A/N: It's not what it seems. You'll see. But now here comes the 'interaction' I was talking about, so please tell me what you thought of this chapter once you're done. Again, don't own anything.

While Natasha grumbled at herself and threw her cell phone back at the spot it had been just five minutes ago, Steve gazed at her with bewildered blue orbs. "I'm sorry," he asked as slowly and carefully as possible, knowing he needed to tread water around the redhead's mood. "We're secretly going out?"

"Well, what was I supposed to say?" she snapped at him in a brusque tone, leaning back in her chair and waving her hands around. "That you were tutoring me in math and physics classes?"

"I am tutoring you in math and physics classes," the boy chuckled nervously, gesturing with his two hands at the several textbooks, notebooks and writing and plastic utensils cluttering up her large desk.

"Yeah, well, I don't want anyone else to know that," she replied stubbornly.

Steve then grabbed the smoothie cup he had picked up at the diner near her house and sucked up the fruity beverage through the red straw meditatively. "I don't get it," he shrugged. "I may be one of the highest in the class, but Jane's got higher grades than me. Why don't you tell her you need help in your struggling grades?" He meant this in all politeness. He really liked Natasha and enjoyed spending time with her, even if it was to do something very boring like studying, but he wondered why she hadn't asked the smart brunette before him.

"Because I'm not just doing badly in those classes." The girl then trained her aqua eyes on the floor, face ashamed and her fiery mane now hanging around her face like a curtain and Steve pushed down the urge to brush her hair away to look at her beautiful face.

"Mm hmm," he prodded gently, gesturing to go on in a blissfully oblivious tone. Natasha continued,

"I'm failing." Before Steve's face could even register surprise, she looked back up at him and felt her stomach tighten a little. "If I don't get at least a B on the next two tests, I'll have an F for the whole semester, tarnishing my records, throwing out good colleges and my mom," she hesitated before saying the last word and continued again, "will pretty much ground me for the rest of my life and I can't deal with my dad-" She had been rambling, something she never did unless she was getting really emotional, which was rare in itself, but she realized what she was doing and clamped her mouth shut again.

Steve, however, wasn't stupid obviously and caught the almost slip up and leaned in. "Your dad will do what?" He had met her father at least once and didn't know how they were related at all. He was cold, calculating and huge. And a businessman who was rarely home at any time in the year and didn't see Natasha and her mother very often. Her mother, however, seemed cool enough, with dark auburn hair and pale sky blue eyes and a kind smile.

"Nothing."

"Nat-"

"It's none of your business anyway. Besides, what's the point of math and physics?"

He knew the redhead was only trying to get off the subject, but he let her because he was that understanding. "It helps in daily life. Speaking of help, you can always call the girls and-"

"No." Her voice was flat and final. "They're all doing great in math and have better things to do. Pepper has Tony to take care of, who is more her little kid than her boyfriend, Hill's organizing the fundraiser along with Clint and Phil and the other boys, Darcy's sort of avoiding me because of Ian the Intern and I don't want Jane around."

"Because?"

Natasha hesitated and then quickly told him, "She just broke up with Thor and that Sif girl's on her nerves obviously and I don't need her sulking around here."

"Come on, Natasha."

"And plus, it would be mortifying to reveal that I have been getting Fs in these subjects. I feel like everybody in the world gets this stuff but me." She then grabbed a textbook, slammed it closed and threw it in the other direction to prove her point. "I swear, if they found out, my life would feel even more ruined."

"Even more?"

"Rogers, stop asking questions, will you?" She glared at him so sharply that he flinched back a little. She then sighed and her voice softened. "I'm sorry, but can you promise not to breath a word? Please?"

Her eyes were so big and full of earnest feelings that all he could do was nod and say, "Yeah, okay, I promise. But can you give a brief explanation why? You can't just have your grades drop out of nowhere. Something's going on, isn't it?"

"Look, right now, yes, my life is really messed up and I can't really concentrate, but I'm trying, okay? And I asked you because I know I can trust you. You're the only thing that actually fells right and real in my life."

"Really?"

"You always will."

Steve couldn't help but let a grin take over his mouth and he reached down a hand to lace their fingers together and squeezed them. They both felt jolt of electricity zing through their bones and pleasure and content soared through their hearts. They were always just that close.

Natasha still stared down at their interlocked hands and then -although quite reluctantly, her heart felt- she pulled away. "I'm glad that's settled then."

"So what, does this mean we're going out?" Steve asked, once again quelling down a flash of excitement.

"Fake going out," she pointed out with a tiny smile. "We just have to make it look good and convincing."

"So," he started with a huge and teasingly playful grin as he leaned in close to her face. "Do we get to kiss?"

Natasha shoved him away from her with a mirthful laugh. "Ha! Not that good." She mournfully stared at her notebook and handed it back to Steve, who accepted it.

"Start quizzing me."

After a week of whispers of Steve and Natasha's 'relationship' around hallways and continuous situations of Loki still not taking a clue and stalking Natasha and ferociously flirting with her that the redhead was trying to disguise herself whenever she went out, it was thankfully the weekend and mostly everyone was gathered at Hill's loft, boxes of multicolored streamers, glittery things and the like spilling out of them surrounding the teens who were decorating the place.

"So Steve and Natasha are going out?" Ian asked, not exactly up to date with the newest gossip.

"Like you haven't seen their off the charts chemistry and their obvious crushing on one another," commented Darcy, who was sitting on his shoulders while trying to hang up a decoration under the staircase.

"No, not really."

Darcy reached down to ruffle his tan locks with a giggle escaping her lips. "You are such a guy!"

"Steve even backed out of decorating so he can hang out with Natasha," pointed out Sam as he and Jane wrapped pink ribbons to contrast against the black bars under the stairs' railing.

"Oh, man, that is weak!" Tony, who was standing next to Ian with him and his girlfriend in a similar position, pouted like a small child. "You don't see me backing out of something to spend time with my girl, do you?"

Pepper then leaned down, her face upside down and her long reddish golden hair spilling around his face like a curtain. "Uh, duh!" she answered, taking a piece of tape of his finger. "That's because I'm decorating too."

"But was I right or was I right?" Tony boasted, repeating the line he had used all week. "They were going out. Told you so!"

"I believed you the whole time," whispered Pepper as she leaned down to peck an upside down kiss on his lips. They were interrupted by Darcy's exclamation of "Oh, my poor eyes!"

"Shut up, Daisy," the dark haired one grumbled when the blonde pulled away. "But I can't wait to see Rogers today. He has avoided me all week and I'm going to pounce on him when I find him."

"That sounds so wrong," joked Darcy and she and Ian giggled while Tony glared at them.

"Not like that! He has refused to give me any details about Natasha and has been hiding himself, but I'll find him, I assure you."

"I'll definitely help you with that," Sam nodded, who had also been excluded by Steve, since that teen was smart enough to hide away from his nosy best friends.

"Guys, it's almost time," Jane reminded the girls, checking her watch. She then pinned a stare at Darcy. "Darcy, seriously, you can't reveal anything about the party to Natasha or we're all toast."

"I know and I'm trying, really," she said, dangling from the stairs without Ian's assistance before plopping back down on the ground on her two feet. "But every time I open my mouth, I feel like it's going to slip out."

Ian shrugged care freely. "So, don't open your mouth," he instructed simply.

"What, at all?"

"That's ridiculous," Pepper said. "She just can't not talk to Natasha."

"Why not? Ian is right," Darcy said, her blue eyes sparkling. "I'm going to try it."

A few hours later, the teens had agreed to meet Natasha and Steve there at the mall and those tow were currently in an electronics store, Natasha tapping away at the keyboard while playing Minesweeper with the mouse on a glowing Apple laptop. Steve stood next to her, fiddling with the glasses perched on his nose. The redhead looked up briefly to see the glasses.

"Seriously, Rogers?" she laughed.

"What?" Steve looked over his shoulder again and checked his watch. "You can never be sure. Do you know Tony's actually hunting me down?"

"Wonder why. But the glasses are too much if you have a baseball cap on too."

"Says who?" Steve then argued in a nasal nerdy voice and Natasha couldn't help but laugh again. Only Steve could make her laugh when she was down.

"Anything I can help you with?" the employee with long bleach blond hair asked, who happened to be a man.

"No, thanks," said the sandy haired boy. The employee's mouth suddenly gaped open wide with a gasp and Steve stared at him like he was having a seizure, until the employee said, "I have the exact same glasses."

"Wow, you're practically twins," quipped the redhead sarcastically, not looking up from the screen.

"Oh, I wish." The employee gestured to Steve's whole body. "Specimen. And if you need anything else, I've been Aaron," he introduced, showing his I.D. And he walked off, leaving Steve with a confused look. Natasha just had to chuckle again.

Once they left the store, Steve decided now was the time. "Are you going to tell me now what's going on with your grades and stuff?" he asked, looking at her sideways.

"Quick, laugh at something I said," she ordered, probably not even hearing him.

"Huh?"

"Put your arm around me," she hissed again, shoving her hood higher up her head and her eyes pointed to a bunch of Tesseract Academy students walking past them, who he had also seen with Loki. Steve did what was told and they passed by peacefully.

Natasha then walked faster so she was a couple of inches ahead, but she slowed back down and said without making eye contact, "I'm adopted."

"What?" Steve gasped softly.

"Yeah, I know. My mother looks a lot like me, so I was fooled too, but then I found the papers in an old desk downstairs." She paused. "I was born in Europe." She said it like that explained everything.

"So? Come on, Nat, if you trust me, you know I won't tell anyone."

Natasha now stared at him, and looked very hesitant and Steve added, "If you don't want to, you don't have-"

She shook her head. "No, you're right." They paused for a moment and she let down a short version, "I was born in Russia. My name was Natalia Alianovna Romanova. I didn't have any other siblings. And there was a lot of war going on in the place where I was born. I don't know why or what happened, but it does explain why I have had dreams of when I was a little girl. Apparently, I was an infant when I was immigrated to New York."

Steve nodded. "And your parents?"

The red haired female began walking again and Steve had to run to catch up. "They're, uh . . ." she said, the slightest tremor reaching her voice. "They're dead. They died in the fire that burned down our house. The report said my chauffeur rescued me."

"I'm sorry," he whispered and grabbed at her hand again. She looked back at him with a tight smile.

"It's okay. I found a picture in the file too." She pulled out a piece of paper that showed two adults holding up a sleeping baby. In the picture, Steve could noticed the same soft lips of Natasha's on her mother and prominent arched eyebrows on the father.

"Wow."

"Yeah. So now you know." But Steve had a slight feeling there was more to Natasha's reasons for slipping up in her grades than just that. They were now heading for the escalator and he asked, "How did your parents take it when you found out?"

Natasha just shrugged vaguely as they stepped onto the escalator going downwards. All was quiet for a second before the teens heard someone shout, "Hey, get back here!"

They both looked down to see their friends, Tony and Sam chasing after a black clothing clad figure. Loki. Loki had just stepped onto the upwards escalator and Tony and Sam were soon following. It was only a matter of time before the surprised teenagers were toast.

"Oh no," Natasha whispered. "It's Loki." If he saw her, she was doomed to be followed for the rest of the day and that was a curse in itself and the reason she went to the mall, thinking Loki would never come here.

"And Tony," grumbled Steve from behind her in anguish. Tony was going to ask him all the very personal questions about Natasha where there was no escape and he couldn't exactly lie to Tony since he'll just prod and prod and prod. "What are we going to do?"

We need to hide, though Natasha and maybe it was because of her huge crush on Steve or self preservation or some desire deep inside of her entirely, but she voiced out the only idea she had. She whirled around and stared Steve straight in his navy eyes, dead serious. "Kiss me," she murmured.

That was obviously not what the golden haired boy expected. With his eyes wide to saucer size, he demanded, "What?"

"We are technically dating," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but-"

"Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable," Natasha added in a serious tone.

Steve nodded. "Yes, they do."

But even before he finished his sentence, she had slid her hand around his neck in a swift motion and pulled him forward, their lips crashing together. She brushed her thumb gently against his high cheekbone, feeling the soft skin scrape against her fingertip. Steve was stiff at first, but quickly relaxed into the kiss, tilting his head forward and leaning in and slowly yet gingerly ran a hand down her side, making her covered skin shiver with goosebumps to cup it very gently around her hip. Steve was definitely a great kisser, she had to note while her hood slipped off her hair. The redhead slowly peeled open an eye and saw Tony, Sam and Loki running back up the escalator, heads turned away and they soon disappeared on the next upper floor. Natasha's unceremonious plan had worked; the three boys hadn't even bothered to look over at a making out couple and therefore didn't see her or Steve. But Natasha found her lips still locked with Steve's, heart audibly thundering in her chest, cheeks flaming with heat, relishing the sweetness of the kiss, the passion so tender . . .

But Natasha quite reluctantly pulled away, although now her pounding heart was screaming at her not to, and met Steve's eyes, which were still wide, but this time with wonder and amazement. Natasha shoved down the blush moving to her cheeks.

"That was . . ." she exhaled her breath and trailed off.

"Fantastic," he finished in a breathless voice and Natasha's heart quickened again. Steve realized what he said and added, "The plan. How you came up with that plan and . . . stuff."

"Mm hmm," she said and turned around. "You still uncomfortable?"

"Well, that isn't exactly the word I would use for it."

Natasha then thought wryly, Obviously. Damn it, Natasha, why the hell do you do this to yourself?