Oh Clint Barton, what are you up to? Making poor Natasha worry and go all paranoid haha. Here is chapter 33!
When Natasha woke up the next morning, she was pressed up against Clint's side with her right arm stretched across his chest. It had been a while since they slept like this, just in each other's arms, and she'd missed it so much.
Natasha carefully broke free from Clint's side and stretched. Sleeping on the hard ground hadn't been very romantic but it didn't matter that much since she got to wake up next to Clint. As she stretched, she felt every muscle groan in protest and her joints let out a sickening crack. She rolled over again and rested her hand on his chest, catching a glimpse of the bluish-blackish splotches spattered across her knuckles. Despite icing her hand once she got to Clint's house last night, she knew there was bound to be some sort of side effect to her right hook. She was just glad she didn't seriously damage anything.
Natasha felt Clint stir beside her and she watched as he slowly opened his eyes into the bright morning light. He brought one of his hands up to rub one of his eyes and then turned his head to face Natasha, who greeted him with a smile.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi," she said. "Sleep okay?"
"I guess so. I'm sure I'll be sore later from sleeping on the hard ground."
"Hey, you don't get to complain. This was your bright idea."
Clint was about to lean in to kiss her when he heard the muffled ring of his phone from underneath his pillow. Simultaneously, Natasha's phone rang from the other side of the bed. They both reached for their phones, and checked the screens.
"Oh shit," they said at the same time.
"Well answer it," Natasha said, peeking over at Clint's phone. Clint slid his thumb across the screen as Natasha silenced the ringer on her phone.
"Hey Steve," Clint said, putting his thumb and forefinger on the bridge of his nose.
"Yeah, we just forgot to set an alarm," Clint said. "We'll be there ASAP."
He hung up and looked over at Natasha.
"Don't look at me," Natasha said. "You're the one who decided to get all romantic last night. It's not my fault."
Clint chuckled and then leaned over to kiss her, but was interrupted by the sound of Natasha's phone ringing again.
"Okay," she said, silencing the ringer again to ignore Peggy's call. "Stop messing around. We've got to meet them for breakfast."
"Can I finally kiss you or are we going to be interrupted again?" Clint asked.
"If you must," she teased, and Clint leaned in and kissed her on the temple, then the lips. Then, they untangled themselves from the blankets and headed into the house to quickly get changed and drive to the diner they had agreed to meet Peggy, Steve, Thor, and Jane at.
When they arrived at the diner, Clint's phone rang from the cup holder in his car. Before Natasha could catch a glimpse of the screen of who was calling him, he snatched it out of the cup holder and answered it.
"I'll meet you inside," Clint said from the driver's seat. Natasha shot him a confused look, and when she didn't leave the car he said, "Go ahead, I'll be right there."
As she walked up the ramp into the diner, Natasha looked back at Clint, still in his car, chatting away on the phone. She was really hurt that he needed to shoo her away to talk on the phone. Who was he talking to that he couldn't talk on the phone with her around? Or what exactly was he talking about that she couldn't be around to hear?
She walked through the front door of the diner and spotted Steve, Peggy, Jane, and Thor seated at a really large booth in the corner. She walked to the table and slid in next to Thor.
"Where's Clint?" Steve asked, taking a sip of coffee.
"Out in the car talking on the phone with…someone," she said, hesitating when she said "someone."
"Why do you say it like that?" Thor asked.
"He practically shooed me out of the car. It was like whoever he was on the phone with, he couldn't talk to with me around," Natasha said, almost sounding defeated. Their waitress sidled up next to the table and Natasha ordered an orange juice and a toasted bagel with cream cheese. By the time the waitress had taken Natasha's order, Clint still hadn't come into the diner.
"What is he doing? Conferring with a drug cartel?" Thor joked as he shoved a huge bite of his omelet into his mouth when he noticed Clint still didn't make an appearance.
"I hope not," Natasha mumbled.
"Whatever it is, it's probably no big deal," Jane reassured Natasha.
"Yeah, I guess," Natasha said as their waitress set her food in front of her.
"Seriously, this is Clint. Maybe he's just talking to his roommate from this past year," Peggy said, shrugging her shoulders.
"What could Clint and his roommate possibly have to talk about so suddenly? They saw each other a couple days ago," Natasha snapped.
"Natasha, I don't think you have anything to worry about," Steve said.
"He's just…he's just been acting really weird lately. And he keeps telling me that he has a 'plan' for us to make our relationship work in the fall, but he won't tell me what it is," Natasha said practically in one breath.
Steve was about to respond but quickly shut his mouth when he saw Clint walk through the door. Steve waved him over to the table and Clint walked over and slid in next to Natasha. Natasha decided it was best to drop the subject. She was clearly being paranoid and whoever he was on the phone with Natasha didn't want to be the girlfriend who needed to know who he was on the phone with every single time. But his strange behavior was starting to eat away at her, and she desperately wanted to know what was going on with him.
It was a couple days before Memorial Day weekend when Natasha had really started to grow suspicious of Clint's behavior. They had been having a casual conversation one day when Natasha had brought up that she took off for the upcoming holiday weekend and wanted to know what Clint wanted to do. It was strange when his eyes grew wide, as if he hadn't realized she would even want to hang out with him.
"Oh shit, I can't," he said.
"What? Why not?" Natasha asked.
"I'm going to the city this weekend," Clint said.
"What? No you're not," Natasha said.
"Yeah, I am," Clint said. "Barney's one friend from Pitt lives in NYC and he's going to visit him this weekend so I'm tagging along."
"And you're just telling me this now why?" Natasha asked.
"Because you brought it up."
"Were you planning on telling me you were going?" Natasha asked with a slight edge to her voice.
"Yeah," Clint said bluntly.
"Am I allowed to go?"
"I don't think Barney would be okay with that," Clint said.
"And why would Barney not be okay with it? Does he hate me or something?"
"No, he was just hoping it would be a guys' weekend," Clint said, crossing his arms.
"Oh, okay," Natasha replied, then changed the subject. She didn't quite believe him. He had waited to the last minute to tell her, and he only told her because she had brought up the subject of the upcoming holiday weekend. She wasn't hurt over the fact that he wasn't hanging out with her over the weekend – though that certainly contributed to it – she was hurt that he had told her at the last minute that he wouldn't even be in town at all. The expression on his face, however, did not help his case.
Clint Francis Barton, she thought to herself. What are you up to?
"Really Natasha, you've got to calm down," Peggy said from the lounge chair to Natasha's left.
They were lounging poolside at Thor's house the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. To be honest, Natasha didn't really want to do anything that made her feel like the fifth wheel. It was strange being at Thor's house without Clint, and it was certainly strange being the odd one out. Therefore, she had resorted to sharing her strange theories involving Clint's strange behavior. They ranged from somewhat normal situations, such as the fact that he was growing tired of their relationship, to the utterly bizarre, such as being abducted and probed by aliens, which resulted in the "calm down" response from Peggy.
"This is just so not like him," Natasha said, taking a sip of lemonade from her glass.
"No, it's not, but you honestly have to trust the guy," Peggy said, slipping her sunglasses onto her face.
"He hasn't even called once since he left Thursday night," Natasha whined. "I haven't called him because I don't want to be the nosy girlfriend who has to know everything he does every single second."
"I think you have the right to call him at least once a day if he doesn't call you," Jane chimed in from Natasha's right. "And if he doesn't answer, he'll call you back because this is Clint we're talking about."
Natasha sighed. "Yeah, I guess so," she said. "I'm going to call him now. If he's with Barney who knows if Clint will be sober if I were to call him later."
Natasha got up from the lounge chair and grabbed her phone from her bag. She searched through her contacts and found Clint's number. She tapped Clint's phone number on the screen and brought the phone up to her ear as she heard it begin to ring on the other end. After two rings, Clint picked up.
"Hey Nat!" he said. "I'm really sorry I haven't called. Barney and his friend have been dragging me all across the city non-stop since we got here Thursday night."
"Oh no, it's okay," she said, slightly happy. She was just glad to hear his voice again.
"So what's been going on? What have you been doing?" Clint asked.
"Oh, umm, nothing much. I'm at Thor's house right now with Peggy, Jane, and Steve."
"Sounds fun," Clint said.
"Yeah, and umm, on Monday we're going to Dorney Park. You know, just for something to do," Natasha said.
"If Barney doesn't plan on keeping me any longer than planned, I should be back by mid-afternoon on Monday," Clint said.
"Okay!" she exclaimed, excited by this new information. "When we get back from the park, I'll stop by, okay?"
"Yeah, that'd be great," Clint said. "I've got to go actually. Barney's signaling for me to hurry it up but I'll see you Monday."
"Yeah, yeah, Monday. I'll see you Monday," she said dejectedly.
"Okay, I'm sorry Tasha, but I still love you," Clint said apologetically.
"Oh it's okay. I love you too," Natasha said.
They said their goodbyes and she heard his line go dead before she even had a chance to pull the phone away from her ear.
"So, what did he say?" Peggy said when Natasha reappeared.
"Barney's been dragging him around the city and he'll be back, hopefully, by mid-afternoon on Monday," Natasha sighed.
"You still don't believe him, do you?" Jane asked, not taking her eyes off of her book.
"No, I don't, but I have to trust him. I told myself I was going to stop doubting him," Natasha said.
"Then stop doubting him," Peggy said. "Clint's a great guy. Now stop fretting and let's go cool off. I can feel myself getting burnt by the second in this sun."
Natasha watched as Peggy got up and tossed her sunhat onto the lounge chair and then walked to the edge of the pool, dipping her toes into the cool water.
"Peggy's right," Jane said, snapping her book shut. "Stop doubting him, and stop stressing out about it, especially at this time in the school year. I mean, we're graduating in roughly two weeks so we have more important things to worry about."
Jane got up from her lounge chair and joined Peggy at the edge of the pool. They both had made good points. She was getting worked up over nothing and at the worst time of the year nonetheless.
She returned her phone to her bag and joined Peggy and Jane at the edge of the pool so she could forget her worries for at least a couple minutes.
The Wednesday after Memorial Day weekend was Stroudsburg High School's end-of-year Moving Up Day ceremony. Today would be the day Natasha would find out if all of that hard work she had put into those essays for scholarships had paid off. NYU was not going to come cheap. Her father made a lot more by his lonesome now than he did when he was married to Natasha's mother, but he wouldn't be able to cover Natasha's college costs all by himself. Mr. Romanoff had promised he would chip in with books and a small portion of tuition but that was about it. The rest was Natasha's problem. It didn't matter whether it was loans, scholarships, or grants. Just as long as she found some way to fund her education at NYU, Mr. Romanoff didn't care.
As the seniors marched into the football stadium and took their places in their respective seats, Natasha could spot Clint in the front row of the stands next to Natasha's father. What shocked her, however, was that her grandparents were also in attendance. Her grandparents were the last people she wanted to see today and yet, here they were.
Silence fell over the stadium as Principal Fury stepped up to the microphone to give his usual speech about another year down, another graduating class gone. It was the usual spiel, something that Natasha had heard on every Moving Up Day since her freshman year. It was never necessarily worded the same way but the same message was always conveyed.
When Principal Fury had finished his speech, he called Jane, the salutatorian, to the stage to give a speech. When they had returned to school on Tuesday after Memorial Day weekend, Principal Fury had announced the salutatorian and valedictorian on the morning announcements to the rest of the school. Though Jane had already been informed of this information, she couldn't help but blush in homeroom as her name was announced.
Jane was visibly anxious as she stepped behind the microphone. Peggy and Natasha had been constantly been giving her encouragement ever since they arrived at school that morning. They knew she could deliver the speech no matter what. Once she got up there, it would just flow perfectly.
And so it was. Jane delivered many laughs and left several students in tears as she recounted her memories from the past four years, and reassured everyone that no matter what we walk away with today – whether it was $10,000 or zero dollars – every single person is still worth something.
The entire stadium cheered on Jane as she dismounted from the stage and Principal Fury took his position behind the microphone once again. He thanked Jane for her inspiring speech and then called Bruce, the valedictorian, onto the stage. For someone who was so incredibly shy, Bruce walked up to the stage with an air of confidence and his head held high.
Bruce's speech was nothing short of inspiring. He recounted the many football games he had attended and the many friends he had made – giving a special shout out to Peggy, Jane, and Natasha because they had helped him survive his senior year. He recalled the minor details, such as when he broke that beaker glass in Selvig's second period chemistry class sophomore year and he was thoroughly embarrassed. As he rounded out his speech about his memories from high school, Bruce announced that we're not even halfway through with making memories. With that, he walked off the stage with that same air of confidence as he had when he walked up. Only this time, he was cheered on by his classmates, the staff, and the audience in the stands.
Principal Fury once again took his place at the microphone and announced that it was time to hand out the scholarships and awards. One by one, a lot of the scholarships Natasha had applied to were handed out to other students. Peggy and Jane had managed to snatch away a couple of the scholarships Natasha had applied to. However, these scholarships were only $500 or $1,000, a small amount. Generally on Moving Up Day, Principal Fury handed out the smaller scholarships and worked his way up. Five hundred dollars and $1,000 were a lot, but Natasha could deal without it. It would be the $5,000 and $10,000 scholarships Natasha had applied to that she would be devastated over.
Natasha hadn't been paying attention when her name was announced that she had won a scholarship. She had given up on thinking that she would win and she was yanked out of her thoughts when Jane had nudged her in the ribs and nodded her head towards the stage. Natasha didn't even know what scholarship it was for, but when she reached the stage, she shook Principal Fury's hand and took the folder of scholarship information back to her seat.
"Twenty five hundred dollars? Did I really just win $2,500?" Natasha muttered to herself.
"Yes, now shut up and pay attention in case you win anything else," Jane hissed, turning her attention back to Principal Fury as he continued to announce scholarship winners.
A couple scholarships later, Natasha had managed to snatch up another $2,500, and then later, $5,000. The $10,000 scholarship was normally awarded last, and to a handful of students. Funds for the $10,000 scholarship were so high that they could usually hand more than one out.
Finally, Principal Fury had reached the final scholarship: the $10,000 Grace Dreher Scholarship. Principal Fury announced that this year, ten students would be receiving the Grace Dreher Scholarship, and when their name was announced, they were to stand in front of the stage after they accept their awards.
Principal Fury began reading off the names, Peggy's name being first, followed by Bruce, and then Jane. Natasha had been counting how many students had been announced and when Principal Fury reached the ninth student, Natasha was convinced she wasn't going to get the scholarship. Finally, he announced the tenth student – Natasha Romanoff – and Natasha shot up from her seat and walked up to the stage in a haze. She accepted the folder full of scholarship details and smiled for the cameras as the photographer took pictures of the winners of the Grace Dreher Scholarship.
As they made their way back to their seats, Natasha just wanted to end Moving Up Day here. She had managed to snag $20,000 and she was practically on cloud nine. NYU was giving her a nice scholarship for her first year that would cover about a third of her tuition. Throw in what her father will be contributing and the $20,000 in scholarships she had just received, and she was probably set for her first year.
However, Moving Up Day was not over yet because the staff still had to present the department awards. Natasha watched as the top students in each department were awarded medals for their excellence. Natasha was surprised when she was awarded the department award for foreign language. She had taken up French since her freshman year, then later added German in her junior year. However, she didn't expect to be considered the top student in the foreign language department. She was barely back to her seat when she was awarded the history department award as well, the same award Clint won last year.
Natasha didn't expect to win any other awards, and she didn't, so she sat back and relaxed as she watched the rest of her classmates accept their awards. For the first time in the high school's history, the science department couldn't decide on one student to give the award to, so they awarded the science department award to both Bruce and Jane. Natasha and Peggy cheered from their seats as both Bruce and Jane went up to accept their award.
Once all of the department awards were handed out, Principal Fury announced – for the last time in Natasha's high school career – that it was time to "move up and out." The seniors filed out of their seats and gathered around the flag pole as the rest of the school moved into their respective seats. With that, Moving Up Day had come to a close.
Parents, family members, and friends flooded the football field to find their children and congratulate them on their awards and all that they had accomplished. Peggy, Jane, Natasha, and Bruce huddled together at the end of the field so that their family members could find them easily. Peggy and Jane saw their parents and flagged them down, and after that, Bruce's parents found him. However, Natasha's father, her grandparents, and Clint were nowhere to be found.
To pass the time, Natasha squeezed into some of the pictures that Peggy, Jane, and Bruce's parents wanted to take of the almost-high-school-graduates and their scholarships. After several poses and flashes later, they took a break and Natasha spotted Clint among the masses. She waved at him and he pushed his way through the crowd with Mr. Romanoff and Natasha's grandparents in tow.
"Where were you?" Natasha asked after Clint had given her a quick peck on the lips.
"Oh, your grandparents got to talking," Clint said.
"Who were they talking to? They know absolutely no one here," Natasha said.
"You know how old people are," Clint said and Natasha snorted a laugh in response.
When Natasha's father and grandparents approached them, Natasha noticed that something was off about her father. He looked extremely pale, like he had seen a ghost or something, and his eyes were slightly rimmed red.
"Everything okay, Dad?" Natasha asked when she caught sight of her father.
"Yeah, I'm just…I'm really proud of you," Mr. Romanoff said.
"Okay," Natasha said, nodding but skeptically. "Can you at least keep it together until we get home?"
Mr. Romanoff nodded and waved his parents forward.
"Nana, Pop Pop, what are you doing here?" Natasha asked skeptically.
"Are we not allowed at school events?" Natasha's grandmother asked.
"Well, it's not that but…I mean, you never took a liking before," Natasha said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Oh, well, Mr. Barton invited us. He figured it was about time we took a part in your life," Natasha's grandfather said.
"Haven't you already taken a part in my life by trying to pawn me off to so many men when I was younger?" Natasha said coldly, ignoring the comment about Clint inviting them.
"Oh, so bitter Natasha. Besides, you have Clint now and that's all that matters," Natasha's grandmother retorted.
"Umm, yeah, sure," Natasha said, not quite sure how to reply.
"Well, we better get going. We've got quite a journey ahead of us," Natasha's grandfather announced and Natasha's grandmother stepped forward and enveloped Natasha in a hug. Natasha was caught off guard. She had received hugs from her grandmother before but not one that was loving and caring like this one. Natasha's grandfather gave her a hug as well and then clapped Clint on the shoulder as he passed by him. Mr. Romanoff told Natasha that he would meet her at home and he followed his parents through the crowd. Natasha watched as they disappeared into the sea of people before saying anything.
"Okay, what the hell was that all about?" Natasha breathed, turning to Clint.
"Who knows. They're old. They're bat shit crazy," Clint said and Natasha rolled her eyes.
"Don't think I didn't notice that comment they made about you inviting them here," Natasha said.
"Oh come on Nat, they're actually not that bad," Clint whined.
Natasha's jaw nearly dropped. "Okay, did you really just say that?"
"Yes, I did. Now can we go? I kind of want ice cream. Okay, not kind of. I really want ice cream."
"Nineteen years old and a year of college under your belt and you still act like a five-year-old," Natasha said, shaking her head. Clint wrapped an arm around her and led her through the crowd so that they could make their way out of the parking lot and get Clint some of his beloved ice cream.
Clint, Clint, Clint, what are you doing? By the way, his "plan" will be revealed in the chapter at graduation. Which yes, sadly, there are only going to be two more chapters. The next chapter, which is graduation, and then I'm going to write an epilogue. And I'm sort of going to take my time writing the next chapter. I really want to write some nice speeches for Bruce and Jane as valedictorian and salutatorian. I graduated neither valedictorian or salutatorian (I don't think I was anywhere close haha) but I think everyone always wants to write their own graduation speech so I'm really going to put some thought into Bruce and Jane's speeches. If that's okay with you guys haha.
As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Let me know if you're just as suspicious of Clint as Natasha is, and give me your thoughts on what his plan may be!