Alright, so last chapter was the last chapter in New York City but we've got quite an interesting chapter here. I really hope you guys like this one. So, here is chapter 22!
Natasha and Clint didn't want to face going back home. After their adventures in the city, boring country and suburban life just wasn't going to cut it. School would be a drag. Their surroundings would be too boring and quiet. But most importantly, they didn't want to have to face waking up alone every morning. Though they still hadn't managed to face the intimacy issue, they still enjoyed waking up next to one another each morning, and they just weren't ready to let it go. Unfortunately, they had to, and the day after New Year's Day, they loaded their belongings into a town car Natasha's grandparents had offered to take them back home and they were whisked away to reality.
The first week back at school was always hard for any high school student, but it was always fun as well because there was the reconnection with friends. Steve and Peggy had informed Natasha and Clint that they were finally dating; Steve had officially asked her on New Year's Eve. Peggy was angry that he had waited so long, as well as the fact that he'd be leaving for college in the fall, but she decided to accept his offer and enjoy it while they could.
Thor and Jane had a slightly different story to tell about their vacation shenanigans, but long story short, they finally managed to sleep together. When Natasha heard this news, she felt like her and Clint were the odd ones out. Peggy and Steve were finally dating and Thor and Jane's relationship was now on another level. Natasha and Clint were just the same. Nothing had changed.
As the students began to get back into the swing of things, announcements about prom began. At the end of February, tickets for the most anticipated event of the year – besides graduation – would be on sale during all lunch periods. Natasha wasn't particularly fond of the idea of prom, just like she wasn't very fond of any other dance she had attended in the past. Clint was the only person who had made them bearable, which made her wonder if he was going to ask her to go with him bluntly or if he was going to make a huge scene.
Clint was obviously known for putting on a show for major events, such as her sixteenth birthday, but he had never asked her in a special way in the past to go to a dance with him. He had just simply asked her to go with him, so she couldn't help but wonder how he was going to ask her. If he was going to ask her.
She wouldn't blame him if he didn't want to go. It would be his prom, not hers. If he didn't want to go, that was his prerogative but deep down, she just wanted him to ask her. She would say yes in a heartbeat.
The end of February came and tickets for prom went on sale. Almost immediately, all of the senior guys had started pulling out all the stops to ask girlfriends, friends, and underclassmen to the big dance. Steve asked Peggy by writing on her car with car paint; it was a nice surprise for her when she got to her car one day after school.
Thor was a little more drastic with his prom proposal to Jane. He had tricked her into going with him to the stadium because he claimed he left something in the locker room. When they walked into the stadium, the field was covered in flowers, but Thor took Jane to the top of the bleachers to show her that they were in fact roses that spelled out "Prom?"
By the second week of March, Clint still hadn't asked Natasha. Steve and Thor never brought up the subject of prom when they were around Clint, but Peggy and Jane knew that the fact that Clint hadn't asked Natasha to prom was bugging her.
"Just ask him why he hasn't asked yet," Jane said one day while they were doing their calculus homework during study hall.
"I don't want to ask him," Natasha mumbled. "If he doesn't want to go, he doesn't want to go. I just wish he would mention it though."
"He has to be going. Steve and Thor wouldn't let him stay home. I bet he's probably planning something big for you," Peggy said.
Natasha rolled her eyes and turned back to her calculus work. Peggy was right. This was Clint they were talking about. Whatever he was planning, he was trying to be as aloof about it as possible so he didn't spoil the surprise. Natasha just wished he would mention that he was interested in going to prom.
Natasha had picked up an extra shift at Sweet Creams that day after school, so she wouldn't be riding home with Clint. That meant that she didn't expect to see him whatsoever, but right as her shift was starting, she walked out into the dining area and saw Clint sitting at one of the tables in her section. She continued tying her apron on and then walked over to the table to sit with Clint.
"Hey," she said sliding into the booth with him. He gave her a quick peck on the lips and smiled at her.
"Hey," he said. "So, I figured I should come before you got busy. I've got to ask you something important."
Is he seriously just going to flat out ask me? She thought.
"O-okay," she said.
"The Senior Football Banquet is next Friday and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me," he said.
Natasha felt disappointment wash over her. Now she was getting annoyed. He wanted to ask her to the Senior Football Banquet but not to prom? However, she kept her composure and smiled at him.
"Yeah, sure. I just have to take off of work," she said.
"Great!" Clint exclaimed a little too excitedly. "I've got to go my mom's expecting me home."
Natasha slid out of the booth and Clint followed. He gave her another quick kiss on the lips and then he was gone, leaving Natasha alone in the middle of the restaurant to deal with her misery.
It was the night of the football banquet and Natasha was sitting on her living room couch waiting for Clint to pick her up. Natasha wasn't quite in the mood to go to the banquet seeing as she was still secretly angry at Clint for putting off asking her to prom. Still, she curled her hair to perfection, slapped on some mascara and eyeliner, and put on her black dress with a floral bodice and pleated skirt. Now she was just playing the waiting game.
She saw a pair of headlights pull into her driveway and she quickly grabbed her coat and bag and slipped on her shoes. She checked to make sure that she had her house keys and slipped out the front door to join Clint.
Clint was halfway to the front door when she stepped outside in a pair of sky high heels that elongated her legs and a black dress that made her look too cute for him to deal with.
"Hey," he said as she buttoned up her coat. "Are you in some sort of rush or something?"
"Nope, just ready to go," she said. And ready to get this night over with, she thought to herself.
Clint offered her his hand to help her down the porch steps and guided her to the passenger side of the car. He opened the door for her and she slid in; Clint sat down in the driver's side moments later. Following the accident last summer, the insurance company had given the Barton family a hefty amount of money to pay for the damages to the car and then some. With that extra money, they had managed to have enough to buy another car. Barney got his car fixed, while Clint got his own. It was a used silver Volkswagen Jetta, but it got him from one place to another so Clint didn't care what model it was or the fact that it was used.
Clint tried to make conversation with Natasha on the ride to the high school but she was not cooperating. She replied with one word answers or "Mmmm" or "Hmmm." By the time they arrived at the high school, they were sitting in complete silence.
They made their way into the school's cafeteria and found their table. Clint's parents had already arrived and were conversing with Thor and Steve's parents, also seated at their table. Steve, Thor, Peggy, and Jane were across the room talking to Coach Ross and Assistant Coach Coulson. Clint and Natasha took a seat at the table and waited in silence for the ceremony to begin.
Within minutes, Coach Ross, along with Assistant Coach Coulson and Principal Fury, took the stage to thank everyone for attending the banquet and announced the agenda for the evening. Once they had made their announcements, dinner was brought out for the guests and they began to dine on roasted chicken and rice. Mr. and Mrs. Barton continued to converse with Thor and Steve's parents while Thor, Steve, and Clint joked around.
"Did he ask you yet?" Peggy whispered into Natasha's ear. Natasha shook her head no without taking her eyes off of her plate. This was the last thing she wanted to talk about and she didn't want Peggy and Jane to mention how disappointed she was around Clint.
The banquet guests finished their dinner and patiently awaited the reappearance of Coach Ross on stage. The whole point of the banquet was to award senior football players with special awards and scholarships – some related to football and some related to academics. When Coach Ross stepped back on stage, an eerie silence fell over the banquet guests
Coach Ross started out a speech about how proud he was of all of his football players and how he couldn't wait to present them with the various awards and scholarships. He didn't care whether his football players went on to play in college or the NFL or not, just as long as they were successful and were happy with the choices they made in life. With tears in his eyes, he concluded his speech and introduced Assistant Coach Coulson to help him begin the awards ceremony portion of the banquet.
Assistant Coach Coulson walked on stage, gave Coach Ross a quick hug and began to assist in handing out the awards. For the most part, many of the awards went to football players that Natasha didn't know but she applauded anyways to be polite.
Halfway through the ceremony, Thor was awarded with the Ross Stulgaitis Scholarship. The Ross Stulgaitis Scholarship was worth almost $5,000 for him to put towards college in any way, shape, or form. A couple minutes later, he was also awarded the Valor Award, an award that was given to a student who displayed boldness and determination throughout the football season. As Thor was on stage giving an acceptance speech, Natasha couldn't help but look over at Jane and see how proud she looked. She was proud alright, and there was no doubt, given the look in her eye, that she and Thor would be sleeping together again tonight.
Once Thor had swept up all of his awards, it was Steve's turn. Steve's award was a special case, and everyone knew it was a big deal when Coach Ross excused himself from the stage and sent someone else to take over. Taking the stage was University of Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly. Peggy squealed with delight when she saw him take the stage, and so did the rest of the audience. Clearly this was a big deal.
Coach Kelly was at the banquet for one person, and one person only, and that person was Steve. His purpose was to award Steve with a full ride to Notre Dame on a football scholarship. Natasha looked over at Steve just in time to see his jaw drop. He wasn't expecting this and neither was anyone else. Coach Kelly concluded his speech and invited Steve up on stage with him.
Steve was in a haze as he pushed his chair out from behind him and weaved his way in and out of the tables to the stage. When he approached Coach Kelly, he shook his hand with a grin stretched across his face. Steve turned back to the audience and looked straight at his parents as if to nonverbally ask "Can I go to Notre Dame, Mom and Dad?" His parents nodded their heads – Steve's mom with tears in her eyes – and with that, Steve had made a verbal commitment to attend Notre Dame in the fall.
Steve bounded back down the stage and sprinted back to the table. He ignored the affection from his parents and went straight to Peggy. He pulled her out of her chair, dipped her, and planted a kiss right on her lips, romantically and passionately, in front of all the banquet guests.
When the banquet guests had finally calmed down, Coach Ross took the stage once more for one final award.
"Now, as the banquet begins to wind down, I have one final award and announcement," Coach Ross began. "First off, it is with great sadness for me to announce that this season is my final season coaching football."
The banquet guests were nearly in an uproar at this comment and it took a couple minutes for Coach Ross to calm them down.
"I have had the time of my life coaching these fine young men, but it is time for me to pass the torch," Coach Ross continued. "With that said, Assistant Coach Coulson will officially be Coach Coulson in the fall."
The newly-dubbed Coach Coulson made his way onto the stage and gave Coach Ross a long hug. When they broke away, both men had tears in their eyes, but Coach Ross turned back to the microphone to continue.
"There is some good in my retirement," Coach Ross announced. "Over the years I have been slowly but surely setting aside some money to award to one of my finest players on the last team I coach. It is now time for me to finally let that money go. I don't need it. I don't want it.
"And this fine young man deserves it," Coach Ross said. "I've watched as he has grown as a football player over the years. He has displayed great leadership, determination, and dedication to this team. I wouldn't give this to anyone else because this young man deserves it.
"And with that, I am to award $10,000 to…" Coach Ross paused, and the entire audience inched to the edge of their seats in anticipation. "Mr. Clint Barton."
Natasha's jaw dropped and she turned her head to Clint, who didn't even look slightly shocked. Mrs. Barton was full-blow crying next to Clint and Mr. Barton's hand was over his mouth in shock. Clint stood and made his way to the stage. Suddenly, Natasha felt like such an idiot for not saying something to him.
She watched as Clint climbed the stage and firmly shook Coach Ross's hand, then embraced him. She was seriously wondering why Clint didn't look shocked because she certainly was. Ten thousand dollars to put towards college and it didn't even faze him. Coach Ross handed him the check and Clint approached the microphone to give a speech.
"Thanks Coach," Clint choked out. "A lot of you are probably wondering why I don't look very shocked to be receiving this. It's because I basically got the entire celebration out of my system when Coach Ross told me about a week ago that he would be awarding me with this. He called it the Fred Ross Football Academic Scholarship, which is weird because it's a one-time thing."
The audience laughed at Clint's lame joke and he continued.
"I still don't know where I'll be in the fall. I've gotten accepted to Temple, Penn State's Main Campus, Syracuse, and Drexel. I'm still waiting on West Chester, Montclair, Boston University, and University of Pittsburgh. I wish I could tell you where I'll be so I can fit in with Steve and Thor, who already know where they're going.
"What I can tell you is where I'll be the first Saturday in May, and that's at prom," Clint said.
Natasha felt her heart sink. That son of a bitch asked someone else? She thought to herself.
"But I can't really go if I don't have a date," Clint said, shrugging his shoulders. "So I guess I better ask some really pretty girl."
Natasha watched as Clint leaned forward and grabbed something that Principal Fury was handing to him. When Clint straightened up, Natasha saw it was one single rose.
"Like I said, I should probably ask this really pretty girl that I'm kind of in love with if she wants to go to prom with me, because I kind of can't bear to look at the disappointment in her eyes anymore that I haven't asked her yet."
Clint took a deep breath and Natasha felt her heart start to pound against her rib cage.
"So…Natasha Alianovna Romanoff," Clint said. "Will you go to prom with me?"
Natasha felt hundreds of eyes turn to look at her, and she heard Jane squeal with delight. Clint jumped down from the stage and made his way to the table where Natasha was sitting with his family and friends. When he came around the table, she stood up from her chair awkwardly, knocking it backwards. Clint chuckled and looked her right in the eyes.
"I'm sorry I didn't ask you earlier," he said just loud enough for the both of them to hear. "I wasn't sure how, and I'm sorry for disappointing you for so long. I just hope you can forgive me enough to say yes."
Natasha opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She was in too much shock that he had finally asked her that she couldn't even manage to say yes. Therefore, she took a deep breath and nodded her head. Clint smiled and wrapped his arms around her to pull her close for a kiss.
When he kissed her, she felt her head spin, and then it was as if it was just the two them in the room. It was just her and Clint and that was all that mattered. They pulled away from each other and Clint brushed a piece of hair out of her face. Then, he turned to the banquet guests.
"In case you guys didn't notice, she said yes," Clint announced. The banquet guests erupted in cheers as Clint leaned in to kiss her one more time. Natasha didn't care if they had an audience as Clint continued to kiss her. All that mattered was that Natasha Romanoff was going to prom with Clint Barton.
I mean seriously, I wish I had a guy as great as Clint. Haha, seriously. So prom will be coming up!
With that said, the next update might not come until Sunday. I may be able to have it up tomorrow, but it all depends if I get my six page paper done. Blahhhh. Then Friday I go see Dave Matthews Band live and then I work 4-10 on Saturday, and then 8-4 on Sunday. So you may get a chapter tomorrow, or you might not. If not, the next time is probably going to be Sunday, and I'm really truly sorry. I love writing this story as much as you guys love reading it but I just don't have the time between now and Sunday. I'm just as excited to find out what's next for Natasha and Clint as you are so it pains me to have to possibly take a break.
But anyways, with all that aside, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. I still love reading your reviews so please review! Let me know what you guys think of Clint's prom proposal to Natasha!