A/N: Man, was the last chapter fun or what? Italics mean flashback. Don't own anything and pretty please review, loyal readers!
Natasha soon found the girls huddled around a bench, the buzzing of teenagers talking ringing her ears and making her head swim. That wasn't the only thing making her feel dizzy. The memory of Steve kissing her still made her lips tingle with excitement. Pepper looked up and giddily waved.
"Hey, Mrs. Rogers!" Hill winked playfully and Natasha fake winced.
"Jesus, we are not that serious, guys," she mumbled, looking away from them.
"Whoa, what's with the red lips?" said an upcoming voice and everyone turned to see Sif sauntering up to them confidently, her dark purple jacket flapping away in the air conditioning breeze. Natasha heard Jane grumble, but stayed composed. "I invited her," calmed Pepper, but the brunette just shrugged nonchalantly. Jane was now seeming to be okay with Sif hanging out with Thor.
Hill, however, looked closer to Natasha's face. A wicked grin crossed her lips. "Oh, now I know why you're late," she murmured mischievously, and everyone began to giggle. The reminder just made the red haired female's lips burn with longing, but she kept her icy cool demeanor.
"Cut the chit chat and let's find some outfits already," she snapped and everyone hushed down to quiet titters.
Sif still grinned and gestured towards one of the corners of the mall with bunches of stalls selling great costume jewelry. "You ladies ready for some combat?" she challenged and hooked an arm through Natasha's, who hooked her other one with Hill's.
Darcy's dark blue eyes lit up instantly. "Born ready."
"Let's do it!" Pepper cheered and she pushed the wide glass door open for the girls to step through.
Something was up with Darcy.
Natasha had noticed it when they first started shopping that day. When she, Jane and Darcy stood and leaned over to examine different kinds of make up features, the redhead had grabbed a sample and a brush and swept light turquoise eyeshadow that glittered in the lights on her eyelids. It wasn't really her style, but it would look great with her outfit and complimented her peaches and cream skin tone and fiery hair. But when she turned around to show it, Jane nodded her head vigorously with an encouraging twinkle in her dark eyes, but Darcy just made a face while shrugging and walked away to find her own make up.
While Pepper flipped on a pale lavender hat that looked suspiciously like a lamp shade, Natasha pulled on a black cap with a circular belt buckle enclosed around it and checked it out in the mirror. When she noticed Darcy out of the corner of her eye, the black haired girl immediately turned away to find her own hat.
Then, when Pepper and Hill were giggling at their feet since they had first cried out in shock at one another because they were both sporting the same cute red and white sneaker chunky heeled shoes complete with tiny white bows at the end, Jane was applying dark pink lip gloss to her lips and Sif was trying out sparkly apple red nail polish, the redhead twirled around in stylish tan heels that made a translucent checked pattern around her whole foot. Darcy had noticed, but ignored her anyway. This was when Natasha's confusion was melting into hurt and frustration at her enigmatic behavior.
At the accessories stand, Hill had instantly threw around the great clips and pins around in joy, Sif fastened some of her dark locks in a glimmering bottle green and golden butterfly clip, Pepper slipped on single gold bands on each of her fingers and Natasha even placed on a apricot colored flower clip on top of her ear to push back her bangs and when she showed Hill, she nodded approvingly with an arch of her eyebrows, but the black haired woman behind just spun back around and walked off.
While Natasha stared at her walking away, she felt a bump against the side of her head and turned to see a dark green scrunchie lying on the ground. She looked up to see Sif and Hill gesturing to the dressing rooms, where piles of clothes lay in their arms.
Inside the stalls, all of the girls filled up one stall with their own outfits, except for Jane, who was doing backstage things for the fundraiser, so she just leaned back against the wall, watching the closed doors.
"Okay, Natasha," Pepper started. "It's time to talk."
"About what?" the redhead answered obliviously.
"Hello?" Sif called out. "You and Steve?"
The blonde grabbed a long red jacket trimmed with pink fur that gave a rock star feel to the person wearing it and slipped it on over her black camisole. "Start from the beginning. When did he finally ask you out?" She looked at herself in the mirror and shrugged off the coat and threw it over the stall wall to Natasha. "Try this. I like it, but it doesn't really work for me."
"Finally," Natasha exhaled, gratefully accepting the jacket and trying it on. "What makes you think he asked me out?"
Hill climbed up to peek into her stall. "Oh, please, you guys have been crushing on each other since forever." Noticing the jacket, she commented, "Ooh, nice jacket." Natasha took it off.
"Try it," she said, handing it to her and the brunette disappeared behind her stall again.
"As for you and Steve, you guys are absolutely made for each other," gushed Pepper. She was the one who always supported people in their love lives and gave the right advice, despite her boyfriend being a playboy.
"I still don't get why you didn't tell us," said Jane from outside.
"Um, well, I don't know . . ." For once, Natasha didn't know what to say or how to cover something like this, but Hill unknowingly saved her.
"Did you do it because we're all friends?"
"Yeah, totally," the red haired girl answered immediately, slipping on a pale lemon blouse with no sleeves and hung loosely around the shoulders. She pulled her long fiery hair out from behind the collar. "I thought it would be weird since we're all friends and everything."
"Really?" Pepper asked, pulling down the hem of her black camisole self consciously. "But Tony and I are going out and that's not weird, right?"
"No, of course not," Natasha said back. She was one of the only ones who could tolerate Tony for so long. "But still, I don't recommend your choice."
"Yeah, he's self centered and doesn't play with others, not to mention he has the biggest nose, both literally and figuratively," complained Darcy from the farthest stall. It was the first thing she said since she came to the mall. "Hey, I'm going back to grab another shirt. Does anybody else need anything?"
Everyone peeked out and saw she was wearing the red jacket they had been passing around. She looked great in it and they all expressed their approvals. Natasha, seeing her chance, pulled out the lemon blouse on its hangar. "Yeah. Could you get this in the next size up?"
Darcy transformed back into silence mode and silently took the shirt and walked around the corner, out of sight. Natasha had had enough. "You guys, is she mad at me or something?" she demanded, jutting a thumb towards where Darcy had disappeared. Everyone exchanged worried glances.
"What makes you say that?" Pepper asked, pale blue eyes wide.
"It's just that she hasn't said a thing to me all day." She glanced at all of the girls' expressions, growing very suspicious. "Is there something I don't know about?"
"It's just because-" Pepper was saying before Jane interrupted.
"Oh, save it, Peps! She's jealous of you and Steve," she explained quickly.
Natasha hadn't been expecting that, and flinched back in surprise. "What?" she questioned, eyes wide.
"She has had this huge secret crush on Steve, even before Ian showed up, and she's still not over him," Jane continued, looking sympathetic. "And now she's heartbroken and can't stand that you two are together."
The redhead blinked again. "No way. Really?"
"Oh, yeah. She's jealous." Sif smiled at their quick save again.
Hill nodded. "She, like, worshipped him before Ian showed up and she took her chance, but you can't get over Steve just like that, can you, Natasha?"
"Mm hmm. She's totally jealous," agreed Pepper just as Darcy walked back in.
"What's up?" she inquired, looking between the girls, having detected their secretive whispering. Hill stepped forward.
"Natasha wanted to know why you weren't speaking to her," she stuttered at first, but laid a hand on the black haired girl's shoulder, "so Jane had to spill the secret."
Darcy's face looked lit up and relieved when she stared at Natasha. "Really? So you know about the surprise-"
Before she could finish her sentence and ruin the true secret, Pepper quickly slid in. "The surprise of your secret crush on Steve," she said loudly over her words, giving her a pointed stare. "Yeah."
The black haired woman let out a flustered laugh, having no idea what they were talking about. "What? I don't have a . . ." she exclaimed, but trailed off when she saw everyone behind the redhead's back glaring at her sharply, forcing her to go along with it. She gave a tight smile at Natasha, trying to look displeased. "Right. My secret crush on Steve."
"My secret crush on Steve?" Darcy snapped incredulously at all of the other girls the next day, looking wildly between them with bewildered dark blue orbs. Natasha wasn't there at The Dish with them luckily, but Darcy was still furious at the others for creating a hoax with her involved.
"How else was I supposed to explain why you weren't speaking to Natasha?" demanded Jane right back.
"I don't know. I had laryngitis. I'm studying to be a mime. Anything, Jane!" She was making crazy and exaggerated hand gestures when Steve suddenly showed up behind their bench.
"Hey," he greeted formally, but couldn't help but avoid Darcy's eyes. She laughed out a bitter one.
"Let me guess. You talked to Natasha?"
"Maybe," the golden haired man answered uncomfortably.
"Since when did you get a driver's license?" questioned the red haired female next to Steve in the passenger's seat as they drove down the highway, flashes of green and white gold zipping past the windows.
"Got it a couple of weeks ago," he informed and stared at Natasha sternly, or rather, at her feet, which were draped across the dashboard casually. "And this is my parents' car, so please get your feet off the dashboard."
Natasha hesitated, but slowly pulled her feet back on the floor of the Mercedes car. She then leaned back into her seat, her cheek pressing into the warm leather as she gazed at Steve. He noticed her staring and nervously laughed.
"What?"
"Nothing," she shrugged and looked back out of the windshield.
"Seriously, Nat. What are you thinking about?"
"I was just wondering how I never noticed it before."
"Noticed what?" He raised a fair eyebrow.
"How wonderful you are," she murmured in a dreamy, absentminded voice.
Steve almost slipped on the brake. "E-excuse me?"
Natasha instantly buried her slip up. "I mean, obviously, I can't have you all to myself."
"Natasha, what are you implying?"
"Today I learned that Darcy has a secret crush on you."
Now Steve did hit the brake since they were stopping at a red traffic light. He shrugged, at first unaware of what she truly had said. "Oh, that's nice and all- Wait, what?!"
She laughed. "She's totally jealous of us dating because she apparently used to worship you before Ian and I came along into your lives."
"Really? I had no clue." He was blushing furiously, not used to all the attention he was getting nowadays. It made the redhead giggle again. He was so cute. But something else was nagging her at the back of her mind.
"Hey, can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah, sure, anything."
"Okay, but just know that you definitely do not have to answer it. Although if you don't, it'll kind of be like you're answering it-"
"Just ask, Nat."
"Was that your first kiss?" she finally admitted, the faintest hint of a smile crossing her perfect pink Cupid's bow mouth.
Steve was at first silent, but managed a peep at her from the corner of his eye and he looked anxious. "That bad, huh?"
"It was most certainly not bad," she replied, shaking her head. "I was just wondering if you've had any practice lately."
"No one needs practice."
"Everybody needs practice, soldier," countered the fiery haired female.
"Okay, it was not my first kiss," he said quickly and Natasha couldn't sense if he was lying or not, but he was avoiding her eyes, so that would be a direct sign. "I'm almost eighteen years old. I'm not dead yet."
"Hope not. I don't know what I'd do without you, soldier."
"I do not have some secret crush on you," giggled Darcy, slapping his arm lightly. "I was only not speaking to Natasha so I wouldn't spill about the party."
"Besides, why would you care, Steve?" Hill asked, looking at him slyly. "You have a girlfriend."
"I do?" he asked, momentarily forgetting his and Natasha's deceptive masquerade.
"Hello? Natasha?" Pepper reminded and all of the women around the table were searching the sandy haired boy's face with wide and bewildered eyes. He remembered and chuckled.
"Right, Natasha, my girlfriend," he nodded vigorously. "Hey, you haven't seen her, have you?"
That was when the bell at the door chimed cheerfully and two teenagers walked in. It was Natasha carrying a few packages with Clint, the two deep in coneversation. Clint had a huge grin on his face and Natasha was laughing and punching him playfully on the arm.
"Hmm, they look cozy," Darcy commented, inspecting the two. Steve felt a wave of genuine jealousy crash inside him and straightened his spine.
"Excuse me," he said coolly and stalked over to the conversing teenagers. Natasha noticed him and she shot him a look when he sidled up close to her.
"Oh, Clint," she interrupted. "You obviously know Steve."
"Yeah, hey," Clint grunted with a bored nod and Steve did the same. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, you know," Steve shrugged, laying his hands on Natasha's shoulders and massaging them. "Just helping my girl with her packages." He quickly pecked her on the cheek as he picked up the fallen bag on the floor.
Clint's rainwater gray blue eyes were wide with surprise and mild anger and jealousy kindled inside them like a tiny spark of a flame. "Your girl?" he retorted. "Oh, sorry. My bad. See you around, Tasha." He walked off.
"See ya," said Natasha and Steve waggled his fingers in a wave after him. Natasha then suddenly shoved him away from her, fury present in her verdigris orbs. "What are you doing?"
"Being your boyfriend," he explained innocently. "I thought that was what you wanted."
"Not when I'm flirting with another guy!" she protested, shaking her red mane of hair around.
"Things do not look good," said Hill as everyone observed the fight going on.
"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let my girlfriend flirt with another guy?" Steve inquired, looking hurt. "Besides, what do you see in him? He's your ex."
"He was cute." She crossed her arms at her vague answer. "And why do you care?"
"I don't."
"Then quit trying to smother me!" Natasha said, throwing her hands up. And with that dramatic gesture, the loose sleeve of her jacket slipped down her arm, exposing the pale skin and something else that caught Steve's eye. They widened with alarm.
"Wait," he said, reaching for her arm, but Natasha snatched it back, knowing that he saw and was now afraid inside.
"Nothing."
"Natasha, that is definitely not-"
"Just fuck off, Rogers," seethed the redhead and she turned on her heel and stormed out of the cafe, the door slamming shut on a hurt and angry Steve.