Okay, I just want to make something very clear. After I received a very "strange" review last night, I want to make it very clear that this story is a work of FICTION. As much as we all want it to happen, not many couples are as cute and romantic as Natasha and Clint are. Since this is a work of fiction, it's supposed to be fun, enjoyable, suspenseful, dramatic, and most importantly, a complete fantasy. It's not going to play out like how it would in the real world. I just want to make that clear. This particular reviewer also reviewed as if they were "talking" to Clint, but in all honesty, it felt like they were telling me how to write my damn story. They said that Clint had to leave Natasha permanently because she was taking someone else to prom and that she probably cheated on him. 1. It provides for great entertainment and 2. No, Natasha has no cheated on Clint. So here's the deal. Do not tell me how to write my damn story and if you don't like it, go write your own. And honestly, don't use your power to review to practically vent about your own personal struggles. Some of you can relate but you don't write a novel about it. If you don't like the way my story is playing out, you can show yourself to the door.
Okay, phew. Sorry about that. It had to be said. I'm not trying to be mean, but that one review irritated me beyond belief. I still appreciate all the reviews though! Anyways, here is chapter 31!
When Clint returned to State College on Sunday, he felt like he was on cloud nine. He and Natasha were back together, and it was going to stay that way. He was going to make sure of it.
Clint also noticed a change in Natasha's mood. When they left the park hand in hand that evening, she was grinning from ear to ear and twirling the promise ring around her finger just like she did when she first got it. It was going to take some getting used to having it there again.
Before Natasha went to work that Sunday, she swung by Clint's house to say goodbye to him; the next time she was probably going to see him would be Easter weekend. Penn State didn't give their students an extended weekend for Easter but Clint still planned on coming home anyways. When they said their goodbyes to one another, they kissed so that it would hold them over until Clint returned for Easter.
In the meantime, Natasha joined Peggy and Jane on many shopping trips for prom dresses. This time, Natasha wasn't going to put much effort into finding a dress. She wanted to look good for her senior prom, but she stressed out so much last year because she was going with Clint. She wanted to look good next to him. It wasn't that she didn't want to look good next to Bruce, but she didn't need to stress out about impressing him like she stressed out over impressing Clint.
Thor and Steve would be home the weekend of prom so they would be able to be Jane and Peggy's dates. When they had heard that Brue and Natasha were going together, Thor and Steve were confused since they had heard the news that Clint and Natasha were back together.
"Oh my God, just tell them I was being nice," Natasha said one day at school to Peggy when she mentioned that Steve was wondering why she and Bruce were going together. "He's really nice and he needed a date to prom. I don't like the way he executed his proposal but we're just going as friends."
"That's not what Steve says," Peggy said.
"Steve's in Indiana. How would he know?"
"Oh come on," Peggy said. "Steve says that Bruce has always had a thing for you."
"Okay, so what? I really don't think Bruce would try any moves on me. He's just too nice to do that," Natasha said defensively.
"Oh no, he wouldn't. Steve was just saying that that was Bruce's motive for convincing you to go," Peggy said.
Whatever Bruce's motive was for asking her to prom, she didn't care. She was going to prom – unfortunately, without Clint – but high school was about making memories and that's what she was going to do. She already had plenty of high school memories with Clint, too many to count on her fingers and toes, and she figured it was about time she made some memories that didn't involve Clint.
Natasha found her prom dress on the same trip that Peggy and Jane had found theirs. It was nothing like her custom made Marchesa gown from last year and it wouldn't compare, but it was still sufficient enough for her standards. It was a midnight blue strapless gown with a jeweled, ruched bodice. It was simple yet elegant, and Natasha liked it enough to buy it for prom.
"Clint's going to wish he was going when he sees you in that," Jane said, nodding her head in approval.
"Don't remind me," Natasha groaned.
"Oh stop. I'm sure you guys will find a way to spend as much time together as possible on prom day," Peggy whined.
Natasha only needed the dress since she figured she'd just recycle her shoes and accessories from last year, but she was still dragged to the accessories and shoe departments as Peggy and Jane looked to spend more money on their ensembles for prom.
At the end of March – nearly a week before Natasha was going to hear from the remainder of the colleges she had applied to – she decided to tag along with her father into the city for the weekend. As long as she wouldn't be forced to bond with her grandparents, Natasha would willingly go into the city any chance she got.
Her father had hoped it would be a relaxing weekend for her but all she wanted to do was trek down to NYU's campus in Greenwich Village and get a feel for it. Being on the campus for more than five minutes made her feel at home and she realized she would be devastated if she got rejected from the school.
As she sat on a bench in Washington Square Park – admiring the elderly playing chess and the students studying for exams – she heard her phone ring in her bag and she hastily rooted through all the junk to find it. When she extracted her phone, she saw Clint's name flashing across the screen and she answered it with a smile on her face.
"Hi," she said giddily.
"Hey, how's NYU?" Clint asked. Clint knew her motive for going to the city for the weekend since she had invited him but unfortunately, Clint had an exam Monday morning promptly at eight a.m. and he didn't want to risk getting stuck in the city due to traffic. He had definitely wanted to go so he could spend time with Natasha but she understood when he mentioned that he had his exam to take Monday morning.
"Fantastic," she answered. "I'm just sitting in the park across from the arts and science building."
"Sounds like you're having a blast," he said sarcastically.
"I am!" she protested. "It would be a lot more fun if I had someone to share it with though."
"Hey, take it up with my professor. I mean really, eight a.m. classes should be illegal."
Natasha giggled. "Stop worrying about my city adventures and get back to studying."
"Okay," he said, sounding defeated. "I was just calling to see how you liked it."
"I love it," she said. "I think I'll be a little disappointed if I get rejected, but then that would mean Penn State would be next on my list so I guess there's a positive to all of this."
"I guess so," Clint said nervously.
"Are you okay? I thought I was bad with the college talk, but you're starting to surpass me in the anxiety department," Natasha said.
"Yeah, yeah," he said quickly. "Just, yeah, I've got to get back to studying."
"Okay and I'll call you later to see how you're doing with the whole studying thing," she said.
"Looking forward to it," he said, and she could almost hear the smile spreading across his face as he said it.
They said their goodbyes and hung up with each other. Natasha tossed her phone back into her bag, took another look at Washington Square Park, and then trudged to the edge of the sidewalk to hail a cab to take her back to 834 Fifth Avenue.
When the first week of April started, Natasha became extremely nervous. Every college and university that had notified her so far had accepted her, and now, this week was the moment of truth. Was she smart enough to attend NYU? If she didn't get accepted to NYU, there would be no chance of her getting accepted to Yale or Cornell, Ivy League schools. NYU was pretty close to Ivy League, and if they rejected her, Yale and Cornell would be automatic rejections as well.
Every day when Natasha came home from school, she would check the mailbox and sift through the various letters for any that were addressed to her. She would then go inside and check the status on her applications via each school's respective sites. For the most part, they always told her that a decision had been made and she would be receiving a response in the mail soon.
"If they can tell me that a decision has been made, why can't they tell me what the decision is?" Natasha complained on the phone one night to Clint.
"Tasha, calm down," Clint said.
"Calm down? How the hell can I calm down when our whole future is on the line right now?" she shrieked.
Clint was taken aback at her response. It wasn't because she had snapped at him; it was because of her answer.
"Did you just say our future?" he asked, a smile spreading across his face.
"What?" she said haughtily. She was still worked up from him telling her to calm down.
"You said our future," Clint stated.
"Did I?" she asked.
"Yeah, you did," Clint said with a chuckle.
Clint could almost imagine her going over what she had said in her head as he listened to the silence on the phone.
"Huh, I guess I did," she said after thinking over what she had said.
"Was this another heat of the moment thing?" he asked, almost sounding defeated.
"No," she said, and then paused before starting up again. "No, it wasn't. We're in this together Clint."
He couldn't help grinning from ear to ear as he heard her say it. She was finally beginning to believe that they could make it work no matter what.
"Stop grinning like an idiot," she said. "I'm not stupid. I know that's what you're doing right now."
"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not," Clint said.
"Shut up. I know you are," she said. "Now get back to studying so you don't flunk out of college."
Clint chuckled. "Okay Mother Dearest," he joked.
Natasha giggled, and then paused to think over what she was going to say. She hadn't said it in a while, but she needed to say it.
"I love you Clint. You know that right?" Natasha said softly. "I know I fucked up months ago, but I never stopped loving you."
Clint let out a giddy laugh that he couldn't contain. "I know Nat," Clint said. "And whether you get accepted to NYU or not, I'll still love you too. It won't make you any less of a person, and it won't make me love you any less either."
Natasha nodded her head, even though he couldn't see her. She did it because she had nothing to say. She wondered why she'd let him go in the first place.
"Okay college boy, get back to studying," she said.
As she got off the phone with Clint, the stress from not receiving an answer from NYU or any other school had been slightly lifted. She knew she still wouldn't be sleeping well tonight but Clint had managed to lift her spirits a bit. But she knew that come morning, she'd be stressing all over again and rushing home after school or work to get check the mailbox for any sort of envelope that contained the fate of their future together.
When Natasha returned home after school on Thursday afternoon, she almost forgot to check the mailbox. She was halfway to the front door when the thought struck her and she quickly turned and sprinted to the mailbox. She wrenched open the door and inside – along with some normal looking envelopes – were two rather large envelopes.
With a trembling hand, she pulled out the envelopes and turned them over to look at the return address. One was from Cornell while the other was from Yale. She tore open the envelope from Yale with shaky fingers – giving herself some paper cuts in the process – and pulled out the top paper.
Congratulations Miss Romanoff, the first line read. We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Yale University.
Natasha figured this had to be a mistake, or she was dreaming. Did she really just get accepted to Yale?
She slid the paper back into the envelope and then tossed it onto the ground, frantically ripping open the second envelope. The papers scattered about as she completely tore open the envelope to pull out the top paper.
Congratulations Miss Romanoff, the opening line read. We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Cornell University.
"Pinch me, I'm dreaming," she muttered under her breath as she read the opening line over and over again. That's when the thought struck her. She dropped the acceptance letter from Cornell on the ground and reached back into the mailbox to pull out the rest of the envelopes. She shuffled through the envelopes, looking for anything addressed to her from NYU. Fortunately, there was nothing of the sort, and she let out a sigh. She was relieved that she wasn't rejected yet, but she was still going to be on edge until she received some form of notification from the school.
She slammed the mailbox hatch shut, gathered up all the papers from the ground, and rushed into the house. Tossing all of the mail on the table by the door, she struggled to pull her phone out of her bag and she searched for Clint's number. There was no guaranteeing he would answer since he could still be in class but she still jumped up and down out of anxiety as the phone rang.
"Hey Nat," he said from the other end of the line.
"Clint!" she shrieked. "Clint, oh my God!"
"Nat, what? Everything okay?" he asked anxiously.
"Everything's great! Well, sort of. You'll just…oh my God, you'll never believe me when I tell you," she said giddily.
"Well stop delaying it and tell me already!"
"I got into Yale and Cornell! I got in Clint!" she said excitedly.
"Tasha, holy shit!" Clint exclaimed. "Holy fucking shit!"
"I know! I know!" Natasha squealed.
"And NYU? What about NYU?" Clint asked.
Natasha hesitated to answer; she had been hoping he wouldn't bring it up.
"I still don't know," she mumbled.
"Tasha, I don't think you'll get rejected. If you got into Cornell and Yale, you'll get into NYU," Clint said.
"How do you know? NYU is super competitive," Natasha said.
"That's really only Tisch. Yeah, the rest of the colleges are hard to get into as well but Tisch is really the only competitive one," Clint explained.
"Thanks for the encouragement," Natasha said sarcastically.
"You're not going to Tisch so it doesn't matter. You'll get in," Clint reassured her.
Natasha mumbled something in Russian under breath in disagreement with Clint.
"We're going to celebrate when I get home tomorrow," Clint said. "My last class has already been cancelled so I can leave earlier than usual."
"There's nothing to celebrate," Natasha said in disagreement.
"Yes, we have to celebrate," Clint argued.
Natasha groaned as she fell back onto the couch. "Fine," she said, "but if by some miracle I get into NYU, you're going to waste the celebration on two schools I won't even go to."
"Nat," he said softly. "Stop stressing yourself out. I have a really good feeling you'll get in. If Yale and Cornell accepted you, NYU will accept you. They'd be stupid not to because you're incredibly intelligent and smart and hard-working and – ."
"Shut it Barton."
When Natasha returned home from working the lunch shift at Sweet Creams on Friday, Clint's car was parked in her driveway and he was seated on her front porch. His elbows were resting on his knees and his chin resting in his hands. A bouquet of bright and colorful flowers was situated on the porch next to him.
As Natasha slung her bag across her chest, she smiled at Clint. He stood up when she approached him, handed her the bouquet of flowers, and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Everything was back to normal for the time being. She and Clint were just like they used to be and it made her nervous that things will change for them, once again, within a few months time.
"Congratulations," Clint whispered.
Natasha rolled her eyes. "Thanks," she said. "When did you get home?"
"About an hour ago," he said, following her up the porch steps and into the house.
"I'm assuming you have a game plan for my acceptance celebration? You had the rest of last night and a three hour drive today to think about it," Natasha teased as she pulled her bag off of her body and dropped it onto the hardwood floor with a thud. She took a seat on the couch and then grabbed Clint's hand to pull him down next to her.
"Actually, I'm leaving it up to you," he said as he leaned back into the couch. "We can celebrate or not. You're right. When you get into NYU, we don't want to waste the celebration on Yale and Cornell."
"If I get into NYU, Clint," she corrected.
"You're getting in. I know it. Two Ivy League schools accepted you. NYU wouldn't reject you while two Ivy Leagues accept you. It just wouldn't make sense," he said crossing his arms.
"Why are you so okay with this?" she asked, slipping off her shoes and tucking her feet underneath her.
"I know that we can make this work. I just know it," he said.
"Well that was vague," she mumbled.
"Hey," he said leaning towards her. She turned her head and came face to face with his blue-grey eyes. "The Megabus goes from State College to New York in five hours time. It's a long trip but I'll endure it to come see you."
Natasha shrugged. "And maybe I'll endure it to see you. We'll see," she joked as she shoved him playfully in the shoulder. He retaliated with a harder but still playful shove. They shoved each other back and forth a couple more times before Clint tackled her onto her back on the couch and leaned down just close enough so that his lips were just barely brushing against hers.
"You're going to get in," Clint said and started to close the distance between their lips but Natasha shoved him away.
"Shit! I forgot to check the mail," she said, flailing around to untangle herself from Clint. She swung her legs over the side of the couch and slipped her shoes back on, and then sprinted to the front door with Clint on her heels. They raced down the steps and sprinted to the mailbox at the end of her driveway. When Natasha reached the black box, she wrenched open the door and found a rather large envelope shoved in between several other regular sized envelopes. She reached into the box and pulled out the envelope, but hesitated to open it. She could practically feel the excitement radiating from Clint when he saw her pull the envelope out of the mailbox.
"Come on! Open it!" Clint urged.
"Не торопитесь," she said; "Don't rush it" in Russian.
She stared at the envelope for a couple more seconds before flipping it over to rip open the flap. She peeked in to look for the letter that would deliver her fate. Carefully pulling it out of the envelope as if she was scared to crinkle it, she placed it on top of the envelope so that she and Clint could both read it. She read every single word on the paper before making it to the part where the decision was actually announced.
Dear Miss Romanoff, the letter greeted. Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to New York University.
She didn't keep reading; she didn't need to. She had gotten accepted to NYU. She and Clint would have to face another obstacle in the fall. She was excited, and yet, a wave of depression washed over her as she dropped her hands to her side and let the paper and envelope containing all of the freshman information flutter to the ground. Suddenly, she felt Clint's arms wrap around her waist from behind her and his chin rest on her shoulder.
"You're going to NYU," he whispered in her ear.
"I-I'm going to NYU," she choked out.
Natasha felt the ground disappear from underneath her feet as Clint picked her up and spun her around.
"Wait Clint, stop. Stop," she demanded. He set her back down on solid ground and looked at her with a confused looked on his face.
"Okay, I know you're happy for me, but aren't you even the slightest bit concerned?" she asked.
"Concerned about what?"
"About us?" she said, her voice cracking a bit.
Clint shook his head. "Nope, I've got a plan, and it's going to work."
Natasha didn't get a chance to ask what exactly his plan was because he picked her up and spun her around again. Natasha finally squealed out of excitement when Clint scooped her up in his arms. Whatever "plan" he had, Natasha wanted to know what it was but Clint never gave her a chance. He crushed his lips up against hers and she forgot everything that she had been worrying about. She just knew she had to trust him.
Once again, sorry for my little rant at the beginning. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It seems like Clint has some tricks and surprises up his sleeve and only I know what they are. Hehe! And Natasha got into NYU! Hooray Natasha! Originally I really wanted to go to NYU and I felt the same exact way as Natasha did when I visited the campus. I loved it so much that I felt like I would be devastated if I didn't get in. But then my mom told me I couldn't apply at all so that put that to rest haha. Maybe I'll apply there for grad school if I decide to go there.
As always, thank you for adding this story to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. So, review away! I still love reading your reviews so let me know what you think of Natasha getting into NYU.