Anger Management

Hitting on You: Part Three

"Good morning," Toby said and immediately started walking into the gym. Happy sighed and followed him. This would be her second boxing lesson and she hoped it would be less emotional than the last.

Toby's eyes were still sad when he looked at her, though he tried to hide it. Happy hated being pitied so she pretended she didn't see it. Yet she still couldn't help but think that he wanted her to tell him about her emotional breakdown. She knew he wanted her to be the one to initiate the conversation; she just wasn't ready to do that yet.

"I'm glad to see you brought your own clothes this time. And appropriate ones, too. You were a bit late but at least you came." Toby commented.

"I have a job, you know."

Toby scoffed. "Your father's your boss. I'm sure you could get out of work easily."

"That's not the point."

"Fine. I'll be sure to schedule our excursions out of work hours."

"So there'll be more excursions?" Happy asked.

Toby shrugged. "If they help you with your anger, why not? You know where the changing rooms are. I'll wait over here." Toby said and walked over to the boxing section.

Once Happy had changed, she walked over the the punching bag but didn't see Toby. Perhaps he had gone to the bathroom.

Happy shrugged and decided to start boxing by herself. After a few minutes on silently exercising, Happy started getting curious. Surely he would be back by now?
With a sigh, Happy decided to go looking for him. He has to be around here somewhere, she thought.

Just as Happy was about to give up the search and leave, she spotted the Doc himself leaning against a vending machine. He was playing with his hat and talking to a blonde woman who was standing much too close to him for Happy's comfort.

Happy couldn't help but feel disappointed. Not that she would admit it to anyone, let alone him, but she had started seeing him as more than just an irritating therapist. After their last session, she thought he might see her as more than a patient. Apparently not.

Happy cleared her throat loudly and crossed her arms. She immediately recognised her stance as that of someone ready to fight, and quickly dropped her arms. She didn't need Toby thinking she wasn't making progress with her anger management.

Toby turned around and the woman raised a perfectly-sculpted eyebrow at her.

"Can I help you?" The woman asked. She had a German accent and Happy assumed her name was something equally pretentious, like Liesl.

"Ah, Happy, there you are." Toby said. As if he was the one looking for her. "This is my friend, Katja." Happy scoffed inside but made sure to keep her expression neutral. Katja was just as pretentious a name. Toby turned to said German and said, "Katja, allow me to introduce you to my current patient, Happy."

Happy felt a pang in her stomach. Okay, so apparently they didn't have any romantic tension but now Toby didn't even consider them friends. She let her disappointment fall to the back corners of her mind and made sure to smile bitterly at Toby. Just as she was about to open up completely to him, he discarded her trust. Her mantra was proven once again: Tools don't let you down, people do.

Katja looked down at Happy with a slight sneer. Stupid German, thought Happy. Stupid German with her towering height and her sleek blonde hair and her clear blue eyes. Happy quickly snapped herself out of it. She had learned long ago not to compare herself to others. So what if her height barely reached most women's shoulders? So what if her hair was unruly and her eyes dark? She was nearly sure Katja didn't have an astronomically high IQ, like Happy. And she was positive she couldn't take apart a car engine and put it back together, having it work better than it did before. No, comparing herself to others wasn't healthy, Happy reminded herself.

Toby seemed to sense the discomfort between the women and decided to separate them. He stepped in front of Happy, facing Katja.

"Well, I have to go now. We'll talk later, Katja?" Toby asked. Katja nodded, practically purring. She turned on her heel and strutted off towards the pool.

Toby turned around to find Happy already at the punching bag with her boxing gloves on. "What was that all about?" He asked.

"I don't know," Happy said with a punch to the heavy bag. "You tell me."

"Don't twist your hand before your fist makes contact. And really, I don't know. One minute I was talking to my friend and the next, I was in a scene from The Hunger Games. Happy, you looked like you were ready to tear her throat out. What happened?"

Happy shrugged before continuing her assault on the punching bag. "She sneered at me,"

"That doesn't mean you should flip out on her," Toby defended.

Happy rolled her eyes. Of course Toby would defend her. She was his 'friend'. "The dislike was mutual."

Toby frowned and Happy stopped boxing. There was a thin sheen of sweat on her brow but she didn't dare break eye contact with him to wipe it away. She walked towards the psychiatrist until she stood toe-to-toe with him. His eyes widened but he didn't move away.

She stretched her legs to make herself seem taller than she really was. For the second time that day, she cursed her height genes.

His eyes flicked between hers and he licked his lips. She leaned into him and he slowly leaned into her. Just before their lips touched, Happy punched Toby's stomach.

He doubled over and started coughing. Happy smirked. "That's for not calling me your friend." She said and walked towards the punching bag. She continued her boxing until Toby had regained his composure. Surprisingly, these lessons actually did have some use.

Once she was sure Toby was fine, she removed her boxing gloves and handed them to him. She smiled sweetly and said, "See you next week." Toby heard her laugh even after she had left the room to change. He shook his head, completely confused as to what just happened.