the phone
“Hey Red!” Tony waved Natasha over with too much enthusiasm for the morning.
“Not in the mood Tony.”
“You’re never in the mood!”
Natasha planned on walking past him but he stuck an arm out, stopping her.
“Come on! At least walk with me to our lockers, Pepper is coming in late and I need at least one redhead with me at all times.”
Natasha rolled her eyes but walked with him nonetheless.
“Why hello friends, how are we all this fine Wednesday morning?”
“Great Thor, Red is her usually happy self.”
Thor shifted his books to his left arm and put a hand on Natasha’s shoulder, she flinched despite her anticipating it, “Is it about a certain Miss Hill?”
Natasha pushed his hand off with a sudden seriousness, “What’s wrong with Maria?”
“Wait why do you care about Maria?”
She ignored Tony and glared at Thor, “Thor why would me not being happy have anything to do with Maria.”
Thor shrugged, “You are usually much happier when Maria Hill is around and she currently is not.”
“Oh.”
Thor nodded, “Well I have to go to Environmental, goodbye Lady and Tony.”
Tony waited for Thor to be gone to start cackling, “Oh my god! Do you like like Maria?”
“Shut up Tony, of course not, she’s my friend, it’s not my fault she’s better company than you.”
They turned the corner and Maria quickly spotted them, she hurried over to Natasha and Tony, narrowly avoiding a group of loud freshman.
“Speak of the devil.” Tony chuckled.
“Hey Nat, did you get my text last night?”
“I’m not sure, let me check, I turned my phone off around eleven and haven’t turned it back on.”
They finally reached their lockers, Natasha swung her bag onto the floor and dug in her pocket to get her phone out. She found a single hair-tie and piece of gum. She check her other pocket before panic set in.
Tony had opened his locker and put his stuff away by the time Natasha had dug through her entire bag, coming up empty handed.
“Fuck I could have swore I brought it.”
Tony laughed at Natasha’s panic, “Bye ladies I have to get to Calculus.”
It was just Maria and Natasha at the redheads unopened locker now.
“I can call it if you want?”
“No!” Natasha cursed herself for sounding so panicked, “I mean- I just left it at the house, no- no big deal, I’ll get it after school, it will be fine!”
Natasha busied herself with opening her locker and stuffing her bag and books in it. When she pulled her arm out is scratched her wrist a little.
“God this is going to be a great fucking day.”
Maria rolled her eyes, “Come on you can live without your phone for a day.”
“You don’t- never mind.” She grabbed her books and computer for her first class and they began walking together.
“No tell me, are you waiting for an important call or something?”
Natasha shook her head, “No.” She took a shaky breath that concerned Maria.
“Is something wrong?”
“No no, it’s fine, don’t worry, I just- forget about it- do you remember what the text was?”
Maria sensed her wanting to move on from the topic, “I was asking if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight, Nick is having Carol and her wife and kid over.”
“Oh I um, I have to ask when I get back but I’ll let you know, If I don’t find my phone I’ll just show up?”
“Yeah Okay, around five.”
Natasha nodded and said a quick bye before heading into her AP psychology class. Maria turned around once Natasha entered the class and walked back the way she came to AP political science.
Natasha quickly found her seat next to Clint.
“Hey Tash, do you have the notes from last class?”
Natasha nodded and slipped her notebook over.
“So, how are you?”
Natasha quirked an eyebrow at him.
“Silent treatment?”
Natasha shook her head.
“Tony drain the life out of you already because Pepper isn’t here yet?”
Natasha nodded, a faint smile cast on her face.
AP psych passed surprising quick, followed by study hall and AP chemistry. Next was lunch which sucked because part of Natasha’s punishment was no lunch money. She was sat at the table alone while everyone else bought their lunches. Sofia came up to her.
“Did you get money this morning?”
“No, you know I didn’t.”
Sofia sighed, “You want half mine?”
Natasha shook her head, “It’s my fault, my punishment, you need to stop being nice, you’re going to get yourself killed Sofia.”
Sofia bit her lip, looking guilty.
“Go sit down, I’m fine.”
Sofia nodded but still looked guilty, even as Natasha glared at her. Natasha was still glaring when Maria and Clint sat down next to her.
“Geez, who pissed you off?”
“Clint.” Maria said with a warning tone.
“Yeah Clint, Come on!” Tony exclaimed sitting down across from Maria with Pepper sitting across from Natasha.
“You shut up Tony.” Pepper glared at her boyfriend before turning to Natasha, “You didn’t get your lunch yet?”
Natasha shook her head, “I forgot my money.”
“I can buy some for you.” Maria immediately offered.
Steve and Bucky sat down and Steve immediately commented on Natasha’s lack of food too.
“I’m fine Steve I just forgot my money, I’ll eat after school.”
Bruce and Thor then came to the table settling next to Clint and across from Steve and Bucky. Bruce happened to only hear the end of Natasha’s statement and quickly piped up, “Why don’t you eat now? I thought you liked the Wednesday salads?”
Natasha had grown visibly frustrated at all the comments, “It’s not that big of a deal! God why does everyone care so much.”
Several glances were thrown around the table.
Pepper was the one to speak first, “Natasha we just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine. I promise, sorry.” Natasha bowed her head before realizing where she was and snapping her head up, “Sorry.”
Maria looked increasingly more concerned and put a protein bar in front of the redhead.
“We have gym next, you need to at least eat something before that.”
Natasha put her face in her hands before nodding and accepting Maria’s gift.
“Thank you, I’m sorry, I just have a headache.”
“Yeah probably because you haven’t eaten anything.”
Pepper slapped Tony in the chest, “What is wrong with you Anthony?”
The rest of lunch continued as normal, well as normal as possible considering everyone was glancing at Natasha in worry ever few seconds.
When the bell rang Natasha and Maria made their way to the girls locker room, Natasha made some excuse and got changed in the bathroom. As they ran their warm up laps outside Natasha began to feel faint with the lack of water and the sun beating down on her. A wave of nausea hit her and she veered off to the side of the track, bending over at the waist to try and catch her breath. Maria came up right beside her.
“Nat you okay?” She panted out, Natasha shook her head which made her more dizzy. Natasha tried to stand back up but got increasingly more pale, she took a step forward but stumbled. Maria immediately wrapped and arm around her waist.
With the lack of water, brutal sun, and the pain of Maria pressing on her sore back, the protein bar she had for lunch came right up and onto the grass.
Maria rubbed her back, trying to be comforting but it just made her throw up again. Her body shuddering in pain. Natasha pushed her hand away from her back and replaced it on her thigh. Maria squeezed her thigh and waved over the gym teacher.
Mrs May, A good friend of Maria’s adoptive father and Maria’s gym teacher, came running over with a bottle of water.
“Oh sweetheart let’s get you to the nurse.”
“No, no, I’m fine, I’m fine.”
“Sweetie you just threw up, we’re gonna go to the nurse and call mom to come pick you up okay?”
Mom… Natasha groaned, what and awful name to call Madam B, she was not her mother. Maria winced when Mrs May said the word ‘mom’.
“Maria honey can you go get Natasha’s things together?”
Maria nodded and gave Natasha’s thigh one more squeeze before running off to collect her stuff from her locker.
“Alright sweetheart let’s get inside, Can I help you walk?”
Natasha assumed it was a command and nodded. May supported Natasha with an arm around her upper back, she walked her inside and all the way to the Nurse’s office.
Maria wasn’t far behind them and dropped off the backpack of all Natasha’s things before moving the privacy curtain that hung around her bed. She sat on the bed next to Natasha. The nurse came in briefly to give her crackers and water while May was on the phone with Madam B.
Behind the closed curtain on the nurses bed Natasha let the day wash over her. She quickly grabbed onto Maria’s hand as sob after sob wracked her body.
Maria turned to pull Natasha into a hug.
“Oh Tash, what’s going on? You can talk to me you know that.”
Natasha just cried into her shoulder, “I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be sorry, I just want to know what’s going on, Are you- are you safe? Is something going on- at- at the house?”
Natasha cried harder but managed to shake her head no, unable to voice the lie.
May poked her head in the curtain before coming to crouch in front of Natasha and Maria.
“Natasha, sweetheart, your guardian? is on her way to come get you okay?”
Natasha bit her tongue, god she was fucked.
Natasha shook her head, “I don’t want to go.”
“Sweetie you need some rest, you aren’t going to miss anything that is more important than that.”
Natasha shook her head again, “Please, call her and say I’m fine, Please. I- fuck- Please just tell her i’m fine- you shouldn’t have- fuck-”
Natasha quickly found it hard to breathe in the cramped space and squeezed Maria wrist as she started gasping for air.
“Natasha honey look at me,” The redhead made eye contact with the gym teacher, “Is there anything you want to tell me, anything going on at home?”
Natasha was still gasping for air, Maria quickly pulled her into another hug.
“Breathe. You’re safe here.”
Natasha refused to inhale properly no matter how much Maria tried to coax her. Natasha quickly turned paper white before collapsing on top Maria. May cursed and pulled Natasha off the brunette, laying her down in a recovery position.
“Maria get the nurse.”