Title: Prom
Author: Shaneequa
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I don't own or is affiliated in any with with Marvel, or Disney... or any one else
Summary: High School AU. Natasha doesn't have a date to prom.
Author's Notes: Just a prompt I came across on tumblr as I tried to distract myself from a thirty page essay. Hope you guys enjoy! (And yes, this is a one-shot)

Prom?

Natasha Romanoff walked the halls of her school, lockers slamming left and right and the word "prom" echoing in every conversation that she seemed to pass by; it was a constant reminder that prom was a month away and she neither had a dress, nor did she have a date.

"Hey, Tasha," Clint greeted her startling her from her own little world. She threw him a smile before coming back to her stoic self.

"Hey, Clint."

"Lunch time?"

"I need to get to my locker," Natasha motioned at the end of the hallway. Clint nodded his head with a smile, running his hand through his sandy blonde hair.

"I'll get in line for lunch, just come up and cut when you get there."

"Alright."

With that Natasha continued to walk to the far side of the hallway where her old beat up locker was, sitting next to Clint's unused locker - because he didn't really do any school work, yet passed all his classes - and Stark's modified locker - who didn't do anything either, because he didn't need to; he's a genius, a fact that he's well aware of.

"Hey Tasha!" a soft feminine voice greeted her.

"Pep, hey."

"So, did you find a date yet?" Pepper asked leaning on the opened door of Natasha's locker as she switched out her books for her afternoon classes.

Natasha shook her head. "No... I - I don't know anyone who doesn't have a date."

"Well there's Tanner."

"He's weird, and still wears tidy-whiteies."

"Uhm... George?"

"No."

"James! You can go with -"

Natasha closed the door of her locker meeting Pepper's eye. "Well, he asked but I said no."

Pepper's mouth hung open at that statement. James was the 'it' guy in high school. Most sought after because he had brains, brawn, and looks.

"Why -why would you say no?"

The redhead shrugged pulling her backpack on and walking towards the cafeteria. "I don't know, it just wouldn't have felt right."

The other girl smiled a knowing smile at her, as much as Natasha prided herself in being stoic, she as surprisingly easy to read. "Why don't you ask Clint? I don't think he has a date, yet."

"I - I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because it's Clint," Natasha replied. "Besides, he wouldn't want to go with me as his date to the prom."

"He would," Pepper protested. She walked into the cafeteria and looked around for Tony and the rest of the crew while Natasha looked on the other side at the line for Clint. Pepper and Tony always brought their own lunches to school, Pepper being a health nut and Tony always having some five-star lunch course. Thor had to bring his own lunch in order to fill his large appetite. Natasha and Clint, along with Bruce and Steve, were a little less fortunate and therefore had to rely on the free meal program that the school offered low-income families. "I'll see you at the table?"

"Sure, save us a spot."

"Always."

Natasha walked to her left and approached Clint who was talking animatedly about something. Steve noticed her coming first and waved at her, while his other hand nudged Clint who immediately stopped talking.

"Hey guys," Natasha greeted them slipping in line with them, noticing how the line went around the corner. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Clint replied shrugging. Bruce and Steve made eye contact with each other and rolled their eyes at their friend. "How was your morning?"

"It was okay," she replied sighing. "Got an A on my chem. test. Thanks to Bruce, over here."

"You're welcome, Natasha," Bruce replied softly with a smile, taking his tray and letting his friends follow his lead through the lunch line and to the tables where Tony, Pepper, and Thor were waiting for them.

As soon as Natasha sat down, in front of Pepper and sandwiched between Clint and Bruce, the conversation began.

"So, Natasha, did you decide yet?"

Natasha's eyes widened as she took a bite of her turkey sandwich. She kicked Pepper underneath the table, earning an "ow, spidey" from Tony Stark.

"Figure what out?" Clint asked, turning his attention from his roast beef sandwich to Natasha whose face sported a hint of a blush.

"I- Pep just..."

Pepper rolled her eyes at her usually composed friend and turned to Clint with a smile. "She was wondering if you would go with her, as her date, to the prom."

Clint shifted further in his seat to look at Natasha.

"I uhm - you don't have to. Pepper was just throwing out ideas of dates," Natasha stated shaking her head flustered, throwing a glare at Pepper. "It's just that prom is a month away and I still don't have a date, so... she thought..."

"Since you don't have a date yet," Pepper interjected helping out her friend who was clearly struggling getting her words together. "And Natasha doesn't have a date, you two should go with each other."

Clint nodded his head, and looked down seeming to be embarrassed. "I... actually. I have a date."

Heads snapped towards his direction in surprise.

"You do?" Stark exclaimed, that as news to him. Clint hadn't talked about colors or anything about limos, corsages, dates, or the high cost of the damn event. Nothing. He didn't even go with them when they went to rent tuxedoes at the warehouse.

Clint rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, going with Bobbi."

Everyone at the table rolled their eyes. There was the reason that Clint didn't talk about who he was going to prom with. His friends hated Bobbi, and for good reason too. She had screwed him over more than once in their three year relationship from the start of freshman to the end of junior year.

Since the breakup, they have all noticed how much happier Clint has been. How much improvement he's had with his mood and how much time he spent with them. Especially with Natasha who has been his best friend since she moved to the United States at the tail end of elementary school. Tony even started betting when Natasha and Clint would finally wake up and start dating.

Natasha looked down at her sandwich and took a bite to ease the tension at the table. "Well, thanks anyway."

Clint threw her a look, the side of his lips raising in apology, "Sorry."

"Not a problem," Natasha said avoiding Pepper's gaze. "Why can't I just be 'independent woman' and go to prom by myself?"

"Seating arrangements," Pepper stated, as the Class President, she would know.

The rest of lunch was spent talking about nothing and Thor chowing down food for three people before the bell rung signaling that they all had to leave for class. Natasha collected her books, as Clint waited patiently so that - as per their routine - he can walk her to class.

Natasha glanced up at him taking her time. "You should go."

Clint looked down at her confused. "What?"

"Mr. Reef would flip if you're late again," she responded knowing that Clint was on thin ice with his afternoon teacher. "I'm on the other side of the building, it doesn't make sense to walk me to class."

He threw her a confused look, opening his mouth to protest when she shook her head at him. "Seriously, Clint. It's fine, I can get to class by myself."

"I'll... see you after school? You still need ride to work, right?"

"It's Tuesday. I don't have work on Tuesdays."

"So..."

"Pepper wants me to go with her to pick up her dress," Natasha lied, well slightly. Pepper did ask her to go pick up her dress, but Natasha turned her down with the excuse of homework and a AP Bio test.

"Look about the whole prom thing -"

Natasha shook her head, smiling at him. "Hey, if all else fails... I'll get Tanner to go with me."

Clint smirked at her. "You're too good for Tanner. Hell, you're too good for Barnes."

"You heard?" Natasha looked at him surprised. Despite her best efforts to tell him not to walk to her to class, the stubborn mule that he is did it anyway.

"'Course I did. Couldn't stop talking about it in the locker room before practice the other day. He couldn't believe someone would turn him down."

"Well his ego is a little too big for me to handle," she stated, slowing down as they approached her class.

"What are you up to, tonight?" he asked her lingering in the hallway. "After that whole dress thing with Pep."

"I... homework? I have an exam for AP Bio and..."

"Think you could ditch that for a few?"

"Need me to help you pick out your tux?" she joked. She glanced around seeing the hallway empty out as class was about to begin.

"Nah," he shook his head. "Pick you up after dinner? 8 work for you?"

"Uh..."

"I'll see you then," he stated enthusiastically before turning around and sprinting down the hallway to get to his next class.

Natasha walked in her class, which Bobbi happened to be in, with a confused look. Bobbi threw her a glare which she factored into Clint wanting to spend time with her instead of his girlfriend that night.

For Clint, eight o'clock couldn't come faster - or slower, depending on what he was doing. He set up the candles on the ground, one by one, hoping to make it perfect. Prom was the final event before graduation that would mark their high school careers. He and his friends already have a path they were going to take out of there: Tony taking his graduates, since he finished his bachelor's degree from MIT (by getting MIT material and testings), Thor would go on a football scholarship to Harvard, Bruce was set to go to John's Hopkins to be a doctor, Pepper to Yale for a business degree, Steve was going to West Point, Natasha was accepted to a government program that she couldn't talk much about and Clint... well... he was... he was going to go enlist in the Marines, with a spot to hopefully be fit enough to get on the Marine Recon team.

"Dude, what time are you gonna pick her up?" Tony asked him working on placing the candles in a "N" position for "Natasha."

"Told her I was gonna be by 'round 8," Clint replied taking a few steps back to inspect the candles. "You guys are good with lighting it up before we get here right?"

"I have the lighters!" Thor exclaimed to him enthusiastically.

"Right," Clint stated.

"You really had us going there for a sec at lunch, Legolas. Thought you were actually going to bring Bobbi."

"I agree with Stark," Thor piped up, testing one of the lighters.

"Although, kinda hurts to know that Cap over there, and Banner knew what was going on," Stark stated.

"Stark, you know if I told you, you would tell Pepper, and Pepper would tell Nat, and it wouldn't be a surprise anymore."

"He's right, Tony," Bruce piped up from where he was working on the candles.

"Hey, Clint," Steve called out looking at his phone. "You might wanna go pick her up now."

Clint looked back at his friend hesitantly. "Uhm.. You guys got this?"

"Yes! Now go!" Steve stated pointing at Clint's old red truck for him to leave them to set up the lights.

Clint drove to Natasha's house for a whole ten minutes, his palms sweaty with nervousness. It was 8:05 when he rounded the corner to her house, and saw her standing outside her jacket wrapped around her to protect her for the chill of the spring night. Her phone illuminating her face.

He honked the horn as he slowed the car down next to her and reached over to the passenger side of the car to unlock the door. The thought of getting out of the car and opening the door for her crossed his mind but he knew it would make her suspicious.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," he greeted her as she slipped inside the car, putting her purse on the floor and automatically switching the station from his country classics to some old 80s rock.

"It's fine," she replied with a small smile. She continued to fidget with her phone as Clint drove them off the residential area and got onto the freeway.

Natasha only noticed that he missed the exit for the mall when they were a ways farther, and closer to the mountain side where the lights were set up.

"You missed the exit for the mall," she stated looking at him curiously. He had sweat beds on his face, and his knuckles clenched the steering wheel tightly. "Clint, are you okay?"

He didn't respond but just had his eyes on the road, driving speed limit for once which really worried Natasha. "Clint!"

Still no response.

Natasha put her hand on his neck, gently stroking the base hoping that he would come back to her. It was something she usually did when he would snap out because of nightmares from the crash that killed his parents.

He blinked his eyes a couple of times refocusing before taking the hand that was stroking his neck into his.

"You okay?" Natasha whispered.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said in a lower voice still focused on the driving the car up on the steep hills before stopping abruptly which caused Natasha to look around her and for the first time notice where they were.

"What are we doing up here?"

"Just... you have sneakers on right?"

"Yeah," she replied lifting her feet up to show him her dirty old pair of Converse.

"Great," he said taking her hand in his and locking up the car. He led her to the side of the mountain overlooking their small city before glancing around to make sure that everything was set.

"The lights are pretty, aren't they?" he asked her. She just nodded her head.

"Why did you take me up here? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Turn around."

"What?"

"Tasha, turn around," Clint said nudging her shoulder a little to make her turn around. What she saw surprised her, her hand going up to her mouth.

"Clint?" she asked turning to her side to ask him but he was on his knees, a white rose in his hand. "What?"

"So?" he asked titling his head to the lights that spelled out 'Natasha, Prom? Yes or no?'

"But Bobbi-?"

"That was a cover up," he explained. He bounced around on his knees impatiently. "So, yes or no?"

A smile spread across Natasha's face as she nodded her head. "Yes!"

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