Marvel Imagines {Requests are Closed}

Clint Barton | High School AU (Part2)

"You're running with Clint. Try to keep up. He's fast." Natasha said to me as she looked me up and down in distaste. I nodded in silence and stood looking at my trainers, focusing on the slight patch of mud that had stained my white laces. To say it was awkward would be an understatement; it had slowly passed awkward and had sailed into hoping the ground would swallow me up, so that Natasha would stop staring at me. I didn't believe that Clint liked me anyway. Natasha was probably just saying that to embarrass Clint because being with the nerdiest, and most awkward, girl in the class was horrifying. I'd dealt with this before, however it was slightly more heartbreaking considering that I actually liked Clint. I couldn't get my hopes up. It had already happened five minutes ago when I first heard Natasha say he liked me. Until I crashed back from Earth and realised that we were to different to even contemplate a relationship. I could still crush on him from a far... Right?

I was thinking about this when Mr Johnson blew his whistle to signal that we were starting. Trainers squeaked on the floor creating a cacophony of sound and footsteps pounded on the wooden flooring. I started at a slow jog like Clint so that I could stick with him and pace myself at the start of the twelve minutes. Everyone else was chattering as they jogged around the gymnasium, but Clint and I were in an uncomfortable silence - my heartbeat and the rhythm of my feet being the only things diffusing the awkward tension. I was in my own bubble when words caught my attention. A whole sentence from Clint to me! I quickly turned my head slightly to show him that I was listening, assuming that it was only about the speed we were running at.
"So Laia... How come you're so quiet?" His voice was deep and he sounded genuinely interested.
"I don't have any of my friends in this class." I mumbled, still shocked that he spoke to me about something other than the speed we were running at (and it was only two minutes into the Cooper test ).
"Why don't you make some friends? I've seen how good you are at running, even though other people might not acknowledge it." He replied before he looked forward to make sure we weren't going to run into any walls.
"I have friends. I just don't fit in to other groups. And I'm not very good at running. I hardly exercise as it is. I'm average." I state as we turned the corner and started our fourth lap of the gym.
"Look how many people we've overtaken in the space of three minutes." He said. At this is turned around and saw that we'd overtaken some of the people who I'd considered amazing at P.E.
"Cool. It's because I'm distracted." I say, gaining confidence.
"Do I distract you?" He said cockily and grinned whilst wiggling his eyebrows.
"No," I laughed at his facial expression, " I'm just not paying attention to the others. I never do." I looked down.
"Fine then. I challenge you to a race. Whoever can do the most laps is the King, or Queen, of the Cooper run. Sadly no crowns will be available due to the budget decrease from the council of Cooper runners this year."
"Okay then. But aren't we supposed to stay together, so that it's easier for Natasha to count?" I questioned.
"Nat won't mind," He replied quickly as he stole a glance at Natasha's bored expression, " she looks like she needs something to do to make her at least look alive."
"Su-" before the word had left my mouth Clint had sprinted off.
I jumped up in surprise, but carried on pacing myself. It wouldn't do well if I was out of breath by the time ten minutes came up. It was only eight minutes in.  I continued to watch Clint as he slowed down due to exertion. I knew this was my chance. Despite my averageness (A/N: new word invented by me 😂) I got extremely competitive, so I couldn't let Clint win...

I sprinted like I was getting chased by zombies and my only chance of survival was in front of me. I whipped past people, feeling like I was a blur compared to everyone else. Everyone felt to ordinary and for once I felt extraordinary. I was breathing hard by the time Mr Johnson blew his whistle, demonstrating that what felt like ten seconds was actually three minutes. I bent over as I felt the stitch in my side and took in deep breaths. Whilst gulping in air Clint bowed from across the room as Natasha angrily yelled that we were supposed to run together, not at different speeds. I started to laugh which didn't help the breathing situation and walked to the changing rooms to grab my water bottle.

For: @Academygirl568
A/N: so I got requested to write a part 2 to this. I've not updated much because I've had to revise as I have my mock exams in January and I've had lots of homework to complete in the last few weeks. If you've requested something, don't worry. I will write them when I'm able to. The reason why I wrote this one now is because I felt most inspired to. I hope you've had a nice day! ~ Holly x