Chatroom ━ ✰ Natasha Romanoff ✰

Chapter One

Winter didn't seem to last too long into the new year because by the first week of March the weather was gorgeous. The sun warmed everyone's skin and every raucous college student who was just dying for the Spring Break that was closer than they thought. The spike in the temperature made everyone forget about the looming midterms. Y/n, though, just couldn't shake the feeling of apprehension that her friends just didn't feel.

"We should do something this weekend. I can have Josh take us to the beach."

"Ew, you're still seeing that dickhead?"

"Seeing is a strong word...I'm just having fun with him. And he has a car," Cindy jokes, earning a playful slap to the arm from Amy.

The juxtaposition between Y/n and her friends was something that didn't go unnoticed but it was college; friend groups weren't based on rigid high school standards and everyone was more open to each other. She met them her first week of her English class and the three of them seemed to be stuck together ever since.

Y/n was aware of how different she was from her two outgoing friends. She doesn't care about their personality differences, but her sheltered upbringing put serious dents in her social skills to where she feels that her friends are miles ahead of her. They were good with talking to new people, letting go parties, and dating. She was a college freshman, hundreds of miles away from home, but she still felt like her parents were watching her every move.

Not only did she feel like she was lacking in the social department, but she was behind on pop culture references. She was just hearing Britney Spears' hit songs from years ago while everyone else was talking about her latest antics in the magazines. And of course the internet was a completely new thing to her. While her friends chatted about "Myspace" and "AOL chat rooms" she found herself ousted from those conversations. The most her parents let her do on the computer was draw pictures in Paint and go on Neopets while one of them was sitting right behind her the entire time. She often looked up into the heavens and wondered why there just had to be another thing that seemed to alienate her from her friends.

"What do you say Y/n?"

"Huh?"

"Your head is always somewhere else. I asked if you wanted to come back to my dorm with us?"

"Sorry I can't, I have an essay due Sunday night."

"For Cichy's class? Oh my god just do it on Sunday. He gives out A's like they're nothing. It's going to be nice all weekend, don't tell me you're going to be in your dorm the entire time?"

Y/n was enticed by the idea of doing something fun with her friends. It's been a while since she's been to the beach and Amy has been talking about this new restaurant nearby she wanted them to checkout. However, instead of having an angel and devil on her shoulder, she had her parents who were both barking at her to be a "good girl" and to do the "right" thing.

"I can't. I also have to study for the chem midterm. Professor Johnson does not give out A's like it's nothing."

She watched both Cindy and Amy's faces fall, but they didn't protest. They were so used to her declining their weekend invites that it was more shocking if she accepted it. Y/n hoped that they wouldn't get annoyed with her or drop her. They didn't seem like they were going to, but with them rushing for sororities, Y/n wondered if they'd find new people who actually wanted to go out and were fun to be around.

-

It felt like Y/n had the whole entire library to herself. Usually you could hear the rustling of papers, book pages being turned, and the faint sound of someone's headphone's blaring. But she was all alone today.