the tables while fake battery powered candles were placed in the center.
The moment they set foot in the cafeteria, Bobbi pulled Clint onto the dance floor. The DJ was playing some lame hip-hop song that Clint couldn't stand but Bobbi seemed to be into it so he decided that he should forget his dislike for the song and just go with it.
Steve and Thor had managed to find him on the dance floor and joined him and Bobbi. It felt good to finally have friendly faces around him. It wasn't that Bobbi wasn't a friendly face; they were desk partners in science class. Clint felt much more comfortable with Steve and Thor around. What he would give for Natasha to be here too.
After they had tired of dancing, they headed to the outskirts of the dance floor to claim a table. Steve and Thor excused themselves to grab some food and drinks, leaving Clint and Bobbi alone. They sat in silence for a couple minutes before Clint decided to break the ice.
"So, are you having fun?" he asked awkwardly.
"Yeah, this is fun," Bobbi said nodding her head.
"When Steve and Thor get back - ," he started but was instantly cut off by Bobbi smashing her lips up against his. He was caught off guard and he didn't like it. He didn't want to seem rude but he didn't want this to keep going so he lightly shoved her by the shoulders. She got the point, and she pulled back.
"What's wrong?" she asked innocently.
"Bobbi, I'm sorry, but I don't see you that way," he said, trying to be as polite as possible.
Bobbi suddenly got extremely defensive. "It's that Romanoff girl isn't it?"
"Sorry?" he asked, confused.
"I see the way you look at her, and the way she looks at you!"
"Bobbi, she's 13. We're 14. The last thing I want is a girlfriend right now. Even if I did, I don't see you that way and I would never see Natasha like that."
"Keep telling yourself that Barton, but I saw the way you two were at Cupid's Ball back in February."
"Then why did you kiss me if you knew?" he asked, laughing at her obvious stupidity.
"I hoped that maybe someone else would change your mind, but obviously it wouldn't," she sneered.
"You're psycho," he stated. He didn't even realize how stupid he was. She only agreed to go with him because she liked him and wanted him to forget about Natasha. Forget about Natasha? Natasha was practically the only person he thought about half the time.
With that thought, he realized that he should have never come to the farewell dance. It wasn't right without Natasha here. Sure he had Steve and Thor, but they didn't understand him like Natasha did.
Clint stood up and stared down Bobbi. "You can find your own ride home," he scoffed, and with that, he turned on his heel and headed out of the cafeteria. He pulled out the cell phone his mom had loaned him in case there was an emergency or his plans had changed. Oh, his plans had definitely changed.
He chose the phone number for his house phone from the list of contacts and pressed send. The phone rang three times before his mom picked up.
"Hey Mom, can you come pick me up?"
It was almost 11:30 at night and Natasha was seated in front of the television in the living room. Her parents had had another fight in the middle of dinner. It resulted in three dishes being thrown at the wall and her dad receiving a nice slap across the face from her mother. Natasha, accustomed to these fights, had only picked up her plate with a sigh, taken it to her room, and finished up her dinner in there. She didn't leave her room until she'd heard both of her parents leave.
Following fights like these, her mother would usually pack a bag and stay a night or two at her sister's house while her father would drown his sorrows at a bar on Main Street and pass out in an alleyway. They would leave Natasha alone in the house all by herself, not caring one bit to find someone to stay with her for the night. But hey, at least Natasha got the TV in the living room all to herself.
Natasha was flipping through the channels, attempting to find something interesting on. With thousands of channels on digital cable, there sure wasn't anything good on. She landed on NBC, which was re-airing an episode of Saturday Night Live, and decided that she could use a good laugh now more than ever. Within minutes, she was laughing so hard at the host's monologue that she didn't even remember why she needed a good laugh.
In the middle of a sketch about two Bronx soccer moms, the doorbell rang. Natasha stiffened and her eyes widened. Who the hell would be ringing her doorbell at nearly midnight?
Surely it's a murderer, Natasha thought.
The doorbell rang once again, and it startled her. She got up from the couch, and ran to the coat closet. She knew for sure that there was a baseball bat that her dad stored in there for self-defense purposes. Yes, of all the things her dad would use to protect himself, it was a baseball bat.
The doorbell rang a third time as she grabbed the bat from the closet. She tiptoed to the door and readied herself. Her plan was to swiftly open the door and swing away. She placed her hand on the doorknob, turned it, and let the door fall open. She was about to swing when she saw who was standing on her front porch.
It was Clint. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. His hair was unkempt as usual, but a trace of hair product that he had put in his hair for the dance was still noticeable. Natasha also noticed the duffle bag he had slung across his chest.
"Whoa there slugger! Easy," he chuckled putting his hands up in defense.
She eased the bat down, propping it up against the wall by the door.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, crossing her arms across her chest. She suddenly felt very self-conscious of the t-shirt and sleep shorts she was wearing. Sure they had run through a sprinkler in Clint's backyard in their swimsuits when they were younger, but now that they were growing up, it seemed very awkward.
"The dance was kind of lame," he said, shifting from one foot the other. "I was bored, and I figured you were too. You tend to get that way when I'm not around."
He was right. She had spent nearly 20 minutes flipping through the channels just to land on a late-night sketch comedy show that she had never even watched before. However, it was quite entertaining.
"If this is a bad time, my mom can just take me home," he said gesticulating toward his mom's car parked in her driveway. Natasha couldn't see his mom seated in the driver's seat, but she waved anyways from the doorway.
"Ummm, no. It's cool. My parents had another fight, so they're not here," Natasha said. "But if you're Mom's not okay with my parents not being here, you should probably go home. I don't want to get you in trouble."
"Barney has done far worse. Staying at your house when your parents aren't home is nowhere near the caliber of what Barney has done," Clint said.
"Oh, okay," Natasha muttered, and gestured for him to step inside. Clint's mom backed out of Natasha's driveway and honked the horn when she pulled out onto the road to head home.
Clint had already made himself comfortable on the couch, which gave Natasha the opportunity to sprint to her room and grab a sweatshirt. When she reentered the living room, he was pulling out snacks from his duffle bag and setting them on the coffee table.
"I come bearing snacks. We made a pit stop at the grocery store before we came," he said.
He had managed to get all of her favorite snacks: Twizzlers, Goldfish, and even a bag of Spicy Nacho Doritos. There were also various candy bars, a bag of Cheetos, a bag of pretzels, and many more junk food items.
They settled on the couch and Clint reached for the remote, to which Natasha reciprocated with a slap on the hand.
"Hey, don't change my channel," she said with a smirk.
"You're watching Saturday Night Live?" he asked, raising one of his eyebrows.
"It's actually quite funny. The host is hilarious, but I think she used to be a part of the cast at one point so I guess it makes sense," she said shrugging her shoulders.
Clint leaned back into the couch, ripping open a box of Pop Tarts. They sat like that for the remainder of the program, side by side but not touching one bit. At one point they were laughing so hard at a skit featured on the program that they were crying.
By 1:30 in the morning, they had somehow gravitated towards one another. Natasha was tired; all of that laughing had worn her out. She didn't quite know what she was doing when she rested her head on Clint's shoulder. He carefully reached behind him and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch to drape it across Natasha.
Not much later, Clint had also drifted off to sleep. His head lolled back to rest on the back of the couch. With that, they were both asleep.
Neither one of them would admit the reasons for their actions when they woke up in the morning, but deep down, both of them knew they were somehow falling in love with each other. Even if they were only 13 and 14 years old.
So, I hope you guys really enjoyed this chapter. I'm going to get started with the next chapter so I can maybe have it up early tomorrow.
I will say this once again, and I will continue to say it, thank you for the reviews, adding this story to your favorites, and adding me as your favorite author. It means a lot. And you know what else would mean a lot to me? If you reviewed this chapter! Ha, I'm lame. But please, give me some feedback. I love reading what you guys think.