What? Two chapters in one day? That's crazy! Also, I forgot to mention it in the chapter I posted earlier today. This fanfiction is rated T (mostly for language), and since Natasha and Clint are in high school, they're going to start developing a very colorful vocabulary. Just so you know, I curse like a sailor in real life, and I rather enjoy using the F-bomb, so I just wanted to let you know that there's going to be foul language soon.
And now, without further ado, I present to you...chapter 8!
It was about two weeks into the school year that Natasha realized that getting a job might be a smart idea. She was starting to get to that age where she felt the need to buy a new outfit every week and needed money to go to the movies with friends. Her family's financial position had improved in the past year, but they were still in a position in which they couldn't buy anything that wasn't necessary.
A couple days after school, Natasha took a stroll down Main Street and entered every restaurant in hopes that they were hiring. Some of them turned her away at the door due to her age, and others just weren't hiring because of the crap economy. Eventually, Natasha found a couple of restaurants that were hiring and immediately put in her applications for both a waitress and hostess. She was willing to take anything that was offered to her.
By the end of September, Natasha was offered a job as a waitress at a place on lower Main Street called Sweet Creams Café. The manager had told her that they normally wouldn't hire a waitress as young as her but they were in dire need of a waitress on the weekends so they offered her the job.
"Nat, that's great!" Clint said when she told him the news.
"I have no idea how I'm going to get there though," she sighed. "My parents are in and out of the house at weird hours, not the mention I never know when a fight's going to erupt."
"Well, maybe I can talk to my mom and dad, and maybe Barney. I can ask if they'd be willing to drive you there," Clint said.
A couple days after school, as well as on the weekends, Natasha worked from four to close. Sweet Creams was a busy place, especially with the high school just up the road. Following the school's dismissal, students would trek down to the café for ice cream or a nice cup of coffee. Clint would always stop by to see her in action, and sometimes Steve, Thor, Peggy, and Jane would tag along as well. They would sit in her section and order something small to eat. When Natasha had a chance she would sit down at the table with them and chat about mindless things until she was given another table or one of her orders were ready. Once the group was finished and full, they would leave her a generous tip; Clint would always leave the most.
After only two weeks, Natasha had made almost $1,000 in tips, not including her paychecks. Natasha had never had this much money to herself, but she knew exactly what she wanted to do with it. One day after school, she walked the mile between the high school and the mall and went to town. She bought jeans and dress shirts and necklaces and new shoes. She even bought a pair of black Coach heels which cost $150. She didn't care about the price because she had just bought herself her first pair of high heels. Even after all of the shopping, she still had $300 left to her name, and with the hours still piling up at Sweet Creams, there would be more where that came from.
Having a job also meant that Natasha had to miss a few of Clint's football games. He was on the varsity team this year, and so far, the team was undefeated. However, she promised herself that she would take off for Homecoming; her manager completely understood when it came to a teenager wanting to take off for school events.
Homecoming was in the middle of October, and the football team was still undefeated. Natasha's boss had managed to give her Friday night off so she could attend the game in exchange for a double shift on Sunday.
Natasha had to catch a ride with Peggy and Jane to the stadium since Clint was already there in preparation for the game. They entered the stadium after purchasing their tickets and took a seat on the home team's side. Out of the corner of her eye, Natasha could see him. Not Clint, but Alexei. He was seated across the aisle from her and she was scared to even turn her head to the side even the slightest for fear that he would try to talk to her. Instead, she tried to focus her attention on a conversation Peggy and Jane were having.
The girls' conversation ceased when the football team ran out onto the field and she spotted Clint all geared up. Peggy and Jane were equally excited when they saw Steve and Thor in their football gear.
Kick off started at 7:00 sharp and the game ensued. Natasha had to admit that she understood football a little better after attending all of Clint's games in the past. A touchdown was six points and a field goal that followed a touchdown was one point. The team had to try to get the ball to travel 10 yards in order to get a first down. If it didn't travel 10 yards in four downs, the opposing team got the ball. Simple enough.
The Stroudsburg Mountaineers were ahead by three when the buzzer went off to signify the end of the second quarter. The football team rushed off of the field and the marching band organized themselves on the field. After the marching band played a set of songs, including "Uprising" by Muse and "Jump" by Van Halen, the class floats began to parade around the football field.
This year's theme was Disney princesses. Each class was assigned a Disney princess movie to recreate for their float. The senior class entered first with their recreation of Cinderella. Since the judging for the best float had already taken place, it was obvious that the senior class had taken first place. With Tony Stark in their class, there was no way they would lose. Next was the junior class with Beauty and the Beast, followed by the sophomore class with The Little Mermaid. Finally, the freshman class float trudged along behind the rest of them; their float was Snow White. There was no doubt about it after seeing the rest of the high school floats that the freshman class had come in last.
Once the parade was over and everyone was settled back in their seats, the game resumed. The opposing team had scored a touchdown a couple minutes into the third quarter, which caused them to gain the lead. In the middle of the third quarter, the Mountaineers had started to play rough in order to get the ball back. Their plan worked, and the ball was back in their possession.
The opposing team started to play rough as well and the ball kept going back and forth from one team's possession to the other. By the fourth quarter, both teams were equally tired but they were still playing as hard and dirty as they could muster.
The game was beginning to be quite a nail biter. The scores were close with the Mountaineers only trailing behind by two points. They either had to choose to kick a field goal, which would earn them three points, or run the ball 40 yards to score a touchdown. For some reason, Coach Ross chose the latter.
It was almost as if the entire play was moving in slow motion. They watched as Thor, positioned at center, snapped the ball back to his brother Loki, the quarterback. Loki looked up and down the field for an open player, and that's when he spotted his wide receiver, Clint, close to the 30 yard line. He threw the ball and watched as it spiraled towards Clint.
10 seconds left, as Clint caught the ball and took off. Natasha squealed and jumped up to get a better look. Unfortunately, her excitement left just as quickly as it came. Coming in from Clint's right was a player from the opposing team and he was barreling straight for him.
Five seconds left, and ten yards to go, Clint was getting closer to the end zone but the opposing team's player was closer to him. Natasha winced as she watched the player slam into Clint's side and tackled him to the ground. The buzzer reverberated throughout the stadium and the opposing team's audience cheered as they celebrated their school's victory.
Natasha stood outside of the locker room as she waited for Clint to finish getting changed into normal clothes. She knew he'd be really disappointed in himself when he came out so she knew she had to be there to make him feel better.
She was picking at her nails when she noticed someone leaning up against the wall beside her. She turned her head and nearly jumped out of her skin. Standing next to her was Alexei Shostakov, and he had a ridiculously mischievous grin on his face.
"Evening Miss Romanoff," he said.
"What do you want Alexei?" Natasha said through gritted teeth.
"Our first meeting was less than pleasant and I was wondering if we could start fresh," he said with that stupid grin still plastered on his face.
"No," she said bluntly, and turned away from him.
"This isn't a trick I promise."
"Well I beg to differ."
Natasha started to bite her nails as she wished Clint would hurry up. He wouldn't be too happy when he came out of the locker room and seeing Alexei certainly would not brighten his mood.
"Listen, I heard about this masquerade ball that's taking place in December and I was wondering if you'd like to go just as friends," he said, very persistently.
"No," she answered again, but with a slight edge in her voice.
"Just as friends, I promise. I won't try anything funny," he said.
Natasha contemplated saying no again, but she figured that if she maybe said yes, it would get her grandparents to stop harping on her.
"Fine," she spat. "But this does not change anything."
With that, Alexei grinned like an idiot and waltzed away into the night. Her heart was racing but not because of excitement. She was scared as to what Clint was going to think. She was hoping that he would ask her to the masquerade ball and now, if he did, she couldn't go with him. Suddenly, she was very scared for him to exit that locker room because she wasn't quite sure how she was going to be able to face him.
After a couple more minutes of being lost in thought, Natasha heard the locker room door screech open and Clint stepped out into the cool night. He was dressed in a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. His duffle bag was slung across his chest as usual. He looked exhausted but his face lit up when he saw Natasha leaning up against the wall outside the door.
"Hey," he said, with a small smile.
"Hey, good game!" she said, her voice cracking. Oh she was definitely nervous to tell him. She walked up to him and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his torso but he winced.
"What's wrong? What did I do?" she asked stepping back from him.
"Nothing, it's fine," he said sucking in a breath. "When that guy slammed into me he cracked a couple ribs. No big deal."
"No big deal? That sounds like a big deal to me," she said.
"No, it's fine," he said. "But anyways, was it worth taking off of work?"
"Well yeah, I get to see my best friend whom I never see anymore because I work so much," she said as they started to walk towards the parking lot to meet up with his brother for a ride home.
"It's fine. You're probably trying to save up to buy a dress for that masquerade ball which brings me to -."
"I can't go with you!" she blurted out and quickly covered her mouth with her hands. This was not how she wanted to tell him, and she wanted to cry.
"Please don't be mad," she whispered.
"Mad? Why would I be mad? So, you want to go with someone else, that's fine," he said with a chuckle. "Who is it anyways? My brother?"
"Alexei," she whispered.
Clint had felt like he got tackled by the football player all over again, and then while he was lying on the ground, the guy started to kick him over and over again. That's what it felt like when Natasha had said his name. It felt like he was getting the shit kicked out of him. However, Clint kept his cool and tried not to overreact.
"I just figured if I agreed to go with him, my grandparents would get off my back," she said, blinking back tears. She really did not want to hurt him like this.
"Nat, it's fine. Understandable," he said.
Deep down, however, all Clint wanted to do was stay home the night of the masquerade ball because he couldn't bear seeing her go with someone else.
It was the night of the 1920's Masquerade Ball and Clint wanted to do nothing but sit in his bedroom and drown in his sorrows. For the past month and a half following Natasha's confession that she was going to the ball with Alexei, their friendship had been strained and tense. She spent most of her time at work in order to pay for a 1920's style dress for the dance.
Clint had fully planned on hiding out in his room the entire night playing Angry Birds on his phone, but it was Steve and Thor who changed his plans. They had arrived two hours before the dance dressed to the nines in their 1920's attire that looked like it was straight out of Boardwalk Empire. They weren't just visiting to show off how fancy they looked in their outfits, they had come equipped with the same clothing for Clint as well.
After a much needed metaphorical kick in the ass, Clint trudged to the bathroom across the hall to put on the suit. He had to admit that he looked good, and with the simple black mask on, he could be anyone he wanted to be. However, the only person he wanted to be was Clint, and he couldn't be Clint without Natasha.
Clint's mom fussed over how handsome he looked, and took the boys' picture. The three boys slipped on their fedoras and masks for one last picture and then they were off to the dance.
Clint had to admit that a 1920's themed masquerade ball was pretty cool. Everyone was dressed fabulously and very chic, and to be totally honest, he couldn't tell who everyone was behind their masks. Steve and Thor were on the prowl to find Peggy and Jane, so they left Clint by himself in the doorway.
This is the exact reason Clint didn't want to go to the dance. Steve and Thor had their women, and Clint didn't have anyone. Natasha, the one person he thought he could always count on, was with someone else at the dance. Speaking of Natasha, he didn't even know if she was here yet. Though many of the people at the dance were unrecognizable due to the masks they wore, he would be able to spot Natasha out of a sea of people. There was no way he would be able to avoid noticing her fiery red hair.
He made his way around the outskirts of the dance floor and spotted Steve and Thor seated at a table with Peggy and Jane. They waved him over and apologized for abandoning him at the entrance. He took a seat at the table between Steve and Thor and that's when he saw her.
It was ironic that "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra had started blaring from the sound system as soon as she walked through the door, but Clint was absolutely mesmerized by how beautiful she looked. She wore a simple gold beaded dress that hung just above her knees and she wore simple gold metallic heels. Her hair hung in loose pin curls that almost made it seem like her hair was as short as a bob. On her face was a simple gold lace mask.
There was a great amount of distance between her and Alexei and that brightened up Clint's spirits a bit. He watched as she followed him over to an empty table on the outskirts of the dance floor and left her there to grab them some drinks. She looked absolutely miserable, and Clint wondered what Alexei had done to make her that way. Whatever it was, he would find out and seriously make him pay for it one way or another.
Steve and Thor were getting up to go to the dance floor with Peggy and Jane, but the girls ran back to the table and grabbed Clint and dragged him out to the dance floor. He protested but the girls just pushed him closer and closer to the dance floor. Before he knew it, he had lost sight of Natasha and he was in the middle of the dance floor with Steve, Thor, Peggy, and Jane.
Clint had started to have a little fun as soon as he started watching Steve and Thor bust out some extremely lame dance moves that made the girls giggle. Clint didn't completely forget about Natasha, but she was always in the back of his mind as he danced with Steve, Thor, and the girls.
After several upbeat songs, the DJ slowed it down and the dancers on the dance floor all paired up. Steve and Peggy were slowly swaying back and forth while Thor and Jane looked like they were connecting with each other on a deep level as they stared into each other's eyes. Clint felt like a fifth wheel and started to make his way to the edge of the crowd.
He was so focused on reaching the edge of the crowd that he almost didn't notice Natasha and Alexei arguing in the middle of the crowd. Natasha was standing there with her arms across her chest, and Alexei was pointing a finger at her. Clint would've knocked him out if he hadn't realized that Natasha looked like she was thoroughly enjoying the argument. Clearly it meant that she was winning. Clint watched as Alexei stomped off through the crowd, leaving Natasha all alone, looking genuinely pleased with herself. Whatever she had said, Clint was pretty sure Alexei wouldn't be bothering her ever again.
The slow song switched over to another one and Clint recognized it. It was currently Natasha's favorite song – "Never Let Me Go" by Florence & the Machine – and he took it as a sign.
Now's your chance, Clint, he thought.
He pushed through the crowd to make his way over to Natasha, who was still standing her ground in the middle of the dance floor. For such a short distance, it took him a little bit to make it over to her but when he did, he didn't hesitate. He stood right in front of her, his eyes locked on hers. He gently placed both hands on the side of her face and he leaned in and kissed her full on the lips.
His heart was racing and he could feel hers beating faster than ever as she pressed her body up against his to lean into the kiss. They broke apart and he went to look her in the eyes, except her eyes were closed.
"Finally," she breathed, and Clint chuckled.
"Now take off your mask," she said dreamily with her eyes still closed.
"Why? You know it's me," Clint said.
"When I open my eyes, I want to see my best friend, not some person with a mask over his face."
Clint smirked and pulled off the mask and his fedora in one swift movement. He let the mask and the hat drop to the floor and he raised his hands to her face to gingerly slide her mask off of her face as well. He slipped it into his pocket and watched as she slowly opened her eyes. She smiled at him and he smiled right back.
He took her face into his hands again and kissed her as glittered confetti rained down on them.
THEY KISSED! GOOD GOD THEY KISSED! Are you guys freaking out? I know I am haha. By the way, if you haven't heard "Never Let Me Go" by Florence & the Machine, go look it up on YouTube, it's my favorite song by her.
Once again, thank you for adding this story to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing the chapters. As always, I love to hear what you guys think so please review! I mean seriously, I can't to read what you guys thought of this chapter haha. The fandom's going to explode!