Till Forever is Ours

04.

AMERICA PULLED ON MY ARM.

"Hello? Kate? What do you want?"

I looked down; my ears were hot. I had no reason to feel self-conscious, I reminded myself. I hadn't done anything wrong.

"What's with Kate?" Billy asked America.

"Nothing," I answered. "I'll just get a soda today."

"Aren't you hungry?" America asked.

"Actually, I feel a little sick," I said, my eyes still on the floor.

I waited for them to get their food, and then followed them to a table, my eyes on my feet. I sipped my soda slowly, my stomach churching. Twice Billy asked, with unnecessary concern, how I was feeling.

I told him it was nothing, but I was wondering if I should play it up and escape to the nurse's office for the next hour. Ridiculous. I shouldn't have to run away.

I decided to permit myself one glance at the Shostakov family's table. If she was glaring at me, I would skip Biology, like the coward I was.
I kept my head down and glanced up under my lashes. None of them were looking this way. I lifted my head a little.

They were laughing. Yelena, Natasha, Carol, Thor, and Steve all had their hair entirely saturated with melting snow. Carol and Natasha were leaning away as Thor shook his dripping blonde hair towards them. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else— only they looked more like a scene from Marvel than the rest of us.

But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. I examined Yelena the most carefully. Her skin was less pale, I decided— flushed from the snow fight maybe— the circles under her eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. I pondered, staring, trying to isolate the change.

"Kate, what are you staring at?" America intruded, her eyes following my stare.

At that precise moment, her eyes flashed over to meet mine. I dropped my head, letting my hair fall to conceal my face. I was sure, though, in the instant our eyes met, that she didn't look harsh or unfriendly as she had the last time I'd seen her. She looked merely curious again, unsatisfied in some way.

"Yelena Belova is staring at you," America giggled in my ear.

"She doesn't look angry, does she?" I couldn't help asking.

"No," she said, sounding confused by my question. "Should she be?"

"I don't think she likes me," I confided. I still felt queasy. I put my head down on my arms.

"The Shostakovs don't like anybody... well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But she's still staring at you."

"Stop staring at them," I hissed.

She snickered, but she looked away. I raised my head enough to make sure she did, contemplating violence if she resisted.

Billy interrupted us then— he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard in the parking lot after school and wanted us to join. America agreed enthusiastically. The way she looked at Billy left little doubt that she would be up for anything he suggested. I kept silent. I would have to hide in the gym until the parking lot cleared.