Umm, so remind me to never get super comfortable in bed and try to write a chapter haha. I fell asleep last night while I was writing this. But here it is anyways! And a quick note. I added another Avenger from the comic book-verse. Any of you who are big fans of the comics will know who Janet Van Dyne is. She is Wasp and she's one of the original Avengers. She makes an appearance in this chapter as a friend of Clint's at Penn State. Don't worry, it's just a friendship, and it's going to stay that way. So, here is chapter 27!
Natasha's first week of her senior year wasn't so bad. She was woken up every day by phone calls from Clint, which automatically put her in a better mood. She still had a full schedule, despite fulfilling all of her requirements for graduation a year early. She could have had a schedule half full of study halls if she so chose, but Natasha wanted to stay busy.
Surprisingly, she had managed to be placed in a lot of classes with Peggy and Jane, as well as Bruce Banner. Natasha and Bruce had classes together before – not to mention they were in the same kindergarten class in elementary school – but never this many. They practically had the same exact schedule.
By Wednesday night, Natasha was too excited for the trip to State College; she, Peggy, and Jane would be leaving right after school on Thursday for the long weekend. As she tossed clothes and toiletries into a large bag, she couldn't hide her excitement.
The school day dragged on and on Thursday. All Natasha wanted to do was get on the road to State College so she could finally see Clint after two weeks. By ninth period, she was getting antsy and she had started glancing at the clock every two minutes.
When the dismissal bell rang, Natasha was out of her seat and out of the classroom before anyone had even picked up their backpacks. She fast walked to the student parking lot to meet Jane and Peggy. When all of them met up, they piled into Peggy's car and made a quick stop at the Wawa across the street from the high school to pick up snacks and drinks for the road. After stocking up on Gatorade and water, and chips and brownies, they were setting off for State College on Interstate 80.
Within roughly three hours, Natasha would finally see Clint for the first time in two weeks. If she thought the entire school day dragged, the car ride was definitely worse. Even though she had Peggy and Jane to talk to, Clint was always on her mind and it made the ride that much worse.
When they merged onto the exit ramp, Natasha got extremely excited. She knew they had at least another 25 minutes until they reached University Park, but she knew that it meant she was that much closer to seeing Clint.
Everything was forgotten once they pulled onto the campus. The campus was a town itself. Cars weaved in and out of the roads. Students participating in the famed college tradition, Thirsty Thursday, were stumbling on the sidewalks.
Clint was going to meet them at the parking garage he had told them to park in so he could hand them the overnight parking pass he got them to park in the garage for the weekend. Clint lived on the west side of campus in Jordan Hall and the parking garage he had directed them to park in was still a ways away from his dorm.
They turned onto the road the parking garage was located on and Natasha immediately spotted Clint standing on the corner. She rolled down the window as Peggy brought the car to a halt in front of Clint.
"So, how much to take you home with me and let me have my way with you?" Natasha teased, leaning out the car window.
"You couldn't afford me even if you tried," Clint joked, and he leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
"That's it?" she asked, desperately wanting more.
"We have the whole weekend," Clint said.
He walked beside the car – Natasha practically hanging half way out the window – to direct them towards the parking garage. When they reached it, he handed Natasha the parking pass to give to Peggy and they pulled into the structure, immediately finding a parking spot on the first level.
When Peggy's car was put in park and she cut the engine, Natasha hastily grabbed her bag and stumbled out of the car to meet Clint back outside. She must have looked crazy stumbling out of the parking garage with an enormous duffle bag hanging off of her shoulder. Either that or she looked like she was drunk from Thirsty Thursday.
She spotted Clint a couple feet away from the entrance and she closed the distance, dropping her bag on the ground before jumping up and wrapping both her arms and legs around him. If he wasn't going to instigate the most passionate kiss they'd ever experienced, then she was.
She didn't care if they had an audience. They were finally reunited, even if it was only for the weekend. She grabbed his face in his hands and crushed her lips against his. She felt his grip on her tighten and she kissed him harder, her hands traveling down to caress his neck.
"Hey, get a room!" Natasha heard Jane yell from behind her. She pulled away from Clint and turned her head so that she could see Jane.
"You should talk. You and Thor practically dry hump in public," Natasha said.
She watched as Jane's cheeks turned red, and Natasha apologized for embarrassing her. Clint gently placed Natasha on the ground and laced his fingers through hers. He beckoned for Peggy and Jane to follow them, and they caught up with them, falling into step alongside them
As they walked to Clint's dorm, the group talked about how school was going. Peggy and Jane weren't pleased with their schedules this year. They practically had every class with Natasha, but they didn't like the course material one bit. However, Jane was happy that they had physics with Dr. Selvig.
"Honestly, he's a fantastic teacher. Brilliant, but I don't understand why he doesn't teach at a university," Jane mused.
Clint said that his first week of college was an eye-opener. It was nothing like high school. It was fast paced, but he wasn't quite sure how he was doing so well. Either his teachers liked him, the material was easier than expected, or a combination of the two.
"You're just really smart," Natasha said, wrapping her arms around his bicep and resting her head on his shoulder.
Clint also said the parties were intense. Penn State parties were outrageous, and the police almost always showed up at one point to kick the students out.
When they reached Clint's dorm, he signed them in and then led them up the stairs to his room on the second floor. As they walked down the hall, several girls dressed up for Thirsty Thursday flirtatiously said hello to Clint as they headed out. Clint felt Natasha's grip on his arm tighten with every hello he received from the female residents of Jordan Hall.
"Calm down," Clint muttered just loud enough for Natasha to hear.
Clint's room wasn't very impressive, but then again, dorm rooms weren't impressive in general. Without his mom around to clean up after him, Clint's room was in disarray, and Natasha was sure that it wasn't all his roommate's doing.
"Umm, yeah, I should've cleaned up before you guys came," Clint said rubbing the back of his head.
"It's okay," Peggy said from behind them. "I've seen worse. And by worse, I mean Steve's bedroom at home."
Clint walked further into the room, and collapsed on top of his bed. He reached a hand out to Natasha to signal for her to join him. She dropped her bag on the floor and crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed. Clint immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back onto the bed.
"Did Thor say when he'd be here tomorrow?" Clint asked Jane.
"He said his last class is over at one, and then he's taking the 4:40 Megabus," Jane said, taking a seat at Clint's desk chair.
"And when's the game, Clint?" Peggy asked.
"Saturday at noon. Then Dave Matthews Band plays Sunday night at seven in the stadium too," Clint answered.
"So, what are we supposed to do between now and noon on Saturday?" Natasha asked.
"Are you kidding me?" Clint asked, sitting up. "We're at Penn State, one of the biggest party schools in the country."
"We party, Natasha," Peggy said. "The night is young. How about we hit the town and participate in Thirsty Thursday?"
Peggy started to root through her bag and pulled out a pair of skinny jeans and a black sequined top.
"Bathroom?" Peggy asked Clint.
"Turn right when you leave the room and it's at the end of the hall," Clint said, pointing to the door.
Jane tossed Natasha her bag and both of the girls searched through their bags for an outfit to change into. Natasha had never been to a college party, and she was sure Harry Osborn's New Year's Eve party didn't count. Therefore, she had no idea how to dress for a college party. She'd brought plenty of clothes to choose from but there was no way she could choose.
"What the hell do you wear to a college party?" she said, still searching through her bag. She pulled out a dark red shirt, examined it, then tossed it back in.
Jane shrugged. "That blue shirt you have in your hand is cute. Wear that," Jane said, and then exited the room to join Peggy in the bathroom.
Natasha shrugged. She assumed the blue shirt would have to suffice. She shoved her bag off of her lap and stood up. She crossed the room to close the door and then pulled her shirt over her head, leaving her only in her bra and jeans. Clint tossed her the blue shirt from his bed and she pulled it on. She ran her fingers through her red curls and then pulled the door back open so Peggy and Jane would be able to find the room.
When Peggy and Jane returned to the room several minutes later, they looked like they were ready to hit a club. Clint grabbed his keys, school ID, and phone and they were ready to go.
The campus was alive with students stumbling around drunkenly. The girls were giggling and the boys were shouting at the tops of their lungs. Off in the distance, there was the distinct thump of a bass from a house party.
Clint checked his phone and told Peggy, Jane, and Natasha that the party to be at on Thirsty Thursday was at Beta Sigma Beta, a fraternity just on the edge of campus. Clint had never been there by himself, and, in all honesty, he had no idea how to get there without a group of people. It wasn't hard to find it though, seeing as practically half of the campus was headed in that direction.
They reached the steps to the fraternity and they paid their way in. Clint and Natasha lost Peggy and Jane as soon as they entered the frat house, so they made their way to the bar. The girl tending bar waved at Clint as he approached and Natasha grew uneasy again.
"Hey Janet," Clint said as he leaned up against the bar.
"Hey Clint," the girl named Janet said as she grabbed a bottle of Smirnoff and poured it into a shot glass. "Who's this?" she asked, nodding towards Natasha.
"This is Natasha, my girlfriend," Clint said.
"Oh my God, you're Natasha!" Janet exclaimed. "Clint talks about you all the time like a love sick puppy dog. It's even worse when he gets drunk."
Natasha laughed, and then she turned to Clint. "You talk about me all the time?"
"What can I say? You're my weakness," Clint said shrugging his shoulders.
"What do you guys want? It's on the house. Shots usually cost extra, but the frat boys are too drunk to pay attention so I'm sure I can get away with giving you guys a few free ones," Janet said.
"Vodka," Natasha said immediately.
"Does the brand matter? We have Smirnoff, Pinnacle, Absolut…" Janet trailed off.
"Doesn't matter," Natasha said, shaking her head.
Natasha watched Janet poured the clear liquid into a shot glass and then slide it across the bar to Natasha. Clint asked for a shot of tequila and Janet poured him the shot. Natasha downed the shot and felt the liquid sting her throat as it slid down. She'd forgotten how much it stung, but how good it felt.
Natasha asked for another, and then another. Before she knew it she lost count. It wasn't just vodka either. She tried Jack Daniels, tequila, rum, and even beer. She wasn't sure how much she had had to drink, but the last thing she remembered was Clint scooping her up in his arms and taking outside before she completely blacked out.
When Natasha woke up the next morning, it felt like someone was taking a jack hammer to her head. She shoved a pillow on top of her head to keep out any light that was coming in through the window. A couple minutes later, she heard a high-pitched shrill laugh come from the hallway and she groaned at the annoying sound.
She rolled over onto her side and stretched her arm out, feeling emptiness. She slowly sat up and found herself alone in Clint's dorm room. There was a mess of blankets and pillows on the floor – most likely where Peggy and Jane slept last night – and clothes were strewn across the room.
The door creaked open and Clint walked in with two cups of coffee, one in each hand.
"Morning drunky," Clint said with a chuckle.
"Shhhh!" Natasha hissed. "Everything's amplified so just…don't talk."
Clint chuckled again and handed her the cup of coffee. She took it graciously and rested her back against the wall. Clint climbed onto the bed and sat down next to Natasha. She took a sip of coffee and felt the hot liquid travel down her throat. She moaned with delight and then rested her head on Clint's shoulder.
"If we go to anymore parties this weekend, cut me off after the fifth shot," Natasha said, closing her eyes.
"Why the fifth shot?" Clint asked.
"I lost count after the fifth shot," Natasha said, taking another sip of coffee.
Clint wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.
"I'm the one in college. You should be keeping track of how much I drink," Clint muttered.
"Shut up," Natasha snapped and took another sip of coffee. Natasha glanced around Clint's room. She never really noticed it yesterday, so she didn't really notice all the pictures he had of the two of them. He had the pictures of prom taped to his closet door, and the pictures from after graduation clustered around the mirror on the wall. However, the one picture that caught her eye was an older picture, a picture of the two of them before Clint went off to the eighth grade farewell dance with Bobbi.
"That one's my favorite," Clint said, nodding towards the picture when he saw her notice it.
"Why is that one your favorite?" she asked.
"Because that's the day I realized I was in love with my best friend," Clint said and turned his head to face her and flashed her small smile. He leaned in to kiss her but Natasha pulled back. He looked at her in confusion.
"Do you really want to kiss me after last night? I probably still reek of alcohol, and I probably threw up a lot and didn't brush my teeth afterwards," Natasha said.
"Actually, you can really hold your liquor, but I'm going to kiss you anyways," he said and leaned in and kissed her full on the lips. His hand reached up to touch the side of her face and she rested her hand on his forearm. When he pulled away, she leaned forward to let him know that she wanted more but he just chuckled.
"Cool it," he ordered. "It's only Friday. We still have until Monday."
"Fine," she said, relaxing back against the wall. "So what are we doing today?"
"I don't know," Clint said. "Peggy and Jane are out exploring the campus so they could be anywhere. My roommate went home for the weekend already. Thor should be here later tonight."
"So it's just us right now?" Natasha said arching one of her eyebrows.
"What's with that mischievous look in your eye?" Clint asked.
"We're alone in your dorm room. No friends, no family…" she trailed off.
"You're so bad," Clint said but jumped off the bed and slammed the door shut and locked it before jumping back on the bed and attacking Natasha's lips with his.
After Natasha and Clint had a moment to themselves, they got dressed and went outside to find Peggy and Jane. They had a whole day to themselves but Penn State was a big campus, and there was tons of stuff to do.
They found Peggy and Jane by the famed Nittany Lion statue and then they decided they wanted to go to the Penn State University Creamery, the largest university creamery in the country. When they got there, the creamery was packed and it was difficult to choose what kind of ice cream they wanted since there were over 100 flavors to choose from. There were the normal flavors such as vanilla and chocolate to the unusual flavors such as Autumn Delight and Happy Happy Joy Joy.
They spent most of their day in the cool air-conditioned creamery eating ice cream and joking around. When 4:00 rolled around, they headed outside to explore the campus some more. After they had finished exploring the campus, they returned to Clint's dorm and got ready to pick up Thor from the Megabus station.
When Thor's bus arrived and he stepped off, Jane squealed and ran towards him to close the space between them.
"Well, I guess I'm the odd one out this weekend," Peggy whined, folding her arms across her chest.
"Aw, no," Natasha said. "We wouldn't do that to you."
They headed back to campus and then got ready to hit the frat houses again.
The campus was buzzing with excitement Saturday morning as the first game of the season drew nearer. Everyone in Clint's dorm room woke up groggily, the symptoms from partying too hard last night clearly taking effect. When they got up, they trudged down the hall to their respective bathrooms and then returned to Clint's room to get ready for the game.
Half of the students on Clint's floor were already down at Beaver Stadium, pre-gaming, but Clint, Natasha, Peggy, Jane, and Thor felt like they had experienced their pre-gaming last night so they took their time getting to the stadium.
When they were ready, they went downstairs and stepped out into the bright morning sunshine. Crowds of students and Penn State fans were flocking towards Beaver Stadium, so the group joined the crowd and followed them to the stadium.
Clint had managed to get them tickets for the student section so they entered through the gate for students and made their way to the student section to find their seats. The stadium was roaring with cheers in a sea of blue and white. Penn State students had already started doing the wave and Clint, Natasha, Peggy, Jane, and Thor joined in.
The game started shortly after noon and the crowd roared with excitement. Throughout the game, Penn State students started the wave multiple times and instigated the famed "We are…Penn State!" chant.
Tackle after tackle, interception after interception, the game came to a close with the Nittany Lions winning and the game attendees exited the stadium. Clint, Natasha, Peggy, Jane, and Thor returned to Clint's dorm room to prepare for another round of hard partying.
As Natasha got ready for the Dave Matthews Band concert in the bathroom down the hall from Clint's room, she realized she didn't want this weekend to end. It flew by, and she would be leaving to return home tomorrow morning. Clint could tell her a million times that he would do everything to see her at least once a week, but even Natasha knew that would get exhausting since it was nearly a three hour drive each way.
She packed up her makeup bag and walked back down the hall to Clint's room. Peggy and Jane were still finishing up in the bathroom, and Thor was off getting coffee somewhere on campus so Clint was alone in his room, lying on his bed. She tossed her makeup bag on top of her duffle bag and crawled on top of Clint, resting her head against his chest.
"I don't want to go back home," Natasha mumbled.
"I don't want you to go back either, but you have to if you want to graduate," he said.
Natasha shrugged but didn't say anything.
"If you graduate, then maybe you can go to school here and live with me," Clint said, running his fingers through her red curls.
"Oh come on, can you really see me going to school here?" Natasha protested.
"As long as I'm here I think you'd fit in perfectly," Clint said.
They laid together in silence for a couple more minutes until Peggy and Jane walked in. Natasha quickly scrambled off of Clint and sat on the edge of the bed. When everyone had grabbed their belongings – cash, IDs, purses, and phones – they headed over to Beaver Stadium so they could get a spot with a good view in general admission.
They were fairly early so they managed to get a good spot several feet back from the stage. No one ever paid attention to the opening act, no matter how good they were, but Thor seemed to be really into it for some reason.
After a half hour of stage time, the opening act walked off and the crew began to switch around the instruments from the opening act's to Dave Matthews Band's. The sun was starting to set, painting the sky with hues of orange and pink and red.
Around 8:30, Dave Matthews Band walked on stage and opened the concert with "Dreamgirl." Immediately, Natasha felt Clint's arms wrap around her waist. It was hard to believe that in less than 24 hours, she'd be home without Clint. She'd be without his arms around her. She'd be without his lips on hers. There was no telling when she'd see him again.
Once the band finished up with "Dreamgirl," they quickly segued into "American Baby." The set list was perfect so far, but if they continued playing songs that practically summed up her and Clint's relationship, she was going to break down and cry. Despite "Dreamgirl" and "American Baby" being two of her favorite songs by Dave Matthews Band, they tugged at her heart strings. She didn't want to leave Happy Valley tomorrow.
Her emotions got a break when the band decided to play "Alligator Pie." It was upbeat and it was a song that somehow reminded Natasha of summer in general. Natasha wasn't in the clear yet, because after "Alligator Pie," they played "You and Me."
Love song after love song, Natasha was becoming to grow irritated. Dave Matthews Band was one of her favorite bands, and she knew they had other songs that weren't love songs. She wanted to know why they weren't playing those songs.
By the time they'd gotten to "The Space Between," she needed air. She broke free from Clint's grasp and pushed her way through the crowd. She glanced over her shoulder, and sure enough, Clint was right behind her.
When she broke free of the crowd, she kept walking until she was out by the food vendors. That's when she stopped to catch her breath. She could still hear the band singing "The Space Between." Getting away from the loudness made it better but the love songs tore at her heart still.
"Nat, are you okay?" Clint said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Natasha took a deep breath and turned around to face Clint. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Bullshit," Clint said. "Tell me."
"I don't want to go back home," she blurted out. "I know I said it before but after spending the entire weekend with you, I don't want to go back. It's absolutely cruel to be with you again only to have it taken away again. I have no idea when I'll see y - ."
Clint's lips crushed Natasha's, cutting her off in mid-sentence. He broke away from the kiss, but brought his hands up to cup her face.
"I told you we will make this work," Clint muttered. "You really need to stop worrying so much. Do you understand me?"
Natasha nodded.
"If for some reason I can't come home one weekend, or you can't come here, we'll Skype. We do live in the 21st century," he said, and Natasha let out a small laugh.
"If it makes you feel any better, we'll do it every day," Clint said.
"I would love that, but you have schoolwork to do, and I do too. Plus I have work, and I'm not so sure that seeing you on a computer screen is going to be the same," Natasha said.
"No, it will never be the same, but at least you get to see me," Clint said.
Natasha shrugged. "I suppose," she mumbled.
"Okay, are we all good now?" Clint asked and Natasha shook her head. "Well, too bad, because we're going back in. If I miss them play 'Dancing Nancies,' I'm going to kick your ass."
Natasha giggled. Clint took her by the hand and dragged her back into the stadium so they could rejoin their friends.
When Natasha's alarm on her phone went off at 8:30 the next morning, she wasn't ready to get up. Normally when any alarm clock went off, she was never ready to get out of bed, but today, it was because she wasn't ready to go home.
Clint gently elbowed her in the ribs and she rolled over to see him smiling at her.
"You have to get up," he ordered. She groaned and pushed him out of the bed onto the floor.
Natasha, Peggy, and Jane all got ready in the bathroom down the hall in a haze. Peggy and Jane weren't ready to go home either. They'd had too much fun this past weekend and they didn't want it to end.
Natasha wasn't ready to say goodbye to Clint again. Saying goodbye once was hard enough, but twice was possibly going to rip her heart out of her chest. She shoved her belongings into her bag angrily as Clint watched her from his bed.
"You need to calm down," Clint said.
She mumbled something under her breath in Russian. She didn't use Russian very often, but when she did, she usually mumbled it to herself.
When Peggy and Jane were finished in the bathroom, they returned to Clint's room to pack their things, and when was all said and done, they were ready to go. Natasha dragged her feet as they walked to the parking garage where Peggy's car was parked. They walked into the parking garage and loaded their bags into the car. Peggy and Jane sat up front and waited for Natasha, who was waiting outside the car with Clint.
"Stop looking so depressed. I don't like it," Clint said.
"It doesn't really help when I'm leaving the person that makes me happy," Natasha said with a shrug.
"Stop," he said taking her face in his hands. "Why don't you try having fun with other people for a change?'
"I have fun with Peggy and Jane," she said matter-of-factly.
"Oh, okay," Clint said. "Then the next time I talk to you, I want to hear some interesting stories. I don't want to hear about how depressed you are that I'm not there."
"I'm not depressed. I'm just sad."
"Yeah whatever," Clint said. "I'll call you later, okay?"
Natasha nodded and then Clint leaned in to kiss her one last time for knows how long again. He opened the car door for her and she slid in. He slammed the door closed and backed away from the car so Peggy could pull out.
As they pulled out of the parking garage, Natasha rolled down the window and leaned out just a little bit. She still had sight of Clint so she offered up a weak wave before they pulled out of the garage and she lost sight of him completely.
By the way, please check out Dave Matthews Band if you haven't already. I went to see them live a week ago and they still continue to amaze me.
Also, I posted a Clintasha one-shot yesterday called "One More Night." If you guys would like to, check it out. No pressure. For those of you that did read it, maybe I'll do a sequel when this story's finished. Not sure yet.
As always, thanks for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Therefore, review away! Let me know what you think of the shenanigans in Happy Valley (what Penn State University Park is sometimes called. The town is called State College. Just thought I should clear that up haha.)