Chapter 2
I met Clint when I was 17. It was four years after the New York attack, and I was driving alone to Colorado to visit family. While I was driving through Missouri, I popped a tire. Despite getting my license almost two years prior, I still had not learned how to change a tire. I tried calling Charlie and his parents, and I tried calling my family in Colorado; neither of them answered. Not knowing what else to do, I leaned on the front hood and looked through the manual. A few minutes later, someone pulled up behind me. Not wanting to get kidnapped, I didn’t look to see who was behind me.
“You alright?” the man asked. I nodded, not bothering to look at him.
“Yeah, I just popped my tire, so I’m trying to figure out how to change it.”
“Do you want help?”
“No, thanks. I think I can figure-” I stopped in my tracks when I looked up from the manual. “Oh, my God. You’re Hawkeye.” He laughed and took a couple steps towards me.
“Yes. I’m Hawkeye. And you are-?”
“I’m, uhh, Alex,” I said, trying not to freak out.
“Well, Alex, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay and see if you need help, but if you think you can figure it out-” I sighed.
“Okay, maybe I don’t actually know what I’m doing, and I just said that I was fine because I didn’t know who you were and being kidnapped isn’t exactly on my bucket list.” He chuckled again and helped me change my tire, talking me through every step to make sure I knew how to do it when it happened again.
“Alright, you should be good to go. Now, you don’t want to drive more than fifty miles on this, or you’re going to have much bigger problems than a flat tire.”
“But, I don’t- I’m supposed to be in Colorado tomorrow. I tried calling my family there, but they didn’t pick up, and they haven’t called me back. What am I supposed to do?” I was trying not to freak out; I was already going to get to Colorado late, so this just made it worse. My family wasn’t answering me, Charlie wasn’t answering me, his parents weren’t answering me; I was alone and scared and the only thing I had going for me was the fact that Hawkeye stopped to help me.
“Okay, it’s okay. Take a deep breath,” he said quickly. “I’ll tell you what. My house isn’t that far from here. You can stay with us for the night. We’ll get your tire fixed, put it back on, and you can take off in the morning.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I don’t want to be a burden.”
“Alex, I brought all of the Avengers to my house one day without warning. You’re not going to be a burden. Call your family, or whatever you have to do. I’m gonna call Laura and let her know you’re coming.” We both walked back to our cars. I texted my family in Colorado to let them know I would be even later than I was already going to be, then called Charlie, who finally picked up.
“Hey, what’s up? Sorry I didn’t answer earlier; we were cleaning the house.”
“You’re fine. I popped a tire in Missouri.”
“Holy shit. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Someone stopped and helped me put my spare on. I’m staying with their family for the night.” I smiled, knowing how bad it sounded that I was staying with a stranger’s supposed family for a night.
“Uhh, Alex? I would much rather not hear about your gruesome death on the news in three days.” I laughed and decided to drop the act.
“Relax, Charlie. It’s Hawkeye.”
“Wait, like the Avenger Hawkeye?”
“No, Charlie. Like the bird,” I said sarcastically. “Yes, the Avenger. He saw me on the side of the road, so he stopped and made sure I was okay, and he calmed me down because I started panicking about being even later to Colorado.”
“You don’t even want to go to Colorado,” he reminded me.
“True, but you also know why I have to go.” I looked in my rear-view mirror and sighed. “I should probably let you go. I think he’s waiting on me to go back to his house. I’ll talk to you later.” I hung up and followed Hawkeye back to his house.
Charlie and I were 13 when the Chitauri attacked New York. Even though we lived in Ohio, it was terrifying; a hole had opened up in the sky, and these monsters were coming out of it. They ended school early that day, and we all rushed home to be with our families. We were glued to the TV and watched in horror as everything was being destroyed. Then, we saw the Avengers. And three of them were just normal people. Iron Man was a genius, Black Widow was an incredible spy and martial artist, and Hawkeye was just freakishly good at archery. They didn’t have enhanced genes or anything; they were just regular people. And I think that’s what made them so appealing to us as role models; they were ordinary people, and they saved the world.
When we got to his house, I was introduced to the family before Hawkeye led me up to the guest room.
“I know you’re only here for tonight, but please make yourself at home. There’s extra blankets and pillows in the closet across the hall. Laura’s getting ready to start dinner. I’m going to go to town and see if I can get your tire fixed. You’re welcome to come with me, or you can stay here.”
“I’ll go with you.” I tossed my bag onto the bed and followed him out to his truck.
“Hawkeye?” I began when we got out of the driveway.
“Call me Clint, please.” Oh, my God. I’m on a first name basis with Hawkeye.
“Okay, Clint. Thank you, again. I would probably still be on the side of the road if you hadn’t stopped.”
“Someone would have stopped. It’s a small town, Alex. We do what we can to help each other out. I didn’t tell you because you were freaking out about Colorado, but no one would have kidnapped you.”
“My town isn’t exactly the safest, so I guess I’m just not used to that.” We drove in silence for a few minutes, and I silently hoped he wouldn’t ask too many questions.
“Where is your town?” he finally asked. I knew that wasn’t the question he wanted to ask, but I was thankful that was the only question he did ask.
“Northwest Ohio. It’s a small town, but not exactly the safest place for someone with a family like mine.” I hoped and prayed that he wouldn’t open that can of worms any more than I already had. We made small talk until we got to the tire shop.
When we got back, Laura was finishing what ended up being one of the best meals I had had in a long time. After that, Clint helped me change my tire back. I tried to tell him that I should leave, but he insisted.
“It’s already 8:00. By the time you get to the interstate, it’ll be dark. There’s not much to see in the dark here, and you just had a very carb-heavy dinner. You’re going to get tired. Stay here for the night, and you can leave after breakfast in the morning, okay?”
“You know? The more you talk and insist that I stay here for the night, the more it sounds like you’re trying to kidnap me,” I joked.
“Not kidnapping,” he said again, “just making sure you’re safe.”
“Why me, though? I can’t be the first person you helped change a tire.” He sighed.
“You’re not, and you’re also not the first person to stay at the house for the night afterwards. Like I told you earlier, it’s a normal thing around here. We look out for each other, and we help other people when we can.”
“Clint, you’re an Avenger,” I said as we started walking back into the house. “You can do anything. You can live anywhere. Why here?” He stood on the porch and pointed at the door.
“Those four people in there. That’s why. Because I’ve helped save the world more than once, but those four people in there are the ones that matter to me the most. I don’t want to live anywhere else because I know they’re safe here. I don’t want to do anything else; if the Avengers need me, they know where to find me. Other than that, I get to watch my kids grow up. And I can’t imagine a better job than that.” I smiled a little and followed him inside.
The next morning, I came downstairs, packed up and ready to go. Clint and his two oldest were essentially covered in flour, and the kitchen was a mess.
“Do I even want to know?” I chuckled. Laura came in, holding Nathaniel.
“This is normal for a Sunday morning. I don’t think it’s happened on a Friday morning before, though,” she said pointedly towards Clint.
“In my defense, we have a guest,” he shot back, gesturing towards me. “I just thought Alex would like pancakes. It’s not my fault Coop decided to throw pancake mix at his sister.” I smiled, but my eyes filled with tears. Stop, I thought. This is happiness; take it in and remember what that felt like. Remember what being a kid felt like. Before you had to grow up.