UNTHAW: Comet and the winter soldier

Two

Even though I don't have to save the world every five seconds, I still like to work out. I go for a run each morning, at least three miles depending on my mood. Between classes I go to the gym a block away from my apartment. It used to be a boxing gym but the owner moved in a bunch of equipment two years ago and started signing people up for gym memberships. I used to work out at the student rec center on campus but I got annoyed with all the frat guys trying to compete with me to see who could bench more weight. Their feelings always got hurt when I continued to pump iron with ease while their muscles gave out after twenty something reps. I'd had enough of their toxic masculinity interrupting my work out.

This morning I had a late start so I couldn't get my run in before my morning class. I was rushing so quickly to class I almost passed Jessica on the way. While our courses differed, we had most of our classes on the same end of campus. Today we were at East campus. "Woah, where's the fire?" She laughs at her pun and I shoot her a glare.

"No fire, I just don't want to be late this morning," I tell her as I keep up the pace. She jogs to keep up with me. In my head I try to go over what articles I read for last nights assigned reading, anticipating the discussion we were going to have in class. Something about a technique called trailing... Jessica's question annoys me.

"So what's the deal with you and George?"

The name doesn't ring a bell. "Who?"

"The guy who told us about the festival yesterday," she explains briefly. I think back to the exhausting eternity that was yesterday, skipping over the angry and sorrowful bits. When I remember his face she continues, "when I walked to the festival with him yesterday he wanted to know if you had a boyfriend. Obviously I told him no and then he asked if I thought if you were open to dating him."

I want nothing to do with him nor the idea of dating. So I tell her, "absolutely not."

Jessica scoffs, "and just why exactly?" She questions me as if I've made some bizarre claim. As if I were asking to streak through the streets of New York like a maniac. "He's hot. And plus you guys already have the same major in common, he doesn't talk too much"—

"Reminds me of someone I know," I grumble under my breath, but Jessica keeps with her argument.

"He's totally into you, he knows how to dress and he's in my feminist studies class so you know he's not an asshole." When she seems to be out of steam I give her an unconvinced raise of my eyebrow. Did she really think that's all that it would take to convince me? I hadn't been on a date since I was sixteen years old and frankly I didn't have the desire to go on one anytime soon. Especially not with some guy who tries to ask me out through a friend rather than asking me directly. There was no one interesting at this school. And everyone that found me interesting only wanted to ask questions about Ironman. I wouldn't know what to do on a date other than walk right out of the room.

"No thanks," I try to brush it off as we climb the stairs to enter east campus' main steps.

She's persistent, "come on Lila you haven't dated anyone since high school. You can't honestly live with the fact that Peter Parker is the last person you kissed."

Now she's struck a nerve. I stop dead in my tracks to whip around and hiss, "if you like George so much why don't you go out with him and stay the fuck out of my business?"

And with that, I was three minutes late to glass blowing basics which meant I had to stand in the back of the class and strain my neck to see the demonstrations. Plus I had to sit in the back of the class during the discussion where it felt like I was the only one who had done the readings. At first the class had been added to my roster as a joke, no doubt a try at one last laugh from Him but after the introductory course I really got into it. This year I was taking a higher level class so I wouldn't need an overseer while I worked. For the first time in too long, I felt like I could finally let go and just be free to create something with my hands other than chaos.