I Fell For My Nemesis

Leah let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I know. But I miss being loved. Henry loved me but he died! Nolan never loved me at all. And neither did Angelo. That was all in my head."

"You can have that again," Jocelyn encouraged. "I fully believe there is someone out there who can see the good in you and love you for it. But that doesn't mean we can expect reciprocation from just anyone because that doesn't take the other person's feelings into account."

"What do I do then?"

"You can start with an apology. I don't know if Angelo will forgive you or not—that's up to him—but it should make you feel better and start to put the incident behind you."

Leah thought this over. "There's no guarantee he'll even read it. He hasn't been responding to my messages."

"It's at least worth a try," Jocelyn informed her before glancing at the clock. "I'm afraid we're out of time for today. I'll see you at the same time next week."

"Alright. Thanks, Jocelyn." 

"You're welcome. Be nice to yourself, alright? Making mistakes doesn't mean you're bad. Don't forget that."

Leah nodded before hurrying out of the office. Once she was gone Jocelyn sighed. That woman had some seriously low self-esteem and a desperation to be loved and validated after what she went through with her second husband. Unfortunately, she looked for it in the wrong place and someone else might be paying the price for it right now. 

Why did people always have to hurt other people while trying to look out for themselves? She had wondered that since she was a child. It had been another part of the reason she became a counselor. 

Jocelyn understood a lot more about human nature now than she did then. She was able to figure people out almost too easily these days. 

That, plus her secret identity, made it difficult for her to get close to anyone. She had exactly one friend…if you could even call him that. And he showed up right on time as usual less than five minutes after she thought of him. 

He came every day she worked precisely at noon. The Super Subs delivery man. 

Their friendship of sorts started not long after she began working at this office. She had barely finished her master's degree and was lucky enough to get a slot due to a former professor's recommendation. She had also been so busy she could hardly breathe. 

Jocelyn didn't have time to eat well but that didn't matter much since using her powers burned an insane amount of calories. Every morning she had toaster strudel, toaster waffles, or powdered donuts for breakfast because it was quick and gave her the sugar she needed to get through the first half of her appointments. For dinner she grabbed whatever she could in between rescues or villain fights. 

The problem was lunch. When she was in college she had bought herself food on campus every day. She didn't have the time or energy to pack herself anything either then or now. 

She didn't schedule appointments at noon so she had time to eat but she still often had paperwork to do then so she didn't get more than thirty minutes to eat. That didn't exactly allow for going out and getting food herself from restaurants nearby. 

Jocelyn started ordering cheap takeout from a variety of places. One, a pizza place that had amazing calzones, had a rather interesting delivery man who left an impression on her the first time he brought her one. 

He was wearing rollerblades. Rollerblades! Who wore rollerblades when delivering food?!

"What on earth are you wearing?" she asked him, unable to stop herself when she noticed after signing the receipt. 

A wide, genuinely amused smile crossed his face. "You know, you're the first one to ask. Everyone else just rolls with it or assumes it's part of my uniform. Truth is, it's faster than walking when the deliveries aren't far enough to drive." 

Jocelyn was so amazed that she actually laughed. That didn't happen terribly often. She was often told she was too serious. But this strange pizza delivery man had managed to pull one out of her for the first time in months. 

"And you don't drop anything doing that?"

"Not at all! I'm pretty quick on my feet and have good reflexes," he said with a shrug. "Anyway, duty calls. Have a nice day, Jocelyn!" 

She had been surprised he remembered her name from the order. How many of those did he see a day? She hadn't even caught his because she had been too preoccupied by the rollerblades to notice his nametag. 

After that she ordered calzones at least twice a week and saw him every time. In the process she learned his name was Keith and that he was the most easygoing person she had ever met. 

He always stopped to chat with her briefly before moving on to the next delivery and she gave him the highest tips she could afford. He deserved it for being the most consistently friendly person she encountered on a regular basis. 

Jocelyn had been genuinely disappointed when he stopped coming. She wondered if he had gotten a different job but didn't get her answer until a month later when she ordered from a Chinese place and he showed up still wearing his signature rollerblades. 

"Hey, Joss! Imagine my surprise when I saw your order come through. Betraying your love of calzones so soon?" Keith asked cheerfully. 

She had been surprised both by the nickname and the teasing. The only other person who ever teased her about anything was Delta, a hero she worked with on a semi-regular basis because they had similar powers. 

"Why did you switch jobs?"

"Ah, things didn't work out so well at the pizza place,"  he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "But here I am! Catering to my favorite customer once again so it's a good thing, really." 

Things didn't work out very well for him a lot. In the three years Jocelyn had worked at her office he ended up switching delivery jobs between seven different restaurants. Super Subs was only the latest on that list. 

She had gotten into the habit of ordering solely from whatever restaurant he was working at until he quit/got fired (he never specified which) and then trying new restaurants until she found him again. After it happened the third time he specifically requested they exchange numbers so he could tell her where he ended up after that. 

She had been surprised both by his bluntness and that he had realized her pattern. But somehow it was impossible to be self-conscious about it because he didn't make it awkward. 

Keith was an easy person to be around. The easiest she knew, in fact. 

Jocelyn smiled as he brought over her meatball marinara sub with a dramatic flourish. "I come bearing sustenance!" 

"My hero," she deadpanned. 

Keith simply grinned at her as she signed the receipt as usual. He had dimples in both cheeks and a boyish face that was forever full of mischief. His blue eyes sparkled when he smiled and his light brown hair was hardly visible from under his helmet. 

"Happy to help. Anybody particularly crazy this morning?"

Jocelyn replied coolly. "You know I don't think of my clients as crazy." 

"Yeah, because you're a good therapist. I'm sure there are plenty out there who do," Keith said with confidence. "But that doesn't mean I'd want you to pick my brain apart." 

"Afraid of what I'll find in there?"

"Nah. I'm an open book. Mostly I'm afraid of being turned to ice when you tell me everything I'm doing wrong with my life."

Jocelyn had heard it all before. She had been known as the "Ice Queen" all her life even without factoring her powers into things. So what if she didn't show her emotions on the surface? That didn't mean she didn't feel things!

"You have a rather penetrating gaze, you know," Keith continued. "I'm sure it's very helpful for getting people to spill all of their secrets." 

He had no idea. She used it both at work and as a hero. Though the latter was less about spilling secrets and more about getting people to cooperate. Bystanders could be horribly obtrusive in the middle of rescues. 

Jocelyn was successful as a hero partly because of her powers and partly because of the cool, calm way she was able to handle emergency situations. She had to use what she had available to her best advantage. Even if it did label her as cold to everyone else. 

It was ironic somehow that she and Keith got along so well considering she was notoriously cold and he was the literal embodiment of warmth. He practically radiated sunshine. 

Maybe that was why she kept ordering from him. She needed that dose of cheerfulness to get her through the rest of the workday and then going out and doing hero duties afterward. She had really struggled with balancing it all when she was first starting out but it had gotten a lot better since she found someone who helped lighten things up for her.